Page 32 of A Letter to Adaya
“We have some questions and then if you can identify a few people, that would be helpful.”
“Identify?” Her brow furrowed in confusion. She had come to this town to start fresh. The only people she knew were the Picketts, but they had their own problems, and she didn’t want to be a burden on them. Oh, and the people at the mercantile... well, they barely acknowledged her existence. She suddenly felt very alone in this new place. Releasing Beau’s hand, she folded her hands together on top of the table. “I don’t know how I can help, Marshal. I don’t know anyone in town. Apart from Walter. Do you know where he is?” She felt her voice trembling and a lump forming in her throat.
“You can see him soon.” The sheriff cleared his throat. “You can call me Whit or Whitney. I didn’t mean to alarm you earlier. I just needed to wait for Sam. We are all a little on edge right now.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Tell me how you arrived in town,” Whit prodded.
Adaya took a deep breath. “I was visiting my grandmother in Virginia. When I arrived home, my house was empty. Well, everything but a few pieces of furniture and my bedroom.” She bit her bottom lip. “And Walter. He was still there.”
“Where is home?”
“Uhm... Chicago.”
Sam leaned forward. “So, you got home to Chicago, and everything was gone?”
She nodded. “Yes. I received a letter from my father telling me to sell everything that was left and join Walter in Flat River or move back to Richmond.”
Sam’s eyes flicked over to Beau. “You decided to come here with Walter? What brought him here?”
“Yes. No.” She raised a hand to her head. “I don’t know.” Her thoughts were jumbling in her brain as the two lawmen fired off questions at her.
“You don’t know?” Whit scoffed. “It sounds like this was all planned.”
“Hold up,” Beau asserted, pounding his fist on the table. “She hasn’t done a thing wrong, so back off!”
“We are just trying to find out as much information as possible.”
“Don’t you make her upset again, then.” Beau leaned over and put his arm around Adaya’s shoulders, pulling her close. “They just want to help Jesse and Izzy, that’s all, kitten. Take your time.”
She melted into his side embrace and just allowed him to hold her for a moment, gathering invisible strength from his touch. Finally nodding, she turned back to the two lawmen. “There were multiple letters. The one from my father, but I also received one from Mrs. Pickett. Emily Pickett. She invited me to come out to Flat River and consider Beau or Jesse as a potential husband.”
Sam scratched his cheek, while Whit leaned back in his chair again. “She just wrote to you out of the blue?” Whit asked. “That seems rather convenient.”
“No,” Adaya replied.
“No?” Whit raised his eyebrow at her.
“It wasn’t out of the blue. I had written a letter to a matchmaker. I guess Bass found the letters and Emily started responding to them. It just so happened that Emily’s letter arrived at my home in Chicago while I was in Richmond. I read it when I got home, and that is when I followed Walter to Flat River.” Glancing at Beau, she gave him a little smile. “I’m glad I did.”
“Why did Walter come out this way?” Sam inquired.
“You’ll have to ask him his reasons.” She sat up straight in her chair. “Can I ask again what this is all about?”
“Miss Breckenridge, I need to inform you that your father is sitting in a cell at the back of this jail.”
“What?” Her body swayed, as though she was about to topple from the chair. She had expected her father to join them, yet why was he behind bars?What had her father done? And why did they think he had done it?
“You’re safe,” Beau whispered, leaning over so that his warm breath tickled her ear. She didn’t feel safe, and just because he said it was so didn’t make it true.
“I need to see him. There must be some misunderstanding.”
“I don’t think so, Miss Breckenridge,” Whitney said.
Adaya pulled her shoulders back and stubbornly set her chin. She could do whatever they needed her to do, and she could break down later. “What do you need me to do?”
“We just need you to walk down the hallway and then let us know if you see anyone you recognize. We won’t ask you questions until we come back here. Then we’ll want to know who they are and how you know them.” Sam stood and moved to the far end of the table. “Beau can come with you, and Sheriff Hartman will be at the other end of the hall.”
