Mountain Woman Snake River Blizzard (19 page)

“Where
would we find her?” Man asked.

“Go out on the road toward the lake and keep circling around and look up on the side of a hill.  It’s a big white home with columns on the porch.
  When you see it, you’
ll know it.”

“Thanks,” Kate said.  “How is it going with Lucille?”

Cliff
beamed at the question.  “I hope she’ll marry me.  I intend to ask her this weekend.  And you can keep that to yourselves.   There’s no need to start the tongues wagging over the back fence
until she says yes
.”

Kate nodded.  “Well, good luck.  I hope it all works out for both of you.”

They left
Cliff
as a customer came into the store.

“The sawmill next?” Kate asked.

Man nodded and they rode tow
ard the mill located at the
far end of town.

A guard met them at the entrance.  He stepped out and sai
d, “Sorry, no visitors when we’
re running the saws.”

Man showed him his badge.  “I’m Marshal Manchester,
and this is
my par
tner, Deputy Marshal Kate.  We’
re here to see Hans
Geyser.”

“That’s diff
erent,” the guard said.  “You’
ll find Hans over in that office.”  He gestured toward a log cabin.

“Thanks,” Man said and turned Arabian toward the office.

They dism
ounted,
walked to the
door, opened it,
and stepped inside.  A man seated behind a desk looked up and
said, “You can’t come in here.  T
he mill is running.  How did you get by the guard?”

Man pushed his coat back and showed his badge.
Kate did the same.  “We are looking for Hans Geyser.”

“You found him,” the man said.  “What can I do for you?  Has one of our lumberjacks got into trouble?”

“That’
s not why we’re here,” Man said.  “It’s about Elmer Knorr.”

“I heard he drown in the lake.  Probably too much to drink and he fell in.”

“He didn’t drown,” Man said.  “He was murdered and tossed in the water.”

Genuine surprise spread over Hans’ face.  “Oh my God,” he exclaimed.

“And somebody shot at a
Günter
, but only nipped his leg.  We’
re trying to prevent more bloodshed and stop a possible feud between the
Knorrs
and
Günter
s
.”

“Tell us what happened with
Rosalind
and Theo,” Kate said.

Han’s sat
for a few moments in silence.

“We need to know to prevent bloodshed,” Kate said.
“This could get out of hand in a hurry.  Tell us what you know.”

Hans took a deep breath before speaking.  “
Rosalind
has been sleeping with Theo for ages.  They
apparently
got careless and Elmer caught them.”

“
Rosalind
is your wife,
” Man said.  “Weren’t you jealous?
”

“
Why did you let it go on
?” Kate
asked.

Hans stood and walked around the
desk and sat on the edge.  “I’
ll tell you, but please do
your best to keep it from becoming public. 
Rosalind
is my wife in name only.  I was injured in an accident when I was about fifteen.  The doctor had to finish removing my testicles,
forgive the bluntness.  T
hey were beyond saving.
 
Rosalind
was pregnant and she needed a husband.  To be honest, her family bought me.  That’s how I got this job.  I know I’m not smart, but I work hard and have learned to be a good employee
and supervisor
.”

“I’m sorry,” Man said.

“Don’t be,” Hans said.  “I stopped feeling sorry
for myself a long time ago.  I’
m playing the hand dealt to me.
  I enjoy my job and love to fish.  I’m doing okay.
”

“Who do you think killed Elmer?” Kate asked.

“I have no idea,
but
it wasn’t me.  If Theo and
Rosalind
had been more cautious, it wouldn’t have happened.  Elmer had
a drinking problem and it’s possible
somebody
in the Knorr family
didn’t want him talking in a saloon about what he saw.  Protect the family
reputation, a
pride thing.  If I were you, I would question the Kno
rr men first, but that’
s only a wild thought.”

Kate studied Hans for a moment before speaking.  “Hans, you play dumb, but you’re sharp as a tack.  Why are you playing this role?”

“It keeps people from asking questions and teasing me about being a eunuch
,” he said.

“Which Knorr would you suggest we visit t
o try to stop any more killings?
” Kate asked.

As
Cliff
had done, he thought for a few moments.  “Grandmother Gretchen rules the Knorr family with an iron fist.
  If you can see her, that would be my recommendation.
”

“We respect your condition and assure you tha
t we wi
ll not discuss it,” Kate said.

“Thanks, but I expect most of the people that know me also kn
ow my condition.  I might add,
Rosalind
a
nd I have never shared a bed.  I have my own bedroom
and kitchen facilitie
s.  I go for weeks without
seei
ng her and when we do meet, it’
s usually on the street.  I never go to her part of the house and she never comes to mine.”

“Where does she meet Theo?” Kate asked.

“He has come to our house.
I see
his buggy parked in the barn.  They also meet at the lake
.
Theo
has a cabin there.
”

“Did Evelyn know about
Rosalind
and Theo?” Kate asked.

“I can’t say with certainty, but she had to know.  As often as they met, well, she would have to be dumber than me not to know.”

“I understand you have a child,” Kate said.

“We do.  Well,
he has my name
,
of course.  But, his father is probably Theo.  I have no way of knowing.
  It wasn’t me.
”

“Thanks for the information,” Man said.  “We appreciate your candidness.”

The two
marshal
s mounted their horses and rode toward the lake
.  They were
looking for a large white house on the side of a hill
,
with columns on the porch.

Kate was the first to spot it and pointed.  Man turned Arabian and with Kate astride Red
Bird,
and
they followed a winding road through the trees to the house.

The front was immaculate and was beautiful with the snow still on the ground.  Only the road and circle driveway showed any signs of use.  They dismounted and tied the horses to a hitching rail.  Before they reached the front door a woman wearing a
maid’s
uniform stepped out and waited for them.

“I’m Marshal Manchester and this is my partner, Deputy Marshal Kate.  We came to see Grandmother Gretchen.”

“May I tell her your business?” the maid asked.

“It’s about
Elmer Knorr.”

“We were told he got drunk and
drown in the lake,
”
she said.

“We need to discuss
this with Grandmother Gretchen,
”
Kate said.

“Well
,
she certainly had nothing to do with it
,” the
maid scoffed.  “She hasn’t been
out of the hou
se in a couple of years.  She’
ll turn ninety next month.”

“We aren’t here to accuse her of anything,” Kate said.  “But, we want to talk to her.  She may know something that will help our investigation.”

“I’ll tell her you are here and what you want.  I’ll be back in a couple of minutes.”

She
went inside and closed the door, leav
ing them standing on the porch.

Man and Kate stood
admiring the house.  “I expect this is one of the nicest and
most
expensive homes in Coeur d’Alene,” she said.

The door opened and the maid stepped back for them to enter.  “Kick the snow off of your boots before coming inside,” she instructed. 
“
If you don’t I’ll have to mop.
”

Kate and Man did as she requested.

“Follow me,” the maid said.  She led the way to a stairway and went up to the second floor.  “Grandmother Gretchen is waiting in what she calls her parlor.  It’s where she greets guest
s
.”

They entered and found her in a chair in front of a window.  The maid made the
introductions.

Grandmother Gretchen motioned for them
to sit in chairs close to he
r.

“She has hearing difficulties,” the maid said.  “Sit close and talk slowly and loud.”

Kate and Man sat and Man was the first to speak.  “We came to visi
t you because we were told you’
re in charge of the Knorr family.  We w
ant to prevent trouble
.  Elmer was murdered and somebody shot at a
Günter
.  Is there a feud brewing between the two families?”

“If there is, I can’t stop it,” she said.  “There has been bad blood between us
for as long as I can remember, but no real violence.
Why wasn’t the death of Elmer determined to be drowning?”

“W
e don’t know,” Kate said. 
“
Police Chief Kincaid called us in to investigate the murder
of Elmer Knorr
and shooting at a
Günter
.  As of now, we don’t have his name.  We were told the bullet only clipped his leg.”

“Hi
s name is
James Holland
er
Günter
, but commonly called Dutch,” she said.  “But, don’t put total faith in what Dutch says.  He craves attention and
if he scraped his leg
, he might report it as a gunshot.  That would be his style.
 
None
of my family say
they did it and
I have faith in their word.  T
hey know b
etter than lie to me.  They
know to be honest
and upright
with me if they want to stay in my will.  A lie to Grandmother Gretchen is the kiss of death to any inheritance.”

The maid was standing by the door nodding agreement.

“Now, back to Elmer, how was he killed?
” she asked.

“We were told he was killed and late
r his body was put in the water,” Man said.
 
“
At the time we were told, Chief Kincaid didn
’t have that information either, but when the doctor examined the body, he said Elmer didn’t drown.
”

“So you think he may have been murdered because he ca
ught Theo in bed with
Rosalind
?” the older woman said.
“
If so
, you’
re wrong.  Hell, everybody in both families knew old Theo was screwing her.
He has been
for years.  She has a
son by him.  That’s no big deal or a reason to start a feud.”

“I suggest you start looking at who Elmer owes money to.  He gambled heavily and drank anything with alcohol in it.
I expe
ct if you dig deep enough
,
you’
ll find he got in a fight over a debt
and somebody killed him.  I
t wasn’
t a Knorr
,
and I will bet it’
s not a
Günter
,
either.”

She leaned
back, crossed her arms over her bosom,
and closed her eyes indicating their visit
had ended.  The maid gestured toward the door.

Kate and Man followed
her to the front door.  “A name you might look into
is Bed
ford Nail,” she said as she closed the door.