At Harper's Ferry by Paul Westwood

  *

  Jack took the long way back to the office. There he sat at his desk. He pulled a whiskey bottle from the desktop drawer and took a large swallow. He grinned and sighed as he took another hit off of the bottle. Now that he knew Lewis Abbott was one of the last people to see Lawrence, it would only be a matter of time before he was able to end the case. Once he did that, Faith would be deeply in his debt. Perhaps he could get to see her more often. She was a fine looking woman, he thought to himself. It was so surprising that she had not been married yet.

  Ezra stepped in through the doorway and looked at Jack with an appraising eye. “Well, how was your visit to the Hanson family?” he asked with a slight trace of humor.

  “It was very interesting, Ezra. It seems like Miss Hanson wanted to run away with me.”

  “What? That doesn’t make any sense.”

  “I guess she is getting a little lonely living in that house with her father.”

  “I imagine so,” Ezra said, his eyes twinkling. “Were they upset that we still haven’t located Lawrence?”

  “I think their patience is wearing a little thin. But before we go visit Abbott again, let’s look at what we know.” Jack lit a cigar before continuing. “The main mystery is the location of Lawrence. He is the key to this whole thing. If he still has the papers in his possession, then he must be hiding out somewhere. With Lewis Abbott involved, he could use his influence to help Lawrence disappear. But he would be sure to keep a close eye on the papers until payment was received. They must be meeting an agent from the Secessionist states who will come up to Washington and pay for the plans.”

  “Why didn’t they just run south?” Ezra asked.

  “That probably was their idea at first, but they weren’t planning on the disappearance causing so much trouble here in Washington. Once Forsythe knew about the theft, they could be sure that if Lawrence tried to leave Washington, they would have been stopped. At that point, the best thing was to hole up until they could either safely get away or pass the papers on.”

  Ezra looked skeptical. “That could be. But why didn’t Abbott just leave and take the papers himself?”

  “That’s a good question. I would guess that he didn’t want to take the chance. He’s been able to get out of bad situations before, but this is treason, which is making him more cautious than ever. Anyways, why should he leave Washington, when he can sit back and get someone else to come up here instead? As long as he remains in the city, he can continue to serve the Secessionists in his fashion.”

  “Let’s go question Abbott again,” Ezra suggested impatiently.

  “We shall,” Jack agreed. “But first, I want to see Elizabeth Mulholland.”

  “Why should we even bother seeing her? Abbott is our man.”

  “Call it a hunch. I want to know more about who Lawrence is before we question Abbott. I want to know if this young man would volunteer for such work or if he is being coerced by the idea that he can be with Mulholland. Lawrence Hanson is not quite the person his family makes him out to be. Who better to ask than the woman who slept with him?”

  “There is no evidence that he ever started seeing her again.”

  Jack shrugged. “That may be so, but if he is away from his father – perhaps he would be willing to take that chance.”

  “That’s a big risk to take if he knows the government is after him.”

  “You’ll be surprised what a man will do for a woman.”