Ben and Barbara had made plans to meet the following morning around nine. He asked to borrow the Cole's buggy again to get him to the Dameron estate. Because it was overcast and looked like it could rain, he was going to suggest that they travel in her coach around the city. When he arrived at Barbara's, Charlotte answered the bell instead of Harrison.
"Well, good morning Charlotte. I was expecting Harrison to answer the door."
"Good morning, Mr. Cartwright. Yes, I think he must be ill today. We've not seen him at all this morning. Follow me please. Mrs. Dameron is taking her breakfast in the dining hall."
Charlotte led the way to the dining hall where Barbara sat sipping her coffee. Ben did not hesitate when the housekeeper motioned for him to enter.
"Good morning, Barbara." He moved to her side and leaned down to kiss her cheek.
"Good morning, Ben. Seeing you has brightened this dreary morning. Would you like a cup of coffee?"
"Yes, thank you."
"Charlotte would you please bring a cup for Mr. Cartwright and ring Calvin to take care of his buggy and bring the coach around."
"Yes, ma'am", Charlotte replied and took her leave.
Ben smiled at Barbara. "Well, good to know we are thinking along the same lines. It looks like rain."
"Yes it does, and the winds can kick up and make it a nasty business."
Charlotte had been standing in the background smiling and enjoying watching the sweetness of their greeting and the ease of their communication. Ben and Barbara were growing quite comfortable in each other's presence already.
About half an hour later the bell rang for the front door. Charlotte came into the dining hall looking a bit puzzled and requested that Ben come and speak with Calvin outside, but that Mrs. Dameron need not come. Thinking that it must have something to do with the Cole's horse and buggy, Ben excused himself and went to find out what the coachman wanted. Calvin was waiting for him just outside the front door looking quite distressed.
"Calvin? Is something wrong?"
The coachman could barely get out his words. "Yes, Mr. Cartwright. Something is very wrong. I didn't know what to do that's why I asked for you."
"Certainly. I am glad to help. What do you need?"
"Please follow me, sir."
Ben walked alongside Calvin out to the lane to find a man who appeared to be in great distress sitting hugging his knees to his chest and rocking back and forth and occasionally emitting pitiful moans. Ben looked at the man and then at Calvin with questioning eyes.
"Mr. Cartwright this is Henry, the gardener."
Ben looked on the man with great concern. "Henry, can you tell me what is troubling you?"
Henry covered his face with his hands and shook his head before rasping. "It's Harrison….", he sobbed. "Only you wouldn't know it except for his clothes."
"What? Where?" Ben asked incredulously.
Henry nodded to his right. "Behind the hedge...I came up on him...while I was trimming the bushes." Henry went back to rocking and sobbing.
"Henry's no softie, Mr. Cartwright. The way he is acting I didn't have the nerve to go look." Calvin was growing increasingly pale.
Ben had seen more than his fair share of horrible things throughout the years and had no desire to see any more, but someone needed to have look. Cautiously he proceeded in the direction Henry had motioned. Even though he thought it might be something awful, it was far more gruesome than he expected. The body was definitely Harrison's, identifiable by his clothing and build, but just as Henry had said, his face was unrecognizable, beaten beyond belief. Ben had to look away momentarily to gain the mental fortitude to process the situation. He turned and walked quickly back to Calvin and Henry.
"Calvin, do you have a blanket in the coach box?"
"Yes, sir. I'll get it for you."
Calvin handed Ben the heavy, wool blanket. "Take Henry to the stable and stay with him for the time being. Give him whiskey if you've got it to calm him down. He's had a terrible shock. I will ring for you if I need you."
Calvin nodded. Ben and he worked together to get Henry on his feet.
"Mr. Cartwright...I'm sorry to have put this on you." Calvin dropped his head in embarrassment.
"It's alright, Calvin. It's not a task that anyone would have wanted."
Ben walked back to where Harrison's body laid and covered it with the blanket. If at all possible, he did not want to move the body until the authorities came and looked for clues. He tried to gather his thoughts, dreading having to tell Barbara and Charlotte what had happened. He entered the house and walked back into the dining hall. Ben tried to force a smile, but Barbara was too good at reading faces not to detect his strained expression.
"Ben, something is wrong. It's Harrison, isn't it? I've had a bad feeling all morning. It's just not like him to disappear."
He nodded. "Yes, it's bad. He's been killed."
Barbara gasped and Ben took her hand as she began to sob. She stood and he pulled her into a comforting embrace.
Ben went on. "Henry found him while he was doing his work."
"Oh dear God! Who would do such a thing to Harrison?" Her sobs choked out her voice for some time, but then something came to her mind. "Wait! Wait! The other night he told me there was a drunk man who had wandered onto the property. I knew that it did not make any sense at the time, but I was frightened and had no reason not to believe Harrison. Do you suppose there is a connection? He has never lied to me as far as I know."
"I'm not sure, Barbara. It's possible that the two incidents are connected, but I think we should check his quarters just to see if anything looks out of order.
Suddenly Ben and Barbara realized that an ashen-faced Charlotte was standing near. Concerned that she might pass out, Ben released Barbara and brought Charlotte to the table to sit down. Barbara patted the young woman's hand.
"I know, my dear, it's an awful thing. Do not worry about any duties today. You will be alright with us." Barbara tried to offer as much comfort as she could.
Charlotte burst into tears. "I feel horrible. I didn't particularly care for Harrison, but I never wanted him dead." She covered her face and sobbed.
Ben and Barbara gave Charlotte some time to collect herself before the three of them went to Harrison's room. Charlotte hung back and did not want to go in; Ben told her she could wait in the hallway unless they found something they needed her to look at. Ben opened the wardrobe and Barbara looked through the dresser drawers. It felt so strange to her to be going through Harrison's person things.
"How did this get in among his things?" Barbara pulled a hand gun from the drawer she had been looking in.
Ben came over to see that she was holding an old pistol. "That's not Harrison's?"
"Absolutely not! It's part of James' gun collection from the study." She began frantically pulling drawers open. "And here is another. Oh my goodness, Ben. He was a thief! I trusted him implicitly, and he was a common thief!"
Ben looked more carefully at the pistols. "Well, a thief, yes, but maybe not so common. I'm sure these are quite valuable, are they not?"
"James kept what he considered his most valuable possessions in the study. No one was supposed to have been in there since James passed. Charlotte have you been in the study?"
"No ma'am?", Charlotte called from the hall.
"DId you ever see Harrison coming or going from the study since Mr. Dameron passed away?"
"No ma'am, I didn't."
Barbara handed the pistols to Ben. "We had better go check the study. Who knows what else he might have taken."
Ben followed Barbara down the hallway. "Let's go check this out, but then we must go and inform the authorities before any clues are lost because of the weather."
When they got to the study, Barbara reached into a vase, pulled out the key the door, and held it up for Ben to see. "Somehow Harrison knew about this. He had to."
The three entered the dark, rich wood-paneled room that smelled like a combination of mustiness and oil. The drapes were pulled but blowing in the breeze."
"What's this? Someone has opened the window." Barbara shouted.
"No wait! You ladies stay there by the door until I check it out. I don't want to risk either of you getting hurt." Ben instructed.
When he pulled back the drapes it was obvious that the window had been broken. He picked up the largest pieces of glass and piled them in a corner. After examining the area, he felt it was safe for them to move about the room. Because it was an overcast day, the room was still quite dark; so Ben lit the lamp on the large desk that sat in the middle of the room and Barbara lit the two wall lamps. It immediately became apparent that most of the items were missing from the shelves around the room.
Barbara stood with slumped shoulders. "His precious possessions are gone. Almost everything is gone. How was Harrison able to do this without anyone knowing. I've been such a fool. He knew that I could not bear to come into this room. He knew…" Her voice trailed away.
Before Ben could get to Barbara, Charlotte placed her hand on her mistress' arm. "Don't blame yourself, ma'am. You loved Mr. Dameron so much. It was just too hard for you. You couldn't have known that Harrison was such a bad man. It's not your fault."
"Charlotte's right, you know. It's very difficult to stop a determined thief. You were most likely out of the house or asleep while this was going on." Ben added.
He held the lamp and further examined the window and the area around it. "My guess it that this window has not been broken for very long. Otherwise, there would be weather damage to the window sill and the floor, but there is none." He carefully pulled the shutters closed and latched them.
"That's one thing to be grateful for in this horrible mess. I'll have to get Henry to put some boards up until we can get some new glass."
"Well, ladies, we need to be moving along. I would like both of you to pack a few days of clothing. I'm sure that Tom and Edith will be willing to put you up for a while. For the time being, it is not safe for you to be staying here."
Ben motioned them out of the study and he blew out the lamps before leaving the room. Barbara locked the door, but kept the key with her.
They were soon on their way to talk with the authorities. What they did not see while they were traveling about was the coach that followed from a safe distance until they neared the Cole estate.