Chapter Forty-Eight

Nick for his part was working hard to restrain the urge to kick the agents out, as he caught Jarrod's warning glance as they walked into the front room. His brother knew how his temper worked, but also understood the seriousness of the situation. Several minutes were spent getting coffee for Agent Fornell and lemonade for Agent Cannon. Jarrod noticed that the older agent cast a longing look at the scotch he was pouring for himself, and wished he could offer the man some.

"Mrs. Barkley, I don't want to upset you, but do need to know why you went to visit a man who is head of a powerful anti-government organization." Agent Fornell took a sip of his coffee, as he made his opening statement. He wished he could discretely put some scotch into it, but then looked at the junior agent and sighed. The young man would report him without a second thought, Thomas Fornell thought. Mentally sighing, he turned his attention back to the woman who probably held the key that they needed.

"Why don't you start by telling me how you know the man? You referred to him as Uncle Lanier? Are you related?" In fact he knew they weren't, but in his long career he had found that asking simple questions he already knew the answer to could set the stage for a smoother interview. Agent Fornell could tell that Eric Cannon was all set to rebut the question, but he shot the young man a sharp look.

"No, we are not related, but he is an old family friend; my daddy and him did business together both in the private and public sectors." Edwina offered, since it was clear the men knew who her father had been. "I first met him in the fall of 1865, when I was living in Charleston, with my late husband's mother. By then daddy was in prison, and our lands had been confiscated. Uncle Lanier came to see me, and introduced himself, saying that my father had asked him to look out for me. He went on to explain that my father would be pardoned eventually, but had to spend some time in prison, to appease certain government officials." The sadness in her voice was apparent as she made the statement.

"You said that this man, Lanier Harrison, knew your father would be pardoned? How did he know that?" Agent Fornell asked, finding the statement to be interesting. It had always been suspected that the Knights had friends in high places, and now he was hearing proof of that.

"I really don't know. Uncle Lanier had lots of government friends, and when my daddy was treasury secretary he worked with him." Edwina shrugged her shoulders, and the older agent indicated for her to go on with her story. He would love to know who those friends were, but doubted that this woman would be able to give him any names.

"He was very nice, but I really didn't want to take the help he was offering, because it felt like charity." She paused here, as she looked at Nick, as if for reassurance. "You see though, it wasn't just me! There was my thirteen year old cousin who was living with me, my late husband's mother who was elderly and ill, as well as his sister and her three children. Her husband had been captured during the war, and was still in Rock Island, waiting to get home." She sighed, and Nick came over and put his hand on her shoulder, making her smile up at him.

Jarrod had been watching her intently, studying her movements and facial expressions. Now though, as he thought about what she was saying, it came to him that he'd never asked her about her time in Charleston. Doing some calculations in his head, Jarrod realized that she would only have been seventeen or eighteen at the time, trying to deal with the end of the world as she'd known it.

"Charleston was an occupied city, under martial law that wasn't well enforced. There were food shortages, and the economy was in shambles." Edwina explained, but then was interrupted.

"It was your own fault that it was that way! You people started the war!" Eric Cannon snarled, almost into her face as he reached across the table. The thought that this woman should think they would feel sorry for her was too much for him.

"DO NOT TALK TO MY WIFE LIKE THAT!" Nick roared, as he went to stand next to Eric, forcing him back against the chair. Agent Fornell knew that he should tell the tall man not to talk to a government agent that way, but wasn't going to help out. Instead he glared at the young man, making it clear what he thought of his behavior.

"Isn't there some kind of finishing school you could send him too?" Edwina observed dryly, while Jarrod reached over to Nick, wanting him to step back. The last thing they needed was for him to be charged with assault on a federal agent.

"Mrs. Barkley, please go on with your story. Agent Cannon will restrain himself." Thomas Fornell announced, privately thinking that the young man was not going to have a long term career with the agency.

"The only way you could work is to take the oath of allegiance, which I was willing to do. However, since daddy had been convicted of treason I wasn't allowed too." Edwina stated. "I had to take Uncle Lanier's help, so we would all have food. He was very good about it, and he also saw to it that we were left alone by the government authorities, who had been suspicious of us, because of daddy. Uncle Lanier managed to get my sister-in-law's husband home from Chicago, and later he arranged for me to go visit daddy at Ft. Pulaski – everything – passes, and transportation. We would not have survived if not for him." She felt tears start to fill her eyes, as she remembered how kind he had been to her during that time.

"I'm sorry I don't mean to get so emotional, it's just lately." Edwina stopped as Nick handed her his handkerchief, before sitting down next to her on the small sofa. He put his arm around her protectively, as he pulled her close.

"Is this really necessary, Agent Fornell? My wife is in a delicate condition and doesn't need to be upset." Nick asked, looking over at Jarrod for some help with the matter. He privately thought he deserved a pat on the back for being as restrained as he was.

"I have to agree with my brother about this, Agent Fornell." Jarrod had been listening to Edwina's story, trying to imagine Audra in the same situation. Nick looking at him brought him back to the present. "What information do you think my sister-in-law could provide?" He hoped that the statement would move things along.

"Mrs. Barkley, I'm sorry to bring up old memories, but we need to know about Lanier Harrison." Agent Fornell tried to sound placating, not wanting the woman to faint. He could see exactly what the delicate condition was.

"When daddy was pardoned, in 1870, Uncle Lanier offered him a job with his mining consortium in Carson City. The plan was that daddy would handle their legal and business affairs, as his main client, but he would be free to take on other business too. There was nothing left for me in South Carolina, so I went along." Edwina twisted the handkerchief in her lap as she talked. "Uncle Lanier set us up with a house, and arranged an office for daddy. He wasn't sure how much business there would be, so I acted as his secretary, to keep expenses down."

"It wasn't mining business though, was it Mrs. Barkley?" Agent Cannon was quivering as he asked his question, causing everyone to look at him strangely. He could tell that his partner wasn't happy with him, but he didn't care. Eric had not spent two years in Carson City gathering the information, just to turn it over to someone else.

"Yes, Agent Cannon, it was mining business. Uncle Lanier owned quite a few mines, which he had brought various partners in on. He also owned numerous other businesses too." Edwina did not care for the young man, but knew that she had to be careful. "There was a filing cabinet in my father's office that only he had the key to. He told me that there were certain business deals that the mining consortium wanted kept secret."

"Mrs. Barkley I think you know a great deal more than you are letting on. Why don't you let me tell you what we know, and then you can fill in the blanks." Agent Fornell decided to step up the pace of the interview. "Your father negotiated gold from South America, to help the Confederate government in the final days of the war. Your late husband and your cousin transported it to your old plantation. The plan was for your father to take it to Richmond, but he wasn't able to; instead he hid it." Agent Fornell paused to take a sip of his coffee.

"The Knights of the Golden Circle, which your father was a member of, wanted that gold to finance their campaign of terror against freed slaves. In return for your father's pardon, they received the gold and your father's acumen in managing it." The older man gave her a piercing stare, to see if she was listening. "Lanier Harrison was the head of the organization, the Grand Knight. Unfortunately your father was too clever, and we have never been able to get our hands on any incriminating evidence." The implication was until now, which hung in the air.

Jarrod was listening to what the agent was saying, and remembered what Brent St. Claire had said about the gold. It was clear that Brent had been right, about the gold having been hidden by Edwina's father, to protect him. She had denied it that day, but she must have known the true story, Jarrod mused. He also wondered what evidence the Secret Service thought she might have.

"You were seen leaving the hotel carrying a wrapped, rectangular package, Mrs. Barkley. May I ask what was in it?" Agent Fornell rather doubted it was what Eric Cannon thought it was, but then you never knew. He would love to know the exact dispensation of the gold, but doubted that she would be able to answer that question.

"Edwina, would you like to talk to me privately, before you answer that question?" Jarrod felt a cold chill all of a sudden, at what she might be involved in. He knew that she would go to any length to protect her father; he'd seen that already.

"Thank you Jarrod, but that won't be necessary. While I find this whole thing very intrusive, I do want to cooperate with the government." Edwina hated the thought that she'd been spied on, but knew there wasn't much she could do about it. "The package was a framed picture that my father had given to Uncle Lanier years ago; he wanted me to have it as a memory of my father."

"Would you mind showing us the picture, Mrs. Barkley?" Agent Fornell inquired, wanting to see what she did. As of now he had not seen any kind of dishonesty in her answers, or her body movements. Over the course of his fifteen years with the agency, he had interviewed enough liars to know when the truth was being stated. It was one thing that someone like Eric Cannon could not learn at university, which was how to read a person.

"Really?" Edwina queried with a puzzled look on her face. "Nick, would you mind getting it." She went on to mention where it was, and Nick stood up with annoyance, as he went to get it. The next several minutes were spent in uncomfortable silence, while Jarrod helped himself to more scotch. He was relieved at her responses to the agents, as well as the information that the package had only been a picture. It was making him wonder about just how effective the Secret Service could really be, if this was an example of their work.

Nick returned carrying a framed picture of a hunting dog surrounded by three dead ducks. The colors were brilliant, and the detail, especially of the birds, was exquisite. When you looked at the picture you felt like you could reach out and actually touch the feathers. Looking closer at the picture you noticed the details of the foliage, and the still water in the background, making you almost able to smell the damp and decay of the swamp.

"Daddy and Uncle Lanier went hunting a lot, before the war, at Uncle Lanier's family hunting lodge in Louisiana. My father gave the picture to Uncle Lanier one year, as a thank you gift. It is extra special because it was done by John James Audubon." Edwina took the picture from Nick, and showed it to the agents. "Uncle Lanier's family home was not that far from St. Francisville, where Audubon had worked as tutor. My understanding is that the picture is rather unusual, because of the dog being in it; normally he only did birds."

"This is what was in the package you were carrying?" Agent Cannon seemed shocked and displeased about the fact. It was clear that he was expecting something else, and looked at her with disbelief.

"Yes, it was. I don't know what else to say." Edwina replied, trying to figure out what the man had thought it would be.

"Mrs. Barkley, the Secret Service spent two years in Carson City, gathering information on the Knights and your father, as well as your Uncle Lanier." Agent Fornell wasn't going to give Eric Cannon any credit if he could help it. "We know that a journal was kept, in which were recorded all the activities of the Knights in their terror campaign, along with how it was all paid for; in other words the South American gold." He could tell that he had everyone's attention, especially Eric Cannon, who had not missed how his contribution was left out.

"That journal was kept by your father, until he gave up his law practice, several months before his passing. It was assumed to have gone to Lanier Harrison, for safe keeping. However, it has not been located so far." Thomas Fornell made his pronouncement, and sat back, waiting to see what Edwina's reaction would be.

"I don't know that I can help you with that, Agent Fornell. After daddy couldn't practice law anymore, Uncle Lanier took the files from the office." Edwina replied with a shrug of her shoulders. Jarrod was watching her and felt the same cold fear hit him again. He would bet his last dollar that she did know all about that journal.

"Mrs. Barkley, that journal is proof of crimes against the United States. If you know anything about it, and are holding back out of false loyalty, you could be charged with obstructing justice." Agent Fornell informed her in a no-nonsense voice.

"Agent Fornell, why would you think the Knights would give it to me?" Her voice held the right amount of incredulity at the suggestion, Jarrod noted. "I would imagine that if it does exist, it is probably locked in some safe in Carson City." He had to give her points for throwing doubt on the idea of the journal in general. It reminded him of how she had tried to redirect Brent St. Claire that afternoon.

"What do you mean, if it does exist? Of course it does!" Eric Cannon had been sulking about not being given credit for his work in Carson City. Now, this woman who stood for everything he hated was disparaging it too. "I spent too long in Nevada, and worked too hard, not to know that the journal is real!"

"Agent Cannon, I don't know what you heard, or were told, in Carson City, but there is an old adage about not believing everything you hear." Edwina raked her eyes over the small, slight man. "I'm sure everyone knew you were a government agent, and they probably told you tales to see how gullible you were." It was hard to imagine him being any kind of effective agent, in her opinion.

Thomas Fornell looked over at Eric Cannon and was tempted to tell him to grow a set of balls. He decided then and there that if nothing else came from this investigation, he was going to see to it that the young man had no future with the agency.

"Gentlemen, I understand your need to find that journal, but I think my sister-in-law has helped you all she can." Jarrod injected himself into the conversation, while privately thinking or she has helped you all she will. He was finding it hard to remember Madeline's request to give Edwina the benefit of the doubt.

"Mrs. Barkley, we are sorry for disturbing your evening, but we had to make sure that you didn't have information that could help us." Agent Fornell stood up, seeing that he was going to get nothing more from the woman. There was also the matter of Eric Cannon, and his behavior; Thomas Fornell chuckled to himself at Edwina Barkley's comment about finishing school. He would see to it that the young man was finished. They said their goodbyes, and went outside to where their hired buggy was waiting for them.

"Why don't we subpoena her, to testify before the grand jury? She would have to tell us the truth then! I know she is lying!" Eric Cannon angrily spewed the words, not believing that his supervisor was letting her off the hook so easily. Thomas Fornell raised his eyebrows, as he looked at the young man his mind boggling at what was being suggested.

"You want to drag a woman, who is in the family way, in front of the grand jury, to tell them all about how kind old Uncle Lanier kept her from starving to death?" He was sure that Edwina Barkley would have the jury eating out of her hand. "By the time she was done they wouldn't convict her, or Lanier Harrison! No, we can't do that. I also have to wonder if she might not be right about that journal that you go on about. Are you sure it exists?" The rest of the drive into town was spent with Eric trying to convince the older man.

Author's Note: The references to John James Audubon, in St. Francisville, Louisiana are factual. I have not been to the Oakley Plantation, where he was a tutor, but have to been other neighboring plantation homes, during the St. Francisville Spring Garden Stroll. The event takes place in late March, with a number of old historic, lovely homes being open to the public. My personal favorite was Rosedown Plantation, but there were a number of other town homes and plantation houses to enjoy!

Author's Second Note: Audubon is known for his drawings of birds, but he also did other animals in some of his pictures. Examples of foxes, deer, bear, squirrel, and beaver can be found in lesser known prints. I did not come across a picture that included a hunting dog; however I don't see it as being a reach that he would have done such a picture, if commissioned.