Bill's Reaction – Chapter 21
Monday Morning
Elizabeth's Room
Elizabeth rose early with great anticipation of what the day might bring. Later this morning she was meeting with Chief Superintendent Collins regarding the sequence of events that caused Jack's death. Today, she just might get closure and her healing may truly begin.
She could start to move forward with her life.
Ironically, it was through the conversation with the Chief's wife, Edna, that she also learned it was possible to deeply love and have a successful, long-term marriage with another Mountie.
Hmmm…Elizabeth was also looking forward to meeting Edna for afternoon tea. She had a few questions for her, too.
She dressed Little Jack in some play clothes and then dressed herself with care. A simple dusty rose skirt with a white blouse would suffice. Thankfully, her 'Hope Valley attire' would be suitable for today's events, so she wouldn't have to raid her sisters' closets, again.
Breakfast
Joining her parents and Little Jack in the dining room for breakfast, she turned to her mother and said, "Mother, I know it is still early in my trip, however, I am sorry we haven't been able to spend more time together." Mindful of Nathan's expected call on Wednesday evening, she asked, "If Father will mind Little Jack, perhaps we could spend Wednesday afternoon together – just the two of us. Would you like that?"
Grace looked appreciatively at her daughter and said, "Elizabeth, I would love that. Perhaps an afternoon together and then we could have dinner out at The Club?" Without waiting for Elizabeth's reply, Grace turned to William, "Dear, would you mind caring for Little Jack?"
Elizabeth interjected, "Actually, Mother, I need to be home early on Wednesday. I need to put Little Jack down for the night early, as I am expecting a call from a friend, around 7 p.m. How about we meet earlier for lunch at your club and then spend the afternoon together?"
Elizabeth looked pleadingly at her father and asked, "Father, would you please be able to watch Little Jack on Wednesday afternoon?"
It was all William could do to keep from smiling, broadly. 'So, they are communicating', he thought to himself. 'Interesting turn of events.'
To his daughter, he answered, "Absolutely, Elizabeth. When I go in this morning, I will let Charles know I am taking Wednesday off to be with my grandson."
Elizabeth stood up and thanked her father with a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you, Father. I just know Little Jack will have such fun with you, and Mother and I will get a chance to spend some quality time together."
Elizabeth resumed her seat at the table until breakfast was over. She took the opportunity to tell her parents about the day she had planned.
To her mother, she said, "Thank you, Mother, for looking after Little Jack today. I have a very full day today. It is so special to me that you will get to spend the whole day together."
Grace, normally not an emotional woman, got all choked up. "Elizabeth, it means the world to me that you trust me to care for my precious grandson, on my own. I hope you find the answers you need."
Elizabeth reached over and gave her mother an appreciative hug. "Thank you, Mother."
Bayfront Park, Hamilton
Elizabeth left her parents' home in plenty of time to make the 9 a.m. meeting and walked the short distance to the elegant park. Not a play-park for children, but more of an adult park along the waterfront where couples came on romantic walks when they were courting. There was even a gazebo overlooking the water, where many couples had their first unchaperoned kiss. She had also heard the same gazebo was the setting of many sunset wedding proposals.
As young people, Elizabeth and her sisters had gone walking in the park but their visits had nothing to do with romance. She regretted not having had a chance to bring Jack down here to enjoy the view through his eyes. She hoped she would one day be able to share this scene with Nathan.
She was lost in her thoughts when she heard a man's voice call her by name.
Elizabeth snapped back to reality when she realized Chief Superintendent Collins had arrived and was speaking to her. She was surprised to see he was not wearing the Serge, but was dressed in casual attire. She found that odd, but decided not to address it.
"Good morning, Chief. I do hope I have not kept you waiting. I allowed myself to take in the beautiful scenery and I'm afraid my mind wandered."
He sat down at the opposite end of the park bench she was seated on, and turned to look at her.
"Not to worry, Mrs. Thornton. It is a beautiful spot." The Chief looked at Elizabeth directly and said, "Shall we get down to business? You told me you had a few questions for me surrounding Constable Thornton's death."
"Yes, Sir. Thank you for meeting with me."
He nodded at her and waited for her to continue.
"Chief, as you are aware, three years ago my husband, Jack, died in what has always been described as a tragic accident. However, I have unexpectedly learned some information that would indicate if it was an accident, it was a most preventable one. I have had difficulty gaining closure to my husband's death, which has prevented me from moving on with my life. Now, I find the most recent information disturbing and distressing."
"Mrs. Thornton, I will certainly try to help you but you must understand, some things may be too sensitive to speak about."
Chief Superintendent Collins looked at Elizabeth sympathetically with a sad smile, and continued, "Why don't you ask me your questions and I will answer what I can. Does that sound reasonable?"
Elizabeth nodded her understanding and started asking her questions.
"Chief, were you aware my husband, Jack Thornton, tried to stop the training session due to the conditions of the training area and was ordered to continue by Superintendent Hargraves?"
The Chief replied sadly, "Yes, I was made aware of that."
Elizabeth's eyes filled up as she asked her next question, "My understanding is Constable Grant also attempted to stop the training session by going so far as to call you directly. Did you speak with Constable Grant and if so, did you overturn Hargraves' original decision?"
The Chief was surprised at this question and gave her a shocked look. Instead of answering her question, he pointedly asked, "Who is your source, Mrs. Thornton?"
Elizabeth looked at him wryly and said, "I am not prepared to disclose that information, Sir. After Jack's passing, I was in no condition to look for answers. I knew his death was investigated; however, I never knew the outcome. Recently, I met someone who had knowledge of the facts of that day and was willing to share them with me. It is not my intent to ever disclose that person's identity." She then restated her question.
This time, she received a reply. "As previously stated, I was made aware of the conditions and no, I did not overturn the original decision because the message did not reach me in time. Unfortunately, by the time my staff were able to relay the message, fate had already intervened."
With a voice full of regret, the Chief continued to reminisce about that day. "There had been a horrible mix-up and I was not where my schedule indicated I would be. When Constable Grant called me, I was not in my office. He made my staff aware of the urgency of the matter; they tried to reach me but could not. I found out about the phone call, much later. I deeply regretted being unavailable to my staff that day. Jack was an excellent Mountie and it personally hurt me to lose him. If circumstances had been different, he could have been the one in charge rather than just the training officer."
Elizabeth gasped and the chief realized he had said too much, but it was too late.
When she finally recovered, she asked, "What did you mean when you said 'if circumstances had been different'?"
Collins sighed deeply and he knew there was no way out, now. He responded, "After the trouble in the Northern Territories had ended, I wanted to promote Jack to the role of Superintendent. He formally declined it."
He shook his head in disbelief and continued, "He was leadership material and I needed a strong leader on the Frontier. The intent was to expand the Hope Valley post into a smaller Operations Center. As a member of leadership, he would have had more responsibility; however, he would not have been exposed to the more adventure-filled cases."
Elizabeth was shaking at this point. She looked at the chief and exclaimed, "Does that mean he would have had less dangerous assignments?"
All Collins could do was lower his eyes to the ground and nod his head.
Elizabeth was reeling.
She soon realized Jack had made an important life decision without consulting her, despite the fact that they were engaged to be married.
He had deliberately chosen to take life's more dangerous path. His death, although preventable, was less about his role as a Mountie and more about his personality; he felt called to face danger.
Then it hit her like a ton of bricks - Jack turned down a leadership role on the Frontier, which would have been a safer position within the Mounties. Now he was gone, and she was left with a book she wrote that bore the bittersweet title "A Single Mother on the Frontier."
Oh, the painful irony of it all.
Collins knew he had dropped a bombshell on her and he hated himself for it. He knew he said too much as soon as he had uttered the words, however he couldn't take them back.
He gave Elizabeth a sorrowful look and told her how much he regretted telling her that information. "My deepest apologies. I never meant to ever disclose that information."
He quietly asked if she had any further questions.
Elizabeth managed to ask her remaining questions despite still being in shock, "I do have a couple of additional questions. Were you aware that Constable Nathan Grant was at Fort Clay at the same time and was to be the original training officer, except he was disciplined by Hargraves for arresting criminals before they crossed a border and became inaccessible?"
Collins, grateful to subside any further questions about Jack, quickly responded. "Yes, I was aware."
This led to Elizabeth's final question, "Did Hargraves call the inquiry against Nathan last spring because there were honest questions about Nathan's conduct during the prisoner transfer or was Hargraves seeking retaliation against Nathan and decided to let it go, after Allie Grant's impassioned speech about her uncle?"
Collins noticed that she referenced him using the more personal 'Nathan' instead of 'Constable Grant' but decided not to pursue that line of questioning with her. He had already shocked her with some information; he didn't want to embarrass her, too.
Looking at Elizabeth, he replied, "Actually, Mrs. Thornton, I really shouldn't be telling you this, but we've come this far. You may recall I told you yesterday that I did not want this meeting held at my office. Well, the reason for that is, an investigation has been launched into some decisions made by Superintendent Hargraves - including the decision to proceed with training recruits in unsafe conditions and the two separate incidents with Constable Grant."
He stopped and took a cleansing breath before continuing, "That is why it is imperative I know who your source of information is. Now that you know this information, will you trust me with the name of your source?"
Elizabeth pressed her lips together and shook her head. "I'm sorry, Chief, but I will not release the name without consent from the party in question. An investigation into Hargraves actions is warranted, however, it will not bring Jack back, nor will it clear Nathan's record."
The chief looked at Elizabeth and said, "We are not looking to indict this person. In fact, we want to call this person as a witness against Hargraves, should the case proceed. Please give this some consideration. As for Constable Grant's record, I am personally working on getting that cleared. Your witness would make that task easier."
Almost as an afterthought, Collins stated, "By the way, the impassioned plea from the young girl did nothing to change Hargraves' mind. In the course of our investigation, the original documents were seized as evidence. He definitely intended to convict Constable Grant. While it has not been proven, I think he changed his mind because of your presence at the hearing. The original document had 'Mrs. THORNTON' written in the margin with the word 'impeccable' written underneath."
He paused for effect, before continuing with, "I believe Hargraves made the connection between you and Constable Thornton and quickly changed his mind about convicting Constable Grant. He knew that, as a Mountie's widow, if you decided to question a conviction of someone you found 'impeccable', your questions would be treated with respect and fully investigated. He could not afford to have the light shone on himself. The irony is, that is exactly what happened."
Special thanks to Mamabethany for her valuable assistance. :)