Chapter 10
During the next week, Jeremy listens to Candy over and over about her wanting to turn herself in for murder. Jeremy is very supportive of her, but he keeps insisting it was not murder. They argue, they cry, they make up, then the cycle starts all over again. He advises her on what he thinks she should do. Candy listens, but. . .
One morning as Jeremy is fixing breakfast, he talks with his brothers who have stopped by. Candy comes quietly down the stairs and seeing that Jeremy is preoccupied, slips past the kitchen and goes out the door. She knows that Jeremy will be upset with her for what she is about to do, but he'll understand why she's doing this and he'll stand by her. It's just something that has to be done. She laid awake most of the night figuring out what to say and do.
When Candy arrives at Stempel Mills, she barges into Aaron's office. "Aaron, I need to talk to you. I killed Richard Holiday. Arrest me."
Aaron stops talking to Harve and looks up at her. "Candy, what in the world! So you remember now, do you? I'm not going to arrest you. Go on back home."
"No Aaron, I won't." She glances at Harve. "Hello Harve. Do you mind if I talk privately with Aaron?"
Straightening up Harve says, "I guess you can. We're about through anyways."
"Candy, where is Jeremy?" Aaron asks. "Does Jeremy even know you're here?"
"Jeremy's at home and no, he doesn't know I'm here. He keeps trying to stop me from talking to you. But I need to do this, Aaron. Now."
"All right, Candy. Let me get the men started on their job and I'll return so we can have our talk. Should only take me a couple of minutes. Go ahead and have a seat. There's coffee in the pot if you want any." He goes outside with Harve and shuts the door.
"Harve, get over to Jeremy's. Tell him to come get his wife. I'll try to keep her talking until he gets here."
"All right, Stempel. Be back shortly." Harve takes off running to Jeremy's house.
"All right Candy, now what do you want to talk about?" Aaron asks as he re-enters his office.
"I thought it was obvious. I want you to arrest me, Aaron."
"Arrest you. I see. And why would I arrest you?"
"Because I murdered Richard Holiday. Now do your duty."
"Candy, you did not murder Holiday. I'm not going to arrest you for defending yourself and for trying to protect your baby. Maybe we should wait for Jeremy. Oops," he cringes.
"Jeremy? You sent for Jeremy?"
"I didn't mean to tell you, but well, yes I did."
"Jeremy won't be any help. He'll just make excuses on why I shouldn't talk to you."
"Smart man, that Jeremy. Sounds like you should listen to him."
Candy stands and demands, "So you're saying you're not going to arrest me?"
"Yes, that's exactly what I've been saying. Now you can either wait here for Jeremy or you can meet him on your way back home. Your choice."
Exasperated, Candy stomps her foot. She rushes out the door slamming it so hard the window pane breaks.
"Men! I'll show them!" she says as she marches to the jail and let's herself in. She looks around for the keys to the cell door. Finding them in the desk drawer, she goes inside the cell and closes the door behind her. Then she drops the keys down inside her blouse neckline as she sits on the cot in the cell. Eventually, she moves back into the corner and sits and waits. And waits.
Harve bangs on the door of Jeremy's home while calling his name. "Jeremy! Jeremy Bolt!"
Jeremy opens the door with his brothers behind him. "Harve, what on earth is wrong? You need to be quiet so you don't disturb Candy. She's still sleeping."
"That's all you know. Candy is at the Mill demanding that Aaron arrest her."
"That's not possible. I would have seen her leave."
Josh says, "I'll go check, Jeremy," as he runs up the staircase.
A minute or two later, Josh runs back downstairs. "She's not there, Jeremy. I looked in all the rooms."
"What is she thinking? I have to go get her. Would. . ." Jeremy says before Josh interrupts.
"Go ahead. I'll finish up in the kitchen and I'll be here if Candy should come back."
"Thanks. Let's go!" Jeremy says as he, Harve, and Jason run to the mill.
Barging into the mill office, Jeremy shouts, "Candy!" Looking for her he asks,"Aaron, where's Candy?"
"Why, she left Jeremy. You should have passed her on your way here."
"We didn't see her. Which way did she go?"
"I don't know. She was mad as an old bull because I wouldn't arrest her. She tore out of here slamming my door. Just look what she did to my door. She broke my glass," Aaron pouts.
"Sorry about your door Aaron, but right now I have more important things to attend to."
"What places would she have gone?" Jason asks. "Biddie's, Lotties?"
"Church?" Harve adds.
"Don't the two of you have a special place down by the water?" Aaron asks. "By that big boulder?"
"Yeah, we do, but we would have passed her if she went there," Jeremy answers almost frantically.
"Let's split up. We'll cover more ground that way," Jason says.
Going out the door, Jeremy thinks of something. "Wait! What is it Candy wants right now? She wants to be arrested."
Jason asks, "You don't think. . ."
Jeremy finishes his question. "She went to the jail and arrested herself. That sounds like Candy."
The four men hurry to the jail and find Candy sitting in the corner on a cot. She looks up with a defiant look on her face.
"Thank God, you're here!" Jeremy says as he tries to open the cell door. "Where's the key?"
Aaron answers as he goes to open the desk drawer, "In the drawer." He moves stuff around in the drawer. "They're not here."
Jeremy looks sternly at Candy. "Where are the keys, Candy? Open the door and let's go home."
"No."
"Candy, what are you doing? Let's go home and we'll talk about this."
"Jeremy, I'm tired of talking. The only way for me to get over this is for me to be arrested and have a trial. Please understand."
"I'm trying to Candy. I'm trying so damn hard to understand. But you need to understand how I feel about this, too. This isn't just about you." Jeremy wraps his fingers around the cell bars and leans his head against the bars.
"I know, Jeremy," she says as she comes over to him and puts her hands on his fingers. "I've done a lot of thinking about this. I don't know if I can live with myself if I'm not punished. I don't want to hurt you, but I have to do this."
Jeremy asks, "Couldn't you talk it over with me first?"
"We have done nothing but talk ever since I found out the truth. You always try talking me out of doing this. So I decided to just keep you out of it."
"Keep me out of it," he says slowly and softly while shaking his head. "You decided to just ignore everything I've been telling you. Candy, you don't have to do this," Jeremy pleads.
"Jeremy, please understand. I'm doing this for us."
"No, you're not. You're not thinking of anyone else but yourself."
"Jeremy, that's not true. I laid awake last night wondering what this would do to you."
He looks into her eyes. "And in the end, I lose again. You want to keep me out of it, well fine, you win." Removing his hands from hers, he backs away from the cell. "Aaron, do whatever she wants, but I can't be a party to it." He storms out of the jail with Candy calling his name.
"Jeremy! Jeremy! Jeremy, please come back!" Candy shouts.
Jeremy continues to walk hurriedly from the jail. Jason catches up to him and grabs him by the arm. "Jeremy, what are you doing?"
"What does it look like, Jason? I'm giving her what she wants. She doesn't need me any longer. She has her so called justice to keep her warm at night."
"So you're just throwing in the towel! You're going to leave her to face this all alone?"
"That's what she wants. She said she wants to keep me out of this."
"She didn't mean it, I'm sure."
"Look Jason, you don't know what it's been like having to deal with this day in and day out. I've talked to her till I'm blue in the face. She doesn't listen to anything I say. If she did, she wouldn't be in jail. She knows it all."
"Jeremy, she's just scared."
"Well, I'm scared, too. I'm scared of losing her. Why won't she just listen to me?"
"She's trying to handle this the way she sees best. She's not trying to hurt you. To me it sounds like she was trying to protect you."
"I don't need her to protect me! I need her to love me and trust that I'll do right by her." He turns and leaves, leaving Jason in the street shaking his head.
Candy runs over to the small window and holds onto the bars. Seeing Jeremy walking away, she whispers, "What have I done? I can't lose him." She shouts, "Jeremy! Please Jeremy, come back!" Jeremy continues on his way ignoring her while she breaks down crying.
"All right, Candy. Jeremy said to arrest you if that's what you want. Is it still what you want?" Aaron asks.
"I don't know. Right now, the only thing I want is Jeremy. Let me out of here! I have to find him," Candy says as she shakes the cell door.
"You have the key Candy, not us," Harve tells her.
With a startled look on her face, she says, "Oh that's right. I forgot." She turns her back to them, takes the key from her blouse, and hands it to Aaron. "Hurry, Aaron!" she tells him.
As soon as the door is unlocked, Candy charges out of the cell to go find her husband. She runs into Jason on the jail porch. "Where's Jeremy?" she demands.
"Do you really care?"
"Do I care? Jason, I love him. Of course, I care," Candy answers.
"Well according to Jeremy, you don't care about anyone but yourself. He's hurt, Candy. He thinks you don't want or need him anymore."
"Don't want or need him!" she shouts. "Jason, Jeremy is my life."
"Well, you need to tell him that."
"I will if I can find him. Did he say where he was going? Did he go home?"
Jason replies, "I don't know. He didn't say, but that would be my guess. Go find him, Candy and the two of you get this worked out."
"Thanks, Jason." She hurries towards home when some of the brides see her and come running, surrounding her where she can't move. They are so excited to see her out of the house and in town. Finally, Candy says, "I'm sorry, but I'm in a hurry. I'll come visit real soon. Bye!"
When Jeremy arrives home, he goes straight to the barn and saddles his horse. He leads it up to the house and goes inside.
Josh meets him in the hallway. "Did you find Candy in time? What happened?"
"Yeah, I found her. She's in jail. Sorry, but I can't talk about it right now. Jason can fill you in. I have to go pack," Jeremy informs him.
"Pack! Why? Where you going?" Josh asks.
"I don't know. Maybe Tacoma or Clearwater. Or I might just camp out in the woods somewhere. I just need a few days to myself. I'll be back in time for the trial. After all, she is still my wife, whether she wants to be or not." Going up the stairs he asks, "Hey Josh, would you pack me a sack of those biscuits, some ham, and a couple cans of soup and beans?"
"Sure Jeremy. You want me to come with you?"
"Thanks, but I really need to go alone. I have a lot of thinking to do."
Candy comes into the house shouting for her husband, "Jeremy! Jeremy!"
Josh meets her at the bottom of the stairs. "Jeremy's not here, Candy. You just missed him."
"What do you mean, I just missed him? Where did he go?" she asks.
"I don't know where he went, he wouldn't say for sure. He packed a bag and took some food with him. Said he needed to be alone to do some thinking."
Candy starts crying. "Oh Jeremy, I'm so sorry."
"Candy, Jeremy said he would be back in time for the trial."
"Did he. . .did he say anything else?"
Josh hesitates before answering. "Well, he did say you are still his wife whether you want to be or not."
"Whether I want to be or. . .? He said that? I have to find him, Josh. Where do you think he went?"
"I don't know. He mentioned Tacoma and Clearwater. But I doubt if he'd go there. If he wanted to be alone, why go somewhere that has a lot of people. My guess is he's going to camp out somewhere or he's going up to our parents' old cabin."
"The cabin! Yes, that's where he would go." She starts out the door when Josh stops her.
"Candy, are you going up there? You know, he said he wants to be alone."
"You better believe I'm going up there. Josh, I hurt Jeremy. I have to make us right again. He can't believe I don't need him. I have to convince him that I do." She hurries to the barn and hitches her horse up to the buggy. Leading him out into the yard, she meets Jason.
"Candy, where are you going? Did you find Jeremy?" he asks.
"No, I didn't. He was already gone by the time I got here. I'm on my way to find him now."
"Packed? Where did he go?"
"Talk to Josh. I have to go." She climbs into the buggy and picks up the reins. "Jason, tell Aaron that I changed my mind. I don't want to be arrested after all. I killed Richard in self-defense, like Jeremy said. Can you take care of that for me? And for Jeremy?"
Jason grins. "Sure thing, Candy. Don't worry, I'll take care of it. Now, go find that husband of yours." He stands and watches Candy drive away before he goes to meet Josh to find out what is going on.
