Chapter 2 The murder

It was dark that night, it was a new moon, so that meant there was darkness in the night sky. The lumber camp was silent and the mill as well. There were some steps from the work area of the mill up to the office. Someone had opened the office door and had found the safe. Mr. Stemple kept his books and receipts and of course, any petty cash he had available in that safe. Someone with heavy boots walked over to the safe and opened the safe door. He took the receipts and then he found the petty cash box and took that, he did now want to open it at the office, so he shut the safe door and left the office.

Abe slept at the mill in a small extra storage room. He did not have the money yet to pay for a hotel room. He heard some footsteps above him. He sat up and put his clothes on and left the room to find out what was happening. He heard two sets of footsteps; he slowly walked to the stairs and saw the light in the office. He wasn't sure what to do. This town, Seattle did not have a police force, they were not big enough yet. They had tried a sheriff but that was a failed experiment at best. Abe quietly went up the steps to the office.

"Maybe Mr. Stemple was doing some late-night work?" He thought as he went up the stairs as quietly as possible. He reached the top step and was knocked down the stairs by someone, running down the stairs. Abe grabbed the leg of the person running down the stairs and caused that person to fall. Then he heard a gunshot. He had not seen a gun nor had he seen one at the mill. He did not have time as the person whom he had tripped had gotten up when he was distracted and ran down the last few steps. Abe tried to get up but realized his foot was caught in the railing and he could not get it out from between the rails. He wasn't sure if anyone could hear him, but he thought yelling couldn't hurt. He soon tired of yelling and lay there for a while.

"Harve! Harve!" Dammit, where is he!" Aaron said to himself. He came around to the stairs and saw someone on the stairs, he went up and saw Abe.

"Abe, what happened?" Asked Aaron. Abe was a little out of it, he had fallen asleep after yelling for a long time.

"Mr. Stemple, sir, I heard noises, and I went to investigate and I only made it up to the top step when someone pushed me back down the stairs. I caught my foot in the railing. And can't get it out!" Abe said to Aaron.

"Did you see or hear anyone else?" asked Aaron.

"I think I heard a gunshot but I am not sure. I was wrestling with the person on the stairs." Abe said as he hollered in pain when Aaron got his foot unstuck.

"I sent Harve over here to take a look, I had seen the light on in my office, so I thought he could go to turn the light off. Did you see him?" Aaron asked, Abe shook his head no and was happy to be unhooked to the stair rail. Aaron helped him get his footing and went to the small room that was Abe's room. He saw a gun on the bed.

"I didn't know you had a gun?" Aaron asked. Abe looked surprised that there was a gun on his bed, much less in his room.

"Mr. Stemple, I don't own a gun! I do not know how it got here?" Aaron took a closer look at it and saw that it had been recently fired. He said nothing to Abe, he liked Abe and hoped it wasn't Abe who had shot the gun. There were footsteps from Ben who had a gun and Clancy who had been out in the square finishing his bottle of Whiskey.

"Are you okay, Mr. Stemple? Abe?" asked Ben

"I heard a gunshot and came as fast as I could!" Ben said, He saw Abe who was walking with a slight limp.

"I did not see who got shot or who shot who!" Abe said then Clancy stepped in and said:

"Mr. Stemple, Sir, I think you should come with me!" He walked away toward where the equipment for the mill was, in the dim light by the steam sawmill. On the floor, a body lay. Everyone looked and no one wanted to say who it was. Finally, Aaron bent down. He turned the body over and gasped in horror. Putting himself in check, he told Clancy to go get Jason. He then told Ben to turn on the lights. Then he looked at Abe and said:

"This is Harve, he is dead! Did you kill him!" Abe looked Aaron straight in the face and said:
"No sir, I did not!" Aaron looked at him. The past month, he had proven his worth, there had been no signs of bad blood between him and Harve, nor had there been problems with him between the other employees in his mill. Abe stood very still. He knew that Aaron, by rights, could have him jailed for murder, but at the same time, he had only the gun on his bed as proof. Ben arrived with Jason and Joshua. Jeremy was up at the camp. He looked at Aaron, and then at Abe, and then to the dead body. It was Harve. Harve, who was the one who ran Aaron's mill like a well-oiled clock. Harve was the one to make sure the employees were in and out on time. Aaron looked at Harve, the bullet had been a direct hit to the heart. There was no way he could have lived.

"Aaron, what do you need me to do?" asked Jason. Aaron remained calm and cool, looking like he was in charge, and said:

Jason, can you help Ben get Harve out to the chapel, wake up the reverend, and then go to the livery stable to see if there is a-a-box we can put him in? Maybe have someone clean him up and put his nice clothes on him." Aaron said this then walked to Abe and said:

"Abe, I am sorry I have to do this, but I need to put you in jail tonight until we find the person who killed Harve." He took the jail keys, he always carried them with him, and Abe went with him to the jail. Jason watched, he knew that Abe was a good man, and did not believe that he had killed Harve. Yet, it looked like Aaron thought he did. He made a mental note to go to Aaron to talk to him about that.

Meanwhile, a stranger came in and said to not disturb the evidence, then walked out and over to Lottie's Saloon to procure a room.