Chapter 5 - THE WOMAN AT THE COURTHOUSE
Clara remembered everything.
Margaret and Edmund argued at the top of the stairs.
Edmund demanded documents.
Margaret refused.
He shoved her.
She fell.
But Margaret didn't die immediately.
She survived the fall.
Edmund carried her back upstairs before anyone arrived.
Then Dr. Harlan was summoned.
The family physician.
He diagnosed pneumonia.
Margaret died four days later.
Evelyn asked the obvious question.
“What did the fall do?”
Josiah hired another doctor.
Margaret's recorded symptoms suggested internal bleeding.
Something potentially treatable.
Edmund hadn't simply pushed his sister.
Someone had concealed what happened afterward.
The custody hearing began the following week.
Edmund's attorney attacked Evelyn first.
“Mrs. Whitmore, isn't it true you were homeless before marrying Mr. Whitmore?”
“Yes.”
“Hungry?”
“Yes.”
“Penniless?”
“Nearly.”
“And within one hour of meeting one of Colorado's wealthiest men, you married him?”
“Yes.”
People whispered.
The attorney smiled.
“So this was a financial arrangement.”
“At first.”
“Mrs. Whitmore, are you asking this court to believe you married for love?”
“No.”
Josiah looked at her.
Evelyn continued.
“I married because I needed a home and he needed a mother for his children.”
The attorney smiled triumphantly.
“Then we agree.”
“No.”
Evelyn leaned forward.
“You asked whether I married for love. I didn't.”
She looked toward Clara and Rose.
“But you didn't ask what happened afterward.”
The courtroom quieted.
“I learned Clara likes the crust cut from one side of her bread but not the other. Rose hides carrots under potatoes because she thinks adults are stupid. Clara sleeps with her door open. Rose needs someone to hold her hand when thunder comes.”
Her voice shook.
“I know which child lies when she's frightened and which one becomes painfully honest.”
She looked at Edmund.
“And I know both children shake when that man enters a room.”
No one whispered now.
“I may have entered their lives because I needed a roof.”
Evelyn looked at Josiah.
“But if I lost every dollar attached to the Whitmore name tomorrow, I would still choose those girls.”
The judge looked at Edmund.
For the first time, he seemed worried.
Then Edmund's attorney produced his surprise witness.
The hotel manager.
He testified that Evelyn had offered to “do anything” for money.
A lie twisted from desperation.
The courtroom turned ugly.
Then Josiah stood.
His attorney tried to stop him.
Josiah ignored him.
“My wife does not need to defend being poor.”
Silence.
“She asked for work.”
His voice filled the courtroom.
“I offered marriage because I was the desperate one.”
Evelyn stared.
“I needed what money couldn't buy.”
Josiah looked at her.
“Courage.”
Edmund's face hardened.
And Evelyn realized something.
He wasn't afraid of losing the custody case.
He was afraid Clara might testify.
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That night, Clara disappeared.
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