Indigo Read Online Free Page B

nodded his agreement and Hester shepherded the two men through every room in the house: upstairs, downstairs, even outside to the barn where she kept her team. Shoe poked in closets, kitchen cupboards, and even the stove. All the time he chuckled to himself. "Niggers fighting in the war," he kept saying.
    Hester bore his slander without emotion. His prejudiced ignorance made it certain he'd never conceive of Black people being intelligent enough to design and build a house specifically to accommodate the Road, so Hester didn't even flinch when he demanded to be shown the cellar.
    While Hester and the sheriff looked on, Shoe waved a lantern into the dark corners of the cellar. She thought of her guest on the other side of the wall. Hester just hoped the Black Daniel didn't suddenly begin bellowing her name. Shoe might not be able to sense the room behind the wall, but he would for certain investigate any strange sounds.
    As Hester predicted, Shoe never looked at anything but the surface during the whole investigation. He found no clues of the Black Daniel or the small family sent on their way after the sunrise service at the church that morning. They were making the journey to Amherstburg in the company of a visiting pastor and some of his parishioners. The runaways, complete with letters of introduction and a small amount of cash, were posing as part of the returning flock.
    "Well he ain't here," Shoe declared angrily.
    "I told you that," the sheriff answered, "now let's let the ladies finish their visiting."
    Shoe looked around once more at the fine carpets, the lace-draped windows, and the women sewing quietly. His face seemed to show resentment at the fine things the Wyatt family had accumulated over the years.
    Hester ignored his sneer but as she showed them to the door, she had a question. "What makes you think this Black Daniel is hiding around here, Mr. Shoe?"
    "I got my ways of knowin'," he said smoothly. "I also heard he had a knife stuck in his gut, so he couldn't've gotten far. He's here somewhere."
    "What does he look like?" she asked.
    "Mulatto and tall, according to my source."
    A chill went up her spine at his words. Was the Black Daniel correct? Did her community indeed harbor a traitor?
    "Oh, and gal?"
    Hester turned to Shoe.
    "When I find the bastard, and I will, I hope you're involved. I'd love to put you on the block."
    "Let's go, Shoe," Sheriff Lawson barked.
    Shoe gave Hester one last soul-chilling leer then followed the sheriff back out into the night.
    Hester watched until they'd ridden away. Only after she closed the door did she notice that her hands were shaking.
    Her friends rushed to her side, all eager to get her to a seat where she could calm herself. Hester waved them away, sat down, and took a deep breath. After a few moments, her shaking subsided. Pulling off her gloves, she asked, "Lord, could you smell that man?"
    "You could smell that man in Ohio," one of the women offered. The dry tone first drew snickers, then gales of laughter. It broke the tension and for the next few minutes they took turns giving their reactions to his odor and his stupidity. The hilarity ended when Hester summed up what they all knew. "Any man that ignorant is very dangerous. Let's hope he gives up and goes back south."
    "He's probably not smart enough for that," someone remarked seriously. Although Hester could still hear Shoe's promise in her mind, none of her friends voiced reactions to Shoe's threats to put Hester on the block.
    The women left soon after, promising to alert their husbands and neighbors to Shoe's presence, and Hester hurried down to the cellar. Her fears of the Daniel bellowing and bringing Shoe and his men down on their heads proved unfounded. She found him asleep, and so quietly withdrew.
    When Hester first came north, the sounds of the house at night always frightened her until her grandfather explained the creakings were just her ancestors tipping around making sure everyone was having good