Kate walked in these two worlds, the present and the past, for an hour or so. And then it was time to take Alaska back to the house and start her day. She was anxious to get back to the library and learn the rest of the story.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Kate was waiting on the steep library steps when the scruffy librarian, the same one who had been there yesterday, slouched around the corner, headphones on his ears, enormous coffee cup in his hand. When he saw Kate, he smiled.
“Been here all night?” he teased.
“Not quite.” She smiled.
“You’re here to time travel again, aren’t you?” he asked as he fumbled with his keys and opened the big double doors.
“That feels exactly like what I’m doing,” Kate said. “Sometimes I don’t know where 1910 ends and today begins.”
“Tell me about it,” he mumbled, flipping on the lights and setting his overstuffed shoulder bag on the counter.
“Okay if I just head to the shelves myself?” Kate asked.
“You know the way,” he said.
Soon, Kate had gathered the next rolls, threaded her machine, and immersed herself in the past. After a few moments, she found the next article.
POLICE CHIEF OUTLINES CASE AGAINST STEWART
Wharton police chief Arnold Becker explained to jurors today how and why he came to charge Jess Stewart with the murder of his wife.
“It’s simple, common-sense police work,” Chief Becker explained on the stand. “In matters like this, things tend to stay very close to home. When a wife goes missing, we look to the husband first. Usually, that’s the farthest we have to look.”
“So, your case against Mr. Stewart is entirely circumstantial?” asked prosecuting attorney Jeffrey Howard.
“No,” the chief said. “The dockworker, Lange, came to us and said he knew Stewart’s story about coming back on the Sunday train from Minneapolis was false because he had seen him in Wharton on Saturday. And we haven’t been able to find a single witness on the Sunday train who remembers seeing Stewart. That means Stewart lied. Lying plus a missing wife generally leads to a murderer.”
This wasn’t good. They couldn’t find one witness who would say that Jess was on the Sunday train? Kate wondered how hard they had looked, how many people they had interviewed. Her reporter’s instincts kicked in, and she found herself thinking about the accuracy of passenger records and logs a century ago. Would the rail company have had information about who was on that train? People probably just bought their tickets with cash, she reasoned. No credit card receipts, no checks with one’s name and address on them, no online reservations. Police couldn’t track someone’s movements as accurately as they could today. It would be much easier to hide the truth of one’s whereabouts, or fabricate an alibi, in that simpler time, Kate thought.
Kate desperately wanted to believe in Jess’s innocence. But she had to admit that it was looking more and more like he was, indeed, guilty of this crime.
STEWART EJECTED FROM COURTOOM!
It was an emotional day in the courtroom as jurors heard from Mrs. Stewart’s physician, Dr. Jonas Maki, who testified that Mrs. Stewart had come to see him for a routine appointment one week before she disappeared.
“She was ready to deliver her baby,” Dr. Maki testified. “It could have come at any time.”
When asked if Mrs. Stewart had ever confided in him regarding trouble in her marriage, Dr. Maki replied that she had not. “She was excited for the birth of her first child, and she reported Mr. Stewart was pleased about it as well.”
The courtroom hummed and murmured as the doctor stepped down from the stand, but just at that moment, Mr. Jess Stewart rose up out of his chair and began screaming wildly. “Why isn’t anyone looking for my wife? You’ve arrested the wrong man and left it at that! She could be alone, hurt, giving birth to our child! Why won’t you go out and look for her?”
Mr. Stewart’s lawyer and two bailiffs tried to restrain Mr. Stewart, who flailed his arms and knocked over his chair, continuing to rant and rave like a madman. He was ejected from the courtroom by the judge, who recessed the trial for the day, presumably to allow Mr. Stewart to regain control of his senses.
This reporter could see that the jury was shocked by the outburst of rage and anger, imagining, no doubt, what sort of dark and evil circumstance had caused Mr. Stewart to turn that rage on his poor wife.
Despite Kate’s obsession with the trial itself, she continued to marvel at the differences in journalistic styles of a century ago. So much emotion. So much bias. The reporter covering this trial obviously believes Jess is guilty, Kate thought.
WITNESS FROM THE SUNDAY TRAIN COMES FORWARD!
Mrs. Elsie Johnson, widow of Elmer Johnson of Wharton, took the stand today to testify that she and her daughter, Mrs. John Potter of Wharton, saw Mr. Jess Stewart on the train from Minneapolis to Wharton on Sunday, April 24.
“My daughter and I had gone to the city a week earlier for some shopping,” Mrs. Johnson testified. “We were coming back on the train that Sunday, and we saw Mr. Stewart.”
“You’re sure it was Mr. Stewart?” the prosecutor asked.
“I’m certain of it,” Mrs. Johnson said. “I commented to my daughter how handsome he was. When I saw his picture in the newspaper and read that you couldn’t find anyone to confirm that he was on the Sunday train, I knew I had to come forward.”
“And you’re sure it was Sunday?” the prosecutor wanted to know. “Sometimes when ladies are shopping, they can lose track of time.”
A few members of the jury chuckled.
But Mrs. Johnson turned to the jury and said, “Mr. Stewart was on that train. It was Sunday. There is no doubt about it. I’ll stake my life on it. I know because of that terrible fog. That was the day.”
The packed courtroom gasped. Mr. Stewart’s mother began crying and collapsed into the arms of Mrs. Marcus Cassatt. “Thank God,” she was heard to say.
The courtroom also included prominent businessman Harrison Connor and his wife, Celeste, who was cradling their newborn baby in her arms.
Later, as they exited the courtroom, Mr. Connor told this reporter, “I have steadfastly maintained Jess Stewart’s innocence. He is a victim here. The man lost his wife and child. There could be nothing worse than that for any man. Nothing worse.”
Jess wasn’t lying about coming to Wharton on Sunday! It didn’t mean he didn’t kill Addie, Kate reasoned, but at least he wasn’t lying about his movements. It also meant the dockworker lied. Why would he do that?
Kate decided to keep searching the files to find out, once and for all, the outcome of the trial. When they knew what happened, then she and Simon could start dissecting everything she had learned. She threaded another roll into the machine and turned the handle.
WITNESSES TAKE STAND IN STEWART’S DEFENSE
A parade of character witnesses, including Jess Stewart’s mother, Mrs. Stewart’s parents, and local businessman Harrison Connor, took the stand today to defend Jess Stewart against these heinous charges that have been brought against him.
Hmm, Kate thought. The reporter’s tone is turning. Public opinion must be changing as well.
“I have known Jess Stewart for a long time, since our days in college, and I can unequivocally state that he is not capable of murdering anyone, let alone his beloved Addie,” Harrison Connor said on the stand today. “I believe in him so much that I have charged my personal attorney with defending him. My wife and I have spent countless evenings with the Stewarts, and we can both tell you that Jess and Addie were very much in love. He was fiercely protective of her and more than a little jealous. Who wouldn’t be? His wife was one of the most beautiful women—inside and out—in this town or any other.”