Niceville

War who had lost an eye and his left arm at Mons, was accosted outside the Saddlery by Lieutenant Colin Haggard. An argument ensued and both men agreed to a stand there and then. In the exchange Lieutenant Ruelle was shot in the face and died on the spot. Lieutenant Haggard, also a veteran of the Great War, was detained by citizens.
    When questioned by the authorities as to the nature of the quarrel, Lieutenant Haggard stated that Lieutenant Ruelle had impugned his honor in connection with an action in the Great War. Charges are being considered but have not yet been applied.
    The feeling of the citizenry runs against Lieutenant Haggard. Many feel that Lieutenant Haggard belongs to what is known as the Teague Camp in a long-standing disagreement between the Ruelle Family and Abel Teague in connection with what the Ruelle family has long regarded as a Breach of Promise matter involving Clara Mercer. Clara Mercer is the younger sister of Lieutenant Ruelle’s sister-in-law, Glynis Ruelle, the widow of Captain John Ruelle, killed in the same battle in which Lieutenant Ethan Ruelle received his wounds. Miss Clara Mercer suffers greatly from this clash of families and is in the loving care of the Ruelle family as of this writing.
    Lieutenant Haggard is reputed to have been involved in a number of illegal stands over the years and is considered to be a gun hand, which has drawn the ire of the local citizenry.
    The Chief Constable of Belfair County, the Honorable Lewis G. Cotton, has so far declined to act in the matter.
    “They’re all there,” said Nick, after reading it twice. Kate nodded.
    “My own grandfather signed the conscription papers sending them off to the war. So they couldn’t keep going after Abel Teague. I can’t believe it. What a terrible thing to do.”
    It was hard to disagree with that, so Nick didn’t try.
    “Is there any other record of the Ruelles’ actually doing that? Challenging Abel Teague?”
    “Lemon couldn’t find one. He’s still looking. But Dad felt that it had to have happened, given the times, and that Abel Teague dodged the challenge. Maybe more than once.”
    “So John dies in the war. Ethan comes back—”
    “Wounded. Crippled.”
    “And of course the resentment is still there,” said Nick, looking at the article. “Probably much worse. Maybe he went back after Abel Teague again?”
    “He would have had plenty of reason. His brother’s dead and Clara’s back at the farm going quietly insane and there’s Abel Teague, walking around the town with a smile on his face.”
    “So somebody—probably Abel himself—brought in a ringer to finish it. This Colin Haggard guy.”
    “Ethan should have declined the fight. No one would have thought any the less of him.”
    “Except for him,” said Nick.
    Kate looked at the jubilee card, all those faces, all those lives. She dropped it back into the box, flipping the lid shut, leaned back into the couch.
    “Did you get an mpeg made from whatever you saw in Delia’s basement?”
    “Yes. Beau gave me a flash drive.”
    “Do you have it here?”
    “Yes.”
    “May I look at it?”
    “Why?”
    “Because I’m your wife.”
    “And you’re … what? Curious?”
    “Just show it to me. Please.”
    Nick hesitated, reached into his pocket, drew it out, a small Sony USB drive.
    Kate took it and plugged it into her laptop. The machine worked on it for a while, and then the media player popped up and the clip began to run, grainy, stuttering, but clear enough.
    Nick saw himself standing in front of a long stone wall, lit up by the reflected glow of what was flickering on the wall of Delia Cotton’s basement, a shimmering field of green, a brown bar, a blue glow alongthe bottom. The image jumped and righted itself. Beau had found a way to turn the image right side up when he copied the tape.
    Now the image showed a broad line of pines and oaks, a thick forest line hemming in a tilled field, people working in the field, spades chopping into the earth, something long and dark being lifted up. A sled pulled by a tractor.
    “Can you stop it there, Kate?”
    She froze the video.
    “Can you zoom in?”
    Kate hit a button and the image jumped closer. Nick leaned in and focused on the sled, on the pile of white stones. Kate was leaning in close, so close he could smell her scent and feel the heat of her body. He felt her stiffen, and she drew back.
    “Nick. Are those skulls?”
    “Yes,” he said. “That’s what I thought. Let