A Salem Awakening

Chapter 20

Everyone from the village who was able arrived at the church between four o'clock and four thirty. William Putnam did not have any family within a day's carriage ride, so none of his family even heard the news yet. All of Salem would sit in as his family today. He was much beloved by everyone, well, most everyone. It was common knowledge that Tobias Warnock and William Putnam engaged in heated disagreements over just about any topic you could think of. But today, everyone would remember him fondly.

At the stroke of four thirty, the minister walked down the main aisle of the church and ascended to the pulpit. All the pews were full, and many parishioners stood in the back of the church. In the middle of the pews sat the Sampsons. Samuel was stoic, as was normal. But Willa was deep in grief and Abigail, sitting to her left, was even deeper. All of Mr. Putnam's students were in attendance with their families. And all were quite emotional, especially James Boylan, who recently formed a connection with Mr. Putnam. A connection that now was a moot point. James pondered how Mr. Putnam's passing would affect his newfound interest in learning. "Maybe I am not meant for that life," he wondered.

Standing in the back of the church was Thomas Miller from the Apothecary. He was standing next to Tobias, who walked in just as the minister started the service. "It's an awful shame," Thomas whispered to Tobias while shaking his head. "And who is going to teach the children now?"

Tobias whispered back, "The council will need to appoint someone. We'll meet Monday morning to begin the search. In the meantime, we'll see if we can find a mother to fill in." Thomas nodded his acceptance of the response.

As the minister continued the service, Willa leaned over to Samuel. They were whispering intently to each other. Others at the service noticed their discussion, including Tobias standing at the back of the room. He leaned in toward Thomas.

"Can you believe those two? The Sampsons? How disrespectful to chit chat during a funeral." Thomas found the irony obvious – Tobias was doing exactly the same thing. Still, Tobias was an important man in Salem, and Thomas wanted to remain on good terms with him.

"You're right, it's dreadful. They should show some respect."

Tobias decided it was the right time, and he was with the right person, to execute a plan he was working on since the discovery of William's body.

"You know, Willa Sampson spent a lot of time helping William at the school. She was there multiple times each week."

"You don't say?" Thomas whispered back.

"Yes, in fact some people say there was something between the two of them."

"I am not surprised. Samuel doesn't seem to be the most gregarious person, and Willa certainly seems to be more outgoing," Thomas replied with more than a hint of sarcasm toward Samuel. Still, he actually found the idea surprising. An illicit affair with a younger man did not seem like the Willa Sampson he knew.

"Oh yes, and I happen to know her daughter Abigail also had feelings for William. In fact, they were supposed to meet for a romantic picnic lunch today. It was Abigail who found his body because he never showed for the lunch."

This made Thomas think. Could it be true both Willa and Abigail, a mother and daughter, had feelings for the same man? "And exactly how do you know Abigail felt this way for him?"

"She all but told me. I came upon her while I was in town today and saw her sitting alone. She freely admitted her feelings for him."

This news shocked Thomas. "And why are you telling me this here, now, at the man's funeral?"

Tobias leaned in even closer. He spoke slow and soft to make his point very clear. "Don't you find it odd a girl he was supposed to meet mysteriously found the man dead, when that girl's mother also had feelings for him? It all seems a bit... coincidental, don't you think?"

Tobias chose his words carefully. All of Salem knew Thomas believed there were no coincidences in life. If anyone were to find the facts of this situation pointing to a person with motive, it would be Thomas Miller.

Thomas thought for a long time and he leaned close to Tobias. "Are you accusing Willa?"

"I cannot do that. As the chief judge for the trials, it would be inappropriate. All I know are the truths I've shared with you. You can determine your own conclusions."

Thomas paid no attention to the rest of the service. Instead, he was trying to consider if Willa really could be a witch. She was so pleasant and helpful, and always had a cheerful disposition with everyone she met. That was definitely not how Thomas thought a witch would act. "On the other hand," he countered to himself, "Isn't that the perfect camouflage?" If she really were a witch, she selected the perfect costume to hide it. "All right," he thought, "so I've determined she might be a witch. At least I can't rule it out." But he needed to decide if it was plausible she had feelings for William and was jealous of her own daughter. Jealous enough to commit murder.

The funeral moved to the cemetery. Tobias' men dug a fine hole and did it in record time. While a typical grave is about six feet deep, they didn't have time to dig that far down, so William's grave was only about four feet deep. It was certainly deep enough to bury the casket, but just barely. What the two men lacked in depth, they more than made up for in attention to detail. The straight edges of the hole, along with the clean, tight corners, even impressed Tobias.

Thomas was still standing at the back of the crowd, now keenly watching the Sampsons, who were still talking with each other during the burial. In fact, their conversation, while nearly silent, appeared to be quite intense. Almost as if they were arguing. "It's almost as if Samuel is accusing her," Thomas imagined.

Abigail spent the entire service crying. She was so deep in her grief she didn't notice her parents' discussion. Her eyes were completely bloodshot and the areas directly below her eyes were red and swollen. Dried tear streaks stained her cheeks with a flaky whiteness from the salt they left behind. Word got out she was the one who discovered Will's body. She knew she would have to answer for why she was at his house, why Christina wasn't with her as her parents expected, and why she planned to meet with him in the first place. She did not have a good explanation for any of this. Any answer would only make her look guilty. She would need to think of the proper response for these questions – but not today. This was a time for saying goodbye to a great, inspiring, passionate man. Tomorrow would be her day to answer the questions.