The Gallant South- Part One

Chapter XIII- November 1-9, 1912

        It was an accident. I mean, even if it wasn't, I'd still be a bit happy, Cora thought to herself, and she didn't feel bad for thinking it. She knew arson was a terrible, terrible thing, but this man wholeheartedly deserved it.
        Nevertheless, it was still an accident. When Mildred dropped her cigarette onto the wooden floorboards, it must've still been burning. She had thought it was put out. Of course, the floor was already littered with broken glass, leaves and knocked-over shelves, so she must not have noticed that the cigarette was still lit between the mess on the floor, and their hurry to evade the police...or worse. If Colby had shown up, one of them would be dead for sure. And it would most likely be Kit, even though she hadn't gone with them.
         Still, it was fun, and it was worth it. The entire Halloween night had been a first for Cora. She had never broken into a store, let alone vandalized it, but she took part along with the others, slinging open cans of paint everywhere, knocking over shelves, stealing what little money was left in the adding machine and giving it to Ed and Martha. After all, the man had killed their daughter. They needed the money.
        Normally, Cora would feel bad about such destruction, but she had no remorse for this man. None of them were sure which one of the men had killed Nellie, but from what Colby had said, it sounded like this man. And even if he hadn't, he was still there. Her blood was on his hands.

        Now, Cora stood with a crowd of other people in front of the charred remains of the two-story building. It was completely burned, as Estelle's three fire engines were elsewhere when the fire broke out, trying to put out a massive barn fire caused by a combination of rowdy teenagers, Halloween parties, and the dry October air.
        Reporters for the paper were at the front of the line, begging for a response from the officers that poked through the scene. They had it blocked off with giant wooden barriers, the same ones they had used at Eveline's rally just last week. Cora almost shuddered at the sight of them.
        "What do you think happened?"
        "Some o' them teenagers out playin' pranks is what, I'll tell ya."
        "Do you think it was arson?"
        "Nup, one a' them prolly lit a cigarette and blew the place up. Damned kids."
        Cora listened to the conversations of the two men in front of her, both with heavy southern drawls, and both wearing overalls. Some people had ridden into the city from farms in order to survey the scene for themselves.
        Cora herself was just beginning to think it wasn't a big deal when her skin suddenly went cold, and she almost ceased breathing. She was like that because the smell of cologne had wafted in from behind her, and she knew whose cologne it was, even as the familiar voice spoke knowingly, causing the hairs to stand on her neck.
        "I know you did it."
        Cora turned around to see none other than, of course, Colby Whitbaker standing behind her, alone. Cora had to internally slap herself to stop from recoiling. Then she remembered he could hardly attack her in public, surrounded by people. She'd deal with the consequences later. Right now, she just wanted to make him tick.
        "And how do you know that?" she asked, crossing her arms playfully like a film star and grinning slyly. Colby blushed with anger. "Who else would have?" he demanded.
        "Any number of people. Or perhaps it was an accident? This is an old wooden building," Cora replied ruefully, still grinning. Colby fumed and pointed a finger at Cora, talking in a horrid whisper. "You had better watch yourself," he said, and turned and stalked away. Cora watched the firefighters go through the wreckage. Torrence's wife wept, but Cora didn't feel bad for any of them. She had to know her husband was a Klansman. Cora longed to hate her as well.

        On the fifth of November, the temperature finally dropped below freezing, but to Cora's dismay, there was not a cloud in the sky, and therefore, no promise of snow. The last of the leaves were beginning to fall off of the trees, and the bare sticks and branches stretched into the sky like veins.
         Now that most of the leaves were gone, Cora could see a few more houses down the road, and she could better see the city off in the distance. She missed the color, but was eager to welcome the holiday season. People tended to be happier.
        Cora knew she would have to engage with society, so she chose a long-sleeved morning gown made of brownish-yellow wool and buttoned down the front with a little flower attached to the neckline, which ran down in a v-shape and exposed the frilly blouse underneath.
         When Cora finished with her hair, she went to fetch the matching hat from its hatbox in her closet. As she searched for it, she knocked down a few other boxes, and they all sailed to the floor delicately. One, however, was much smaller and heavier, and fell right down with a smack! Cora found the hat and leaned down to see what could possibly be so heavy.
        It was the small revolver she had hidden away. It was the shiny revolver in its leather holster, and also present were 3 boxes of bullets. Cora stacked the other hatboxes back on the shelf, but took the revolver from the box and slipped it into the drawer of her nightstand. She loaded it as well before putting the ammo boxes back in the hatbox and slipped it back into the closet with the other hatboxes.
        Cora walked downstairs, feeling a little safer with a loaded gun next to her bed. Not that Colby was going to break into her house. That wasn't his style.