Chief Atkins and the other officers arrived at the coffee shop a short time later. Learning what had taken place caused the Chief to second guess himself. “There’s no way you could have known Ricky would be here Chief.” Mac began.
“That was fate having Ricky and Alma’s lives cross like that. Just like it was fate that Andre and Jacque crossed paths with Ella and I hope these two ladies have mercy on the rest of us.” Mac concluded, bringing a laugh from all and making the Chief feel a little better.
“We have still got some business to take care of men, and we need to get busy.” Chief Atkins pointed out. “ Mac, take these guys with you and go after Doc and Kara. They are very dangerous, and they know now that we are on to them. I feel sure they will try to leave St. Louis, probably head to New Orleans. Mac, have some officers cover the train station and the river boats. We will make all officers aware that they may try to escape by wagon or on horse.”
Mac, Adam, Bobby, and Toney, all agreed and assured the Chief they would bring them to justice. Though it was late into the night, the investigators wanted to arrest Doc and Kara If at all possible. They made their way to the Baker residence. Surrounding the house to prevent escape, Mac and Bobby entered the residence from the back, and after a complete search of the residence and grounds, there was no sign of either Doc or Kara.
It was indeed strange to the investigators, there was no sign either of the butler, Otis, or the stableman, Calvin. The interior of the house appeared as if someone had finished dinner, got up from the table and just walked away. Gas lamps were lit, and half full coffee cups were on the table in the library.
It was near midnight now. Mac secured two patrol officers to stay at the residence for the night. He also called the investigation for the night and asked the others to meet him at Floyd’s Diner around 9 am.
No one slept well that night. Mac was up about 7am and by 8am he walked into Floyd’s to find Adam already there. Before Mac had finished his first cup of coffee, Bobby and Toney had arrived.
With no clues at the moment where Doc and Kara were, or the whereabouts of Calvin and Otis, Mac suggested they go back to the Baker residence and process the scene very closely.
Mac and Bobby began inside the house, and Adam and Toney outside. Adam and Toney started toward the stables. As they reached the stables, Toney saw someone enter one of the stalls. Thinking the person was probably Calvin, Toney Called to him. “Calvin. Calvin.” But there was no answer. He ran to the stall, opened the door, and went in, but there was no one in the stall.
Toney just stared into the stall. He knew he saw someone enter, but now there was no one. “Adam, come in here. You won’t believe this.”
“Wow, Kara must have some pretty good ju-ju. He just disappeared.” Adam said laughingly, and wondering if Toney really did see someone. He and Toney walked into the stall. Looking around they didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. As Adam stepped forward he heard the squeak of the floor boards. He stopped and began to sweep back the straw that was scattered on the floor.
“Here you go Toney.” Adam said as he uncovered the trap door.
“ Well!”….Toney exclaimed. “Just like at the mill.”
Both men stepped back, and with weapons in their hand, opened the door to the crawl space. There was no movement in the crawlspace.
Adam took an oil lamp off of a hanger on the wall, lit it, and held it over the opening. He could see nothing. He lowered the lamp slightly into the crawlspace and slowly leaned down to look inside.
The crawlspace was pretty large. He didn’t see anyone. He did, however, see an opening leading into another space.
Adam and Toney both entered the crawlspace. Crawling along with the lantern, they slowly approached the second opening. Adam sat the lantern in a position so the light would shine through the opening. Very cautiously, Adam peered into the space on the other side of the opening.
“Jeez, Toney. There’s a huge room in here, and there looks like a tunnel out the other side. Oh, no!” Adam said.
“What is, Adam?” Toney asked. “do you see someone?”
“Well, you might say that.” Adam replied. “There is a body in here, and lots and lots of blood. I’m going inside, Toney. Watch out for me.”
“You bet, Buddy. You just be careful.” Toney advised. He stayed at the opening, gun in hand, and keeping a watchful eye on his partner.
“It’s Otis.” Adam said. “I guess he knew too much. Doc and Kara couldn’t take a chance of him spilling the beans.”
Toney entered the opening and into the large room. Both men made their way over to the tunnel. They were watching closely for any sign of someone lurking in the darkness. The tunnel was just wide enough for Toney, the bigger of the two men, to pass, but was not high enough for either to stand up without crouching slightly. They followed the tunnel for about one hundred feet to the end, and there they saw an opening to the outside. The tunnel opened into a drainage ditch that led down to the river. The men could see evidence where at times of high level in the river, the tunnel had flooded.
Adam and Toney headed up to the house to let Mac know what they had found.
“Adam, do you know what this is?” Toney asked. “This is part of the old underground railroad, for hiding and smuggling salves during the Civil War.”
“Yeah, you’re right Toney.” Adam agreed. “ I had heard since I was a kid about St. Louis being a key part of the underground railroad. Doc had lived here since before the war, and who would have thought he was involved in hiding and smuggling slaves.”
“I’ll bet Ms. Inez was more involved than Doc was.” Toney offered. “It was always rumored that Ms. Inez’s father, David Dalton, owned a cotton plantation in South Carolina and he had freed all of his slaves a couple of years before the war, sold his plantation, and came to St. Louis. That’s when he bought the old mill.”
“Wait a minute, Toney.” Adam said. “You said Ms. Inez father owned the old mill?”
“Yeah, he owned it for quite a few years. The family sold it after he was killed.” Toney explained.
“He was killed?” Adam asked. “How was he killed?”
“The coroner ruled he drowned in the river, but no one believed that. Many people believed he was killed by his partner or some of his henchmen.” Toney continued.
“And Toney, just who was his partner?” Adam inquired. He was getting really interested now.
“His partner was Stewart Baker, Doc’s brother.”
“Toney. When did Ms. Inez’s father die? And Toney, where is Stewart Baker now?” Adam wanted to know. His curiosity was really beginning to build now.
“Ms. Inez’s father drowned in the summer of, I believe, 1881. Stewart Baker is in prison. He received a life sentence for rape and murder, in early 1882, for an incident that occurred in May of 1881. What are you getting out of this Adam?”
“A lot of good information.” Adam replied. “A whole lot of good information. Tell me, Toney. Do you happen to know any of the details about Stewart Baker’s conviction?”
“Yeah, but it’s not real pretty. He was convicted of raping and killing Charity Baker, Inez and Doc’s 12 year old daughter. He was actually sentenced to be hanged, but Doc and Inez asked the court to give him life in prison.”
“Holy crap.” Adam said. “Why does Mac not know this?”
“Well, the crime actually took place in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Stewart is in prison in Louisiana. The Baker’s, Doc’s family, and Stewart’s family were all on vacation at the time. Stewart’s family moved back to Tennessee, to his wife’s family home. Doc and Inez would not allow anyone to even mention what had happened. Very few people in St. Louis were even aware of what actually happened.” “How is it that you know so much about it Toney?” Adam inquired.
“My mom is Rebecca Turner, Stewart’s wife’s sister.
Mac was in the upstairs bedroom that was used as a guest room. Adam and Toney walked into the bedroom. “Mac, we got something for you.” Adam began. He and Toney described to Mac what they had found. Adam had Toney to relate to Mac the history of the Baker Family.
“I had always been told the girl died in an accident.” Mac said. “But I was never told what type of accident, and I never questioned it. Adam, where do you think this is taking us?”
“I don’t know for sure, Mac, but I’m hoping straight to our murderer. I am going to the station to go through some records.”
“While you’re there, can you send a message to Baton Rouge.” Mac asked. “One of us might need to make a trip to Baton Rouge to pay Mr. Stewart Baker a visit. Toney, you and I will process the murder scene out back.”