Once in Every Life

In the distance, the school bell pealed. Its melancholy clang echoed through the moist air. Tess sat stiffly in the front of the wagon, her hands curled in a tight, nervous ball in her lap.

At the schoolhouse, Jim maneuvered the wagon through the crowded yard to a spot alongside the rickety fence.

Tess swallowed hard, steeling herself for the ordeal that lay ahead. Everything depended on her. Jack's life, their future, the children's future. Everything.

Today?now?she had to be what she'd never been in her life. She had to force her chin up, smile, and walk to the goddamn podium. She had to be easygoing and pleasant and persuasive.

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Her self-confidence slipped. She wasn't sure she could do it. All her life she'd been quiet and isolated and alone. A wallflower.

Don't think about that. It was the past. She was no longer the Tess Gregory who melted into the background. Now she was Lissa Rafferty. Jack's wife. And she had no choice but to succeed. Jack's life depended on it.

"Lissa?" Jim's voice broke into her thoughts. "They're waiting for you."

Tess forced her chin up and tried to smile. "Thanks, Jim." Scooting across the splintery plank seat, she took his hand and got down. When her feet hit the solid ground, her knees almost buckled.

Jim grabbed her elbow and steadied her. "Are you all right?"

She nodded stiffly. "Fine. Let's go." Together they wove their way through the wagons and horses that cluttered the grassy yard. With every step, Tess felt her stomach tighten.

They climbed the steps slowly. At the creaking of the boards, the hushed conversations in the schoolhouse died away. A silence fell across the small room as people turned, one by one, to gaze at Tess.

She stood in the door, feeling as conspicuous and out of place as a weed in a rose garden. "H-Hello." She winced at the breathy, hesitant sound of her voice and cleared her throat. Nodding a silent thanks to Jim and Minerva, she walked down the aisle, her heels clicking matter-of-factly on the wooden floor.

At the front of the room, she turned and faced the mass of unfriendly faces. "Hello," she said again. "I'm Lissa Rafferty. I know most of you don't know me well, and have no reason to trust me, but I've come to ask for your help."

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A buzzing of dissent swept the crowd.

Ed Warbass stepped out of the throng of people and made his way up the aisle to stand beside Lissa. "This little lady is here at my request. I expect you to treat her with some respect."

The crowd quieted. Once again Tess felt every eye in the room on her. Her heart was beating so fast, she felt dizzy.

She fought the urge to turn and run. "As many of you know, my husband, Jack, has turned himself in to Ed and is in jail in Victoria."

"It's where he should be!" someone yelled.

Tess winced. "It's where the murderer should be," she said quietly, so quietly the crowd had to strain forward to hear her. "But what if Jack's not the murderer?" She waited, allowing the pregnant silence to expand. Then, softly, she said, "If he's innocent, we're all still in danger."

Her gaze cut to a portly man standing in the front row. "If Jack's not the murderer, your children are in danger. So is your wife."

The portly man flushed and looked uncomfortable. "B-But why would he say he done it if he dint?"

Tess let her gaze drift over the rest of the crowd. "Did any of you, or your relatives, fight in the war?"

There was a heartbeat's pause, then slowly, almost reluctantly, a few hands went up.

Tess focused on one of the men, a straggly, hollow-cheeked man in dungarees. "Do you have ... nightmares about it?"

The man paled and looked away. Staring at the side wall, he jerked his chin in a quick nod.

Tess glanced around again, her gaze sweeping the crowd. "The soldiers in that war saw horrors we can't imagine. And sometimes they can't ... let go. That's

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Jack's problem. When he hears loud noises, it reminds him of gunfire. Sometimes it scares him so badly, he panics."