At fifty feet away, he heard music. At twenty, he could distinguish the words of the hit song “Come Take a Trip in my Airship” playing on a gramophone.
The tenor Billy Murray was starting the last chorus. Bell sprinted forward to take advantage of the cover before the cylinder ran out.
Come take a trip in my airship.
Come take a sail ’mong the stars.
Come have a ride around Venus.
Come have a spin around Mars.
He climbed onto the rear platform.
No one to watch while we’re kissing,
No one to see while we spoon,
He opened the door. The music got louder.
Come take a trip in my airship,
And we’ll visit the man in the moon.
He was inside, back pressed to the door as he closed it quietly. This was the rear parlor, where the plush velvet seats could be converted to beds. He glided forward, toward the light, which was filtered by a curtain. The music was coming from the middle section, which the Pullman Company had configured for Matters as an office.
Suddenly a figure pushed through the curtain.
Bell slammed his arms around it in a vise grip.
36
A shriek brought Edna Matters bursting into the parlor with her .410 shotgun.
She saw Bell and lowered the gun.
“Thank God, it’s you.”
It was Nellie in Bell’s arms. He could feel her heart pounding fearfully. He let go. She gathered herself with repeated deep breaths.
“Hello, Isaac. We figured you’d show up. You could have knocked.”
“Our father is not here and we don’t know where he is,” said Edna.
“Would you tell me if you did?”
“No, Isaac. We would not.”
Nellie said, “Not until you understand that all he did was blow up in anger. Thanks to you, he didn’t kill Rockefeller. You saved him from committing a terrible crime in a grip of rage. No damage was done. We are grateful to you for that. But does he deserve jail, considering all he suffered?”
“What happens next time when I’m not there to stop him?”
“It won’t happen again.”
“Will his anger evaporate? I don’t think so.”
“He’ll get over it. He’s not a cold-blooded killer.”
Isaac Bell said, “He prepared a killing field. He opened the gangway connectors. He lured Rockefeller out there. He planned ahead of time how he would kill him. Any jury will call that premeditated murder.”