Finding Eliza Read online

  “I did locate a small obituary. It’s not written like those you read today. When you are looking through the obits, don’t set your expectations too high. Sometimes they contain a lot of detail about the person, but most times the obituaries for the average person in our county were no more than a line or two.” Gertrude waved Lizzie over to her machine. “This is Eliza’s.” She pointed to the bottom of a column in the newspaper to a short column simple titled, Death Announcements.

  Eliza James, daughter of Frank and Amelia James, died at the home of her brother, Alston, last week. Services were held at the First Baptist Church. Rev. Thomas Ray officiated.

  “Is there any way to find out what happened to her?” Lizzie kept reading the words over and over. “I’m just shocked that they summed up her life in a few little sentences.”

  “I asked my father what happened to his sister just once. He always believed that she died of a broken heart,” said Gertrude. “That’s all he would say.”

  “What do you think she died of that day?” Lizzie asked while writing on her notepad.

  “I think he was right. There is a real syndrome nicknamed the ‘broken heart syndrome’. It’s a type of cardiomyopathy caused by deep emotional stress. Think of it as a form of a heart attack but lighter. I think it’s fitting. Daddy didn’t realize that decades later they would determine that a broken heart is a real medical condition.”

  “That’s so sad, Gran. Poor Eliza.”

  Lizzie’s heart grieved for the aunt that she would never know. “Out of curiosity, do you know what happened to Eldridge’s body? Did they bury him in the town cemetery?”

  “During that time, the cemetery was segregated by race. Eldridge was buried on the other side of the fence from our family plot in what was designated as the ‘colored cemetery’.” Gertrude squeezed her lips together in a frown and shook her head slowly. “Different times, indeed.”

  The other gals had already left, their research completed. Only Lizzie and Gertrude remained in the dark, cool room. Lizzie bent down and placed her arm around her grandmother’s shoulders. “Would you take me to visit her grave tomorrow? I’d like to pay my respects.”

  “I think that would be a wonderful idea.” Gertrude smiled. “You’ll find this interesting. Eliza’s headstone faces a different direction compared to those around her. Wouldn’t it be something if Daddy did it so that she could face Eldridge? I can’t imagine the attention that would have caused. He also put an angel on her headstone. I had no idea why until I read the he found her beneath the weeping angel that night.”

  “I want to look through a few more newspapers first, though. Are you sure that there aren’t any other mentions of the lynching?” Lizzie asked.

  “What you found is most likely all you will find, but we can keep looking if you’d like. It’s always best to exhaust all your resources.”

  The two women looked through several issues of the town newspaper without result before Gertrude suggested that they try the archives of the larger paper one town north of Everett Springs.

  “Gran! This article lists information about a gathering for the KKK in the area the night after the Eldridge was murdered. Do you think those men could have been involved in what happened to the two of them?”

  “Like I mentioned before, my father was worried about the KKK, though we will have no way of knowing if it was them. According to the diary, Eliza was never able to give him too many details about the men that were there that night. She did seem to refer to her main attacker as the man in white, so I would assume they could have been involved.” Gertrude removed her reading glasses and rubbed her straining eyes. “I don’t know what you’ll be able to find out. Their ranks are extremely secretive. They kept their faces hidden for a reason.”

  “Because they were cowards,” Lizzie said under her breath.

  “Lizzie, darling, are you sure you want to dig into this hornet’s nest? You might not like where it leads.”

  “If I had a chance to expose those responsible and to shine a light on their evil, I would do it in a heartbeat. I’m a big girl. I think I’ll take my chances.”

  As Lizzie gathered her things, she thought about the ages of those involved. She knew that most of the people involved wouldn’t be alive, but she hoped she’d have the chance to confront them if they were.

  ***

  Leaving Gertrude to finish her other research, Lizzie headed home. As she walked across the grassy yard in front of the library, Avery Abernathy walked out of the local diner.

  “Hey, Avery!” Lizzie called as she jogged to meet him on the sidewalk. “Imagine running into you in the same parking lot twice in the same day. How’s your day with your grandfather going?”

  “We’re having a good time catching up. Actually, I wanted to talk to you. My grandfather said that you were looking into a family diary of yours. Finding anything good?”

  “I am indeed. It was my grandmother’s little trick to get me involved in her family history research. Unfortunately for me, it worked.” Lizzie said with a giggle. “The diary tells a tragic story in my family’s past, so it’s been an emotional week.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that. I hope it wasn’t something crazy like a crime.” Avery hoped to lead her into a conversation about the details. Any information she shared would give him insight into her intentions. Avery shifted his weight and leaned against the newspaper box next to him. He crossed his arms loosely over his chest and tilted his head to the side. He wanted to appear relaxed and hide the nerves that he felt.

  “Actually, there was. My aunt and her companion were murdered. I’m determined to find out as much information about what happened as I can.”

  “You’re making it sound like you’re the modern day Nancy Drew,” he teased.

  “She was a white girl dating a black boy in the south during the 1930s. It didn’t go over well as you can imagine. He was lynched, and I think she was raped. I can’t prove a lot, but the timing and notes make me believe the local KKK had a hand in it.” Lizzie fiddled with her keys. “I can’t prove anything yet, but I feel like I need to bring justice to my aunt’s name if I can. It’s hard to think we had such darkness and horror in our little slice of Georgia heaven, but we did. Those people were just evil. I need to know who was involved.”

  “Do you think they would still be alive? What’s the chance in that?”

  “I’m sure you’re right. I’d just like to find an answer for once. Tragedy seems to be a theme in my family tree. It just doesn’t end.” Lizzie dropped her head to avoid making eye contact with Avery, but he could still see the tears starting to well up in her eyes.

  He wasn’t sure how to react. He couldn’t breathe easy until he knew that his grandfather’s good name was protected. Avery shifted his weight from one side to the other and looked at Lizzie’s eyes before speaking. “Sometimes we just want closure. That’s what I hear you say. Right? Maybe there are other ways you can get it that might be more realistic than to track down the people involved.” Avery said a silent prayer as he waited for her answer.

  “I suppose that’s true. I know that it sounds crazy to chase something like this after all these years. I should be going. Besides, if I keep you too long your grandfather will kill me!”

  Avery cringed at her choice of words. “If you only knew what you just said…”

  ***

  After a long day of researching, Lizzie was thankful to see Jack busy at the kitchen when she walked in.

  “I thought it would be a great night for comfort food,” said Jack. Still holding the cast iron pan handle in one hand and his spatula in the other, he leaned over and kissed his wife hello. “Now don’t distract me while I’m creating perfection.” He turned his attention back to his task creating of his specialty. Lizzie loved his grilled cheese sandwich with bacon, mayonnaise, and a little Dijon mustard.

  Lizzie’s mouth watered. “Don’t let me take your attention, sir. Food is love, and I could use a dose of it tonight.” She set h
er things down on the kitchen table and folded into the barstool behind the kitchen island. “It was a crazy day today. I never realized that researching could take it out of you, but it does.”

  “Oh, yeah? Do tell. What exciting adventure did you take while I was hard at work today?”

  “I learned to use a microfilm reader. Jealous?” teased Lizzie.

  “Boring…” Jack yawned and patted his mouth with the kitchen mitt.

  “Ok, try this one. I met Thomas Abernathy’s grandson.”

  “Now, that’s interesting. What’s his story?”

  “He’s down visiting from Atlanta. He wanted to check out Everett Springs. His mom and dad moved out of town after he was born, and he’s thinking about moving back. He seems nice. He’s our age. You should meet him.”

  “Why don’t you invite him over for dinner while he’s here?”

  “That’s a great idea. We could fire up the barbecue.”

  Jack flipped another sandwich onto a plate and slid it in front of Lizzie before reaching into the oven for a pan of spicy sweet potato fries. “Did you find out anything about Eliza and Eldridge?”

  Lizzie started twirling a chunk of hair around the index finger of her right hand. “Do you know what bothers me most about this story? It could be anyone. This is only a few generations from me, so the people who did this to Eldridge and Eliza could have descendants in town right alongside me.” Lizzie paused. “What if I know the people involved? Do you think that’s possible?” She ripped a corner off of the sandwich and took a bite loaded with cheese and bacon.

  “Anything’s possible. Would it make a difference to you?” Jack kept tending to his grilled cheese. The sound of the spatula scraping on the cast iron skillet creaked in the background.

  “I don’t know how it wouldn’t. It just seems so hard to reconcile that it was happening here of all places. It was in our hometown, Jack. It’s just so cruel.” Lizzie swiped a handful of sweet potato fries through the ketchup that Jack had squirted onto her plate. “If I did know them, I don’t know if I could forgive them for something like this.”

  “Your Gran reminded you that it was a different time. Don’t forget that it isn’t your burden to bear either. You didn’t know these two. I know that sounds harsh, but it’s the reality. Forgiveness comes in all forms, especially if you aren’t the one involved. You wouldn’t have anything to forgive, would you?”

  “Jack, I can’t believe it’s that simple for you. When you are the cause of someone’s death, you don’t deserve forgiveness. Every person involved in lynching was responsible for the deaths of two people. If it hadn’t been for their actions that night Eliza and Eldridge would have been alive. Two families were ruined that night.” Lizzie stood up from the table and picked up her glass of sweet tea. “I’ve got to get some air.”

  “Lizzie, come on now….”

  Lizzie didn’t hear him. She let the screen door slam against the frame as she walked onto the back porch. The idea of giving forgiveness to anyone in her own life who was capable of a crime like this felt so foreign. Like a wind coming from the middle of a tornado, her breath was taken away as she began to understand the reality of what she said. What if it was someone in her life today?

  The concept of forgiveness was such a hard one to Lizzie. She carried a heavy resentment against herself for her part in the death of her parents. If she hadn’t begged to be at the church that night they wouldn’t have had a reason to be in the car. Instead, they were driving in the storm that destroyed her family. She couldn’t forgive herself.

  Lizzie looked up at the night sky and started thinking about the lives that were destroyed that night in the cemetery. Tears began to well up inside of her. There are some things in this world that are just unforgivable, she thought. “I’ll never forgive them.”

  After Lizzie composed herself, she returned to the kitchen.

  Jack walked over to his wife and wrapped his arms around her. “You know I love you, right?”

  Lizzie just sighed. This was Jack’s way of telling her that she was in need of a change in her attitude.

  “You really need to think about forgiving yourself for something you couldn’t control. It wasn’t your fault, you know. You’re letting it get in the way of your other relationships and the way you think of people. You’ve got such a negative opinion and you need to remember that people are capable of change and redemption. I promise.”

  “That’s what you keep saying.” Lizzie pulled away from her husband’s embrace and returned to her seat.

  “Then it must be true,” he said as he pulled both plates out of the oven where they had been kept warm. “Now eat.”

  Without another word, the two ate in peace as Lizzie thought about what her husband said. She still didn’t think that she needed forgiveness, but she would consider offering it up to others.

  Chapter Seventeen

  After returning home from the diner, Thomas needed to lie down. Avery wanted to keep the house quiet, so he chose to sit in the backyard while his grandfather slept. He needed to decide what to do about the situation that threatened his family. His grandfather was one of the most peace-loving individuals that he knew. The people in town and of the church knew him as a loving person who was there to help and give. Avery had to make sure that his memory was kept intact. Thomas Abernathy was getting older. He couldn’t let his legacy be one of violence. His name had to be kept away from the events that took the lives of Eldridge and Eliza.

  As he sat in the old, wooden deck chair, he looked across the back fence taking in the surroundings. The Abernathy farm had been in his grandfather’s family for the last two hundred years. As the sun set, Avery looked over the crops growing high in the fields. As a child, he would run through those fields, ducking between rows of corn or jumping over melons on the vine. Memories of childhood began fading to the nightmares of the past and of Greer Abernathy. The secrets held in that dirt went back generations and had to be kept quiet. He didn’t want them unearthed.

  His mind wandered to his great-grandfather. Greer was a mystery to him. Avery couldn’t remember a single story or memory shared by his family that included his great-grandfather. There were no childhood tales passed down from his mother about time spent with her grandfather. Greer was a person who lived as he wanted. Tall and thick in build, he didn’t allow others to speak against him or his ideas. He was rough and loud with everyone that he encountered, especially his children and wife.

  Avery’s grandfather took the opposite approach with his small family. Quiet and caring, Thomas tried to support and love his children and grandchildren. He made it a point to avoid confrontation. He married and lived a quiet life rooted in the church and the community that he loved. As the youngest in the family, he never expected to inherit his father’s farm until his older brother was killed. A soldier in the fields of Europe during World War II, his brother never made it home. Reluctantly, his great-grandfather changed his will to leave the land to young Thomas. Over the years, Thomas grew apart from his remaining family until none remained. Avery assumed the space in his family was from a difference of opinions or beliefs. He never would have guessed that the root was in the guilt that his grandfather revealed.

  He spent the next hour pulling back the curtain on memories hoping to find a clue to explain how his parents could hide this horror from him. “So that’s why we moved,” he thought. The weight of his new reality sat on Avery’s chest. His family had been responsible for the lynching of a young African American man and the rape and death of a local girl. If they didn’t live in the area it made it that much harder for Avery to learn the truth.

  Avery reached into his pocket for his cell phone. He glanced at his watch to check the time. “Still early.” He could reach his mother before she settled in for the evening. Dialing the number, he realized that he had to let her know what was going on.

  “Hello, dear,” his mother answered. “How’s the vacation with Granddaddy? Are you figuring out if you’d like
to stay in Everett Springs or not?”

  “It’s been interesting, that’s for sure. I haven’t decided yet about moving. There are some things that I have to sort out first.” He stopped to choose the right words.

  “Avery, are you all right?” his mother asked.

  “I’ve been wrestling with something today that I think we might need to discuss. Granddaddy told me about the incident with Greer and the young boy Eldridge. Mama, he told me about his involvement. What’s worse is that I’ve met a descendant of Eliza’s, and she’s asking questions.”

  His mother went quiet on the other end of the phone. “Oh, son. This isn’t how I wanted you to learn about this. I didn’t want you to know. Whatever you do, remember that it is in the past and it needs to stay there. That’s not Granddaddy’s life now. It’s not who he is.”

  “I know, Mama. I’m not upset with him. Honest. I’m just worried is all. I’m worried about Lizzie. That’s her name - Lizzie.”

  “The Clydell girl? I don’t understand. What’s she doing asking about this? Does she know about it? Oh Avery, that will kill your grandfather. He adores her so.”

  “The girl from that night was Lizzie’s great-aunt. She’s digging to find out who was involved. I have to figure out how I’m going to keep it from coming out. It seems like the story is rearing its ugly head once again, and I need to stay here until it’s stopped.”

  Avery walked over to the bright red metal gate that divided the front pasture from the back. Leaning over it, he rested his arms and head on the top rung. “I just don’t know how to make that happen.”

  “You can’t run from the truth, Avery. I’ve tried. It may have taken a few decades, but you still found out.”

  “The truth is what scares me, Mama.”

  “Reach out to her for forgiveness. That’s all you can do.”

  “What if that isn’t enough, Mama?” he asked. “What then?”