I Know Who Did It

    I Know Who Did It

Suzanne Marsh

“Hello”

“You wouldn’t dare!”

“Just try it.” The shot rang out suddenly, a low moan. Dan Shilling was dead. I had no idea what to do. I called the police, they questioned me, all I could tell them was what I had overheard, I replayed the entire short conversation in my head, asking myself who would want to kill Dan. He was a well respected attorney, father and husband, now he was dead. I had to figure out what the conversation I overheard had to do with the murder. I am by no means a police officer or a Private Investigator, I am a Historian. Dan and I had been working on the history of a sword he purchased several years ago, in a small antique shop not far from Franklin, Tennessee. It was a battle sword that Confederate General Patrick Cleburne carried, now it had been stolen and Dan was dead. I knew there had to be connection between the murder and the sword. After the police left, I returned to Dan’s study, his wife was in the south of France and the children were away at boarding school. I saw a rather odd shaped object on the floor near where Dan’s body had been. The question was what was it, was it the murder weapon?

I knew collectors that would sell their right arm for a historical sword, no matter who it had belonged to. The question was why would someone kill for it? I had traced the sword from 1864 when Cleburne was killed during the battle of Franklin. The sword had been taken as a keep sake by a Jerimiah Jones, a Union private. It had been in his family for several generations, the family fell on hard times and sold the sword to a sword dealer, who sold it to James Delano. James Delano had it mounted above his fireplace where it remained for a decade. Delano sold it to a pawn shop, he had no idea whose sword it was or its history. The pawn shop dealer then sold it to Max Henry, a mobster. He used it to slay his enemies. Max, kept the sword until he was facing a prison term, Dan Shilling was defending him. Dan saw the sword and asked Max if he would like to sell it. Max thought about it:

“Yeah Dan, you have it, I won’t have much use for it where I’m going.” Dan, was having lunch with me one afternoon, he told me about the sword. Like any good historian, I listened, then asked if I could see it. The moment I saw the sword I knew I had seen it somewhere before. I told Dan I would be honored to play a role in discovering whose sword it was. Dan, was pleased, I was intrigued.

I began my research by learning the sword was not actually a sword but a calvary sabre, as I began to understand from items I found on the web. A sword is straight, a sabre is curved, I searched for calvary sabre’s from several different eras. One afternoon as I was researching I saw a picture of the actual sabre, it belonged to a Confederate General by the name of Patrick R. Cleburne. I was not overly familiar with the General but then I discovered facts about him that I thought perhaps Dan would like to know. He was born in Ovens, County Cork, that was when Dan began to take more interest, his grandfather had come from Ovens, County Cork Ireland. Dan began to trace his family tree, he was a distant relative of the General. We then began to look at the life of Major General Patrick Cleburne. It made for very interesting reading, they called him the “Stonewall of the West”, meaning he would not be moved or retreat, much like “Stonewall” Jackson, he was like a stone wall during combat.

I suggested to Dan, that he keep the true identity of the sabre’s owner quiet, there were many people that would love to attain that piece of history, for their own. Dan, laughed as he wondered who would really want a sabre such as that in an iron scabbard, trimmed in brass. I told him about one interested party I had heard from recently who was willing to purchase the sabre for 2.1 million dollars, Dan would not sell, especially since he knew the sabre belonged to his family, he had it mounted over the fireplace in his study. Pride would wash over him every time someone asked about the sabre.

I had been aware of the offer since Dan wanted to know if it was worth that amount of money, it was a plain calvary sabre, how could it possibly be worth that amount of money.

I began to think that whoever killed Dan was after the sabre, the questions were who, and why. Logically my mind first went to the billionaire who wanted the sabre, why was it so important to him. I decided to visit the man, I got his number from Dan’s client list. I drove toward Helena, Arkansas, which was where Cleburne had called home while a lawyer.. The house had been built prior to the Civil War, it was a huge Victorian, with white clapboard. I had phoned to ask if I might drop by, I parked my car and strode toward the front door. I noted a movement as a curtain moved slightly. I used the old fashion door knocker. The door opened and there stood Jake Talbot, a tall sardonic looking man, he motioned me into the interior of the house.

This was indeed strange, the house and furnishings were all from the Civil War, I noted several pieces of furniture that I had seen in museums over the years, how had he managed to purchase those, museums do not normally sell off sofas, and such. Talbot motioned me to have a seat, he seated himself across from me:

“What brings you here Professor Winters? Surely you have better things to do.” This was not going the way I had planned, my version I had the upper hand.

“Dan Shilling was murdered last evening, I came to ask you about the sabre you wished to

purchase from him.”

Talbot gave me a quizzical look:

“You don’t think I did it do you? I have never met the man.” He seemed to me to be telling the truth. I searched his face:

“Is there anyone you can think of who wanted that sabre more than you did?”

Talbot thought for several moments:

“Just one, he is an ecentric dottering old fool, his son would anything for him.”

I began:

“Who is the son? His name?”

Once again Talbot sat silently:

“Sam something or another. I must be going, the butler will show you out.”

He seemed to be attempting to rid himself of my presence. I left quickly, I now knew who killed Dan Shilling, Jake Talbot, all I had to do was find the sabre, it did not require much, I doubled back to the house, waited hidden in the brush. Talbot left, he drove south with me following him at a distance. He stopped at a small clapboard house, got out of his car. He walked up the steps, letting himself in. I waited, he came back out the sabre in hand. I had summoned the State Troopers before I began to following him. He was arrested, charged with first degree murder, I returned to home later that evening, I finally figured out who did it, Dan I hoped would now rest in peace.