Bagatelle

Kirsten Alexander
ENGL 252
11 May 2011
Prof. Wardrop
 I.
The County Attorney turns away from Martha Hale and Ruth Peters.
“Yes, knot it. The methods of quilt making are trivial and only known by women.” He
pauses, with a chuckle. “Well, ladies, please evacuate—you two are not needed for this
investigation. Please bring Mrs. Wright her belongings and tell her that we will find the murderer
and she is in custody for her own protection.” He turns and quickly and takes the stairs to the
second floor. Martha and Ruth exhale with relief and make their way towards the Dickinson
County Jail. The two women walk calmly (although this was just an illusion, for the two women
were anxious) to the buggy and are silent for the drive, as the driver may be eavesdropping.
Martha grips the box in her pocket in such a way that it could very well look empty, and in her
other hand is Ruth’s free one. Once they reach their destination, the buggy-driver leaves them at
the door.
“We have to tell her about everything.” Martha whispers so only Ruth is to hear it. Ruth
nervously unfolds and refolds the apron. With a quick nod from Ruth, the two enter. They are
greeted by a man and are guided to Mrs. Wright’s holding cell. Martha looks towards her
sympathetically.
“Minnie—we have a couple of your belongings to make your stay more comfortable. We
know that if we were in your position we would have wanted the same.” Martha states as Ruth
hands Minnie her apron. Minnie quietly takes the apron, and slowly unwraps the cherry
preserves. She nervously places them down and ties her apron about her waist. The three women
stand in silence. The man who had let Martha and Ruth into the jail bids the three adieu and
Martha waits until the door is completely shut before frantically pulling out the box. Before the
box is revealed to Minnie, both Ruth and Martha put a sole finger to their mouths, signaling that
Minnie needs to stay quiet and keep a secret. Minnie lays her eyes on the box and a quick gasp
escapes her. She quickly coughs to cover up the obvious and Ruth consoles her, asking if she has
caught cold because of the below zero degree weather.
“Yes, that is why I asked for my favorite apron, I hadn’t thought to bring something
warm to wear.” Minnie responds, almost monotonously, still in shock about the discovery of the
canary. With the sight of the box, Minnie understood that the two women before her had
confiscated the only evidence that could have been used against her. She let out a slight grin.
Martha grins as well.
“I’ve missed you, Minnie. Once this murder is figured out, I promise to call you because
I know what it’s like to be in a house to yourself—lonesome. My husband is always in the fields
and I could use some company. The children would appreciate an aunt Minnie.” With this
confirmation of the secret, Martha hides the pretty box back inside her large coat pocket. Ruth
looks towards the door, hoping that the man on duty isn’t about to eavesdrop. She nervously
chuckles.
“It’s debatable whether or not they’re going to call you to the stand. As far as I know,
there isn’t much to scrape from the investigation. Hopefully you’re only here for your own
protection, but I can’t guarantee that for you, Minnie. Just know that the men have searched
every corner of the house for evidence.” Ruth nervously plays with the pleats in her skirt.
Unbeknownst to the three, the guard at the door had been eavesdropping.
 II.
The County Attorney, George Henderson, watches the two women exit. Minutes later, the
Sheriff exits. George mumbles to himself about how their presence was a distraction. Frank, an
investigator, enters the house and immediately pulls out his Kodak Brownie camera.
“Has anything been touched in the house, at all?” Frank asks, just to make sure.
“Two women went through a closet to bring Mrs. Wright her things, but other than that,
no, I don’t believe that anything was touched.” The County Attorney states nonchalantly.
Besides, he thought, what sort of evidence would women find that had gone under the radar for
experienced investigators? He follows Frank around the house as he takes pictures for evidence.
They investigate all of the windows, but there is no evidence of forced entry. All of the rooms
downstairs are closely examined and photographed. Although there is little to no evidence,
George’s persistence is unmatched. Frank and the Sheriff, Henry Peters, leave George alone. He
examines John Wright’s neck over and over again. The way that the murder had been set up, the
rope around his neck had been brought around the headboard and around one of the posts near
the end of the bed, somewhat like a pulley. George concludes that this would be a natural way to
strangle Mr. Wright because of the fact that he was larger than average. The way that the pulleys
displaced pressure would have the murderer make sure that the strangling job was done. Still,
George frets. Why did the murderer not use John’s own gun on himself? He thinks, knowing full
well that if the gun was used, the gun powder residue could be found on the clothing of the
culprit and bring the case to a close soon enough. He walks around the body to where Mrs.
Wright would have been sleeping. The blankets are untouched, and thrown about in a way that
insinuates she jumped out of bed in a hurry. George angrily swats at the covers and turns around,
frustrated with the fact that he cannot find any more evidence. He gets into his buggy and goes to
the County Jail, where he is greeted by the man overseeing the convicts.

III.
Minnie grins and thanks Martha and Ruth for bringing her belongings and dismisses
them. After examining her cherry preserves for a bit and determining that they are in perfect
condition, she is greeted by the County Attorney.
“Good ‘morrow, Mrs. Wright.”
Minnie vaguely acknowledges his presence and begins to nervously play with the pleats
of her skirt.
“Are you enjoying your personal belongings? – Are you comfortable?” He asks, but his
tone of voice does not insinuate that he actually cares about her comfort level.
“Yes, I am just fine.” Minnie responds shortly.
“Did you love your husband, Mrs. Wright?”
“He was my husband, yes.” Minnie’s use of yes is not a confirmation or denial, just used
as a justification of the truth.
“You don’t need to love to be able to get along with your significant other. You didn’t
fight about anything?”
“Do you have a wife, Mr. Henderson?”
“Yes, I do.”
“Do you fight with your wife?”
“No, she does her housework diligently.” The Attorney replies sharply, as if the question
is ridiculous. He opens the cell door and enters. Minnie nervously backs away, timid. She keeps
pleating her skirt.
 “Right, so I need to know if John had any sort of enemies, Mrs. Wright.” The Attorney
pulls out a notebook and pencil, expecting an interview.
“Not that I know of.” Minnie replies in a sing-song voice. The open door of the cell is
taking her attention. The Attorney jots down a couple of notes and looks closer. He quickly shuts
his notebook and exits the cell.
“I will be questioning his coworkers and will be continuing the investigation. Please stay
here for your own protection for now.” Minnie breathes a sigh of relief, but as she does, she
looks down on her hands. They are torn up and blistered from the violent act of strangling her
husband to death.
IV.
George arrives at the Wright household and enters the barn. In front of him are the stable
hands. He questions each of them individually, but one worker, Walter, seems to be more
nervous than the others.
“Where were you the night that John was strangled?”
“I was back at home with my wife, sir. She is ill and needs me for support.”
“Fair enough. Tell me about her.”
“She’s on her deathbed, sir. She doesn’t have much longer to live and I can only do so
much with my paycheck nowadays.”
Interested, George further inquires. “Do you resent John for making you work for long
hours? If he was a bit easier on you, you could accompany your wife in her last few days.”
“Sure, I would love to spend as much time with my wife as possible—I love her.”
“There will be no further questions, thank you Walter.” George jots down Walter’s name
and place of residence. He takes a buggy back to the Dickinson County Jail and does as much
research as he can.
V.
Ruth lies awake in her bed. Next to her, the Sheriff sleeps calmly. Thinking over the
details, she sneaks out of her bedroom and down the stairs to where the telephone is kept. Her
husband had bought into the party telephone line and was linked to Martha Hale, among others.
She frantically tries to get a hold of Martha, but her husband picks up the telephone instead.
“Martha?” She asks, almost frantically.
“Wh—No, this is Lewis. Who might this be?” He asks, suspicious of who is on the other
line. As far as his knowledge, Martha had not used the phone and rarely had other women
looking for her company.
“My apologies, Mr. Hale, but is your wife available?” She calmly replies.
“Y—yes, she is. Why do you need to speak to her?”
“Trivial things. I need to ask her about how to—” She states, hoping that Mr. Hale would
pay no attention to detail.
“Of course, housewife activities. Sure, let me go get her from the kitchen.” A faint call
for Martha is heard on the other line and soon Martha is present on the phone. She watches her
husband exit the room and go upstairs to their bedroom.
“Ruth! Do you know how we could be putting Minnie in jeopardy right now?” Martha
angrily whispers into the telephone.
“I’ve heard from the County Attorney that they assume the murderer is small, because of
the way the rope was used in a pulley system. That is all my husband will tell me. What did you
do with the box and the canary?”
 “I hid it in a cupboard for now until I can bury it while my husband is at work
tomorrow.” A sigh of relief is heard from the two, and they wish each other a goodnight before
hanging up. Mr. Hale asks Martha how the Sheriff is doing, but Martha replies that they did not
discuss such things of the trial.
“It figures,” Mr. Hale responds, “that the two women who know anything in the case of
Mrs. Wright would not even discuss it all, but they would only discuss bagatelle.” He shuts off
the light and goes to sleep. Martha quickly falls asleep, but Ruth, still ridden with guilt, cannot
sleep.
VI.
The combined effort of the investigators and George Henderson were to no avail.
Without a motive, Mrs. Wright was not guilty. George tossed and turned in his sleep as he tried
to piece together the evidence. Nothing made sense in his eyes. Suicide had been ruled out a
while ago. He questioned Walter further, but there was no true motive. His thoughts turned
towards Mr. Wright and her alibi that she had been a sound sleeper. He sneered. She would have
been a great witness, for a woman.
The next day Lewis Hale, Henry Peters, Walter, and George Henderson met at the
County Jail. They had come to pick up Mrs. Wright for there was to be a trial. She came along
willingly, but she was still nervously fidgeting with her skirt. The five entered the courthouse
and began the trial. The all male jury looked upon the situation with unassuming eyes, but they
all knew that a woman such as Mrs. Wright would not have been able to kill a man, let alone her
loving husband.
“I’d like to call Walter to the stand, Judge.” George formally states. Walter swears on the
Bible and sits in the witness box calmly.
“How long had you been working for John?”
“About a year or so.”
“Were you two close at all?”
“No, I had thought that it was not good for your job if you become close to your
employer—besides, I spent as little time as possible in the house—it was usually cold and
uninviting. Maybe that’s just me.” He states, completely unaware of the accusing jury.
“So you’ve been in the house?”
“Briefly, yes. I had never gone upstairs, though, I assumed that it was just a bedroom and
that is a private part of a man’s life.”
“Funny, that really is that’s all up there. How did you know that?” George asks further,
thinking that he might have caught the culprit.
“I just assumed it since he never invited me up there, I guess.” Walter starts to get
nervous. “I didn’t do it, I have no motive!”
“You told me that your wife is on her deathbed, but John made you come to work on
your normal schedule.”
“Correct, but why would this give me motive to murder my employer?” Walter states,
and George’s body language shows that he might be defeated. He asks Walter to sit.
“Mrs. Wright, will you please come to the stand?” George calls for her, and she gets up
from the crowd and sits in the witness box.
VII.
“Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth , so help you
god?”
 “I do.” Minnie replies, and quietly sits. She fiddles with the pleats in her skirt. The
County Attorney notices this and questions her.
“Nervous habit, Mrs. Wright? Why are you so nervous?”
“My husband has been murdered” She quickly replies.
“I suppose. A husband is all that women live for, and without one, I assume that you are
lost, especially without children.” The Attorney states this rhetorically, and Minnie stays quiet.
She keeps her hands out of sight of the audience, and more importantly the Attorney.
“So, there was no way that a murder right next to you would wake you up?”
“I’m a sound sleeper.” Minnie states, trying to make it seem like she wasn’t avoiding the
question. The Attorney shrugs and turns his back towards her.
“You also said that your husband did not have any enemies that you knew of?”
“None. I do not know why you also brought one of his workers to testify—he didn’t treat
them unfairly, to my knowledge.”
“Right. Well, we have to find the culprit to this murder for you, Mrs. Wright.” He
reassures her. He is walking on thin ice—for Minnie is bound to the Bible and can only tell the
truth. Martha and Ruth are on the edge of their seats in the audience, hoping that the Attorney
does not ask any questions that she has to lie about.
“That is all, Mrs. Wright. Please seat yourself.” The Attorney gestures to the seat Minnie
was in previously. She still fidgets nervously, but Martha and Ruth know that this is forced, and
Minnie is thoroughly relieved.
The Attorney pitches to the jury what the crime scene looked like, and the pictures taken
were passed around. There was no further mention of the possibility that it could have been
Minnie. The jury decided that neither the worker nor Minnie was guilty, and after much
deliberation, the case was closed. However, the case was still nagging at the back of the
Attorney’s mind. After the court case, the Attorney asked to escort Minnie to her household, and
she happily obliged. The two of them entered the buggy, and the Attorney apologized to the fact
that the case was closed and the murderer could not be found.
“It wasn’t you now, was it?” He joked.
“Yes, it was.” Minnie replied. The Attorney laughed hysterically before responding to
her.
“Good joke, Mrs. Wright, I needed a laugh today.” He stated as the buggy pulled to the
door of the house. He took her hand and lightly kissed the top of it after she exited the buggy.
“G’day, Mrs. Wright.”
“G’day, Mr. Henderson” Minnie walked into the house and went about her business. She
packed all of her belongings and was gone the next day.
END.