Free Copperback by Tarah R. Hamilton

they were doing
and walked out of the room. I couldn’t just leave him. I stayed and checked for
a pulse. There wasn’t one, and I tried to resuscitate him in the empty room. I
knew it was too late, but I had to try. One of the nurses saw me and reported
me to the chief of staff. I was asked to leave and was given a large sum of
money to keep quiet about it. It wasn’t against the law, but there were groups
out there that would love to get their hands on a story like that and try to
sway the public opinion. I felt wrong about taking it, but after talking to
your mom, she had a good idea of how we could use it to keep helping.”
    The
story about the boy had been touching, if nothing else. He was an innocent as
far as I could tell, but that still had nothing to do with adult Sayners that
were murderers, or the one dying in my basement. One child didn’t make me feel
any more for them. Children died every day. It was just the order of things.
    I
was about to stop her, but she clearly wasn’t finished. I had told her I would
listen, but it was late, and the longer she talked, the harder it would be to
wake up Chase to cart the body out of the house.
    “You
know that we used most of it to renovate the Inn,” she said. “It was a good
investment, but it was a cover for what we had been working on. We had been
trying to find other Sayner slaves. Anytime we found one, we worked out a plan
for months to get them out without being detected. We gave them money and
clothes, and drove them as far as we could to help them escape. We probably
saved three before the accident.”
    She
had caught my attention. How was this going on for years and I never knew about
it? My mom had never kept a secret from me my whole life, but this was huge.
They were running an underground railroad, and I had been clueless.
    “That
night, your mom was driving. We had already picked up a female Sayner and had
her in the backseat with us. The snow was coming down hard, and we should have
waited for a better time, but your mom insisted it had to be that night. She
wouldn’t slow down, afraid that someone would be following us. The car spun out
of control and hit a tree.”
    Sally
seemed to be having trouble going on. The painful memories of the accident she
had hidden so well all these years were bubbling up. She dropped her head,
losing any eye contact. I wanted to press her to go on, but waited for her,
instead.
    “I
wish I could tell you she died instantly, but that’s not true either. She
refused to let me call for help until she knew the Sayner woman was far enough
away that she wouldn’t be caught again. That woman helped me get your mom out
of the car and tried to save her. She didn’t want to leave her side. Your mom
died before the paramedics arrived.”
    “Did
the woman get away?” I had to ask. After giving her life to set her free, I
would at least hope it wasn’t for nothing.
    “No.
About a week later, I read they had discovered her – and killed her.” She
stopped. I waited for her to catch her breath. The tears that she was holding
back had choked her up. “After your mom died, I stopped trying. It was
impossible for me to keep at it when she had always been so strong. I never
could have saved anyone without her. Last week, I overheard Chase talking about
Job. I had already started to set a plan in motion to help him escape. I didn’t
expect him to end up at your doorstep like this. That is why I’m not sending
him back to the Carter’s. I need you to help me, Emily. I need to help him
leave.”
    Sally
finished talking, her round cheeks streaked with tears. I wasn’t sure how I was
supposed to feel – if this was to make me feel better. “Does Chase know?”
    “Chase
couldn’t keep a secret this big if he tried, so, no.”
    “Why
didn’t anyone tell me? Why did you lie to me about it?”
    “I
wanted to tell you. Every day, I saw how consumed with grief you were. You took
it harder than anyone. I don’t think you