‘The liberty piece suggests his new stepmom might have had more influence over him than we previously considered. Maybe she helped pay for his future but under her instruction. She herself was the daughter of a slave patrol captain.’
Darnell threw up his hands in the air, before folding the envelope away and hiding it in his pocket, hoping that the park manager would forget all about the delivery.
On Penelope’s return, she handed them the documents they requested and excused herself while they reviewed her offerings. The list of current and past employees was too big to scan, but they’d take them away to review with her approval. They glanced through the list of names on the visitor log to the research centre. Once again, Michael Yarn had signed in just days earlier, however they were well aware that his student ID from Springfield University had been stolen. They looked around the visitors’ entrance but found no evidence of further vandalism, however they spotted CCTV equipment, which surrounded the reception desk. They highlighted the time when Yarn had supposedly entered the building.
‘Penelope!’ Vanessa shouted as she spotted the salmon dumpling shuffling past her office. The park manager turned around with the same look of dismay she’d welcomed them with earlier. ‘Could we take a copy of the CCTV footage?’
Chapter 12
Springfield University was at the very forefront of American history studies. Whilst the institution wouldn’t be found at the top of any Ivy League tables, being in the heart of one of the most historic towns in the USA had its advantages. They were at the top of their game when it came to Lincoln studies and the professors were making more discoveries about the nation’s favourite president every day.
The campus was Romanesque in style, brick red in colour and eight storeys tall. The building housed twenty-five lecture theatres and over eighty classrooms. The grand entrance hall displayed multiple awards for their contribution to local history, as well as photographs of their famous alumni, which included Hollywood A-Listers, musicians and, not surprisingly, politicians. In the centre lay a glass cabinet; inside was the university’s most prized possession, one of Abraham Lincoln’s top hats. A powdered spot upon the nap displayed a fingerprint which belonged to the former president. The hat was offered to the university as a gift after a breakthrough piece of work was completed on the Thomas Lincoln story.
Inside the lecture theatre, Professor Barry King had begun his lesson on the dynamics of the Lincoln home in Springfield, with a particular focus on the marriage of Abe and his wife, Mary. Barry was silver haired, handsome with a prominent strong nose and soft blue eyes. He was tall and buff beneath his grey suit jacket. Sitting amongst his students, Vanessa and Darnell were waiting for the class to end so they could discuss potential suspects with Professor King. They stuck out like sore thumbs in Darnell’s business suit and Vanessa’s designer dresses while those beside them appeared ready to jump into a mosh pit.
‘Lincoln said that marriage ‘is neither heaven nor hell, it is simply purgatory’, which suggests that good old Abe wasn’t that happy at home with his wife. So what elements would have contributed to a rocky marriage?’ King opened up the debate to his class.
‘They lost a child, which can often cause marriages to fall apart,’ a man in his early twenties called out. The student was dressed in a white jumper, typically worn by cricketers, beige cords and square framed glasses. He typed up his notes on an electronic tablet, similar to Vanessa’s. Darnell peered around the room and noticed nearly all the students had these devices and only a handful continued to carry a pen and notepad. He had considered completing a degree in his retirement, but these whizz kids made him question how competent he would be with the university’s modern learning styles; he could barely work a Kindle.
‘Ah yes, of course,’ Barry King replied. ‘William Wallace Lincoln died at the age of eleven of typhoid fever. Psychology studies have shown that the death of a child can tamper with a marital union. However let’s not forget that William didn’t pass over until Abraham was already in the White House, over a year after they left Springfield. So what caused their marriage to be a fiery one right here in Springfield, in the house which you all pass every day to get to this class?’
‘Political views?’ A girl at the back stood up. She was Asian and wore a large pink jumper, which matched the backpack that accompanied her. ‘They were from different backgrounds. He was poor while she had a privileged childhood. She also came from a background which embraced slavery, while he was trying to end it.’
‘That could very well be the case.’ King nodded. ‘Well done, Lae. Anyone else wish to contribute?’
‘Surely his career alone could have caused a rift in their marriage?’ a scruffy student spoke up. A black beret with a cannabis leaf sat upon his head and he wore a Bob Marley t-shirt and baggy jeans. He was the sort of kid Darnell used to run a stop-and-search on when he was on the beat, and was far from what he expected to find in an academic environment. He questioned if there was any hope for the future of the country when this is what the best and the brightest was determined to be in the Springfield area.
‘He was a lawyer,’ the student continued. ‘Then State Senator, and was on his way to the White House. A career in law alone caused my parents to dissolve their marriage nearly a decade ago. I can’t imagine what sort of stress the political pressures he would have faced could’ve thrown on them too.’
Barry nodded. ‘Absolutely, I don’t
