‘I really need to go.’ Lae began to walk on but Darnell stepped in front of her and tapped his watch.
‘Well you’re late anyway, surely I can take a bit of your time? I’ll buy you a coffee and explain to Professor King regarding your absence. I’m sure supporting the police on an Abraham Lincoln case would be pretty good for your CV too.’
She hovered, battling between her desire to learn and her ego, which was boosted by Darnell’s kind words regarding her intelligence. She couldn’t deny her interest was tickled by the notion of a Lincoln association within a police investigation.
‘I suppose I can help,’ she reluctantly replied.
They found a Starbucks nearby. Darnell brought two filter coffees and a muffin each to the table in the corner by a window, which Lae had taken a seat at. The morning rush had died off and they could speak openly in the empty café without the fear of eavesdroppers.
‘So what sort of case has you investigating a man who has been dead for nearly a hundred and fifty years?’
‘You’ve seen on the news that there’s been some interest in the Oak Ridge Cemetery regarding the Lincoln tomb closure?’ Darnell began the discussion and Lae nodded. ‘Well, the truth is there’s been some vandalism there, which has appeared at other Lincoln sites across the country. The culprit appears to be trying to leave us a message about him and we’re trying to ascertain what that message could be. I’m trying to get as much knowledge about Lincoln as possible so we can catch this bastard, excuse my French, and avoid any more harm to our national treasures.’
‘Ah I see,’ Lae replied. ‘I don’t know what I can offer you, Detective Jackson. I’ve only been on the course for one and a half years.’
‘And so you’re eighteen months ahead of where I am.’ He winked and she blushed. ‘So what do you know?’
‘Well that’s a rather broad question, detective. He was born in 1802, made President in 1861 and he died in 1865. I’m guessing you have something a little more specific in mind rather than some routine dates?’
‘You’re not wrong. You mentioned yesterday in the lecture that Lincoln and his wife had very different political opinions. What did you mean by that?’
‘Well, as I said yesterday, detective, Mary Todd’s family kept slaves. While Lincoln freed them.’
Darnell nodded his head before taking a deep breath. ‘There are theories that Lincoln’s values were not too dissimilar to the Todd family. What do you make of that?’
‘There are theories that Lincoln’s sympathy for the slaves might not have been as passionate as the history books make out. Funnily enough, I’m doing my dissertation on a similar subject next year.’
‘Sounds interesting,’ Darnell replied, feigning surprise, having been asked by her lecturer to keep it discreet that they’d read their dissertation plans. ‘What’s your focus?’
‘My thesis is on the theory that Lincoln had plans to deport the slaves after he freed them.’ Lae went into detail about the opportunities to use Haiti and Liberia for the post-war deportation proposals, which he’d already read about on her paper the evening prior. He pursed his lips and squinted his eyes as if it was all new information.
‘That’s really interesting. Are you in agreement with the people who make such claims?’
‘I’m an academic. My beliefs are irrelevant. At this stage, it’s only a theory. I’ve written about a lot of subjects which I didn’t necessarily agree with but it’s so hard with history to research subjects that haven’t already been explored. Lincoln is dead so he can’t do anything new which I can take away and study. Therefore I challenge the status quo.’
‘But if you had to form an opinion?’ Darnell pressed Lae, hoping for some reassurance that his hero was far from the monster the culprit had portrayed him to be.
‘He freed the slaves. He fought a battle to do so. I can’t believe anyone would go to so much effort for people he did not care about.’
Darnell nodded and his shoulders relaxed. He didn’t know why he needed a student to reaffirm his beliefs. Maybe it was because Lae was the future and, in studying Lincoln, she might have some impact on his legacy. But either way, hearing her views of Lincoln’s heroic status offered him reassurance that the perpetrator of this crime was on a dead trail, aiming to expose a claim which was nothing more than theory and hearsay.
‘I take it, regardless of your personal beliefs, you’ll need some sort of evidence to back up your arguments in this essay of yours. Where might you find such proof?’
‘I can show you something.’ Lae downed the rest of her coffee and picked up her folder. ‘We will need to go over to Capitol Street.’
Darnell stood up and cleared the table as he followed the student out of the café. He turned to his car, but Lae took another direction, and for a lady of short stature she could sure pick up pace when it came to walking. He ran to catch up with her.
‘If I show you this, you have to promise not to tell the other students. I don’t want them to steal my idea.’
‘Of course. You’re the only person I’m consulting regarding this from the university at the moment.’
As they walked across town, they passed some of the rich history which Springfield had to offer. The original Capitol building where Lincoln took office as State Senator was Greek in style with large stone pillars making up the entrance; a red and white dome sprouted out of the roof. Across the road, a four-storey red-brick town house had the names of Lincoln & Herndon above the entrance where the former president had his legal practice. Taking in the history of
