It was December 5th and it was a very crisp and cold morning. I was called a couple days ago about a case that many thought was very strange. The man who called me was George Henderson; he was the County Attorney for Polk County. When Mr. Henderson called me he told me that he had a case on his hands that he thought was out of his reach. I then asked him to tell me everything he knew about the case so I could get caught up to speed.
When Mr. Henderson and I were talking he told me that he and the rest of the crew that were working on the case thought that a woman by the name of Minnie Wright killed her husband John Wright. He then began to tell me that Mr. Wright was killed by someone who put a rope around his neck. I then asked where was his body found and he told me it was found in his bed where he and his wife slept. He also told me that when they asked his wife if she was in the same bed with him that night that she said, yes. But then she told them that she was a sound sleeper and did not hear anything. I then told Mr. Henderson that I had heard enough and would be there as quickly as possible, and that's what brings us here today.
As I said before it was a very cold morning in Polk County. It was so cold that Mr. Henderson sent one of his men down to the crime scene to build us a fire before we got there. I met Mr. Henderson and the Sheriff Henry Peters at the crime scene around 7:00 that morning. We exchanged words for a minute, and then we started into the case. I told them that before I met with Minnie Wright I wanted to speak with anyone that she was friends with. Sheriff Peters spoke up and said that she was really a very shy woman, but if she were friends with anyone it would have been Mrs. Hale. I told them to take me to Mrs. Hales place so that I could ask her a few questions about Minnie.
When we arrived at Mrs. Hales place I saw that her and her husband were already up working on their farm. I went up to the couple and introduced myself. I began to tell them that Mr. Henderson called me down here to help him in his investigation. I also told them that I would like to talk to Mrs. Hale about Minnie for a second. Mrs. Hale and I walked into her house while the men talked outside. Mrs. Hale told me to have a sit and she then gave me a cup of coffee. She asked me what I wanted to know about Minnie. I said well for starters how was her behavior. She told me that Minnie's behavior was somewhat odd. I asked her to elaborate. Mrs. Wright said that when Minnie was younger and single that she was always upbeat and happy. Now she said she just acts lonely and out of place. I then asked her about Mr. Wright. She said that she didn’t know Mr. Wright as well as she knew Minnie, but from what she had seen of him she thought he was an honest man. I then asked her if she thought Minnie killed Mr. Wright. She said NO! I was a caught a little off guard by her response so I decided that it was time for me to leave. I told Mrs. Hale thanks for her time and also thanks for the coffee. I also told her that if she had anything else to say about Minnie to come by the saloon I was staying at and we would talk. All she said was ok.
I walked outside to talk with Mr. Henderson and the others, but I felt very queer from the conversation I had with Mrs. Hale. Mr. Hale asked if I got the information I was looking for, and I said kind of. We then went back to the crime scene so I could look at it for the first time. When we walked in Mr. Hale went over his story again so I could kind of visualize everything that he saw. As he was talking I walked around the house to see if I could see again that would catch my attention. Then I spotted a birdcage that had been beat up. I said Mr. Henderson what happened to the birdcage. He quickly turned around and said that a cat ate the bird and bent up the cage. I immediately told him that there was no way that a cat caused this much damage to a birdcage. I mean this cage looks like someone took a baseball bat to it. He said will now that you mention it does look very odd. I asked him who spotted the birdcage first and he told me that Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters. I looked at Mr. Hale and asked him if he wouldn’t mind going to get his wife and bringing her down here. He said no sir I do not mind. As we were waiting on Mr. and Mrs. Hale to get back, Mr. Henderson told me to come up stairs and look at the rope that killed Mr. Wright. As I was observing the scene I could not help but wonder how Minnie did not wake up when her husband was being murdered. I mean the man would have been struggling and gasping for air. I just can’t put my mind around how you wouldn’t hear that happening, unless she was the murderer.
At this time I heard Mr. and Mrs. Hale come in the house and we all walked down stairs to meet them. When we got downstairs I picked up the cage and asked Mrs. Hale where she first spotted the cage. She told me that she spotted it in the cupboard over there by the stove. I didn’t say it at the time but I thought it was very strange for a birdcage to be in a cupboard. I then asked her where the bird was. She then looked at me in a very queer way like I said something that bothered her. I asked her again where the bird was, and she said the cat got it. I then asked if Minnie had a cat. Mrs. Hale said no I don’t think so. I said, will how could the cat have gotten the bird if she didn’t have one. She just said I don’t know. I then just looked at Mr. Henderson and told him to take me where Minnie was staying. I said were obviously not getting anywhere standing here all day.
We arrived at the sheriff’s house where Minnie was staying. The whole ride there I was trying to picture in my head what Minnie would look like, but when I first saw here all my pictures were wrong. Minnie looked like she had no idea what was going on. She was a rather skinny woman, but kind of rough looking to say the least. You could tell that in her younger days she was a beautiful woman, but father time had seem to get to her. She also seemed very stressed out, which who in this position wouldn’t be stressed out. I approached Minnie very gingerly but I still seemed to kind of startle her. I introduced my self to her and told her why I was here, but there was no reply. I saw that she was sewing and started to ask her questions about that. I thought maybe if I eased into interrogating her she might open up a little, and she did. At first all we talked about was all the quilts she had ever made. She told me how each quilt had a different meaning. I asked her to elaborate. She said will I made a quilt for every important day or event I was every apart of. She then started to tell me about all the days and events that were so important to her. But as she keeps naming them I noticed that they were all from her younger days. None of them were from her marriage. Then we decided to walk outside and get some fresh air. As we were standing a little blue jay sat on a stump right next to us and that seem to make Minnie a little happier. I asked her if she liked birds, and she said oh yes. I then asked if she ever had a bird herself, and she just kind of looked at me. I then said so you never had a bird. Her response was yes I did have a bird once. I then proceeded to tell her about the cage I found in her house, and asked her what had happened to it. She said her husband John had destroyed it a couple of days ago. She said that John got mad her because she didn’t have dinner ready yet. I then asked why would he take it out on the birdcage. Minnie then began to tell me that John had hated her because she could not provide him with a child, and that he took it out on the bird and birdcage because he knew that she loved that bird more than him. I then just asked her if she murdered her husband. For a second there was no reply, but then Minnie said the only reason I am telling you this is because I want to feel normal again. She said she wanted the life that she used to have even if that meant dying. Minnie then proceeded to tell me that she did in fact kill her husband that night. She said that she killed him because he had basically already killed her. I asked how she did it. She told me that when he was sound asleep she eased the rope around his neck and just watched him die. At this time I think Minnie knew she was in trouble, but I also think that for the first time in a long time she felt free.
I called for Mr. Henderson to come over where Minnie and myself were standing. I told Mr. Henderson everything that Minnie had just told me. He looked shocked to say the least. He then asked me how I got her to speak. My reply was that she was just ready, she was just tired of feeling locked up. He then thanked me for the work I had done and gave me a basket of walnuts for appreciation. I told him that the only way he could ever pay me back was by letting Minnie Wright go. I said she was a woman with many problems, but her biggest problem was her husband. Mr. Henderson didn’t say anything, he just looked at me and walked away.
