Elizabeth’s mind raced. She wasn’t about to give them a lamp to help them find her husband. “It’ll take some time for me to find,” she answered. “I don’t know where it is.” She thought about the new kerosene lamp they had bought. It was an invention that perhaps these bushwhackers hadn’t seen yet. Holding her infant, she went up to the second floor, but stopped at the top of the stairs.
“It’s fortunate that you found me on this road, Henry. My name is Frederick Pila, and I was just returning home late from performing a marriage ceremony. I’m the justice of the peace.”
There was a faint white glow coming from the east. The sun would soon be rising. The man left his injured friend on the ground and went back to town to find a doctor.
“Look,” Todd said, his voice getting raspy, “I want you to be honest with me. If you tell me you’re Joseph Stone, I’ll let you go. Otherwise, I’m gonna kill you right here.”
Skyrocketing steel prices also drove up costs. The price tag went from $427 million when construction began in early 2005 to $463 million at its completion in late 2007. When the project was first conceived in 1998, it was estimated at $227 million.
“Yeah, I think they’re gone now,” William answered, looking at the deserted road. There were only a few homes on Maryland, and they were all on fire. William was surprised their home was still standing, although the outside walls were badly scorched. Surely the ruffians had attempted to burn it down, he thought.