Kim read the whole document. Toward the end Ronald himself had written an explanation. Kim recognized the handwriting as the particularly graceful script she’d seen on many of the bills of lading in the castle. Ronald wrote: “It is my intention that if actions pursuant to my mercantile endeavor require my prolonged absence from Salem Town and Maritime, Ltd, that my betrothed, Elizabeth Flanagan, may justly and legally administer our joint affairs.”
After finishing the document, Kim went back to the beginning and reread it to make sure she understood it. It amazed her. The fact that such a document was necessary in order for Elizabeth to sign contracts reminded her that the role of women had been quite different in Puritan times. Their legal rights were limited. It was the same message Kim had gotten from the letter Elizabeth’s father had written to Ronald concerning Elizabeth’s hand in marriage.
Laying the premarital agreement aside, Kim went back to the remaining papers in Ronald Stewart’s folder. After a handful of additional debtor suits, Kim came across a truly interesting document. It was a petition by Ronald Stewart requesting a Writ of Replevin. It was dated Tuesday, July 26, 1692, a week after Elizabeth’s death.
Kim had no idea what Replevin meant, but she quickly got an idea. Ronald wrote: “I humbly beg the court in God’s name to return to my possession forthwith the conclusive evidence seized from my property by Sheriff George Corwin and used against my beloved wife, Elizabeth, during her trial for witchcraft by the Court of Oyer and Terminer on 20 June 1692.”
Attached to the back of the petition was an August 3, 1692, ruling by Magistrate John Hathorne denying the petition. In his denial the magistrate said: “The Court advises said petitioner, Ronald Stewart, likewise to petition his excellency the Governor of the Commonwealth for the aforementioned evidence since, by executive order, custody of said evidence has been transferred from Essex to Suffolk County.”
In one sense Kim was pleased. She’d found indirect documentary evidence of Elizabeth’s ordeal: she’d been tried and evidently convicted. At the same time Kim felt frustrated that the nature of the “conclusive evidence” was never mentioned. She reread both the petition and the ruling in hopes she’d missed it. But she hadn’t. The evidence was not described.
For a few minutes Kim sat at the table and tried to imagine what the evidence could have been. The only thing she could think of was something to do with the occult, and that was because of her father’s vague statement. Then she got an idea. Glancing back at the petition, she wrote down the date of the trial. With the date in hand she returned to the counter and got the clerk’s attention.
“I’d like to see the records of the Court of Oyer and Terminer for June 20, 1692.”
The clerk literally laughed in Kim’s face. Then she repeated the request and laughed again. Confused, Kim asked what was so funny.
“You’re asking for something just about every Tom, Dick, and Harry would want,” the clerk said. She sounded as if she’d just come from the back country of Maine. “Trouble is, no such records exist. Wish they did, but they don’t. There’s no record of that Court of Oyer and Terminer for all the witch trials. All there is is some scattered testimony and depositions, but the court records themselves plumb disappeared.”
“How unfortunate,” Kim said. “Maybe you could tell me something else. Do you happen to know what ‘conclusive evidence’ means?”
“I ain’t no lawyer,” the clerk said. “But hold your horses. Let me ask.”
The clerk disappeared into an office. Seconds later she reemerged with a heavyset woman in tow. The second woman had oversized glasses balanced on a short, wide nose.
“You’re interested in a definition of ‘conclusive evidence,’~” the woman said.
Kim nodded.
“It’s pretty much self-explanatory,” the woman said. “It means evidence that is incontrovertible. In other words it can’t be questioned, or there is only one possible interpretation that can be drawn from it.”
“That’s what I thought,” Kim said. She thanked the two women and went back to her material. Using a copy machine in the corner, she made a copy of the petition for a Writ of Replevin and the ruling. Then she returned the documents to their envelope and handed the envelope back to the clerk.