The younger woman’s astute understanding surprised Camri. “It is hard. I feel there is so much deception going on where Caleb is concerned. I don’t trust the man he used to work for because he lied to me. Then recently I overheard things that make me suspicious of Caleb’s house servants.” She shook her head as the words poured from her heart. “Trust is vital, and I feel that the people who were closest to Caleb are the very ones who can’t be trusted.”
“Just remember that sometimes a person might seem deceptive when they’re not. Sometimes they seek to protect. Sometimes they fear sharing the truth of the matter will only cause more danger.”
“I understand that, but they need to realize that I won’t stop looking just because they say one thing or another. If I can’t trust Caleb’s friends, then I’ll find someone I can pay to trust.”
“God says we aren’t to put our trust in man, but in Him. Ye cannot be misled then. Trust God to show ye the way, Camri. Ye will know deep in yer heart if a person is worthy of yer trust. Just don’t jump to conclusions.”
Her comment seemed strange, but Camri nodded. “I know you’re right. I have to trust that God will guide me. After all, He’s the one who brought me here in the first place. I prayed about how to help Caleb, and when my parents suggested I come here to seek the truth, I knew it was my answer. God wanted me here.”
Ophelia’s expression brightened. “Aye. Ye’re in the right place, to be sure.”
CHAPTER
14
Patrick finished nailing down the loose steps and returned to his apartment. It had taken almost an hour to see to all that Mrs. Ryan needed, and he hoped Camri wouldn’t be put out by his long absence.
“Would ye have me pay ye, Patrick, or put it against your rent?” Mrs. Ryan asked him.
“On the rent, if ye please.” He dusted off the front of his shirt. The amount the owner would allow her to credit him for rent was much greater than what she could pay in cash.
“The owner is comin’ by on Thursday for an inspection. I’ve made a list of all the problems ye told me about. Do ye have anything else to add?”
“No. That list is long enough already. I doubt he’ll be wanting to spend much money as it is.”
“Aye, but knowin’ that ye’ll do most of the work in return for rent should loosen his purse strings a bit.”
“Let’s hope so.” Patrick smiled. “Now, I’ve neglected our company long enough. Ye have a g’day, Mrs. Ryan.”
He made his way back to the apartment, hoping that Camri and Ophelia had gotten along. He heard laughter coming from inside and smiled. Ophelia had so few joys and almost no friends close to her own age. The friends she’d made in their old neighborhood had turned away from her when Patrick had been accused of murder.
He opened the door. “Sounds like ye’re havin’ a grand time.”
“We are,” Camri admitted, “but I do believe I’ve worn your sister out.”
Patrick nodded. “I’ll be puttin’ ye to bed, Ophelia, whether ye like it or not, and then I’ll be walkin’ Miss Coulter home.”
“Camri.”
He looked at Camri and nodded. “Aye. Camri.” Saying her name made him feel like an awkward schoolboy with his first crush. There was definitely something about this woman that left him off-balance.
“Thank ye again for comin’ today,” Ophelia said, smiling at Camri.
To Patrick’s surprise, Camri leaned over and encircled Ophelia in her arms. The two women hugged, and Camri whispered something to his sister. She kissed Ophelia’s cheek, then rose. “I hope I have the chance to come again soon.”
Patrick carried Ophelia to her bed. The room felt damp and chilly. How he wished they had a proper heating system.
“Ye look worried,” she said as he tucked her in.
“Just tired.” It wasn’t exactly a lie. “And I don’t like how cold this room is. I’m going to put more coal in the stove and leave this door open.
Ophelia smiled. “Well, don’t ye be worrying about me. I’m fine. These blankets will keep me warm enough. Go enjoy your walk with Camri. She’s a good friend, and I know ye care for her.”
“She’s Caleb’s sister. Of course I care.”
Ophelia shook her head. “Ye know better than to try to hide yer feelings from me.”
Patrick was confused enough already and didn’t want to start up a conversation about his conflicting interest in Camri. “I wouldn’t dream of it.” He gave her a grin. “Now behave yerself, and I’ll be home soon.”
The rain had abated, but the streets were still wet as they made their way back to Caleb’s house. Here and there, the puddles were large enough to be difficult to traverse.
Patrick offered his arm to help Camri over the worst of them. “Sorry things are such a mess. We’ve had so much rain that it doesn’t run off as well as it should.”
“As hilly as this town is, you’d think it would just all run off into the bay.” Camri’s lighthearted tone made him smile.
“Aye, ’tis true. The sewer system needs a lot of work. I’ve seen it flood the lower areas when the rains get bad.”
He found it easy enough to converse with Camri about their surroundings. It was only when she spoke of education being necessary to better a person that he felt uncomfortable. But truth be told, he felt that way because he knew she made a good point. He’d once overheard some upper-class men talking about the need to keep the Chinese and Mexicans out of the schools. One of the men had clearly remarked that educating them would only make them discontent with their place in life.
“I really like your sister. She’s a very smart young woman,” Camri said.
“Aye. She is that. She went through high school, ye know.”
“I do. She told me. She said your mother wanted it for both of you.”
“Aye.” He wasn’t about to get off on that conversation again and quickly refocused on Ophelia. “I appreciate ye spendin’ time with her. It means a lot to me. She hasn’t any friends to speak of.”
“Well, she has me as a friend.”
“I could tell ye’d hit it off by the laughter and whispers.” He still wondered what Camri had said to his sister before their departure.
She seemed to understand his curiosity and shrugged. “Girls must have their secrets.”
As the neighborhood around them improved, there were fewer issues with standing water and broken walkways. Patrick relaxed a bit, no longer concerned about Camri’s ability to navigate. She was a sensible woman. He had to give her that much. Not only that, but she reminded him a lot of his mother. They would have been in perfect agreement about education. His mother had fought a hard battle to keep him in school and wasn’t happy to have lost out, even to his father.
Still, he didn’t regret the choice. He’d had those years working day in and day out with the man he most admired in the world. He’d learned a great deal from his father. No university degree could have topped the experience and wisdom he had gained at his father’s side.
When they were only a block or two away from Caleb’s house, Camri interrupted his thoughts. “Patrick, I want to say something—need to say something.” She stopped and waited until he did also.
He looked at her oddly. “And for sure we’ve been talkin’ all this time. Say what ye will.”
She smiled. “That’s true enough, but I suppose I’ve avoided what I most want to say.”
“Which is what?”
“That I’m sorry.”
“Sorry for what?”
She looked away as if embarrassed. When she lifted her face again, he could see tears glistening in her dark brown eyes.
“I’m sorry about Ophelia. I wish I could spend more time with her. I didn’t realize just how bad things were. I mean, I know what you said, but . . . well, the idea of one so young dying is hard to take in.”
“Aye. ’Tis no easy matter to watch her die. But ye shouldn’t be so hard on yerself. Ye have yer brother to worry about and yer job at the candy factory.”
“I know, but I realized today just how lonely Ophelia is. I know she has you, but I know too that you often have to be gone. You have to work and see to other matters.”
Patrick wanted to hug her for her concern but knew it would be completely improper. “Ye have a good heart, Camri. Don’t be frettin’ over this. Ophelia is wise beyond her years. She’s got a way of understandin’ things that go beyond anythin’ I can know.”
“She does. I know that for myself.” Camri squared her shoulders, and Patrick started to walk again. “Wait, there’s another matter I want to discuss,” she called out.
He turned back with a shrug. “Go on, then.”
“I realize I’ve said some things about education and learning that were harsh. I’ve always been opinionated, but until now I hadn’t often been in the company of people who didn’t share my opinion.” She twisted the umbrella in her hands. “I mean . . . well, I’m used to speaking to crowds of people who disagree or challenge my beliefs, but generally the people I’m close to—those whose opinions matter—have been in agreement with me.” She sighed. “I’m saying this all wrong, but I’m sorry for the snobbish way I’ve acted.”
Patrick wasn’t sure he heard anything past her comment about the people she felt close to. The ones whose opinions mattered. It seemed to him that she was implying he was part of that group.
“I hope you’ll forgive me. I want us to be friends.”
Her words surprised him but touched him deeply. “There’s nothin’ to be forgivin’. Ye’re not wrong to hold dear yer beliefs.”
“I know, but how I share or portray my beliefs can be changed. I don’t mean to look down on people who have little or no education—it’s just that I have seen how important it is. Education is the only way people will better themselves and rise above poverty.” She stopped and shook her head. “There I go again. I’m sorry.”
Patrick couldn’t help but chuckle. “But I’m agreein’ with that. Education is important, but there are all sorts of ways to be educated. Colleges and universities are but one way. I’ve a great deal of knowledge, but it wasn’t learned inside a school.”
She seemed to consider this and then nodded slowly. “You are so right. I’m sure you probably know a great deal more than I do.”
“It’s not a competition, Camri.” He barely whispered her name. Their nearness was starting to overwhelm him.
“No, of course not.” She smiled and gave a casual shrug. “But I’m sure you could teach me all sorts of things that I didn’t learn in school.”
Her comment caught him off guard. Embarrassed at the things that immediately came to mind, he cleared his throat and looked away. She had no idea the effect her words and appearance had on him, and he intended to keep it that way. “I should be gettin’ back to Ophelia.”
They started once again for Caleb’s, and as they rounded the corner, Patrick spied an automobile parked outside the house. Camri noticed it at the same time.
“Oh dear. That would be Mr. Ambrewster’s car. I have no desire to see him.” She glanced up at Patrick.
“Neither do I. I don’t trust him.” Patrick stopped, forcing Camri to do so as well. “I don’t know if Caleb did or not, but he . . .” He stopped, realizing he’d nearly said too much. “I don’t know that ye can trust him either.”
Camri’s eyes widened. “I don’t.” She paused to cast a quick glance down the street and then looked back at Patrick. “Do you think he knows more about Caleb’s disappearance than he’s letting on?”
“For sure I wouldn’t be knowin’.” Patrick didn’t want to say anything more, lest he reveal that he was keeping things from Camri himself. “If ye don’t mind, I’ll be sayin’ good-bye right here.”
Camri looked at him with a puzzled expression but nodded. “Thank you again for coming to get me. I hope we can do this again . . . if you find you have the time.”
Patrick lost himself for a moment in her dark eyes. Without knowing it, she was quickly laying claim to his heart. He couldn’t let that happen. It would only add more pain to his life.
“Aye, if I find the time.”
He turned and quickly retraced his steps home. His thoughts swirled with images of Caleb and Camri, Ophelia and the men who had risen up against his father. Men who had tried to see him hanged for a crime he didn’t commit. He would find Caleb, and he would avenge his father and restore their good name. He couldn’t keep Ophelia from dying, nor ever hope to share a life with someone like Camri Coulter, but he could see to it that the men who’d wronged him were held accountable.
“That’s where I must keep my focus and my heart.” He determined then and there that he would put aside all thoughts of Camri.
Well, almost all thoughts.
CHAPTER
15
Mr. Ambrewster, we weren’t expecting a visit from you today,” Camri said as she entered the front sitting room.
The lawyer got to his feet, while Judith and Kenzie remained seated on the sofa. Camri handed Mrs. Wong her coat and gloves. “If I’d known you were planning to come, I would have made arrangements.”
“Nonsense.” Ambrewster smiled. “This was a surprise.”
“He brought us a Christmas tree,” Judith declared before Henry could continue.
Mrs. Wong stepped forward, still holding Camri’s coat and gloves. “Decorations are packed in basement. You come and I show you.”
Judith jumped up. “We’ll fetch them, Camri.” She turned to Kenzie. “Won’t we?”
The redhead reluctantly got to her feet. “So much for resting on the Sabbath.”
“You really don’t have to do that,” Camri said, unpinning her hat. She turned back to Henry Ambrewster. “You shouldn’t have bothered. We had no plans to decorate for Christmas.” She placed her hat on the table just inside the room, then gave her hair a pat with her hand to make sure it wasn’t too out of order.
“Again, I must say, nonsense.” Henry took her arm and led her to the sofa. “It’s Christmas, and Caleb would be appalled to see you ignore it. He was quite the celebrator when it came to this holiday.”
The memory of her brother’s enthusiasm for the day made her smile. “I’m sure you’re right. However, we made an agreement among the three of us that we wouldn’t spend money on frivolity and gifts.”
Henry frowned. “If money is a problem . . .”
“No.” Camri held up her hand. “It isn’t that. We are merely trying to be frugal. Each of us came to San Francisco with a specific goal in mind, and as you know, this is an expensive town.”
“Yes, but Caleb would want me to assist you in any way. I am happy to help with the financial aspects. I’ve been covering Caleb’s mortgage and electricity. To help with other things would be easy enough.”
Camri hadn’t considered that Caleb had bought the house on credit. She felt some of the wind go out of her sails. “I didn’t realize. We’re doing our best to be self-sufficient.”
He gave her a fatherly smile. “But, my dear, you needn’t do without a few joys at Christmas.”
“We won’t. We intend to have a nice Christmas dinner, and that’s enough.”
For a moment it seemed he might argue with her, but then he gave a nod. “Well, now you have a tree. I think the merriment will do you good, given the circumstances.” He sat in Caleb’s chair and fixed Camri with a look of admiration. “I must say, Camrianne, you grow lovelier each time I see you.”
Camri stiffened. The last thing she wanted was words of wooing from this man she didn’t even trust. “Mr.—ah, Henry, have you had any word from Mr. Johnston?”
He nodded. “Yes. That’s the other reason for my visit. Fred is good at getting matters resolved. I’m not sure why it didn’t occur to me to ask for his help earlier. But that aside, he has heard talk about Caleb causing problems for the current mayoral administration. That is enough to put him in jeopardy. Fred learned this through his spies who work with Abraham Ruef.”
“The man who’s kno
wn to be the power behind Mayor Schmitz?” Camri asked, pretending it was all news to her.
“Yes. Ruef is as corrupt as they come, I’m afraid. He supposedly gets paid for legal consulting to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars. However, no one so far has been able to prove either the legality or the illegality of it. He has most of the judges and labor politicians in his pocket and pays them well to stay there. Nothing happens in this town—nothing gets built or torn down—without Ruef’s involvement.”
“But what does this have to do with Caleb?”
“Fred believes that the Murdock Construction Company was approached by Ruef’s men. Ruef was slighted when the man who hired Murdock to build his hotel bypassed Ruef’s suggestions and directions.”
“Suggestions and directions for what?”
Henry leaned back and crossed his legs. “Well, that’s not entirely known. From what I’ve seen in Caleb’s notes and Fred’s understanding of the situation, Ruef had a construction team ready for this man to use. It was an unwritten condition upon which the legal permits were issued.”
“Who is this man—the one who wanted the hotel?”
Henry shrugged. “Grayson Springer. He’s actually from New York but wanted a stake in San Francisco. In return, he was helping Ruef make some investments in New York. But I digress. Ruef had laid out who was to build the hotel. He has a dozen contractors willing to do his bidding, and in turn Ruef makes a tidy profit and sees to it that they get extra work.”
“But how?” Camri was having trouble understanding all these twisted political machinations.
“It’s fairly simple. Someone decides they want to erect a building in San Francisco. They need land, permits, and approval of their plans. The mayor’s office and the Board of Supervisors, under Ruef’s control, are the ones who give those permissions. In order to make anything happen, Ruef must be paid. Generally speaking, he receives a large amount of money for legal consulting and arranging for quality contracting companies to take on the project, most of which, it is rumored, he owns or has a stake in. The consulting fees are pure graft. Ruef keeps at least half, if not more, then passes the remainder to the mayor, who then takes his portion. After that, the Board of Supervisors receive their cut, along with the complete understanding that anything needed for the building project is to be put through posthaste. It has served all of them well. They’ve made a great deal of money and will no doubt go on making a great deal until someone finds the ways and means to stand up to them.”
In Places Hidden Page 13