“You’re his doctor.”
“He doesn’t have any faith left in medicine. If he had, he wouldn’t have left Chicago.”
“What am I supposed to do?”
“Go after him?”
“Go after him!” Snapping her fan closed, Bridgette sat ramrod straight, her voice rising to a near shriek. “You can’t seriously think I’d go to a place called Cactus Corner.”
“You will if you want him to come back to Chicago.”
Bridgette’s pouting had never worked on her uncle or Elliot, but it always worked on James. At her hurt look, he dropped down on the sofa next to her and took her hands in his. “Forget about him,” he pleaded. “I’m rich enough to give you anything you want.”
Bridgette jerked her hands away. “What I want is the money that rightfully belongs to me,” she said from between clenched teeth. “I will not let it go to that foundling. I’m the only living relative Uncle Samuel had.”
“He’s going to die. Even without a will, I’m sure the courts will give you the money.”
“He won’t die unless he keeps taking the poisoned medicine you gave him. Besides, who knows who he might meet out there? In his condition, some clever woman night convince him to leave everything to her.”
“The telegram says he’s camping in the woods and living like a tramp.”
“That won’t make any difference. I expect everybody in Cactus Corner looks like a tramp.” She turned on the charm and smiled at James. “Won’t you go after him for me?”
Much to her surprise, James proved surprisingly unhelpful. “I can’t go. It would take months. What would I do about my practice?”
“All those old biddies would still come flocking to you,” Bridgette snapped. “You’re the handsomest doctor in Chicago as well as the best.”
“I have several patients undergoing serious treatments. I couldn’t possibly leave even if I wanted to.”
Bridgette was surprised she couldn’t bend James to her will this time, but she had spent her life living with uncooperative men. Her father, uncle, and fiancé had all been stubborn, unfeeling men who’d shown a callous disregard for her desires. Her father had never provided her with the kind of house or the style of clothes she deserved. Her uncle had always preferred his adopted son to his blood kin, and Elliot had insisted they had plenty of time before they needed to get married.
That’s why she’d had to talk James into poisoning him.
If James hadn’t been besotted with her, he never would have agreed. Even then, it had taken her the better part of a year and the threat of seeing her married to another man to make him relent. She didn’t have that kind of time to convince him to go after Elliot.
“Give up trying to get your uncle’s fortune,” James urged. “I never thought it was a good idea to try to poison Elliot. Let him give his money to anyone he wants.”
“I can’t!” Bridgette practically shouted. “It’ll drive me crazy knowing he left my money to perfect strangers. I’ve got to stop him.”
“I don’t see how you can do that.”
Bridgette took a deep breath. “I’m going to Cactus Corner. That’s how I’m going to stop him. Unless you’ll change your mind and go for me.”
“I’ve done all I’m going to do, and that’s more than a man with a conscience would have done.”
“Are you saying I have no conscience?”
James backed down. “I was speaking only of myself.”
“I’ll need more of the medicine.”
“There’s no point in giving him more. He already has enough to kill two men.”
* * *
Logan stared at the figures in the book. He had no trouble understanding what he saw. They just didn’t make sense. Money didn’t materialize out of nowhere. It had to come from somewhere. All of the other books made sense. Why should this one be different?
He had no reason to be looking at these books. They reached back to the days when Norman Spencer lived in Kentucky, but Logan had been bored. Kitty had come down with a cold, and Sibyl had decided to stay home with her. With nothing specific to do, Logan had decided to leaf through some of the books Norman had kept in his safe. He’d been surprised at the number of loans Norman had negotiated five years ago, as well as the extremely low interest rates. He’d been told that Norman was a hard, unforgiving person who tried to wring every possible cent from his clients. If that was true, why had he handed out loans practically for free? It was none of his business, but it didn’t fit with everything he’d been told about Norman.
But it was the large sum of money that suddenly appeared on the books that confused him. He wasn’t exactly surprised at the appearance of such a sum, but there was no explanation, not even a hint of its origin. The timing intrigued him as well. The year was 1863, in the middle of the War between the States. Confederate and Union forces battled for control of Kentucky, but it was unlikely that either army would have agreed to buy anything they could take by force. It must have been the sale of property or an inheritance from Norman’s father.
He was putting the books away when Sibyl entered the office.
“I thought you were staying home today,” Logan said.
“I was, but Kitty is so much better she begged to go out and play. I wasn’t going to let her, but Naomi said she was no longer infectious.”
“You should have stayed home and rested.”
Sibyl removed her hat and placed it on a table next to the door. “I’m not tired.”
“You sat up with Kitty for two nights. You’ve got to be worn out.”
“I thought I would be, but I got so fidgety I decided I might as well go to work. What have you been doing while I was gone?”
“Looking over some old ledgers from the years in Kentucky. I’m surprised Norman kept them this long.”
Sibyl hung up her lightweight jacket and turned to her desk. “Norman kept everything. Did you find anything interesting?”
“A couple things were curious.”
Sibyl sat down at her desk and turned to face Logan. “Like what?”
“Norman made an unusually large number of loans five years ago. I know that’s when the town was established, but it looks like he lent the money with so little interest it hardly mattered. That doesn’t sound like the Norman who was so disagreeable and controlling that people banded together to start a new bank.”
“Things were different then. Norman changed later.” Rather than face Logan, Sibyl fiddled with things on her desk.
“Why were things different?”
“It’s a long story.”
“We’ve got all afternoon. There’s not likely to be any business Horace can’t handle.” It looked like Sibyl wasn’t going to say anything more. It was obvious she didn’t want to. “I don’t mean to press. I was just curious.”
“It’s not a secret,” Sibyl said, still not facing him. “Not everyone wanted to leave Kentucky. It was just after the war, when it was virtually impossible to sell property for anything like its real value. People turned their property over to Norman on condition that he give them money to start over.”
“That couldn’t have been it. The money appeared on the books two years before everyone left Kentucky.”
“Why are you so interested in what happened so long ago? I told you Norman never discussed business with me.”
The sharpness of Sibyl’s tone startled Logan. “I was just curious.”
Logan didn’t doubt that Norman kept all knowledge of his business dealings from his wife—his uncle would never have thought of discussing his business with Bridgette—but Sibyl suspected something, and it was something she didn’t want to talk about. “I didn’t mean to sound like I’m demanding answers. It was just something I didn’t understand.”
Sibyl took a moment to compose herself before turning to face Logan. “My husband
was not the man I thought him to be when I agreed to marry him.”
Logan thought that was an unusual choice of words. Either a woman said when I fell in love with him or when he asked me to marry him.
“Both of our grandfathers founded Spencer’s Clearing, but Norman’s family always had more money than anyone else. Maybe it came from his mother. She was certainly disagreeable enough to have been born rich. In any case, all that money convinced Norman he was better than anyone else. He did many things that embarrassed me, some so appalling that Colby and others had to take a hand. It got to where I didn’t want to know anything about the bank. Money was something Norman used to hold over people. Sometimes I almost wished we were poor.”
Logan could see that it was hard for her to admit this to him. He started to stop her, but she indicated that she had more to say.
“I’m sure there was something not quite right about that money, but I do know he wouldn’t have granted those loans on such easy terms if my father hadn’t known something Norman didn’t want known. Whatever it was, Norman did what he promised even though it made him as cross as an old maid jilted at the altar. Now I’ve told you all I know. I hope you’re satisfied.”
Logan wasn’t satisfied any more than he believed Sibyl had told him all she knew, but whatever it was had happened long ago. Since Norman was dead, there was probably no way to learn the truth.
“I didn’t mean to upset you,” he said. “There can be many perfectly acceptable explanations. I shouldn’t have opened any of those ledgers without asking your permission. I was just trying to fill up the time until you returned. I apologize.”
Sibyl deflated almost immediately. “I shouldn’t have gotten so upset. It bothers me that I don’t know what Norman did over the years. It feels like I have something I don’t deserve.”
“You’re not responsible for anything your husband may have done,” Logan assured her. “From what I’ve seen of the people here, they feel the same way.”
“But I feel guilty.”
“You shouldn’t. If we find a situation you can correct, I know you’ll do it. Would your father have done any better?”
“My father is nearly as bad as Norman.” She caught herself. “I shouldn’t have said that.”
“Why not? My uncle was a liar and a cheat. He was also a drunk and an abuser of anyone who wasn’t as strong as he was. Should I think differently about him because he was my uncle and he’s dead?”
“Of course not. It’s just that it’s hard when it’s your father or your husband. You think you ought to have done something to change things.”
“You will if you find something that needs changing. You would deprive yourself before you’d do anyone an injustice.” Worried he’d said too much, Logan hurried on. “Now, what do you want to do today? I think we’ve done all we need to with the ledgers for the time being. At this point, I think we ought to start trying to come up with strategies to find new depositors and win back old ones. How do the other bank’s funds compare to yours?”
“We have several times their assets.”
“Good. Then we have the advantage with anyone looking for large loans. Also, we can offer them lower interest rates.”
“I don’t know. Colby says he’s not interested in making a lot of money, just giving people a fair deal.”
“That’s a perfect motto for you.”
“I can’t steal that from Colby.”
“Has he used it?”
“No, but he doesn’t run the bank. Naomi’s brother Ethan and her father do.”
“Have they used it?”
“No.”
“Then it’s fair game. I think we ought to print flyers with that slogan across the top as a banner. We can also advertise a range of interest rates lower than Ethan’s. We can hire Colby to have his wagon drivers distribute them throughout the valley. Who handles the fort’s accounts?”
“We handle the payroll, but the soldiers don’t often come into town.”
“Then we’ll open a branch at the fort that’s open one day a week. I think Cassie would be perfect for that.”
Sibyl looked like she’d been steamrolled. A moment later she burst into laughter. “You’re scaring me half to death. Nobody’s ever done anything like that, not even Norman.”
“It’s good to be ahead of the game.”
“Everybody will think I’m crazy.”
“No, they won’t. They’ll think you’re the smartest businesswoman in the Territory.”
“But they’re not my ideas. They’re yours.”
“They’re mine now, but you’ll soon start coming up with more and better ideas. You just need to get your feet wet.”
“Wet! I feel like I’m drowning.”
“You’re a strong swimmer. Now don’t be faint of heart. Find a pen and paper. We’ve got some planning to do.”
Logan was delighted to see Sibyl so excited, so ready to throw herself into the job. He planned to do everything he could to keep her excited, but he wouldn’t forget about that money. Something was wrong, and he was determined to find out what it was. Nothing—not the past, present, or future—was going to harm Sibyl Spencer as long as he could do anything about it.
* * *
“I don’t know why you hide when you eat lunch,” Cassie said to Logan. “Nobody would make fun of you.”
Logan had taken to having his lunch in a shady ravine just outside of town. It had the advantage of being away from the prying eyes of adults and being one of the children’s favorite haunts. They were curious about his face, but they accepted him just the way he looked. They thought Chicago was an exotic place, but lost interest when they discovered it was just a bigger version of Cactus Corner. They were concerned if he suffered a weak spell, but they forgot about it as soon as it was over. They would talk to him when they were bored or ignored him when playing was more fun.
And the things they told him! Several people would be shocked to know what the children had to say about them. Logan remembered everything and stored it away on the off chance he could use it to Sibyl’s advantage.
“I’m not exactly hiding,” Logan replied. “I just like being with the children.”
“Little Abe likes your stories. Do you make them up?” Cassie’s house was on the edge of town closest to the ravine. She had fallen into the habit of walking back to the bank with Logan.
“Only parts of them,” Logan confessed. “My father and I used to travel the Santa Fe Trail several times a year. I heard most of the stories from him or one of his friends. We didn’t stop traveling until I was in my twenties.” He didn’t like lying, which made it difficult to know how much to tell and how much to leave out. Cassie was a lot more perceptive than people expected of a woman with flashy good looks, so Logan tried to be careful what he said around her.
They turned into the dusty main street. Colby had convinced everyone to plant trees in their yards and along the road, but they weren’t tall enough to provide much shade. Cassie used a parasol to protect her delicate skin. “Do you miss your home?”
Logan had been careful to give as little information as possible about his family. “Not really. After my father died, I didn’t feel any attachment to it.”
“Don’t you have friends back home who worry about you?” Cassie asked.
The men who worked for him cared only about their jobs and the income it provided. Bridgette wanted access to her uncle’s money and was willing to marry him to get it, but did any one of them truly care for him? “No one who would miss me for very long.”
“That’s sad,” Cassie said. “I didn’t know any of the people who were in my father-in-law’s wagon train when we left Independence. I wasn’t very nice to them, but they didn’t hesitate to take care of me when he and my husband were killed. After we got here, they made sure I had a house and a job. If I didn’t show up at work, a do
zen women would be on my doorstep wanting to know what was wrong. My own sisters couldn’t have cared more for me.” She laughed. “Naomi loves me even though she wanted to strangle me when she thought I was after her brother.”
Just more proof of the emptiness of his former life. After his father died, all he had left was work. Had he ever been as cared for or as lighthearted as Cassie? She had lost her father-in-law, her husband, and was left to raise her son alone, but she was always cheerful, willing to help, and vigorous in defense of her friends. Had he ever felt that strongly about anything or anyone other than his father?
“What made you come to Cactus Corner?” Cassie asked. “It’s got to be about as far from Chicago as you can get.”
It was easy to say he’d ended up there by chance, but Cassie was never satisfied with answers that didn’t ring true. She had a way of pressing for information that was as hard to resist as it was difficult to resent. He was prevented from coming up with a suitable answer by the sound of a wagon approaching at a dangerous speed. He turned around, but the vehicle was out of sight around a bend in the road.
“Who can that be?” Cassie asked. “Nobody I know is dumb enough to drive that fast coming into town.”
Logan turned in the direction of town. He was horrified to see several children playing a game of hoops in the middle of the street. Like all children, they were so engrossed in their game they were paying no attention to their surroundings. If that wagon wasn’t stopped, some of them could be hurt.
“It’s a runaway!”
At Cassie’s exclamation, Logan turned again to see a wagon pulled by two horses heading toward town at a gallop, a look of panic and fear in their eyes. There was no driver holding the reins, no one to stop their headlong flight down the center of the street. Throwing the remains of his lunch to the ground, Logan ran toward the oncoming wagon.
“Stop!” Cassie screamed. “You’ll be killed!”
Logan had never tried to stop a team of runaway horses, but that didn’t deter him. If he didn’t stop them, some child would surely be hurt.
He couldn’t run as fast as he used to, but he had to try. He couldn’t fail to intercept the horses. The food he’d just eaten sat in his stomach like a solid weight. Cassie was running up the street, screaming at the children ahead. He hoped she would have time to warn them, but he couldn’t take the chance. He had to reach the team of horses. Drawing on all his energy, he flung himself at the head of the horse nearest him.
Forever and Always Page 9