by Emily Woods
“I'm going to the food car,” he told her in Italian. “I will bring you back some food and you will eat. I will not bring back a corpse to Italy.”
She merely shrugged, but resolved to eat the food. Alfonso had not been unkind to her, but she didn't doubt that he would be violent if she refused to obey. Also, she would need to keep up her strength in case a chance for escape presented itself.
The train chugged steadily on, and Alfonso did not return from the food car. Was he hurt? Did he fall off the train? She felt only mildly wretched for wishing harm on the man. When he finally returned, she consoled herself with the thought that if he didn't bring her back to Italy, Salvatore would just send another man to fetch her. His death did not assure her freedom.
“Eat,” he commanded, placing a plate of food in front of her. It looked to be some kind of meat and potato dish, and she forced herself to eat it despite how unappealing it was.
Alfonso resumed staring out the window and Elise took up her Bible. She saw him glance at her from time to time, his mouth set in a grim line.
“Have you read the Bible?” she asked, deciding that if she had to spend the next two weeks with the man, maybe she should talk to him about her faith. Perhaps that was God's plan in all of this.
However, Alfonso merely grunted and offered her a kind of shrug. Closing his eyes, he gave the appearance of taking a nap, thus ending her attempt to engage him in a conversation about morality, divinity or any other godly conversation.
Sighing, she returned to the Psalms and sent each one up as a prayer. Even if Alfonso wasn't listening, she knew for a fact that her Heavenly Father was.
Chapter 15
“Is this seat taken?” John asked, putting his hand on the back of the empty chair. He'd waited until just the right time, making sure there were no other free tables until he approached the man who was holding Elise captive.
“What? Oh, no...is free. You take.”
Wondering if the man misunderstood him, John decided to feign ignorance, sat down, and picked up a menu. From the surprised look on his face, the man clearly didn't expect John to sit with him, but when he looked around at the crowded car, he gave a little shrug and appeared to resign himself to having a dinner companion.
When the waiter came over, John placed his order and then looked at the man opposite him in the eye.
“I'm John,” he said companionably. “Going to New York. How about you?”
Suspicion crossed the man's features, but after scrutinizing John's amiable face, he grunted and extended his hand. “Alfonso,” he replied. “I also go to New York.”
John gave him a firm handshake and a manly nod. “Long trip. Going to see relatives?”
“No,” Alfonso shook his head. “Go to Italy. On ship.”
“Ah, I see.” Since he had several days, John decided not to push for more information as of yet. When his food arrived, he was about to bow his head when he decided to ask, “Mind if I pray?”
“You pray,” he said, nodding with approval. “Is good.”
Well, he thought before asking for a blessing. That's something at least.
For the rest of the meal, he made small talk about the food, the train, the scenery and whatnot. He tried to find some common ground and finally discovered the man had a fondness for card games. Although he was very reluctant to reopen that painful chapter in his life, John was willing to do so for Elise.
“Maybe we can play later tonight, if you like,” he offered congenially. “What do you play?”
“You know Briscola? Scopa? Tresette?” Each time, John shook his head, Alfonso looked disappointed. Finally, he said, “No matter, I teach.”
This solution was far superior to what John had been preparing himself for. In the back of his mind, he wondered if he should engage the man in poker and try to win Elise's freedom from him, but God had a different idea in mind.
“Okay,” he said, pretending to be a little wary. “But just for fun, right? Not for money?”
“Sì, sì! For fun. No lira.”
They arranged a time to meet back in the dining car, which would be turned into a place for smoking and card playing, strictly for gentlemen.
John went back to his seat and started to pray in earnest, asking God for direction and wisdom, and giving thanks that he wouldn't be tempted back into his old vice of poker. He also prayed for the safety of Elise, that she would trust in God for her future.
That evening, John listened carefully and eventually got the hang of the game after a series of explanations. Alfonso's English was very broken, but by showing John, more than telling him, he managed to get the point. By the end of it, they managed to play a few successful rounds and passed the time quite amiably.
John made it a point to appear that he was drinking, but in reality, he merely touched his drink to his lips and kept insisting that Alfonso drink more and more. By the end of the night, the man was a little inebriated, which made his tongue looser.
“My boss is hard man. If I no do what he say, big trouble.”
John made sympathetic noises and said, “That's too bad. But do you like your job?”
“Eh, is job. I no have choice.” He seemed resigned and continued to play.
John understood the game, but purposely chose the wrong card. If he lost, but not by too much, it would make the other man feel superior and more open. “Well, maybe in Italy, life is like that, but here in America, everybody has a choice. That's why so many people immigrate...” He could see the man didn't understand this word and chose a different one. “Come here to live. I think many people from Italy come here too.”
“Ah, sì, sì, many people come, stay in New York, but no is good. Life is poor and hard.”
“It doesn't have to be. There are a lot of jobs for hard-working men. The best one is owning a ranch, having your own land.”
Alfonso's face fell a little. “My family, they had the land, but after no rain, they lose it...to DeLuca.” At this point, his features hardened a little. “Now, no land, little bit money. I give to Mama, but never is enough. Too many brothers and sisters.”
Upon closer inspection, John could tell that Alfonso was a younger man than he'd thought, closer to twenty than thirty.
“How many?” he asked, referring to his siblings.
“Eight. All younger. Two marry with bambinos, and two more marry soon.”
“And what about you? Are you married?”
His face became dark as a storm cloud. “No, I no marry. I no be good husband.”
The alcohol had made him more talkative, but again, John showed restraint. He didn't want the man to spill too much about his personal life and then regret talking to him by the next morning.
“I feel the same way,” he confided. “I was a bad man once, a long time ago.”
Alfonso drew back a little and opened his eyes wider. For a moment, he looked as though he'd been about to slide off to sleep, but John's statement woke him up, and even sobered him a little.
“You no bad man, Mister Porter. I no think.”
“Well, I once was...until I found Jesus.”
Blinking a few times, Alfonso tried to understand his meaning. “Found? Jesus, He in church. You no lose Him.”
Biting back a smile, John tried to speak more plainly. “I guess I should say that Jesus found me. I was lost.”
“Where?” the younger man wanted to know. “Where you get lost?”
John shook his head a little now. “That's another story, a very long one. Do you want to have breakfast together tomorrow? Maybe I'll tell you then.”
Alfonso nodded and stood, a little shaky at first, but then he got his bearings by leaning against the wall. “Sì, we talk more tomorrow. Buona notte, Mister Porter.”
“Good night, Mister Moretti.”
“Alfonso. Please call me.”
“Yes, and you can call me John.”
After he left, John released a long sigh. He hardly felt he'd been conversing with a kidnapper all evening
. Instead of investigating the man, it seemed more like he was making someone's acquaintance, someone for whom he was starting to feel some pity.
Then he issued a sharp laugh. What a position he'd been put in. All his years away from the Pinkertons must have made him soft. But perhaps that was God's intention all along. His former self might not have had the patience for the work that still lay ahead of him.
He was no longer hot on the trail of a hardened criminal; he was on a mission to save a lost soul.
After a long night of prayer, John woke feeling surprisingly refreshed. He didn't expect to meet Alfonso at breakfast, given the copious amount of alcohol the young man had consumed, and was therefore somewhat unprepared to see him sitting sedately at a table with a large cup of coffee in front of him.
“You're up,” he remarked as he approached.
At first, the way Alfonso squinted up at him made John wonder if he'd forgotten the events of the night before, but then he nodded briefly and pointed to the chair opposite.
“Sit. You tell your story today.”
A lump rose in John's throat as he recognized something of himself in the man. Nearly ten years ago now, he'd reached rock bottom and had nowhere to go but up or disappear from life altogether. Thankfully, God had sent an older man to speak into his life much like he suspected he was meant to do for the man in front of him now.
“Yep, I did. First let me get a cup of coffee.” He beckoned to the server, who came over, pot in hand.
“Would you like a menu as well, sir?” he asked politely, producing one, seemingly from thin air. “Chef has a special for today, but you're welcome to choose from anything listed here.”
John was never fussy about food and agreed to special without even hearing what it was.
“And for you, Alfonso?” he asked, casually using the man's first name as he'd been instructed to the night before.
Again, a small furrow appeared on the other man's face, but then he merely shook his head. “No, just coffee,” he replied, pointing to his cup.
Quickly, the waiter refilled the man's cup and then hastened away to place John's order.
“So, you tell me you get lost yesterday,” he stated soberly, his eyes red but fully alert. “Go on.”
Swallowing hard, John prayed for the right words.
“I had a hard job, just like you,” he started slowly, electing to omit that it was for a brand of law enforcement. “And then something really bad happened. I lost...a lot, and it nearly killed me. I decided I couldn't do the job anymore, so I quit. I took all the money I'd made and started gambling...and drinking. Almost every night, I was in a saloon either winning or losing. Losing was hard, but winning was sometimes worse. Men don't like to lose their money and get real angry when they do.”
“Sì,” Alfonso said, nodding in agreement. “Men no like to lose.”
Licking his lips, John took a gulp of coffee and chose his next words carefully. “Well, one day, I won quite a lot of money from a man, and he really didn't like it. He accused me of cheating and clobbered me real good.” He saw that Alfonso was a bit perplexed, so he reiterated, “He beat me up real bad. I was unconscious, like asleep, for more than three days. When I came too, I was lying in the street, bleeding.”
The memory surfaced, fresh as the day it was born, and John shuddered a little.
“Then?” Alfonso prodded, impatient for the rest of the story.
“Well, I actually didn't know where I was or how I'd gotten there. I knew I was in Chicago, but which part? I don't remember how I got to the saloon or what part of town I was in. I didn't have any money and felt pretty sickly. I wandered around for nearly a day when I finally fell on the steps of a church.”
“Church?”
“Yes, a little church in a bad part of the city. The minister found me and brought me inside. I asked why he wasn’t scared to bring in a man like me, and he told me that God would protect Him. He wasn’t worried. In fact, he said God had sent him to find me.”
“He know you?” Alfonso asked, a frown forming on his face as though he didn’t believe the story.
“No, he didn’t,” John replied, asking for wisdom in telling the story. “But when he was praying that morning, he felt God telling him to go outside. When he did, he found me.”
Now the younger man’s face was a mask of disbelief. “God tell him to find you? No. No is true.”
“But it is true. Why should I lie to you?” Sweat began to trickle down his back. He was telling the truth, but of course he had an ulterior motive for doing so. “Anyway, he told me that no matter what I had done in the past, I could be forgiven. I didn’t have to keep living this way. Jesus died for my sins, for all of them, and if I put my trust in Him, believe in Him and follow His ways…”
“Sì, I know, go to the Heaven. I go to the church.” Alfonso’s face was thoughtful, and John thought he appeared to be struggling with his emotions. “But God no can forgive me. I do the very bad thing.”
“And Jesus died for that too,” John replied earnestly. Of course he was still worried about Elise, but his heart went out to this man who was so clearly lost. “If you go to church, you know all this. Why don’t you believe it?”
“God is for good people, not me.”
“God is for everyone! Don’t you remember what Jesus said to the man on the cross next to Him when he died? It didn’t matter that he’d been a bad man. Jesus said that he would go to Heaven if he believed.”
Tears formed in Alfonso’s eyes and one escaped down his cheek before he could catch it. John watched him swallow hard, lips trembling.
“I no deserve,” he muttered. “Too bad.”
“No one deserves it! But that’s why it’s so beautiful! Listen, Alfonso, I did a lot of bad things. I cheated, lied and worse, but I know God forgave me. Now, I live a pretty good life. I have friends, and I hope to build a house on the ranch where I work, and God willing, I’m going to marry a beautiful woman that I’ve fallen in love with.” The words surprised him, but he was thrilled to realize that they were true. He deeply hoped that he’d be able to live out this dream.
Alfonso stared out the window, his head turned away from John. It was easy to see that he wanted to believe what John was telling him, but something stood in the way.
“What is it, my friend?” John asked. “What’s stopping you?”
He shook his head and wiped at his eyes again. “I no can tell you. Is very bad.”
Abruptly, he stood up and walked out of the dining car. John had no idea if he would come back again, but he was prepared to wait, no matter how long it took.
Chapter 16
Elise hurried back to her seat once she saw Alfonso get up, but not before seeing who it was that he was in such deep conversation with. Her heart nearly froze in her chest when she saw John’s face filled with sorrow at the other man’s quick departure.
Alfonso had given her strict instructions not to leave the car except to use the bathroom, which was what she did now. That gave her a few moments to compose herself before seeing him again.
“Did you get me something to eat?” she asked when she reentered. “I’m so hungry.”
Alfonso scowled at her. “No, I forgot. Here, go buy your breakfast,” he said, handing over some money.
At first, she couldn’t believe that he was going to let her go to the dining car alone, but she quickly took the money and scurried away, not giving him a chance to change his mind. Once there, she found John sitting in the exact same spot as when Alfonso had left. He rose from his seat the second he saw her, eyes wide. After looking over her shoulder to make sure she wasn’t followed, Elise rushed forward and fell into his arms, sobbing and not caring who saw her.
“How are you here?” she whispered. “How did you dare to follow? Oh, John! You are in danger!”
Bringing her over to a more secluded table, he sat her down with her back facing the other diners. “I got to town before you,” he explained. “I bought a ticket and got on the car
behind you.”
“I cannot go back with you,” she stated tearfully. “He knows where is the ranch. If I try to escape, he may go back and hurt the family. I could not bear that. I thought about escaping, and I may still when I get back to Italy, but I cannot stay in America.”
John pulled one side of his mouth over and appeared to be thinking. “I guess I knew that. I had a plan, but God smashed it to bits and is showing me something else. Elise, give me some time. I think there will be a way out of this.”
As much as she wanted to believe him, she struggled to do so. “I want to believe you, but how can you know?”
Releasing a long breath, he leaned forward and took her hand in his. “There is so much about me that I’ve never told Luke or Kate, things that have given me an advantage here. Please, just trust me. I don’t think I should tell you everything now, but I will one day. Now, you should probably get back before Alfonso knows you’re missing.”
Swallowing hard, she took a long sip of water and took a few deep breaths. “What should I say to him? How can I help?”
“Just be normal. I think he’s struggling with what he’s done. He isn’t actually a bad man, but he’s been put in a hard situation. Be good to him. Treat him like a friend and I think things will work out.”
She found this hard to believe, but she promised to trust him. Quickly, she purchased some bread with meat and cheese for both herself and Alfonso, as well as some fruit. When she sat down in the car, she passed him some food, and he looked up in surprise.
“You bought this for me?” he asked, looking at her skeptically. “Why?”
“I-I thought you came back very quickly. Maybe you didn’t have time to eat,” she answered nervously and then took a bite of her own sandwich to calm herself down. “And it was your money after all.” It felt strange to speak in Italian so much after not having used it aside from in her prayers, but she continued on. “You have not been cruel to me, so I have no reason to be angry with you, except for the fact that you are taking me to marry a hard man whom I will never love.”