Kelly moved back to let Micah into the room. “Well, now, Captain, these old feet still have the wanderlust, I be thinking. And the Old Queen of the Mississippi isn’t the same as it was before the war of Northern aggression.”
“Officer Kelly, no Southern politics tonight,” came a voice from the far side of the room.
Micah didn’t need to focus on the man hidden in the room’s shadows as he strode across the room. Despite the rebuke against Kelly’s viewpoint, the southern drawl was all Micah needed to identify its owner. He extended his hand as his once-junior officer approached. Dressed in a simple black suit worn by most businessmen in the nation’s capital, few would guess the gentleman was a Colonel in the army now. “Cain.”
“Good to see, you, Captain.” Cain Duncan moved back, showing Micah the table with the two chairs near the window. “Have a seat?”
Micah took a seat. The early-morning light filtered in through the greying lace curtains. He watched Kelly take up his position at the door once more as Cain sat across from him.
The man had matured from the young pup that almost got himself killed disobeying orders while under Micah’s leadership in the war. The trimmed dark beard added a distinction Micah imagined leant authority when Cain wore his uniform. “Nathan told me of your promotion. Congratulations, Colonel. The last time I saw you, it was Major, wasn’t it?”
“Thank you. Yes, it was when you helped us bring Chief Joseph to ground up on the Montana and Canadian borders, wasn’t it?”
“He was a smart chief,” Micah laughed. “Led us all over Oregon and Washington territories before surrendering.”
“Not entirely,” Cain countered. “Forty more miles and he would have safely crossed his people into Canada.”
Micah lifted his lips in a sly smile. “Yes, but he knew they would not last the winter up there. Better to surrender and let the white man’s government feed them through the cold winter, than let half his nation starve to death.”
“True. He was a wily old coot. Gave General Howard quite a battle.”
The two men laughed and relaxed back in their seats. Micah lifted one brow in question. “As stimulating as this conversation is, I don’t think you brought me here to reminisce.”
“No, you’re correct. I have more important matters to discuss with you.” Cain rested one elbow on the arm of his chair, rubbing his beard. Micah felt the tension increase across the table. “Nathan sent me a note, telling me you would be coming to the capital soon. I must say, it took you longer than I thought it might.”
“A personal matter at my old home in Georgia delayed me a bit more than I thought it would.” As much as he trusted Cain, and that was almost as much as he trusted Nathan Cantrell, his sister’s disappearance was not something Micah planned to throw onto the table…yet.
Cain picked up the yellowed newspaper on the table, tossing it over to him. “Did you read the news about Senator Anderson?”
“He went missing about this time last year, didn’t he?” Micah ignored the paper.
“His body washed up on shore two months later. We had a difficult time identifying him.”
“Really? Do you know what happened to him?” Whatever game Cain was up to, Micah planned on letting him play it out without his help.
“Best we can tell, the senator had his throat cut. Of course that is a guess, considering how much time passed. I had a man working the case. But he disappeared without a trace.”
“Really? Any idea who is behind it?”
“Funny you should ask that.” Cain pulled up a piece of paper and handed it to Micah. “Recognize that address?”
The hairs on the back of his neck tingled a warning. The address on the paper was Goldberg’s library. He looked up at Cain. “You know I do.”
“We’ve been watching that library ever since my man disappeared. One of the last places he went. And imagine poor Kelly’s surprise when his old captain wanders in one day.”
“It gave me a shock, it did, Captain.”
Micah glanced at Kelly, still on watch at the door, then back to Cain. “I went there to deliver a letter.”
“Notice anyone interesting while you were there?”
“We wouldn’t happen to be discussing Jonathan Gibson, would we?”
“Yes, we would.” Cain rubbed his beard once more. “Any theories as to why he goes in there several days a week?”
“To read?”
“Seriously, Micah. Any reason why Gibson would be visiting the same library Senator Anderson frequented on a regular basis?”
Micah finally had enough of the cat-and-mouse game. “Why don’t you tell me your theory?”
“All right. Before his disappearance, Senator Anderson sat on the Treaty Committee for the Senate. We often spoke on hypothetical matters regarding the nation’s security.”
“So you knew the senator.” Micah filed all this information away to consider later.
“Just on an acquaintance level. But given our discussions, you can imagine how his disappearance piqued my curiosity.” Cain flashed that disarming smile at him.
Micah refused to react.
“I sent one of my best operatives out to investigate, discreetly of course, to find out what happened to the senator. His reports mentioned meeting with several people.” He lifted another paper, looked at it, then back up at Micah. “A Claudia Davis and her butler, Robert Henderson. Do you happen to know either of them?”
Now the hairs on Micah’s neck stood at full attention. The last thing he wanted right now, was someone official keeping tabs on Claudia, her rag-tag band, or himself. Patrice’s life might depend on secrecy. “I met them for the first time yesterday.”
Cain tapped his hand on the arm of his chair for a moment or two. “I don’t suppose you care to tell me why, upon arriving in town, you immediately went to the very library that I have under surveillance? Then met with Miss Davis at her home?”
Surprised that Cain knew of his late-night rendezvous last night at Claudia’s, Micah schooled his face to hide his reaction. “As I said, I went there to deliver a letter. It was simply a personal matter.”
“Did you know a friend of Miss Davis disappeared about the same time as the senator?”
“Really?”
“Yes, a Laura Melbourne.”
“I have never met a woman named Laura Melbourne, Cain.”
It was the truth. When he met Laura she was already married to Nathan, so her name was Cantrell.
Cain slammed the files down on the table. “Damn it, Micah! I know that Miss Melbourne is now Nathan’s wife. I also know somehow she, her friend Miss Davis and Robert Henderson are either involved in the senator’s death,” he paused. “Or they know who is.”
Micah studied his old comrade. Perhaps it was time to bring some official help into his search for the senator’s killer. If the spider’s web was as far-reaching as he suspected, very soon he’d need all the help he could get.
“Cain, let me tell you a story…”
* * * * *
Standing in the secluded library, Claudia’s imagination ran wild in the darkness. Her heart skipped with every creak the old building made. Normally, the sounds of a room settling for the night would not bother her, but the images of a man being killed in this very establishment haunted her. Even though Nigel Blackwood would never repeat his act of destruction, there were others just as willing to carry on for him.
Since it was nearly time for Micah to arrive, she’d drawn the heavy curtains to block anyone from seeing inside. When he arrived they would need to light the lamps in order to view the murder scene and the section of books Gibson used to contact his accomplice. This night’s excursion needed to be kept a secret.
Finished draping the windows, Claudia pushed back the curtain edge to peer out into the dark. In the nearly-pitch-black night it was difficult to see anything. The glow from the only street lamp helped little. She let the curtain fall back into place, leaning against the door to think about the man who had
come to help them.
Micah was powerful. Strength emanated from him when he’d touched her last night. She sensed he kept a tight leash on that power.
Remembering his touch, Claudia wondered about her own reaction. She had never known anyone to affect her in such a fashion. With one kiss her whole body had melted to his will. She would have to be careful from now on or she’d find herself following his every order without a thought to her own independence.
And those eyes. The glint of purest silver was the only way to describe them. If that was what they looked like when he was calm, what would they look like in anger or passion?
With a shake of her head she cleared that thought from her mind.
The last thing she needed to think of was that man in any way other than as a partner in this case. She was old enough now to know men didn’t look at her in those terms. The sooner she remembered that, the better.
She peeked out the window again. A black shadow darted across the street so quickly it seemed like a wisp of fog. As she watched the area where it went, the shape took form, progressing in a straight line for the library. It was like watching a large cat prowl through the night.
Micah.
At his approach, she lifted the latch to the door. Inching it open, she moved away to allow him easy entrance without knocking.
“Claudia?” His quiet, deep voice flowed around her like a cloak of security in the dark. Her nervousness eased. All of a sudden, she knew she wasn’t alone anymore. A different sense of uneasiness took its place. She didn’t want to depend on any man in any way.
“I’m here.” Her voice sounded angrier than she intended. “Close the door and I’ll light a lamp.”
He did as instructed and the room was pitch black.
She struck a match, lifted the globe to the lamp and illuminated the back of the room in the kerosene light’s amber glow.
“You covered the windows. Good. Is this where Laura said the senator was killed?” he said, looking at the front reading table.
“Yes.” Claudia carried the lamp to the table, his scent filling her senses as she passed by. It was the outdoors, smoke and pine, as well as something she couldn’t quite name. “Laura described the scene to me that first night, but when I arrived the next morning, it looked just as you see it now.”
Micah crouched down to get a better look. Claudia had the strangest urge to reach out and touch the smooth blond hair where he had it tied back. Her hand moved slightly forward, carrying out her thoughts of its own volition.
“Claudia.” His voice startled her. Her hand jerked back as if she’d been burned.
“Yes?”
Turning, he reached out. Grasping her hand, he pulled her down toward him. “I need the light down here.”
“Oh, yes.” She crouched down next to the large man. “You can see here where the floor is only a bit darker in color. Almost as if someone had spilled something on it.”
“They did.”
“What?”
“The senator’s blood.” He looked into her eyes. Shivers shot throughout her once again. “And they believe they’ve gotten away with it. Obviously, these people are powerful enough to hide a murder. Nigel told Nathan his partners were powerful men.”
He stood quickly, then leaned down to assist her to an upright position. Claudia stood so close she had to tilt her head back to look up at his strong features. The bone structure of his face was long and firm. Again, she was awed by the strength she saw there.
“Now where is the section of books Gibson uses for his messages?” Stepping back, Micah allowed her to lead him back several shelves to the Chinese and Asian section of books. He admired her as she walked. She might be as thin as a youth, but she moved in a decidedly feminine way.
A moment before, when he’d helped her from the floor he had the greatest urge to pull her right into his arms. When she looked up at him, her lips parted in an invitation, he’d wanted to see if they were as soft as he remembered from last night. It had taken all of his self-control to move away from her at that point. Now, just watching her move gracefully away, brought even more urges to mind. The only thing preventing him from following up on those desires was his need to solve this conspiracy and find his sister.
Claudia stood on her toes to pull down a rather thick, leather-bound book. Her movements were precise, yet graceful. She reminded Micah of the swans that flew north through his mountain home each spring on their way to Canada. He often admired their grace and beauty as their return to the sky marked the winter’s end. He sensed the same thawing in himself when he was near Claudia.
She flipped through the yellowed pages, coming to a stop when she found a loose piece of paper. “This note was in here after he left yesterday. See, it’s in some sort of code.”
Micah took the paper from her. She was right, the words made no sense. It was as if someone took out a dictionary, filling the paper with words as they skipped through the pages.
meeting enter exit tower instruct nine goats
temperature owner noon ill grazed high top
white hairy antler light evergreen rope sign
raven entreat eagle feather
tie every nose blight line land sight
“It is in a code,” he said. “One that we used back in the war. Is there somewhere we can sit and work on this?”
“Come back to the workroom.”
She led him past the bookshelves to a door at the back. They entered a smaller room full of unpacked crates, stacks of papers and books. In the center of the room sat a wooden table and two chairs. Claudia set the lamp on the table. Remembering the manners his mother taught him years ago, Micah held her chair for her as she sat. He leaned over her shoulder to place the paper in front of her. The scent of flowers wafted up from her hair. Once more he was reminded of springtime in the mountains.
“If you look at the first line, all the words seem to be of random selection.” He moved his chair next to hers. Taking a pen from the holder, he scratched out letters. “But if you take only the first letter from each word and place them together, you will find a word that makes complete sense. Look at this.”
On the paper he had written the letters of each word. M E E T I N G.
“Oh, I see now!” Claudia pointed to the next line of meaningless words. “T O N I G H T. They’re having a meeting tonight.”
“I don’t think it’s tonight.
“But that’s what the message says.”
Micah looked at her. “Did anyone else look at this book after Gibson placed the message here?”
“No. He put it there just before Mr. Goldberg closed the library yesterday. No one has been in this section all day.”
“Then I believe the meeting will be for tomorrow night.”
Claudia nodded in agreement. “That is, if the message is picked up tomorrow. What if it isn’t gotten in several days?”
“Then we will have to watch this book very carefully until we know exactly when they plan to meet. Since we don’t know which day, maybe we can find out where. Maybe the location is hidden in our message.”
“Let me.” Her enthusiasm made him smile. “W H A L E R S. That doesn’t make much sense.”
“The next line spells reef.”
“The Whaler’s Reef. Now it makes sense.” A brief flicker of recognition crossed her face. Trying to cover her blunder, she added, “They must be meeting at a place called the Whaler’s Reef.”
Micah fought the urge to laugh. By her reaction she knew where the Whaler’s Reef was located. For some reason she didn’t want him to know that she knew of its existence. He had a feeling he wished she didn’t know about it either.
“T E N B E L L S.” Claudia turned curious eyes up to him when she finished deciphering the last line of words. “What does ten bells mean?”
He draped a hand over the back of her chair as he explained. “It’s a shipping term. It means ten o’clock. In this instance it is meant to throw us off the scent. Normally, that wou
ld mean ten in the morning. Twenty-two bells being ten at night. But since we know the meeting takes place at night, we will have to plan on it being at ten at night.”
“You don’t think they know we’ve been watching them, do you?” Suddenly, she didn’t sound as enthusiastic as before.
“I doubt it. They may just be taking precautions.” Micah knew there was every possibility that the amateur detectives had been discovered. But for some reason, he had the desire to erase the worry from her face. He should be warning her away from any further involvement in the case. Yet, he wasn’t ready to give up the contact with her. This woman intrigued him like no other in nearly twenty years, maybe not ever. Something drew him to her the more he was around her. It felt good. “Is there anything else we need to see in here?”
“No. Things are just as Laura and I described them to you.”
“The hour grows late. I suggest we get you back home.” He helped her up from the table, turning out the lamp as they left the workroom. “I’ll see you back to your house.”
“That won’t be necessary.” Claudia drew up short. In the dark, he ran full force into her. She fell toward the floor, only to be suddenly halted in midair by the steel strength of his arms wrapped around her.
“Don’t do that.” His deep voice whispered into her ear. Shivers shot down her spine though she wasn’t cold. Instead, she felt the heat radiating from him as he slowly pulled her close. “You are so small, I could have hurt you.”
Claudia’s breath caught in her throat.
His breath brushed against her neck,
Then, ever-so-slowly, he released her. She slid down the length of his hard body, until her feet were touching the floor. She held on to his arm to steady herself. He moved slightly back, then released her. As if it were midday, he walked straight to the doorway, seeming to see in the total darkness.
“Stand there while I open the drapes.”
For once, Claudia was glad to do exactly as he said. She didn’t think her knees would support her for anything more than standing, anyway. Just before letting her go, he had been so close to her, she thought he was going to kiss her again.
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