by Davis, Mary
“What happened?” Alice asked.
“Mr. Jackson’s hurt. Bad,” Burl forced out in a strained voice.
Alice’s eyes widened. “Is he—”
“I think he’ll be fine. The doctor is looking at him.”
The officer approached them. “What can the two of you tell me about this?”
“I just arrived.” Alice shook her head.
He imagined she was trying to understand just what had happened herself. It was a lot to take in all at once. He wanted to hold her and comfort her but he didn’t. “They arrived after me.”
“When you have a chance, look around and let me know if anything is missing.”
“Officer”—the doctor poked his head up from behind the counter—“can you go upstairs and see if the ambulance is here and send down the stretcher?” The officer left.
“I tried to stop ’em,” Burl whined.
“Stop who?” Ian directed his gaze at Burl’s worried face.
“Murphy and Sebastian.”
“Are those the two boys who got you in trouble before?”
Burl nodded.
It made some sense. If he thought about the two boys he’d seen Burl with two weeks ago at the school and the two running along the sidewalk, they could be the same ones. “Why do you think Murphy and Sebastian had something to do with this?”
“They comed to me last week.”
He wouldn’t worry about correcting the boy’s grammar. “Do tell.”
“They were mad because I didn’t bring them nothin’ when I broke in, and then I didn’t come back to school.”
“That was the day you came later than usual and your coat was torn.”
Burl sniffled. “Yes, sir.”
He was glad Burl was away from those two boys for the most part. “What did they ask you to do?”
“They wanted to know where this place was so they could come steal your medicines themselves. But I didn’t tell them. I told ’em that you had a man guardin’ it all the time, and there was a big mean dog that would tear them up.”
He doubted Fred would hurt the boys. They weren’t the sort of rat Conner was training her to go after. Poor Burl didn’t realize he’d given the boys exactly what they needed to come prepared.
“How’d they find your store? I didn’t tell them. Honest.”
“I know you didn’t. They probably followed you.”
Burl paled.
“It wasn’t your fault. You had no way to know what they’d do.”
Burl nodded weakly. “Where’s Fred?”
Ian glanced around. “She was here when I arrived.”
“Did they hurt her, too?”
“No, she was fine.” She’d probably cowered in the corner, scared to death, the poor thing.
“Fred,” Burl began calling through his tears.
“Why don’t you look in the back and in Mr. Jackson’s room for her?” It would be good for the boy to stay busy with something useful.
Burl trotted off toward the back, calling for Fred.
“I’m going to find the officer and have him talk to Burl.”
Alice looked a bit shaken. She nodded. “I’ll see if the doctor needs any help.”
“Thank you.” He took the stairs two at a time.
The officer stood near the front door with Mr. Lansky. “So you didn’t hear anything?”
Mr. Lansky shook his head. “I didn’t know anything was amiss downstairs until the doctor arrived.”
“So the only witness can’t tell me anything at the moment. I guess I can’t do much until the poor bloke wakes up.”
Ian stopped next to the men. “I may be able to help.”
The officer turned to him. “I thought you didn’t see anything.”
“I have learned of some additional information.”
The officer’s face brightened. “The sooner I can hunt down a lead, the better chance I have of catching who is responsible.”
“The boy downstairs knows a couple of boys who were asking him about my store. Since Burl wouldn’t break in for them, they told him that they would do it themselves.”
The officer turned to Mr. Lansky, but before he could say anything, Mr. Lansky said, “I’ll send down the stretcher when it gets here.”
Ian led the officer downstairs and into Conner’s private room, where Burl lay on the floor, the top half of his body hidden under the bed.
“Burl, can you come out of there?”
“Fred’s not under here,” Burl said as he wiggled out from under the bed. He stood and wiped the tears from his cheeks when he saw the officer.
“Fred is Mr. Jackson’s dog,” Ian explained.
The officer nodded then turned to Burl. “I hear you might know something about who broke in and hurt Mr. Jackson.”
Burl looked to Ian.
He put a reassuring hand on the boy’s shoulder. “Go on. Tell him everything you know.”
The words spilled out of Burl, about the other boys asking about the store and about his attempt to break in and that he was now working to pay off the window he broke.
At the officer’s raised eyebrows, Ian spoke up. “These boys are considerably older than Burl and coerced him into doing it. I didn’t report it, as Burl was willing to make restitution.”
The officer narrowed his eyes at Burl for a moment. “You’re a fortunate boy that Mr. MacGregor is so generous.”
Burl stood straighter. “Yes, sir.”
“Now tell me the full names of these boys.”
“Sebastian Phillips and Murphy. . .Murphy? Everyone just calls him Murphy. I don’t know his first name, but the school knows.”
The officer exchanged a look with Ian. The officer had recognized Phillips as Ian had. Could the boy be the son of the prominent banker? Why would he break into Ian’s store? Or anyone else’s store? He obviously didn’t need money.
The officer’s features softened. “Thank you, son. You’ve been very helpful.”
“I never wanted nothin’ bad to happen to Mr. Jackson.”
The officer nodded. “I’m going to head right over to the school and see if these boys are in class.”
Ian heard a commotion on the stairs then saw two men pass by with a stretcher between them. The officer left up the stairs, and Ian followed the men.
Alice moved away from Conner and the doctor to make room.
Ian helped the other three men lift the unconscious Conner onto the stretcher. Then he followed them and the doctor up the stairs and out the front door.
The men slid Conner into the back of the ambulance. One of the men climbed in with him and pulled the doors shut. The horses pulled away and broke into a hurried clip.
The doctor clamped a hand on his shoulder. “You can notify his family?”
“He doesn’t have any around here.”
“You want a ride to the hospital?”
“I have to get back to my store. I’ll come later.”
“Have the nurse call for me when you get there, and I’ll let you know his full condition.”
“Thank you, Doctor.”
The doctor climbed into his buggy and took off at a faster clip than the ambulance.
When Ian got back downstairs, he found Alice sweeping broken glass into a pile. “You don’t have to do that.”
Alice drew in a startled breath. “I thought you’d gone with Mr. Jackson.”
“I can’t leave the store open like this.”
“Burl and I will be here.”
“What if those boys come back?” He wouldn’t risk anyone else, especially Alice.
“They may be reckless, but I doubt they’re stupid enough to come back here so soon. They wouldn’t dare show their faces here now that the other stores are open and people are traveling up and down the sidewalk.”
“You’re right. I’ll wait an hour or so, give the doctor a chance to fully examine him.”
Burl came up to them. “Fred isn’t anywhere in the store. Are you sure they didn’t hurt her?
”
Fred hadn’t seemed hurt, but then Ian’s main concern had been Conner. “She probably got out through the open door.”
“She could be lost and scared.” Burl looked like he was going to start crying again.
“She’ll be fine. Remember Mr. Jackson found her on her own before. She’ll get along until we can go look for her.”
“I’m lookin’ outside.”
“Don’t go far,” Alice said.
“If you’re fine sweeping, I’m going to see if they took anything in addition to all the damage they did.” That included the damage to Conner as well as his store, but he didn’t want to distress her any more by reminding her of Conner’s injuries. “The officer wants to know if they stole anything.”
She nodded. “It’s good to keep busy.”
He nodded.
Burl came back in with tears on his cheeks again. “She’s not anywhere.”
“We’ll look for her later. Why don’t you help your sister by holding the dustpan?” He hoped to distract the boy from the dog’s plight for a little while.
He, too, needed a distraction. He hadn’t been thrilled at having a dog in his store, but Fred was quiet and didn’t bother his customers—most didn’t even know she was there. The little mutt had grown on him. He went to the door and peeked out the opening in hopes Fred had returned. No scruffy face looked up at him.
Ten
With all the windows open, Alice kept her jacket and shawl on. Mr. MacGregor had said he’d stop by the glazier’s on his way to the hospital and arrange for the windows to be replaced. She heard a thump next door and jumped. Every small sound was giving her the jitters.
She wished now she hadn’t agreed to let Burl go with Mr. MacGregor, but she knew he needed to know Mr. Jackson would be all right. Burl felt guilty even though it wasn’t his fault.
She’d cleaned up all the glass inside and out, even cleaned the glass from the display case counters that had been broken. She wished there was more to keep her busy while Mr. MacGregor and Burl were out. The image of Mr. Jackson unconscious on the floor haunted her.
The break-in had shaken her more than she realized even though she wasn’t here, probably because of Mr. Jackson’s being injured so badly. She bowed her head for the tenth time that morning to pray for his healing.
A throat clearing startled her, and she squeaked.
“Sorry to scare you, miss.” The officer who’d been there earlier walked toward her.
She took a slow breath to calm herself. It did little good. “I’m just a little jumpy.”
The officer nodded. “I’d reckon so after the goings-on here this morning.”
“May I help you with something?” She put her hands on the edge of the counter, and her fingers curled through where the glass should have been. She removed them.
“I’m looking for Mr. MacGregor.”
“He’s at the hospital inquiring after Mr. Jackson.”
“So you haven’t heard anything on his condition?”
“Not yet.” She didn’t know what to do with her hands so just ended up wringing them together. “But I’ve been praying all day for him.”
“I’m heading over to the hospital later today to see if I can talk to him.”
“Do you think he’ll be awake?”
“He’d better, or those boys will be in a lot more trouble than they already are.” He paused. “Can you tell Mr. MacGregor that we think it might be those two boys? When I went to the school to have a talk with them, they both jumped out the classroom window and ran off. I went to the banks where their fathers work and stationed men at each of their homes.”
“You didn’t catch them?”
“Not yet, but it’s only a matter of time.” He headed toward the door. “Tell him I’ll stop by at the end of the day to update him and to find out if anything is missing.”
“Oh, wait. I almost forgot. There were stolen medicines.” She took a slip of paper from beside the cash register. “He asked me to give this to you if you stopped by.”
He glanced through the list. “Thank you. If we find them with any of these, it will make it a sure go that they were the ones. Have a good day.” He tipped his hat and left.
She went back to the potbelly stove and warmed herself there. A few minutes later, she jumped at the bell over the front door. She took a calming breath and met the glazier measuring the front door window.
“Hello, miss. I’m just going to take a few measurements then board up these drafty air holes.” He was a middle-aged man with curly black hair.
“Is there anything I can help you with?”
“Thank you. No. Bobby’s right outside.”
Another man with curly dark hair poked his head in through one of the window openings and waved at her.
“Oh, good.”
She jumped at the voice behind her and spun around, her heart pounding.
“I’m sorry.” Mr. MacGregor came over to her. “I didn’t mean to scare you. We came through the upstairs and down the back staircase.”
“You didn’t scare me.” He had, but she didn’t want him to feel bad. She was really glad they were both back. She wanted to run into his arms but didn’t. “I’m just a little jumpy. How’s Mr. Jackson?”
Burl stepped forward. “He’s real banged up, but he’s doing okay. He talked to us then falled asleep.”
That was a relief. She turned to Mr. MacGregor for more information.
“He has a broken arm, three broken ribs, and a concussion. With rest, he should recover fine. They’re keeping him overnight. I’ll take him back to my house tomorrow so he can rest comfortably while he convalesces.”
“I’m glad to hear he’ll recover. I’ve been praying for him.”
“As have I.”
“Did Fred come back while we was gone?” Burl asked.
She shook her head. “I’m sorry. I haven’t seen her.”
Burl turned to Mr. MacGregor. “We have to go look for her. You promised we would.”
“Let me talk to the glazier and see when they’ll be finished. We’ll go after they have everything boarded up.”
“That long? What if she’s hurt or scared?”
Alice put a hand on his shoulder. “Burl, it’ll have to wait just a little longer.”
Mr. MacGregor put a hand on his other shoulder. “If we help them hold the boards, it will go faster.”
Burl and Mr. MacGregor went to help, and Alice went back to the potbelly stove. She’d been cold so long that she felt as though she’d never warm up. But at least she didn’t feel so jumpy.
A little while later, Burl ran back to where she stood. “We’re gonna look for Fred now.”
Mr. MacGregor joined them. “They’ve left. They’ll be back tomorrow to put in the windows. The counters will take a little longer to repair.”
“Let’s go.” Burl tugged down his cap.
“I put a closed sign on the outside of the door. Would you like to come with us to search for Fred?”
It would be good to get out and walk about, but the heat promised far more satisfaction. “I’m going to warm up a bit and then walk home if you don’t need me here.”
“Wait until I return. I don’t want you walking alone while those two boys are still out there.”
“Why would they come after me?” He was just being ridiculous.
“Why would they go after Conner? They weren’t after him, but he got in their way. Promise me you won’t go anywhere until I get back, or I won’t leave.”
“Come on, Alice. Say you’ll stay here. Please.”
“I do have my knitting bag with me.”
Burl beamed at her.
“And don’t open the door for anyone. I have a key.”
“But—” She cut herself off. It was no use arguing with these two. “Hurry back. I hope you find her well.” Watching Burl walk away with Mr. MacGregor warmed her heart. He’d been good for her brother. And for her. She prayed that they would find the poor dog in good shape an
d quickly. And that those boys wouldn’t catch up to them.
❧
Ian rubbed his face, chilly in the brisk afternoon air. He and Burl had been at it for going on an hour and were still no closer to finding Fred. He had no idea where to look. The dog could be anywhere in the city by now. This effort was futile, but how did he tell Burl that? The dog would probably find her own way back.
“I’m gonna check down this alleyway.” Burl headed into the shadowy corridor.
“Stay in the middle where I can keep an eye on you.” He followed the boy.
“Fred! Here, Fred!”
Did the dog even know her name? She’d probably been kicked around by people who tried to get rid of her and shoo her away all her life, so she wasn’t likely to come when called.
But wait a minute. That could be it. Fred had been a stray. She would have had to have found food someplace to stay alive. Maybe someone at one of the restaurants had fed her scraps or at the very least remembered shooing her away. He headed for the nearest one.
“Where are we goin’? Did you find her?” Burl’s voice cracked, whether from stress or growing up, Ian couldn’t tell.
“I have an idea.” He went to the alley first to see if she might be rummaging in the garbage for food scraps. The kitchen door sat slightly ajar. He pulled it halfway open. “Pardon me.”
A man with a dirty meat cleaver came over. “I don’t give no handout to no bummers. Be gone with you.” He waved the cleaver at them.
“We aren’t looking for handouts. We are looking for a dog.”
“No dogs around here. I’d run ’em off if they chanced to come around. Don’t need that kind of trouble around my kitchen.”
“Maybe you saw this dog and ran her off. She’s a ruddy brown, about this big.” He held his hand about eighteen inches apart. “A little mangy looking. Definitely has a streak of terrier in her.”
“Haven’t seen it.”
Someone yelled at the man.
“I’m comin’.” Without another word, the man pulled the door closed.
The next two places were much the same. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea. They would circle this block then start the return trip to his store on different streets than those they’d taken earlier, looking as they went. He wanted to get back before dark and before Alice decided to walk home alone after all.