Lillian stared at the words, unable, perhaps unwilling, to grasp the incomprehensible.
Photographic snatches of images flashed rapidly in her mind, but were they conjured by the book, or had she had a fantastic dream where it all seemed so real? Her thoughts were scattered causing her head to hurt. She felt as though she hadn’t eaten in weeks. She scratched the cat’s chin and peered at him cautiously.
“Are you hungry, Wyatt?”
Saturday morning. Lil wondered how late she’d slept. The garbage man usually came around noon, with his cacophony of sounds. She scooted off the bed and grabbed her robe, stumbling to the door as if she’d been at sea for days. She needed a good cup of strong tea. Perhaps that would help to clear the fog in her brain. Funny, she had the strangest urge to lace it with whiskey and hunt down her old Billy Joel albums.
***
Late 1800’s
Jake leaned his chair back, bracing against the outside jailhouse wall. He’d had little sleep these past few weeks since Lil’s disappearance. The red garnet amulet he held swirled in his hand, catching the later afternoon sunlight.
“You okay, Sheriff?” Nate propped his shoulder on the open doorway of the jail.
Fortunately, things had been quiet in town. Lil’s sudden departure had served to create camaraderie of sorts that Jake hadn’t expected.
“We could round us up another search party. You say the word and I’ll start gathering the men. We could start first thing tomorrow morning….”
Jake shook his head. More than six teams had searched every inch of the county. If someone didn’t want her found, it would be far too easy a task to accomplish given all the caves and mine shafts. “No, Nate thanks. There’ll be snow in the mountains coming here real soon. I don’t want to put anyone else’s life at risk.”
Jake had wrestled with the torment that the gunman he’d let get away had returned to take his revenge, using Lil for that purpose. The very idea drove Jake to near insanity. He blinked back a fresh wave of tears and brought his chair down, the thump resounding on the old wood planks with defeat. He sat for a moment, staring across the street at the Deadwater Hotel. He’d had plans to take her there after the dinner that night….
“Is there anything else then that I can do for you?” Nate asked.
Jake shook his head. He had to find some peace with this, some way to move on. Problem was, his heart was shattered in a million pieces. He felt numb inside like someone had ripped out his soul.
One of the girls, Angel, from the Magnolia, stepped out of the mercantile next door. Jake caught sight of her from the corner of his eye and watched as she debated whether to come speak to him. He made it easy for her. “Evenin,” Miss Angel,” Jake stated with a polite tip of his hat.
Though there were still some in town that felt the societal rules with the parlor women should be strictly adhered to, Jake’s viewpoint had been severely changed. Finding out that his real birth mother had made a living at the Magnolia at least before she left town and knowing Lil…. Well, she’d all but turned his perceptions about most things upside down.
Angel gathered her skirt and walked toward him. “Deputy Nate,” she acknowledged. “How are you, Sheriff?” She regarded him with blue eyes filled with compassion. He was about at the breaking point with answering that question, but he took a deep breath and met Angel’s gaze. The young woman meant well.
“Well as can be expected, I reckon,” he answered. He bit back the urge to ask her if she had heard anything from Lil.
“You think she’s out there somewhere?” she asked quietly.
“Now, the sheriff’s not up for much conversation today, Miss Angel.”
Jake held up his hand halting the attempt to be helpful by his gentle reprimand. “It’s okay, Nate.” Jake looked up at Angel. “Thing is if she was dead,
I’d know it.”
She stared at him, her blue eyes wide with curiosity. “How could you know something like that?”
He stood, towering over the slender woman. She took a step back, studying his face, uncertainty flicked through her eyes. He hadn’t intended to frighten her. He dropped the necklace in his breast pocket. “Because I know, that’s all. I’ve got to find her. It’s like a piece of me is missing.” He regarded her sheepishly. “Does that make one lick of sense?”
A flash of understanding passed through her eyes. She nodded.
“Listen, do you need a ride back to the Magnolia? It won’t take a minute to hitch up the wagon.”
“If it isn’t too much trouble.” She tipped her head. “It would save Paddy from having to come into town again to fetch us.”
“Sure, you go round up the girls and meet me back here.”
“Thank you kindly, Sheriff.” She smiled and hurried off to find the others.
He watched with Nate as she scurried away. He was glad for the mysterious transformation that had taken place among some of the townsfolk. There was a friendly attitude by some, not all, to accept the women as citizens of the town.
“Sure was neighborly of you to offer to take the girls back to the Magnolia.” Nate’s gaze on Angel was unwavering.
Jake wasn’t a stranger to that look, and he’d seen it on his deputy’s face on more than one occasion around the blue-eyed woman. The poor kid didn’t know it yet, but she’d snagged his heart but good. Trouble being that Angel had other ideas. She had her sights on her a piano man. Jake smiled, and found that it felt good. He didn’t have it in him though to dissuade Nate from pining after Angel. “I haven’t been out there in a week or two. Thought maybe I’d stop by and make sure everything was all right.” It was a bold-face lie and both he and Nate knew it.
His deputy’s gaze swung to his. “See if maybe Paddy might have heard anything from her?”
He purposely ignored Nate and brushed past him to grab his coat.
“I’ll keep an eye on things here,” Nate called back to him. His deputy scanned the main street. “Not that things have been real exciting around here, anyway,” he remarked drily.
Jake chuckled and turned to head toward the stable to get the wagon. A sudden ping of the muscle in his butt shot a spasm down his leg, reminding him of just how exciting things could get with very little warning. “Count your blessings, Nate.”
***
“Nope, haven’t heard a word. Wish I could tell you differently.” Paddy poured another finger of whiskey in Jake’s glass. He’d polished off the first in one gulp.
“Last one, Paddy, and then I best head back. There’s a full moon tomorrow night and you know what that does to folks. They tend to get a might unruly.” He saluted the barkeep and tipped back the glass, swallowing the amber liquid, letting the slow burn temporarily ease his tension.
Paddy was busy dusting off the bottles behind the bar. “What the Sam hell is this?”
Jake removed his hat and rubbed his hand back and forth over his head. He needed a good night’s rest. “What is it?”
The old barkeep faced him. He was unfolding a piece of paper. His brows shot up as he read. “I clean forgot about this.”
His gut tightening. “Is that from Lil?” He was about to come over the bar and grab the paper from Paddy’s hand.
“Well here, it ain’t much, but maybe it’ll make sense to you. It sure as hell doesn’t to me.”
He took the paper and squinted to read the scribbled words through a ring of brown bottle stain. “How long have you had this?”
Paddy shrugged. “She gave it to me one night. Said she hoped that I’d never have need of it.” He shook his head. “Things went on as usual, but I kept it, anyway. You suppose it means something? What are those numbers?”
Jake scratched his chin, unable to determine what the ten-digit series of numbers might be. Maybe it was a link to some bank out East? The town though he did recognize—Virginia City. Just up the road from Reno, a hellhole of gamblers and seedier brothels. Jake chewed the corner of his lip in thought. Was this where she’d been hiding all this time? A
lmost six months had passed. Was she running another brothel or gone back to an old flame? He squeezed his eyes and forced himself to think clearly, positively.
“I’m sure sorry. I hope that it’s not too late to see if this might help you find her.”
He shook his head. “It’s okay, Paddy. If she’d wanted to come back,” he started. “If she’s been this close….” He stared at the paper. “She could have come back anytime if she’d wanted to.”
Paddy regarded him. “The girls claimed that she didn’t take nothing with her.”
Jake shrugged. “Maybe she wanted to start fresh. Maybe she already had clothes wherever she was going.”
“Without so much as a goodbye, Sheriff?” Paddy asked. “That don’t sound like our Lil.”
“Yep, well,” Jake stated matter-of-fact as he folded the paper. “Mind if I keep this?”
“Sure thing. You heading up to Virginia City then?”
He tapped his glass nervously against the smooth-wood counter. “Not sure yet just what I’m going to do.”
Paddy nodded and went back to cleaning off his bottles. “You tell her Paddy misses her piano playing. Angel, bless her heart sounds like a cat in heat when she sings.”
“I didn’t say I was going anywhere,” Jake remarked adjusting his hat, cinching up his holster.
The barkeep looked up in mild surprise. “I heard what you said just fine. Just
in case you do.” Paddy smiled and scratched his scruffy grey beard.
Jake nodded, undecided and more than a little confused. It wasn’t worth the time to explain to Paddy that Lil had probably left mad as hell because he hadn’t followed her that night. He’d waited until the next day, hoping for her to cool off and give him some time to think on things. It’d taken him some time to weigh the options he had before him, accepting the fact that he’d never know his birth mother, being lied to and blackmailed by his father, and all the while knowing that more than her own happiness, Lil would not let her reputation as a madam ruin his political future. When it became clear that having Lil in his life was more important than accepting any Deputyship, he went to the Magnolia to let her know, but she’d already gone…disappeared it seemed into thin air.
Later that night Jake lay on the bunk in the cell, staring at the moon outside the window high above him. He thought of Lil and how she looked that last night he’d seen her. How beautiful and how much in love he thought she was with him, and the chance he missed in telling her how he felt about her. He pressed his hand on the letter in his pocket, felt his heart beating strong beneath. He could let her go. If Virginia City was where she was, then she’d never been far enough away that she couldn’t contact someone to let them all know that she was safe…and happy.
Jake’s heart twisted in his chest. He shifted, restless on the uncomfortable cot, wishing now that he hadn’t offered to take the night shift and stay at the jail. Something gnawed at his gut, burning inside. Maybe he needed to hear from her lips why she left without saying goodbye. Maybe then he could move on. He sighed as if a large weight had lifted from his chest. No, he wasn’t over her and he had a feeling that even if she turned him away, it would be a long time before he’d be able to put her out of his mind.
***
Thankfully, Nate hadn’t asked too many questions when Jake told him that he was going up to Virginia City for a few days. He slid off his horse, dropping to his feet and took a moment to stretch out the sore spot on his hip. He tied his horse to the rail in front of the St. Charles Hotel. It was quite a showcase for the little town whose claim to fame was the discovery of the Comstock Silver strike a few years back. A few miles from Reno and near Carson City, the triangle of growing towns had exploded overnight it seemed with new business, the railroad, and of course miners. All he needed tonight was a bed to lay his head. Tomorrow he’d set out and see if he could hunt down the address on Lil’s note.
From the saloon down the street, the sound of a seasoned piano player poured out into the street competing with the loud ruckus of the drunken crowd inside.
He was glad that he wasn’t the town’s sheriff.
“If you can’t pay, you ain’t gonna stay,” a gruff voice bellowed.
Jake searched the dwindling twilight in time to see a burly barkeep escorting a small man by his shirt collar through the swinging doors. He landed face first in the dirt road, a wagon narrowly swerving to avoid running over the poor man. The sound of a train whistle echoed in the distance, and Jake wondered if he was already too late, perhaps she’d gone back East. The West was not the best place for a lady.
The poor man struggled to his feet and brushed the dirt from his vest and pants. Jake watched for a moment, regarding the man. It didn’t appear that he was drunk. Maybe just down on his luck. “Can I be of some help to you?” Jake called to him.
Startled that someone should be talking to him, he tapped his derby against his hip, cleaning it as best as he could. “Much obliged, sir, but I’ll just be on my way.” He started to walk down the center of the road.
The thought that he might be familiar with the town prompted Jake to follow him. “Sir?” he called to the man. “I’d like a moment of your time, if I may?”
The gent turned and headed toward Jake, meeting him in the middle of the road. In the dusky twilight, the man’s face was undistinguishable, but as he drew near, Jake was taken aback at his familiar features. He’d seen them twice before— once on the old man in the jail cell and the other the school marm.
“The names Fesuvius, Burt Fesuvius. I own a little photography shop down the street.”
Jake openly stared at the man, for a moment wondering if he was seeing things.
“And who might I have the pleasure of meeting on this fine evening?” Fesuvius asked.
“Uh, Jake Sloan. Sheriff Jake Sloan of Deadwater.” He accepted the man’s hand in greeting. “You don’t happen to have kin in or around these parts, by chance?”
“No sir.” He gestured over his shoulder with his hat. “From back East. Only been here…oh, I’d say about a month…a little over. Been well, let’s say interesting. Truth is, yours is the first friendly face I’ve seen.”
Though it puzzled Jake to know why that was, he was more interested in how well the man knew the town. “Would you care to join me for supper over at the hotel, I’d like to learn a bit more about Virginia City.”
“Oh, here on business?” Fesuvius asked.
Jake searched the space above the man’s head. “Personal business, I guess you could say.” He was drawn unexplainably to the features of the man. He wore his silvery beard and moustache close and well-manicured, and his snowy white hair was thick, reaching to the collar of his tweed vest. At his throat, tied in a perfect black bow was a distinguished bowtie. But his most striking feature—his eyes—is what stopped Jake in his tracks. They were a translucent blue, like a cloudless summer sky. “You sure you don’t have a brother or a sister, maybe?” Jake prodded.
The strange man smiled. “Not to my recollection. I like to think I’m one of a kind, Sheriff Sloan.”
His words caused a chill to race over Jake’s shoulder.
“Looking for someone in particular?” he asked.
Surprised, Jake was stumped with how to answer that. It seemed the man had read his thoughts. He responded instead out of curiosity, “Why do you ask?”
Fesuvius shrugged. “You mentioned that you were here on business and it was personal. Figured that there must be a woman involved.”
“What would make you think that?” Jake rubbed his hand over the back of his neck.
“You’re nervous for one. Edgy to find out what, or who I might know around here, I suspect. Why else would you summon a complete stranger to your aid?”
Jake couldn’t admit to him that he felt like he’d already met him twice before, but how to explain the phenomenon was the crazy part.
“Am I close?”
Maybe Jake was too tired to fight it. He nodded. “Her name is Li
llian White.”
The odd little man appeared to be mulling over the name and then offered a knowing grin. “Someone pretty special, maybe?”
Jake couldn’t deny it. “She is and I’ve looked everywhere, trying to find her.”
“You think maybe she doesn’t want to be found?” His new friend asked, tipping his head to study Jake.
“I suppose that’s entirely possible. Thing is she left without saying goodbye, and I’d just like to talk with her, make sure she’s safe….”
“Tie up any loose ends,” the man interjected.
“Yeah, that too.”
“Tell you what, come on by. I have plenty of photos of folks I’ve taken in my travels—maybe one of them will be this Miss Lilly of yours.” He turned on his heel and waved his hand. “Seven-thirty sharp and don’t be late.”
Jake watched him a moment and then headed for the hotel. He had a gut feeling that if he looked back, the old man wouldn’t be there. He paused at the hotel porch and glanced over his shoulder. Sure enough, Jake was right.
***
“Mr. Fesuvias?” Jake stepped through the unlocked door and into the shop. It was organized in pristine fashion, simple, tidy, but with an air of timeless elegance that showed with his collection of cameras and ornate clocks of every shape and size. In one corner sat a piano. Jake scanned the quiet interior and began to think that the man he’d spoken to the night before was only a figment of his overtired imagination. His eye caught a massive red book lying on top of one of the glass display cases. More than a hand deep, it piqued his interest. “Mr. Fesuvius?” he stated aloud once more. “Thought we might visit a little more about what we discussed last night?”
“I’ll be right out. Go ahead and take a look around,” the man called from a curtained door leading to the back room.
Jake ran his palm over the leather bound tome, drawn to it with a growing curiosity.
“Go on and take a look at the pictures in my scrapbook, Jake. You don’t mind if I call you, Jake, do you?” Fesuvius hollered from somewhere at the back of the store.
Closer To You (Tales of the Sweet Magnolia Book 1) Page 16