Miss Lilly stepped back and allowed me to enter the dimly lit parlor which smelled of lemon oil polish and cleaner. I had to delicately cover my nose and avoid sneezing with the strong scent. Lace doilies in need of washing covered nearly every surface and there were several old daguerreotypes resting on the mantel. Indeed, one of a much younger Logan with a pretty young woman stood in the foreground. As I stared at it, I realized the woman was Miss Lilly. It forced me to take a second look at her and wonder what had happened to age her so.
“How’d ja’know your friends ain’t comin’ fer you? Her birdlike screech brought me back to the moment.
Lifting my skirts, I carefully sat down on the horsehair sofa. “I... received a message.” That in of itself was no lie. For though I had not gotten any telegram, the torn picture on my bed was all the message I needed to have right now. If my fears were not true, I could think of no other reason for my brother’s odd behavior.
“Hmm.” The woman continued to study me like an owl observing its prey. Her birdlike claws moved convulsively and for a second I feared she’d reach out to scratch my eyes.
“Have you money to pay in advance?”
I thought of the few dollars left in my purse. Slowly, I nodded. “I have some.”
“What’s that mean?” Her fingers continued to claw like a miser getting ready to count her coins for the hundredth time.
“Some.” I flushed. “I can pay you eight dollars now.”
Her beady eyes narrowed to slits. “Sorry. $10 a week. Payable in advance. Like the sign says.”
“But I intend to get work. I — ”
The hooded eyes continued to study me. “As what?” She interrupted.
“I don’t know. I’m still looking for something. But I am sure with my talents I can... find something.” I glanced out toward the street hoping for some answer to come from there, but no words came to me. I had already tried the telegraph office, the general store, the millinery shop, and even the restaurant. Only the bank remained. While I was sure more than one of those establishments could have used my services, none were open to hiring me. I guessed that Logan James had sent his men around forbidding anyone to give me a job, just as he’d tried to ruin my chances here. But I was not beaten yet.
“Perhaps you could use my assistance here in exchange for a lower rate?” Hastily I added. “I’m quite a good cook and I sew a fine line.”
Miss Lilly was shaking her head vehemently even before I could finish. “Tain’t possible.”
“Why not?”
“Cuz. Taint. Don’t need no cooks. Don’t need no sewin’.”
I started to protest as I looked at the torn curtains, but she glared at me as if to say how dare I question her authority.
I took a deep breath and tried a different approach as I willed the tears, which came easily to my eyes. “Please, I beg you to assist me. As one woman to another. I’m being forced into a situation I find quite undesirable. I — ” The tears continued to moisten my lids as my throat tightened. “If I am forced to return to the hotel for my lodging this night...” I shook my head unable to continue, appalled at the idea of having Charlie assign me some roommate against my wishes. It was almost as bad as the idea of marrying Logan James.
In her high birdlike voice, Miss Lilly twittered. “Well, that’s not as I hear. I daresay if I were proposed to by Mr. Logan James. I’d be honored to accept instantly. Instantly, do you hear?” Her voice rose to a crescendo and even as she flushed, I realized the odd truth as I once more glanced at the picture on the mantel. Old maid that she was, Miss Lilly obviously had an unrequited attraction for Logan James. If only she truly knew who he was, as I was beginning to know him.
But even if I were to tell her what I knew and what I suspected, I doubted it would make much difference. Indeed, I would hazard a guess that in Miss Lilly’s eyes Logan James could do no wrong, even if he patronized the dance hall girls or forced another woman into marriage, whatever his reason might be.
Still tearful, I tried to reason with her. “I do not wish to marry anyone, least of all Logan James. I... wish only to save what money I can to return to Chicago.”
“Harumph!” She continued to stare at me. “Well I can’t do anything for you, Missy, so you’d best be on your way.”
“You’re refusing me?”
She nodded, indicating the open door.
I couldn’t believe that another woman could be so coldly cruel and willingly force me into a fate worse than death. Surely, if she fancied herself in love, she would want Logan for herself.
With a sigh, I stood. “Is there any other boarding establishment in this wretched town?”
“None that I know of.” She motioned again that I was to leave, and then stood very still. For that brief second I hoped that she had a change of heart. But no, it seemed her orders were firmly entrenched in her mind. What power did Logan James have over her?
Her voice became soft and whispery, almost as if she didn’t want anyone else to hear. “You might find a place with one of the families in town.”
“Who?’ I was eager for any name I could get.
But Miss Lilly merely shrugged, and I felt as if another ray of hope had died.
~
I stood in the street feeling as if I wanted to cry and knowing that I could not. Looking up at the window on the second floor I was sure that I saw the curtain move slightly. Was Miss Lilly watching me to see if I went and where I went? Was she also spying for Logan James?
My fist clenched at my side as I thought of the dirt he was spreading about me. I wanted to take my mother’s pearl-handled pistol and “do unto him as he’d done unto others.” But I feared that I would not get away with it. No. I would have to be content to gather what information I could about my brother and find the county sheriff. Helena was not that far away. Perhaps I could ride there... if I could find what I needed.
As I turned away from the house and started back down the street a chill went through me. Once again, I looked in the direction of the boarding establishment only to see the red lace gown disappearing from the window. Red lace. That was what Drucilla had worn the night she’d been murdered! It also meant that at least one of the dance hall girls lived there.
Frantically, I looked around me, wanting to return to the house, wanting to confront this woman with her lies. If one of those women lived there, then she had no right at all to deny my admittance.
My hand touched my reticule briefly and I knew that I could not fault her that I did not have the money needed, but I could fault her lack of compassion.
~
The bank was only a few minutes’ walk up the street from Miss Lilly’s and yet it seemed like one of the longest walks I’d ever taken. I’d been prepared to find it closed again, almost as if this were part of the conspiracy against me. Yet I was surprised to find it not only open but very busy.
Glancing at my pleated skirt I made sure that I looked quite proper and my bustle was in place as I opened the heavy glass door of the bank. I quickly realized that no one here would care what I wore for the men had on flannel shirts, Stetsons, and boots while the women wore plain seersucker or gingham with bonnets that were as out of fashion as the dresses themselves.
As I stepped up to the window, several of the women stared at me. I realized then that I must appear almost haughty to these people, dressed as I was in my city clothes. And while I truly did not mean it, my clothing, was setting me apart from them all. Was that the reason I had not gotten the positions I’d applied for? Was that the reason Miss Lilly had turned down my plea?
No. She had quite definitely said that Mr. James had told her about me. Mr. James. Mr. Logan James. Just the thought of him made my mouth go dry and my stomach tighten.
I scarcely realized it was my turn at the barred window until someone tapped my shoulder.
“Oh. Yes,” I said, startled as I came out of my thoughts. “I should like to speak to Mr. Erza Perry.”
The clerk stared at me an
d then looked nervously back toward the cage on the second story where I could see what appeared to be a trim and well-dressed gentleman, fob watch in his pocket, and a cigar in his mouth, working on books and occasionally glancing at the proceedings on the floor below him.
“Mr. Perry don’t see anyone, Miss. What do you need?”
“I need to talk with Mr. Perry,” I repeated. “Is that him?”
“Indeed, it is, ma’am. But I mustn’t disturb him.”
I sighed. “I need to speak with him.” I leaned forward trying to whisper. “It’s about an illegal claim.”
The clerk’s brow rose. “Your claim?” His squeaky voice seemed to rise above the room and float about the hall around me. I winced.
I paused. “Yes.” If it was Elliot’s claim and if he was no longer with us, then it had to be my claim now.
“Just a moment.”
He disappeared from my view and I could hear murmurs in the line behind me as I watched the boy climb the iron ladder now. He whispered something in the ear of the man who sat puffing on the cigar. Both the man and the boy looked in my direction.
It was a moment more before I saw him nod.
The clerk carefully made his way down the steps and was followed by the gentleman. Moments later the side door to the inner offices opened up.
“You wanted to see me, Miss?” Mr. Perry himself stood there puffing away.
I nodded and pressed my lips together, wondering now that I had his attention how I would phrase this request. “Yes. It’s –” I looked around at those in the line with me and wondered which of them were in Logan James’ pay. “Please. I’d have your attention in private, if I may?”
He studied me a moment and then indicated I was to follow him.
The private office was nothing at all like the outer room. An auburn carpet muffled the sounds as I walked forward. He closed the heavy oak door behind him. A Waterford chandelier hung in the center of the room; candles perched on it ready to be lit. But with the windows undraped, the room was flooded with light and the candles were not needed. I sat down on one of the velvet chairs which he indicated and waited a moment as I tried to catch my breath in all this luxury.
Mr. Perry continued to puff on his cigar and watch me. “What is on your mind, Miss — ”
“Edwards.” I cursed myself almost as soon as my name came out of my mouth. If Logan James did not yet know I was Elliot’s sister, then he soon would. “I need to look at your claim books, sir.”
“And why the secrecy?”
I took a deep breath and looked at the warm brown eyes of the man before me. I would have to trust him and indeed, he seemed certainly more trustworthy than some of the other people I’d met in this town.
There was a moment of tense silence before I spoke. “I suspect that my brother’s claim was stolen from him.”
“I see.” He grabbed a note paper from the ornate desk separating us. “His name?”
“Elliot Edwards.”
“And where is your brother now?”
“He’s dead.”
He looked up at me, studying me for a long moment. “Do you know that for a fact, Miss Edwards?”
I took a deep breath and nodded. I did not have Elliot’s body, but my heart and soul told me. He would not have left me this long in such a town as this if he were still alive.
“Is that the name the claim would be under?”
“I believe so.”
Mr. Perry peered at the name books a moment. “I recall an Edward Elliot, but not Elliot Edwards.”
My hands in my lap were clasped together so that they would not shake. “Indeed, that is my brother.”
Puffing away on the evil-smelling cigar, he shook his head. “Sheriff Washburne came in here not three months ago asking after such a man.”
I leaned forward in my chair. “Did he say why?”
The banker’s fat fingers, like miniature cigars, touched each other as he regarded me. The real culprit smoked in the tray. “I believe he wished to question him on the disappearance of a government agent.”
I blanched. My voice was barely audible. “My brother had nothing to do with that.” I wondered if Clay Washburne would be open to accepting evidence that would implicate his friend Logan rather than my brother. I was sure if Logan could kill Elliot, then he was equally capable of killing this agent. Why, I was not yet sure, but I knew that once I found the answer to Elliot’s death. I would find the answer to this one.
“Please.” I pleaded. “Just tell me if my brother made a claim and where it was?”
Mr. Perry grunted and re-lit a new cigar from the humidor on his desk.
He jotted something down. “When would that have been?”
I didn’t know when Elliot would have put his claim in because I wasn’t even sure he had made one. It was only the words of Theora and Drucilla that made me think to reread his letters, made me try to reinterpret what I had read.
“Miss Edwards, I am a busy man. Give me a date please, if you know it.”
I looked down at my folded hands and thought about when Elliot had left and his letters. Finally, I met Mr. Perry’s eyes. “Spring of ’89, I think. Or Fall of ’90,” I said giving him dates shortly before Elliot had stopped writing. “As to where I think it would be someplace called Brentwood Pass. Someplace where the formations of the rocks look like a woman’s face.”
The lead in his pencil snapped. Immediately he looked up at me.
“Miss Edwards, the only Brentwood Pass I know is in a section of the north pasture belonging to the James brothers. If that were the case — ”
“I’m not sure. I’m only giving you details from my brother’s letters. I don’t know where the claim was filed from but I — “
He didn’t wait for me to finish but instead rang the bell on his desk.
Almost immediately a clerk appeared.
“Get me the claim books for ‘89 and ‘90.”
The clerk disappeared immediately and returned empty-handed. “Sir, the books are gone.”
Mr. Perry stood up abruptly. “What do you mean gone?” The heavy voice bellowed across the room. “I’ve looked, Sir. Truly I have and I — “
“Get back to your post, Houston. I’ll handle this myself.”
Trembling, the boy ran from the room as Mr. Perry turned back to me. “I’ll be right back with the necessary books, Miss Edwards.”
~
He was gone only a few moments and when he returned he held a thick leather-bound and rather dusty book.
“Stupid boy. I sometimes wonder why I pay them so much. A dollar a day and they can’t even find the proper books for me.”
“Does that cover both years?” I didn’t want to appear stupid, but it seemed to me that he should have had two books there.
“No. It does not.” The heavy book thudded on the desk raising a cloud of dust. I coughed.
“This will be enough to start with.”
Ringing the bell again, he called in yet another clerk. “I want the claims book from ’90, Thompson. And I don’t want you to return without it. Someone’s misplaced that volume. You will look on each and every shelf until you discover it.”
Trembling in his boots, the clerk nodded.
As the young man left, he opened the heavy volume and together we scanned the pages. Nowhere in the 1889 book was there any mention of my brother or of a claim. But I refused to give up hope.
We came to the end flap and saw that something had been erased. Neither of us could read it and we could only assume that it was a mistake of some sort. But the letters there bothered me. I asked if somehow the paper could have been changed without his knowledge, but Mr. Perry would not hear of such a thing.
“I am the only one who touches this claim book and I am the only one who records these entries.”
He had no sooner said that when the young clerk reappeared with the dismal news. “Sir, I cannot find that year anywhere and Mr. Willaby says that one of the James’ men were in but a day ag
o t’ check on somethin’. He thinks as the book might have been borrowed.”
“Preposterous!” Erza Perry slammed his fist down on the oak desk. “These books never leave the bank!”
But as I sank into my chair, I knew it was not preposterous. I knew that efforts were being made to hamper me and that I could leave town, or I could persist. But the only way, it seemed, that I would discover the original book would be to go to Logan James’ ranch. The only way to do so without causing suspicion was to agree to his sham of a marriage.
Chapter 12
Disturbed, I hurried back up the dusty street to the hotel, lost in my thoughts. Did I dare marry Logan James? I realized it was dangerous for if he found out just what I knew and what I wanted to learn my life would be worth little. Yet, how much would I be able to do to help my brother and clear his name if I was wed to the very man whom I was accusing of his death? And how could I accuse the man I would be married to?
It seemed, however, that the missing claim book was undoubtedly in his possession and if I wanted to see it, I would have to be at the ranch. Would Logan James let me anywhere near the books or would I be doomed as Elliot had been? And once I found my information, how would I escape?
I neared the hotel to see that the stage was just pulling in and dusk was falling like a heavy blanket over the mountains, tucking them in for the night. I would be spending another night at the hotel. It might be worth marrying Logan James just to get away from the place. Would Logan James agree to a marriage in name only? After all, he’d be getting what he wanted – my silence. Or so I would have him believe. And I would be buying time.
I shook my head, trying to clear away the cobwebs which had formed. The thought of marrying Logan James had befuddled my brain and I told myself I could not go through with it. But how else was I to gain information about Elliot’s disappearance? And I certainly could not leave town without that information.
With a sigh I put my hand on the slatted wood doors which led into the hotel. I had no other choice open to me. I only hoped he’d be a gentleman.
Logan's Land Page 9