A Touch of Forever, page 32
Hitch chuckled, his humor returning at last. “Right you are.” He stood. “I’ll let you get back to your interviewing. Good day for it. Better to be in than out. Must be half a foot of new snow by now. Dang me if Maxwell didn’t say so.”
Roen merely sighed.
Chapter Thirty-one
Lily was sitting up in bed with a book in her lap when Roen finally joined her. She continued to read while he stripped down to his drawers and washed at the basin. He replenished the coals in the stove and padded to his side of the bed, where he removed his socks. He did this last more slowly than usual and was equally unhurried about turning back the covers and dimming the lamp. Lily closed her book with rather more force than was necessary. She saw Roen’s head snap up when he heard the sound.
“Oh, you’re still reading,” he said. “I hadn’t realized.”
Lily put the book aside. “That’s because you’re preoccupied with your own thoughts, and you have been since you came home. I noticed you smiling at the children when they told you about what they’d been doing, but I don’t think you heard a word they said.”
“I heard.”
Lily didn’t press. There was a hint of defensiveness in Roen’s tone that told her she was right. “I looked over the list of applicants you signed up today like you asked, but you haven’t wanted to know what I think. Do you want to know now?”
“Hmm?”
“You’re still not listening.” She put her hand on his shoulder to get his attention. “Look at me, Roen.” His eyes shifted to hers. “I’m not angry. I’m concerned. What happened today while you were out?”
“Does Fedora talk to you much while she’s here?”
It wasn’t an answer to her question, but Lily decided to go where Roen led her. “Not a lot. She stays busy, mostly in the kitchen. I’m usually working in the parlor or the sewing room. She and Lizzie chatter quite a bit.”
“She wouldn’t be chatting with Lizzie about this.”
“About what?”
“About the anonymous messages she receives. Hitch calls them threats, but I’m not sure they reach that level. They tell her to go home or mention the yellow peril, as if her presence is a danger to all of us. Hitch told me today that she gets at least one each week. Sometimes more than one.”
Lily frowned. “No, she’s never said a word. What a terrible burden to carry.”
“You would know something about that.”
His dry retort stung a little. “I do,” she said stiffly. “And we are not talking about me.”
“Oh, God,” he murmured. “Lily, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”
“Not the way you said it.”
Roen rubbed his face. “Let’s leave this until morning.”
“If you like, but will you sleep?”
“Probably not.”
“Then tell me the rest.”
He drew in a breath and released it slowly. “Hitch says that Fedora is conscious of being watched. I asked if there was a specific person, but she’s never said as much. He dismissed it as a general awareness of being observed because she’s different. I accepted that explanation at the time, but I’ve been wondering ever since if Hitch is right.”
“Then you should ask her.”
“I want to but not alone. It would go better, I think, if you were with me.”
“I will, of course, but perhaps you should ask Ellie.”
“No. I prefer not to alarm Ellie. She’s been Fedora’s champion and takes all these smears and slights personally. She’ll want to take Fedora target shooting again.”
“Perhaps she should.”
“Fedora will hang if she shoots someone,” he said bluntly. “Self-defense, if it is that, won’t matter much. She will have no jury of her peers. No women. No one of Chinese heritage. It will be the yellow terror that some folks in Frost Falls are already imagining.”
Lily pressed her lips together, afraid just then that if she spoke, she would say too much. The secret that she kept locked inside needed to remain there. She knew that. Ben and Ridley and Hitch had insisted that she accept their version of what happened the night Jeremiah died. And she had. She loved her children too much to do otherwise, and now it was the same with Roen. The truth would not set her free.
“Are you asleep?” he asked.
“No,” she said softly. “Just thinking.”
“Hmm.”
Lily moved closer and rested her head against his shoulder. She found his wrist and drew his arm across her waist. “When will you want to speak to her?”
“Tomorrow. There is no advantage to waiting.”
“Do you suspect there is a particular person watching her?”
“Yes. A gut feeling. Nothing more. I have no evidence to suggest who it might be. It’s up to Fedora to help there.”
“Why do you care?” asked Lily. “I’m glad you do, but why?”
“I’ve been asking myself the same thing. Maybe it’s because I was the odd one out growing up. I told you they called me the black sheep. It was meant in jest, and I didn’t think I minded, but I’m coming to realize I must have because Fedora is the odd one out here, and I mind it very much.”
“So Ellie is not alone in taking the slights against Fedora personally.”
“No. I don’t suppose she is.”
Lily lifted her head and kissed Roen on the cheek. “You’re a good man, Mr. Shepard.”
“Not so good,” he said. “Fedora certainly doesn’t think so.”
“Does that matter?”
“It does if she’s tempted to shoot at me again.”
* * *
• • •
Fedora left the boardinghouse with a warm roll snuggled between her mittens. She nibbled on it as she walked. As was her habit these last few weeks, she no longer kept her head down and her eyes lowered. Now she looked around, mostly over her shoulder, to see if she was being followed. Mr. Cabot had offered to escort her when Hitch did not arrive in time to do the same, but she politely refused him. They left Mrs. Brady’s together and then went their separate ways. His progress toward the hotel was slower than hers in the other direction, and sometimes when she looked back, she caught him looking after her, presumably because he was concerned for her safety. She wondered, though, if that were true. He knew about the messages that were being slipped under her door. Everyone in the boardinghouse knew because he found one of them in the hall outside her room and proceeded to castigate all the boarders seated for breakfast that morning. Her humiliation was complete, but he did not either notice or take it into account. In any event, he did her no favor, so his offer to walk with her left her colder than the biting wind.
She brushed snow off her shoulders, shook out her scarf, and stamped her feet on the porch. Even before she opened the door to the kitchen, she heard Hannah announce, “Miss Chen is here!”
The children were all seated around the table. Lily had already started breakfast. “Am I late?” asked Fedora as she hung up her coat and scarf.
“Not at all,” said Lily. “My heathens are hungrier than usual this morning. All that playing in the snow yesterday. I thought I’d better begin.”
Fedora sidled up to Lily at the stove and Lily gave way, handing over the fork she was using to turn bacon. “Are you going to Mrs. Fish’s today?”
“I have to. I suspect she has patterns and piecework for me, and I didn’t go out yesterday. Mr. Shepard won’t be leaving the house today. He’ll be in his study. Will you be all right with that while I’m gone?”
Fedora nodded and turned the bacon. Water in the pot was at a rolling boil. She added a little salt and then oatmeal. “Please, sit,” she said when Lily continued to hover nearby.
Lily did, taking her usual place. Roen walked into the kitchen a few minutes later. He kissed Lily on the crown of her head as he passed by. Lizzie lifted her head for similar attention and Hannah proffered her cheek. The boys examined their plates lest they be targets of affection. Roen leaned across the table and knuckle-rubbed their heads before he sat.
Lily saw nothing that made her think Roen’s easy mood was forced, although the shadows under his eyes would have excused it. If she hadn’t known about the confrontation that was coming, she couldn’t have suspected that one was in the offing. “Confrontation” was, perhaps, too strong a word. Roen would be gentle with Fedora, as gentle as he was with her when he wanted to draw her out. She would not have agreed to sit with him if she thought otherwise.
After Clay, Hannah, and Ham were bundled and booted out the door, Lily sent Lizzie to play in the front room. She exchanged glances with Roen and nodded. “Fedora, will you leave the dishes for now and come and join us?”
Fedora turned away from the sink. Worry lines creased her forehead. “Have I done something to displease you?”
“No. Not at all. This is about another matter entirely. Please, sit.”
Fedora took Lizzie’s seat, placing her closer to Lily than Roen. She sat stiffly, shoulders braced as though for a blow, and folded her hands in her lap. She met no one’s eyes, casting her own at the tabletop.
“I think we’ve alarmed you,” said Lily. “That is not at all what we meant to do.” When Fedora said nothing, Lily went on. “Very well, then we shall do this quickly.”
Roen said, “Hitch mentioned that you’ve been receiving threatening messages. I heard the same from the sheriff not long after I came to Frost Falls, but the frequency of them was something I only learned yesterday. Did you receive one this morning?”
Fedora shook her head.
“And yesterday?”
“Yes.”
Roen knew that she had, but it was important to know if she was going to be truthful. It seemed that she was. “We’re concerned, Lily and I.”
Fedora’s head swiveled in Roen’s direction. “Oh, but the children are in no danger. I wouldn’t have taken the position if I thought they were. Ellie wouldn’t have allowed it either. You mustn’t worry about them on my account.”
“We worry about them on account of them being children, and that has nothing to do with you. You are our concern here, Fedora. We can’t stop the messages unless you know who’s sending them. Do you know?”
“No.”
“All right, but we do want to know when you receive one.”
“Why?”
“It will assist in identifying the sender.”
“It hasn’t thus far. I used to tell Ellie.”
“I understand. And she told Ben. We employ you now, and we will let him know.”
“I’ve been telling Hitch.”
When Roen looked across the table at Lily, she gently spoke up. “I’ll wager you don’t always tell him. I’d say it was also the same with Ellie. You’re fond of them both and you don’t want to distress them. I know something about that, Fedora. A lot about it actually. There are people who want to help. You only need to let us.”
Fedora shifted her dark gaze to Lily then lowered her eyes again. “Then, yes. I received a message this morning.”
“Did you tell Hitch?” asked Roen.
She shook her head. “He didn’t come by Mrs. Brady’s today. I walked here on my own.”
“Have you been accosted on the street before?”
“Once by a group of children on their way to school. They were hurtful but meant no harm. And on two other occasions.”
“By the same person?”
“No. Mr. Stanton one time.”
Lily’s jaw went slack. “My children’s teacher?”
“I shouldn’t have said. I knew I shouldn’t have said.” Miserable, Fedora bent her head.
“You certainly should have. Who else knows?”
“No one. He said no one would believe me and I believed him.”
“He was wrong,” said Lily. “I believe you.”
With Lily supporting Fedora, Roen could return to his original question. “You said two occasions, Fedora. Mr. Stanton was one. Who was the other?”
“He works at the Songbird. I don’t know his name.”
“The owner?” asked Roen. “Buzz Winegarten?”
“No. I know who that is. I think he must tend bar.”
Lily’s eyebrows climbed her forehead. “You don’t mean Jim Springer.”
Fedora shook her head. “No. Mr. Springer is kind, like Hitch.”
“Then it must be Buzz’s nephew,” said Roen. “Lincoln Jordan.”
“If you say so,” said Fedora. “I told you I don’t know his name.”
“How do you know he works at the Songbird?”
“Because he asked me if yellow girls are allowed to serve drinks. He fancied I could help him behind the bar.”
Lily blanched. “Did he touch you, Fedora?”
“I wouldn’t let him. He tried. I ducked and ran. He was drunk and fell over himself running after me.”
“Good.” She looked at Roen. “That’s one person on your list you will not be hiring.”
“Already made a note of it.” Roen turned to Fedora. “I suppose it’s possible that either of these men are leaving you the messages, but judging by their behavior, I would say they’d prefer to harass you than see you gone. Is there anyone at Mrs. Brady’s that you suspect?”
Fedora hesitated. “No.”
Lily said, “I’m not convinced, Fedora.”
“I’m telling the truth,” she said. “It’s just that . . .”
“Yes?”
“I don’t suspect him of anything. It’s me. It’s just that I’m uncomfortable when he’s present.”
“Who is he?” asked Roen.
“Mr. Cabot.” Fedora removed her hands from her lap and folded her arms in front of her as if suddenly taken by a chill. The hair on her arms stood up and she rubbed them to get warm again. “He found a message someone left outside my door and made such a fuss about it to the other boarders. He said if anyone knew who had left it, it was a moral obligation to come forward, and if the person who did it was actually sitting at the table, then it was a certainty that hell was waiting. He meant well, I suppose, but you don’t know how I wished that a hole would have opened up and hell had taken me right there.”
“Oh, I think I do know,” said Lily. “Sometimes the devil seems preferable to well-meaning angels.”
“Yes,” she said quietly. “Yes, exactly.”
Roen gave Fedora some time to collect herself. She was dry-eyed but blinking rapidly. When he thought she was ready to hear more, he said, “Hitch told me that you have a sense of being watched.” Roen saw her frown, obviously unhappy that Hitch had shared so much. “It’s true, isn’t it?”
She nodded.
“Is there anyone in particular who watches you?”
Fedora shrugged.
“That’s no answer.”
“Anytime I’m out, there are always people looking on from the shop windows. Maybe they’d be there under any circumstances. I don’t know. Mostly I try not to look, but sometimes I see them out of the corner of my eye as I pass, stepping up to the window as if they want to make sure I move on.”
“So you haven’t identified a single person observing you.”
She hesitated again but spoke up before Roen prompted her. “Mr. Cabot.”
“Your well-meaning angel,” said Roen.
“Yes.”
“He doesn’t take his meals at Mrs. Brady’s, does he? I seem to recall Ellie commenting that he’s a regular at the hotel. You must have served him there.”
“Almost exclusively. He asked for me.”
“That’s different than some diners.”
“Yes. There are people who don’t want me near their table, let alone their food.”
“Were you flattered?”
“No. Not at all. I told you, he makes me ill at ease.”
“Why do you suppose that is?”
“Roen.” Lily interrupted him. “It doesn’t matter. Accept that it is.”
Roen nodded and switched tacks. “Do you know what business brings him to Frost Falls?”
“No. There’s speculation that it has to do with the railroad. Not the one you work for. A different one.”
“Victor Headley’s railroad company.”
“I suppose so. Ellie thinks he’s here to spy on you.”
“Maybe he is. The rail lines are rivals.”
“I don’t know anything about that.”
“What if I tell that I know for a fact he’s working for Mr. Headley’s railroad? Would you shoot at him, too?”
Except for the slight tremor that moved through her from head to toe, Fedora didn’t stir. She stared straight ahead, unblinking. Lily began to extend a hand toward her, but Roen warned her off with a look.
“Is that why I’m here?” Fedora asked. “Is the sheriff coming to arrest me?”
“No. No one is going to arrest you. Unless you told someone, no one but Lily and I know the truth.”
“How long have you known?”
“For certain, only now, but I’ve had an inkling ever since you went target shooting with Ellie and Hitch.”
“I told her I didn’t want to go.”
“You could have made a poor job of sighting your targets.”
“Pride. I couldn’t do it.”
“Hitch says you’re terrible with a gun.”
“I am.”
“How did it happen, Fedora, that you were out there on Double H land?”
So she told him how she had done it, sparing herself nothing in the retelling. She explained that when Roen told her he was doing a survey near Double H land, she decided right then that she was going to follow him. She didn’t know it was Clay he was taking with him. There was an incident with Hitch in the kitchen that morning but it worked in her favor. Ellie could see she was upset about it and allowed her to leave for the day. She couldn’t attract notice by taking the train to Liberty Junction, so she walked. She was familiar with the route, having worked briefly in one of the pleasure houses before escaping to Frost Falls. It was hard to say this last and she had to stop, inhale, and begin again.
