Indiana Belle (American Journey Book 3), page 22
Cameron laughed again and gazed across the table at Candice. He could see from the grin on her face that she was enjoying the banter as much as anyone.
Visibly pacified and relieved, Marjorie settled into her chair, resumed eating her dinner of roast beef, boiled potatoes, and beets, and engaged in light conversations. She did so until it became apparent that she had not entirely satisfied her curiosity or dealt with her concerns.
"I have a question, Mr. Coelho," Marjorie said.
"Please ask," Cameron said.
"What do you plan to do after the wedding?"
"Do you mean in the short term or the long?"
"Both," Marjorie said.
"We're still working that out, Mrs. Bell. We discussed the matter on the train and decided that the first thing we want to do is take a very long trip."
"Where to?"
"We haven't decided," Cameron said. "New England is one possibility. Florida is another. I haven't been to Florida in a long time and would like to see it again."
Cameron gazed again at Candice. When he saw her wistful smile morph into an ear-to-ear grin, he knew that Palm Beach, Miami, and Key West had pulled ahead of Newport, Cape Cod, and Bar Harbor in the Honeymoon 500.
"That's nice," Marjorie said. "What will you do when you return?"
"I'll look for a job," Cameron said. "I'll knock on doors and see if any of your fine schools needs a history teacher. I'm sure I'll find something."
"Does that mean you'll stay in Evansville?"
Cameron nodded.
"We'll stay at least a year or two."
Candice opened her mouth in surprise, looked away for a moment, and then gazed at her fiancé with loving, tear-filled eyes. She left no doubt that she approved of his sudden and entirely unexpected decision to stick around and give Indiana – and the twenties – a try.
"You look surprised, dear," Marjorie said.
"I am, Mother," Candice said in a quivering voice. "I am."
Cameron gave his girl a supportive smile. He felt comfortable making a commitment because he knew he could fulfill it. He had the means to travel between centuries without breaking eggs or disrupting history. He had the means to buy himself some badly needed time.
What he didn't have was the solution to a problem. Somehow, someway, he had to protect the woman he loved from a vicious killer. He had to make sure that history, at least one person's history, did not repeat itself in a horrendous way.
Cameron and Candice had discussed the matter at length on the train. Both agreed she should stay clear of the paper in July. Both agreed she should stay clear of Tom Parker. They did not agree that she should quit her job and pursue a career as a full-time freelance writer.
That created an issue. Cameron did not know whether Candice's murder was the product of spontaneous rage or premeditated violence. If it was the former, then the danger might pass. If it was the latter, then the danger might never pass. Each day at the Evansville Post – indeed, in Evansville, Indiana – would be a game of Russian roulette.
Short of exiling Candice to Siberia, locking her in a cell, or putting her under armed guard, Cameron did not know how to keep her safe. All he knew eleven days before the most famous murder in Indiana history is that he could not remain idle.
He had to think clearly, remain vigilant, and use all the resources at his disposal. He had to act as if someone's life depended on him and only him, because, in all probability, it did.
CHAPTER 52: CANDICE
Thursday, June 25, 1925
Sitting in the biggest office of the city's biggest newspaper, Candice Bell, society editor and bronzed goddess, waited for the comment. She waited only thirty seconds.
"It looks like someone got some sun," Thad Grant said.
Candice frowned.
"I went hiking."
Thad chuckled.
"So it appears. You look good."
"I look like an Aztec princess," Candice said.
"There's nothing wrong with that. How was California?"
"It was quick," Candice said.
Thad smiled.
"I guess so. I didn't expect you back until next week."
"I didn't want to come back," Candice said. "I like big trees and mountains. I could have stayed there all summer. It's the most beautiful place I've ever seen."
"That's what my cousin thinks. He visited Lake Tahoe a few years ago," Thad said. "He plans to go back, for good, when he tires of prosecuting tax cheats."
Candice leaned forward in her chair.
"How did the others do in my absence?"
"They performed to perfection," Thad said. "I might even hire one of your volunteers. Penny has a knack for describing wedding gowns and flower girls."
"How did George do? Did he nail Leonard Heller to a wall?"
"No."
"No?"
"He's still working on the story, Candice. You know these things take time."
Candice huffed.
"It took me twelve hours to obtain one incriminating document. How much time do we need to do get more?"
Thad sighed.
"We need more than twelve hours. We may need more than twelve weeks. A case against someone like Leonard Heller is not made overnight. I thought I made that clear the last time we discussed the matter."
"We can't ignore this, Thad. Leonard is a drug runner, in addition to a bigot, a misogynist, and a liar. If we ignore crime and corruption on this scale, we might as well turn in our press credentials, check our consciences at the door, and join the other side," Candice said. "If you don't have confidence in George to finish this story, then give it to me. I'll find more evidence and get the job done. I'll tie Leonard to Albert Gage. Just give me a chance."
Thad rubbed his hands on top of his desk.
"Don't you have more pressing matters to attend to?"
"What do you mean?" Candice asked.
"I mean your wedding."
"How did you know about that?"
Thad smiled.
"Your mom stopped by this morning. She wanted to make sure everyone in this office knew what was happening on July 18 in case you planned to keep it a secret."
"That's my mother," Candice said.
"Congratulations."
"Thank you."
"Does this mean you're running off to Rhode Island?" Thad asked.
Candice shook her head.
"Cameron and I won't go anywhere for at least a year. In the meantime, I'd like to continue working at the Post and take on more important assignments."
"I'd like that too," Thad said.
"Then let me start now. Give me this story – or at least let me help George. We can put Leonard away, just like we did Preston Emerson. We can make this paper the pride of the state."
"I'll think about it."
"If you don't, I may just have to give that invoice to the district attorney," Candice said. She raised a brow. "I'm sure he would find it interesting reading."
Thad took a deep breath and stared at his problem child.
"You really want to do this? You want to put away crooks for a living?"
Candice got out of her chair and placed her hands on the editor's desk.
"Yes, Thad, I do. I want to do something important."
"OK. You win."
"What does that mean?" Candice asked.
"It means I'm going to do something I should have done a long time ago," Thad said. "I'm going to move you to the city desk."
"Can I start right away?"
"You can start next month. Let me tell the publisher I'm making a change. You can move over to the news side on July 25, after the start of the fiscal year, and jump right in. If you want to help George then, you can help him all you want. Just give me a month to do this right. I don't want to ruffle any more feathers than I have to."
Candice beamed.
"Thank you, Thad. I could hug you now."
Thad laughed.
"Don't do that. I don't want trouble with your fiancé too."
Candice giggled.
"He'd understand."
Thad stuck out a hand.
"Congratulations, Miss Bell."
Candice shook the hand.
"Thank you."
"Now get out of here," Thad said. "You have a wedding to plan."
CHAPTER 53: CAMERON
Friday, June 26, 1925
Cameron put the clues together like the pieces of a puzzle. He compared formulas, symbols, star charts, and journal entries to a master key and by Friday morning had done in a few days what three others had taken months to do. He had created a recipe for time travel.
"I think this will work," Cameron said. "I'm sure this will work."
"Are you positive?" Candice asked.
Cameron nodded.
"I've gone over the particulars several times. I've even checked them against a 'flight plan' that your uncle sent your father in early 1900. Everything makes sense now."
"When can we do this?" Candice asked.
Cameron got out of his chair, stepped away from his desk, and walked across his hotel room. He kissed his fiancée lightly on the lips and then sat next to her on the edge of his bed.
"We can do it anytime you want. We can do it tomorrow."
Candice took a deep breath.
"I must admit I'm a little scared. What if something goes wrong?"
"It won't. But if it does, I have a remedy," Cameron said. "I have two, in fact."
"What are they?"
Cameron put his hand on hers.
"The first is one of the white crystals we retrieved from the cave. The second is the white crystal I brought here from Los Angeles, the one I've kept in a safe deposit box, the one I'll need if I ever decide to go back to 2017 via Professor Bell's mansion."
"I'm not sure I understand," Candice said.
"The white crystals are kind of a master key. They can open any door, at least in theory, and get you back to where you started," Cameron said. "If we step out of that storm cellar and see something we don't like, we can use one of the white crystals to return here."
"Are you sure they will work?"
"I'm sure about the first crystal. I'm not sure about the one in the bank box. It may work only in the tunnel in California, but I want to bring it anyway."
"You really want to do this?" Candice asked.
"Yes. I do. I came here for two reasons, sweetheart. The first was to meet and save a woman I knew only from a photograph. The second was to uncover some secrets. I want to do this for the same reason Robert Peary traveled to the North Pole and a man named Charles Lindbergh will fly across the Atlantic in two years. I want to explore. I want to push boundaries," Cameron said. He gazed at his companion. "I've done precious little of both in my twenty-eight years."
"I understand."
"The question now is where to go."
"Have you picked a destination?" Candice asked.
"No. I want you to do that."
"Me?"
"Yes, you," Cameron said. "Call it my wedding gift."
Candice kissed his hand.
"You've already given me that. I can't tell you how much your declaration at dinner the other night meant to me. That was an incredibly unselfish thing to do."
Cameron smiled.
"It wasn't as unselfish as you think."
"What do you mean?" Candice asked.
"I mean I want to keep our options open before we settle down. I want you to see my time and perhaps a few others before we make a final decision."
"You don't want to live here?"
Cameron fixed his gaze.
"I want to live wherever I can see your face in the morning."
Candice raised a brow.
"Are you sure? I can be frightening at 6 a.m."
Cameron chuckled.
"I've seen you at six. Remember?"
Candice blushed.
"Yes."
Cameron withdrew his hand and wrapped his arm over Candice's shoulders. He stared blankly at the far wall for a moment and then returned to an unanswered question.
"You still haven't told me where you'd like to go."
"Can I pick any year?" Candice asked.
Cameron shook his head.
"We can't go back before 1900. The cellar didn't exist then."
"How about going forward?"
"I don't see any restrictions," Cameron said.
"If that's the case, I'd like to go to 2000. I'd like to see the new millennium while I'm young enough to walk."
Cameron chuckled.
"I think I can arrange that."
"Is that year acceptable to you?" Candice asked.
Cameron nodded.
"It is. I lived through 2000. Except for a crazy election, it was a pretty mellow year."
"Then let's do it. Let's go to the farm tomorrow and give that cellar a spin. Let's see what the world is like in seventy-five years," Candice said. She looked at Cameron with serious eyes. "Let's see the future."
CHAPTER 54: CAMERON
Griffin, Indiana – Saturday, June 27, 1925
Cameron looked at his notes and then at the ceiling and shook his head. He suspected that assembling a time machine would be more frustrating than assembling a chair or a table, but he did not know how much more frustrating until he entered the storm cellar.
Few of the crystals fit snugly in the ceiling groove. Many of those that did fell to the ground seconds after Cameron pushed them in. Some crystals were slightly longer than the standard length. Others were slightly shorter or wider. Almost all created issues that the amateur time traveler neither wanted nor needed on a humid Indiana morning.
"How is it going in there?" Candice asked.
Cameron walked to the end of the cellar, stuck his head out the door, and looked at the woman sitting on the steps. He could see she was amused.
"It's going," Cameron said.
"Can I help?"
"Yes. You can run back to Evansville and get some glue."
Candice laughed.
"Are you having some difficulty, Mr. Coelho?"
Cameron smiled.
"I'm managing. I should be done in a minute or two."
"Can I get you anything?" Candice asked.
Cameron nodded.
"Get my wallet. I left it in the car."
"Anything else?"
"No. That will do. Thanks."
Cameron scolded himself as he watched Candice climb the steps and head for Lawrence Bell's Model T. He knew as well as anyone that they wouldn't get far without money.
He returned to the cellar, grabbed a blue crystal off the bench, and forced it into the sole remaining slot in the fifteen-foot-long groove. When he was done, he walked to the door, turned around, and gazed at sixty blue and white gypsum crystals embedded in the ceiling. At ten after ten, fifty minutes after he had started, he was done.
Cameron wiped dust off his blue button-down shirt and tan slacks. He had worn the timeless combination for a practical reason. He knew he would be able to walk through any crowd in any era without drawing unwanted attention.
Candice had also found something suitable to wear. She had purchased a green summer dress that was as ubiquitous in 2000 as it was in 1925 and almost every year between.
Cameron picked up his notes, stuffed them in his pants pocket, and gazed again at the ceiling crystals, which he had arranged in an order that resembled Morse code. He did not know why the formula worked. He just knew he had to place four blue crystals after two white ones in one section and three white crystals after five blue ones in another.
Cameron admired his handiwork for a few more seconds and then stepped toward the door. He exited the chamber just as his fiancée appeared at the top of the stairs.
"I found your wallet," Candice said.
She tossed the billfold to the man below.
"Thanks," Cameron said.
"That's not all I found."
"What?"
"I also found these," Candice said as she pulled two items from a pocket. She held a white crystal in one hand and a blue crystal in the other. "Someone was forgetful today."
Cameron laughed.
"What would I do without you?"
Candice smiled as she descended the stairs. She grinned when she reached the bottom step and handed Cameron the stones.
"Perhaps that's a question you shouldn't ask."
"You're right. I shouldn't," Cameron said. He smiled. "Thank you."
"You're welcome."
Cameron put the rocks in his shirt pocket with the distinctive crystal from Los Angeles and tucked his wallet in his pants. With three crystals, instructions, and two hundred dollars in Roaring Twenties currency, he was ready to roll.
"Are you ready, gorgeous?"
Candice nodded.
"I am."
"Then let's go," Cameron said.
He guided Candice into the cellar, closed the door, and waited for something to happen. He did not wait long. Before his eyes adjusted to the darkness, the crystals overhead began to glow, the ones in his pocket started to flicker, and the once-dead chamber came to life.
"Oh, my goodness!" Candice said. "Is this what happened in California?"
Cameron nodded.
"The lights in Professor Bell's chamber flickered a little faster, but otherwise the two tunnels are peas in a pod. It's pretty cool, isn't it?"
"Cool?" Candice asked.
Cameron smiled.
"It's the bee's knees."
Candice flashed a playful grin.
"Yes, it is."
"I'm glad you like it," Cameron said.
"How long do we have to stay in here?" Candice asked.
Cameron started to answer but stopped when a blue crystal at the other end of the chamber fell from the ceiling and rattled on the floor. He walked to the gem, picked it up, and pushed it back in its slot. When he was convinced it wouldn't fall out again, he returned to Candice, threw his arm around her, and answered her question.
"We can leave now if you want. There is no time minimum," Cameron said. He chuckled. "At least I don't think there is. Are you ready?"
"I am," Candice said in a tentative voice.
Cameron let go of Candice and stepped toward the exit. When he reached the metal barrier that had once saved him from a killer tornado, he turned the knob, pushed the door open, and welcomed sunlight that was every bit as bright as the light he had left.
