A Shelter of Hope (37 page)

ZACK FOLLOWED O’DONNELL to Florence with relative ease. The man didn’t seem to realize that Zack would be so persistent, and Zack couldn’t understand himself why it was so impossible to just let this case go. Beyond his desire to impress his father, he simply had a feeling for this case. The signs might point to Simone Dumas as the murderess of Garvey Davis, but Zack’s gut instinct told him otherwise.

Still, Topeka had proven infuriating for him. He’d gone on a daily basis to try to talk to the Harvey Girls and Miss Taylor but found that no one had anything much to say to him. Yes, they remembered Simone. No, they didn’t realize she was going to run away. No, they didn’t know where she’d gone.

But Miss Taylor’s nervousness about the entire matter made Zack confident that the truth was otherwise. Whenever he tried to talk to her, Mr. O’Donnell would inevitably intercede and whisk him away. Finally Zack gave up and decided instead to just keep an eye on Jeffery. Just as his gut told him Simone wasn’t the killer of Davis, his gut also told him that he would find Simone through O’Donnell. It seemed wise to trust his instincts until they were otherwise proven wrong. And that was why he found himself deboarding the train in Florence, Kansas.

Making certain that he neither expose himself to Jeffery O’Donnell nor appear too out of place with the rest of the passengers, Zack made his way to a place just beyond the Harvey House. It could be that Jeffery would simply share lunch at the restaurant, then reboard and head elsewhere, and for that reason Zack couldn’t allow himself the luxury of dinner.

His stomach growled in protest, but Zack stood his ground. He glanced toward the town, finding it smaller than Laramie. It seemed like a nice, quiet town, and Zack certainly couldn’t protest against Kansas’s refusal to allow open saloons. Surely it kept the crime down and made men more manageable for the law. It was one of the things he hated about his own town. In fact, most towns in Wyoming were the same. Whether or not there was a church or a school, you could pretty much bet there would be a saloon.

Time dragged by as Zack waited for O’Donnell to make some sort of move. The passengers gradually began to gravitate back toward the train, but there was no sign of Jeffery O’Donnell. Zack grew anxious waiting to see what would happen. Leaning up against a large cottonwood tree, Zack thought about his mission. It had become an obsession of sorts, he knew, but he prayed daily about it and still felt inclined to push on. Surely God was bringing him along as He saw fit.

The train whistle sounded, and Zack knew from the routine that the final boarding was only minutes away. He tensed. What if Jeffery made a mad dash for the train at the last minute? But his patience was rewarded when the conductor called the final board and Jeffery O’Donnell remained inside the Harvey House. Zack felt confident that this meant Simone Dumas was near. He couldn’t exactly explain why, but he felt it with such assurance that rather than wait to follow O’Donnell around the town, Zack decided to search for the local lawman’s office.

The afternoon sun bore down on him, but rather than making him uncomfortable, Zack rather relished the feel of it. Soon enough, winter would come to Wyoming, and by then Zack was sure to be home. The cold winters were enough to give a man thoughts of moving elsewhere, but Zack liked the simplicity of his life, as well as the spaciousness of his brand-new state. They suffered from corruption and conflict, like anyone else, but somehow having the miles between neighbors and even towns gave Zack a feeling of ease.

The sign over the door had been handmade and crudely painted to indicate that this was the destination Zack sought. Opening the door, Zack found himself in a tiny office.

“Can I help you?” a man questioned from where he sat cleaning a rifle.

“I hope so. You the law in these parts?”

“That’s right,” the man replied. “Who might you be?”

“I’m Deputy Zack Matthews. My father’s sheriff up in Albany County, Wyoming.”

“You’re a long ways from home,” the officer said, putting down his rifle. “What can I do for you?”

Zack pulled out the Wanted poster from his pocket. “I’m looking for two people, but in particular, this girl. Have you seen her?”

The man took the poster and instant recognition crossed his face. “Why, sure I have. She’s one of the new girls over at the Harvey House. Wanted for questioning, eh? She don’t hardly seem the type to be involved in any murder. She’s quiet and good-natured. Seems to be a good worker.”

Zack nodded. “She’s only wanted for questioning.”

“I see. Well, she lives over yonder at the Harvey House. I can’t tell you much more than that. You could sure talk to the house manager over there. I’m sure they’d arrange for you to talk to her in the parlor. They’re pretty protective of their girls, you know.”

“I’ve gathered that,” Zack replied, thinking about how his efforts were thwarted in Topeka.

“You want me to go with you? I could sure introduce you to the management.”

“I’d like to hold off just a bit. I have my reasons, but I want to see what someone else plans to do before I make my move.”

“Who might that be?” the man asked, his curiosity obviously stirred.

“A man who just came in from Topeka. He works for the Harvey line, and I believe he’s been protecting Miss Dumas from questioning.”

“That this man on the poster—her father?”

“No, he’s a much younger man. Probably my age, maybe less. I don’t know exactly how he fits into this, but I want to see if he has something else planned. I only intend to watch him for a few hours—that should be more than enough time to see what course he plans to take. Still, if you happen to see Miss Dumas before I do, I’d appreciate it if you would hang on to her. I’ve chased after her from Laramie to Chicago to Topeka and now here. I’m not of a mind to let her get away from me again.”

“Understood. I’ll do what I can to help you out.”

Zack thanked the man and walked back out into the heat of the day. It wasn’t until he was back on the street that he realized he’d never even gotten the man’s name. He glanced at the Harvey House and wondered what his best course of action would be.

“God, I just want to do this right,” he prayed, feeling torn about bringing Simone Dumas in for questioning. “If she didn’t do it, let me find a way to prove it, and if she is guilty … well, help me to prove that, too.”

THIRTY

JEFFERY WAITED IMPATIENTLY for Simone to return to the Harvey House. He wanted very much to explain Zack Matthews’ presence in Topeka and discuss how they might hide her away from him on a permanent basis. But as day faded quickly into evening, Jeffery gradually grew worried that Simone had taken matters into her own hands.

An evening meal was served and still no sign of Simone. Jeffery sat contemplating what he should do when Una appeared, a worried expression on her face.

“I don’t know where Simone has gone,” she confided. “I asked the other girls and no one else talked to Simone this morning.”

“She didn’t say anything to you?”

“Not exactly. She asked about the local church. I’ve only met the preacher a couple of times but he seemed real nice. He preaches straight from the Bible, and I told Simone he appeared to be a good man.”

“Why did she want to talk to the preacher?”

“I don’t know,” Una replied, her Swedish accent a little more evident. “I know she was upset and troubled ever since she’d come to Florence. But she wouldn’t talk to me about it. Maybe you will tell me now?”

“I can’t,” Jeffery said with reluctance. “I would be betraying her confidence. It’s not an easy situation, I can tell you that much.”

“Do you want some more pie?” she asked softly as another of her co-workers passed close to the table.

“No,” Jeffery said, shaking his head. “I’ve eaten enough to last me a week.” Then he lowered his voice and added, “Look, Una, someone has to know where she’s gone. This isn’t that big of a place. Has she made any friends outside the Harvey House?”

Una shrugged. “I don’t think so. She’s never mentioned anyone. I’ve asked the girls, but they had no idea of where she’d gone. That’s all I know to do. She should have been here by now. She was supposed to check in nearly half an hour ago. It isn’t like her to just up and disappear.”

Jeffery considered the situation and thought it would be very understandable if Simone just up and disappeared. A commotion rose up in the front room of the house, and with this commotion Jeffery had some hope that it might include Simone. Getting to his feet, he made his way to the front hall and found the housemother, a stately woman named Nellie, shaking her finger and issuing a warning to one of her girls.

“You’ve been told about coming in late. You may well have folks nearby, but that’s no reason to ignore the rules.”

“Sorry, but my ma just had another baby,” the girl declared.

This seemed to soften Nellie. “Well, just this once, I suppose. But you’ll have to do double the work tomorrow.”

“Oh, I promise.” The dark-haired girl started to go and then noticed Jeffery and Una.

“Oh, Una, come with me upstairs. I want to tease Simone about her new friend.”

Jeffery held his tongue while Una asked, “What new friend?”

“The one I saw her spoonin’ with down by the river. I couldn’t get a good look at him, but he seemed a bit older than her. Nevertheless, they were mighty close when I spied them. He had his arms wrapped all around her.” The girl giggled at this, thinking it all very amusing.

Una’s face maintained a look of confusion while Jeffery took over the conversation. “Had you seen the man before?” he asked.

“Not with Simone. I think I saw him, if it was the same one,” the girl qualified, “last week at the dry goods, but he never comes in here.”

“But you don’t know him as being someone from around Florence?”

“Oh no. He isn’t from around here. I’ve lived here all my natural life and he ain’t—” she paused to correct herself, “
isn’t
from Florence.”

Jeffery’s sense of urgency doubled. “What did the man look like? I mean, if he was the same one from the store and all.”

“He’s about this tall,” the girl replied, using her hand to indicate the height. “He has a moustache and black hair that he parts in the middle like yours. Other than that, I didn’t notice much else about him.”

“Was he my age?” Jeffery questioned, hardly imagining that the description she’d just given him was one of Zack Matthews. Nevertheless, he had to be sure.

“Oh, mercy no. He was an older man.”

Jeffery thought of the Wanted poster and of Simone’s father. The description didn’t fit him, either. Stumped as to who the man might be, Jeffery fell silent. Had Simone enlisted the help of someone else?

“I want to see her room,” he told Nellie.

“That’s hardly fitting with the rules,” the woman replied.

“I know, but I have a feeling this might well be an exception to beat all others. I’m afraid Miss Du—Irving might well be in trouble.”

“What do you mean?” the girl asked. “Isn’t Simone upstairs? Isn’t she here?”

“No,” Jeffery replied, “and frankly we’re very worried about her. I need to see her room and determine if she’s taken anything with her.”

“I suppose it won’t hurt just this once,” Nellie replied.

With that, Nellie told a girl to run upstairs and issue an order for all the other Harvey Girls to remain in their rooms. The girl went quickly to the task while Una and Jeffery followed Nellie up the stairs at a slower pace.

“I can’t imagine what you hope to find,” Nellie muttered.

“I don’t know, either. But I’m hoping that maybe something will give me an idea of what she’s up to. I’ve got to talk to Simone. It’s absolutely critical. If I see her room, perhaps I can determine if all of her things are still there. Una, you would definitely know if something were missing, wouldn’t you?”

“Ja, I’d know it, all right.”

“Good. We’ll just give it a look over and see what’s what.”

Nellie made sure that all was clear before allowing Jeffery onto the dormitory floor of the Harvey House. “It appears to be all right,” she said, motioning for Jeffery and adding, “Una, you might as well lead the way.”