Horse With No Name (11 page)

In the end Julia got six questions answered.
This involved being dealt into eleven rounds and by the time that
was over it was nearly midnight. She came away from the table
several dollars richer, and, more to her satisfaction, a bit
wealthier in information. She scooped her winnings into her purse
and pulled on her gloves.

"Thank you so much, gentlemen. It's been my
pleasure taking your money and your knowledge.”

As she pulled the door closed behind her, she
heard Mayor Billy say, "Thank Christ that's over. I thought she'd
never leave."

Julia poked her head back into the room,
making the mayor jump, "Watch it, Mayor," she said, "Or next time
I'll bring a certain wife of yours along."

Fourteen

There was a set of stairs on the outside of the
hotel that led down to the back door of the kitchen. Julia used
them now, not wanting to use one of the main staircases that led
into the restaurant and bar. Despite her bravado earlier, it would
probably be wise not to be seen coming down from the hotel rooms at
midnight by anyone.

Her purse was heavier than when she'd
arrived, which sent a thrill through Julia's heart. She stepped
down off the last stair onto the large yard behind the hotel. She
intended to slip away into the night, hopefully remaining unseen,
but she stopped short after a few steps. Voices were coming from
inside the hotel kitchen; arguing and pleading. A man and a woman.
Julia hesitated, and listened. She assumed Caroline Finnegan would
step in and stop whatever was going on, but the longer Julia waited
the more she realized that perhaps Caroline wasn't within
earshot.

The woman's voice reached Julia's ears,
"Alan, stop."

Julia took three steps and pulled open the
kitchen's screened door.

Lily Cecil was standing beside the long table
in the middle of the room. She was wearing her usual waitressing
attire of dark dress with a white apron tied around her waist. Her
corn silk hair was collected in a bun on the back of her head, but
strands of it were falling loose. The kitchen had several lamps
burning but it was still quite dark. Beside Lily was a man several
inches taller than her. Julia couldn't see his face, as he had his
back to her, but she could see he was slender, despite the bulk of
the long waxed drover's coat he was wearing. He had his hat on,
though he was inside; a black, wide-brimmed hat that reminded Julia
of the one she wore when riding on sunny days.

The man had his left hand around Lily's upper
arm. She was pulling away but he held fast. The look on Lily's face
was one of mingled annoyance, fear and defiance.

"Excuse me," Julia said while the door closed
behind her. "I'm looking for Mrs. Finnegan." The energy in the room
was charged, like a building thunderstorm.

The man whirled around, startled. He let go
of Lily's arm and looked Julia up and down with a quick flick of
his eyes, a male habit that always annoyed her. There had been an
angry expression on the man's face as he turned, but it was wiped
away so quickly Julia almost thought she'd imagined it.

The man removed his hat. "Good evening, Miss
Thom."

Julia wasn't sure how he knew her. "Good
evening, Mr...?"

"Cecil. Alan Cecil. I'm Lily's husband." He
smiled.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Cecil. Hello Lily."
Julia looked past the man. "You're working late tonight."

"Yes, Miss. I'm just finishing up and then
Alan and I will head upstairs."

Julia remembered that Millie Jones had
mentioned the Cecil's lived at the hotel. She met his eyes
again.

"You weren't having a go at that poker game,
were you?" Cecil grinned at her, his eyes sparkling now.

"I'm not sure I want to say, Mr. Cecil."

"Tell us now," Cecil leaned against the
kitchen counter and crossed one ankle over the other, "I'll bet you
beat the pants off those guys, didn't you?"

All the hostility around Cecil and Lily was
gone. The drover exuded warmth and friendliness. Julia felt herself
slightly charmed by his relaxed attitude and roguish grin.

She smiled back at him. "As a matter of fact,
I did."

Cecil laughed. "Ah! I knew it. You're a smart
one, you are. You'd have to be to teach all those little rodents in
your classroom. Can't have them getting one up on you, ever, right?
They'd mutiny in an instant."

Julia chuckled, "What kind of a student were
you, Mr. Cecil? I bet you caused a bit of trouble in your day."

"You're spot on, Miss Thom. I turned my
teacher's hair white, I did. She was an old battle-ax though. A
tough old bird." He laughed again, remembering, "We got up to lots
of trouble, we did. Me and my mates. How do you keep your little
ones in line with such a pretty face as you've got?"

Julia blushed slightly, unused to such blunt
compliments. She was about to answer when Caroline Finnegan came
through the swinging doors from the dining room.

"Lily!" She seemed surprised. "I thought
you'd gone up ages ago."

"Just leaving now, Mrs. Finnegan. I was
waiting for Alan."

"Right then. Off you go. See you
tomorrow."

Lily untied her apron and shook it gently.
She and Alan moved toward the back door and the staircase that
Julia had just come down. "Good night," Lily said to Caroline.
"Good night, Miss Thom."

Alan winked at Julia, "If you ever need any
help keeping those wee beasties in line, Miss Thom, you let me
know. I'll come and knock some sense into them."

"Thank you, Mr. Cecil. I will."

Julia nodded at the couple and then they were
gone, the door flapping into the frame behind them. Caroline pulled
off her apron and hung it on a hook where several others waited. "I
thought you'd gone too," she said to Julia. "Did you get what you
wanted from those idiots?" She jerked her head toward the second
floor, but used the word with fondness.

"I did," Julia answered. "And," she held her
purse aloft and shook it, making the coins within jingle
pleasantly, "I made a profit."

"Good for you!" Caroline seemed genuinely
thrilled. "Spend it here, willya? We seem to be bleeding money at
the moment."

"Really? This place is always busy."

"Aye, there may be bottoms in the seats at
all hours, but no one can nurse a drink like this town's citizens.
I should implement a three drink minimum or something."

Julia was sure Caroline was exaggerating.
Other than a recently opened tea shop, that was mostly for ladies,
Finnegan's restaurant was the only game in town if you wanted a
meal other than one you'd cooked yourself. Not to mention the only
place in town that served alcohol.

"How much of that money is Finn's?" Caroline
asked, glancing at Julia's purse.

"A fair bit," Julia couldn't lie. "Your
husband has a truly awful poker face."

Caroline sighed. "You are right about that.
But you know the good news?"

"What?"

"The poor sod will never be able to cheat on
me. I'd know it in a red hot second." She smiled broadly. "He gives
himself away even when he takes an extra piece of pie."

Fifteen

Julia was distracted the next day at school. Not to
mention tired. She'd had trouble falling asleep once she was home.
Thoughts about James Hunter and the information the men at the
poker game had given her rolled around in her head, giving her what
her mother called 'The Whirlies'. Finally, when she heard the clock
in the living room strike a quarter past three, she began to drift
off.

But morning had come too soon, and the
children, picking up on her vulnerable state, had been restless and
unable to focus themselves all day. She had taken them for a walk
down to the lake to talk about marine life and erosion, a kind of
impromptu science lesson, hoping the fresh air and exercise would
settle them down a bit. But when they returned to the classroom to
each write a story about what they'd seen or learned, they were
more fidgety than ever. The weather had offered a little respite
from the downward trend in temperatures, spiking to nearly
fifty-nine degrees while they were out. This seemed to just
emphasize to the children that they wanted to be outside, not in.
She empathized with them; this would likely be the last really mild
day until the spring. So finally at 2:30 she let them go. Their
astonished little faces rewarded her. She would catch hell from
some of the parents who would ask why she was being lenient, but
that was fine. If there was one thing she'd learned since starting
her job, it was that in the eyes of parents the teacher is nearly
always at fault.

As she closed the door behind her and walked
down the front steps, two boys were still playing in the yard,
shooting at one another with sticks that stood in for
revolvers.

Julia found Christopher Mitchell manning the
store by himself.

"Good afternoon, Julia," he said when she
pushed through the door, though his greeting lacked the usual
enthusiasm he held for nearly everything.

"You look like you've lost your best friend,
Christopher."

"I nearly have," he said, looking morose.

"What happened?" Julia was growing
concerned.

"You'll have to ask my best friend. She's in
the garden." He nodded his head in the direction of the back of the
store.

Julia left without another word and walked
behind the counter and outside through the storeroom.

She spotted Betty in the middle of the large
patch of earth that was the store's garden. Growing season was
over, but root vegetables and squash were still viable. Betty
seemed to be pulling up carrots and beets. There was a large basket
with a looped handle on the ground beside her. She angrily tossed a
carrot into it as Julia approached.

"Your husband is in the doghouse, I take it,"
Julia said as she approached.

Betty stood up straight, a slightly startled
look in her eye. "Oh, Julia. I didn't hear you sneaking up on
me."

"I wasn't sneaking. You were
preoccupied."

She turned back and bent toward the dirt
again. "Perhaps."

Julia had no experience being married, but
she knew a marital spat when she saw one. Her parents were both
strong-willed and stubborn people. Julia inherited her best
qualities - tenacity, intelligence and a self-assuredness from
them. And it was also the place where she gleaned her worst
characteristics, including the stubbornness that was beginning to
be the largest irritant for Constable Merrick. Julia never mediated
with her parents, even as she got older. She didn't feel it was her
place to do so, plus she knew she would almost invariably side with
her father, who was her best friend. Julia and her mother were too
close in temperament to be anything but adversaries, and by the
time Julia was about ten years old, they'd forged a mutual silent
agreement to leave each other alone.

So Julia didn't feel equipped or inclined to
step into whatever was causing disharmony in the Mitchell
household. However, what she did know was that Betty Mitchell was
her closest friend, and someone she could trust and rely on, even
though they'd known each other for less than two months. Betty and
Christopher were both good people and even this early on, Julia
would have done almost anything for either of them. So she said the
one thing her Aunt Ruby used to say when Julia was bent out of
shape about something. It was the best thing anyone had ever said
to her in such circumstances and it came to her now, though she had
not seen or spoken to her Aunt in several years.

"Tell me about it," Julia said, and she tried
to adopt the neutral and compassionate tone Aunt Ruby used.

"Oh, Julia," Betty threw another carrot
violently into the basket. It bounced off the basket's rim and
landed in the dirt. "Christopher is trying to bankrupt us. He's
practically given away the store."

"What? How?"

"Maybe not the store." Betty backpedaled a
bit. "But most of the inventory." She looked away toward the hills
to the west that bordered the town, tears glistening in her eyes.
"You know what a soft heart he has. He lets people run up credit
and never asks them to pay. Now that we've been here nearly a year,
people are learning to take advantage of him. And word gets
around."

Julia touched her friend's arm in
sympathy.

Betty continued, "Yesterday, when I was in
the back making lunch he had a rancher in here who is new to the
area. This fellow ran up forty dollars of credit. Christopher had
never met the man before!" She threw her hands up in the air in a
gesture of frustration. "We'll probably never see the man again, so
Christopher essentially gave him two months of supplies. Forty
dollars!"

"Oh, dear."

"And the worst part of it is, he knows it's
the wrong thing to do. He feels bad about it afterward and then he
hides what he's done. He hides the credit slips and I've had no
idea how bad the situation is. But in the moment, his soft heart
gets the better of him, and he just offers to help out any Joe who
comes into the store."

"He's embarrassed that people are taking
advantage of him."

"Damn right he is." Julia had never heard
Betty swear before. She tucked her chin into her neck to hide her
smile. "And he should be. Do you know how much credit he's extended
in the past eight months?"

Julia shook her head.

Betty's eyes filled with tears and then
spilled over. Her chin shook. She said, almost whispering, "Nearly
five hundred dollars."

The figure rocked Julia back. It was an
enormous amount of money. No wonder Betty was worried. Julia wasn't
sure what to say. This was far worse than she imagined. She reached
into her purse and brought out a handkerchief to hand to her
friend.

Betty plowed on. "All the credit slips were
hidden in a box at the back of a shelf under the counter. This
morning I was searching for the scraps of a bolt of fabric that I
thought I'd kept for quilting and I came across this box I'd never
seen before. It was filled with credit slips." She looked off into
the distance again and Julia could see the fear and sense of
betrayal on her friend's face. "Nearly five hundred dollars. How
are we ever going to recover from that?"