The Harvey Girl - Part 11

Quick Recap:

Willa, Fin & Dori survived the hike up the cliff, but when they got to the bottom again the Land Office Police, from the Department of the Interior, were waiting for them to identify a dead man. Willa spotted her father’s ring on the body.

Short on time? Scan the story and just read the Bold parts to get the gist of the story. Then come back later and read the whole thing!

LINKS: Start Here, Last Part (#10), Harvey Girl Page

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“She’s in shock!”

Dori held my hand, sitting next to me in the buggy. Worry marred her usual happy face. On my other side, Fin drove the one-horse rig. He glanced at me briefly, keeping any thoughts about my state of mind to himself.

“I’m so sorry,” I mumbled.

“Sorry?” Dori squeezed my hand. “We are the ones filled with sorrow. I cannot imagine the jolt of seeing your father in such a state.”

The dead body in the back of the wagon flashed in my mind’s eye. The complete stillness of the poor soul, needing no air, left me with no words. “I am the one who is utterly sorry,” I tried to explain, “as that man was not my father.”

I looked down at the palm of my free hand. In it was my father’s ring. I hadn’t lied about that. It belonged to him, but that was where any connection to my actual father ended.

Fin pulled on the reigns and stopped the buggy. He turned to me. “You lied to us?” Hurt stung his words.

Dori released my hand to cover her mouth. She almost muffled a gasp. Eyes wide, she didn’t speak. Her look said it all.

I cringed. “The lie was for the Land Office Police,” I explained. “I am telling you the truth now, as I could not tell you in front of the policemen without giving all away.”

Their shock shifted to anger, but I could already feel their strong emotions softening.

“You lie quite easily,” Fin said, more compliment than reproach. “Why did you do it?”

The story being rather long, I longed for a better moment to go into it all. Still, I quickly explained that my father had always told me a bedtime story about how a man evaded his attackers by causing a diversion with lookalikes. Men that look so much like him, no one could tell the difference.

“That’s a bedtime story?” Dori shrieked.

Fin hid a smile, clearing his throat. “The ring?”

I held it out to him. “It is real, and I knew that he must have given it to this man, who looked very much like my father, I might add.” I gulped, feeling a rush of shame. “He must be in a terrible mess to have employed a lookalike, and I worry that he could have been the one in that wagon, not the imitation.”

Nodding, Fin seemed to understand. “So, you said it was him to keep him safe. You are nothing if not loyal. Loyal to a fault.”

“Willa is a good daughter,” Dori said in my defense, showing her undeniable loyalty.

I could have hugged my roommate.

“I am worried your father is not worthy of such a daughter,” Fin said. His hands fiddled with the reigns. “You have lied to the police, and it will come to light. Lies always do.”

Contradicting him seemed inevitable, so I touched his forearm to lessen the blow. “I never said he was Father, so if they assumed I did, the fault is theirs. I only said the ring was Father’s.”

We’d stopped along a stretch of dusty road that allowed a view of Kansas City’s bluffs. Much of the rough terrain had been painstakingly graded or removed, which allowed the population to grow. However, the work would need to continue. I could see several areas where ravines cut into the limestone. Over time, they’d be as pronounced as the bluff we’d climbed. The erosion was an endless hand that shaped the area in the most harsh and majestic ways.

The vista held no interest for Fin. He neither cared for my excuse, pushing it aside as a minor technicality that no lawman would give credit. “When they determine your duplicity, you must answer for it.”

“Will you tell them?” I asked, worried about his answer.

“They will not hear it from me.” He flicked the reigns, and the horse lurched into a trot.

I rocked in the seat, falling toward Fin. He took pity on me, reaching a hand around my waist. The move practically locked me to his side. I dared a look at Dori, concerned that she’d see our improper closeness, but her death grip on our seat’s armrest took all her attention.

“Oh my!” Dori cried at the pace of the buggy.

Fin took pity on us, slowing the horse’s pace and releasing me. I inched away from his side, although I did not find it too familiar. He had done me a kindness. I peeked at him, trying to determine if I dared test him again. The day had been full of them, yet it could not be helped. To not speak would have been wrong.

“I want to set a trap!”

Hands tightening on the reigns, Fin did not stop us a second time, but he sighed. “Have I heard right?”

“What? What?” Dori asked, uncertain of my declaration.

I’d been turned to Fin, and she could not have heard me clearly, not at our speed. The air rushed over the buggy, over us, and our only protection from the elements was a folding canopy, but it was down. I’d have to explain to her next, but Fin’s reaction mattered the most, as I felt sure she would follow me into Hell—with a smile—bless her!

Nodding at Fin’s shock, I pressed onward. “You see, they just want the map. I feel certain it was at Father’s house to protect it as they searched for the overlays. We must assume they have all of them now if any exist. They will be desperate to find and unite the map with the overlays, Father and the men that oppose him.”

With a grunt, Fin discounted my assessment. “We have no evidence that anyone is against your father.”

I punched him in the arm. Fin stared down at me, shocked, I’m happy to report. It made the pain in my knuckles feel a bit better. Well, almost better. I’d never punched anyone before and would not do it again, although the punch had little effect on Fin’s solid muscle. Indeed, he was part cement!

Dori chuckled. She’d seen more than heard, but she understood body language. “Serves you right, Mister Fin.”

“Indeed,” I said. “Father would not kill his partner, nor would he kill a man he hired to imitate him.”

“Why not?” Fin asked, blustering. “Outside of him being your father, we have no evidence of his good character. He could have wanted his partner out of the way, and he very easily could have hired a lookalike and killed him to fake his death.”

I cried out! Not over Fin’s assessment, but suddenly realizing the police might contact my mother. Mistakenly, of course, they would alert her that her husband had died. I had to send word before she got the horrifying news.

“You see my point now?” Fin asked, sounding regretful for taking me to task.

I would have punched him in the arm again had my knuckles not reminded me of that folly. “No, it’s not what you said, but what I thought,” I told him. “I must address a matter as soon as we return to the Harvey House.” I took a quick breath, turning to Dori. “My mother.”

Dori’s eyes widened. “Oh my, yes, she must not hear of your father’s demise. She will be told he expired.”

“She will,” I said, keen to avoid that error.

“You can’t be so naive about your father,” Fin interrupted.

Sitting in the middle of our threesome was getting out of hand. I could not address one without the other being greeted with my back. I swiveled around to squint at Fin. “Father would have more than one lookalike. They are to be a distraction, not a scapegoat.”

Fin narrowed his gaze, as well. “Time will tell.”

“Yes, and I shall expect an apology about my father’s good name and intentions.”

Fin growled to himself, focusing on the horse and our progress. Reaching our hiking spot had taken a stretch of time, but our return would be considerably less. The city streets were already in view. I sat back, finding any more talk to be detrimental. After all, I knew what had to be done next.

We arrived at the Harvey House, kicking up a dust cloud. Fin jumped down, offering a hand to Dori and me. We alighted, turning to thank him again for the outing. Despite almost falling off the cliffside and seeing my first dead body, it had been an incredible outing. I said as much, ready to retreat to our room and plot the next step.

Fin blocked my way. “You will not set a trap,” he ordered.

My hands approached my hips, and I’m sure a steely glare settled in my hazel eyes. I had been told several times that my determination was equal to that of a mama bear. A compliment, if I’d ever heard one.

“Now, now,” Fin spoke first, “you have an uncanny knack for putting yourself in harm’s way. If you continue down this path—of setting a trap—you will only do so if I am present.”

“Oh,” I said, letting my arms fall to my side. “That would be welcomed.”

All the bluster drained from the moment, and we didn’t know what to say to each other. Luckily, Dori piped up. She raised a finger, daring to step between us. Standing on the sidewalk near the street entrance to the Harvey House, we were putting on a bit of a spectacle.

“It is quite possible that the map is a complete ruse,” Dori said with a genuine smile. “We must find the other runes.”

“Come again?” Fin asked.

Dori stepped closer to us, lowering her voice. “The map and its overlays might not be what leads to the treasure.”

Seriously doubting that we should be discussing such matters for any passerby to hear, I cleared my throat and invited Fin to join us inside. We quickly retreated to the drawing room, which luckily was empty. I could still hear the din of the dining room crowd, so all were engaged in the everyday business of the Harvey House. We could talk in private.

“Please explain,” I asked of Dori. As a treasure map expert, she’d not guided us in error yet.

Sitting in a winged-back chair, Dori left the loveseat for Fin and me. I noticed he sat on it like most men, taking up the majority of space. I perched on one end, not wanting to give the impression that this was a thing between us—sitting so close. Mother would be mortified.

“Back on the cliff, before you almost plunged to your death, but Mister Fin saved you,” Dori began, with me wanting her to skip that part, “we found that rune carved into the stone.”

She was right. In all the commotion of getting off the bluff and being greeted by the police, I had forgotten the symbols carved into the rock. “How does that change the purpose of the map?”

“The map was clearly meant to lead to four overlays,” Dori explained, “but it really led to the rune. I expect each location to hold a rune, and those are the real clues. The overlays, if they were there to be found, are a misdirection. Thus, the map has already served its purpose. Your father had it pinned to a wall, you said. How important could it have been to him? He must have already known.”

Fin and I thought on the matter. Dori sat and smiled at us, giving no indication she minded. I finally threw up my hands.

“Very well, the map was only the first part of the puzzle,” I practically whined, “but we must work for the next ten days straight before we are allowed another day off. We can’t wait that long to find the other runes.”

A heaviness hung in the air between us.

“I will go,” Fin offered, “but only if you promise to wait patiently, work at the Harvey House, and await my return. You must promise not to take any action to locate your father or his lookalikes or anything relating to the deaths or the treasure. All must cease while I am away.”

The air in the small drawing room felt charged with his request. Not for the first time, I wondered how this man had weaseled his way so far into my life. Or, perhaps, it was due to the treasure. I could not be sure, although he’d saved my life today, not the treasure.

“You are hardly being reasonable,” I said. “Time is important, and doing nothing is deadly.”

Fin slowly placed his hands on his legs, giving them a tap. He was either impatient or restless. “If you insist, the runes must wait, and I will stay close to keep you out of trouble.”

I jumped to my feet. “You will do no such thing!” Fin moved just as fast, and we stood toe-to-toe, neither willing to back down.

“You overstep, sir!” I gritted out the words.

Fin’s voice dropped low, threatening. “You won’t be happy until you get yourself killed!”

Dori clapped her hands together. We looked at her, shaken out of strong emotions. “I’ve never seen two people so in love,” she beamed at us.

I can genuinely say Fin’s shocked expression mirrored my own.

“You only want the best for each other,” Dori said as if it were the sweetest thing.

I shrugged a shoulder, eyelids fluttering. Dori had a point, but I didn’t want to be the first to say so.

Fin hung his head. “I will find the runes,” he muttered.

“And I will not lure any killers to my door,” I mumbled.

He nodded, seeming mollified, and I showed him to the door. Before he slipped out, Fin grasped my hand. “I’m trusting you,” he whispered. “Don’t break my heart by getting yourself killed.”

Our eyes locked, but he slipped out before I could reassure him.

Dori came over and hugged me from the side. “I’m so glad you’ll wait for his return.”

“I never said that,” I exclaimed. “We have no time to waste! I am setting a trap!”

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Another installment next Wednesday!