The Harvey Girl - Part 12

Quick Recap:

Willa, Fin & Dori return to the Harvey House, but can’t agree on the next step to find the treasure. They need to locate the other runes, like the symbols they found carved in the cliffside, but the girls have to work and Fin won’t go without Willa promising to stand down. She finally agrees, but she lied. Willa wants to set a trap for the killer!

LINKS: Start Here, Last Part (#11), Harvey Girl Page

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!

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“You promised!”

Dori reminded me for the hundredth time. Of course, she was right. I had promised Fin that I’d wait for his return; however, he had to make three trips to find the runes—which could be what we needed to find the treasure and my father. Three days seemed like an eternity.

Time was not on our side. I could not waste three days. In three days, those men could close in and attack my father. He might not be so lucky the next time, for he’d certainly almost been captured twice before—when his business partner, Reggie Brown, had been caught and killed in Father’s house and when a lookalike had been murdered in his stead.

Who was after Father? I had no idea, but I might learn a name within those three pivotal days. Sorry, Fin, family came first.

I’d need Dori’s help, so I offered her some wiggle room. “Perhaps,” I said, “we can use this time to set up the trap, only springing it once Fin returns.”

Dori frowned at me, too smart to be fooled. She knew I’d have little control over orchestrating a plan clever enough to draw out all the parties swirling around Father’s misadventures. His allies and foes were many and mostly unknown. All I had to draw them out was the treasure map. The most straightforward plan would be to announce I had the map to everyone who came through the Harvey House.

“You would be lighting a fire,” Dori complained, “with no way to control it.”

My clever roommate’s point was valid, but so was my desire to act fast or lose everything. With two deaths connected to the treasure and Father’s folly, my heart ached at how his treasure hunt was spiraling out of control. If I could help, I would build on what I guessed was his plan.

I assumed Father hired lookalikes to pretend to be him because he needed to hide from unscrupulous men. Fin had taken me to task on that. He had suggested my father could be behind all the unseemly events, but I could not believe as much. Of course, I had no proof but my heart, which sometimes tended to be wrong.

To be honest, another emotion pulled at me, equally heartfelt. It pushed me to trust Fin more than I should. He’d come out of nowhere to champion my search, and I was grateful, yet a worry whispered in my ear. Be wary, it said.

More troubling. I’d sent a message to my mother, warning her that she might receive word of Father’s demise. I assured her it was not true. I expected a return message any day, full of her shock and horror that I was in Kansas City and not visiting our friends in Philadelphia. It was a small fib I’d told her.

“You know I am right, no matter the spin you put on your actions,” Dori pressed. “You promised Fin to be a good Harvey Girl and wait for his return.”

“I am working,” I said, snapping out of my befuddlement and taking more care as I ironed my apron. It completed my Harvey Girl uniform. The bell would sound any moment. I only had enough time to put on the apron and tie my ponytail with a bit of matching starched white linen.

“You will not listen,” Dori whined.

I tried to reassure my roommate. Alas, she already knew me too well. “You made no promise to Fin, so fear not. You are not breaking your word.”

“He cares for you,” Dori said, clearly trying to make me feel bad for lying. 

Melancholy gripped me, but a sizzling heat swiftly flooded it away. “Mister Fin Morgan is not my boss, kin, nor keeper. Thus holds no purchase on my endeavors, and if I must lie to stress that point, it is not truly a lie but the act of protecting myself from a person that has overstepped.”

Dori gaped at me. “He’ll also never be your husband!”

Of all the arguments she could have made, that danced over my last nerve. “Husband?” I gasped, feeling a flush on my cheeks.

Dori huffed, quite upset with me. “You could do worse.”

The bell sounded, and not another word could pass our lips, even though I had a few to share. Instead, we rushed downstairs to our positions in the Harvey House dining room.  Twelve of us hurried to our spots, looking like the proper, respectable ladies Fred Harvey had envisioned when he set up his business. We added a refinement to the dining experience, and even though my mind raced with thoughts of trapping the despicable men responsible for two murders, I put on my biggest, brightest smile to greet our guests. 

I’d moved from assisting Shirley to serving the diners directly with my own mentee. The young girl’s wide eyes waited for my hand signals, eager to please. I had some impression that her name was Rose, but I’d been told when my thoughts were elsewhere. It really didn’t matter. We never used our names.

“Willa Abbot!” A male voice said my name as if spotting a long-lost friend.

I spun around, still smiling, as it was the first greeting any Harvey Girl gave a customer, even one with a loud voice. The dining room was quickly crowding with train passengers. They had barely twenty minutes at our stop and wanted to leave with a full belly that would serve them for the rest of their trip.

My eyes flew wide as I recognized the young man. “Kipp Hollingshead.”

The cocky little gossip sat down at an open seat. Unfortunately, it was right in front of me at the bar. I would have no way to avoid a more extended conversation with a man who traveled in my social circles. Running across someone I knew, even as little as Kipp, was always possible. Unfortunately, whatever I said would become fodder for his next party in New York City.

“Fancy meeting you here,” Kipp chuckled. “It took me a moment to register your lovely face, as it is so out of place in this establishment. I must say, is life so boring that you have come to this?”

The matron’s eyes were on us. I could feel them, not needing to turn. They bore into my skin, always concerned with the service, its excellence, and its speed. Anything but brief exchanges were frowned upon. The train waited for no man, and if I threw off a passenger with talk—even if they instigated it—the blame would be mine.

“Shall you have a steak today?” I asked Kipp. “It is marvelous and will serve you well for the rest of your journey.”

He nodded, agreeing to the feast. “With all the fixings,” he added. “And coffee, black.”

I signaled Rose, and she quickly handed me the correct plates. From my point of view, I placed a coffee cup at the four o’clock position. Its spot was also part of the code, signaling my assistant which beverage to pour. Five o’clock was tea. Six o’clock was milk. Seven o’clock was prune juice. I had no idea how to signal for help, not that anyone could aid me.

Kipp attacked his food, munching with some exaggeration. “Won’t say, will you? As you wish. I assume it is a dark family secret. The Abbots always aim too high for the nut. I shall hear of it in good time.”

My smile might have agreed, but my eyes did not.

Digging a fork into the crispy hash browns, Kipp scrunched his nose at me. “The apple does not fall far from the tree.”

No fan of Ralph Waldo Emerson’s saying, I only nodded as I served other passengers. He raised his empty coffee cup, and I returned to his place at the bar. Something about the look in his eye made me pause and not signal Rose for the refill. 

“Never mind,” he set the cup back down, lowering his voice. “I must tell you that your father is in the worst kind of trouble, and I fear you shall only make it worse.”

Something about his gossip rang true. “Tell me,” I begged.

“He is wanted for murder.” Kipp smiled. His glee was unsettling.

I shook my head. It could not be, for if Kipp had heard such news, Fin must have also known of it, possibly sparking his suspicions. Had he kept the whole truth from me? It dug at my heart, but perhaps it was not valid. I held onto the fact and faith that Fin would not hide such vital information. On the other hand, Kipp was a toad who should not be trusted.

Kipp gave me a pointed look, one tempered with fake understanding. “Imagine my surprise, having such whispered by another passenger on my trip home. I could not believe it at first, but they said it had to do with a treasure. I believe your father has fallen to the lust for lost riches before.”

The shame overwhelmed me. I wondered how long it would take the gossip to reach Mother. “Oh my, Kipp,” I said. “Are you allowing yourself to be swept up in gossip again? I believe you have fallen to such errors before. I would not want you to look the fool again, as I have been in the company of a Pinkerton Man and am privy to local police concerns.”

Kipp sat back on his stool, surprised. 

“I assure you,” I said, my chin titled upward, a firmness in my jaw, “my Father is not wanted for any crime.”

Kipp snorted. “And a Pinkerton Man can’t lie.”

The possibility struck me. Not Fin, I thought.

“That is exactly what Pinkerton Men do to get the goods. They lie, and why wouldn’t such a man lie to you if he was tracking your father?” Kipp nodded at me like he knew the ways of the world. “You have probably led the police—and this Pinkerton agent—right to your father.”

I gasped, as truth rang in his words. I had to second guess why Fin had spent so much time helping me to find the treasure. After all, I’d claimed over and over again that it would lead to Father. With a sinking feeling, I knew I’d been fooled.

The next installment drops every Wednesday!