The Harvey Girl - Part 17

Next to last one!

Jump into the story now with a quick audio recap or got to The Harvey Girl Index.

“You’ll be leaving one way or another!”

The man’s chilling threat tickled my memory. I’d heard that voice before. Of course, cockney accents were common in New York City, but we were still in Kansas City.

It didn’t help that I had a bag over my head and wrists tied together. I’d never been so manhandled. Even worse, I missed some of the action. My head hurt from a bump, and the tops of my feet from being dragged more than carried to our new location.

Wherever we were, the air smelled dusty. It needed an airing out. Curled up on a rather hard floor, though, I had few clues to name the spot. I listened for more voices. Several men were present, but the threatening one was doing all the talking. Whatever had become of my father, I could not say. I hoped he had not been treated as rudely. Doubtful, as we’d most certainly been taken for nefarious reasons.

“You be understanding me?” the threatening man asked.

Whether the question was directed at me or another, I could not know for sure, but it had to end. My fate was my own to guide. I’d not leave it in the hands of these ninnies.

Sitting up on the floor, I moaned as my weight found a bruise. “Show yourself,” I demanded. “For your threats are empty if nothing is known of the might that backs them.”

The sack yanked up and away from my head, revealing the study in my father’s Kansas City house. As I’d recently learned, the house had been purchased in his name and was not his doing. I’d been once before. It was where I’d found the Spanish treasure map.

Candlelight greeted me with a soft glow, casting shadows that hid much of the room and its occupants. One man stepped forward—Reggie Brown. I’d met him on the train. He’d claimed to be my father’s business partner and had directed me to this home initially. I could only believe I was part of his plan to use my father’s name.

“Looking good for a dead man,” I said, giving Reggie my most complimentary smile.

His belly shook with laughter, but my response threw him off. I could see it in the turn of his lip. “Don’t be too clever, dear, or you’ll miss all the fun.”

“More threats,” I said, unmoved. “You might have me and the real X Abbot, but you don’t have the treasure map or the gold.”

Beefy arms crossed his chest. “There is no gold.”

“I know you believe there is no gold,” I countered, “or is that just part of the act to keep it all to yourself?” 

I counted five other men in the room and gave them a nod. They appeared rough, ready for a fight, and probably clueless about the treasure and Reggie’s intentions. They certainly weren’t expecting me or the suggestion that they were as dumb as geese flying North instead of South for the winter.

“You found the gold?” one of the ruffians complained. The others puffed out chests and waved a fist or two to show what they thought of being double-crossed.

“Don’t listen to the chit,” Reggie barked at them. “She knows nothing. We got a good thing going here and all we got to do is be smart.”

I laughed at that as if he’d given me a gift to knock him down. “Oh, hey, you gonna let him call you dumb to your faces?”

The air in the room seemed to shift. The men were on my side, and Reggie knew it.

“Who’s gonna untie me?” I asked, raising my wrists to show off the ropes. “I have the real treasure map and can take you to the gold.”

The mood shifted again. I bit my tongue, worried I’d gone too far.

“She don’t know nothin’ and that Spanish gold ain’t never been found. It never existed.” Reggie’s nostrils flared. It was not an attractive look, but he was making some sense to the men.

I got to my knees. “You could not be more wrong, sir.”

“The map was a fake!” He nodded his head up and down at his men. “I had it made in San Francisco!”

With a slight tilt of my head, I sighed, almost taking pity on the scoundrel. “Well, then your mapmakers were clairvoyant because I followed the map to the bluffs and found an old Spanish rune etched into the mountainside. It was a second clue to an overlay that, once combined with the map, led me to the treasure.” Honestly, I was starting to believe my lie. So were the men.

Reggie pointed an accusing finger at me. “All that gold and you’re still here? I think not!”

I turned pouty lips to the men. “You duped and endangered my most beloved father, sir; some things are more dear to a tender heart than gold.”

The nearest brute pulled out a knife. Eyes wide, he rushed at me and cut the rope that bound my wrists. I’m not embarrassed to say that I was too shocked to flinch, which would have been my reaction if I had not been frozen in fear. Instead, I thanked the man and allowed him to give me a hand up. 

Standing sent blood back to parts of my legs that had been lacking. They tingled with pins and needles. I fluffed out my skirt, hoping the sensation would pass. “Now, if you give me my father, I will take you to the gold.”

The door to the study banged open, and Fin entered with several police officers. They had weapons and leveled them at all gathered—including me!

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In the next installment, we’ll be wrapping up Willa’s adventure, but a new one is on the horizon!