Page 78 of More Than Meets the Eye

Evangeline reached for her friend’s hand. “I know,” she said as she squeezed Christie’s fingers. “I hate it, too. But you’re Benson’s main target. We have to keep you out of play until the men get him backed into a corner. Once we have the evidence we need, you can testify before the judge and put Benson away for good. Until then, we wait.”

Christie tugged her hand free of Evangeline’s hold. “I’m tired of waiting.” She pushed up on one arm, her features fierce in the shadowy lamplight. “I’m tired of everyone trying to protect me. My mother, passing me off as an imbecile. Seth hiding me away when I should be helping.”

Her hand balled into a fist and smacked the mattress between them. “When that bullet hit me today, it brought several things into sharp focus. I haven’t been living, I’ve been surviving. And I refuse to be a victim anymore. Hiding my deafness. Hiding my location. Hiding my feelings.” Her eyes sizzled with green fire. “I care about your brother, Evie. A lot. And I intend to stand by his side, even in danger. He shouldn’t be at that schoolhouse alone. If someone comes along and catches him digging through school property, he’ll be arrested. Or worse, he’ll become Benson’s next target.

“I brought this trouble upon your family, and I’m not going to hide away while Logan and your brothers fight my battles for me. Stay here if you like, but I’m going to Ben Franklin tomorrow. I’m going to stand watch and do all I can to ensure Seth’s safety.” She drew in a breath, her voice wavering slightly. “And that’s not all.”

What more could there be?

“Since I don’t have to worry about facing the consequences of Earl’s anger anymore, it’s time I quit dawdling and go after my stepfather’s ledger. With deliveries on Sunday, he’ll be out at the still all day tomorrow. I know where he keeps the lockbox under his bed. I’ll break it open somehow—take the wood ax to it if I have to.”

Good heavens, Christie was turning into a veritable warrior.

Evangeline glanced down at the sheet and pressed her lips together. Far be it from her to quench a fellow female’s fire, but . . . “Perhaps we shouldn’t tackle this all at once.” She held Christie’s eyes. “Let’s deal with Benson first, then we can go after your brother.” Seth would never allow Christie to help. Not when her life was in danger. Better to temper her expectations now than have them trampled tomorrow. “Seth promised to help you find your brother, remember? He won’t go back on his word. You just have to be patient.”

“But Archie could be suffering!” Tears sprang to Christie’s eyes. “I could have died today, and no one would have been left to protect him, to care for him. What if the worst happens, and our plans tomorrow fail? What if—?” Her voice choked a little. “What if Benson manages to kill me? What happens to Archie then?”

Evangeline swallowed, her own throat growing thick with the threat of tears.

Was that what had gone through Hamilton’s mind while he lay dying on the floor of that derailed train so many years ago? Had he known Zach would take care of his little sister, or had he spent his last moments fretting over Evangeline’s future?

“He needs me, Eva.” Christie’s voice softened to a near whisper. “If he was your brother, what would you do?”

32

Logan checked the note he’d scribbled last night to confirm they’d found the right shop, then stuffed the scrap of paper back into his shirt pocket. “This is the bookseller Christie recalled seeing multiple times in Benson’s ledger.”

Zacharias mounted the boardwalk in front of the shop. The placard read: Baldwin’s Books & Stationery. “All right, then. Let’s go have a chat with Mr. Baldwin.”

Logan glanced behind him before following. An unnecessary move, since Benson had to be at least an hour behind them, yet he couldn’t help himself. He was antsier than a greenhorn at the poker table with his last chip in the pot.

He and Zacharias had risen at dawn, ridden to the outskirts of Ben Franklin, and watched for Benson’s black buggy. As soon as they confirmed the schoolmaster was at the reins and heading for Cooper as planned, they retrieved their mounts and rode cross-country toward the Delta County seat. They shaved off a good four miles from the twelve-mile trek by going overland instead of following the roads. Add to that the average pace of a buggy being much less than a man riding horseback, and they should have gained a substantial lead.

As an extra precaution, they’d paid for stalls at the livery to keep their mounts out of sight. Logan had even shaved his beard and switched out his black duster and Stetson for a blue plaid cotton shirt and floppy tan farmer’s hat he’d borrowed from Seth. Their identities were well and truly hidden.

So why did his gut twist every time he looked over his shoulder?

Shoving aside the uneasy feeling, he snagged the edge of the shop door before it closed in his face and caught up to Zach at the counter.

A friendly fellow with a tidy black suit, spectacles, and pomaded hair parted down the middle stepped down from a ladder attached to a large bookcase on the left side of the store and hustled forward to greet them.

“Morning, gentlemen. What can I help you with this fine day?”

As agreed, Logan allowed Zach to take the lead, going so far as to turn his head away from the shopkeeper as he pretended to peruse the portable writing desks and pen sets on display in the glass case that ran the length of the counter. Best to be as forgettable as possible in case the bookseller happened to mention their visit to Benson later in the day. A nondescript, quiet fellow would draw less notice than the man conducting business, and since Benson had never met Zach, any description the shopkeeper might offer would ring no bells.

“Looking for school books. Readers and the like,” Zach said.

“You’ve come to the right place, sir.” The clerk shuffled over to the shelves near the front door and pulled four different volumes from a low shelf, then hurried back to lay them upon the counter for inspection. “I have primers, readers, and arithmetic books, as well as geography and science texts on hand and can order anything else you might need. Is this for private use, or are you shopping for a school setting? I supply all the schools in Delta County, I’m pleased to say, and even into Commerce and Sulphur Springs. Can’t beat my prices or selection.”

“I’m glad to hear that,” Zach said, “’cause I’m needing a goodly supply, but my funds are on the short side.” He surreptitiously glanced around the store, then turned back to Baldwin. “I heard from a confidential source that you were the man to see if one needed a special deal.”

Baldwin reddened and laughed nervously as he started straightening the perfectly tidy shelf next to his elbow. “I have been known to help out a friend from time to time, but I’m afraid this is a business, not a charity organization. Who, uh, recommended me to you?”

Zach crossed his arms over his chest and straightened his posture. “I ain’t askin’ for charity, mister. I know a fellow in Ben Franklin who tells me their kids seem to be getting by on a tight budget. I’m just asking for similar consideration.”

Playing a hunch that Benson was running some kind of shell game with the school board’s funds, Logan and Zach had opted to bluff with deuces instead of kings.

Baldwin stiffened, and his face pinched. “The Ben Franklin School Board is made up of a bunch of empty-headed fluff-mongers, if you ask me. They place more importance on community beautification than the education of their children. It’s shameful.” A gossipy look entered his eyes. He lowered his voice. “Why, I have it on good authority that they squander their budget on items like an engraved school bell, indoor paint, and flowers, of all things, wanting the place to look nice for the various social events that occur there. All this while they scrimp on the very items necessary for education. Flowers over books? Outrageous!”