5. Chapter 5
Chapter 5
E mily stepped off the train and shielded her eyes from the sun peeking over the grandiose tower of Union Station, Denver, Colorado.
Good old Wild West. She could smell the dust already.
Or at least she would after the steam from the train cleared.
Behind her, Will helped escort Sylvia out. Based on the light blush on her cheeks, she was clearly hot but didn’t want to say anything about it. Perhaps it wasn’t polite? Instead, she persisted in her buttoned-up jacket while Emily had already shed hers. The form-fitting blouse and simple green skirt they’d bought her were far from a comfortable summer outfit, but she knew better than to shock Will and Sylvia into oblivion by displaying her legs.
Emily’s bad mood over Sylvia gradually lessened the closer they got to Denver. She still thought Will was way too nice to her, and she still didn’t get a moment to talk to him about family stuff and time travel, but at least they were finally here. They’d be rid of Sylvia in a couple of hours, so Emily decided to channel her energy into imagining what would come afterward, not into figuring out how to get back at her for pulling the “window seat” prank.
“My butt hurts,” she complained as Will came to stand next to her. “Next time I go shopping, remind me to get a soft bustle, not this wiry thingamajig. I could do with a constant pillow.”
“It’s a good thing we rode first class, then,” he said. “At least those cars have a roof.”
“Shall we proceed?” Sylvia pulled on her lacy gloves and tapped the ground expectantly. Will nodded and marched toward the arched exit.
“Wait, what?” Emily stuttered, then ran after Will and Sylvia. “What do you mean—the others have no roof?”
“They didn’t use to, but they have now,” he consoled her, his lips twitching. “We’re perfectly civilized, I assure you.”
Sylvia stopped on the other side of the passage and stared down the busy street. “That is yet to be determined, Mr. Marshall.”
Carriages and wagons of all shapes and sizes kicked up the dust of the wide road, lined by two-, three-, four-story buildings. The awnings of each business shadowed the sidewalks. A trolley filled with passengers whizzed by as Emily was taking notice of a group of people lounging in an open restaurant—then a cyclist zoomed in in the other direction—then a man bumped into her—
“I believe the hotel is this way.” Will steered her toward the northern end of the street.
“You have bicycles now?” she whispered. “How do the women ride them?”
“Why don’t you ask her?” Will motioned to Sylvia with a flick of his head.
“I don’t think she’s ever rode a bicycle in her life. Probably unladylike. ”
Sylvia looked in her direction but gave no indication of hearing her and instead fixed her hair for the umpteenth time. Emily had given up count on that a few miles off Chicago.
The hotel they were looking for was a massive building of red granite, occupying its own corner of the intersection. “So this is where our slippery viscount is?” Emily asked no one in particular.
“The landlady I spoke to said Lord Haverston should be stationed here. Apparently, he knew the owner, Mr. Sanderson,” Will said.
“But why did he leave Boston in the first place? I’m sure y’all have nice hotels there, too.”
Will shared a look with Sylvia, then cleared his throat. “Lord Haverston got into some … gambling trouble.”
“Spent too much?”
“And into trouble with a few men.”
“Gangs?”
“Men with lovely wives.”
“Oh. Ooh. ” Emily turned to Sylvia with raised eyebrows.
“I’d prefer not to discuss my brother’s history,” Sylvia said. “May we enter, please?”
Emily greeted the cold inside the building, only to be swept away by the view. The atrium lobby rose all the way to the roof, displaying seven stories with cast iron balconies. The marble floor was polished enough for their shoes to screech as Will led the way to the counter. Emily whirled around and took in the marble pillars with gold-painted capitals, bordering the lobby. A staircase with a wrought iron railing, matching the balconies, led up on each side of the main space.
Sylvia’s brother had some damn fancy friends .
“I’m afraid Mr. Sanderson is not available at the moment,” a man at the counter was saying to Will as Emily approached. His generous mustache twitched as he angled his head, looking down on the dust-covered visitors.
“You don’t understand.” Sylvia leaned forward on the counter. “We’re looking for my brother, Lord Haverston. Mr. Sanderson knows him. We must speak to him urgently.”
“I said, he is not available .”
“You’re looking for my husband?” a female voice sounded behind them. Emily, Will, and Sylvia turned in unison.
The speaker was a beautiful woman in her late twenties with perfect porcelain skin and dark hair, coiled up in a hairstyle similar to Sylvia’s but embellished with a pair of golden-leafed circlets. A red silk dress with a rectangular neckline enveloped her curvaceous figure.
“Mrs. Sanderson, these people—”
“I’ll take care of the guests, Morris,” the woman interrupted the receptionist. “I know Lord Haverston. Please, won’t you join me? You must be parched.” She outstretched an arm toward the lobby’s seating area, just visible behind a partition of plants.
The seating area was divided into multiple compartments, separated from each other by more flora that provided for minimum privacy. Mrs. Sanderson led them toward a pair of sofas near the middle, next to a fountain. A server came along almost instantaneously, depositing a tray of refreshments on the table. Emily grabbed a glass of sweet tea and was already halfway through it when she realized there was a tiny bit of alcohol in the drink.
Mrs. Sanderson snapped a fan open. “So, what do you need dear James for? ”
“Dear James?” Emily whispered to Will, at the same time as Sylvia went, “I beg your pardon?”
“You’re his sister, you say?” Mrs. Sanderson continued unaffected. “He’d never mentioned one.”
Sylvia inhaled loudly for a response, but Will quickly took command. “Mrs. Sanderson, we only ask for information on Lord Haverston’s whereabouts. We heard he was bound for this hotel.”
“Your information is rusty.” Mrs. Sanderson fanned her face with a lazy flick of the wrist. “James did come here, yes, about two years ago. Not to do any kind of business with my husband, though. I believe he found work on some ranch.”
“A ranch?” Sylvia put a hand to her chest. “What would my brother be doing on a ranch?”
“I don’t know, dear, I never bothered to ask. Our acquaintance was not of the … talking sort.”
Oh, boy.
“Which ranch can we find Lord Haverston on?” Will asked.
“None. He’s not there anymore. I’m afraid James got into trouble a few months ago.”
“Again?” Emily asked, but the others ignored her.
“He beat my husband in a high-stakes poker game. However, hubby darling insisted James cheated.” Mrs. Sanderson snapped the fan shut. “One does not make an enemy out of my husband.”
Emily leaned forward to savor the drama. “Did he shoot him?”
“Of course not.” Mrs. Sanderson laughed. “But James did have to skip town. He told me he was headed to a small settlement in the Rockies. Richling Creek, I believe the name was.”
“I can see why he’d want to go there,” Emily murmured .
Sylvia’s face fell. “So James is not in Denver?”
Right. That was a problem.
“If you need him, you’ll have to go to Richling Creek.” Mrs. Sanderson stirred some sugar into her drink and made a small sip. “Anything else?”
Sylvia huffed and stood, the ruffled back of her skirt sweeping the pillows on the sofa as she turned around to leave. Will quickly followed her; Emily stumbled with her drink, gave an awkward wave to Mrs. Sanderson, and ran after the two.
“Tell him I’m sending him my best!” The melodic words of Mrs. Sanderson floated behind them.
“Now what?” Emily asked when they were all gathered together in the lobby.
“We must follow the tracks.” Will gave her an apologetic half-smile. “Find out where Richling Creek is and arrange transportation. We’ll also need a place to stay in Denver for tonight.”
“We are not staying in this hotel,” Sylvia ground out.
“I’ll have to go to the bank. I’ll inquire on the way.” Will looked at Emily. “Will you two wait here?”
“Oh, no, I’m going with you.”
“Lady Ross?”
Sylvia glanced from the entrance to the seating area as if deciding which—the heat or her brother’s ex-lover—was the lesser of the two evils.
“I will wait,” she announced. “Please, do hurry up.”
“Good excuse,” Emily said as she and Will exited the hotel. “So where are we really going?”
“The bank. There’ll be more expenses if we’re to travel to a whole other town. ”
“And god knows how many after that. Our Lord Haverston really is slippery. So I guess that’s a no to making more fauxmonite in Denver?”
“I assume, unless we have to wait several days for the transport.”
And then they’d be on the road again, where Will also couldn’t activate Eggy, and then they’d probably find out James wasn’t in that other town, either …
Emily looped her arm around Will’s elbow. “At least I’ve got you, Gramps. And it’s a hell of a lot more exciting than selling ice cream.”
“Even with Lady Ross in the mix?”
“The jury’s still out on that one.”
Will directed them toward a building with a bold title , First National Bank, spread across the front. The space inside was rather small, with three counters protected by bars and a few customers milling about.
“So,” Emily began as they lined up for the counter, “I wanted to ask, but she’s always around. How are your mom and dad?”
Will turned to her serious, but then a slow smile spread on his face. “They’re well.”
“Really? All is good?”
“Yes, Emily. They’re in Hartford, living their lives.”
“I haven’t ruined anything?”
“You did exactly what you needed to.”
“Even though I sent your mom to France, so you didn’t get to see your dad for half of your life?”
“Hardly a half of my life,” Will said. “There were some things that needed to be done. And using time travel always has a price.” He stared dead ahead, his eyes glazing over before he shook his head. “Any grievances you may have, they’re not on you. I was the one who orchestrated it all. ”
The customer in front left the line, and they moved forward. A wave of hot air hit Emily in the back as the door opened.
“Well, I’m glad y’all are—”
“Everyone, freeze!”
Emily turned. Two men stood at the entrance, guns raised. Bandanas covered the bottom half of their faces.
The third one, the client previously in line, emerged from the corner. “This is a robbery. Nobody move.”
A woman shrieked. Another man ran for the exit, only to have the robber intercept him and peer a gun at his head. Will used the short commotion to grab Emily and duck them behind the side of the counter.
“You there.” Around the corner, Emily could just see one of the robbers waving a gun at the cashier. “Get over here. You and I are making a little trip to the safe.”
“Will,” Emily hissed. “Do something! You have a watch!” She couldn’t use hers, not now that she was still needed on this side of the country, but Will could easily travel back.
Will, however, was plastered to the counter, face pale, eyes fixed on one point.
“Will?” She tugged at his sleeve.
“Huh?” He looked at her, but she wasn’t sure how much he was actually perceiving.
“Your watch. Travel back and find a sheriff. Let them know there’s gonna be a robbery.”
“You’re insane,” a brave—or very stupid—elderly man spoke. “You’ll never get out of here alive.”
A robber turned to him. “Oh, yeah? You ever heard of the Hollis-Baker gang? ”
“N-no.”
“Well, you will. After this day, we’re gonna be the talk of the town.”
Emily glanced at the entrance. The sun highlighted two more silhouettes standing outside. If Will had done it, even in the future, wouldn’t there be help coming?
“Bind those ones up.” The robber flung the man he was holding to the side, and he almost crashed into the woman. His partner grabbed the rope from the waist.
“Now would be the time,” Emily whispered, but Will was still held in his strange paralysis. Damn it.
“And what do we have here? Well, well, aren’t we fancy. Hey Billy, look at this! Got a new cigar case for ya!”
“No, please—” the elderly man whimpered.
“Shut up!”
Emily closed her eyes and focused. Heartbeat, wait. Heartbeat …
“Please, please, don’t—”
Stop.
She rose to her feet and examined the situation. The scene was like a still from a Western. On one side, a robber—Billy?—was frozen in mid-hunch, tying down the two customers. The other robber held a golden case in his hand, pointing the gun at the elderly man, who had his hand outstretched toward the case. The third robber was nowhere to be seen—probably already in the back, emptying the safe.
Emily rubbed her hands. All right, you’ve got this.
The old man first. She took the case from the robber’s hands and tucked it into the old man’s jacket. She couldn’t move him, though, save for tackling him to the ground. This will require some mix and match .
She focused, releasing the freeze and grabbing the man. “Duck!” she yelled and pulled him down.
Heartbeat, wait. Heartbeat, stop. Before the robber knew what had hit him, he was frozen again. Emily tackled him, kicking the gun into the corner. Next, the other robber. Hmm, rope. Thanks for bringing that along.
Kick between the legs. Unfreeze. The robber fell to his knees. Freeze. Get the rope, bind the hands. Unfreeze. “Go hide in that corner!” The two customers barely had time to react before she froze time again. Use the rest of the rope to bind the other robber. Unfreeze. “You know, I think you’re right. You will be the talk of the town tomorrow.” She gave him a wink. Freeze. Now, for the third guy. She found him in the back room, pointing the gun at the cashier who stood in front of a large metal box with an iron ball on top. Take the gun, easy-peasy. Hit the legs. Unfreeze. She offered the rest of the rope to the cashier. “Can you take him?” He nodded. Freeze. Run outside. Unfreeze. “Robbery! They’re robbing the bank!” The two men outside spooked and ran. Freeze, just for good measure while she went back inside and sat down next to Will.
Unfreeze.
“Well, Gramps.” Her head met the back of the counter. “I think the Hollis-Baker gang just broke up. Too bad. And not a single hit.”
Will and Emily stood in the corner inside the bank while the lawmen carted off the robbers.
“What were you thinking?” Will whispered.
“Wasn’t it awesome?”
He didn’t look impressed. “It was dangerous. You can’t just go freezing time like that.”
“Yeah, I can. And don’t worry, I wasn’t in any danger.”
“The freeze could’ve failed— ”
“But it wouldn’t.” She grabbed his hand. “Will, I had no working watch for almost a year and a half. The only thing I could do was practice time stopping, over and over and over again.” She shrugged. “I got pretty damn good at it.”
“That’s not the point. The point is that overuse and misuse of time travel—”
“No, the point is that you freaking froze!” She quickly lowered her voice again. “And I’m not talking the time-stopping kind. You were like a scared little bunny back there.”
Will’s ear tips glowed red.
“It’s okay,” she said. “It was a robbery. Of course, it was scary.”
“I was not scared. It’s not that,” he said.
“Then what is it?”
“I …” he shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. What’s important is that you shouldn’t—”
“Excuse me, ma’am?” Someone tapped Emily on the shoulder. She turned to find the crinkly but friendly face of the old man smiling at her.
“I don’t know how you’d done it, but you saved me back there,” he said. “And you got my tobacco case back, too. That was my grandpa’s. I would’ve been mighty upset if something were to happen to it.”
“No problem.”
“I don’t know how to repay you. I’ve got savings but—”
“Oh, no. That’s … it’s fine.” She glanced at Will, who nodded. “Unless you can teleport us to Richling Creek, there’s really nothing we need.”
“Well, I don’t know what this ‘teleport’ is,” the man drawled, “but I am heading over to Central City tomorrow. I reckon I could drop you in Richling Creek on the way.”
Emily gasped. Will’s face lit up, this time not from embarrassment .
“You’ve got yourself a deal, sir.” Emily slapped him with a firm handshake and turned to Will. “Now, if I’m counting correctly, that’s two problems solved?”