Chapter 4
The man was mad. It was the only thing that made any sense to Alice as she hurried down the steps of the general store and into the road. Then she remembered the groceries and had to run back for the basket.
By the time she grabbed it and had caught up to Kyle, he was standing outside the bank, breathing hard, with a hand to his side.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“I’m making sure that everything is okay,” he said between labored breaths.
“Everything is fine,” she said. “Why wouldn’t it be?”
“I don’t expect you to understand,” Kyle said. “But I know when men look like they’re up to no good. I’ve had to deal with bandits trying to take everything from me and my friends and ruin our home for a year. I don’t want that to happen to the people of this town.”
Reaching for the door handle, he pulled it open.
Alice stared at him, hardly able to believe her ears. He and his friends had had to deal with what? Bandits, did he say?
She had to step aside hurriedly as a man came out of the bank in a rush. As he passed Alice, Kyle slipped inside. He went to the table that held the deposit slips and pens and picked up a pen.
Worried, Alice followed him.
“Kyle, this is absurd,” she whispered, trying not to alarm anyone around her. “I understand that things have gone wrong in your town, but why do you think the same thing is happening here?”
“I know you don’t believe me. And that’s okay. But do you see those men?” Kyle asked under his breath, not looking at them but jutting his chin in their direction.
“What men?”
“The one with the thick black beard, the other with the scar on his chin, and that one with his hand in his pocket.” Kyle continued industriously writing.
Alice looked.
“Not like that,” Kyle said. “Don’t let them know you’re looking.”
Turning so she could look at the men out of the corner of her eye, Alice figured there was only one way to get Kyle back to the saloon, and that was to humor him. Anyway, now she was curious. What did he see here that she was missing? The men he’d mentioned looked like normal people to her.
“Okay,” she said. “I’ve looked at them. I don’t see what’s wrong.”
Kyle sighed. “They’re not behaving normally. They haven’t been since they rode into town.”
“What do you mean? They’re waiting in line for the teller. What should they be doing? Dancing a jig?” she asked. What was he seeing? Or was it all in his head? Maybe he’d struck his head harder than anyone realized.
“No,” Kyle said. “Let me explain. See how they keep looking at each other and not talking? They’re also looking around a lot as though they’re trying to remember the layout of the building. I think they’re casing the place. They might not do anything now, but they’ll be back.”
Casing the place. The only time she’d ever heard those words before was in a dime-store novella about a New York mobster.
“How can you be so sure?” Alice asked.
“They’re also counting the number of people coming in and out,” Kyle said. “See that one with the beard? He’s perfectly positioned with his eyes on the door. They’ll want to know how many people are in the bank at a given time.”
“So?” she asked.
“So, they’re planning something,” Kyle said. “I’ll bet you this bank is going to be robbed. Like I said, probably not now, but soon.”
Alice decided to humor him. The man had been through a lot in the last day. If his brain pain was a little shaken up, that was understandable. “Okay. I believe you. But you don’t think it will be today?”
He shook his head.
She would have to check with the apothecary. Whatever the problem was, he needed to go back to bed.
“Tell you what—I’ll tell the sheriff about your theory,” Alice said. “Meanwhile, you need to go lie down.”
“But—”
“And if they pull out guns and start robbing the place today, what will you do?” she asked, treating him to her most motherly look.
She’d always used it on Chrissie to get her to see sense; perhaps it would work here too.
“You don’t have a gun or a weapon of any kind.
You’re outnumbered, and you can hardly stand up anymore.
” She put her hands on her hips. “Now, we’re going!
” Her voice had risen in volume and Kyle looked worried.
“Don’t talk so loudly,” he scolded her.
“Then listen to me!” she said. “This isn’t good for you.”
After a pause in which she was certain every eye in the place was on them, Kyle relented.
“Oh fine,” he said. He let her lead him out of the bank. “But if people get hurt today, it’s your fault.”
Alice balked, but she knew she was doing the right thing. There would be no bank robbery, obviously, and he needed medical care.
He let her lead him from the bank, and Alice was relieved as she steered him back to the saloon. “I think this outing was a little much for you.”
“No, it was wonderful,” he said, and there was that smile again. It was so warm and friendly despite her nagging him. Somehow it made her feel as though Kyle could see right to her soul, and he still liked what he saw and wanted to come back for more.
Alice steered him down the street at a slower pace.
She didn’t give him the lecture she had wanted to in the bank.
Instead, she fussed over him, asking if he needed anything before she took Kyle upstairs and got him back in bed.
He didn’t fight her and seemed quite happy when she tucked him in and brought him a glass of lemonade.
She gave him his medicine and his eyes fluttered shut. A moment later, he was fast asleep.
She sighed with relief as she tiptoed out.
Kyle had gotten her thinking, though, and not about bank robbers. Someone in town had to know Jason Holt. She would head out quickly after giving Mrs. Benson the supplies, and she would find out.
The first place Alice had tried asking, back when she first arrived in town, was the post office. The manager was a stern-faced man named Herbert Wies, and he had looked down his hooked nose at her and she had lost her nerve.
Not today. Today, she would ask her questions, and she would get answers.
Entering the post office, she found Charlie Edgar behind the counter. Charlie was just a teller, but surely he could see if there was an address for a Jason Holt.
“Hi, Alice,” Charlie said. He had a perfectly round head.
It fascinated Alice. If someone cut off his head at his neck, they could use his head as a ball.
Not that she thought anyone should ever do such a thing, but it was a thought that sprang to mind when the person in question was terribly thin as well, and so looked like a lollipop.
“Hi, Charlie,” Alice said, smiling. “How are things today?”
“Good,” he said.
They were alone in the post office, and their voices seemed to hang in the air with no other noises joining them.
“What brings you by?” Charlie asked.
Alice wondered how to broach the subject. She couldn’t just blurt out that she was looking for an address. That would put Charlie on the defensive or make him wonder if that was the kind of information that he should give out or not.
“It’s a bit of a funny situation, really,” she said. “See, I was talking to one of the train passengers this morning?—”
“Terrible thing, that accident,” Charlie said with a sad shake of his head.
“Oh yes, terrible,” Alice agreed. “Anyway, I was talking to one of the passengers, and he got me thinking.”
“What were you talking about?” Charlie asked.
“Well, I was wondering if the sheriff, the bank, or the post office would know where everyone in the area lived. After all, you deal with folks’ addresses all the time,” she said, smiling sweetly.
“That would be correct,” Charlie said, seeming to puff up with pride. “We know where everyone in the area lives. There’s another post office in Cherryville, and they keep their own folks’ addresses.”
“Cherryville. Is that close by?” she asked.
“Yes,” Charlie said. “But it doesn’t have a train station, so it’s not as important as we are.”
“Of course not,” Alice chuckled. “Which way would one go to get to this Cherryville?”
“Head out west; it’s over Hangman’s Hill,” he said. “It’s down that way in the middle of the farms. You can’t really miss it. Most of the bigger roads in that area lead to the town. But if you’re expecting something like here, let me warn you. It’s nothing like our fair town.”
“Is that so?” Alice asked. “I’ve been here a month, and you’re the first person to mention this place to me. Why is that?”
Charlie looked embarrassed. “Well, we don’t get along,” he said. “The Cherryvillers think they’re mighty special for having a grand town hall, but since they didn’t get the railway, they’re just blowing smoke in the wind.”
“And if I wanted to go there?” Alice asked, cocking her head to one side. “Just to see for myself, of course.”
Charlie shrugged. “Well, there is a cart that heads that way. It picks up produce from the farmers and brings it to town. You could get a ride if Ralph was feeling generous. But that’s on Saturday, so you’ll have to wait.”
The last thing Alice wanted to do was wait. Was it possible that her sister was just one town over? And to think she’d spent so long here, a whole month working, wondering all the while where her sister might be.
Alice went back to the Cloudy Lemon with her head full of ideas.
For the next couple of days, she worked and thought and planned. She spent a little time with Kyle, who was mending nicely. She didn’t mention her sister or Cherryville, and he didn’t bring up the men he had been so convinced were going to rob the bank. Of course, no robbery ever occurred.
Alice took his silence to mean that he had seen the error of his ways when it came to making snap judgments about people. Either that or his head must have mended.
Mr. Benson said that Alice could have Saturday off, and she meant to make the most of it.
That Friday night, Kyle, Michael, and Warren were eating their dinner in the saloon, and she was working as usual. When she brought them their drinks, Kyle struck up a conversation with her.
“Alice, you’ve been scarce,” he said with that warm smile she found so appealing.
She shrugged. “I’ve got a lot of work. I’m taking tomorrow off, so I have to make sure that everything is done before I go.”
“Oh, and where are you going?” Michael asked, politely smiling at her.
There was probably no harm in telling them. It wasn’t a secret, after all.
“I thought I would go to the next town,” Alice said. “It’s called Cherryville.”
“And what’s in Cherryville?” Warren asked, inspecting his beer glass idly.
“I’m hoping my sister is,” Alice said. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to tend to other customers.”
“Before you go,” Kyle said. “How are you planning to get there?”
“There’s a cart.”
A man across the room waved to get her attention. He held up his empty glass. She got another beer for him, and as she put it down, she felt eyes on her.
Turning, she saw that Kyle was watching her. He smiled when she turned to look at him. It was a funny feeling, having him watch her. She didn’t mind. That surprised her. In fact, she was kind of glad he was. It felt good, like he cared that other customers treated her right.
Oh, but that was silly. He didn’t care about her. For all she knew, he had a wife and four children back in Texas.
But somehow the picture of a cheating letch didn’t fit Kyle. There was something too sweet and open about him.
She put it out of her mind, and when she looked again, he and his friends were gone. No doubt they were getting an early night.
After working late, she went to bed tired and got up equally so, but excited. She might see Chrissie before long! That in itself was enough to get her going.
Alice put on a nice floral dress and topped it with a jacket. She tied her long golden-brown hair into a braid, which she wound into a bun. Before heading out, she pinned a straw hat to her head, and she was ready.
Downstairs, she found Mrs. Benson in the kitchen and reminded her that she had the day off.
“Have fun, dear,” Mrs. Benson said.
Alice left the saloon and was about to walk up to the town square when a cart pulled up beside her. Sitting on the driver’s seat, beaming broadly, was Kyle. Michael sat beside him, and Warren was in the back.
“Morning,” Kyle said. “We thought you might like a ride.”
Alice put her hands on her hips. “And you just happen to have business in Cherryville now, do you?”
“Oh no,” Kyle said with a shake of his head. “I just suggested to these fine gentlemen that we take a little trip out into the surrounding area. You know, get to know the place a little better.”
“We do love to see new places,” Warren added.
“What do you say?” Michael asked.
There wasn’t much she could say.
Alice shrugged, secretly touched by their concern. “All right,” she said, and with Kyle’s help, she climbed up into the cart.
It had to be that smile. What else could sway her so easily?
She didn’t know, but she was kind of glad that she would have friends with her when she looked for Chrissie.
She was quite worried since a new idea had come to her.
Perhaps she had had so much trouble trying to track her sister down simply because Chrissie might not want to be found.