“I care about you too.” His voice sounded like his mouth was full of grit, but he had to let her know.
“Before I go...” She glanced down and then back up at him, her eyes sparkling with a sheen of tears. “How do I have that kind of deep relationship with God you spoke of?”
Every hope and prayer he’d had for her rushed to his mind. Even through all the pain, his heart thrilled for her. “Read His Word. That’s how He speaks to us and teaches us. Shows us His love for us. And pray. Lots. That’s our communication with Him.”
“Any time I want? I don’t have to be in church?”
A half chuckle came out before he groaned. “Ow, I probably shouldn’t laugh for a while. But no, you don’t have to be in church to pray.”
“All right. I’m going to ask the doctor to come in, but I had to know.”
“I’ll pray for you.”
“Thank you.” Her voice was soft. Much softer than it had been when last they spoke. “I’ll be right outside, Jacob. I won’t leave.”
“Thank you.” He croaked the words and the door clicked shut.
“Now then”—the doctor brought a cup of water to his lips—“let’s get you something for your parched throat. You’re going to need to answer a good many questions for my examination.”
Seventeen
“One of the greatest things said about Christ was that He went about doing good. Oh, that we may follow in His example.”
~Earl Douglass
WEDNESDAY, JULY17, 1889
Dipping her prized gold pen into the inkwell, she smiled at the blank piece of paper.
Then she began her missive.
Dear Police Chief Masterson,
Since we have been good friends for so long, I hope you will take this news to heart. It is not in my disposition to throw accusations at innocent men, so you may trust my words are true and sound.
As you know, there has been a lot of turmoil with the competition out at two dig sites. The museum has given them a deadline and staunch rules to follow, but there are always criminals in our midst, sadly.
It has come to my attention that a Mr. Jacob Duncan is the mastermind behind the trouble we are seeing now. I would ask that you look into him.
He has worked for both of the teams.
Thank you for taking the time to listen to my concerns.
Your longtime friend,
She reread the note and then signed her initials. After blotting it and waving it in the air for several moments, she folded it, placed it in an envelope, and sealed it with her special wax seal.
On to the next thing on her to-do list.
Eliminate another thorn in her side.
THURSDAY, JULY18, 1889
“I demand to see Mr. Spalding. Right now!” Martha had prepared a speech, but at this point, it had flown out the window along with her manners. The reason for her visit conjured up images of a bruised and battered Jacob and that had her infuriated again.
The museum was quiet, but her yelling echoed through the halls and made it sound as if a crowd of elephants had invaded the space.
“Yes, Miss Jankowski.” The man behind the desk was clearly afraid of her temper because he took off at a brisk pace.
