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The officer studied him for a few moments, shifting the tobacco wad once more. “If you wait here, I’ll check the log for September twenty-first.”
“Thanks.”
Twenty minutes later, Hunter left the building frustrated. There was nothing in the police log that mentioned a problem with a man escorting a woman who didn’t seemed to want to be with him. Not that he expected it to be that easy. At least once the officer had gotten in his jabs, he’d agreed to cooperate.
He checked his watch and decided to have a talk with the night desk clerks at as many hotels as he could cover in one evening.
The first hotel clerk had no memory of a woman dressed in a Harvey House uniform checking in that night. Of course she could have changed clothes, but the taxi driver in Guthrie had stated he’d driven a man, and a woman in a Harvey House uniform to Oklahoma City. Most likely she was still wearing the uniform when they’d arrived here.
He would bet whoever grabbed her hadn’t wanted to call attention to them by having her change before they checked into a hotel.
The second, third, and fourth hotel clerks merely shook their heads when he asked the question. By that time it was well after eleven o’clock and he decided a good night’s sleep would help more than anything else at this point. He trudged back to his hotel, waving a greeting at the desk clerk whom he had already questioned before he’d gone to dinner.
Galveston, Texas
Maria, Emily’s maid, helped her into a dress, adjusting the shoulders, and smoothing the skirt. “You look lovely, Mrs. Smith. I’m so glad you will be visiting your friends today.”
Emily smiled at the older woman who had been with her since she’d married Louis. As fond as Emily was of the woman, she knew Maria was bought and paid for by Louis and had reported things to him that Emily would have preferred she kept to herself. It had only taken her a few months after her marriage to reali
ze all of the staff was under her husband’s thumb. Most likely they were threatened with unemployment if they didn’t adhere to his rules.
“Yes, Maria. It will be nice to leave my bedroom, even if only for a few hours this afternoon.” Louis had visited her this morning and informed her he had accepted an invitation on her behalf to attend a tea at the local women’s club. He smiled as he listed the attendees on whom he wanted useful information.
One of the women was a very nice older lady, Mrs. Fairfield, who had been nothing but kind to Emily. It angered her to have to use her friendship with the woman to pry into her private life. Emily would be searching for information Louis could use against her should she become suspicious of her investments with his firm.
The second woman, a young wife with a new baby, had recently received a sum of money from a deceased relative, and was looking for a place to invest it. Since her husband was overseas on a lengthy assignment for his company, Emily had been ordered to convince Margaret Statler that Louis’s firm would be best to handle her money.
Emily closed her eyes as Maria brushed and twisted her heavy hair into a bun at her nape. How she loathed her life. There would never be another opportunity to escape. Louis had seen to that. She would be watched by the staff very carefully, he’d gleefully informed her. She was trapped. For the rest of her life.
Oh Hunter. Why didn’t I tell you the truth? You would have helped me, I know that now.
It seemed she would spend her life trusting the wrong people. Saving her pride had seemed so important, but she’d come to realize what a mistake she had made. Louis had whisked her away, never to be seen again in Guthrie. No one knew where she was, or would ever be able to find her.
Taking a deep breath to control her emotions, she smiled at Maria and thanked her. Then with her back stiff and her head held high, she left her room and joined Louis at the bottom of the stairs. He would escort her to the Women’s Club tea, right up to the door, where he would join her when it was over. The devoted husband, taking care of his beloved wife.
She swallowed the bile that rose to the back of her throat.
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Territory
It was Hunter’s third day in Oklahoma City and he knew no more now that he had when he’d arrived. He’d covered every hotel and restaurant, but no one had seen a man escorting a blonde, blue eyed woman in a Harvey House uniform. The conclusion he’d come to was they hadn’t stayed in Oklahoma City, this being only a stopping off point for them.
So began his round of questioning train employees. He’d spoken with conductors, ticket sellers, and porters when he finally got a tip from a ticket seller who had been working at another train station for a couple of weeks.
“Yes, I remember that gal. A pretty little thing. I noticed her because she was dressed in some kind of uniform. Looked kinda lost and confused. Almost scared, you might say. But the man with her was very attentive.” He gave his nose a swipe with a handkerchief before returning it to his pocket.
“I don’t suppose you remember where they were headed?”
“Not off the top of my head. But if you want to come back when I’m finished with my shift, I can take a look at the schedule of trains in and out on that date. If you have some idea of what time they would have been here, I might pin down the train they took.”
Feeling confident for the first time in weeks, Hunter thanked the man and agreed to meet with him when his work day was over. He strode to a saloon and treated himself to a beer. Maybe it was too soon to celebrate, but he felt in his gut this was the break he’d been waiting for.
Within an hour after reviewing train schedules for September twenty-first, Hunter settled into his seat on a train pulling out of the Oklahoma City station.
Galveston, Texas
Not having bothered with a sleeping car, Hunter clambered down the steps of the train feeling tired, scruffy, hungry, and in pain. His leg ached and he rubbed the muscle before trying to move forward. The last thing he wanted was to land on his face in front of a crowd.
As he worked his flesh he looked around, feeling hopeful. This was the place, he could sense it in his bones. Emily had mentioned a beach near enough to her house to walk there. He breathed deeply of the humid air as he took a few tentative steps, then confident of his balance, moved away from the train station.
