Anyplace But Here (Oklahoma Lovers Series Book 5) (15 page)

“Once more I must tell you she is busy at the moment and will be with you when she finishes with her customer.”

Louis grabbed Miss Betsy by the arm, throwing her off balance. She landed in a heap on his lap. “Maybe you’ll do instead. Do you like it rough?”

She wrenched her arm from him and waved at someone across the room, then scrambled to her feet. Within seconds two men were on either side of him, hoisting him up under his arms. “Let’s go, sir. Time to leave.”

He twisted, glaring at both men. “Let go of me. Do you know who I am?”

“Right now sir, you are a customer who is being escorted out of the building.”

Miss Betsy moved to stand in front of Louis. “Mr. Smith, you are a good customer. I will ignore what happened today, but you must go quietly now.”

“Like hell!” He swung out and backhanded her, splitting her lip.

She screamed, and one of the men grabbed his arm and twisted it behind his back. “You’re lucky I don’t break your arm, you bastard.” He and the other man dragged him to the door and shoved him out. He landed on his hands and knees.

“Don’t come back here. Ever. If you do, you won’t walk away on two legs.” The heavier of the two men kicked him in the head, knocking him completely to the ground. They returned to the club and slammed the door, leaving him in the dirt.

Louis lay there a few minutes, panting. Luckily no one entered or left to see him in this humiliating state. He climbed to his feet and patted his cheek with a handkerchief. Miss High and Mighty Betsy would pay for this. No one threw Louis Smith out of a club.

He staggered to his automobile and climbed in, the side of his face throbbing. He groaned as he leaned back and closed his eyes. Within minutes he was fast asleep.

Chapter 15

Guthrie, Oklahoma Territory

“Were you able to get the information Hunter wanted?” Tori slipped her spectacles on and rolled over in bed, propping her head on her hand as she watched Jesse attach his cuff links. Today was a court day for him, and even after all these years she still got a twinge in her lady parts when he dressed in a suit.

The dusting of gray hair at his temples added to his appeal. Sometimes it irked her that men seemed to age better than women. Although not exactly fat, she’d never shed the extra pounds from her fourth child. Jesse assured her over and over that he loved her that way, and he’d never given her any reason to disbelieve him. But when they were out together, he still had women turning their heads to look at him.

Since his office was at home, she was used to seeing him minus a jacket, with his collar off and sleeves rolled up as he went about the business of practicing law. But no matter what he wore—or didn’t wear—he still had the ability to make her heart beat faster.

“Yes. Divorce is possible for abuse, adultery, or abandonment. Since Hunter seemed to be concerned with Emily’s safety, I’m assuming abuse is what he’s looking for.” He adjusted his tie in the mirror and fastened his stick pin. “I just wished his letter hadn’t been so cryptic. It would have made my research a tad easier.”

Tori threw the covers off and stepped up behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist. “I’m glad he’s asked for your help. He’s always been so darn independent. Never needing anyone. Despite how overwhelmed I’d been when Henry died and I took over the raising of four adolescents, I wish Hunter had been more open with me. I know he’s a troubled man, but he never gave me any indication what the problem was.”

He turned and kissed her on the nose. “Well, he’s asked for help now so that’s a step in the right direction. Not all men feel comfortable sharing their concerns.”

“You do.”

“Ah, but I am a most unusual and superior man.”

Tori rolled her eyes and followed him out of the bedroom after snatching up her dressing robe and shrugging into it.

Paul was the only one at the table when Tori and Jesse arrived in the dining room. “Dad, you might want to burn the morning newspaper.”

Jesse grabbed the paper from his son’s hand. “What now?” He looked at where Paul pointed and his jaw tightened as he read.

With impending statehood right around the corner, now is the time to think about who we want to represent the fine people of Oklahoma, and who we want to call Governor. Do we really plan to present to the United States of America a governor whose biggest supporter and confidant has a nephew who was released from his Texas Ranger duties under mysterious circumstances and is right now out of state chasing after a married woman? Should not the behavior of the candidate’s close friends and advisors reflect on the man? We the people must consider these facts when the time comes to cast our ballot.

“Goddamn!”

“Jessseeee,” Tori said as she poured coffee into her cup. She motioned toward Paul. “Language.”

“As if he’s never heard the word before,” he huffed.

“Not from his father’s lips.”

He turned to Paul. “Sorry, son. Your mother’s right. A gentleman doesn’t swear.”

Tori ignored the humorous look that passed between father and son. Even if they did use that language when she wasn’t around, she could pretend they didn’t.

“What I’d like to know is how the person who is feeding the newspaper this information knows almost more than we do. I’m assuming Hunter’s Emily is looking at divorce, but that’s just an educated guess for me.” He took a sip of his coffee. “And what does this
mysterious circumstances
mean? He was injured! Nothing mysterious about that.”

“Don’t they have to check their facts before they print them?” Paul asked.

“Unfortunately, no, they don’t have to. But an ethical journalist would. And since they haven’t flat out identified me as the ‘supporter,’ I can’t even make a case for libel.”

“How is Mr. Stubb’s campaign going?” Even at seventeen, Paul had always been way beyond his years. Being the oldest of four must have had something to do with that.

“Frankly, I need to spend more time campaigning for him. As soon as I finish the case I’m working on now, I’ve arranged to have my calendar cleared until the election.”

The sound of the doorbell interrupted them. “I’ll get it,” Paul said as he pushed his chair back.

“I’m assuming our life is about to get more chaotic with you running Franklin’s campaign?”

Jesse patted her hand. “I’m afraid so, darlin’. But I’m counting on all of you to help out. Especially my womenfolk, since Franklin is a widower with no children. I know you can all charm the voters.”

Tori laughed. “Just don’t put Ellie out as his representative. Some of her ideas are a bit provocative.”

“No worries there. The women will get the vote in Oklahoma as soon as statehood passes.”

“Ah, but that’s not all Ellie and her suffragette friends are fighting for these days.”

“Good grief, what do they want now? And I thought marriage and pending motherhood would calm that girl down, and she should—”

“Dad, there’s a telegram.” Paul held out the envelope to Jesse.

“Thanks.” Jesse took the missive and opened it. He frowned as he skimmed the words. Then his jaw dropped and it appeared all the blood had left his face as he looked at Tori. “Oh my God.”

Hunter felt a bit uncomfortable as he entered Millie’s dress shop. At least there were no customers present, but he hoped Millie would be willing to help him out. After the fiasco of trying to bundle Emily away the other night, he’d been frantic trying to come up with a plan.

Emily’s driver no longer sat outside in the automobile while she visited shops. He accompanied her inside and stayed with her the entire time. He’d even seen him go into friends’ houses that Emily visited. How he explained his presence was a mystery, but that was not Hunter’s worry. He had to get Emily, even if he had to snatch her off the street with a gun pointed at the driver.

A petite woman with short dark curls framing her face came out from behind a curtain at the sound of the bell hanging over the front door. “May I help you?”

“Good afternoon, ma’am. I assume you are Millie?”

She offered a soft smile. “Yes, I am. And you are?”

“Hunter Henderson.”

“Ah. Mrs. Smith’s friend.” The twinkle in her eyes encouraged him. “Why don’t you come into the back area of my store? I was about to have a cup of tea since my next appointment isn’t for another half hour.”

“Thank you.” He followed her, feeling large and awkward in such a small, feminine place. The area behind the curtain was crammed with shelves of material. Bright colors, along with prints, stripes, and flowered fabrics almost hurt his eyes.

A Singer Sewing machine held a prominent place in the tiny area. Tins of ribbons and buttons sat open on shelves and tables. She waved him to a chair, which he took, wondering if the delicate piece would collapse under his weight.

Millie bustled about, moving another tin filled with pins stuck into cushions, and placed cups and saucers on the table. A small plate of cookies joined the dishes.

Hunter pushed the cup of tea aside and leaned his forearms on the table. “Mrs. Smith is in a great deal of trouble. Her husband is violent and has used his fists on her before.” He studied her for a moment. “I hope this doesn’t shock you.”

She smiled sadly. “No. It doesn’t. I never knew if it was that bad, but I suspected as much. A dressmaker sees a lot. Old bruises tell tales, Mr. Henderson.”

Knowing she was on his side, he drew a deep breath and sat back. “I met Mrs. Smith when she moved to Guthrie several months back. I was unaware of her married state. We became . . . close.”

He watched her face for disapproval, but found none, so he continued. “I have only honorable intentions toward her. But before we can do anything I must get her away from her husband and safely residing with my family back in Oklahoma Territory.”

“She is very lucky to have you, Mr. Henderson. I have worried about her for quite some time.” She pursed her lips. “Despite Mr. Smith being well known in Galveston, I have had enough contact with him to know he is not what he pretends to be. And then there were the bruises.”

“Yes. And there is much more to the story, but that isn’t relevant to why I’m here today.”

She took a sip of her tea and regarded him over the rim of the cup. “Yes?”

“I would like to leave a message of some kind with you to give to Mrs. Smith. I’m sure there are times when the two of you are alone.”

“Of course. I have a dressing screen I use when there is someone else accompanying my client for a fitting.”

His original plan to pass a few notes back and forth to make arrangements for her departure went out the window at this news. His gut tightened with excitement. “And the dressing screen is portable?”

“Yes.”

“Is it possible for you to move the screen in front of the door?” He nodded in the direction of the flowery curtain separating the store from the back area.

“I could do that.” She smiled. “I understand. Mrs. Smith goes behind the screen to change, and then leaves through the back door.” She tapped her lips with her index finger. “I think that could work.”

“There is a problem, however,” he said.

“What?”

“When her driver discovers she is gone he could cause some trouble for you.”

She waved her hand in dismissal. “Perhaps. But I am sure he will be much more concerned with trying to explain her disappearance to Mr. Smith.”

“Then you will do it?”

“Normally I would never come between a woman and her husband, but in this case I fear for her as well. He is a brutal man, that Mr. Smith. And Mrs. Smith is so lovely and sweet. She deserves better.” She sat back and grinned. “Tuesday she will have a surprise when she comes for her fitting.”

Hunter stood. “Thank you so much.” Feeling much better than he had when he entered, he strode through the store and out the front just as two women entered. His mind busy with his plan, he tugged on the brim of his Stetson and went on his way.

Monday night Hunter met Jeremy at the Café again. If everything went right, he and Emily would be leaving Galveston tomorrow. He needed to go over his plans with Jeremy so he could carry on the investigation while Hunter was gone.

They shook hands and he took a seat across from Jeremy, who didn’t really look much better than the last time Hunter had seen him. But at this point he needed the man’s expertise and presence in Galveston, so it was best to overlook the morphine problem for now.

“Have you eaten?” Hunter asked.

“Yeah. I’ve been here for a while.”

Noting the absence of dirty dishes in front of him, Hunter dismissed his lie and focused on what was important right now.

“Tomorrow Emily and I are leaving Galveston.”

Jeremy nodded for him to continue.

“I worked it out with Millie, the owner of the dress shop where Emily goes every Tuesday. Millie has agreed to help since she knows the danger Emily is in right now. She apparently has seen some bruises and has had some concerns for a while.”

“What a bastard, to take his hands to a woman.”

“Well, I think we’ve established that. I have train tickets to Oklahoma City where we will catch the last train to Guthrie tomorrow night. I’m going to leave Emily with my family there, and travel to Kansas.”

“Ellsworth? I’m still waiting to hear from them.”

Hunter nodded. “Yes, I need to see them myself, take a look at their records. I want to check exactly what information the sheriff’s department has. I don’t expect much since I was the only witness and I never talked. Possibly someone saw Smith leave the bank. In any event, I want to get as much information as I can.”

“How will you get from the dress shop to the train station? I assume you won’t have a lot of time.”

“I arranged for a taxi to pick us up right around the time Emily goes there.” He grinned. “By the way, she doesn’t know any of this. I saw Millie last Thursday and spent the time since then setting this up. I can’t afford any more mistakes.”

Jeremy fiddled with the spoon on his saucer. “I have another appointment with Smith to go over my ‘investments.’ I hope to get him to show his hand a little bit, maybe put something in writing on what he can guarantee me in the way of a return. I’m assuming he will offer something that is not possible, which might help our ‘running a scam’ charges.”

“Also poke around and see if he’s had problems with violence with anyone else. From what the police officer told me, Smith is very well regarded in the community, but it seems unlikely he would be able to keep that temper in check all the time.” Hunter’s experience with the Rangers taught him that violence was rarely directed at one person. Usually someone with a temper like Smith’s would show it in other ways, especially when stressed.

“You just take care of your lady, and I’ll handle everything here until you get back.”

Hunter hesitated, wondering if he should mention the drugs again. It was obvious to anyone familiar with drug dependence that Jeremy was suffering with an addiction to morphine. He hated to leave his friend like this, but he had to get Emily away as quickly as possible.

He assuaged his conscience by telling himself that most likely bringing it up would not make a difference, and since he was leaving town anyway, it would be best to let it go. He stuck his hand out. “Thanks. I’ll see you when I get back. It might not be for a few weeks.”