No Other Will Do (Ladies of Harper's Station #1)(36)

Betty frowned. Malachi fidgeted. Emma fumed.

Why was she fuming? She tried to tell herself she was angry at Katie’s flirtatious manner because it would likely get Malachi into trouble, but she feared it was Mal’s slowness in disengaging the other woman from his arm that had her hackles up. Which made no sense. She didn’t have a claim on Malachi, at least not a romantic one. They shared a bond forged in childhood, a powerful friendship, but it was nothing more than that. It couldn’t be. She had her work with the women’s colony. He had his demolition job with the railroads. No two paths could be more divergent.

Katie scooted even closer, leaning in toward Malachi until her skirts pressed against his legs. In the process, she bumped against the burlap sack he carried.

“Careful, miss.” Mal finally found his voice. And his feet, thank heavens. He sidled away from Katie and held the sack between them as a buffer. “I wouldn’t want you to soil your dress.”

Katie wrinkled her nose as if only just noticing the stained burlap. “What is it?”

“Turpentine.” Malachi looked to Betty. “Wanted to see if you recognized the canister. We found it by the garden this morning. It might have been used to start the fire. It’s possible that whoever lit the blaze stole the stuff from somewhere close at hand, then left it behind. We’re hoping that figuring out where he got it from will help us track his movements.”

Betty frowned, but made no effort to deny that the turpentine might be hers. “Well, let’s take a look-see, then.”

Malachi opened the sack and pulled out the dented, slightly rusted can. “This look familiar?”

Betty leaned closer to examine it. “Could be. Only one way to tell for sure. We need to check the supplies in the barn. See if ours is missing.” Swinging her shotgun off her shoulder to clasp it across her body in a more ready position, Betty pivoted and started marching toward the barn. Malachi and Emma followed.

Katie hesitated for a moment, then hurried after them. “Wait,” she called, her voice suddenly void of all flirtatious tones. “Are you saying that man was here? On our farm?”

Emma halted then retreated a few steps to intercept Katie while the others continued on. Hating the fear she saw etched in the young woman’s face, Emma set aside her earlier frustration and laid a comforting hand on Katie’s arm. “We don’t know he was here, Katie. We don’t even know that the turpentine we found came from Betty’s farm.”

“But if it is ours, that means he was here, right? Here. Where we sleep. Three women alone.” The poor girl was shaking in earnest now.

Emma wrapped an arm around Katie’s shoulders. “We don’t know that. Someone else could have borrowed the turpentine and forgotten to return it. There are a hundred different explanations.”

Katie looked directly into Emma’s eyes. “But you don’t believe any of those other explanations, do you?”

Emma sighed. “To be honest, Katie. I don’t know what to believe right now. Mr. Shaw found that turpentine and is determined to learn where it came from. He believes it can help us figure out how the man is stirring up trouble in town without our being alerted. If we can unravel his methods, we can take steps to stop him. That’s the plan, anyway.”

Katie nodded. “I understand. I just . . .” She glanced past Emma to the barn and bit her lip. “His attacks always seemed to happen in other areas of the town. Not where I lived. It was easier to pretend the threat wasn’t real when it was distant. Now it’s here.”

Emma rubbed Katie’s arm, trying to reassure even as she battled her own apprehension. “I’m sure Betty would understand if you wanted to move into town until this is over. The boardinghouse is full, but there are rooms above the café that aren’t in use. It’s right next door to Victoria’s store. You might feel safer there.”

Katie started shaking her head before Emma finished. “No. I’ll not leave Betty and Helen out here alone.” The change in her was swift. Gone was the panic-stricken girl, and in her place was a determined, loyal young woman. “Helen might be willing to come to town with me, but Betty will never leave her hens. She’s too stubborn. We’ll face whatever comes just like you’re always telling us to do, Miss Chandler. Together.”

“Good for you.” Emma’s chest swelled with pride. Perhaps she really was making a difference with these women. She gave Katie’s arm a brisk pat, then turned to face the barn once again. “Shall we go see what they’ve discovered?”

Katie nibbled her lip again but nodded as she lifted her chin. “Yes.”





13


It took nearly three hours for Emma and Malachi to make the rounds to all the residents of Harper’s Station. By the time they’d made it back to the boardinghouse, most of the ladies there had already moved on to their usual duties—Grace to the telegraph office, Flora and Esther to the gardens, Daisy and her young roommate, Pauline, to the sewing circle. They’d spoken to the boardinghouse proprietress, Stella Grimes, and then worked their way through town, stopping at the store and the medical clinic before working back toward the garden, the station house where the quilters were working in the aunts’ parlor, and finally the telegraph office.

Eager to get all the random pieces of information out of her head and down onto paper so she could organize them, Emma led Malachi to the bank and showed him to her office.