Something Strange and Deadly (Something Strange and Deadly #1)(61)

“Yes. I remember the explosion—not you, though. I-I never knew about you.” I swallowed and tugged at my bare ear. Of course I remembered it. I would never forget. “My father had a dy***ite shipment of his blown up that night. He was a middleman for Pennsylvania Railroad. He ran Fitt Railroad Supply. Well, the railroad needed a lot of dy***ite, and Father had lined it up for them. He spent half of his company’s money to buy it all. But then, poof.”

I mimicked an explosion with my fingers. “Without the dy***ite, the railroad moved on to Father’s competitors. Then no one else would hire him. Worst of all, Father was campaigning. He’d just started gathering support. He was running as a Democrat for the city council.”

“The Trustees are all Republicans.”

And that was when it all made sudden, perfect sense. Tears burned behind my eyes, and my voice shook when I spoke. “Now I understand.”

“What happened?” Daniel’s tone was gentle. He slowed to a stop, and I halted beside him.

“He died. My father died.” I hugged my arms to my chest. “The stress and the grief. He went crazy with it, Daniel. Always talking about sabotage and his enemies. We all thought he’d lost his mind, but...”

I turned my gaze on Daniel.

“But what?” he asked.

“The thing is, Father and Clay Wilcox were friends. They worked together until Wilcox joined the Trustees. My father refused to follow. And since he was running against Wilcox for city council, Wilcox must have turned on him.”

Daniel whistled softly. “Clay Senior planned the whole thing just to bring down your pop?”

“I guess.” I lifted a shoulder. “What other reason could there be? Father had to pull out of the election because his company had collapsed as a result of the explosion. And since you would take the fall, there was no obvious link to Clay.”

“But I didn’t die in the explosion as planned, and I wound up in prison pretty fast.” Daniel ran his tongue over his teeth. “I was gonna be hanged for that whole affair. Luckily, I managed to figure out Eastern State’s locks the day before my necktie sociable.”

“But then why’d you come back if it’s so dangerous for you here, Daniel? It’s not even your home.”

“I work for Joseph now. I go where he needs me. Besides, I stupidly thought, with Clay Senior passed on, no one would care about me.”

“But you’re an escaped convict.”

He snorted. “It’s been six years, Empress. I’m grown up now, and I figured they weren’t searching for me anymore. I sure didn’t think the same reporter who covered my case back then would be coverin’ the Dead now.”

I blinked. “Peger?”

“Exactly. It seems he recognized me from my picture. Of course, I recognized him mighty fast too, so after one encounter, I made sure our paths never crossed again. But he had picked up the scent by then. I reckon he started askin’ around to see if anyone was still interested in finding me.”

“And Clarence Wilcox was.” I massaged my scalp beneath the cap. “You’re a threat to his election. If people found out the truth, he might not get that council seat.”

“I doubt too many people would believe my story, Empress.”

“All the same, he must be scared. Peger told me Clarence is willing to pay a lot of money to find you.” I trudged forward, my feet dragging in the soft earth.

Just before he died, when Father’s rants had been their worst, he used to shriek to Elijah, “We’ll show them! You and I, son—we’ll show them.” It had scared me, it had scared Elijah, and it had upset Mama too. The shouting, the stomping, the wild eyes.

“Blazes,” I said in a rough whisper. “All this time, Daniel, I thought Father meant his railroad competitors had sabotaged him. But no... he meant exactly what he said. His enemies. He wasn’t crazy. He was justified.”

Daniel scooted closer to me. “And now Junior wants to court you? That’s real sick.”

“Junior?” My eyes grew wide. “Clarence is called Junior?”

“He was six years ago.”

“Oh my God.” I rolled my head back and stared at the cloudy sky. Junior. Elijah’s bully. It was as if the world flipped. As if I’d been holding a picture upside down, but now I’d figured out which way was up. Junior had been my brother’s main tormentor—the one Elijah cursed the most.

Oh, why had Elijah never told me? Surely he knew the connection between the Wilcox family and our own. And why had Father never protected his son? Why had Mama and I been shielded from all the secrets?

I forced my thoughts aside—now was not the time worry over Clarence’s lies.

The fence that spanned the factory came into our view. High and long, it stretched off into the night’s darkness and hid the river. The road continued beside it and out of sight. Though this branch of Alfred Nobel & Co. was considered tiny, it still spanned several acres along the gentle riverbank.

Over the wind and insect chorus, I heard the rhythmic beat of horses.

“Listen,” I said. “What is that?”

The ground began to vibrate. Then came the clamor of wild laughter and shouting—not the usual sounds accompanying late-night travelers. I glanced down the road. I could make out the dust rising in the distance.