Come Rain or Shine (24 page)

Emmie had briefly helped Ava by sewing a tear in the lace of her dress. She’d worked hard to smile and tell Ava what a beautiful day it was. If Ava noticed her words were a lie she didn’t let on. Jemma and Silas’s mother had asked her to go back next week to work at the Bell House and Emmie agreed but wondered if she was making an empty promise. A part of her felt determined to go back to Kentucky with or without Silas’s blessing. Of course, she had no money for a train ticket but when had she ever let money stop her before? She would work it out.

Everyone around her seemed to be having a good time. Even Trick, who had been so upset earlier, was in the middle of some big story, entertaining his family. Silas was laughing with Gabe about something. Although Emmie was glad to see they were beginning to be on better terms, she couldn’t believe the way everyone was just going on with business as usual. Never mind that her world at home was burning down. Dangerous men were hurting those she loved in Kentucky. Her friends needed their help. Yet here they all were, at a party.

How could she be mad at them when just yesterday she had done the same thing? Bo’s cabin was burned down and all his goods were gone while she was out skating like a teenager, making a fool of herself. She realized the angry words she’d thrown at Trick were not as much about him as they were about herself. She needed to apologize to him.

As she was walking over to him someone caught her attention, a boy who looked familiar. He was in the corner of the room standing next to an older man. Silas walked up behind her and wrapped his arm around her waist. She leaned into him but never moved her eyes from the boy in the corner.

Silas followed her gaze. “Yeah, sorry about that. I can’t believe he actually showed up. We are second cousins.”

It dawned on Emmie who he was. He was the freckle-faced boy from the Irish speakeasy who Silas had fought. The one who’d made the crude comment about her. Silas’s words made Emmie notice something: there were very few Irish families in attendance. An older uncle, the freckle-faced family, and Silas—that was it. Surely Molly had more family here than this.

“Why aren’t there more Irish families here? Clearly you have a lot of family. You were related to nearly everyone I met the night you took me to that party in Chicago,” Emmie asked curiously.

“Molly and Al’s wedding wasn’t exactly a happy occasion for a lot of their family,” Silas answered quietly.

“Was she pregnant with Vincent?” Emmie asked, jumping to the first conclusion.

Silas laughed quietly. “No. It wasn’t like this one. Neither of their families were exactly excited they had married outside of their community.”

Emmie frowned, not following his words.

“Irish and Italians didn’t marry then. Look at my pop, he married a nice Irish girl. Look at Al’s family here, Italians marry Italians. It was an unpopular choice for their family. In the beginning, Pop didn’t care for Al. But around the time she started having babies, he began to let his anger go. I think Ma helped him see that it didn’t matter who his sister had married. As long as I can remember they’ve gotten along pretty well. But a lot of the family couldn’t see past it. It’s ridiculous but that’s why I’m surprised they are here. They were always lukewarm to Ava and Vincent,” Silas said, nodding to the freckled family.

Emmie couldn’t believe Ava had never told her any of this. As far as Emmie had known everything in Chicago was perfect for Ava. She looked over at her friend who was dancing with a wide smile spread across her face. Ava had a unique ability to see the best in life. She wished she could be more like her. For the rest of the night she tried her best. Emmie danced, smiled, and moved through the motions but her heart was already back in Kentucky.

Chapter Thirty-five

M
olly and Al’s Chicago home had at least ten bedrooms. So it should have come as no surprise that most of the wedding guests stayed the night. Emmie thought it was probably best, judging by the amount of wine she’d seen consumed at the reception last night. She had no idea how they even got that much wine into their house. She probably didn’t want to find out either. Emmie had carried a glass around all night but little more than a swallow actually made it down her throat. She didn’t have a taste for the stuff and even if she did, she wouldn’t have drunk it. Emmie wanted her head clear. She needed to make a plan. Silas wasn’t going to take her back to Kentucky with him and she had no money of her own to get there. For the first time she found herself wishing she had taken a little bit of the moonshining money that Silas had tried to give her. Without access to cash you were forced to depend on the good graces of others. Right now Silas didn’t have the good graces to send her home. Her first thought had been to borrow the cash from Ava but barging in on her wedding night, asking for a few dollars probably broke some unwritten law.

Last night Silas had walked her to her bedroom, barely touched his lips to hers to say goodnight, and then went downstairs. She’d waited up for hours thinking he might sneak up to see her but he never did. She could only assume that meant he was downstairs with the others working out a plan for whatever was going to happen in Kentucky. A plan that would involve those she loved.

Emmie tied one of Ava’s silky robes around her waist and walked out into the hall. Her bare feet padded softly against the cool wooden floors. The only sound in the silent house was the creaking wood beneath her feet as she traveled downstairs. She walked to Al’s office half hoping Silas would be in there still at work. He wasn’t. She searched the living room, the library, and ended in the kitchen. If Emmie hadn’t seen all the cars lining the driveway and cul-de-sac, she would have assumed everyone had left. Judging by the quiet house, the partygoers were still sleeping off the lingering effects of the wine.

Moving to the stove she started making a pot of coffee. Her heart panged with fear again at the thought of the fires. She chewed her lower lip, thinking about her friends back home and the danger Silas could be facing. Emmie got out a bowl and started mixing some biscuits. Surely someone would be hungry when they woke up and she needed something to do besides sitting around and worrying. She worked the batter with her hands and thought back to that awful day at the cabin. She closed her eyes and saw it all. Steve Johnson, Mr. Thomas, Will, the revenuer, and his friend named Smith: ghosts from her past moved around her as she forced herself to remember their actions.

She remembered that they were angry, uneasy, and watching out the window for something. Emmie tried to remember what they had said and if they had given her any clue as to who would be coming. They had never really told her in so many words. Will Thomas had been wearing his uniform. Surely if he was dressed in uniform they were waiting for more officers. Emmie slid the biscuits into the oven and poured a cup of coffee.

The Smith man said they had baited Silas in Louisville when they arrested her and Ava at the Halloween party. Emmie took a swallow of coffee and saw herself coming down that tunnel with him. Her eyes popped open as she remembered something that hadn’t been important at the time. Smith hadn’t delivered her to the main paddy wagon where all of the other people were taken. He had delivered her to two policemen in exchange for money. Those two policemen had been waiting for her. They were involved in the little test to see if Silas would return for her. Which meant they were likely still involved.

But there had to be more people in the revenuer’s plan. Silas hadn’t picked her up at the station that night. He had met her back at the hotel, which meant the group of people behind this had more eyes than just the ones at the police station. She supposed the Smith man could have been watching at the hotel that night. Regardless, she now felt sure there were more people involved in this than the few in the cabin that day.

Emmie twisted her ring on her finger as she thought. She had to find Silas to tell him he was right. Yesterday he had told Trick he thought a police officer might be involved because they’d had a harder time covering this up. Not only did she need to tell him he was right, she needed to give him a description of the two men who paid off the Smith guy the night of the Halloween party.

As she walked back through the house looking for Silas, she froze in the entry hall. Something outside caught her eye.

“No,” she whispered to herself. A car was pulling out of the driveway. She ran to the door and thrust it open. A blast of frozen winter air greeted her. He was leaving her without a goodbye.

She ran out of the house down the driveway. The frozen bricks were cold and rough, scraping the soles of her feet as she chased after his car, waving her hands in an attempt to stop him.

“Silas,” she shouted.

She would have missed him if he hadn’t slowed down to maneuver between two cars blocking his way to the street. He looked startled as he saw her running up to his car. He pulled to an abrupt stop in the middle of the road. Emmie pulled open the door.

“You’re just leaving me, Silas? Without even saying goodbye?” Okay that wasn’t what she meant to say, but it was the first thing that popped out of her mouth.

His mouth dangled open for a moment before he turned the engine off and got out of the car. Silas was fully dressed in a three-piece suit, shiny shoes, and a hat, the whole package. She crossed her arms around her body as she stood there in her bare feet and thin dressing robe.

“Emmie, you need to take a breath for a second and calm down. The sun has only just started to rise; I thought you’d still be asleep. Is everything okay?” he asked, looking back toward the house as if he expected more people to run outside in their pajamas.

“You were really gonna just leave me here, Silas, without a goodbye, without any mention of my friends and your plan to help them?” she repeated.

“I left you a note. I thought you were asleep. Emmie, I don’t have time for this right now. We have a train to catch,” he said, annoyed.

Emmie heard Trick laughing inside the car. Silas kicked the door closed with his foot. Stealing a glance in the car Emmie noticed it wasn’t only Trick in the car. Vincent and Al were squeezed into the backseat.

“I wasn’t asleep. I was making breakfast for you,” she said, realizing that she sounded like a complete ninny.

“Emma, I don’t have time for this right now.” His patience was wearing thin.

Her robe flapped around her legs as a frigid blast of winter air moved around them.

“Silas I can help you. I know someone who is involved,” she said, shivering.

“Who?” he asked, staring down at her.

“Remember at the Halloween party when I was arrested? Remember the Smith man that trapped me?” Her teeth chattered as she continued. “He told me at the cabin that they were baiting you.”

Silas unbuttoned his coat and pulled her into him, wrapping the flaps of his thick black coat around her. “You are going to catch your death out here. I’m going to never make it back to help your friends because I’m going to be stuck up here at your funeral,” he muttered. “I’d already put that together. Smith is dead, Emmie. I promise you that.”

Emmie leaned back and looked up at him. She shook her head. “No, I know he’s dead. I’m not talking about him. Smith took us to two men. I know those men were waiting for us. I’m sure of it. Remember that night when you came back, how you were so mad, convinced our arrest was more than just an unfortunate coincidence? You were right. The men waiting for us outside that tunnel were police officers and they paid him off. I saw him take money from them. Those two police officers have to be involved in all this. One was about your height with blond hair. The other was shorter with a big round belly. That’s all I can remember, but I thought it might help you. They might not be the ones starting the fires, but I guarantee you they are involved. In the cabin, Will was dressed in the very same uniform they had on that night.”

Silas nodded and thought through her words. He didn’t say anything at first. He just leaned forward and kissed her forehead softly. Someone beat on the window as if to say
hurry up
.

When he pulled away from her, he brushed a strand of sleep-matted hair from her face. “I love you, Mo Chuisle, but I do have to go. Your information is helpful.”

“If you take me with you, I’ll stay out of your way. I could help you identify the men,” she said as he pulled away from her. The bitter cold wind ripped through her again as she left the warmth of his coat.

“Never going to happen, Emmie. Get in the house before you catch your death out here. I’ll give you a call this week,” he said, lowering himself into the car.

“Silas, please. I want to go home. You cannot just leave me up here with no way to get home when my friends are in trouble,” she pleaded with him, tears pricking her eyes.

“I will take you home when it is safe.” He reached out the door, grabbed her ring, and gave her a level stare. “I promise you I’ll be back soon. You promise me to stay out of Bowling Green.”

“Silas, please,” she said but the door was already closed. She smacked the window with the palm of her hand. “Please, don’t leave me here alone,” she begged.