Indiana Belle (American Journey Book 3) (5 page)

"It seems I've left you with the impression that I don't know my relatives," Bell said. "In fact, I know them well. What I don't know is the location of the cave Percival explored in 1898. He left no directions or maps or helpful clues."

Cameron stared at the professor.

"So you don't even know the cave's general location?"

Bell shook his head.

"I know only that it is in California."

"What about Henry? Didn't he document anything?"

"He did," Bell said. "Like Percival, kept a meticulous journal. He documented the expedition, the particulars of the cave, and the native writings he helped to decipher and interpret."

"Where is his journal now?"

"I don't know. Henry's wife, Marjorie, donated his private papers, including some detailing the expedition, to Indiana University. I've seen those papers and others he donated to libraries and scientific organizations, but I have never seen his journal."

"I see," Cameron said. "There is still something I don't understand though."

"What's that?"

"Why is the cave important? You've traveled to the past. You have access to Percival Bell's tunnel and, presumably, all of his secrets. Why do you want to find some hole in the ground?"

The professor stopped and stared at Cameron.

"I want to find the 'hole' because it contains crystals I need to power the portal," Bell said. "I possess only a few of these gems. They were passed down to me through my ancestors."

Cameron nodded his understanding, looked away, and pondered the situation. If it was not clear before, it was now. Professor Geoffrey Bell, time traveler, wanted something he had. He wanted something he could probably not obtain from another human being.

"Can I ask you another question?" Cameron asked.

"You might as well," Bell said. "It's probably the only way I'll get information from you."

Cameron smiled.

"That's not true, but I understand why you feel that way. I just want to know more about this time-travel business before I share what I know."

"Then ask your question," Bell said.

"OK. I will," Cameron said. He took a breath. "You said a minute ago that you have visited the past many times. Define the past."

"I don't follow."

"Where did you go when you traveled to the past? Did you go back to the 1700s? The Renaissance? Ancient Greece? Adam and Eve?"

"I went to the twentieth century," Bell said.

"That's it?" Cameron asked.

"That's it."

Cameron paused to let two women pushing baby strollers go by. When they moved beyond the sound of his voice, he resumed the increasingly delicate conversation.

"That makes no sense, Professor. Why limit your experience to the 1900s? You
lived
in the 1900s. Why haven't you traveled to earlier times?"

"I haven't because I can't," Bell said.

"Why?"

Bell started to answer but stopped when a pair of six-foot skaters nearly ran him off the walk. He looked at some of the hundreds of people who jammed the suddenly not-so-private space and then returned to his incredulous acquaintance.

"Let's find a place to sit."

"All right," Cameron said.

Bell led Jeanette and Cameron to a shaded bench under a group of palm trees. He looked at his wife, who offered a knowing nod, and then turned again to the man with the questions.

"The reason I can't travel beyond the 1900s is because Percival Bell's tunnel did not exist before then and because the range of the crystals is limited to 116 years," Bell said. "I could not travel to a date before March 4, 1901, even if I wanted to."

"Could you go back to a more recent time and return today?" Cameron asked.

"I could."

"Could you go back to, say, 1925?"

"I could," Bell said.

"Could
I
go back to 1925?"

Bell sighed.

"I think I see now what this is about."

"I'm just asking questions," Cameron said. "I want to know more. If what you've told me is true, then I want in on it. I want to do what you've done. I want to time travel."

"Why should I let you do that?"

"Because you want those crystals, that's why."

"I thought you were going to tell me the location of the cave," Bell said.

"I changed my mind."

"Don't trifle with me, Mr. Coelho."

Cameron stared at Bell.

"I mean no disrespect, Professor. I just see an opportunity. It appears that each of us has something the other wants."

Bell stared at Cameron.

"What do
you
want?"

Cameron pondered the question and all the possible responses. He knew he had no right to ask for more from Geoffrey Bell, but he could not let the matter go. He had a chance to do something incredible. To pass it up would be insane.

"I want an adventure. Send me to the past. Send me to 1925. Give me the means to stay there for at least a few weeks," Cameron said. "In return, I'll find the cave, record its location, and bring back as many crystals as I can. I'll bring back whatever you want."

"Why would you do that?" Bell asked. "What's in it for you?"

"Do you really have to ask? If I traveled to the twenties, I would have the opportunity to see a decade I have studied for years. I would have the chance to do something that few people have ever done, something physicists say is impossible."

"You would."

"Then give me the chance," Cameron said. "Send me to 1925."

"I'm afraid I can't."

"Can't or won't?"

"I won't," Bell said. "I will not indulge a man who has not lived up to his obligations. I shared information with you. It's your turn to share information with me. Tell me what you know about the cave or prepare to leave California empty-handed."

"I'm sorry, Professor. I want to help you out, but I also want to travel. If that makes me a selfish son of a bitch, then so be it. I will not let this opportunity pass."

Cameron glanced at Bell and saw anger radiate from his face. He felt guilty about playing rough, but not too guilty. He had something amazing within his grasp and could not allow it to slip away.

Bell turned away from Cameron, looked at Jeanette, and once again saw a woman who seemed intent on bringing out his better side. He took a breath when she met his gaze, squeezed his hand, and offered a supportive smile. A moment later, he returned to the troublemaker.

"I don't like your hardball tactics, Mr. Coelho. I don't like how you have turned a discussion into a negotiation," Bell said. "If I didn't want the information that you apparently possess, I would send you back to Rhode Island today."

"I understand."

"As it is, though, I
do
want that information."

"Does that mean you will grant my request?" Cameron asked.

"It means I will think about it. Give me a few days to consider your proposal. I will get back to you no later than Tuesday night."

"Fair enough."

"In the meantime, enjoy the beach and think about whether you really want to do this," Bell said. "You may find that the past is not all you believe it to be."

CHAPTER 6: GEOFFREY

Tuesday, March 7, 2017

Geoffrey Bell took a soapy plate from his wife, rinsed it with warm water, and gave it a quick inspection before placing it in a plastic rack. He did not mind doing dishes in the kitchen of his three-million-dollar house. It gave him a chance to think. What he did mind was doing dishes and other mind-clearing chores without discovering the answers to pressing questions.

"You're still struggling with this, aren't you?" Jeanette asked.

"Yes, dear, I am."

"I don't know why. I don't see why Mr. Coelho is any different than the Townsends or the Petersons. You sent them to the past without losing any sleep."

"That was different," Bell said. "I approached them first. I trusted them."

"Sure you did," Jeanette said with a giggle. "That's why you checked them out."

The professor smiled. He could not dispute a word. He had, indeed, checked out the five people he had sent to the past since deciding to share the secrets of time travel.

Bell had hired a private investigator in April 2016 to investigate San Francisco reporter Chuck Townsend and his son before sending them back to 1900. He then kept a close watch on them after they strayed from their itinerary and made a mess of things in Galveston, Texas.

Bell had also investigated Chicago novelist Susan Peterson, her elderly mother, and her daughter before sending them to 1938 and Princeton, New Jersey. Though he had considered all three women honest and trustworthy, he left nothing to chance. He looked into their backgrounds while they enjoyed a vacation in Santa Barbara.

"You think I should let him go?" Bell asked.

"I
think
you should keep an open mind," Jeanette said. "You have already done a background check. Did you find anything bad?"

"No. Cameron Coelho is, from all appearances, a good guy. He has no criminal convictions, financial liabilities, or history of deceiving others."

Jeanette handed her husband a salad bowl.

"So what's the problem?"

"The problem, dear, is that I don't know if I can trust him. He wants to do more than research the twenties. I know it. You know it too. The question is what to do about it."

"Did you call Alfred Rutherford?" Jeanette asked.

"I did. I phoned him this morning."

"What does he think of Cameron?"

"He likes him," Bell said. "He has known him for eighteen years and thinks of him as the son-in-law he almost had. I guess Cameron dated Alfred's daughter seriously in college."

"Is that all he had to say?"

"No. Alfred also told me that Mr. Coelho is a loner who had a rough childhood. His mother abandoned him shortly after his birth. When his father died ten years later, Cameron chose to live with his paternal grandparents rather than with a stepfamily he despised."

"How sad," Jeanette said. "Does he still have his grandparents?"

"No," Bell replied. "They died a few years ago. When they did, they left him with three million dollars. So while our new acquaintance is a troubled loner, he's not a poor one."

"Does he have a girlfriend or a significant other?"

Bell shook his head.

"He hasn't dated anyone seriously since Ashley Rutherford six years ago."

"He's probably very lonely," Jeanette said.

"I'm sure he is."

"Lonely does
not
mean untrustworthy."

Bell took a breath.

"No. It does not."

Jeanette washed the last dish and looked at her husband.

"What's really bothering you? You have something else on your mind. I can tell."

Bell rinsed and stacked the dish.

"I do."

"What?" Jeanette asked.

"I was just thinking that the dynamics have changed," Bell said. "We pulled the strings when we sent the Townsends and the Petersons to the past. If we send Mr. Coelho to 1925, we may relinquish control of the enterprise we have worked so hard to build. He will have unrestricted access to a cave that contains all the information and materials he needs to build his own portal and perhaps use it for different purposes."

Jeanette turned to face her husband.

"He has that access now, Geoffrey. There is nothing stopping him from hiking into the mountains and finding that cave. There is nothing stopping him from hiring someone to translate any writings he finds on the walls."

"You're right."

"I don't think he wants power or money or even fame," Jeanette said. "I think our new friend wants something a little more basic."

"Are you sure about that?" Bell asked.

"I'm positive."

"So what do I do?"

Jeanette unplugged the drain and draped her dishrag over the sink divider. Then she pulled her husband away from the sink, put her arms around his neck, and kissed him lightly.

"What do you do? You make lemonade from lemons," Jeanette said. "You make an ally out of an adversary. You trust a lonely young man to find his way in a strange new world."

The professor smiled.

"Once again, Mrs. Bell, you've saved me from myself."

Jeanette kissed him again.

"It's what I do best," she said. "Now go make the call."

CHAPTER 7: CAMERON

Wednesday, March 8, 2017

Sitting at the same table on the same patio at the Pacific Suites Resort, Cameron again waited and watched a door. Only this time, he waited and watched for one. He did not wait for long.

At two thirty, Jeanette Bell walked onto the patio with a melon margarita in each hand. She smiled as she approached the table and Cameron rose from his chair.

"I decided to cut out the middleman," Jeanette said. She placed her purse and the drinks on the table. "I hope you don't mind."

Cameron chuckled.

"I don't mind at all. Please sit."

Jeanette took a seat as Cameron did the same. Wearing a floral dress and a floppy white hat, she looked like a woman who would fit into any era. She pushed her purse to the side, sipped her drink, and gazed at a man she barely knew but apparently wanted to know better.

"How are you doing?" Jeanette asked.

"I'm doing well. I'm doing much better, in fact, since your husband granted my request," Cameron said. "Is that what this meeting is about?"

"It is."

"Does he know you're here?"

Jeanette nodded.

"He asked me to see you today."

"What's he doing now?"

"He's preparing your trip to the past. He bought two suits for you this morning. He'll convert some currency this afternoon."

Cameron sipped his margarita.

"I have to admit I'm surprised to still be here. I half expected the professor to turn down my offer, pull the plug on my vacation, and send me back to New England."

"He's not that kind of man," Jeanette said.

"What kind of man is he?"

"He's the kind who thinks before he acts."

Cameron looked at Mrs. Bell thoughtfully.