September Wind (37 page)

             
“
You guys take it easy,” Greta called after them.

             
“
Say, Emily,” George said as they mounted the horses, “I can’t tell you enough how much we appreciate you bringing Rusty home.”

             
“
No need to thank me. I wouldn’t of done anything different.”

             
They followed a trail through a grove of fruit trees, past a field of cut wheat and acres of weeds, wild flowers, and rocky grassland, each with their own thoughts.

             
So much had happened that Emily didn’t know where to begin, although now at least she had someone to talk to. “George, I’ve been wondering whatever happened to Sylvia. How well did you know her?”

             
“She’s a distant relative of my mother’s. We weren’t exactly close, as in buddy-buddy, but I guess you could say we were friends. About what happened to her? All I know is that she left without a word. Didn’t even tell her parents goodbye. Schillings said she took off with a man, said she’d talked of eloping for some time. I didn’t see her that often, but I’ll tell you what. I saw her less than three weeks before she disappeared, and she never mentioned a boyfriend to me.”

             
“
He told me she left because of family problems.”

             
“
See, he didn’t even bother to keep his story straight.” George bit his lip, squinted, trying to remember. “Let me think now. Mmm. You know... the last time I saw her she was telling me something about his logging business. At the time, I didn’t take it too seriously. She could be a little flighty at times, you know? Anyway, as we were talking, Schillings himself walked in. And by the look on his face and by Sylvia’s reaction, I thought something was wrong.”

“Do you have any idea where she might’ve gone?”

              “
You mean if she went on her own? No, I haven’t a clue. There hasn’t been a word from her in, uh, I’d say over a year now. Her parents called the police, but after a few weeks, they were convinced that she left on her own. They’re still waiting to hear from her.”

             
Emily stopped her horse, and George came up beside her. “What is it?”

             
“
Maria told me that her father hit Sylvia.”

             
“
Hit her? Right there in front of the children?”

             
“
Well, she said she heard them arguing, and when she looked in, Sylvia was lying beside the desk with a bloody head.”

             
“
Wow. That doesn’t sound too good for Sylvia.”

             
“
Maria told me that he hit her mother too.”

             
“
Really. So then, shouldn’t we go to the police? We’d have Maria’s word.”

             
“
Yeaah, that sounds like the logical thing to do, but... oh I don’t know, George. I’ve seen at least three police officers that come by… just to visit, up to his private suite. Oh, and he had a senator and his wife over for dinner a while back. It sounds like he has political ambitions.”

             
“
You serious?”

             
“
That’s what I heard.”

             
“
Say… how old is Maria anyway?

             
“
Nine.”

“Well, shoot, that’s another thing. Who’d listen to a nine-year-old? I think you’re right. We need to get the facts straight, find out who we can trust first.”

              They were nearing the Schillings’ property when George slid from his horse. He picked up a stick and jabbed it into the brush. A moment later, they heard the snap of a trap.

             
“
Oooh, just to think that Rusty could’ve been suffering all night, or worse, makes me want to snap this around Schillings’ neck.” He placed the trap into his saddlebag, and then walked alongside his horse, looking for more.

             
“
So then... what about the cows, George? I mean, can you keep them away from here?”

             
“
I had to do a little patchwork late last night, but they’re safe in a fenced-in area for now.”

They came upon the stray cow, and then George spotted the fence. “Will you look at how far he’s moved that damn thing!” He sighed, disgusted, mounting his horse. “Well, a least ole Betsy’s okay,” he said, beginning to coax the animal homeward. He lifted a hand to Emily. “I’ve got a ton of work to do so I’d best be on my way. But, thanks again, and say, listen, I have an idea I’m working around in my head. Stop by and if I’m right about my suspicions, we might have something solid we can use against him.”

* * * *

             
When Emily reached the barn, it looked as though Paul wasn’t aware she had left. As she settled the horse in the stall, she began to think about how good he was with the children and the horses too, many times taking the animals out for walks, making sure they had plenty of grazing time. Maybe she could trust him enough to tell him what happened to Rusty. She put everything away, snooping, and lingering more than she intended to. As she pondered about whether or not to confide in him, that’s when she came upon four traps in the corner of one of the supply closets.

             
She was so furious, she stormed off to find him; how right she had been all along. She hustled around to the back yard, not sure she even wanted to talk to him.

When she saw him, he was coming from the island of trees, and he didn’t look happy. “Where in the world have you been?” She thought she’d seen him angry the other night, but apparently not.

              She backed away, then quickly turned and fled to the house. As she rushed in through the back entrance, Otto stepped in front of her, folding his arms. “Do you often traipse the halls dressed like that?” he said. He was serious by nature, but now he sounded unusually stern.

             
She looked down at the stains on her shirt and pants, and the tracks on the floor. “Sorry, Otto. I’ll get a mop and clean it up.”

             
“
No, don’t bother. Just take off your shoes from now on after you’ve been…” His eyes slid down to her feet again. “Well, whatever you’ve been up to.”

             
She took her shoes off and carried them up the stairs. At the top, she looked down and saw that Otto had taken out his hanky and was wiping the floor.

             
“
Sorry,” she said again feeling ashamed when she thought of all the times back home when the men had come in and muddied up her polished floors. She had been so angry with them.

CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

Emily lay in bed listening to gusting winds, and the sound of flying leaves and twigs tapping against her window. Maybe it was the length of the gusts and the melodious sounds that made her think of her grandmother’s words “
they come to sooth your soul and bring you hope.”
But just in case it was one of those premonitions of warning, she made a concerted effort not to linger on it. She had always believed in hope, struggled to keep it at times, hanging onto the barest thread of chance that might lead to something good even when knowing sometimes the only way to the good was through the bad.

She could tell by the tone of the winds that summer was ending early. Whether it was the first snow of winter, when the moon reflected off blankets of white frozen crystals. Or it was the first tempered breeze that swept across her face in early spring; or the first warm summer day when it was impossible not to dig her bare feet into fresh dirt, to her the change of season was an oath that never failed—something she could count on. She missed not having snow the previous year; but it was the memory of the crisp winds at the onset of fall that always rekindled her hope in the most spectacular way as she sat amongst the cool leaves with colors of harvest sunsets and earthy reds and yellows shimmering around her.

              She got up and opened all the windows in her bedroom, the windows in the children’s rooms, and then beckoned them out for an early morning ride.

             
Paul was in the barn, ready with saddles and reins. And whether it was that she took care not to let him catch her alone, he didn’t confront her about taking the horse out of the yard. With the day starting out so well, she decided as long as he continued to treat the children with the kindness they deserved, she wouldn’t hold a grudge against him. That didn’t mean she wouldn’t check the storage closet every day or so to make sure the traps were still there instead of where they could do harm. It just meant that some days it was just plain easy to keep a positive attitude.

             
After dinner that evening, and an hour of television Emily allowed the children, they were in finishing their homework when she decided to take Star for a ride before nightfall.

             
She rode around the corral several times before heading to the east end into the trees. The shifting sun and the feel of the crisp air reminded her of fall back home when Kidders, Caesar, Angel, and Tokeep would run through the trees and roll around in the leaves. She smiled, reminded that it always did her such good to think of them.

She slid to the ground, took a handful of grain from her pocket, and held it out to Star. She was standing next to a tree that she had taken to climbing now and then, and couldn’t resist going up again.

She was sitting on a limb, enjoying the view over the property, when she saw movement a ways beyond the fence. She had seen deer and other animals before and didn’t think much of it, not until she realized what she was looking at was a man instead of an animal. He was too far off, and there were too many branches and leaves to see anything definite. Yet she couldn’t stop herself from watching as he trudged along, yanking at times over what seemed to be bumps as if he were struggling with something heavy. Once in a while she could see colors of red and white flash through the brush. Something told her to leave, but she was glued. Soon it was obvious that the man was dragging what looked like...
No... It couldn’t be. It just couldn’t be!

She was ready for a quick exit, but she hesitated when he stopped just a few hundred feet from the fence. Her perched-view put him in straight line to his back as he began to make thrashing movements, as if he were digging. She strained her neck for a better look, and then pulled back in horror.

That night, she lay in bed recalling Donald’s words: “What goes on around my house is none of your business.”
now, she thought that sounded like a good idea.

During the next several weeks, she tried to see George, but something always stopped her. Once she nearly made it to the gate until a police car pulled up. It turned out to be one of Donald’s friends.

              After a while, what she knew she saw beyond the corral became what she thought she saw. It wasn’t long before she convinced herself that what she thought she saw was nothing but her overactive imagination, and that it had merely been a man dragging a deer carcass, maybe burying the remains. She’d seen the men back home do just that.

CHAPTER FORTY

The household was bustling over a party Donald Schillings was giving to further his political career. It was official, Emily realized, after hearing Otto and Pearl mention his run for mayor of San Francisco. Then there was Pearl’s mention of her boss’s donation to the needy when she tipped one deliveryman or another. Of course, this was after she asked the young men if they planned to vote.

              When the big night of the party arrived, Emily tucked the children into bed and decided to take a walk in her usual spot out back before going to bed. There were a number of books waiting for her on the nightstand and she hadn’t planned on being long. She hadn’t planned on running into Peter either.

             
“
Peter... what’re you doing here?” she asked when they met along one of the paths.

             
“
Let me put it this way,” he said, glancing over his shoulder. “I didn’t get an invitation. If you didn’t notice, Donald and I aren’t exactly close friends. And you? You’re the last person I expected to see tonight.”

             
“
Me? Why?”

             
“
Well, because when I asked Beatrice about you, she uhm. . . she said you were a thief, and a liar. And then she said you broke into her office, stole some cash, and then disappeared.”

             
“
Wow... that’s really something, even for Beatrice. You didn’t believe her, did you?”

             
“
Not really. I figured there had to be another side to the story.”

             
“
Yeah, I’d say so, since I was the one that was robbed. Someone stole a necklace of mine.”

             
“
Oh, no.”

             
“
Yeah, and Beatrice swore she had nothing to do with it, but then why was she almost... angry at me for being upset? Then I thought maybe it was one of the girls. But they make good money. So... I don’t know. It just... doesn’t make sense.”

             
He listened carefully, and then thought it out. “Well, it could be a number of things, you never know about that place. Donald, even. But it’s possible one of the girl’s is a kleptomaniac. If that’s true, I think someone like that would relish wearing your necklace, flaunting it right there at the Palace.”

             
“
So, are you going back?”

             
“
To the Palace? I can. And I know someone that’ll be glad to keep an eye open for the necklace. Why don’t you describe it to me and I’ll pass it on.”

             
“
Well, let’s see, the beads are about the size of a pea. They look like, uhm, like sparkling glass. There’s a hint of red, almost like lightning swirling through the middle. Oh, and then it has a gold fastener shaped like a heart with the letters SDH.”

             
“
It sounds beautiful.”

             
“
It is... well, it was. It was a family heirloom.”

             
“
Now that’s a shame. I’m really sorry, Emily.”

             
“
They took most of my money too.”

             
“
Oh, boy. Does Donald know this?”

             
“
I couldn’t bring myself to tell him. I mean, they’re almost like a... clan over there.”

“
You’re right about that, and in more ways than one. And… I don’t know, Emily. But it might be a good thing that you didn’t mention the incident to him.”

             
“
Peter, there’s something else,” she began, but stopped when she saw Donald coming up the path. She gave a warning nod, ducked into the bushes, and then watched Peter head in the opposite direction.

             
She thought it was over, but when she saw Donald hurry past and catch up with Peter, she made her way to where they were talking.

             
“
Of all people…” Donald was saying. “I thought you were in LA.”

             
“
I was. But I’m back.”

             
“
Business trip?”

             
“
Of course.”

             
“
Funny you should show up here tonight. I’ve wanted to ask you about that trip. Mainly, how the meeting with Detective Righetti went.”

             
Emily noticed that Peter was taken off guard at first, although he managed to pull himself together.

             
“
Well, Donald, there wasn’t a meeting per se. Of course, I’d heard his name before, knowing he’s your biggest adversary. But I’d never actually laid eyes on the guy. I had no idea who he was until he introduced himself. And then, well, that was the end of our conversation.”

             
“
You expect me to believe that?”

             
The two made a few more verbal jabs at each other, and then parted ways, Peter off toward the house, and Donald back up the path.

             
One of the police officers Emily had seen on occasion approached her boss before he could take more than a few steps. Donald took a drag from his cigarette and tossed it to a rock slab by his feet.

             
“
Get rid of him,” he said. “And you know what to do with the leftovers He made a motion with a finger to his head, kicked the cigarette into the dirt, and left

She had to warn Peter. He’d gone in through the back entryway, and so she hurried around to the front yard and waited on the steps. A half an hour later, he still hadn’t come out. She couldn’t understand why he was ignoring the threat, or why he was even there. Maybe he didn’t realize how much he was despised. Determined to find him, she rushed around to the back and headed up to her room.

              She searched her closet and found a dress she thought would be suitable for the ball. The problem was there were no shoes to match. She had on a black pair that did the dress a horrible injustice, and was considering wearing a pair of white socks when she recalled Otto’s comment about the slippers Mrs. Schillings left at Maria’s door. She cringed at the thought of going over, although what other choice did she have?

             
She walked around Maria’s bedroom for the better part of a minute before she got up enough nerve. “Say, I heard you had these shoes of your mother’s?”

             
“
Mm? Oh, you mean the slippers?”

             
“
Yeah, those. Uhm... think I could borrow them? I’d like to take a look around the ballroom and see what a real ball looks like.”

             
“
Okay,” Maria said, raising her brows, “but don’t let Pearl catch you down there. Nathan tried that once and she pulled him back upstairs by an ear.” She went to her closet and pulled out a pair of white mesh slippers that had several rows of pearls set around the opening.

             
“
Oh, Maria, these are perfect. You mind?”

             
“
Nah.”

             
Emily took off her shoes and pushed her feet into the slippers; they were a little snug, but soft and pliable.

“
Mommy always wore them around the house. Sometimes I’d sneak a pair for dress-up and she’d get after me, said she’d have a pair made for me one day.” She looked down at the shoes then back up at Emily. “She liked them so much she had four or five different colors. Some of them had ribbons, or flowers sewed on. I don’t know what Father did with them, probably still over there.” She nodded in the direction of her father’s suite. “You might as well make use of these.”

             
Emily gave her a hug, and then hurried back to her room.

             
Twenty minutes later, she walked down the front staircase with her hair pinned up, a flower tucked over an ear, and a little of the rouge and lipstick she found in the bathroom cabinet. She felt lucky to have found the dress. The attraction was the simplicity of the white silhouette lace gown that hugged her curves, and flowed elegantly down past her ankles and settled upon the dainty mesh slippers. The only giveaway that it was a nightgown was the tag that hung inside the collar, although she didn’t notice that until later.

             
Once downstairs, she stepped into the ballroom, making a point of staying near a row of pillars, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible. But almost immediately, she was taken off guard when a man asked her to dance. Before she knew it, she was trying to improvise the steps that were more formal than what she had seen at the Palace.

             
“
I haven’t noticed you around before,” he said.

             
“
My first time out in a while.” She laughed as if it was supposed to be funny then tried to counteract that with a dance move she had just seen. Under the circumstances, she thought she did okay.

             
Donald walked through the doorway about then, and she slipped behind one of the pillars and watched him meander over to a crowd for a chat.

             
“
Are you okay?” the young man asked.

             
She leaned back against the cold marble, grimacing. “It’s my ankle. Think I’m gonna have to sit.”

             
“
Here, let me help you.”

             
“
I’ll manage,” she said, lifting a hand for him to stand back. She put on a brave smile and left with a limp in the opposite direction from where her boss stood. When she glanced back to make sure she was at a safe distance, she found herself in the middle of a small group of men.

She looked up at a man who took approximately one and a-half seconds to introduce himself as Gregory Lancaster II. The way he gawked at her behind dark-rimmed-glasses reminded her of a raison-eyed bear catching sight of his dinner of honey and larvae, and she wasn’t exactly comfortable with that. She smiled awkwardly, wishing there had been something else to wear besides this slinky, low-cut gown.

              “
What’s your name sweetheart?” Gregory smiled, smugly

In
her frustration, she told him her name was “E…Emmie.” The odd part was she hadn’t even considered disguising her name.
Be careful now, you never know who you’re dealing with.
Her self-admonishment was interrupted by what she thought was Peter’s voice. She raised to her toes, looking around.

“So, Emmie,” Gregory said, still vying for her attention, “where’ve you been all my life?”

              She sighed, exasperated, turning back to him. “Mostly out of the country,” she said, wishing he would let her get on with what she came for.

             
“
How exciting, I’ve done a bit of traveling myself. Now, where exactly have you been?”

             
“
Oh... uhm, well at least four countries.”

             
“
Really, which ones?”

She glanced around for Peter again, irritated she had to talk at all. “Uh, which countries... let’s see. There was France, Germany, Paris… Well, ha, ha, you know what I mean. Paris… as in
France
.”

A waiter came over with a tray of drinks, and she recognized him as someone who’d helped during one of Donald’s dinner parties. She decided it was best to give him a confident smile.

              “
Emily?”

             
“
Emmie. It’s Emmie.” The waiter watched with curiosity as Gregory picked up two drinks and handed one to her.

             
She caught the young man’s eye, pleading silently not to say anything to Pearl.

She looked at the glass in her hand then, and thought of her vow to Maria, deciding the spot Peter was in was far more important now.

She took a nice long drink, for just a moment, savoring the cool crisp tang of the champagne, though her drive to help Peter didn’t let her linger. A good breath and she was heading to the other side of the room with Gregory right behind her. When they reached the wall, she rolled to her toes again and gave a thorough scan of the crowd.

“Looking for someone?” he asked with that suave, confident smile.

              “
Just seeing who’s here.” She dropped back to her heels and took a number of sips, one after another.

Gregory waited for her to finish. “So, darling... uhm, how about a walk?”