“It’s not the end of the world,” Jem said sulkily from the bed adjacent. “We can still… detect. We’re here now, aren’t we?”
Merinda buried her face in her pillow. “Oh, Jem!” she cried. “I can’t bring you to Chicago! Explosives! Anarchists! DeLuca would have my head. We have to get the conductor to turn the train around!”
“You cannot be serious. Turn on that brain of yours, Merinda. Be reasonable!”
“I can’t bound about with you at my heels in your condition.”
“Nothing has changed,” Jem grumbled. “I’m still me.”
“I’m not playing nursemaid,” Merinda said in a surly voice.
“You’re jumping eight steps ahead of me.”
“You didn’t tell me!”
“Was there a point in telling you? You should have figured it out already, O Great Deductive One.”
“I was so daft. Fainting at the Goldman rally!”
“I was just light headed. Everyone was. It was a furnace in there.”
“You have to tell me. From now on. Anything. Anytime it’s too much for you.”
Jem felt herself suppressing a giggle. “You’ve never refrained from tossing me headfirst into danger before.”
“It’s different now.”
“It doesn’t have to be. We watch out for each other.”
Later, though, when Jem’s even breathing let Merinda know she had fallen asleep, Merinda stared at the ceiling as the train jerked and started over the tracks.
“Don’t leave me behind,” she said to the dark air. “Don’t you dare leave me behind, Jemima.”
* * *
*The telegram actually read, “CALL AT 170 N STATE STREET 430 PM.”
?Merinda’s traveling necessities included a single change of men’s clothing and every picklock she could find.
?The first time Jasper lied was when he was ten years old and said that it was his brother James who tossed the rest of Aunt Marjory’s fruitcake in the rubbish bin when it was really himself.
§This was purchased with some of the savings he holed away for a proper home and honeymoon, should he ever find himself fortunate enough to step into nuptial bliss.
?What he really wanted to say was, “Running away from you. But here you are anyway.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
As important as it is to be able to pursue, so must one be able to detect pursuit. While coats and hats can change quickly; shoes not so easily. Thus, if you feel you are being followed, pay attention to your tracker’s footwear. A tracker will anticipate any move you might make, so ensure you are two steps ahead of them.
Benfield Citrone and Jonathan Arnasson, Guide to the Canadian Wilderness
Jasper Forth ensured the girls were settled in the Palmer House after Benny went in pursuit of his own lodging, promising to leave a message so they would know how to contact him. Benny assured Merinda and Jem he would be perfectly content and safe at a boardinghouse recommended by the kind matron at the Empire Hotel.*
Jem pressed a generous tip into the bellboy’s hand. They discarded their outerwear and left the room, heading downstairs for tea and luncheon. As in most cases where propriety was required, Jem glowed.
“Everything is a living, breathing work of art,” Jem told Merinda. She kept her eyes up, enchanted by the gold peacock doors and the Baroque paintings surrounded by marble and gold ornamentation on the domed ceilings of the lobby. “You could at least attempt to appreciate this hotel,” Jem said out of the corner of her mouth as they walked to the concierge’s desk to send a telegram to David Ross. “Acknowledging the not-inconsiderable sum of money your father has fronted for this adventure.”
After an overpriced meal that cost about as much as Jem’s grocer’s bill for a week, Jem suggested that they use the time they had before meeting Ross’s affiliates to explore Chicago. What she didn’t say was that the sooner they left the boundaries of the flashy hotel, the more likely she was to chance upon her husband.
They set off into the bright day and took in a city that made Toronto’s buildings seem like a child’s model train set. Even the tallest building on Yonge Street would have seemed stunted in comparison. Jem was riveted by the store window displays while Merinda droned on about how brilliant it was to be in the employ of anarchists.
Realizing that Jem wasn’t paying attention, Merinda cleared her throat. “Now, Jem, before this case goes any further, I think we should talk.”
“Merinda, I haven’t heard that tone in your voice since you stole the answers for the ethics exam in college.”
“Now that I know what a precarious position you find yourself in,” Merinda said with a cough, “I recognize the severity of DeLuca just leaving you like that. Alone. Without word. Maybe forever.”
“With word,” Jem corrected. “Just not a lot of them. And you and I both know he’ll come back.”