by Chula Stone
“And what were you doing at Aunt Mina’s? And did she know about your invading her privacy?”
“I left some papers at her house and when I went back to look for them, I found the bill of sale for the building. It named a price that was extremely low. Pinkie has always told me what she would give for the building and it was a lot more.”
“I don’t care if he offered her the contents of all the vaults in all the banks in Dallas, I don’t want Bailey Branson getting his mitts on any building you’re associated with.”
“So we’re going to see Aunt Mina?”
“No, we’re going straight to Branson.”
“But I don’t want to confront Bailey!”
“Not Bailey Branson. We’re going to his uncle, Alvin. He’s an honest man and if anyone can do anything about this, it’ll be him.”
Treli thought about it for a while. “I would think we should begin with Aunt Mina and ask her first. She’s got the papers.”
“She might be angry that we’re interfering.”
“Yes, exactly. I don’t want her to be mad at us.”
“Sometimes, when people are getting cheated, they don’t see things clearly. That’s why they can get cheated. We might not be able to keep Aunt Mina from selling the building, but we can stop Bailey from buying. I know his uncle. He won’t tolerate anybody getting a raw deal if he can help it.”
Treli twisted her hands in her shawl. “But the papers are at Aunt Mina’s house. I’d rather be there to keep an eye on them. Bailey will need to come get them, won’t he?”
“And you’re going to stop him?” Shep cocked an eyebrow at her. “You and what army? I admit, Bailey’s no circus strong-man, but he’s still a man.”
“What do you think I’m going to do? Try to arm-wrestle him for the papers? I’ll hide them.” After a pause in which she wilted a bit under the glare her husband turned on her, Treli went on. “And then hide myself. I’ll wait upstairs in the hallway where I can watch the front door through the window. If he comes, I’ll hide in the attic. He won’t look for the papers there. And if Aunt Mina comes home, he won’t look for them at all. He’d never raise a hand to me anyway, Shep. He’s not that kind of bad.”
“Just a few minutes won’t make any difference,” Shep told her. “We’ll go over together as soon as we’re finished talking to Alvin Branson.”
A few minutes later, Shep pulled the buggy to a stop in front of the lawyer’s office. As he helped Treli down, he warned her with a quick touch of a stern finger to the tip of her nose. “Just remember, little bit, you’re not to jump into this with your claws extended. You got that? We don’t really know what Bailey has done or what his uncle will do. Let me do the talking. You’re in enough trouble without adding to it.”
“Trouble?” she asked, trying to make her eyes as wide as possible. In this little show, Innocent was getting harder and harder to play. Mischievous might go over better, but Guilty was the part she had to avoid.
“Why were you at Aunt Mina’s today in the first place.” Shep looked down at her face and the curtains came down on her elaborate excuse. She knew it would never see its opening night. “And why were you rummaging around on Aunt Mina’s desk? And why did you burn the pork chops last night?”
“And why are you so smart?” she complained. “There’s no way you should have been able to figure out all this just from a burnt pork chop.”
“Poor little Treli. Can’t get away with anything, because her husband knows her too well. Or maybe he’s just got too much savvy in general.” Then he grinned and gave her a broad wink. “This time, your downfall wasn’t my brains but rather your cousin. Drina asked me if you had gotten the papers she asked for. I knew I hadn’t seen or heard about any papers so I meant to ask you about them when I came home this evening. Then up you fly like a mouse running from a hawk. I put two and two together when you started squeaking about papers.”
“So I was already in trouble.”
“But you didn’t know that. I have to admire you for risking getting in trouble when you thought you’d gotten away with your little bit of mischief.”
“You’re right. It was only a little… thing, and I could have tried to get away with it. I found the papers and would have brought them to Drina.”
“Where are they?”
Where were they? Treli gave a private gasp, keeping her face as straight as she could manage. “I wanted to come straight to you, so I put them in a place no one would ever look for them. You go on up and talk to Mr. Branson. It’ll just take a minute to retrieve them.”
Just at that moment, the elder Mr. Branson appeared at the door. “Good evening, Mr. and Mrs. Shepard. Is there something I can do for you? The hour is rather late, but if the matter is urgent, as it would seem to be…”
Shep shook hands with the lawyer. “Yes, it is. Treli…”
“I’ll be along.”
Alvin gestured for Shep to precede him. “We can go to my private office.”
Treli waved her hand at the door. “You two go on up. I know the way.”
The men were already deep in conversation when the door closed behind them. Treli jumped back onto the buggy and gave a hefty slap of the reins. She knew where those papers were and she had to get there before Bailey Branson.
Her plan was simple. She would get all the papers and then race back to the lawyer’s office. Kill two birds with one stone, as it were. If asked, she could honestly say that she had gotten all the papers at one time. She had done just that. She simply hadn’t done it when she should have done it, which was that afternoon. Here she was, making up for her mistake. Shep wouldn’t approve but since she was already in trouble, what did a little more matter? She had to make things right!
Chapter 13
Straight into the drawing room she burst, thinking only of how she needed to hurry to get those papers back to the law office before Shep had time to realize she had moved the buggy. Alarmed to notice that the papers on the desk were not as she had left them, a very tense Treli raced across the room, only to go sprawling onto the floor at the sound of Bailey’s voice.
“Mrs. Shepard, well, well, well. What a surprise! But a happy one indeed.” Bailey’s grin put Treli in mind of a snake who spots a second bird in the nest he has already encircled with his coils. He came to stand over her where she lay stunned on the floor. “You’re not hurt, are you? Here, let me help you up.”
Treli extended her hand, but Bailey stooped and scooped her up in his arms. “Mr. Branson, I don’t need…”
“She’s hurt her head. Mrs. Pann, I’ll just carry her upstairs while you call the doctor.” His grip pinched her legs and shoulders painfully.
Aunt Mina was fluttering around, waving her hands and dithering, but Treli noticed how she very efficiently blocked Bailey when he tried to take her toward the door. “Don’t move her! The settee! The settee! There’s a dear.” Somehow, she maneuvered him in that direction and Treli was able to squirm away, falling mostly on the soft cushions.
“I’m fine! Aunt Mina, don’t fuss! I’m all right. I didn’t hit my head,” Treli fumed at Bailey, hoping to scare him off.
The lawyer just bared a few teeth at her by way of a smile. “Mrs. Pann, a little of that tea you offered me earlier might not go amiss now.”
Treli expected Aunt Mina to categorically deny this request, but instead she merely gave them an appraising look. “Yes, I think I do need to scurry to the kitchen. I’ll be back in two shakes of a duck’s tail.”
Just when Treli was about to protest, Bailey gave her a sharp poke in the side. “Thank you, Mrs. Pann. I’m sure that will be just the thing to…” As soon as they were alone, he hissed, “Before you say another word, you’ll want to think very carefully. You’re not the only one who can rummage around on a desk when the owner is out of the room.”
“You found our papers?”
“I found a packet of very interesting documents lying underneath my papers, yes,” he drawled lazily.
“Those records are none of your business.”
“As mine are none of yours. Shall we trade?”
“How? You’ve got them both.”
“The Sloan papers for your silence. Seems an even trade to me.”
“As far as I know, there’s nothing secret in the documents.” Treli tried to shrug casually. “I don’t like you seeing them, but I like even less you trying to steal from Aunt Mina.”
“How is it stealing to exchange money for property? Everything is on the up and up.” Bailey crossed to his chair and picked up two packets from where he had placed them on a little table.
“Hardly! If anyone sees the amount you paid her, they’ll know what a cheat you are, swindling an old lady out of her valuable property. Why would you want that building anyway?”
“I might want it for spite. I would enjoy turning you out of your precious little café. But no, I’m a businessman at heart. I plan to sell it back to Vince Sloan.”
“For twice the price, no doubt.”
“Maybe triple the price, if I play my cards right. And believe me, I will.”
“Vince will never buy from you.”
“He will, if you keep your mouth shut. And I think you will.” He waved the Sloan papers in the air.
“What’s in those documents can’t hurt anyone. The Sloan’s are always fair in all their dealings. Publish them in the newspaper, for all I care.” She would be embarrassed when he let everyone know that he had their private documents in his possession, but what else could she do? Her pride wasn’t worth letting Aunt Mina get swindled.
“You are correct that the information on the papers isn’t anything I can use. The papers themselves, however would be very difficult to replace. So inconvenient, having to travel to Austin and Dallas and heaven only knows where else. And questions would be raised, and titles examined. All that bother and fuss.”
“You wouldn’t!”
Bailey put down the papers and crossed swiftly to lean over Treli. She tried not to cower, but his nearness revolted her. He trapped her with his arms braced against the back of the settee and leered in to bring his face so close she could feel his breath. “With relish. It might be worth losing the building just to see the Sloans squirm. Either way, I win. So, what will it be?”
“It’ll be your hide nailed to the door,” Shep exclaimed, bursting in.
Treli was never more glad to see him. “Shep!”
Bailey drew back, looking nervous, but sounding annoyed. “Sorry you had to see that, Shepard. I have been trying to stay discreet, but… you know how women are. They can’t keep away and then” That was all the poison he managed to get out before Shep decked him.
Treli hopped up and ran over to where Shep stood looking down at Bailey’s crumpled form. “Shep, it wasn’t… I would never…” Just like Shep’s fist had interrupted Bailey’s disgusting speech, his mouth now silenced her unnecessary explanations.
“I know that, honey,” he replied after a lengthy kiss.
At a noise from Bailey, the pair turned to find Aunt Mina standing over him. Slipping her pistol into the pocket of her apron, she commented in her usual feathery manner, “If you all are ready to take charge of him, I’ll just slip back to the kitchen and… finish making the tea.”
Shep looked at Treli, eyebrows raised. “What was that all about?”
“I should have remembered that Aunt Mina keeps a Derringer in the flour bin.”
“The flour bin? But that would ruin the firing mechanism.”
“False bottom.”
“Of course,” Shep muttered in his ‘now I have heard everything’ tone. “I should have known.”
“Why are men so easy to fool? A little laugh, a wave of the fingers and they get the idea that a woman is helpless.” Treli gave him a pitying glance.
“Cotton candy wrapped around a nail.” Shep nodded slowly. “That’s how Vince described her, but I wouldn’t listen.”
The candy in question came bustling in with a laden tea tray. “Can’t have cups without cakes, we always say. Help yourselves.”
Shep looked down at Bailey who had lapsed back into some sort of stupor. “What about him?”
Aunt Mina wrinkled her nose. “If we ignore him, maybe he’ll go away.”
When Shep gave a low grumble, Treli rounded on him impatiently. ““Isn’t that what we want?”
Shep’s scowl deepened and flexing his fingers, he took a step toward Bailey. “No, I don’t want him to leave. I want to take him by the seat of the pants and throw him out.”
“Far be it from me to deny my guest his heart’s desire,” Aunt Mina simpered. She waved at the men in a ‘have at it’ sort of gesture.
Shep didn’t need to be waved at twice. He grabbed the neck of Bailey’s coat and the back of Bailey’s belt to hoist him up off the ground. Not being too careful of doorways or tables, Shep stalked out of the house. Treli heard a series of thumps as would be made by a man’s body tumbling and stumbling down the front steps and path. The gate clanged shut and Shep reappeared, dusting his hands off as if he had been handling something dirty.
Since Aunt Mina had already poured their tea and put cute little cakes on plates for them, Treli just naturally sat down. It felt a bit surreal when Shep joined her on the settee, but Aunt Mina looked so pleased, Treli hated to deny her. She and Shep shrugged at each other and took up their cups. “I guess there are some things we need to discuss,” Treli admitted.
“If you are referring to those papers, let me put your mind at rest. I never signed them. I only pretended to go along with him that day Mr. Branson came here to try to trick me into selling my building. He signed the bill of sale but before I could sign, I had a sudden swoon. I told him to come back another day.”
“You never swoon. You knew it was a trick?” Treli asked with wonder.
“Of course, dear. Doesn’t the Good Book tell us to know the state of our crops and fields? I take that to heart. I know what things are worth.” The elderly lady giggled girlishly. “I was a bit insulted by his low offer, truth be told.”
Treli felt silly. She should have known that Aunt Mina couldn’t be cheated. “Why did you even pretend to go along with him?”
“Well, I couldn’t be rude and say ‘no’ could I? If a man tries to deceive others, he shouldn’t object to being deceived, but it’s still no excuse for rudeness.” Aunt Mina gave a little shrug. “And at my age, there are few new amusements left to me. I couldn’t resist the chance to cause a little mischief. It’s rare for me to be able to say it, but I think that I’ve done something totally novel today.”
“Well, I’d saying exposing a cheat is quite an accomplishment,” Treli agreed.
Treli was gratified to see Shep turn his patented stern look on somebody besides her for a change. “When were you thinking of telling us what you’d done?”
His cocked eyebrow didn’t seem to skewer Aunt Mina’s heart as he might have come to expect it would. The fluttery hand that waved at him matched her amused smile. “Oh, Mr. Shepard, I can’t come running to you every time I have a little problem.”
“Why not? That’s what we’re here for.” Shep’s voice sounded both stern and kind. “When Treli tries to pull something like this…”
“I’ll bet she finds out what cake batter feels like from the business end of a wooden spoon,” Aunt Mina gloated gently. “But when you’re my age, you don’t have such things to worry about.”
“I’ll bet old man Vaughn might have something to say about today’s goings on,” Treli mused aloud. “Be that as it may, we can’t just let Bailey run loose around town, maybe trying to cheat someone else,” she added hoping to appeal to her aunt’s sense of duty. “You should have told us what he was trying to do.”
“If I had come to you, I would have had to reveal… things I wanted to keep private,” Aunt Mina demurred cautiously.
“I read all the papers, Aunt Mina,” Treli told her archly. “I know.”
“But you can keep it to you
rself, can’t you?” Aunt Mina countered. “I’d rather it not be spread around town that I… It isn’t seemly.”
Treli laughed. “Your secret is safe with us.”
“If people knew how much I… well, let’s just say that I enjoy things the way they are,” Aunt Mina suggested carefully.
“It’s just that Vince really would like to buy that building for Pinkie,” Shep put in. “You could spare one building, couldn’t you?”
Aunt Mina shook her head. “I would be happy to, but how? Even Alvin Branson doesn’t know, unless Bailey told him.”
“No, Bailey didn’t tell his uncle anything. I just went by their offices and had a little chat with Mr. Alvin Branson.”
“Did you tell him what went on? That Bailey tried to cheat me?” Aunt Mina looked stricken.
Treli’s relief was enormous when Shep was quick to correct her. “No, not at all. I reported on Bailey’s offer of a low bid to a lady who…” Suddenly, Shep smiled, looking thoroughly abashed. “So he’ll never figure out it was you! I said he was trying to take advantage of a lady who couldn’t look out for herself.” The absurdity of that statement had them all sharing a hearty laugh.
“Good, then,” Aunt Mina cried after a while. “He’ll think you were talking about Betty Farmer!”
“Was Bailey harassing her?” Treli demanded. “Why did you let it go on?”
“I didn’t know about it until recently. She told me when she gave notice that she was moving back home.”
Shep took another cake from the plate and avoided Treli’s eye. “I knew she was letting him into the courthouse after hours, but she didn’t want my help. I did offer, but… I had other things on my mind.” Here he gave Treli a significant look and she blushed. “I found out about it the night of the curtain fiasco. Since a certain someone was getting jealous, I had to let Betty figure things out for herself. She seemed to have a handle on the situation.”
“I’m sure she did. Bailey was only making a pest of himself and Betty was quite right to placate him in such a harmless way.” Aunt Mina nodded approvingly.
