Wyatt took a puff of his cigar.
"Indeed."
"Emily and Anna asked me to thank you for letting them come here," Chuck said.
Wyatt turned to face Chuck.
"Do they wish to spend the night?"
"I don't know. The only thing I know for sure is that they don't want to leave Justin's side."
Wyatt smiled sadly.
"They have become quite attached to him."
Chuck nodded.
"Yes, they have."
"Where are Max and Isabella?" Wyatt asked.
"They are presumably on the five-fifteen, the last train out of Galveston. Max apparently wanted to grab some things in his office before coming out here."
"Do you think he was involved?"
"No," Chuck said. "I don't think Max had anything to do with the murder or even the theft of my papers, but I honestly can't rule it out. I can't rule out anything anymore."
Wyatt took another puff.
"Did I tell you that Max moved his ships?"
"No."
"Well, he did. He moved them about the same time that Silas finally agreed to move ours," Wyatt said. "The Beck Atlantic fleet is now docked in Vera Cruz."
"That can't be a coincidence."
"I doubt it is. My guess is that if Max did not steal your papers, then he heard from the person who did. He has never before confined his vessels to a single port."
"It doesn't matter," Chuck said. "Even with all of his ships, he will never be able to get his hands on yours. You'll be able to run your company as you see fit."
Chuck started to ask a question about Hiram Fitzpatrick's will when Justin and Emily burst through the doors and stepped onto the deck. Charlotte and Anna followed closely behind. Chuck could see from the looks on their faces that something was wrong.
"We have a problem," Justin said.
"What's that?" Chuck asked.
"I left the crystal at the beach house."
Chuck sighed.
"Justin!"
"I forgot. I made a mistake. I'm sorry," Justin said. "The good news is that I can get it tonight. That last train to the island hasn't left yet."
"You stay right here. I'll get it."
"No, Dad, I'll get it. I moved it to a different hiding place, a very-hard-to-reach hiding place. You wouldn't be able to find it even with instructions."
"Then let me go with you," Chuck said. "Even if you catch the last train there, you won't be able to catch the last one back. It has already left Galveston."
"I know. Emily's folks are on it. It doesn't matter. I'll just catch the first train tomorrow morning. We both know there will be a train tomorrow. We read about it in one of the stories."
"I don't know, Justin."
"I do, Dad. Let me do this. There's no need to risk anyone else's safety," Justin said. "If it makes you feel any better, I'll call you when I get to the station. Then I'll call you again when I leave. Please let me go – and let me go alone."
Chuck glanced at Charlotte, Emily, and Anna and saw the concern on their faces. Emily looked like she had been crying. Anna simply looked lost.
Chuck knew the situation. If someone didn't retrieve the crystal before noon, when the first destructive waves hit the shore, the beach house and the crystal would be lost forever.
"He'll be all right," Wyatt said. "Let him go."
Chuck looked at Wyatt and then slowly returned his eyes to Justin.
"OK. If you have to go, then go. Go now. Get in, get out, and do nothing else," Chuck said. "I don't want to return to California without a son."
CHAPTER 70: JUSTIN
Galveston, Texas
Justin knew the second he hung up the phone that his quick and simple trip to Galveston was about to become long and complicated. Or at least it looked that way.
Emily had reported that Max and Isabella had not boarded the five-fifteen train to Houston. They hadn't answered her repeated calls to the house or to the Beck Atlantic office. Nor had they made any attempt to contact her.
So when Emily finally got the chance to talk to someone on the island, she asked for help. She asked Justin if he would kindly collect her stubborn parents and put them on a train.
Easy as pie.
Justin thought about his new mission as he exited Union Station and stepped onto the Strand. He didn't mind fetching the Becks, so long as they offered no resistance. He just didn't want to have to persuade them to do something they should have already done.
He thought about calling them first and then reconsidered. There was no need to disrupt their evening just yet. He had until eight the next morning to rustle them out of their house.
So he decided instead to take a circuitous route to Tenth and M. He opted to take one last stroll down Memory Lane before Mother Nature turned it to rubble.
Justin found many memories on the Strand itself. When he passed the café, he thought of the time Emily had given him a piece of her mind and the time she had given him a piece of her heart. When he passed the library, he thought of their first walk, their last walk, and every walk in between. The facility had been the starting point for a hundred pleasant strolls.
Then there was the state medical school. When Justin saw Old Red, he saw a young woman with dreams and an unquenchable thirst for life. When he turned to the campus green, he saw a bicycle built for two and a couple kissing under an oak tree. He saw two young people who had not yet decided to go their separate ways.
When he turned onto Tenth Street and started toward the beach, Justin once again lamented the unfairness of it all. Why did he have to choose between the time he loved and the woman he loved? No one else had to make that choice. Even Dear Old Dad got to bring home his girl.
Justin pushed Emily to the side and concentrated on the matters at hand. He had a gypsum crystal to retrieve and a couple to save – or at least coax out of their own house. He also had a hurricane to avoid. If he did nothing else on Saturday, he hoped to do that.
When he reached the intersection of Tenth and Church, Justin lifted his head and took a long look at a surprisingly tranquil September sky. The wild blue yonder was more mild than wild and still decidedly blue. A thin layer of white clouds that hung above the Gulf of Mexico like a frayed baby blanket provided the only contrast.
Justin didn't allow himself to be fooled. He knew the tranquil sky was nothing more than a mirage. Somewhere beyond the pleasing curtain of blue and white was a monster, a beast of unimaginable size and strength that would strike the city in hours and make its mark on history.
As he walked from one neighborhood to another, he tried to imagine what the businesses, schools, and houses would look like in twenty-four to thirty-six hours. Would the gingerbread houses sprinkled all over the city have a chance? Would the structures made of brick? Or would residents have to flee to the larger hotels and religious sanctuaries to survive?
Justin pondered the possibilities when he crossed Broadway and again when he reached Avenue M and turned east toward Eighth Street. A few minutes later, he opened the unlocked door of a structure he knew had seen its last full day. The beach house, his home for the past four months, would be driftwood by Saturday night.
After checking drawers, shelves, and cabinets for forgotten valuables, he walked to a corner of the room, lifted a loose floorboard, and stuck a hand in the space below. When he felt a nail he had placed on the ground, he pushed the nail aside, and began to dig with the hand.
He dug until he felt a small metal box. A moment later, he pulled the box out of the sandy soil and through the gap in the floor. He opened the box and sighed when he saw his ticket home. The blue gypsum crystal had not been disturbed.
Justin placed the gem in his jacket pocket and gave the residence one last look. When he saw a dirty plate on the dining table, he grabbed it, walked to the sink, and washed the dish. He put it back in the cabinet, atop a stack of other dishes, and closed the cabinet door.
Then he took a broom and swept small piles of sand and
breadcrumbs out the front door. He knew it was pointless – and arguably OCD-ish – to clean a doomed house, but he did it anyway. Everything deserved a dignified death – even a creaky old shack.
Justin exited the cabin, locked the door, and walked around the structure to a stretch of beach that was more rocks and weeds than sand. For several minutes, he did nothing but stare at the ocean. He noticed that the waves had become larger and more intense in just the past day. He didn't even want to guess what they would look like in twenty-four hours.
He started toward his next stop. A few minutes later, as darkness began to fall over the city, Justin reached the mansion at Tenth and M and gave it a quick inspection. With the shutters closed and the lights turned off, the residence appeared to be unoccupied.
Justin opened the gate and walked to the front door. He knocked twice. When he didn't hear any activity inside the house, he knocked again – harder – and announced himself with a shout. No one answered. No one answered when he shouted a second time.
He knew another round of knocks and shouts would probably be fruitless. Max and Isabella were undoubtedly pulling files at Beck Atlantic, visiting friends, or sleeping upstairs.
Deciding that he would rather damage a house than abandon a sleeping couple, Justin picked up a rock he found in the yard and threw it at an ornamental window that ran along the side of the door. He put his hand through the broken window, turned a knob, and opened the door.
Justin searched the first floor first. He entered every room, turned on nearly every light, and occasionally called out for Max and Isabella.
Justin found each chamber empty. No one occupied the dining room, the kitchen, or the living room. When Justin entered Max's study on the south side of the house, he found books on shelves and papers on desks but no shipping magnates in their chairs.
So Justin proceeded to the second floor. He ascended the steps, walked down a hallway to the master bedroom, and knocked on the door. When no one answered, he opened the door and stepped inside. He saw jewelry on a dresser and clothes in a closet but nothing to suggest that the Becks were either home or planning to leave town for a few days.
Justin did a cursory search of Anna's room and then moved on to Emily's. Just the sight of the latter was enough to trigger memories of love on moonlit nights and goodbyes that were more than just goodbyes. For the second time that day, he questioned whether he could actually leave Emily Beck. The answer was not as clear as he thought it would be.
When he finished searching a house that probably hadn't been occupied for several hours, Justin turned off all of the lights and headed for the front door. When he reached the entry, he saw a dozen pieces of glass on the floor and swept them to the side with his foot.
He considered cleaning up after himself, like he had in the cabin, but decided against it. The Becks would find evidence of a break-in no matter what he did and would soon have bigger issues to contend with than broken windows and glass on the floor.
Justin opened the door, closed it, and then walked briskly toward the sidewalk. When he reached the gate, he took one last look at the Gulf and noticed that it was as restless as ever.
He thought about where he should go next, decided that Beck Atlantic was the logical choice, and passed through the gate. He turned north and started to head up Tenth but didn't take five steps before he ran into a policeman with his gun drawn.
"Hold it right there," the lawman said. "Turn around and put your hands on top of the fence."
Justin did as instructed.
"It's not what you think, Officer."
"I'll be the judge of that," the policeman said.
The officer frisked him with one hand and then took a step back.
"Please empty your jacket pockets."
"I didn't take anything," Justin said.
"I won't ask again."
Justin reached into his empty left pocket and turned it inside out.
"Now, pull out the other."
Justin reached into his not-so-empty right pocket. When he slowly pulled out the lining, the blue crystal fell to the ground.
"It's mine, Officer."
The policeman picked up the stone and put it in his pocket.
"That will be for a judge to decide."
"You don't understand," Justin said. "I didn't take anything. I just went into the house."
"You broke into the house," the officer said. "That itself is a crime."
"You don't …"
"Don't say another word," the cop said. He handcuffed Justin. "You're coming with me."
CHAPTER 71: EMILY
Houston, Texas – Saturday, September 8, 1900
"You haven't seen him?" Emily asked in a panicky voice.
"No, dear, we haven't seen him," Isabella Beck said by telephone. "We haven't seen Justin since he came for you yesterday morning."
Emily closed her eyes and tried to wish away a headache. She couldn't believe that Justin hadn't stopped by the house. Then again, she couldn't believe her parents were still at the house.
"Listen to me, Mama. Listen to me carefully. You have to leave the house," Emily said. "You have to get to the train station as quickly as possible and get off the island."
"We can't do that now."
"What do you mean you can't do that now? Get Papa out of bed and go!"
"He can't move, Emily. He hurt his leg going up the stairs last night."
"I don't care if he broke his leg. You have to leave now! Call someone …"
Emily's stomach dropped when she heard a click. It dropped again when she tried to reestablish contact with her mother and was told by an operator that she couldn't.
Emily pounded the wooden side of the public telephone booth with a fist and stormed out of the station and onto a large platform, where Charlotte and Anna sat on a bench. She looked at an ornate clock that sat atop a tall cast-iron pole, noted the time of nine thirty-five, and reclaimed her spot on the bench next to Anna.
"Were you able to reach them?" Charlotte asked.
"Yes."
Emily frowned.
"What's the matter?"
"They haven't left yet," Emily said. "They haven't even left the house."
"What?"
"Papa hurt his leg."
"Oh, no," Charlotte said.
"I tried to tell Mama to call for help when we were disconnected."
"Can you call her back?"
Emily shook her head.
"No. I think the lines are down. They'll probably be down for the rest of the weekend."
Emily glanced at Charlotte and Anna and then put her face in her hands. She couldn't believe that her parents could be so naïve and reckless.
When she finally lifted her head and looked around the platform, she saw about thirty people gather near the side of a train that would soon leave for the island. She saw several others stand or sit in a waiting area. She did not see Charles Townsend or Wyatt Fitzpatrick.
"Where are the men?" Emily asked.
"They went to a store to get some supplies in case the storm knocks the power out. Charles said they would be back before the next train from Galveston arrives," Charlotte said.
"How do they know Justin will be on that train?"
"They don't."
"Have they even heard from him?" Emily asked.
"No. They haven't heard from him since last night."
Emily dropped her head again. The morning from hell had just become a little more hellish.
"What are they going to do if Justin's not on the next train?"
"I don't know," Charlotte said. She sighed. "I don't know."
Emily glanced again at the clock and saw that the big hand had moved five more clicks. She had less than five minutes to decide whether to do the unthinkable. When she saw a man run out of the station and make a beeline for a car near the front of the train, she got off the bench.
"Can you stay with Anna?" Emily asked.
"Can I what?" Charlotte asked.
"Can you st
ay with Anna?"
"Where are you going?"
"I'm going to Galveston. It's the only way I can be sure that my parents get out of the house. I don't have a choice now. This may be the last train into the city today."
"I want to go too," Anna said.
"No! You stay here."
"I think you should wait," Charlotte said. "Keep trying to reach your folks by phone. Or call the authorities and ask if they can help. It's much too dangerous to go there now."
"I don't have time to argue, Charlotte. Will you watch Anna?"
"Of course."
"If telephone service resumes, call my parents at the house. If you can't reach them, call the police. Tell them that my father is unable to leave the house on his own and needs assistance."
"What about you?"
"I'll be fine," Emily said. "I'll go to the house, get my parents if they are there, and at least take them to a place where we will all be safe. If the trains are still running, we'll take the first one back. Please tell the others that."
"I will."
"I want to go!" Anna said.
"No," Emily said. She dropped to a knee and looked her sister in the eyes. "I want you to stay with Charlotte. I will get Mama and Papa and bring them back. I promise."
Emily glanced at the clock. It was nine forty-three.
"Will you be a good girl for Charlotte?"
Anna glared at her sister for a few seconds and then reluctantly nodded.
"Thank you," Emily said.
Emily gave Anna a hug and a kiss, rose to her feet, and looked at Charlotte.
"I'll be back. Even if it's Sunday or Monday, I'll be back."
"I'll tell them," Charlotte said.
Emily smiled sadly at her former boss and then turned her attention to the train. The line of people waiting to board had dwindled to five. She ran inside the station, paid for a ticket, and then ran out the door to the last of six cars. The train had already started to inch its way forward.
With the help of a porter, Emily accessed the lowest step, climbed up two more, and turned around. She waved to her sister, who held Charlotte's hand thirty feet away, and then entered the back of the passenger car. With that, Emily Beck became the last person to leave mainland Texas for an island city that would soon be destroyed by the sea.
September Sky (American Journey Book 1) Page 31
