“Do you believe her?” he asked his father with a touch of skepticism and a bit of hope.
“The resemblance. The photograph. The necklace…which she left here.” Bill pointed to the jewelry case on the coffee table. “It’s true. She is my niece…and your cousin.”
And then there were all those family tales about Maggie Fuller returning one day. Billy had never put much stock into the old legends, but Rio didn’t just look like Maggie—she was an exact replica. He’d heard about people resembling an ancestor, but this was different. If he didn’t know better, he knew they’d swear the portrait of Maggie was actually a painting of Rio.
Once word got around about his new cousin, the girl would probably be elevated to sainthood. When that happened, somebody was bound to get hurt.
CHAPTER 5
RIO RETURNED to her motel room. At this point, there was nothing else she could do. She’d played her card and now she had to wait. That was the hardest part of all, waiting for her mark to make the next move.
She knew they’d respond accordingly. They had to. Bill believed she was his niece. She’d seen that in his eyes, saddened by the news of his sister’s death. And then there was that chick in the painting. Maggie Fuller. What was up with that anyway?
Rio had realized when Turner hired her that she resembled Maggie. She’d seen that in the faded and worn photograph. That’s the sole reason she got the job. But when she saw that painting of Maggie on the Tajan’s dining room wall, it was as if she’d seen a ghost of herself.
And the warrior in the other painting—Maggie’s lover—Rio couldn’t get him out of her mind. Oh sure, he was a handsome enough fellow, but it was more than that. When she looked into his eyes, she felt as if she knew him from somewhere. Or maybe she would’ve liked to have known him.
Yep, it’d been a really long time since she’d been this attracted to someone. And wouldn’t you know it? It had to be a guy that had lived more than a hundred years ago.
There was a knock at the door, but it didn’t startle or surprise her. She pushed herself up from the bed and headed for the window. “Story of my life,” she said of the deceased warrior.
Rio peeked through the curtains. Billy Tajan. She smiled and opened the door.
He gave her a sheepish grin. “I hope you don’t mind that I dropped by without calling.”
“It’s okay.” She tilted her head and shrugged. “You want to come inside?” she asked, taking a step back.
Billy entered the room carrying the jewelry case with the turquoise necklace. “My father asked me to return this to you.” He offered it to her. “He says he appreciates the gesture, but the necklace is yours.”
“Your father should keep it.” She backed away. “I’m sure it means more to him than me.”
“You’re probably right,” he said. “But my dad can be a pretty hardheaded guy sometimes.” He laughed softly. “He’s not going to take no for an answer. So you might as well keep the necklace.”
When she blatantly refused the jewelry case he laid it on the table.
Rio had left the necklace at the Tajan’s on purpose. But she didn’t do it to win points. She was simply trying to give it back.
The look on Bill’s face when he opened the case and saw the long lost necklace had tugged at her heartstrings. That, and something she couldn’t explain, urged her to leave it there and return it to its rightful owners.
After all, it wasn’t really hers. She was just a con who’d been hired to do a job.
Rio sat down in one of the two chairs at the small table. Billy claimed the other.
“You know,” she said. “I envy you.”
“Why?” He pushed the jewelry case across the table toward her.
“Because you know the heritage and I don’t.” She pushed the case back.
In order to pull this off, Rio had to pretend like she really was Audrey Tajan’s daughter. And Audrey’s daughter would be trying to let the reality of the situation sink in. Audrey’s daughter would have a ton of questions about her Indian heritage and her obvious resemblance to their ancestor.
She was halfway there. Relative or not, her curiosity had piqued regarding the resemblance between herself and Maggie Fuller. She also fancied the idea of being tied to such a close-knit family that had this incredible history. She found the Tajans’ ancestry fascinating.
“Up until my mother died, I didn’t even know there was any Indian blood in me,” she said with a shrug. “She always told everybody she was Hawaiian.”
“Lord knows, I’ve had the history shoved down my throat more than a few times.”
Billy Tajan couldn’t get far enough away from his white ancestry to suit him. It was the curse that he alone had been forced to bear. No one else in the family had been obliged to walk around, day in and day out, with white skin. Every time he looked in the mirror he was reminded of the legacy that he alone had to endure.
Maggie Fuller and her lust for the white man’s dollar had been the cause of Tajan’s death. That’s the way it was in Billy’s eyes.
But now that Rio had shown up, he was no longer alone. Finally, there was someone else to share his burden. Oh sure, he’d been a little reluctant to believe her at first. But his father believed her. And who was he to throw skepticism into the mix?
Billy had quickly decided to trust his father’s instincts; something he’d learned to do a long time ago. A practice that, so far, had not failed him.
“It sounds like a fascinating tale.” Rio’s tone, she hoped, was encouraging enough to get him to talk about the star-crossed lovers.
“Well...I guess I could fill you in,” he said. “If you’d like.”
“If you don’t mind,” Rio said. “I’d love to hear the story.” If he was willing to share the tale with her, she wanted to hear it. She was eager to hear more about the warrior.
“Okay. To make a really long story short…our third great grandmother Maggie Fuller was white. She and her sisters, Mary and Molly, lived in central California with their grandfather.” He paused, catching his breath, and then continued on. “The girls were notorious bank robbers. Yes, it’s true. After the Comstock Lode was discovered in 1859 they decided to come up here and cash in.” Billy seemed less than enthused as he relayed the family’s history, Rio’s interest amplified. “They went up to V.C. and high-jacked a bunch of gold and silver as it was being shipped out. Well, at least that’s the way the story goes. Nobody can agree on how much gold and silver they stole though.” Billy laughed it off. “It’s supposed to be buried around here… somewhere...because legend says they never got the chance to go back and get it.”
Well now, this was becoming more and more interesting by the minute. Billy Tajan was telling her the same story that Turner had. Was it possible? Was there really a treasure? “Do you believe it?” She kept her tone calm, an amazing feat considering her heart felt like it was going to pound out of her chest. “About the treasure being buried around here somewhere?”
“My father believes it,” he said, but he didn’t sound convinced. “He has half a map that was allegedly created by Maggie herself. It’s supposed to lead to the treasure.” Billy rolled his eyes and kept his laughter to a minimum.
Rio tamped down the urge to leap up and grab her briefcase. It had to appear like she was thinking over her options. She let out a soft moan as she leaned over and grabbed the red leather attaché propped against the nightstand. She set it on her lap and unzipped the top. Digging around in her briefcase, she came out with the small leather case that she’d gotten from Turner. She opened it and pulled out the folded map.
She avoided direct eye contact but peeked at him with a stealthful eye. He looked like he was buying her ruse. Good.
“I found this in my mother’s things,” she said, handing it to Billy.
He took it, but made no move to unfold the faded and worn document. “What’s this?”
“Till now, I wasn’t really sure.” Rio returned her briefcase to the floor and le
aned back in her chair. “But now I think it’s half a map.”
What the... Billy opened it up and stared at it. This made absolutely no sense. “How did Audrey get a hold of this?” he asked, for his own benefit more than Rio’s.
“Beats me.” She sounded bored. “I didn’t even know it existed until after she died.”
“We need to show this to my dad.”
Billy and Rio went back to his parents’ house, where they showed Billy’s father the document. The senior Tajan retrieved his partial map from its secret hiding place and lined up the two. They were a perfect match.
“Can you read it?” Billy’s outlook had gone from skeptical to hopeful.
Bill studied the map, and after a brief bout of silence he started shaking his head. “It makes absolutely no sense at all.”
The map was full of hand-drawn, unmarked roads and trails and had no visible landmarks whatsoever.
“We just haven’t figured out how to read it yet.” Finally Rio had found some optimism.
“Do we want to figure out how to read it?” Billy asked. If they did that then he’d feel compelled to go find its treasure—if there was indeed one.
“Do you believe the treasure is real?” Rio asked Bill.
“Yes I do,” Bill said in a tone that Billy only heard when his father’s mind was made up.
“Well then…” Rio said. “I say let’s go find it.”
CHAPTER 6
TURNER ATKINS wasn’t the nicest or the most upstanding guy around. By all outside accounts, he was a seedy character who was most likely always up to no good. This particular instance was no exception.
He didn’t care what people thought of him. He hadn’t gotten where he was by being a doormat. All that mattered to Turner was that people, in general, were afraid of him because that meant he was in charge. And damned if that little spitfire—she was anything but. Turner didn’t like it. It wasn’t right. Some little two-bit con thinking she could play ball with the likes of Turner Atkins.
Inside his Vegas office, Turner was on the phone barking out orders. “Put a tail on her,” he said. “If Timmons is right about her…I don’t want to find out about it after it’s too late.”
CHAPTER 7
BILLY WAITED beside Rio while she unlocked the motel room door. “So,” he said, as she opened the door and went inside. “You really want to do this?” he asked, following her in.
“Damn straight I do.” She tossed her keys on the table.
“This could take some time, you know. We don’t even know where to look.” He let his thoughts ramble out. If he justified it then he wouldn’t look like a weirdo when he extended an invitation to his newfound cousin. “So why don’t you check out of here and come stay at my place?”
Rio studied him with odd curiosity lighting her eyes.
“I have an extra bedroom you can use,” he assured her. “You are family, after all.”
“Okay...” The word lingered on the air. “But on one condition.” She sat down at the table. “You have to make that short story really long.”
“You’re fascinated by him, aren’t you?” That’s the way it seemed from his vantage point.
“Just curious.”
“Well then—” He didn’t put much stock in her reply. “—you’d be the first woman that wasn’t.”
At Billy’s house, he led Rio down the hallway and stopped at the doorway to the extra bedroom. “It’s not much, but it’s free.”
“My kind of place.” Rio’s smile turned on at half pressure.
He gave a little chuckle and set her bags down inside the doorway. Billy made no move to enter the room. “You’d better get some rest,” he said. “We’re going up to V.C. tomorrow.”
“Virginia City?”
“Yes, Virginia City.” He flashed a quick smile and turned away.
“Goodnight…” She watched him disappear down the dimly lit hallway. Rio backed into the room and closed the door.
She lay down on the bed, curled up and stared off into space. Times like these, most any of her childhood memories could resurface and become so vivid, as if it had happened only yesterday. The memory that came creeping out this time happened when she was about six years old.
She was hiding in her room and she could hear her parents arguing. Their yelling had scared her.
The sound of her mother’s voice had come crashing through the walls. “You and that kid. You’re both driving me nuts!”
Rio’s father’s voice held a commanding tone, but it wasn’t nearly as boisterous as her mother’s had been. “Abby, lower your voice. She’ll hear you.”
“I don’t care if she does.” Abby blurted out her contempt. “She’s so stinking needy. You’re both so damned stinking needy!”
Rio hadn’t moved from her place on the bed, except that maybe she’d drawn up into more of a fetal position. She was still staring off into space, and tears had trailed over her face like miniature rivers.
CHAPTER 8
RIO HAD NEVER allowed any man other than her father to drive her Corvette. That car was her baby. But she gladly turned over the keys to Billy. He knew the area better than her, and it was a great way to gain his confidence.
“I can’t believe you’re letting me drive.” There was a heady and exhilarating quality in his voice.
“Well, you know the area better than me.” She played it off as logic. “And besides…” She gave him a gentle smack on the arm. “I trust you.”
Rio marveled at how the town of Virginia City was still preserved in all its glory. Had it not been for the power lines and vehicles lining the streets, she might have thought she’d stepped back in time.
There was something eerie about the place. If she really thought about it, this was the same sidewalk people had been rambling along for more than a hundred years. Tourists still entered the same shops, saloons and hotels that the miners, shopkeepers, and less than desirable folks frequented back in the day.
She could easily see the most levelheaded people swearing they’d felt a cool, brisk nudge bump up against them as they ambled along the town’s vintage wooden sidewalks, even though was no one there.
That gave her the willies.
Billy parked the car in front of an old saloon that’d been converted into a gift shop.
They exited the car and strode up to the wooden sidewalk, merging into the flow of tourists milling along the city’s storefronts. They’d all come to visit the nation’s largest historical landmark.
Passing by the Delta Saloon, a chill shivered through Rio. She tried to shake it off and something inside her unraveled. Her shoulders shook.
“The Suicide Table reaching out here and grabbing hold of you?” He teased her with an elbow to the side.
Rio stopped. “What?”
He gestured toward the saloon in a grand way. “The fabled Suicide Table.”
“You’re joking.” She rolled her eyes over to him. “Right?”
He pointed a single finger upward, and a sly smile curled on his lips as his eyes shifted upward. Rio’s gaze followed his to the sign hanging above their heads advertising the now-famous Suicide Table.
Billy told her all about how the historical object, back in its day, was nothing more than a faro table. Over the years, many versions of the misfortunes the card table bestowed upon gamblers had grown into full-fledged legends.
“You want to go see it?” Billy asked with an eager grin.
“It’s just a stupid old table…” Rio was starting to feel a little freaked out, but couldn’t understand why. She needed to remain indifferent. And she would, even if she had to put on a front. “What’s so great about that?”
She took a couple of steps away from him and he followed her. “You know…” He taunted her with a nudge. “They say that anybody who’s ever owned the table has taken their own life after losing their entire fortunes.” He enjoyed stretching the truth. In all actuality, it was only three of the previous owners that had met an untimely demise a
t their own hands.
“Well...” she said, her voice oozing skepticism. “The current owner seems to be fairing okay.”
They made their way along the wooden sidewalk; Billy couldn’t resist the temptation to tease her a little more. “You know…there’s ghosts all over the place up here.”
“Nuh-uh.” Her disbelief seemed to freeze her features into a scowl.
“Sure there is.” He pointed to the Silver Queen, a hotel and saloon, just ahead of them. “Take this place up here, for instance.” He nodded. “There was this girl, and she was pregnant and unmarried.” They stopped in front of the saloon while he weaved his tale. “When she realized her lover was not going to make an honest woman of her...” Billy fell silent while his eyes drifted up to the second floor. “She killed herself in one of those rooms up there.”
Rio gasped. “That’s a terrible story.” She didn’t know why, but she was bothered by the thought of some poor girl being abandoned by a shady lover. She scrutinized Billy for a moment and then decided, “You made that up.” She spun on one heel and continued on.
“It’s true.” He followed after her with mischievous laughter echoing from his throat.
Rio and Billy happened upon one of those photo shops that take the old photographs. A twinge of familiarity brushed past Rio. “Hey…” She grabbed his arm. “Let’s go get our picture taken.” The desire had come from out of nowhere, but she dragged him inside with an eager enthusiasm that she couldn’t explain.
In no time, Rio had dressed up like a saloon girl of the old west. The costume was sexy. She looked good in it and she knew it. Parading through each room, she wandered around until she found the saloon backdrop.
She hopped up on the bar and struck a pose. Billy sauntered through the doorway and strode across the studio, wearing a cowboy hat and holding a bottle of Jack. He leaned against the banister and nuzzled up next to her, resting his free hand on his holstered gun.
Forgotten Soul (Soul Searchers Series: Book 1) Page 3
