But this was going to be their new version of normal now, because as soon as Yuri had dropped Rosalind off in Texas, he’d be moving to San Francisco for good.
Alexei pressed his palm to his breastbone. It didn’t seem fair that he should miss the hooligan so much.
“Not everyone was in Sitka,” Jonas continued, still answering Bryony’s question about the arrests. “And some of the officials and hunters who work for the ACC are only here in the summer. Warrants for their arrests have been sent to the various locations where they live, but we have no way of knowing if anyone else has been arrested yet.”
Alexei didn’t want to think about how long that list of people would be. They’d spent the past two days poring over the ledgers with Secretary Gray, researching each and every name. It seemed like the Caldwells had been willing to pay off anyone and everyone to keep their extra seal-harvesting efforts a secret. But what Jonas said was true, anyone in Sitka involved in falsifying the numbers was now sitting in the jail beneath the old governor’s mansion on Castle Hill, and that included Preston Caldwell and Marshal Hibbs.
“I’m just glad Mr. Caldwell is in prison. He should have been sent there years ago.” This from Ilya, the youngest sibling in their family. He was a child of their father’s second marriage. Half Aleut and half white, he hadn’t even been two when his parents died. Raising him had been one of the biggest reasons Alexei had left San Francisco and returned to Sitka—along with keeping the family’s businesses afloat.
“I don’t know that I’ll be able to rest easy until Simon Caldwell is in prison too,” Mikhail muttered. “I don’t like the fact that he’s gone.”
Jonas shrugged his broad shoulders. “A warrant for his arrest has been sent to Washington, DC. It’s only a matter of time before he’s either caught there or shows up back here, thinking he’s still the governor.”
“Yes, we’ll all rest easier once we know Simon has been arrested.” Evelina dropped her spoon into her borscht with a plunk, her gaze moving to Alexei. “But I think we should stop talking about the Caldwells, and Alexei should tell us about the letter that arrived in the mail today.”
Alexei tried to scowl, but he wasn’t quite sure he managed it. “There were several letters. Since when do you care about shipping-contract extensions?”
Evelina settled a hand over her growing stomach and glared right back at him. “I was referring to the letter written in a feminine hand.”
“Did Laurel write him?” Bryony’s eyes lit with excitement, and she turned his direction, her red braid swinging over her shoulder. “What did it say?”
“Let’s see. Does this make the third or fourth one you’ve received since returning from San Francisco?” Mikhail grinned at him.
“I hardly see why it matters.” Alexei wasn’t about to admit that it was, in fact, the fifth letter he’d received.
“So when do we get to meet this woman?” Jonas pinned him with his serious lawman gaze, one that had probably caused a couple dozen criminals to confess on the spot.
Alexei kept his mouth shut.
“Perhaps we should all take a trip down to San Francisco.” Mikhail shifted into a comfortable position on his chair. “To visit Sacha, of course. We’ll probably be expected to invite the Farnsworths to dine with us at that new hotel down there, which means we’d be forced to meet Laurel. What a shame.”
“Perhaps you should schedule your trip to start in a month or more, maybe you could go down there for Easter,” Alexei suggested.
Mikhail narrowed his eyes. “What are you up to?”
“Wait. Is Laurel coming here?” Bryony nearly dropped her water glass. “Is that why you want to send Mikhail away? Do we get to meet her?”
“Don’t tell me she’s going to be here for Easter,” Mikhail drawled.
Alexei smirked. “She’s aiming to arrive around the middle of March and stay through at least Easter.”
Evelina squealed, the sound so high-pitched he winced. “This is wonderful! Jonas, we have to come visit while she’s here.”
“Is there anything specific she wants to do while she’s here?” Bryony cut in. “Mikhail and I will have several weeks before we have to leave on our next expedition. I can’t wait to meet her.”
“Does this mean Alexei’s getting married?” Ilya plunged his spoon into his soup with a scowl.
“Yes!” Bryony and Evelina shrieked in unison.
Alexei resisted rolling his eyes. Barely. “No. It means I invited a friend for a visit.”
Jonas sent Ilya a wink. “They’ll be married before summer ends. Just watch.”
“They better not be,” Mikhail snapped. “I’ve been present at every single one of my siblings’ weddings so far. I don’t plan to miss Alexei’s.”
Inessa jabbed her spoon at Mikhail. “You weren’t at Kate’s.”
“And Alexei got an earful for it, allowing her to be married while I was on an expedition, believe me.” Mikhail sent Alexei a glare.
