She nodded and got him a glass of water. Whatever was eatingat him, Gary wasn’t at all himself. Perhaps he knew more about the fire than he was letting on.
Owen was awake long after he’d gone to bed. He couldn’t help but wonder what had actually set the hotel on fire. He remembered Herc being unhappy that Susanna wouldn’t go to lunch with him. Could he have done it to get back at her?
LeRoy had mentioned the casual way Susanna’s father acted about the entire matter. He hadn’t said much in front of Susanna, but when he and Owen were alone, he’d voiced his opinion without hesitation.
“I think Mr. Ragsdale and his son know more than they’re letting on,”he’d told Owen as they washed up for supper.“Mr. Ragsdale wasn’t all that interested when we sent someone to let him know the hotel was on fire. Mrs. Ragsdale was even worse. She actually said she hoped the place burned to the ground.”
Had one of the Ragsdales set the fire, hoping to eliminate their responsibility to run the hotel? Owen rolled onto his stomach, then raised up to punch the pillow into a more comfortable form. It would soon be time to get up, and he hadn’t slept a wink. He sighed and did his best to relax.
Susanna had been gravely concerned by the situation. She had worked throughout the day and evening to see that the hotel was put back in order. She’d obviously had nothing to do with the fire, but someone had deliberately set it, and that knowledge made Owen furious. They could have caused the entire block to burn down. Fires were nothing to play around with. San Marcial had lost a portion of the town just a few years back due to a fire.
When he opened his eyes again, it was just starting to lighten up outside. He checked his clock and found it was time to get up. He couldn’t have had more than two hours of sleep. Heyawned and sat on the edge of his bed. Today he had to decide what to do about Gary, but there still didn’t seem to be a clear resolution.
He dressed and headed over to the Harvey House rather than take time to make his own breakfast. He ordered a big meal, knowing he’d burn through the calories before lunchtime. While he ate, Owen contemplated what was to be done. He knew Gary was ill-suited to boilermaking and repair but couldn’t honestly say that he’d shown a proclivity toward anything else.
“Looks like you’re eating for an army,” Timothy Payne said, stopping by Owen’s table.
Owen looked up and nodded. “There’s plenty here, if you want to join me. Help yourself to the extra toast.”
“I believe I will. I came to get my thermos filled with coffee, but toast sounds good. They have the best strawberry jam. Just don’t tell Sylvia.” He grinned and took the chair opposite Owen. “I told her that her jam was better.”
When the Harvey Girl arrived, Mr. Payne handed her his thermos. “Fill ’er up, please, and put it on my tab.”
She smiled. “Mr. Payne, you don’t have a tab.”
“Well, maybe I should.” He grinned and flipped her a dime. Next, he took a piece of toast from the rack and slathered it with jam. “You looked troubled, Owen. What’s going on?”
“It’s a lot of things. I didn’t sleep well last night. There was a fire at the hotel, and I helped with that all day and into the evening. Then, when I tried to sleep ... well, there was a lot on my mind.”
“Such as?”
Owen wasn’t eager to discuss his concerns about the fire, so he focused on Gary. “I need to find another place for Gary Ragsdale.”
“I wondered how long you were going to keep covering for him.”
Owen swallowed some coffee along with the lump that hadsuddenly formed in his throat. He had never meant to let things go on as long as they had. “He’s a good kid. He wants to learn, but he’s never in his life had to be responsible. It’s hard to turn someone into a man overnight. His father and mother never prepared him for life. Not this kind of life, anyhow.”
Payne nodded. “I think you’ve gone above and beyond. There are other things we can try him at. He won’t just be fired.”
“I know. I think he’s worried about that happening, though. I think he feels that since I’m interested in his sister, I’ll go on overlooking his shortcomings. Then there’s the influence of the boomers. Those three he hangs around with haven’t helped him at all. They got him interested in playing poker and blackjack in the backroom games. Apparently he’s good enough that he’s won quite a bit of money.”
“That’s just their way of getting him good and hooked. They’ll convince him he’s some sort of card sharp, and he’ll end up losing all of his wages. And if he does happen to be good at playing, they’ll do what they can to recruit him to take advantage of others. I heard there’s even a bible of sorts that they pass around to those who work for them. It’s a book of tricks you can play in order to win big.”
Owen shook his head. “So much corruption in the world.”
“To be sure.” Payne got to his feet. “I tell you what. I’ll come by and relieve you of the need to fire Gary from your area. One of our parts runners left for California. Gary could take his place, and the work isn’t that hard—just finding the right part and takin’ it to the right person.” He smiled. “I’ll come for him as soon as I can this morning. That way it won’t have to come from you.”
“He’ll still blame me, I’m sure.”
“I can’t do anything about that.” Mr. Payne picked up his filled thermos. “A man’s gonna think what he wants. We’ll know the truth.”
But that was just it. The truth was that Owen didn’t wantto work with Gary any longer. He was dangerous and seemed unable to learn. Owen wanted him out of his area before someone got hurt ... or killed. Gary would know that the minute he looked into Owen’s eyes.
Owen sighed and pushed back from the table. Hopefully he could figure out some way to explain it to the boy.
14
Gary had barely started work when Mr. Payne showed up. He called them all together, then made an announcement. “I’m moving Gary to parts. One of our best men has headed off to California, and we need a replacement. I believe Gary would be perfect for the job, and there will be a small increase in pay.”
