“I didn’t work in the brothel, although I lived there.” Addie put the milk on the side table. “But I was forced to be mistress to the man who owned the brothel.”
“I thought you married him.”
“I did. Eventually. I had no say in that either.” Addie couldn’t even look at Pearl.
Pearl took hold of her hands and held them tight. “Addie, what’s done is done. What happened in the Yukon was not your fault. Not even the tiniest part. And do you know what?”
Addie forced herself to look up and meet Pearl’s gaze. “What?”
“Even if you had chosen each and every thing that happenedto you—suggested you be that man’s mistress or even asked to work in the brothel—if you sought God’s forgiveness, you would have it.” Pearl reached up and touched Addie’s cheek.
“I know you hold God at a distance, fearful that He doesn’t really care about you—hopeful that He does. Addie, He does care. He wasn’t happy with what your brothers did, but like Joseph in the Bible, when his brothers sold him—God blessed him. And God has blessed you. You have a fortune in the bank. You have a good life and home of your own, and Addie, the man you have loved for so long is back in your life and still loves you. Tell him the truth. I don’t think it will change a thing if he’s the person you’ve related him to be.”
11
Hiram and Shep had the day off, and it seemed the perfect opportunity to go visiting. There was only one place that Hiram had in mind, and that was Addie’s cottage. He didn’t know whether or not she was working today, but it didn’t matter. If they showed up and she was at home—all the better. He was going to confront her sooner or later.
“Do you think she’s keeping the gold in her house?” Shep asked.
“Who can say? If I had a treasure like that, I’d keep it close.”
“What if she spent the money buying the house?”
Hiram hated it when Shep made sense. Most of the time he was as dumb as a stick, but even a broken clock was right twice a day, as their father used to say.
“I guess we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.”
He continued up the walk to Addie’s house. He had decided they would go as big and bold as could be. If she was there, so be it. If she was gone ... that was fine. Hiram had no problem figuring a way into a house. In fact, he’dalready decided that if the doors were locked, he’d break a window. He’d chosen a window that was more or less shadowed by a trellis of flowering plants. It wouldn’t be readily visible if the police should walk by checking for loiterers.
The doors were locked tight. Both the front and side. Shep started to complain, but Hiram shut him up with a glance. All of their lives Shep had been a whiner. He’d complained every step of the way to the Yukon, and very nearly every step leaving it. Of course, they’d been prisoners being transported to a prison on the edge of Vancouver. No one cared if they were comfortable. Shep made it clear to the guards that he was miserable, but that only served to bring more torment his way. Hiram told him to shut up and lay low, so the guards would leave him alone, but his younger brother couldn’t seem to understand the sense in doing so. Before they reached the prison, Shep had become a whipping boy for all of the guards.
“Stay here on the porch and knock.”
“But nobody’s in there.”
“I know,” Hiram declared, exasperation threatening to make him lose his temper. “But if you’re knocking, no one is going to hear glass breaking. So when I break the window to get inside, no one will be the wiser. Understand?”
Shep nodded and stepped closer to the door. “I understand.”
Hiram made his way around to where the trellis stood. He shimmied in between it and the house. The window was low, and Hiram checked to see if it was locked. It was. He picked up a rock and tapped the glass near the lock. He finally hit it hard enough that the glass cracked and broke. Hiram pushed pieces aside and unlatched the window.
He was in the house in a flash and made his way to the front door, where Shep waited. Opening the door, he practically dragged Shep in, then closed it again and locked it.
“Why are you locking the door, Hiram?” Shep looked confused.
“They have police patrolling the area, remember? They might come all the way up and try the door if they think there’s a good reason. Now stop asking questions and look for that necklace and anything else of value.”
They went in different directions, and Hiram ended up in Addie’s bedroom. He spied a jewelry box almost immediately and went to investigate. He found a little cameo pin and a couple of necklaces, but none of it was anything special. He knew the difference between cheap paste stones and real ones. To his eye, the fake ones didn’t hold a candle to the real. He didn’t know why it was so clear to him, but the couple of times he’d been challenged, Hiram had been able to tell the difference. One of his old friends said it was a God-given gift, but Hiram doubted God had ever given him anything.
He was disappointed that there was no evidence of the gold-nugget necklace. He could still see that monstrous thing hanging around Addie’s neck on the night of her birthday party. Those gold nuggets had been smoothed out a bit and shined to perfection. They encircled her neck, begging to be touched. Hiram intended to have that necklace. Of course, he wouldn’t keep it, but he did intend to have it.
He searched through the rest of the room, and when he reached the night table, he saw something sticking out from the doily that sat under the lamp. He reached for it andfound a tintype and a postcard. Both held the image of Isaac Hanson. Hiram tossed them aside.
The brothers continued to search through the house, but Addie had nothing of value. This started to really concern Hiram. She didn’t even have a silver set for coffee or silverware for dining. The dishes were plain and serviceable, nothing fancy at all. Her clothes were nothing special.
“I’ve gone through everything out here, Hiram. I’m thinkin’ she don’t have money anymore. Besides, why would she work if she had money?”
“Maybe she likes being busy,” Hiram said, glancing around the room. He hated to admit that Shep might be onto something, but it wasn’t looking good.
