“If she bought this house instead of rented it,” Shep continued, “she probably spent all her money. Besides, it’s been a long time since she left the Yukon. She had to have money to get down here and live all that time. She looks like she’s doing real good, so she’s probably spent it all.”
“I can’t imagine someone like Addie being able to spend a hundred thousand dollars. That necklace was said to be worth at least that.”
“Maybe she didn’t take it with her. I heard Sam had things locked up and hidden away in more than one place.”
Hiram was getting more irritated by the minute. “All right, let’s say she didn’t get out of Dawson with the necklace. She still had the money for Moerman’s place. I heard the lawyer paid her three thousand dollars. You only need a few hundred to live well for a whole year. In seven years, she’d need less than half of that to live. Especially since she’s not buying herself all sorts of fancy dresses and jewelry. If she worked the whole time—and if I know Addie, she probablydid—then she wouldn’t have to draw on that money very often. So even if she only has a few hundred dollars, that’s a few hundred more than we have.”
Shep nodded but looked as if he were still trying to work out all the math.
There was a sound outside, and Hiram grabbed Shep and pulled him into the bathroom. Someone tried the front door handle. No doubt the patrol was checking up on things. Hopefully they wouldn’t look in the window and see things thrown around. Shep had been none too careful with things, and stuff was strewn everywhere. Hiram had to admit he’d not done much better in the bedrooms.
They waited for a while, then Hiram peeked out the door. The bathroom was at the end of the hall that looked right toward the front door. It looked like whoever it was had gone.
“Let’s get out of here but take it slow. We’ll go out the front, but I’ll check first to see if I can see anyone roaming about.”
Thankfully, Shep didn’t argue. He waited in the shadows for Hiram to give him the sign to come. He did, and they were on their way soon enough. Hiram didn’t bother to relock the front door. If the patrol came by and found the place ransacked, so be it. Addie would no doubt call their attention to the place anyway.
He smiled to himself, wishing there had been something he could have left behind to let her know it was him. He’d visit her soon enough, he supposed, and it was nice knowing she’d be fretting over what had happened.
Addie had thought all day about what Pearl had said the night before. When lunchtime came, she made her way to the cottage and thought even more on how she might explain things to Isaac. She knew he’d tell her that what happened in Dawson City didn’t matter, just like Pearl had said. She wondered if that was really true. But she couldn’t get past what she knew of society. There were rules and expectations, and marrying a woman who had the kind of past Addie had was completely forbidden.
Isaac might not care, but his employers would. It would only take one person from the past showing up and remembering who she was to cause problems. Isaac just wouldn’t see that, and she couldn’t let him ruin his future when he’d worked so hard to get where he was.
Reaching her cottage, Addie felt the sense of something being out of place. She glanced around, but nothing seemed amiss. Even the lake was calm and clear. It was a beautiful day. But the closer she came to the front door, the more the hair on the back of her neck stood up.
She reached for her key and put it to the lock, but the door pushed open without need of unlocking. Addie froze in place, and the door swung back, revealing her ransacked house. Not thinking, she stepped inside and started to look around.
It was a shock to see it like this. Someone had come in and torn through everything. They had looked through her dishes and food, thrown things around as if it were nothing at all. Her books were scattered on the floor, and the chairs had been overturned as if the culprit had been looking for something specific.
She made her way to the bedrooms, starting with the guestroom first. There she found how the person entered the house. There was an open window and glass on the floor. With a trembling hand, she lowered the window and relocked it. Only after she’d done it did Addie realize it would do no good.
The room had been gone over in the same fashion as the rest of the house. She knew there was nothing of value for the robber to take. She owned nothing that could bring about much in a reselling situation. The only valuables she had were in a safety deposit box at the bank. She felt ill.
Making her way to her bedroom, Addie saw that the jewelry box had been emptied and thrown on the floor. She went to pick it up, but then heard footsteps on the porch. She grabbed the nearest thing she could reach for defense and hid behind the bedroom door.
Oh, God, she prayed in silence,please help me.
She heard the footsteps come ever closer and raised her hand to deliver a blow should the person or persons present themselves. The culprit stopped at the bedroom door.
“Addie?”
It was Isaac, and Addie let out a heavy breath, causing him to pull back the door. He looked at her for a moment, then followed her raised hand. His reaction was not what she had expected as he broke into laughter.
“Were you going to pummel me with your hairbrush or groom me?”
Addie looked at the object in her hand and realized her means of defense wouldn’t have taken her far. “Oh, Isaac, I was so scared. I came home, and my front door was open, and the place was like this.”
“You never should have stepped inside. The culprit mightstill have been here. You should have gone immediately for the police. Come on now. We’re going to go do that right now.”
She could hardly think.
Isaac reached for her hand and took the hairbrush. “We won’t need this.”
Addie felt her knees grow weak and started to sink to the floor. Isaac took hold of her at the waist and half dragged, half carried her to a chair in the living room.
“Here, sit for a minute. Try to rest and gather your composure.”
Glancing up, Addie shook her head. “What are you doing here?”
