My heart was beating hard, and I tried not to sound nervous. “He’s wondering if he can take me out for ice cream.”
Mother beamed, but Father didn’t look pleased.
“Fine,” Father said, “but you’ll need to be home early.”
“Is the invitation for both of us?” Irene asked, her hands on the back of her chair as she waited.
I didn’t want Irene at the Wabasha Caves when I met my time-crossing mother. After taking her to the Coliseum, I’d had enough trouble explaining Thomas and Alice’s relationship. How would I explain knowing Annie?
“I’m sorry,” I said. “The invitation is for me only.”
Her shoulders fell, and she turned around in her chair to face away from me.
“I’ll see you soon,” I said to Lewis and then hung up the receiver.
I didn’t bother to take my seat, since I was no longer hungry.
“I think I’ll go up and get ready,” I said to my parents. “Lewis will be here soon, since we’ll need to be back early.”
“Have fun, dear,” Mother said. “We’ll keep Irene entertained this evening.”
I felt horrible about Irene as I rushed up the stairs, but I had other things to worry about tonight. It was one thing to visit the Coliseum Ballroom, which was rumored to be a speakeasy, and another to visit the caves on Wabasha Street, which did not pretend to be anything other than a speakeasy. I’d never been there, but Lewis had told me stories of secret caverns, dark corners, and dangerous meeting rooms.
If anyone saw me at the Coliseum, there would be whispers and speculations. If someone recognized me in the caves, there would be no question why I was there.
None of it mattered, though. If this was my last chance to speak to Annie, I would risk it all.
Lewis was quiet as we drove from Minneapolis to Saint Paul. He’d greeted my parents and Irene before whisking me away, apologizing to Irene that he couldn’t take her along. I’m certain my cousin was confused, since it was the first time we’d failed to include her.
“I’ll have to find a way to make it up to Irene,” Lewis said as we drove over the Franklin Avenue bridge across the Mississippi River.
“I was just thinking about her, too. I would have invited her, but I would have no way to explain.”
“I had the same thought.” I could hear the regret in his voice. “I’ve enjoyed getting to know her the last few days.”
I glanced at him in the dying light, trying to read his thoughts and wondering if he was falling for my pretty cousin.
“I want you to be careful, Carrie,” Lewis said. “There will be some dangerous people there tonight, but I didn’t ask Thomas to come this time. It’s best if we try to blend in. I want you by my side at all times, even if that means you have to speak to Annie in front of me. Do you understand?”
“I do.”
As we drove down Wabasha Avenue, my mind spun with possibilities. Lewis had told me that the caves were man-made, dug out of a large sandstone hill by Frenchmen fifty years ago for a mushroom farm. They’d been closed for a while and then recently reopened as the Castle Royal.
We pulled into the parking lot, and I was surprised to find that the entrance to the caves was covered by a brick façade that looked like a castle built into the hillside. It even had fake battlements, stained-glass windows, and a dormer.
“How do you know Annie will be here?” I asked Lewis as he parked the Chevy.
“She was at the Green Lantern today,” he said. “My informant learned she was coming here tonight to meet with an old gang member who has moved to Saint Paul, and then she and Lloyd are planning to head out tomorrow. Are you ready to meet her?”
“I’ve crossed two centuries for this meeting,” I said. “I’m ready.”
We left the Chevy and walked toward the Castle Royal. I’d chosen to wear something simple so my parents wouldn’t get suspicious. It was a plain yellow dress, with no frills or embellishments, though I had worn a string of pearls and a white cloche hat.
Lewis opened the door and allowed me to enter ahead of him.
The first room was small, and the sandstone ceiling was low. A coat-check girl took Lewis’s hat and told us to head to the right where we would pay a cover charge.
Music drifted through the caves, and the sound of laughter and loud voices echoed in a haunting cadence.
