JULY 8, 1927
SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA
For four days, I had gone back and forth between my lives in a quiet fog of anger and disappointment. After the frigate capture, I had hardly spoken to Marcus. I performed my duties on board theOcean Cursebut did little else. Whenever he entered the cabin, I found reason to leave it. I made sure I was asleep before he came in at night and lay in the cot with my back to the room until he was gone if I woke up before him. Every time our gazes met, I saw the pain in his eyes—yet I battled the compassion I felt for him, knowing he chose this lifestyle.
We would arrive in Nassau tomorrow. I was so anxious to meet my mother, I could think of little else in both 1727 and 1927. I didn’t even want to consider what might happen if she wasn’t there. Surely, someone would know where she had gone. Seeing her was all I wanted to focus on, since everything else in both my lives filled me with despair.
Alice still lived with us, despite my conversation with Andrew. She’d started to meet with my parents to discuss her skills and possible job opportunities, but it was taking longer than I wouldlike. The sooner she moved out of our house, the better. Every day she remained was a threat. But that only begged more questions. It didn’t make sense that she hadn’t revealed the truth to my parents.
Which was why I was on my way to the Saint Paul Police Department on that sweltering July day. If Andrew wouldn’t do something about Alice, then perhaps Thomas would. Alice had lived in Saint Paul before coming to our house. Maybe Thomas was privy to her situation and could help me persuade her to leave.
The Saint Paul Police Department had recently been moved to the Ramsey County Courthouse on Fourth and Wabasha Street. I left home after lunch and boarded the Hennepin Avenue electric streetcar. The open-air conveyance was sweltering, and the press of people made it worse. At Marshall Avenue I changed cars. This line ran from Minneapolis, across the Mississippi River, and into downtown Saint Paul where I made one more change at Selby Avenue.
The Ramsey County Courthouse was large and outdated, though it was still beautiful with a massive nine-story bell tower, steep roof, and detailed brickwork. The streetcar stopped right in front of the building, and I was happy to get off.
It took me a few minutes to find the police station inside the courthouse. I’d never visited Thomas at work and wasn’t sure how he would feel about me showing up unannounced, but this couldn’t wait until I saw him again. It could be weeks or months, and Alice needed to leave now.
The hallway outside the police station echoed with the tapping of my heels. A receptionist greeted me with a tired smile, and the busy office behind her was loud and chaotic. Dozens of police officers sat at desks doing paperwork, answering phone calls, or visiting over cups of coffee. There were people in plain clothing throughout the room, though it was hard to tell which ones might be criminals and which ones were there to make complaints or give testimonies.
“May I help you?” the receptionist asked me.
“Is Lieutenant Baldwin available?”
The woman looked me up and down with a critical eye. I was wearing a simple black-and-white-striped dress with a white wide-brimmed hat to keep the sun off my face. I had put a little rouge on my cheeks and lips before I left, not even enough for Father to complain.
“He left for the day,” a man said behind me.
Turning, I found Lewis entering the police station in uniform. For some reason, my heart started to hammer.
“Hello, Lewis.”
“What are you doing here?” He didn’t seem happy to see me, which was strange.
“I need to speak to Thomas. It’s rather urgent.”
He nodded his head toward the hall and opened the door for me to follow him.
We entered the hallway, and he walked several yards away from the station’s front door before addressing me. “Thomas isn’t here.”
“Do you know where he is?”
“I have a good guess.”
“Is he at his apartment?”
Lewis paused as he contemplated answering my question. Finally, he sighed and said, “I don’t think so. It would be a waste of your time to look for him there.”
“Where is he, Lewis?”
He frowned and crossed his arms. “What do you need from him? Can I help you?”
I clasped my purse in both hands and decided to trust him. “I need to speak to him about Alice Pierce. Andrew has done nothing to get her out of our parents’ house, and I’m starting to get worried that he won’t.”
“And you think Thomas can help?”
Shame warmed my cheeks. “I was hoping that he might have some dirt on her.”
Lewis’s mouth parted, and he lowered his arms, a teasing yet incredulous look on his face. “Caroline Baldwin. Would you stoop so low?”
