I couldn’t understand why time-crossing would be at fault. I needed to know more. “When was her other time?”
“I don’t know, just that it was in the future. She never told me.”
“What did she tell you about it?”
“Just that she lived two lives.”
“Why would she tell you?”
“To try to make me understand.”
I lifted my hands. “Understand what?”
“Why all of it happened!”
My heart pounded as silence filled the room after his explosive words.
With a sigh, Sam put his face in his hands. “It doesn’t matter anymore, Miss Adams.” He lowered his hands and met my gaze. “Bess and Paddy had an affair, my brother caught them, and I was in the wrong place at the wrong time.” He lifted his finger and showed me theMbranded there. “Do you know what this means?”
I shook my head, trying to catch up to him. Bess and Paddy?
“It means I’m a marked man, too. Bess was marked as a time-crosser, and I am marked as a murderer.”
My breath caught.
He wrapped his hand around his mug and stared at the table. “I went to the penal colony in New South Wales, Australia, because I was convicted of murdering my brother.”
Without another word, he stood and left the kitchen as I stared after him.
Instead of finding answers, I’d only found more questions.
8
September 1, 1929
Hollywood, California
Even the Hollywood Public Library, usually one of my favorite places to visit, couldn’t distract me from the things I’d learned—or hadn’t learned—about Sam Kendal yesterday. I walked to the back of the building, where the large tomes on California history were kept, trying to convince myself that I was doing the right thing. Mama, Grace, and others had warned me that searching for answers in my other path was never a good idea. But I needed to understand what had happened and why Bess had changed history. What did Sam mean when he said it was her time-crossing that had caused all the heartache in her life?
More than anything, I wanted to ease Johnnie’s suffering, but to do that, I needed to understand Bess better. After returning to the bedroom the night before, I had checked to see if Johnnie had a time-crossing mark on the back of his head or chest and was thankful to discover he did not. It would have made it harder to help him if he had another life.
“May I help you?” the librarian asked as she approached with a smile. Her expression changed to one of surprise. “Miss Bennett! How nice to see you here. I’m Miss Clampett, the new librarian.I’ve heard from the other staff members that you’re a frequent patron. It’s an honor to meet you in person. I’m a fan of your movies, especially the ones with historical significance, likeAnnie Oakley. I’ve heard that you’re makingLittle Women! I think it’s marvelous how your studio focuses on culturally significant content, unlike the others, who are producing so much filth.” She’d said everything without taking a breath.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you.” I wished I could avoid being recognized in public, but it had been a lifelong experience in this path and I’d grown used to it. “I’m looking for a book about San Francisco in the early days of the gold rush—specifically about the Sydney Ducks in Sydney Town.”
She frowned as she looked over the titles. “I believe we have something here about those days, though I’m not familiar with the Sydney Ducks. Is that what you called them?”
“Yes. They were driven out of San Francisco in 1851, so they weren’t there for long. They were a gang of criminals.”
I hoped there would be something about Sam, but I was almost afraid to learn the truth. He’d admitted he was a convicted murderer, and that was why he had anMbranded into his thumb. Yet, most of the other men at Bess’s funeral had been branded on their faces. What was the difference?
“I’ve done a little research on the gold rush,” Miss Clampett said as she pulled a leather-bound book from the shelf, “but I don’t know as much as I’d like. Perhaps this will be helpful to you.”
The book was titledTheAnnals of San Francisco, published in 1855.
“This is a wonderful primary-source book,” Miss Clampett said. “Written by men who were part of the colonization of San Francisco. Hopefully you’ll learn what you need from here.”
I took the book, then ventured to ask, “Is there a book calledGold Rush!written by Cole Goodman? Or any book written by him?”
