As Love Blooms (44 page)

Marjorie fired the pistol in his direction. It missed, and he kept going.

Tessa continued to hide her hands behind her back. “Listen, Marjorie, I know that’s a one-shot gun, and the way I see it, you’re two shots short of taking care of Reese and me. If I were you, I’d be hightailing it out of here before Clem and Albert take off with the ransom money and you never see a cent.”

Panic flickered in Marjorie’s eyes. She gave Tessa a final glare, hiked up her skirts, and bolted from the cave.

Tessa undid the rope around her ankles and hurried to Reese. She patted his cheeks and called to him. He groaned and slowly began to rouse.

“Reese?” Someone was calling for them. It sounded like Edward. Did she dare answer?

“Tessa, are you all right?” He entered the cave, picked up the shotgun Reese had been carrying, and looked at Reese. “Is he okay?”

“I think so.” How had Marjorie not seen the gun Reese had carried? God had indeed moved a mountain, but was she now facing another accomplice in Edward? Why else was he here?

She hated that he now had the gun. If he was on their side, she was in trouble again. “Did you see Marjorie?”

“I saw someone, but they weren’t on the path. I was trying to get down here to you. Reese said if I heard shots—”

She heaved a sigh of relief. He was with Reese. “Did Aunt Sam pay the ransom?”

He nodded. “She insisted. Listen, Tessa, I’m sorry for what I did.”

“Save it for later.” She pushed to her feet. “Stay with Reese. Is your car up top?”

“Yes, mine and Reese’s, but where are you going?”

“To catch the bad guys.”

About two-thirds of the way up the hill, it occurred to Tessa that she didn’t know how to drive an automobile, but how hard could it be?

She topped the bluff and scanned the area. Edward’s silver Underslung was nowhere to be found, but Reese’s white Model T remained parked. She started toward it, but the sun glinted off something shiny in the brush. Surely Clem had taken one of the motorcycles, but had Marjorie taken Edward’s car and left the remaining motorcycle? It made sense given how difficult it was to start a motorcycle alone.

She hurried over and nearly cheered when she saw the fender of the cycle. Perfect. This she knew how to drive.

She worked it free, mentally going over all that Edward had taught her. She remembered which lever turned the gas on and that
she had to pump the oil into the crank case. He’d said something about an oil dripper and two drops every so many seconds. She set it, hoping she guessed correctly.

Eyeing the belt that engaged the engine, she cringed. She was wearing a skirt today. She’d have to raise it to a scandalous degree. Oh well, it wouldn’t be the first—or the last—time she shocked someone.

She recalled that Edward had started the cycle the first time for her by spinning the back tire hard while it was still raised on the kickstand. After three tries, she gave up on that method. She simply wasn’t strong enough to give it a sufficient spin. However, riding down the bluff should certainly do the trick.

With her skirts raised to her knees, she climbed on and pushed the bike off the stand and began to pedal down the hill. To her great delight, everything worked as it should. The engine sparked, the belt tension engaged, and the machine roared to life. The smell of the exhaust was a sweet perfume. She twisted the right hand grip, pushing the throttle as far as it would go and the roads would allow.

Zigzagging through the streets, she hoped to make up some of the distance between her and Marjorie, but she had no idea what she’d do once they met up. She ignored the drivers who honked at her, and one time she had to swerve to miss a delivery wagon when she didn’t see him barreling through an intersection.

Nearly half an hour later, she reached Como Park. At least she knew where the rose garden was. She prayed that Marjorie was still wandering the footpaths. No bicycles, and especially no motorcycles, were allowed on the sidewalks, but some rules were made to be broken. Still, she had to go slow in case of pedestrians.

She spotted Albert, Clem, and Marjorie in the garden with a motorcycle a few feet away. Apparently she wasn’t the only rule breaker.

Since this path wasn’t wide enough for an automobile, she
guessed both the Ford that Albert had driven away and the Underslung that Marjorie had stolen were parked somewhere. So when the time came for them to leave, which crook would drive what?

They seemed to be fighting, all three crooks tugging on a satchel. Suddenly Clem turned toward her, and the gaze of the others followed. The rumble of her motorcycle must have alerted them. Why hadn’t she stayed farther back?

Albert yanked the satchel from Marjorie and climbed on the motorcycle behind Clem, leaving Marjorie no escape.

No! This couldn’t happen. After what they’d done to her and to Reese, she couldn’t let them get away. Not with Aunt Sam’s money.

Nerves pulled taut, she made a decision. It was now or never.

“Where’s Tessa?” Reese sat up and gingerly touched the knot on the back of his head.

Edward kept a steadying hand on Reese’s shoulder. “She went after Marjorie and the Henderson brothers.”

“Alone?” He moved too quickly and the cave tilted. His stomach fought to upend itself. He swallowed the bile in his mouth.

“She told me to stay and help you.” Edward gripped his upper arm. “And it looks like it’s a good thing she did. Besides, she’ll never catch them. She was at least fifteen minutes behind them.”

Reese stumbled to his feet. “Take me to her.”

“The only place you should go is a hospital.” He slung Reese’s arm over his shoulder.

“I’ll be fine.” Except that his head throbbed and he was seeing two Edwards. “Please, Edward, she needs me.”

They started for the cave’s entrance. “Tessa doesn’t seem like she needs anyone. She does quite well on her own.”

“It’s a charade.” Reese chuckled. “Mostly.”

“You sure you want her? She’s always going to be a handful.”

It hurt to smile too, but he did it anyway. “She sure is.”

If Clem and Albert were able to start their motorcycle, they’d get away. Excitement coursing through her, Tessa twisted the throttle and the motorcycle raced forward.

She intentionally clipped the front tire of the crook’s cycle, spilling the motorcycle and its riders. But now a planter loomed in front of her. She pushed the pedal backwards to stop her momentum.

Still, she was going too fast.

In a split second, her front wheel hit the planter, and she flew off the motorcycle and came down hard into a rosebush.

Whistles? Why was she hearing shrill whistles? Had she hit her head?

“You again!” The park officer loomed over her. “I should have known.”

Tessa struggled to get up, thorns digging into the tender flesh of her hands. She jabbed a finger toward the crooks. “Catch them!”

“
They
aren’t in a planter.”

“But they rode a motorcycle in
your
park!”

“Don’t worry.” The officer extended his hand and pulled her up. “My buddies have them, and you’re all going to jail. Look at these roses. This is a lot more serious than picking a few dead pansies.”

The other park officers handcuffed Clem and Albert. Both Marjorie and Tessa were marched back to the park office in the custody of an officer. None of the officers seemed interested in hearing the whole story. She’d need Reese’s help to get this sorted out.

Her heart grabbed. Was Reese okay? What if he’d needed more help than Edward could provide? Maybe she should have gone for Joel instead of chasing after criminals.

Would she ever learn not to be so impulsive?

The park officer came to an abrupt stop. Tessa followed his gaze, and a thrill shot through her.

Reese.

The park officer sighed when Reese approached. “Let me guess. You want me to leave her in your care.”

Reese picked a rosebush stem from her hair. “I certainly do.”

 37 

“Tessa, hold still!”

“I am perfectly capable of brushing my own hair.” Tessa yanked the brush out of Charlotte’s hand and stared at the image of herself in the dresser mirror. Scratches marred her skin, and dark shadows rimmed her eyes. She needed about two days of sleep, but every time she closed her eyes, she saw Albert or Marjorie hovering over her.

“But Tessa, honey.” Charlotte made a grab for the brush. “There are rosebush leaves and stems everywhere.”

“And there are thorn pricks and tears too.” Hannah pointed to the holes in Tessa’s dress. “I don’t think this one is salvageable.”

“I doubt if I’d ever wear it again anyway.” Tessa tugged a stick from the front of her dress. “Too many unpleasant memories.”

Charlotte gave up on the hair brushing and sat on the bed. “Can you talk about it?”

Tessa started at the beginning and relayed the story. To her surprise, neither sister interrupted or asked questions. They simply let her talk.

“You were so brave.” Charlotte took her hands. “I’m so proud of you.”

“And they’ll never hurt you again, Tessa.” Hannah plucked another stick from her dress. “Lincoln and Edward returned from the jail a little while ago. They said Marjorie, Clem, and Albert have
been charged with kidnapping. All three of them will be going to prison for a long time.”