Chapter Twenty One

Melissa, who stood at the edge of town, started walking slowly down the boardwalk. The visit from Heath the night before was playing itself over in her head for what felt like the thousandth time.

Heath and Melissa sat on the porch of the two bedroom home she was renting from the Barkleys. Heath had just finished telling her what the hotel owner had told them. She shocked Heath when, after a moment of silence, she said, "You said the hotel owner said she checked in alone. If that's the case, she is by herself. She never checks into a hotel without a 'companion'," she rolled her eyes, "if she's has any sort of help. Which means there's a sure fire way to get her to make a move."

Heath, who didn't doubt that his fiancée knew Miss Lindon well enough to know what would grab her attention, found himself more than uneasy. He might not have felt that way only he would bet his last dollar this 'sure fire way' meant putting Melissa in more danger than he'd like to. "What is that?" He asked cautiously. Sure enough, as she began explaining, Heath hit the roof.

"NO!" He jumped to his feet only to have Melissa rise and put her hands gently on the front of his shoulders.

"You and your brothers, and anyone else you want, could be watching-just not to the point where it's obvious you're doing such a thing." She sighed and shook her head. "I know Miss Lindon. If we don't make an 'obvious opening' quickly, she'll hire someone-and then we'll have a real mess on our hands. This way, we can get things over quickly." Melissa wondered if she really had to add the fact that she wanted the matter taken care of before his stepmother and Rachelle came back to Stockton. She didn't.

Heath pulled her close and admitted something he very seldom confessed to. "I'm afraid." He ran his hand over her head and down it, resting his hand on her back afterwards. "I don't want you hurt, or worse yet killed."

Melissa laid the side of her head against his chest. "Some nightmares seem to last forever, but this one won't…IF we draw her out tomorrow. Don't ask me how I can be so sure, I just am."

Heath might have argued only he was shocked to have the same impression come over him. Still, he hesitated. Finally, he nodded and consented to go along with her idea. "I'll talk to my brothers the moment I get home; I don't care what time it is."

Melissa kept her eyes wide open. There were a lot of men and women walking the streets of Stockton-or riding through on their horse or in their buggies. By the time she reached the last store on Stockton's Maine Street, she couldn't help but wonder if she'd been wrong. What if Miss Lindon wasn't watching for her quite yet? Melissa couldn't help but wonder how long she'd have to walk the streets of Stockton before the woman made her move. Though, not wanting to make it obvious she was trying to get Miss Lindon to make an appearance, Melissa entered the store. She wasn't surprised to see McColl looking at some tools. She made her way over to a nearby table full of cloth.

"Any sign of her yet?" McColl mouthed to her.

"No," Melissa mouthed back as she picked up a roll of material. As long as she was in the store, she might as well buy something she could use. Soon she had a few yards of material and was exiting the building-but not before McColl had left and crossed the street. Once he was on the other side, Melissa stepped outside and started walking back down the boardwalk. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Nick down the street visiting. She wasn't quite sure where Heath was only she had no doubt he had her in his view. She found herself anxious more than ever; she simply wanted this over with. Had she known the moment she walked out of the store Miss Lindon, who had been standing next to the window of her hotel room, had seen her. And…just as Melissa had said, flown to the door and hurried down the stairs-but no so fast as to attract any attention.

"My luck has just changed!" The woman told herself excitedly as she slipped down the hallway and out the back door. The whole time she was remembering how close she had come to making thousands of dollars off Mr. Glover. After all, she had agreed to supply him with young workers, slowly, one at time. That way he'd have the help he needed and no one would be any the wiser when it came to the orphans. After all, boys and girls ran away from the orphanage on more than one occasion. By the time she entered an alley and got close enough to the front-without actually stepping into the open, Miss Lindon was more than eager to have a go at the young woman who had-in her eyes- ruined it all.

While she could not see Miss Lindon in the alley she was approaching, Melissa found her hair standing on the back of her neck. 'It's her. She's around here somewhere." Melissa thought as she quickly looked around. While she could not see Jarrod or McColl, she was relieved to see Nick and Heath in front of the one of the office buildings, along with a few other men scattered through the town. She couldn't help but smile just a little. "At least we're not unprepared…" However, she never finished the thought as she stepped in front of the alley.