January 8

Rosemary couldn't contain the shakes that had settled upon her body the moment the man had mentioned Kirill's name. She held her arms close, trying to calm herself, when Dottie opened the door, noticed her condition, and rushed to her side.

"Goodness sakes! What on earth happened?" Dottie ran to her side and dropped her satchel on the floor. Dottie's gentle fingers rested upon her brow and then skittered to her pulse.

"Oh Dottie, it was simply horrendous! A rough type of fellow came in here moments ago, looking for his order, and for you. He was definitely strange, and threatening. He was none too happy when I refused to give him his order."

Dottie's face drained of all color. "His order? He's a customer?"

"Goodness, I hope not. I've never seen him before. He was a dreadful, rough type of man."

"Did he say what he wanted?" Dottie twisted her hands together, back and forth.

"No, I just thought he had a suit ordered or a shirt in for repair. But he acted as if…"

"Go on."

"As if he was here for something else."

At this, Dottie collapsed into the other chair at the worktable.

"Oh dear…." Dottie lifted her hands to her temples.

"And he mentioned his boss, Kirill. He's another shady character I just came into contact with this last week."

"Kirill?" Dottie's eyes went wide, and if possible her face went even whiter. "That's a name I never wished to hear again."

"Dottie, what ever is going on?"

"Kirill is a name from my husband's past. I am not sure exactly of my husband's involvement with him, but all I know is Silas lived in complete fear that the man would discover our location. He was serious when he warned me if I ever were to even hear a whisper of the name "Kirill" to notify him immediately. I'm not sure what Silas would have done, but honestly, I feel he would not have hesitated to pack us up and leave town in a moment's notice. What I don't understand is why would he be here, now?"

"Well, you might not like the answer to that. Lee hired him for a… project."

"I'm guessing Lee has no idea of who this Kirill fellow really is. He is someone I would stay as far away as possible from."

"I'll need to fill in Lee immediately. In fact, this whole thing needs to be reported. Has anything else has happened, Dottie? Don't you dare skip a detail."

"Well, at the start, I just thought it was all in my head, a byproduct of my tangled emotions. As you know, I have been all stirred up with this being the week of our wedding anniversary. But then there were a few odd occurrences of late. Instances I thought I was being watched."

"Go on…"

"Well, last Tuesday I was here, working alone. I was digging through the trousseau under the mirror there, and looked up and I swore I saw a man looking into the shop, watching me. My back was to him, so he did not know I saw his reflection. He was blonde, stubble on his jaw, a long scar on his cheek, quite a rough looking fellow. I'd never seen him before. Does that sound like the man who came in today?"

"No. This man was more of a lumberjack type, dark hair and whiskers. Oh and he had these big old clunky boots. He said he works for Kirill. But the description you just gave me fits Kirill to a tee."

Dottie's hand started to shake and she brought a handkerchief up to her face.

"There now. You will be okay. We have to report this to the authorities. In the mean time, we will make sure you are never alone."

"Thank you, Rosemary." Dottie paused to blow her nose. "I know I should have mentioned this earlier. But, well, I just wasn't sure if what was happening was just a figment of my imagination. And, to be quite honest, I have had to deal with people from Silas's past a few times. That was one thing he never thought of: that one day his dishonest behavior might come back to haunt his widow and cause her to be in grave danger."

"Are you? In grave danger, I mean? What else has happened? You must tell me, Dottie." The urgency in her own voice surprised her.

"Well, there also has been a few instances this past week or so where I have been misplacing things, or so I originally thought."

"What sorts of things?"

"Well, our rent money for one."

"The whole payment? I thought you kept that in the bank."

"Well, I probably should, but with Silas' shady business techniques, I did not want someone coming to collect a debt and leaving me without a penny to live on. I have been keeping my money in a tin under my entryway console for the last year or two. After that dishonest insurance man tried to swindle me out of my money, I realized there was no one I could trust."

"Oh, but Bill got you out of that situation. And Jenkins, at the bank, he wouldn't have handed your money over to anyone."

"I am sure that is true, but being a widow to a notorious swindler has its disadvantages. I truly can trust no one."

Rosemary placed her hand over Dottie's. She had no idea the poor dear had been through so much. "I am here, and you can trust me. Lee and I will do whatever we need to help you, Dottie. You should know that."

"Thank you." She nodded.

"The rent money— it was in an envelope on my entryway console— I believe it was partially hidden under a basket. I was going to turn it in to Abigail that afternoon."

"Okay." Rosemary got up to pace. Her shakiness was now under control as she entered her sleuthing mode. "You mentioned other infractions? What were they?"

"Well, the deed for my home has actually gone missing. I usually do not check on matters like that, but needed some information on the original price I paid. I went to find it in my files, and it was gone, along with our business license."

"Our business license? Of all the nerve! Oh, this scoundrel has got to pay." She felt the heat travel up her neck and land on her cheeks as she pounded the table. "No way is he going to get away scot-free! He's targeting you, Dottie. It sounds like he is going after all you own. Goodness sakes!"

"Well, that's not it. This might explain the visitor today…"

Dottie went over to the cash register and fumbled around with the tray until it released and she was able to collect a paper from inside. Her hands shook as she handed over the note.

She looked at her solemnly and took the note from Dottie. She read aloud:

"Tell Silas Ramsey to come out of hiding. I have come to collect the sum of money he owes me."

"Silas? He's been gone for two years! What kind of person writes a note to a dead man?"

"I don't think he knows about Silas' death. He has finally tracked us down, the only problem being, the man responsible is not here. It sounds like my husband owed him a lot of money."

"Dottie, this calls for urgent action! When did you find this note?"

"It was tied to the shop door when I returned from my break yesterday afternoon."

"We must notify Bill at once. I wish you would have said something sooner. Just to think the rascals could be getting away with your livelihood, why- my livelihood too, with the business license and all."

"I'm sorry about that Rosemary. I truly hope it is recovered and he isn't able to scoundrel his way into our business ventures." Dottie's expression drooped.

"Oh it's not your fault," Rosemary softened the tension in her face as she glanced at her friend, "but I'm glad you chose to tell me about all this."

"Well, like I said, until yesterday, I wasn't sure if this was all a product of an overactive imagination or forgetfulness, you know with me in my emotional state this week. After I got the note, I just figured it was something I could handle. There have been other instances where I have had to manage a few of Silas' past dealings, but they are trivial at best compared to this. I've usually been able to look out for myself…"

"Well, this is definitely not something you can handle. You poor dear having to deal with the sins of your late husband."

"That's just it, I don't want to broadcast this." She fidgeted.

"Oh." Understanding cascaded over her. Dottie didn't want to stir up secrets related to her husband's past. She would rather put herself in danger than to continue to expose her husband's reputation. Gently, she turned to face Dottie. "You want to keep this a secret because you are worried about tarnishing your husband's good name."

Dottie was quiet, confirming Rosemary hit the issue head on.

"I just don't know what to do." She whispered.

"Well, everyone knows Silas was much less than a saint. Way much less. By trying to protect him, you are putting yourself into danger. We are going to talk to Bill straight away."

Dottie wrung her hands, then nodded.

"You need to tell him what you do know and have him take a look into who this fellow is."

Both ladies linked arms, ready to walk directly to the sheriff's office when the doorknob of the dress shop rattled causing both ladies to gasp.