badgered like this in front of him, but she had bigger concerns to worry about.
“Search her bag for misappropriated government property,” Mr. Grimes said. One of the police officers grabbed her bag.
“You can’t do this!” she cried. “That bag is my personal property!”
The officer ignored her as he upended her bag, spilling her coin purse, an engraved silver pen, and some hair pins across the floor. She clenched her teeth as one of the officers squatted down to paw through her belongings.
“Your employment here is terminated. The officers shall escort you from the premises.”
She still couldn’t believe this was happening, but even as she stepped back from the approaching officer, a terrible thought struck. “I need to get things from my desk upstairs.” The note with the names of men who might be A.G. was taped to her desk drawer, and she needed that note. She moved to step around Mr. Grimes and head to the elevator.
Mr. Grimes was one step ahead of her, blocking her passage. “You may make a list of any personal property and it will be retrieved for you, but you may not return to your desk.”
Her mouth went dry. She couldn’t tell him about that list. How could she explain why she had it taped to the underside of her desk drawer? To do so would be shining a spotlight on each of the men on that list, and it might put A.G. in danger. He was the only person who truly knew what Gwendolyn had been up against, and Stella felt an instinctive urge to protect him.
“Well? What shall I have the officer retrieve?”
Every muscle in her body wanted to sprint upstairs and snatch that note from its hiding place, but there were three police officers watching her every move. Her only hope of getting the list back was to remain silent until she had a better strategy.
“There’s nothing,” she said stiffly, and three minutes later, she had been escorted outside, down the steps of City Hall, and told not to come back.
She stood on the cobblestone walkway, heedless of the pedestrians jostling around her. She’d just lost six weeks’ worth of work, all because she had been too nervous to bring that list of names home where her landlord was known to poke through her room.
She didn’t know what to do. She had no friends at City Hall and no alternate plan for figuring out what had happened to her sister. Her only hope for finding Gwendolyn’s ally was taped to her desk drawer, and for all she knew, that desk was being cleaned out as she stood here on the sidewalk.
She had to put a stop to it. She had to know her rights and, if humanly possible, she had to get that list back.
Romulus White knew everybody and everything about Boston. Before she even had a coherent idea of what to ask him, she’d turned around, lifted her skirts, and begun running toward the offices of Scientific World.
She was breathless by the time she arrived at the top floor of Scientific World . Her feet hurt from the blisters rubbing into her heels and she was thirsty, but none of that mattered. She just needed someone to help her, and Romulus was the closest thing to a friend she had in Boston.
It seemed the office was half empty, which wasn’t surprising since many people probably had left for lunch. Romulus’scousin Evelyn was at her desk at the front of the office. She was keying a stream of numbers into an adding machine and looked up when Stella barreled in the door.
“Can I help you?” Evelyn asked coolly.
“Romulus,” Stella said on a ragged breath. “Is he here?” With every moment, the likelihood of her desk contents being cleared out and tossed in the trash increased.
“May I ask who wishes to see him?”
But Stella had already spotted Romulus through the window of his private office. He was alone, and that was all she needed to know. Stella rounded the front desk and dashed across the floor. She rapped on the glass window and entered his office without waiting for a response.
Romulus had been standing at his
“Search her bag for misappropriated government property,” Mr. Grimes said. One of the police officers grabbed her bag.
“You can’t do this!” she cried. “That bag is my personal property!”
The officer ignored her as he upended her bag, spilling her coin purse, an engraved silver pen, and some hair pins across the floor. She clenched her teeth as one of the officers squatted down to paw through her belongings.
“Your employment here is terminated. The officers shall escort you from the premises.”
She still couldn’t believe this was happening, but even as she stepped back from the approaching officer, a terrible thought struck. “I need to get things from my desk upstairs.” The note with the names of men who might be A.G. was taped to her desk drawer, and she needed that note. She moved to step around Mr. Grimes and head to the elevator.
Mr. Grimes was one step ahead of her, blocking her passage. “You may make a list of any personal property and it will be retrieved for you, but you may not return to your desk.”
Her mouth went dry. She couldn’t tell him about that list. How could she explain why she had it taped to the underside of her desk drawer? To do so would be shining a spotlight on each of the men on that list, and it might put A.G. in danger. He was the only person who truly knew what Gwendolyn had been up against, and Stella felt an instinctive urge to protect him.
“Well? What shall I have the officer retrieve?”
Every muscle in her body wanted to sprint upstairs and snatch that note from its hiding place, but there were three police officers watching her every move. Her only hope of getting the list back was to remain silent until she had a better strategy.
“There’s nothing,” she said stiffly, and three minutes later, she had been escorted outside, down the steps of City Hall, and told not to come back.
She stood on the cobblestone walkway, heedless of the pedestrians jostling around her. She’d just lost six weeks’ worth of work, all because she had been too nervous to bring that list of names home where her landlord was known to poke through her room.
She didn’t know what to do. She had no friends at City Hall and no alternate plan for figuring out what had happened to her sister. Her only hope for finding Gwendolyn’s ally was taped to her desk drawer, and for all she knew, that desk was being cleaned out as she stood here on the sidewalk.
She had to put a stop to it. She had to know her rights and, if humanly possible, she had to get that list back.
Romulus White knew everybody and everything about Boston. Before she even had a coherent idea of what to ask him, she’d turned around, lifted her skirts, and begun running toward the offices of Scientific World.
She was breathless by the time she arrived at the top floor of Scientific World . Her feet hurt from the blisters rubbing into her heels and she was thirsty, but none of that mattered. She just needed someone to help her, and Romulus was the closest thing to a friend she had in Boston.
It seemed the office was half empty, which wasn’t surprising since many people probably had left for lunch. Romulus’scousin Evelyn was at her desk at the front of the office. She was keying a stream of numbers into an adding machine and looked up when Stella barreled in the door.
“Can I help you?” Evelyn asked coolly.
“Romulus,” Stella said on a ragged breath. “Is he here?” With every moment, the likelihood of her desk contents being cleared out and tossed in the trash increased.
“May I ask who wishes to see him?”
But Stella had already spotted Romulus through the window of his private office. He was alone, and that was all she needed to know. Stella rounded the front desk and dashed across the floor. She rapped on the glass window and entered his office without waiting for a response.
Romulus had been standing at his
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