Love in Disguise by Carol Cox Page A

only she had a reason for returning on a regular basis. “Thank you again for your hospitality. That little rest was just what I needed.”
    The clerk bobbed his head. “My pleasure, ma’am. My aunt back in Missouri has a bad knee and can’t walk too far at one time. She has to take a breather every so often, just like you. Say, do you want to see something while you’re sitting there?”
    Without waiting for Ellie’s reply, the man pulled a short piece of rope from his pocket and held both ends in one hand. “I’m going to tie a knot in the end of this rope, just by snapping it forward.”
    Raising his arm as though he was getting ready to crack a whip, he swung his hand down sharply, turning loose of one end of the rope as he did so. When the free end flew forward, Ellie could see that it sported a neatly tied square knot.
    She laughed and clapped her hands. “Delightful! I know there’s some sort of trick involved, but I have no idea how it was done.”
    The clerk’s face glowed with pleasure. He pulled off his spectacles and polished the round lenses with a cloth he pulled from his pocket. “It’s just a little hobby of mine, ma’am. Glad you liked it. Feel free to come in here any time you’re walking around town and find you need to sit for a spell. I’d be glad to see you again.”
    Ellie smiled, trying to hide her elation. “What a thoughtful offer. I expect I’ll take you up on that.” Before she reached the door, it burst open and a man with a weathered face and wearing a black slouch hat brushed past her. Without so much as a glance in her direction, he strode straight up to the counter.
    “What room is Earl Porter in?”
    The clerk grew pale. “He isn’t here.”
    The rough-voiced man loomed over the counter, and the clerk backed up several steps. “When he shows up, you tell him I want to see him. He’d better not keep me waiting.” He pivoted on his heel and gave Ellie a penetrating stare, as if noticing her for the first time.
    She scuttled out of the lobby as quickly as she could manage. Once she reached the boardwalk, she held herself back to a sedate walk instead of giving in to a desire to hitch up her skirts and race headlong toward Charles Street and the sanctuary of her little home.
    What had she gotten herself into? The scene she’d just witnessed, brief as it was, had made her skin crawl. Every adventure from the penny dreadfuls she’d read flashed through her mind. This was the Wild West. She couldn’t treat her job as some sort of lark. People sometimes ended up dead out in the untamed wilderness.
    Two blocks from the hotel and its ill-mannered visitor, she stopped and leaned against the front of Levi Jewelers. She needed a few moments to catch her breath and collect her wits. That horrible man’s actions had nothing to do with her. There was no basis for the fear that filled her being.
    No one knew who she was or what she was doing in Pickford. She once again blessed the Pinkertons for their admonition not to let anyone know her true identity. As long as she kept up appearances as harmless, nonthreatening Lavinia Stewart, she should be able to continue her investigation unhampered and unharmed.
    When her heart settled back into its usual rhythm, she walked on, making a mental note to add the churlish man to her growing list of potential suspects. She supposed she should list the clerk, as well, harmless as he seemed.
    At least she had gained one success to her credit, arranging to spend more time at the hotel. She could observe both the clerk and some of the guests up close that way without seeming to take any personal interest in them.
    She would keep an eye out for that boorish fellow, too. But she would do that from a distance.

    As she mounted the steps to her front porch, Ellie heard the branches of the lilac bush rustle. She cleared her throat, and the rustling subsided. She pulled her key from her reticule and unlocked the front door without further comment,