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Booker comes to collect them. The town has become very concerned
and the authorities have become extremely suspicious. And that s
really all I can tell you, Olivia.
 Has anyone spoken to Anthony Pack or visited the ranch?
Livvie asked.
Anna s gaze fluttered to Desmond then down to her lap where her
hands clenched together.  Not to my knowledge, unless the agency in
Concordia sent someone I m not aware of.
Livvie sighed.  Anna, I d appreciate a bit of honesty here.
Desmond choked on his lemonade and lunged for a napkin.
Anna s eyes widened as a blush crept into her creamy skin. Her
mouth opened and she began to sputter.  Well, Olivia, I& I m not
sure& I ve told 
Livvie twisted and faced the woman.  You re lying to me about
something. I m not sure why exactly but I know you are. This is a
desperate situation and there could be lives on the line. These boys are
depending on us and time might be of the essence. If someone has
120 Amber Carlton
already investigated these incidents I need to know what they ve done
and how I can contact them.
 You might as well tell her, Anna, Desmond said.
 Oh, Des, that s not a good idea. Anna got to her feet and paced
back and forth between the sofa and the window.
 Tell me what? Livvie s jaw tightened.  If someone doesn t tell
me soon I m going to get in the wagon and find Pack s ranch by
myself. It s my damn mission and you re treating me like a child. I m
going to succeed at this, and I m not letting either of you stand in my
way. I ll bypass you entirely if I have to.
 That won t be necessary. Anna dropped back to the sofa.
 Concordia sent a man named Frederick Skylar. He spoke with
everyone in town and visited Pack out at the ranch. At the time, there
were several boys there. One has since vanished.
 And what did Skylar discover?
 I don t know, Olivia. I spoke with him very briefly. The ranch is
a successful, legitimate business and Pack runs it well. Skylar implied
he could find nothing to implicate him in the disappearances though
he suspected the man was hard on the boys. That, in itself, is not
unusual in some of these cases. Skylar planned to send a message to
his contact but that message never arrived. Skylar died that evening.
Livvie s brow furrowed. Her heart rhythm increased. She didn t
know if it resulted from the shock at realizing just how high the stakes
were or from the fact that no surprise or concern registered on
Desmond s face at all. She stared at him for a moment and one
thought slammed into her. The son of a bitch knew about this and
hadn t told her.
 He died? How?
 Beaten to death, Anna said.
 Did anyone see Pack that night?
 No, no one would admit he d been in town. I assume you know
why I wanted to keep this from you.
Buckskins and Brocade 121
 I can see why you may have thought it best, but I m not grateful
for your presumption. I m not a scared child, Anna. I sure as hell
can t make progress without all the information and my safety may
depend on knowing everything. But that s over now. I assume I can
count on you to be entirely honest with me from here on in?
Anna nodded.  Absolutely.
 So a few questions and his appearance at Pack s ranch signed
Skylar s death warrant. That means Pack knew Skylar s suspicions
and doesn t bode well for us. It s still not a hell of a lot to go on.
 No, it s not. And I suspect that you ll meet with some resistance
from the locals. We have a good community here and many of these
people are good parents and foster parents. Most of the children that
arrived here have found decent, caring homes and are on their way to
a bright future. These parents will resent your intrusion into their lives
and will ward off questions in fear that their children may be taken
from them. They re truly concerned, but they don t want someone
poking into their affairs. Which is why I ve come up with the
alternative. She waved her hand and laughed.  I know it s a little out
of the ordinary. I m sure Mrs. Harrison thought I was crazy, but I
think it will work.
 You are crazy, Anna, Desmond said.
 Crazy like a fox, Anna said, tapping her temple.
Livvie reached for her glass.  Yes, of course. The alternative.
She had no idea what the hell Anna talked about. She glanced at
Desmond for any kind of sign or help but after Anna s response he
turned his gaze toward the window and stared through the lacy
curtains like he had no interest in anything they discussed. He d
already gotten on her last nerve. She needed more information and
she wanted it now.
 Desmond, what do you think of the alternative plan?
He shrugged and lazily turned his head toward her.  It s worth a
shot.
Damn you.
122 Amber Carlton
She tried again. She planned to torture him later for this.  Do you
think it will work?
 Sure. It could. Desmond s eyes sparkled in the light that fell
across his face but his serious face offered no help of any kind. He
was determined she figure it out herself. She wanted to leap across the
table and choke the life out of him.  It ll take a light touch but
hopefully you can pull it off.
 I m glad you think I m capable of making it work.
 I said hopefully you can pull it off, Liv.
Her hand clenched around her glass, and she closed her eyes for a
moment. After taking a deep breath, she opened them and turned to
Anna.  So when do we start?
Anna smoothed the hair over her shoulder as she thought.
 Probably not the first week. You ll want to acclimate yourself and
get to know them. And then of course you ll have to gauge their
abilities because a few of the parents may want to know the lesson
plans before the week is out. Some of them are notorious for
interference. I know they probably just want the best. But after that,
I d say they ll be comfortable and receptive.
Livvie s brow furrowed.  The parents?
Anna burst into laughter then shook her head.  No, Olivia. The
children.
 Receptive to your questions, Liv, Desmond said softly.
 My questions? Livvie swung her face between the two.
Anna rose and went to a desk in the corner. As she unlocked and
opened a drawer, sorting through some things, Livvie mouthed,
 What the hell is she talking about? to Desmond. Livvie straightened
when Anna held out a leather folder.
 That s everything I know.
Livvie flipped through the dozens of sheets of paper. Children.
Each sheet was about a child and not every child was an adoptee. She
quickly read through some of the notes. Randall Gerber: age 13,
natural child of Harvey and Mary Gerber father owns butchery;
Buckskins and Brocade 123
Lisa, 8, George, 10, and David Mercer, 14: natural and adopted
children of Stanley and Iris Mercer owners of the Brandywine. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]