Mr. Ambrewster, we weren’t expecting a visit from you today,” Camri said as she entered the front sitting room.
The lawyer got to his feet, while Judith and Kenzie remained seated on the sofa. Camri handed Mrs. Wong her coat and gloves. “If I’d known you were planning to come, I would have made arrangements.”
“Nonsense.” Ambrewster smiled. “This was a surprise.”
“He brought us a Christmas tree,” Judith declared before Henry could continue.
Mrs. Wong stepped forward, still holding Camri’s coat and gloves. “Decorations are packed in basement. You come and I show you.”
Judith jumped up. “We’ll fetch them, Camri.” She turned to Kenzie. “Won’t we?”
The redhead reluctantly got to her feet. “So much for resting on the Sabbath.”
“You really don’t have to do that,” Camri said, unpinning her hat. She turned back to Henry Ambrewster. “You shouldn’t have bothered. We had no plans to decorate for Christmas.” She placed her hat on the table just inside the room, then gave her hair a pat with her hand to make sure it wasn’t too out of order.
“Again, I must say, nonsense.” Henry took her arm and led her to the sofa. “It’s Christmas, and Caleb would be appalled to see you ignore it. He was quite the celebrator when it came to this holiday.”
The memory of her brother’s enthusiasm for the day made her smile. “I’m sure you’re right. However, we made an agreement among the three of us that we wouldn’t spend money on frivolity and gifts.”
Henry frowned. “If money is a problem . . .”
“No.” Camri held up her hand. “It isn’t that. We are merely trying to be frugal. Each of us came to San Francisco with a specific goal in mind, and as you know, this is an expensive town.”
“Yes, but Caleb would want me to assist you in any way. I am happy to help with the financial aspects. I’ve been covering Caleb’s mortgage and electricity. To help with other things would be easy enough.”
Camri hadn’t considered that Caleb had bought the house on credit. She felt some of the wind go out of her sails. “I didn’t realize. We’re doing our best to be self-sufficient.”
He gave her a fatherly smile. “But, my dear, you needn’t do without a few joys at Christmas.”
“We won’t. We intend to have a nice Christmas dinner, and that’s enough.”
For a moment it seemed he might argue with her, but then he gave a nod. “Well, now you have a tree. I think the merriment will do you good, given the circumstances.” He sat in Caleb’s chair and fixed Camri with a look of admiration. “I must say, Camrianne, you grow lovelier each time I see you.”
Camri stiffened. The last thing she wanted was words of wooing from this man she didn’t even trust. “Mr.—ah, Henry, have you had any word from Mr. Johnston?”
He nodded. “Yes. That’s the other reason for my visit. Fred is good at getting matters resolved. I’m not sure why it didn’t occur to me to ask for his help earlier. But that aside, he has heard talk about Caleb causing problems for the current mayoral administration. That is enough to put him in jeopardy. Fred learned this through his spies who work with Abraham Ruef.”
“The man who’s known to be the power behind Mayor Schmitz?” Camri asked, pretending it was all news to her.
“Yes. Ruef is as corrupt as they come, I’m afraid. He supposedly gets paid for legal consulting to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars. However, no one so far has been able to prove either the legality or the illegality of it. He has most of the judges and labor politicians in his pocket and pays them well to stay there. Nothing happens in this town—nothing gets built or torn down—without Ruef’s involvement.”
“But what does this have to do with Caleb?”
“Fred believes that the Murdock Construction Company was approached by Ruef’s men. Ruef was slighted when the man who hired Murdock to build his hotel bypassed Ruef’s suggestions and directions.”
“Suggestions and directions for what?”
Henry leaned back and crossed his legs. “Well, that’s not entirely known. From what I’ve seen in Caleb’s notes and Fred’s understanding of the situation, Ruef had a construction team ready for this man to use. It was an unwritten condition upon which the legal permits were issued.”
“Who is this man—the one who wanted the hotel?”
Henry shrugged. “Grayson Springer. He’s actually from New York but wanted a stake in San Francisco. In return, he was helping Ruef make some investments in New York. But I digress. Ruef had laid out who was to build the hotel. He has a dozen contractors willing to do his bidding, and in turn Ruef makes a tidy profit and sees to it that they get extra work.”
“But how?” Camri was having trouble understanding all these twisted political machinations.
“It’s fairly simple. Someone decides they want to erect a building in San Francisco. They need land, permits, and approval of their plans. The mayor’s office and the Board of Supervisors, under Ruef’s control, are the ones who give those permissions. In order to make anything happen, Ruef must be paid. Generally speaking, he receives a large amount of money for legal consulting and arranging for quality contracting companies to take on the project, most of which, it is rumored, he owns or has a stake in. The consulting fees are pure graft. Ruef keeps at least half, if not more, then passes the remainder to the mayor, who then takes his portion. After that, the Board of Supervisors receive their cut, along with the complete understanding that anything needed for the building project is to be put through posthaste. It has served all of them well. They’ve made a great deal of money and will no doubt go on making a great deal until someone finds the ways and means to stand up to them.”
“But how does my brother figure in on this?”
“I don’t know exactly, but given the money I found and Patrick Murdock’s quick verdict of innocent, I’m afraid that Caleb may have taken money from Ruef.”
“But that makes no sense. If Ruef was upset with Mr. Springer for not using his appointed contractor, and if he owns the courts as you suggest, why would he allow Patrick to be found innocent?”
Henry’s eyes narrowed as a frown formed on his lips. “We can’t know for certain, at least not just yet, but Fred believes that when Springer chose to give Murdock the contract, Ruef decided to punish Springer. Patrick Murdock attested to the fact that men approached his father and first offered money if he would use substandard product in the building. He wanted Murdock to build a shoddy hotel. Murdock refused, according to Patrick, and then threats were made which resulted—”
“In his death,” Camri interjected. “Patrick believes his father was pushed from the building, while the official report said he fell—that it was nothing more than an accident.”
“Right. No one expected Patrick to create a fuss, and when he did, Ruef sent his men to put the fear of God into him and get him to cease his protests. Instead, it only made Patrick more determined to prove his case. So Ruef sacrificed one of his men—the one Patrick accused of pushing his father to his death. The man turned up dead with circumstantial evidence pointing to Patrick as the culprit.”
Camri heard laughter coming from downstairs and knew it wouldn’t be long until the decorations were located and the girls returned to join them. “Henry, does Mr. Johnston think that because Caleb defended Patrick, Mr. Ruef decided to cause him harm?”
“Quite the contrary. At least in the beginning, Fred believes that Caleb was offered a bribe.”
“But a bribe for what?”
“His guess is that at first it was offered to entice Caleb to resign from being Patrick Murdock’s counsel. Believe me when I say this wasn’t the first time the firm has been approached by Ruef and his men. I’m sorry to say that I’ve often given in—short of purposefully breaking the law or allowing an innocent man to be condemned,” he said, as if that excused his behavior.
She shook her head. None of this made sense. “But Patrick was found innocent. You said yourself that Ruef had the judges and other officials under his control. I have to believe it would have been easy enough to pay members of a jury as well, so it surely wouldn’t matter if Caleb represented Patrick or not. If Ruef is so powerful, why didn’t the jury just find Patrick guilty?”
“Fred’s sources suggest that when Caleb wouldn’t resign, another deal was offered. Perhaps your brother convinced Ruef that it would be in his best interest to see that Patrick was declared innocent. Perhaps Caleb had found something on Ruef. You know there are men in the city working to see Ruef’s empire toppled.”
“No doubt you’re right, but surely Caleb wasn’t one of them.”
Henry shrugged. “I cannot say. The notes found and rumors unearthed suggest that Caleb was somehow involved. It’s even possible that Ruef offered to ensure Patrick Murdock would be found innocent if Caleb would agree to come to work for him.”
Camri twisted her hands together. “But he would never do that. Caleb is a man of great conviction.”
“I know.” Henry’s reply was one of resignation. “However, I wouldn’t put it past Caleb to pretend to accept in order to get Patrick set free. It would account for the ten thousand dollars I found, as well as the notes suggesting Caleb’s involvement with Ruef.”
“So you think my brother took the money and then turned on Ruef after Patrick was found innocent?”
“If he did, then it most certainly would bring about retribution. There’s something else. As I mentioned, Caleb kept a book of notes, and in them, it appears that he hired Patrick Murdock after he was set free.”
“To do what?” Patrick had said nothing of this. What if he knew a great deal more than he was admitting? What if he, too, was lying to her?
“It would seem that Patrick was helping him gather information.”
“Information about what?”
Henry shook his head. “I can’t be sure, Camri. The notes are in a sort of code. I haven’t been able to completely decipher them.”
This news troubled her as nothing else had. In all the time she and Patrick had spent together, he’d never said anything about actually working for Caleb. What was he hiding?
“. . . but then I would have expected him to say something.”
Camri shook her head, trying to clear her mind. “I’m sorry, I didn’t hear you.”
Henry looked momentarily annoyed. “I asked if you had discussed with Patrick his thoughts on where your brother might be.”
“Some. He’s been trying to find Caleb since he disappeared.”
“But he clearly said nothing about working with Caleb.” He shook his head and tsked. “If he had nothing to do with Caleb’s disappearance, then why not admit working with Caleb?” He didn’t wait for her response. “Oh, well. Perhaps I should have a meeting with Mr. Murdock and see if he can tell me the extent of his employment with your brother. Perhaps he even understands your brother’s code. If Caleb was as virtuous as we both believe him to be, I fear he may have gotten in over his head. If he resolved to take on Ruef and his political machine alone, then he most certainly would have been in danger.”
Camri could hear the girls returning. Judith was even singing a Christmas song at the top of her lungs.
“I don’t want to discuss this in front of the others,” she said. “Just tell me this—does Mr. Johnston know what happened to Caleb?”
“No. Not yet. He’s doing his best to find out.”
A cold shiver ran down Camri’s spine. “Does he believe my brother is dead?”
Henry glanced away. “If he crossed Ruef . . .”
He left the rest unsaid as Judith and Kenzie burst into the room with armfuls of decorations.
“Look what we found!” Judith had a wrapped bundle in her arms, and she opened it to carefully spill the contents onto the sofa. Gold and red-ribboned ornaments clattered onto the cushion beside Camri.
“Be careful, silly,” Kenzie chided. On her arm hung a basket. “Those are glass, you know.”
“I’m sorry,” Judith said, kneeling beside the sofa to make certain the ornaments had survived. “I’m just so excited. I love Christmas, and decorating is one of my favorite things to do.”
Kenzie shrugged and held up her basket. “I have strands and strands of glass beads and tins for the candles.”
“And I suggested we could string cranberries for added color,” Judith announced.
Camri barely heard her, however. Henry’s news hadn’t been at all encouraging. No matter what choice Caleb had made, it seemed almost certain that the decision had resulted in his disappearance. Possibly his death. But if that was the case, then how did the Wongs figure in? And why hadn’t Patrick been honest with her about working for Caleb?
“Come on, Camri. Come help us decorate the tree.”
Camri cast a glance at Henry. His expression was sympathetic. She shook her head. “I’m afraid I’m not feeling up to it, Judith.” She got to her feet. “You’ll have to excuse me. I’m going to my room to rest.”
She heard their protests as she hurried upstairs. But instead of going directly to her room, Camri went to Caleb’s instead. She closed the heavy door behind her and stood for a time in the dark. Tears spilled onto her cheeks as she thought of Caleb lying dead somewhere without a proper burial. For all that she had feared for him, Camri had never really allowed herself to dwell on the possibility that he was dead—that he would never be found. How would she ever bear it if this was true? How would their poor parents and sister take the news?
She turned on the bedroom light, then crossed the room to pull down the shades. She wanted to shut out everything that wasn’t related to her brother.
“They could all be wrong,” she whispered as she glanced around the room. “Mr. Johnston, Henry . . . they might not know anything at all and simply be telling me this because it seems reasonable.”
Camri shivered and hugged her body to ward off the chill. She longed to throw herself into comforting arms that would embrace her and hold her close. She longed to hear words of encouragement that would reassure her that all was not lost.
She longed for Patrick Murdock.
But even as she allowed that thought to take form, she pushed it away. It was absurd. She didn’t even know if she could trust Patrick. He and Caleb had apparently been working together on something other than Patrick’s murder trial, yet Patrick had never revealed this to her. What if Patrick knew more than he was saying? What if he knew something more about the money and the choices Caleb had made before he disappeared? What if he’d betrayed Caleb to Ruef and his men? Maybe that was where the deal truly had been made. Maybe Ruef promised Patrick freedom if he helped him capture Caleb. But why would Ruef want her brother? Nothing made sense.
Camri glanced at the ceiling. “I have no answers, only more questions. I don’t know what’s happened to Caleb, and I certainly don’t know who I can trust.”
Ophelia’s words came back to her. “Ye will know deep in yer heart if a person is worthy of yer trust. Just don’t jump to conclusions.”
“But those conclusions seem to jump at me.”
Going to her brother’s dresser, Camri picked up his folded handkerchief and breathed in the fading scent. There were so many puzzles to solve, and as soon as she managed to make headway with one, a dozen more presented themselves. It was like a series of Herculean tasks that she could never hope to master. But if she didn’t master them, the truth about Caleb might never be known.
She clutched the handkerchief to her breast. “And I cannot let that happen.”