Ty said no more, it was her turn. She’d brought him here to alarm him and was trying to not let her disappointment show. The trouble with that was he knew her too well. Perhaps because she was so much like him. A man used to hiding things saw them easily in others.
“And more than one of those men was a federal agent,” she finally said.
He reached over and flicked the butterfly on her headband before tugging on her ear. “Norma Rose, I’m touched you’re so worried about me.”
“Worr— I’m not worried about you,” she snapped, shoving aside his hand.
“Then why did you bring me here, if not to warn me?”
With lips pinched tight, she breathed through her nose and, he had to admit, her glare was a bit intimidating, just not to him.
“I’m warning you,” she growled, “about what will happen if you don’t tell me the truth. The whole truth. And don’t give me that private-eye spiel again.”
Ty opened his mouth, to spout off a comeback about her not being strong enough to push him over the edge, but stopped before the words escaped. She was going to find out, sooner or later, and he’d rather she heard it from him, yet the opportunity to utilize his answers as leverage was something he couldn’t let go to waste.
“Fair enough,” he said, turning around to make his way back toward the trees.
“What? Where are you going?”
“The sun’s hot,” he said.
She followed, but kept her distance, staying a good arm’s length or more away from where he stopped. Crossing her arms, she asked, “Is your real name even Ty Bradshaw?”
“Yes,” he said. “Tyler Bradshaw.” When she opened her mouth, he held up his hand. “I’ll tell you everything. The truth. But only if you tell me the truth, too.”
She frowned. “I’ve never lied to you.”
Ty didn’t confirm or deny that, but instead asked, “What’s the history between you and Forrest Reynolds?”
* * *
Norma Rose caught herself too late, after she’d flinched visibly, which Ty noticed. “That is none of your business,” she stated, taking a step back to put more space between them. This had been a bad idea, bringing him here in the hope of scaring him. A man like Ty didn’t scare easily, and unfortunately, she did. That wasn’t something she liked admitting, nor did she want to, but his nearness made it impossible to deny. The pull inside her was worse today than it had been last night, even with all she knew, and that was not a good thing.
“I think it is,” Ty said.
“What?”
“I think the history between you and Forrest is related to all that’s happening.”
For a moment she feared he’d read her mind. It wouldn’t surprise her. He seemed to be living inside her. His presence had her heart beating faster and her palms sweating, and she felt a crazy, fanatic desire to kiss him again. “Forrest took over the Plantation last year when his father left town,” she said.
“And?”
She wasn’t afraid of Ty, but it felt like she’d lost, or was losing, and she didn’t like that. Not at all.
Norma Rose turned around, not seeing the trees covering the hill and lining the roadway, but stared in that direction. She couldn’t lose. Answers were what she needed, and Ty was the one to give them to her. If she had to give up a few herself, so be it. Forrest Reynolds had become the least of her concerns.
“Galen Reynolds inherited the Plantation from his wife’s family. It had been successful before the turn of the century, when the White Bear Lake area was full of resorts. It started out as a yacht club with sailboat races that brought crowds of people into the area. My mother and Karen Reynolds were close friends. We kids grew up playing with each other.” That was a long time ago, but even as young children she’d understood the Reynoldses had money while her family hadn’t. She wasn’t about to mention that, so added, “The flu, when it hit, took Karen’s youngest son, August, two weeks after my brother Adam. They were babies really, only five years old. My mother died a month later.”
“I’m sorry.”
She hadn’t turned around and didn’t now. The sympathy in his simple statement was too strong and left a part of her feeling raw all over again. Almost as raw as way back then, when Forrest’s father had first begun to vocalize his hatred toward her family. As the bitterness of that seeped forward, she let it out. “Galen Reynolds claimed my mother got what she deserved, that she’d given the flu to August.”
“The flu was everywhere. His son could have gotten it anywhere.”
“I know.” Enough of this. Now wasn’t the time to rekindle the hatred she harbored for Galen Reynolds. The man could no longer hurt her. Spinning around, she walked past Ty, who’d stepped too close for comfort. “Forrest and I remained friends, and we dated while in high school, until his father put a stop to it,” she said, as if there was no more to it than that.
Ty walked past her, all the way to the passenger side of the car, where he opened the door.
When her expectant gaze didn’t produce a response from him, she said, “It’s your turn to tell me the truth.”
He laughed, which goaded her.
“I’ll tell you the truth, when you tell me the truth,” he said, climbing in. After shutting the door, he leaned over to glance at her out the driver’s window. “Let’s go. I want to visit the last drugstore Dave remembers being at.”
“I did tell you the truth,” she insisted.
He sat up and stared out the windshield, which meant she had to lean down to look in the window. “I’m serious. I want to know who you are,” she demanded.
“I’m Ty Bradshaw from New York,” he said off-handedly, “who needs to discover who poisoned your uncle before it’s too late. Now either get in, or give me the keys. I really don’t care which.”
Norma Rose wrenched opened the door, mainly in reaction to his reference to time running out. Her father had hinted at that, too. Shoving the key in the ignition, she said, “I will find out who you really are and expose you for a rat.”
With a single slicing gaze before he turned toward the windshield again, he said, “And I will find out what really happened between you and Forrest.”
It took some maneuvering back and forth before she got the Cadillac turned around, but then she hit the gas. The car bounced and banged as the tires fell in between potholes.
“It takes a good driver to hit every hole in the road,” Ty said.
She’d have liked to tell him to shut up, but was too busy holding onto the wheel.
“Slow down,” he said, “before you break an axel.”
With no intention of listening to him—ever—she pressed her foot harder on the gas pedal. Ty’s hand grasped her leg. His fingers and thumb dug into the sides of her knee, making a nerve flex and shudder. With the grip of iron that she wasn’t strong enough to fight, he pulled on her leg, forcing her foot off the gas. Trying to keep the car on the road while fighting the sensations zipping up her leg, Norma Rose hit the brake with her other foot.
Before letting go, Ty growled, “Slow down or I’m driving.”
“It’s my car,” she snapped.
“I don’t give a damn whose car it is. I’m not going to be stuck out here because you’re throwing a fit.”
“A fit? I’m not throwing a fit.”
“Don’t you care what happens to your father? To your beloved resort?” he asked.
Norma Rose opened her mouth, but didn’t trust herself to speak. She did care. Why else would she be here, with him?
“The truth is, Norma Rose, that I’m not the enemy, and if you want to save Nightingale’s from being raided, by either the feds or the mob, you’ll stop acting like a spoiled brat and help me.”
Her fury rose to an entirely new level. However, used to hiding things, she held it in as she drove, slowly, down the road. By the time she turned back onto the highway her rage had melded into determination for the deepest revenge possible. Without a word, she drove directly to Charlie McLaughlin’s drugstore and parked along the street out front. She was out the driver’s side before Ty could make it around to open the door for her, and she marched forward onto the sidewalk. Her nerves zinged beneath her skin, a mixture of fire and ice, yet she planted the often-used smile upon her face as they entered the store, him holding the door for her.
“Well, Norma Rose Nightingale, imagine seeing you here.”
She couldn’t take much more. Truly she couldn’t. “Hello, Janet,” Norma Rose said to the girl behind the lunch counter, whose eyes, thickly coated with kohl and mascara, had settled on Ty. “Imagine seeing you here.”
“I work here,” Janet Smith replied, curling her red lips into a smile and batting her lashes unabashedly at Ty. “I live in the new set of apartments just right around the block.”
* * *
Hostility hung in the air so heavily between Norma Rose and the soda girl, Ty almost quivered. But then he chose, as usual, to take advantage of the opportunity. Curling a hand around Norma Rose’s elbow, he guided her onto one of the squat stools along the counter. She flinched—inwardly, he sensed more than felt it—but made no show of pulling out of his hold. Once they were both seated, he asked, “What’s your lunch special?”
“Grilled cheese and tomato soup,” the girl named Janet responded.
“How’s that sound?” Ty asked Norma Rose, purposefully ignoring the other girl’s invitation to take full notice of her rather voluptuous curves.
He imagined Norma Rose wanted to tell him exactly how she thought that sounded, but she didn’t, as he knew she wouldn’t. Instead she smiled up at him. “Fine.”
“We’ll take two specials,” he told the girl. “And two milk shakes.” Glancing toward Norma Rose, he asked, “Chocolate?”
She nodded.
“Two chocolate milk shakes.”
“I don’t recall seeing you around,” Janet said, once again giving him an open invitation with her eyes.
“I’m a friend of Norma Rose’s.” Sensing Norma Rose might soon snap, he added, “Could we get those shakes before the meal?”
The girl spun around and the drumbeat of her heels faded as she disappeared through a set of swinging doors at the end of the counter. Norma Rose said nothing while peeling off her gloves and discreetly examining her hands. They were no longer blue, and he wondered how hard she’d had to scrub them. After setting her gloves on her lap, she plucked a few napkins from the holder on the counter and slid one his way.
“Thank you,” he said.
She remained silent.
He grinned, inwardly. “Who is that?” He didn’t bother nodding toward where the girl had disappeared.
“Janet Smith.”
“I caught the first name,” he said. “How do you know her?”
“She lives in White Bear Lake, or did. I wasn’t aware she’d moved.”
There was more to her animosity than her just living in the same town, and assuming he knew why, he pushed. “Another one of Forrest Reynolds’s girlfriends.”
She shot him a disgusted look. “Not that I know of, but I haven’t kept track.”
“Haven’t you?”
“No, I haven’t.” Flustered, and most likely knowing he wouldn’t give up, she whispered, “If you must know, her brother was a local whiskey runner who got himself caught a few months ago because he drank more than he delivered.”
Her eyes grew wide before she lowered her lids, telling him what he already knew. That she’d said more than she’d intended, and that Janet blamed the Nightingales for her brother’s arrest.
“Interesting,” he said. “What’s his name?”
Opening her eyes, she peered past him, to where Janet was reappearing at the end of the counter. He leaned closer. “What’s his name?”
“Jeb Smith, but everyone called him Smitty,” she whispered.
The clanging and banging made by the soda girl was obviously intended to break apart what must look like a tête-à-tête. Ty glanced her way, letting her know it wasn’t appreciated, which had the effect he’d figured it would. She made more noise by turning on the electric mixer to stir their shakes.
“And he worked for your father.”
“I didn’t—”
“We’re beyond that, Norma Rose,” he hissed through a smile. “He was running Minnesota Thirteen, wasn’t he?”
She pinched her lips together and nodded.
“Thank you,” he said close to her ear. He lingered there for a few seconds, inhaling deeply, while telling himself it was for Janet’s benefit. A minute later, he knew it had worked. Norma Rose’s cheeks were rosy and Janet’s were red.
“How’s your uncle Dave?” Janet asked, plunking down two tall glasses so hard the frothy contents bubbled over the edges.
“Fine,” Norma Rose said, picking up a napkin.
“I heard he was arrested the other night,” Janet persisted. “Ossified on the street corner.”
“You heard wrong,” Norma Rose said, without any prompting from Ty. “Dave’s at the resort and doing just fine. How’s Jeb?”
The other woman spun around, but her glare could have cut through ice. A man carrying two plates holding soup bowls and sandwiches had come from the back room and was heading their way.
“Well, Norma Rose,” the man said. “Janet didn’t tell me it was you here. I talk—”
“Norma Rose is showing me the city,” Ty said, interrupting the man. “Ty Bradshaw,” he added as the man set down the plates before them.
“Charlie McLaughlin,” the man replied.
“I’m staying out at the resort,” Ty said, knowing Janet’s ears were pricked. “Since the day is quiet out there, Norma Rose and I decided to visit the city. Maybe take in a picture show.”
Again, Norma Rose played along. “Ty wanted to try one of your infamous milk shakes.”
“And see a picture show,” Ty added again with a grin that grew as Norma Rose blushed.
Charlie laughed. “Ted Williams said he saw the one playing over at the Capital Theater last night, said he’d never laughed so hard. Janet, you went with him, didn’t you?”
Janet, stunned and nervous, shook her head. “Me? With Chief Williams?” she said, attempting to cover up her secret. “Of course not.”
Ty took in all the information. A soda girl whose brother was in jail was dating the chief of police, and going to a picture show at the most expensive theater, which was owned by the Hamm’s Brewing company, a company that was supposedly out of business due to Prohibition.
Not wanting it to appear like he was prying, Ty turned to Norma Rose. “We might have to see that one.”
She almost choked on her spoonful of soup and Ty grinned, imagining the fun of sitting in a dark theater with her. Ears alert, he let the conversation flow naturally as he and Norma Rose ate. It wasn’t yet noon and the establishment was empty except for the four of them, and he learned more each time either Charlie or Janet opened their mouths.
Once their plates were empty, he paid the bill while Norma Rose slipped on her gloves. Taking her arm to assist her off the stool, he asked, “Shall we go see when the next movie starts at the Capital?”
She frowned slightly, but at his silent urging agreed with what the others might have taken as real enthusiasm, though he knew it was false. “Why not?”
He nodded toward Charlie. “The shakes were as good as she said they would be. Thanks.”
“Stop in anytime,” Charlie said. “A friend of Roger’s is a friend of mine.”
Feeling Janet’s glare, Ty asked, “How about a friend of Norma Rose’s?”
Charlie laughed. “Hers, too.”
Ty chuckled as if that delighted him. It did, actually. Especially the way she squirmed inwardly. He could read her as well as he could read himself. Perhaps even better.
With one hand clasped around her elbow, he led her all the way to the passenger door of her car, which he opened for her. Before she had a chance to protest, he helped her into the car and shut the door.
He walked around to the driver’s side and once settled behind the wheel, started the engine. In her haste to exit the car before him, she’d left the keys dangling in the ignition. He turned, prepared to point out the dangers of that, but didn’t. Janet’s nose was glued to the drugstore window, and as Norma Rose was already looking at him, he simply leaned over and pressed his lips against hers.
She stiffened and Ty waited for her to pull back. When she didn’t, he moved away and smiled as she leaned forward, following him for a split second.
Sitting back against the seat, she huffed out a breath. “Why did you do that?”
He expected more. A full protest. But was glad she didn’t give one. “Because I wanted to,” he said, making no mention of Janet watching from the window.
The half smile on her lips caused a grin he couldn’t hide.
She tugged her skirt over her knees. “Don’t you mean because Janet’s still watching through the window.”
He shifted the car and pulled away from the curb. “Didn’t see her.”
“Right.”
Ty laughed.
“Enough foolishness,” she said then. “When are we going to start looking for who poisoned Dave?”
* * *
He claimed they were searching, doing research he called it, but besides eating lunch at the drugstore, where he’d asked no questions about Dave whatsoever, they hadn’t done anything besides drive around St. Paul.
They traced the route from Charlie’s store to the Blind Bull and back again, the few blocks from the police station to the drugstore, and then the distance from the store to the Capital Theater. Where she had hoped he wouldn’t stop. She had no desire to see a picture show with him. None. She repeated that several times in order to convince herself.
When he finally parked the car, she glanced around at the trolley cars and visitors. “What are we doing here?” she asked. “I know Dave didn’t visit Como Park.”
“Perhaps not,” he said, pulling the keys from the ignition. “But we are.”
Considering all the people about, Norma Rose waited for him to open her door and then accepted his arm to walk across the parking lot. Situated in the northern part of St. Paul, over three hundred acres of land along the shores of Lake Como had been dedicated as a city park. She hadn’t been here in years, but had heard of the vast improvements made lately. Walking paths, flower gardens, ponds, fountains and pergolas, even a fenced-off area with wildlife for city dwellers to observe.
All her years of dreaming about things she wanted to do were manifesting in a mere two days. The amusement park, dancing, a lunch date, walking in the park. All silly things she could have done by herself any day, but hadn’t because she hadn’t wanted to do them alone, or even with one of her sisters. She’d wanted to do them like this. With someone.
Norma Rose attempted to tell herself that someone should not be Ty, but she’d never been gullible, not even when it came to lying to herself. He was now holding her hand as they walked along a gravel pathway, and she couldn’t find anything she’d like to change. Especially not him, and she wasn’t overly sure why.
“I can’t tell you who I am.”
Her footsteps faltered and she stopped. “What?”
“I can’t tell you who I am, who I really am.”
She could swear there was regret in Ty’s tone, as she questioned all the while if she was hearing things. “Why?”
“I can’t tell you that, either.”
“Because I didn’t tell you everything about Forrest?” Although she’d had no intention of telling him earlier, now it seemed silly. Galen Reynolds was the one who’d turned the whole thing into a fiasco, and Forrest had never tried to stop him. That had eaten at her harder than Galen’s lies. Back then. Now it really didn’t matter.
Ty squeezed her hand and started walking again, tugging her along. “No.”
“Then why?”
Ty kept walking and Norma Rose kept alongside him, around a pond with a pair of white swans swimming gracefully and past flower gardens full of yellow marigolds and purple and white pansies. There was a wooden park bench on the far side of the flowers, and Ty didn’t stop until they happened upon it.
“You’re a beautiful woman, Norma Rose, and a smart one. You could go anywhere in the world, start up a legitimate business and—”
“The resort is a legitimate business,” she interrupted.
He shook his head, but she couldn’t leave it at that. He had to understand.
“Yes, it is,” she insisted, “and it will continue to be after Prohibition is repealed, which it will be, mark my word. There is no black-and-white in the world right now. No defined line between right and wrong. It’s not that every American citizen wants to break the law, it’s just...” She couldn’t completely explain how things appeared in her eyes, but she had to. “It’s just that people know if they follow every law on the books right now, they’ll starve. It may not be that way everywhere. In Washington or other places, but it is here.”
“You’ve been listening to your father too long,” Ty said. “People won’t starve.”
“Do you know what it’s like to eat soup three times a day?” She shook her head. “No, it wasn’t really even soup. It was nothing more than water a few potatoes had been boiled in. Well, I do. And I know what it’s like to be on the receiving end of judgments and lies.” Fury wasn’t filling her stomach this time, neither was regret or shame. “This is America, Ty. The land of the free and the brave, and if we give in, what then? We give up all our forefathers fought for. Give up the promises and hopes of millions of people who crossed rough seas and desolate lands to build homes and communities. Why? Because a few lawmakers think they know best? It’s not the people who are trying to make a living that are the bad ones. Making and drinking spirits has been a part of society since the beginning of time, all the laws in the world won’t change that. People can’t change that quickly.”
“So the lawmakers are the bad ones,” he said with a shake of his head.
She’d wrestled with these things for years, and had formed a few of her own opinions. “The laws they made, the ones they are attempting to enforce, won’t work. Surely you see that. How Prohibition has increased crime more than it’s decreased it. It’s failed, and no one knows what to do about that. How to make it right. But,” she added with a wave of her hand, “look around. The economy is booming. Schools are being built, as well as churches and parks. Not by the government, but by private people. Those who know this will end and are investing in the future. In businesses that will survive. In their communities. In the stock market. In their families.”
Ty cursed. She was good. Damn good. “You should be a lawyer,” he said, meaning it. “What are you going to do when your father goes down? When the resort is seized?”
She shook her head. “That’s not going to happen.”
“Yes,” he said, his stomach in his throat, “it is.”