Imogen walked along next to Josie, her eyes scanning the street for her father. Soon, they would be out of town and heading toward Tent City. She was nervous. She’d been visiting the encampment often, knowing that Manny wouldn’t be there, feeling sick when she passed his tent, which was exactly the same as it had been when he left. She was amazed that no one in Tent City, not even Tito, had claimed any of the man’s things.
She wanted to go in his tent so badly. Just to make sure it was clean, and everything was in its place for when he returned. But the times she had gone in to clean had only made her heart ache even worse. Now she typically asked whoever she was with to go in and dust. Make sure everything was there, and there was no chance a fire might start.
“Are you going to be okay with this?” Josie asked.
Imogen nodded, but she was sure the look on her face displayed how terrified she was. She would meet the mine owner and Jimmy to discuss what was going on in town. It would only be a short part of their visit to Tent City.
“I’ll be all right,” she murmured, trying not to show her apprehension and failing.
“They are just men. They aren’t going to hurt you, and I’m of the impression they both feel the same way we do about this.”
Imogen replied with another nod. “Yes, that’s what I believe also. But that doesn’t stop me from being worried. Manny has been gone almost six weeks. I don’t know how much longer I can go without knowing something. Is he alive and well? Dead and buried? I just don’t know.”
“One thing you do know is that if they had killed him, they would have paraded down the streets with his body, and a blood bath would have started when Manny’s friends saw that happening. Manny is safe somewhere; I’m sure of it. They’re not going to kill him and not brag about it.”
“How ghastly!” Imogen exclaimed.
“I agree.”
They rode into the limits of Tent City and went straight to the building housing the administrative offices. Jimmy was expecting them to go there first before they started helping out around the camp.
Imogen didn’t look as they passed Manny’s tent. It made her heart hurt too much. Six weeks was a long time to go not seeing the man she had fallen in love with. She missed the sound of his laughter, his intriguing accent, the way he taught her his language, and how good he was at hers. She missed so much about him.
“You sure you’re all right?” Josie asked. “You are really quiet.”
“Just thinking about what I want to say,” Imogen said. “I don’t know what this meeting is going to be like.”
Josie nodded. “I’m sure Andy will be curious to know what these men have to say. If you want to just let me talk at first, that’s fine. You can jump in when you have something to contribute.”
Imogen bit the inside of her cheek, chewing her lip. “Let’s do that. I just want to see what they want first before I say anything.”
“They’re on our side,” Josie said. “You don’t have to be worried. We’re safe.”
Imogen let out a nervous laugh. “I think I’m just so worried about Manny I can’t think clearly. Do you think either of them knows where Manny is?”
“They might know. He worked for them, after all. Somebody’s got to know.”
Imogen thought about Tito. She rarely saw him anymore when she came to volunteer. Mostly because it was during the day when she was there usually, and he was working in the mines. When they were there in the evenings, he wasn’t around. He had taken to drinking his tequila by himself in the woods, according to Mr. Chin.
The two ladies left the buggy behind and went into the small building. Upon entering, they found themselves in nothing but a hallway that led to an exit door on the other side. There were four doors in total, two on one side and two on the other. Three of the four doors were closed, so Imogen and Josie went to the fourth one that was standing half open.
Josie poked her head in.
“Hello, we’re here.”
“Come in, come in,” Imogen heard a man’s voice say from within the room.
Josie looked over her shoulder at Imogen and nodded. She pushed the door open the rest of the way, and the two entered the room.
It looked like a typical office for a man, Imogen thought. There were piles of manuals and books and papers everywhere. It was a dusty office, with the scent of a pipe hanging in the air. Imogen noticed a second man sitting on a couch that ran along the wall behind Jimmy, who was at the desk.
The second man was sitting contentedly, smoking his pipe, eyeing the women. Imogen immediately pegged him for the rich mine owner.
“Ladies,” the man said, leaning forward to grasp their hands lightly. “Very nice to see you. Thank you for coming in to see us. We just wanted to talk to you about your movement and what we can do to bring this community back together. We’re struggling for unity here, and we think we can work together, you and us, to combat this problem. We’ve got to hit it head-on, and what better way to do that than two prominent lady citizens?”
“Thank you, Jimmy,” Josie replied with a smile. “I think we can work together, too. Imogen has some fine ideas about how to get the children who live here into the schoolhouse to learn along with the other children. And the newspaper could send a correspondent out here in Tent City to report on issues of the day, don’t you think? We should distribute the newspaper here, maybe even have residents of Tent City write a few articles.”
She stopped and took a breath. For a moment, Imogen was afraid she was going to spill out another long line of words. Her speech had been rushed, though Imogen had no doubt the men kept up with it the same as she had. She smiled at the eagerness of her friend to bring justice to Tent City.
The man behind Jimmy stood up.
“All that before we are properly introduced,” he said, a twinkle in his eye when he leaned over to Josie and held out his hand. When she rested hers in his palm, he lifted it and kissed the back of her hand. “I am Theodore Allan McClintock. You may call me Teddy. All my friends do.”
Josie stared at him, looking like she felt the same way Imogen did – stunned. Did he know he was speaking to the sheriff’s wife?
“Mr. McClintock,” Jimmy said in a testy voice, “this is Josie Carey, the wife of the sheriff in Bryantsville. This is Imogen Brown.”
McClintock nodded at Imogen but made no attempt to kiss the back of her hand. She was at first embarrassed and maybe even a little hurt. Then she decided she didn’t want a man who could openly flirt with a sheriff’s wife anyway.
“I know of you, young lady. I know your father. I hear you are nothing like him.”
Imogen thought she might have judged the man too quickly.
“It is not exactly true that I am nothing like him,” she replied softly, “as we have much in common. But when it comes to how to treat other human beings, I’m afraid my father and I are on opposite sides. His proposal to get rid of Tent City would impact too many lives. He isn’t thinking about the people here. It’s not fair to them. They have a sharp knife swinging over their heads that could fall at any moment. I fear for them. And I want to help them.”
“I’m sure you do,” McClintock said, perching himself on the side of the desk and putting one hand on the pipe sticking out of his mouth. He took the pipe out and pointed at her with the stem. “You are one of the brave ones, my dear. You and Josie here. I haven’t met either of you personally, but I’ve dealt with your father, Imogen, and your husband, Josie. Both fine outstanding men. Good citizens. Proud that your husband is the sheriff. There would be a lot more strife if he weren’t.”
Imogen decided she liked McClintock after all.
“I’m proposing we put our heads together and come up with a solution to ease the tensions between the people here and those in Bryantsville.”
“I’m scared what will happen if they make these people move,” Imogen said.
She drew in a deep breath when McClintock shook his head at her and replied, “These people aren’t going anywhere. I own this land. I say who lives on it.”