Read Online Indiana Belle (American Journey Book 3) by John A. Heldt - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: John A. Heldt
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historical sources, one of the largest in the state. Heller was a fixture in the business community and a financial supporter of newly elected Republican Governor Edward L. Jackson.
The time traveler did not peek into the store. He couldn't – at least from the sidewalk. Banner advertisements covered every window. Some ads touted lotions, liniments, and ointments. Others pushed powders, tonics, and creams. If a customer needed laxatives, antiseptics, or "flesh reducers," Heller's had them too. Depilatories and deodorizers were available on demand.
Cameron paid special attention to a sign near the door, which encouraged customers to ASK ABOUT OUR ELIXIRS. He decided he might do just that on his next visit. He considered the shopping possibilities for a moment and then turned his attention to the business next door.
Like Heller's Drug, the law firm of Pauley, Pearson, and Paine was a big fish in a little pond. It employed ten attorneys and forty staff and maintained four offices in southwest Indiana. Cameron knew this because he had read it in Candice's diary.
He also knew, from the same source, that Candice had dated the firm's junior partner, Richard Bronson Paine, for several months. She had broken off their engagement on Valentine's Day 1925, just thirty days past, for reasons she had not shared on paper.
Cameron pondered that bit of trivia for a moment and then cast his eyes on the main prize, a two-story brownstone office building directly across the street. The Evansville Post was more than just a stop on his journey through time. It was his destination.
Cameron took a breath, allowed a car to pass, and crossed the street. As he neared the paper, he noticed two things that gave him pause: closed blinds on the windows and a CLOSED sign on the door. If the Post was open for business, it had a funny way of showing it.
Cameron reached the glass front door a moment later, dropped his bags, and peeked through a space in the blinds. He looked for signs of life but saw only empty desks and chairs.
He tried to open the door but found it locked. For some reason, the entire staff of the city's largest newspaper had taken the day off – or taken the mother of all power lunches.
Cameron stepped back and mulled over his options. If he waited for someone to show up, he might wait the rest of the day. If he left, he might miss a chance to obtain a useful tidbit.
In the end, he decided to leave. After riding the rails for nearly a week, he concluded that he needed rest and relaxation more than he needed a glimpse of a ghost.
Cameron picked up his satchel and his suitcase and started again toward the hotel. For the first time since stepping through Geoffrey Bell's magic tunnel, he pushed Candice Bell, mountain caves, and obligations out of his mind. He thought instead of a bath, a meal, and a good night's sleep. It was time, he thought, for a little R and R.
CHAPTER 11: CAMERON
Tuesday, March 17, 1925
Cameron rinsed his straight razor in a sink full of water, looked in the bathroom mirror, and went at it again. He didn't care much for shaving with a machete, but he did it anyway. He did it because disposable plastic razors were not available in 1925 and because he didn't want to look like a wild man from Borneo when he met Candice Bell for the first time.
He carefully shaved his right cheek, rinsed the blade again, and then went after a few chin hairs that had survived their first assault. When he finished mowing his nine o'clock shadow, he set the razor aside, splashed water on his face, and then dried himself with a towel that had come with his room at the Vanderburgh Hotel.
Cameron placed the towel on a rack, returned to the mirror, and took one last look at a bloke he knew well. With brown eyes, a rugged face, and curly black hair he had cut to Roaring Twenties standards, he looked a lot like the American actor Adrian Grenier and not like a man who had not dated anyone seriously for nearly six years.
He
The time traveler did not peek into the store. He couldn't – at least from the sidewalk. Banner advertisements covered every window. Some ads touted lotions, liniments, and ointments. Others pushed powders, tonics, and creams. If a customer needed laxatives, antiseptics, or "flesh reducers," Heller's had them too. Depilatories and deodorizers were available on demand.
Cameron paid special attention to a sign near the door, which encouraged customers to ASK ABOUT OUR ELIXIRS. He decided he might do just that on his next visit. He considered the shopping possibilities for a moment and then turned his attention to the business next door.
Like Heller's Drug, the law firm of Pauley, Pearson, and Paine was a big fish in a little pond. It employed ten attorneys and forty staff and maintained four offices in southwest Indiana. Cameron knew this because he had read it in Candice's diary.
He also knew, from the same source, that Candice had dated the firm's junior partner, Richard Bronson Paine, for several months. She had broken off their engagement on Valentine's Day 1925, just thirty days past, for reasons she had not shared on paper.
Cameron pondered that bit of trivia for a moment and then cast his eyes on the main prize, a two-story brownstone office building directly across the street. The Evansville Post was more than just a stop on his journey through time. It was his destination.
Cameron took a breath, allowed a car to pass, and crossed the street. As he neared the paper, he noticed two things that gave him pause: closed blinds on the windows and a CLOSED sign on the door. If the Post was open for business, it had a funny way of showing it.
Cameron reached the glass front door a moment later, dropped his bags, and peeked through a space in the blinds. He looked for signs of life but saw only empty desks and chairs.
He tried to open the door but found it locked. For some reason, the entire staff of the city's largest newspaper had taken the day off – or taken the mother of all power lunches.
Cameron stepped back and mulled over his options. If he waited for someone to show up, he might wait the rest of the day. If he left, he might miss a chance to obtain a useful tidbit.
In the end, he decided to leave. After riding the rails for nearly a week, he concluded that he needed rest and relaxation more than he needed a glimpse of a ghost.
Cameron picked up his satchel and his suitcase and started again toward the hotel. For the first time since stepping through Geoffrey Bell's magic tunnel, he pushed Candice Bell, mountain caves, and obligations out of his mind. He thought instead of a bath, a meal, and a good night's sleep. It was time, he thought, for a little R and R.
CHAPTER 11: CAMERON
Tuesday, March 17, 1925
Cameron rinsed his straight razor in a sink full of water, looked in the bathroom mirror, and went at it again. He didn't care much for shaving with a machete, but he did it anyway. He did it because disposable plastic razors were not available in 1925 and because he didn't want to look like a wild man from Borneo when he met Candice Bell for the first time.
He carefully shaved his right cheek, rinsed the blade again, and then went after a few chin hairs that had survived their first assault. When he finished mowing his nine o'clock shadow, he set the razor aside, splashed water on his face, and then dried himself with a towel that had come with his room at the Vanderburgh Hotel.
Cameron placed the towel on a rack, returned to the mirror, and took one last look at a bloke he knew well. With brown eyes, a rugged face, and curly black hair he had cut to Roaring Twenties standards, he looked a lot like the American actor Adrian Grenier and not like a man who had not dated anyone seriously for nearly six years.
He
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