indentation to her chin. He widened her mouth, lifted the corners slightly to intimate a smile, and then considered the problem of that maddening dimple. Without it, the sketch looked incomplete, but if he rendered it wrong, the sketch would never satisfy him.
He flicked the nib of the pen over the paper, making a comma just to the left of her lips. The effect was to immediately deepen her smile.
Cobb returned her greeting with an ironic half smile of his own. “There’s still the matter of you being a thief, Miss Morrow. I haven’t forgotten that.”
The problem was that he didn’t believe it with the same conviction his employer seemed to.
Sliding the sketch out of his way, Cobb slanted the writing paper on the desk and dipped his pen in the inkwell. He planned to keep his correspondence brief.
He had considered telling Mackey that he had discovered Miss Morrow’s whereabouts before he left for Bitter Springs but decided in the end to exercise more caution. Clients did not always act in their own best interests, and Mackey might have done something to send Miss Morrow packing. At the very least, Mackey would press for details, and Cobb was not prepared to give him Miss Morrow’s connection to Mrs. Kellen Coltrane.
It turned out that Mrs. Coltrane, once he was finally able to speak with her and present himself as a candidate for the teaching position, had been both apologetic and helpful. She informed him that she had hired someone months earlier and regretted that Bitter Springs was too small to support or have need of a second teacher, especially since his letter of interest was as impressive as the woman who accepted the position.
“Miss Morrow does not have your experience minding a school,” Mrs. Coltrane had informed him, “but I have assured myself her education and temperament make her admirably suited.”
She had questioned Cobb as to why he had not made his application earlier, and he told her the truth: He had not seen the advertisement when it first appeared and learned about it from an acquaintance. She was impressed that he continued to pursue the opportunity even after he discovered that she was gone from the Palmer House. Without prompting, she offered the information that her husband’s work required extensive travel, although she never mentioned what manner of business occupied him. Cobb had to learn that for himself.
By the time Cobb left the interview at the Peabody Hotel in Memphis, he possessed enough information about Mrs. Coltrane, Bitter Springs, and the teacher who had taken the position to whet his appetite, not satisfy it. Rather than telling Mackey anything definitive, he only revealed that he had several promising leads. The lawyer was not impressed, but he still advanced Cobb money for his expenses. Watching Mackey write the draft, Cobb could not help but think there was something desperate in the act. There was no shaking the notion that Andrew Mackey had something to fear from Gertrude Morrow. Spending time with her this evening had not made Cobb change his mind.
Cobb’s hand moved swiftly across the page, leaving a scrawl of letters behind that bore only a passing resemblance to the careful script he had practiced as a youth. In two sentences, he explained the situation to his employer. He added a third, this time to say that he would remain in Bitter Springs and wait for further instructions. Cobb could envision Mackey changing his mind when he learned how far he would have to travel to meet Miss Morrow. It was possible he would want Cobb to escort her back to Chicago. That would effectively end his assignment, because regardless of the payment due him, he already determined he wouldn’t perform that task.
Cobb waited for the ink to dry before he folded the letter. His employer would be unhappy that Cobb had not sent word by telegram, but if Mackey thought about it, he would realize that any message, even a cryptic one, could not be kept confidential from the person
He flicked the nib of the pen over the paper, making a comma just to the left of her lips. The effect was to immediately deepen her smile.
Cobb returned her greeting with an ironic half smile of his own. “There’s still the matter of you being a thief, Miss Morrow. I haven’t forgotten that.”
The problem was that he didn’t believe it with the same conviction his employer seemed to.
Sliding the sketch out of his way, Cobb slanted the writing paper on the desk and dipped his pen in the inkwell. He planned to keep his correspondence brief.
He had considered telling Mackey that he had discovered Miss Morrow’s whereabouts before he left for Bitter Springs but decided in the end to exercise more caution. Clients did not always act in their own best interests, and Mackey might have done something to send Miss Morrow packing. At the very least, Mackey would press for details, and Cobb was not prepared to give him Miss Morrow’s connection to Mrs. Kellen Coltrane.
It turned out that Mrs. Coltrane, once he was finally able to speak with her and present himself as a candidate for the teaching position, had been both apologetic and helpful. She informed him that she had hired someone months earlier and regretted that Bitter Springs was too small to support or have need of a second teacher, especially since his letter of interest was as impressive as the woman who accepted the position.
“Miss Morrow does not have your experience minding a school,” Mrs. Coltrane had informed him, “but I have assured myself her education and temperament make her admirably suited.”
She had questioned Cobb as to why he had not made his application earlier, and he told her the truth: He had not seen the advertisement when it first appeared and learned about it from an acquaintance. She was impressed that he continued to pursue the opportunity even after he discovered that she was gone from the Palmer House. Without prompting, she offered the information that her husband’s work required extensive travel, although she never mentioned what manner of business occupied him. Cobb had to learn that for himself.
By the time Cobb left the interview at the Peabody Hotel in Memphis, he possessed enough information about Mrs. Coltrane, Bitter Springs, and the teacher who had taken the position to whet his appetite, not satisfy it. Rather than telling Mackey anything definitive, he only revealed that he had several promising leads. The lawyer was not impressed, but he still advanced Cobb money for his expenses. Watching Mackey write the draft, Cobb could not help but think there was something desperate in the act. There was no shaking the notion that Andrew Mackey had something to fear from Gertrude Morrow. Spending time with her this evening had not made Cobb change his mind.
Cobb’s hand moved swiftly across the page, leaving a scrawl of letters behind that bore only a passing resemblance to the careful script he had practiced as a youth. In two sentences, he explained the situation to his employer. He added a third, this time to say that he would remain in Bitter Springs and wait for further instructions. Cobb could envision Mackey changing his mind when he learned how far he would have to travel to meet Miss Morrow. It was possible he would want Cobb to escort her back to Chicago. That would effectively end his assignment, because regardless of the payment due him, he already determined he wouldn’t perform that task.
Cobb waited for the ink to dry before he folded the letter. His employer would be unhappy that Cobb had not sent word by telegram, but if Mackey thought about it, he would realize that any message, even a cryptic one, could not be kept confidential from the person
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