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72: Meddling 2
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2021-02-14 19:14:46Related chapters
World of Tomorrow 73: Revisited
By the end of the week, Evelyn had settled into a regular schedule working in the LA Trust lobby. She’d become adept at assisting with the morning clearing house reconciliation and was particularly quick at the verification of checks against the bank’s signature cards. To her, it seemed only natural. After all, she’d spent years already keeping account records as a secretary. If there was extra time after the reconciliations were complete, Evelyn was allowed to practice using the Burroughs bookkeeping machines. Getting comfortable with how its calculation mechanism functioned required thinking in a different and challenging way, but she was determined to master it before they left to return to New York. During business hours, when the lobby was slow, she practiced using the comptometer. This device, while much more straightforward in its computation mechanism, still required some slight change in thinking. The most skilled operator at the Trust turned out to be Rupert. With the occas
Last Updated : 2021-02-15World of Tomorrow 74: Remnants
“Of course she’s been seen by a doctor,” Andrew snapped. “I told you what he said.” Evelyn could hear the tension in his voice even before she woke fully. She ought to get up and check on him, before his temper escalated to something they’d both regret. The instant she tried to move, however, her body objected. Vehemently. She lay in bed, her eyes still closed to block the light, and took stock of her physical state. Dear God, I hurt. Not just a little either. Every single muscle from her head to her feet throbbed with exhausted pain, as if she was a new recruit after her first day of military basic training. Oh, how she longed for that magical vial of aspirin Madame Moreau had included in her toiletry bag and the relief it promised. Even the muscles in her hands felt as though she’d abused them. If she considered how that was remotely possible, it seemed a truly singular feat indeed. “I beg your pardon?” Andrew’s words
Last Updated : 2021-02-16World of Tomorrow 75: Backlash
Evelyn leaned on the sill of one of large drawing room windows, her forehead pressed against the glass. The intermittent rains and fitful breezes of the last week had become sustained downpours with whip-like winds over the course of the weekend in advance of a dark heavy line of clouds that hovered ominously on the distant horizon, but fortunately, hadn’t drawn nearer. “There’s flooding in the streets below,” she rasped through her bruised and swollen throat. On the sofa, Andrew flicked down the newspaper to look at her, uncertain he’d heard her correctly with her back turned and the noise of the storm outside. “Was that flooding you said, darling?” Despite the sheeting rain on the windows and the occasional wind-driven bursts, she could still see part of Wilshire Boulevard from their vantage on one of the uppermost floors of the Ambassador. There’d been warnings, of course—people urged to stay indoors. Still, a few vehicles eased their way down the flooding streets, wiper blades
Last Updated : 2021-02-17World of Tomorrow 76: Eye Wall
Collapsed lightly atop Andrew’s chest with her weight supported on her knees straddling him, Evelyn passively allowed him to move her, tugging her out of the twisted tangled silken nightgown she wore. As she settled over him again, she squirmed and stretched to put her mouth to his ear. “Do you really consider undressing is wise?” Planting his heels, he arched his hips upward into a tabled position, sending a blissful rippling aftershock through her, originating where their bodies were still merged. Hearing her soft groan so close to his ear, he groaned in response, hurrying to slide his sleep pants down his hips before relaxing flat on the bed again. “I consider anything that keeps as much of my naked flesh directly against yours to be wise,” he replied with a chuckle, his lips close to hers as she'd done to him. Tipping his face to hers, he pecked a brief kiss upon her lips as he used his legs and feet to work his sleep pants the rest of the way down his long legs.
Last Updated : 2021-02-18World of Tomorrow 77: Jinx
The sound of the wind was noticeably diminished, the sound of the rain returned to a normal pitter-patter. Which confused Evelyn as she opened her eyes to see muted sunlight ringing the now curtained windows. Her throat felt dry after sleeping, and the scratchiness added to the pain she already felt from such a disrupted sleep cycle. Rolling towards the center of the bed, she was dismayed to find she was alone. Which was when she realized the pitter-patter of water she’d mistaken for light rain was actually coming from the bathroom. Andrew must be in the shower. Having learned over the course of this month that he was seldom in there long, she relaxed to wait him out. Covering her eyes with her elbow, she toyed with Andrew’s engagement ring on her fourth finger. There’d been so much to occupy her mind this month, she’d barely given any thought to the fact they weren’t actually married. An anxietal knot twisted sharply in her stomach and she flinched against the pain with a soft gru
Last Updated : 2021-02-19World of Tomorrow 78: Niche
Slogging through the rain-saturated soil, Evelyn fretted about ruining her shoes, but with Andrew gone into the office for the day, she had little else to do with her time. Music drifted across the grounds towards her, most likely from the restored pool and spa of the hotel, so she angled towards higher ground, with the intention of making her way there.As she reached the rise she’d been climbing, the Mona Lisa restaurant she adored came into view. Like her brownstone apartment building in New York, it had been somewhat sheltered from El Cordonazo’s worst destructive efforts by the lee of both the landscape and the nearby buildings.Still, the neon rooftop sign proclaiming ‘Mona Lisa’ tipped at a precarious angle, its supporting frame badly bent. The window awnings on both the first and second floors were mostly gone and what remained hung in limp fluttering tatters. The two upright potted cypress topiaries that had flanked the restaurant&rsquo
Last Updated : 2021-02-20World of Tomorrow 79: Cocoanut Grove
The Cocoanut Grove originally opened as a small nightclub lounge in the Ambassador Hotel. Within a few months after, the grand ballroom was annexed to expand the available space of the popular hang-out for the hotel’s guests, the visiting country club set and the crasser Hollywood producers and movie stars. Unlike El Morocco in New York City, in Los Angeles, there was simply no other place to go. No one entertained with the grand, elegant aristocratic manner that the Ambassador supplied. Whether ‘old money’ or nouveau riche, this was where everyone who was anyone got together, to be seen, cosseted, and entertained. While the hotel’s rooms were decorated in pastel tints in the furniture, fine French cretonne, appealing prints and original paintings on the walls, with hanging window boxes and stately palms to round out the tropical theme, the Cocoanut Grove took this far to the extreme. “I can’t believe all of the people here,” Evelyn exclaimed softly as the Moroccan designed gold-lea
Last Updated : 2021-02-21World of Tomorrow 80: Fortuitous
“I’ll miss the citrus,” Evelyn sighed, savoring the half grapefruit that had been served with their breakfast. “I’ll ask Mr. Valenzuela to ship some to New York for you, darling.” His eyes followed the valet and maid he’d hired for the morning as they worked in the bedroom, busily packing their belongings from the closets. “Do you have everything you’ll need for the train?” “That’s the third time you’ve asked me,” she chided gently. “Yes. Everything I’ll need is there by the door.” “So you did. I apologize. This whole mess with the route being altered until they can restore the bridge washed out from the deluge has me slightly off-kilter.” Picking up his spoon, he stirred his coffee again, then took a sip. “Is it that? Or the Declaration of Panama and the maritime boundaries it designates?” She smiled when he focused on her somewhat in shock. “I can read headlines, you know.” He sighed. “That didn’t help. It’s not yet approved, but we need to move on it quickly.” “I thought you h
Last Updated : 2021-02-23
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World of Tomorrow 139: Epilogue
“Stop, Peter!” Sarah exclaimed, whirling to face behind her. She shot her brother an angry glare. “Peter, for pity’s sake, don’t throw dirt clods at your sister,” Andrew called over his shoulder, shifting his swaddled, sleeping son from his right shoulder to his left as they walked the long, tree-lined drive that led to the James’ estate, perched with its back on a bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Gulls rode the ocean updrafts in the afternoon sun above the glistening water, occasionally diving when something of interest caught their eye. On the opposite side of the tree-lined drive, his wife’s tiny orchard of glossy-leaved oranges in full bloom left a sweet scent drifting over the drive on the warm, salty breeze off the sea. Not far away, Evelyn's gated garden was growing lush with upright stalks of corn, twined in the loving arms of pole beans with the wide leaves of squash spreading in a carpet at their feet along the ground in one row. In another, her tomatoes were already d
World of Tomorrow 138: Sound and Fury
“M-ma-ma.” The stuttering word was an alarming half-sob and half-gurgle from the wounded Becky. “M-ma-m-ma.” Dear God! Whoever it was had shot her! That poor, helpless girl! Why!? She wasn’t a threat! And there was absolutely nothing here of any value! Evelyn’s heart leapt to her throat and hammered painfully. But she stayed close to the wall, inching forward on tiptoe to clutch at Andrew’s jacket. She pointed to the floor where their shadows fell long across it from the single overhead lamp in the middle of the room. If they drew too close to the door, their shadows would be visible to the intruder in the darkened hall leading to the bedrooms. She pointed to the window, and Andrew jerked his chin towards it in acknowledgement. Escape. They had to escape. Outside, on the sidewalk, they could summon the patrolling police officer. They could summon help. Men trained for this. Men with other guns. They had to move fast. Miranda’s daughter needed them. Even above the scuffling noises fr
World of Tomorrow 137: Miranda's Story
Andrew rose slowly to his feet, an antagonized muscle twitching along his clean-shaven jaw. His expression looked like a bomb about to explode. Evelyn drew a sudden breath, one hand clapping over her mouth. She stared, in turns, first at Will, then at Miranda, and her mind whirled. What was it Alexander Lowell had said the day that Detective Kelly had attempted to arrest her? The same day he’d later resigned from the police department. Something about the detective being fed what he needed to lay an accusation upon Evelyn. The question of ‘why’ anyone cared about a lowly former secretary enough to attempt to kill her, let alone invest the effort in framing her was growing more convoluted by the minute. But it was clear it was centered here, with the account belonging to Glorietta Moreno and her rights as an heir to it. “It’s a stretch,” Andrew said softly, nodding towards Miranda, “but I can see why your mother might have had Russell’s name on that account. N
World of Tomorrow 136: Doors
“You folks just planning on waiting?” their cabbie asked, his dark eyes studying Andrew and Will in the rearview mirror, despite that Evelyn was seated between them. “Meter’s running. Makes no never mind to me if you do, but I’ll have to circle the block or the flatfoots will cite me.” “How long do we have to decide?” Andrew asked, reluctant to have the cab move on the off chance that they might miss Miranda's departure for work during the process. “’Nother minute or two at most.” “Thank you.” He shifted slightly on the cab’s rear seat so he could better see his companions. “I know we’re early, but if she’s keeping business hours, I’d have expected she’d have to allow time to travel to a workplace. You’re certain this is the building, Will?” “It’s the place,” he replied definitively. “I can go in and wait. Tail her to wherever she’s going, then come get you.” “Is it possible she recognized you yesterday?” Evelyn asked, peering through the murk
World of Tomorrow 135: Plan of Attack
The dancing had worked like a charm. For a couple of hours. Andrew had managed to get just shy of another couple hours on top of that, burning time off the afternoon by alternating between listening to the orchestra rehearse, dancing, and finally, by slipping a bribe to the broadcasting staff to show Evelyn their equipment set-up and to take their sweet time about it. After that, she’d become too fretful to do much beyond distractedly, which had quickly spoiled the ballroom option for both of them. They’d retired to their drawing room, taken afternoon tea, then Evelyn’s pacing had begun again in earnest. He had to admit, watching her as she combed through her drying hair at the dressing table, it might be time to worry about Will a little. It was going on eight o’clock. Late by any business standard, but certainly well past the time when most diners catering to the kind of clients they’d seen at the DeBaliviere Diner and Waffle House would be visiting
World of Tomorrow 134: As Luck Would Have It
Wednesday morning in St. Louis dawned dark and gloomy and only marginally better than it had been upon their arrival early afternoon on Monday. When Evelyn emerged from the bedroom into the drawing room where he and the constantly-moving Will waited, Andrew flicked the newspaper he’d been reading down and smiled. They’d all slept poorly—again. They’d all woken late—again—and after their enjoyable brunch yesterday, both men were eager to see what other offerings were available in the East Lounge’s dining area. “Well?” she asked, her red-tinged and particle-irritated eyes roving the drawing room’s lush furnishings, immediately spotting the unmistakable coating of fine black powder and ash. “Are we trapped inside again today? It seems faintly better.” Will snorted. “By comparison to yesterday, being buried in black sand would seem better.” Andrew chuckled, setting aside the St. Louis Star-Times he’d been reading. He rifled through a stack of newspapers o
World of Tomorrow 133: Black Tuesday
The hotel’s ballroom was a gently baroque style. Its elegant space was replete with all manner of luxuries one would expect of a high-profile hotel, no matter where one might visit in the world—custom paneled with artfully etched-mirror and plaster walls, gold-leafed accents and intricate crown moldings. Above the near-magical dancefloor, which was lit from below, hung in the decorative ceiling, a ponderous crystal chandelier lit the warm wooden dancefloor beneath it. Along the periphery, undulating balconies supported by Corinthian pilasters gave an air of classicism to the space, but one not overly staid. These generous galleries provided seating for those who had only come for a meal, to watch the dancing or to listen to the orchestra. They’d dressed for a late dinner, but though the orchestra played, their music broadcast exactly as Evelyn had always dreamed of experiencing, she and Andrew hadn’t danced. In fact, they hadn’t stayed much longer than
World of Tomorrow 132: Miserable Monday
“The Coronado was built, and I believe is now run, by Preston Bradshaw,” Andrew advised more than an hour later as their cab pulled away from the curb at the train depot. “He graduated from Columbia with my brother, Russell. The two were quite good friends as I recall. My father introduced him to Stanford White in New York City where he worked before returning to St. Louis. He’s responsible for the monumental hotels on Lindell Boulevard. The Melbourne and the Coronado at midtown and the theatre district. And opposite, near the Central West end, the Chase and the Forest Park hotels were also his commissions.” “Did you know him?” Evelyn asked, closing her burning eyes and resting her head against his shoulder. “Is that why we’re staying at the Coronado?” She left unspoken the reminder that the Coronado Hotel, in particular the hotel’s famed Caprice Club, was where they’d found Charlotte to serve Andrew’s divorce paperwork after their tip-off from the Princes in Los Angeles.
World of Tomorrow 131: Arrival
The following morning Evelyn woke alone. She could tell by the way his belongings were packed that Andrew had already risen. If she was any guess, he was taking advantage of the train’s onboard barber, which meant she had time to bathe and dress without his typical morning enthusiasm for both processes. Selecting a warm dress from her traveling case, she draped her clothing over the empty towel rack in the bathroom and rooted through her toiletries for her toothbrush and toothpowder. When she was done, she hung a fresh towel on the rack nearest the shower beside the still-damp one Andrew had used and stepped under the spray. The warm shower felt delightful and soothed the telltale soreness from her bedroom exertions with her husband the night before. Once she’d washed, she stood with the warm spray draining off of her and for the first time since they’d come, wondered what they were going to do in St. Louis. They had only the name of a diner and a hotel off t
