IV

     Jason entered the dark alley behind the boarding house. After making certain no one was around, he headed straight for the Seamus. Clancey heard him on deck and scaled the steps to greet him.

     "There you are,bucko." Clancey was obviously relieved. "I'm staying topside awhile."

     "Is she too much for you Clancey?" Jason teased nodding toward the hold.

     "There isn't a woman born that's too much for Roland Frances Clancey!" he bragged. "That one..." he smiled. "If you hadn't told me she'd been raised with the Bolts, I could have guessed it on me own. She's a corker all right."     

     "Is that a compliment?" Jason asked with a grin.

     "Aye. For now, but she is one who needs a body to keep her in check. It's not healthy for one female to have so many ideas. That's what I say." The Captain took a turn around the deck of the Shamus and appreciated again what a good, dependable, responsive woman she was.

     Jason descended to the hold almost stumbling into Kate who had heard his voice and was on her way up to meet him.

     "Hold on there. You stay out of sight. Here."

     She took the carpetbag from him. "Did you find Dan?"

     "He was waiting in your apartment, in the dark.

     Kate smiled, "He had a gun on you didn't he?"

     "How did you know?"

     "Dan's gotten into the habit of waiting for me after I make my rounds as a paperboy ever since the death threats have increased. Certain people just don't want to see our story in print. Can you imagine that?" Kate joked as she pulled odds and ends from the bag. Jason and Dan had no idea what Kate would need so along with the dress, they piled in things from her bureau. It was a good thing that the girl didn't own much because the two men had dumped everything she did own into the bag.

     Jason watched her with a frown. She glanced up at him and noticed his expression. "Jason Bolt, you have a definite big brotherly look in your eye. It's the same one that used to aggravate me so much ten years ago. What's wrong?"

     "Do you know what I want to do right now?"

     She shook her head. "Haven't a clue. What?"

     "Tell Clancey to shove off right this minute and take you back to Seattle where you can roam around Bridal Veil to your heart's content."

     He caught the longing glimmer in her eyes before she could disguise it .

     "What do you think?" he prodded

     "Maybe, after we finish with this story." She continued to unpack. "Jason, why did you pack two and a half pairs of stockings?"

     "It seemed like a good idea to us at the time."

     Jason took her hands in his and turned her toward him. "Sit down a minute, Cricket. I want to talk to you."

     "All right." She sat down tiredly. "Am I in for a lecture already?"

     Jason grinned, "No. I'd just like to know why you are so willing to risk your life for this story."

     "Jason, this is the most important assignment of my career. I'll make my mark in journalism with this one and because of it, other important stories won't be far behind." Her answer didn't seem to impress him much. "Papa would be proud of me. He always hoped that I would make a difference in this world."

     "So you're doing this for him?"

     "And for me, and for the people in San Francisco and Chicago." Kate crossed to the porthole and looked out at the water sloshing up against the bottom of the glass. "I want to make a difference Jason .If I can stop some of the prejudice and corruption in this city by bringing it out in the open in my articles or in the courtroom, then I think I'll have succeeded. Don't you think justice is worth the risk?"

     She fired her question at point blank range and what could he say? He and his brothers had lived their lives according to that very same code. Kate Macready was as much a Bolt in her heart as he, and he was very proud of her at that moment. Still, he knew how impulsive, independent and stubborn she had been at thirteen. Those qualities, not her altruism, caused him worry.

     "Just don't let it cost you everything, honey."

     The genuine concern and affection in his voice made her turn away. The young reporter had experienced so much of the harshness of life since she'd left Seattle. It had taken her years to harden herself to its effects. Kate was proud of her ability to hustle stories with the best of them in Chicago although she had yet to receive credit for her efforts because of her sex. Even that disappointment seldom made a dent in the armor she'd forged around her emotions these days. Now, here she was, successfully keeping any tender weakness at bay when Jason Bolt came back into her life. Kate believed what everyone had told her from the day she arrived in Chicago: she had to be tough to survive. So, no matter how much she would love to collapse onto Jason's lap and open up to him about the fears and trials she'd experienced in the last decade, she kept the door firmly shut on those thoughts by turning the tables on him.

     "You'd like to see me get out of journalism wouldn't you? "she accused playfully.

     "I'm not saying that.".

     "You aren't?" He shook his head. "Well, that's to your credit brother." Kate returned to the table and patted him on the shoulder.

     "And what do you mean by that?"

     Kate smiled at him, "You never were one to believe that a lady had the right to choose her own way in life."

     Jason sat down at the table near her. "I'll admit that used to be true. A lot has happened to change the opinions of the Bolt brothers in recent years."

     Kate's eyes widened. "Oh, that's right. I should thank the New Bedford women you brought to Seattle for these changes, shouldn't I?"

     Jason was surprised. "How in the world did you hear about them?"

     "I was working as a reader in the file room for the Tribune when I came across articles about your visit to New Bedford. I clipped every one of them for myself."

     "Why didn't you try to contact us then? We were there for some time."

     Kate shrugged, "I had just been hired on at the paper. Papa was sick ..." She avoided further discussion by wandering through the hold. "I suppose I'll be spending the night down here?"

     "From what I saw of your room at the boarding house, this isn't much different."

     "Hey!" she laughed. "That wasn't nice even if it is true. I can't afford much."

     Jason laughed too. "Clancey will let you sleep in his cabin tonight. One of us will be on deck to keep a look-out for unwelcome visitors. How about some coffee?"

     "I need to get some rest, Jason. I'm exhausted."

     Jason would like to have dug a little more into his friend's past but the emotional strain of the day was taking its toll on her. Apart from her fatigue, Jason had sensed her reluctance to let down her guard with him and he wanted to know why. Instead, he said.

     "I'll get Clancey and he can show you where to put your things."

     As Kate was settling herself into Clancey's cabin later, she examined the contents around her with interest. The tiny room was simply furnished, decidedly manly and comfortable. She caught sight of a picture displayed on top of a locker at the end of the bunk. Kate picked up the wooden frame and studied the tintype it contained. In it, she saw the images of Jason and two other young men she assumed to be Joshua and Jeremy. Her fingers stroked the glass softly. It had been so long and here they were, strong, handsome men. She had missed so much of their lives. The aching loneliness she'd felt for them returned like a stabbing pain. Maybe she could see them again somehow. Maybe her job would allow her enough time for a short visit. Maybe.

     Kate turned her attention to the other two figures in the picture. An older woman and a beautiful young lady smiled up at her.

     The woman must be the one who moved to Seattle after papa and I left: Lottie was her name, I think. And this one? One of the boys must be married by now. A large tear dropped from her cheek, landing squarely on the glass in her hands. She wiped it away quickly. Get some sleep Macready. You're too tired to think straight about all of this, and you have to think straight in court tomorrow.

     Kate placed the frame next to her on the nightstand before turning the lamp down low. Resting her head on the hard pillow, the girl's mind whirled with images of murder, Seattle, her father, Dan, Chicago, the paper, San Francisco and the Bolts. She woke several times during the night, startled into alertness by the creaking of the old ship and her pounding heart. She prayed for peace, protection and the dawn to come soon. As she prayed, Kate realized that there was one more thing she needed to do to assure their success in court. It needed to be done at once, without delay. Kate scrambled out of bed and searched for her dress in the dark. Silently, the girl slipped out of the cabin and over the side of the deck to the pier, carefully avoiding Clancey's watchful eye.

     When her mission was completed, Kate crept back onto the Seamus just as the sky in the east brightened. It was so close to dawn Kate remained in her clothes. She glanced guiltily at Jason's image in the tintype then turned it upside down before closing her eyes to rest.