In Places Hidden (Golden Gate Secrets Book #1) , livre ebook

Baker Publishing Group - Tracie Peterson

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165 pages

English

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On her way to San Francisco to find her brother, Caleb, who went missing three months ago, Camriann Coulter meets Judith and Kenzie, who both have their own mysteries to solve in the booming West Coast city. The women decide to help each other, including rooming together and working at Kenzie's cousin's chocolate factory.Camri's search for her brother, an attorney, leads her deep into the political corruption of the city--and into the acquaintance of Patrick Murdock, a handsome Irishman who was saved from a false murder charge by Caleb. Patrick challenges all of Camri's privileged beliefs, but he knows more about what happened to her brother than anyone else. Together, they move closer to the truth behind Caleb's disappearance. But as the stakes rise and threats loom, will Patrick be able to protect Camri from the dangers he knows lie in the hidden places of the city?

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Historical fiction

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Publié par	Baker Publishing Group
Date de parution	06 mars 2018
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781493413584
Langue	English
Poids de l'ouvrage	2 Mo

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0461€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

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Cover
Title Page
Copyright Page
© 2018 by Peterson Ink, Inc.
Published by Bethany House Publishers
11400 Hampshire Avenue South
Bloomington, Minnesota 55438
www.bethanyhouse.com
Bethany House Publishers is a division of
Baker Publishing Group, Grand Rapids, Michigan
www.bakerpublishinggroup.com
Ebook edition created 2018
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—for example, electronic, photocopy, recording—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
ISBN 978-1-4934-1358-4
Scripture quotations are from the King James Version of the Bible.
This is a work of historical reconstruction; the appearances of certain historical figures are therefore inevitable. All other characters, however, are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
Cover design by LOOK Design Studio
Cover photography by Aimee Christenson
Dedication
To Camri and Caleb and Kenzie
Grow strong in the Lord and seek Him first. There may be rough roads in life, but nothing takes God by surprise. He’s already made provision for your every need.
Contents
Cover
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
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10
11
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About the Author
Books by Tracie Peterson
Back Ads
Back Cover
CHAPTER 1
L ATE N OVEMBER , 1905
S an . . . Fran . . . cisco! Next stop, San . . . Fran . . . cisco,” the conductor called in a slow, elongated manner.
Passengers throughout the car began gathering their things, and the volume of conversations grew as the train slowed.
Camrianne Coulter smiled at the two women sitting opposite her. “Thank you both for making this such a pleasant trip. I believe God put us together for a reason.”
The redheaded woman who’d introduced herself three days earlier as Kenzie Gifford nodded. “I don’t imagine I’ve been good company, but I’m grateful for your friendship.”
“You’ve been through a great deal, Kenzie, and despite that, you’ve been lovely to talk to.” Judith Gladstone pushed an errant strand of blond hair under her hat and smiled at Camrianne. “I’m not all that knowledgeable about God, but as my mother used to say, ‘I feel that fate has brought us together.’”
Camri nodded as some of the male passengers moved toward the end of the car. The aisles were narrow, and as the men jostled Camri, they tipped their hats and apologized. She paid them little attention. She’d grown up in Chicago and was used to crowded situations and people who were always in a hurry.
Seeing no need to compete for a place on the car’s platform, Camri merely checked the buttons on her gloves and continued her conversation. “I knew when I started this journey that God would provide for my every need. Because of my education, some people think it strange that I put my faith in an unseen Deity, but I believe trusting God is a choice based not only in faith, but wisdom. I personally don’t believe in fate or luck, but I’m very thankful that you both agreed to help me. I’m glad to help you in your searches as well.”
Kenzie gazed out the train window. “I am too. Although my search isn’t a physical one, like yours. I’ll be content just to find some peace of mind and heart.”
“I’m sure you will,” Judith said as she strained to look out the dirty train window over Kenzie’s shoulder. “And Camri, I’m sure we’ll find your brother.”
Camri’s journey was not one of joy and excitement, as it had been just a year ago when she’d traveled from Chicago to San Francisco with her parents. They had stayed with her brother, Caleb, for several weeks, and Camri had helped him put his house in order.
Now her parents were ill, and Caleb had disappeared.
She frowned. He had been missing for over three months, and no one had any idea where he’d gone. Until August, his letters had always come like clockwork on the first of every month. One letter came for their parents and another for Camri. He even managed to write their older sister, Catherine, who was married and lived nearby with her family. It was a routine Caleb had never wavered in since moving to San Francisco five years earlier.
Until now.
“Are you certain your brother won’t mind us staying at his house?” Judith asked.
The train conductor passed through the car again. “All out for San . . . Fran . . . cisco!” He edged through the men standing at the end of the car and moved on to the next.
Camri raised her voice to be heard above the din. “I can’t imagine he would. He’s always been kind and generous.” She retied the ribbons of her simple travel bonnet. “He has a nice house with four bedrooms, so there will be plenty of room.” Especially since he was not even there. Camri left that thought unspoken. She had already spent the entire trip dwelling on or discussing her missing brother. “Since we’ve all come to San Francisco with a particular goal in mind, I’m glad we can pool our resources.”
The train came to a jerky stop with the screech of metal wheels on metal rails.
Judith sighed. “I’m glad not to have to go to a hotel. My funds are quite limited.”
“As are mine,” Kenzie said, turning to face Camri, “although I’m hopeful my mother’s cousin will honor his word and put me to work at his candy factory. I’ll ask him about jobs for you both.”
Camri nodded, although with her expanded college education, she found the idea of working at a factory a bit beneath her. Education had always been important in her family, and that, along with women’s rights, had taken all of Camri’s attention the last few years. She had hated leaving her teaching position at the women’s college in Chicago. Her teaching ability was highly regarded by the college administration, and her work with the suffrage movement had garnered respect from men and women alike.
But Caleb’s welfare was much more important. Something had to be desperately wrong, or he would have written.
She couldn’t help but sigh. The stress and worry had taken such a toll on their parents that both had taken to their beds with various maladies, and the doctor was concerned. Camri had decided, at their urging, to look for Caleb. She’d left their parents to the care of her elder sister, hoping against hope that she’d arrive in San Francisco to find that Caleb had merely been too busy to write. Of course, she was certain that wouldn’t be the case. Since even his household servants, Mr. and Mrs. Wong, hadn’t seen him, she knew he had most likely met with harm.
The real question was whether or not he was still alive.
Now that the train was stopped, passengers flooded the aisles. Camri knew better than to be in a hurry to disembark. She had no desire to be pushed and prodded by others as they rushed to exit the train.
Judith was the first of the trio to stand, reaching down for her small carpetbag. From the looks of it, the bag was ancient, but Camri knew it was one of the few things left to Judith. According to her sad tale, most of her family’s assets had been sold off to pay the debts left by her deceased mother and father.
Kenzie was next to get to her feet, pulling a dark veil on her hat down over her face. It was in this state that Camri had first met Kenzie in Kansas City. While she’d waited for her train west, Camri had shared a table with Kenzie in the crowded depot restaurant. At first Camri had thought the redheaded woman to be a widow in mourning, but she’d soon learned that Kenzie Gifford had been stood up at the altar on her wedding day.
Camri gathered her thoughts along with her things. It was important to stay focused. She tucked her large leather satchel under one arm and clutched her purse close with the other. One could never be too careful in big cities, and she wasn’t about to become the victim of a pickpocket.
They were helped from the train and instructed where they could hire a porter and cab. Camri was used to traveling and easily managed the arrangement. A large uniformed black man took their information and collected their trunks while the ladies waited in the comfort of the depot.
“I’m so glad you recommended we take the train from Los Angeles rather than coming into Oakland,” Kenzie said as she glanced around. “I doubt I could have managed the ferry ride over. I’m already somewhat motion sick.”
“The other route is much longer.” Camri and her family had taken the Oakland route last year, and it had seemed to take forever. Caleb had learned only after their arrival that it was much easier to come by way of Los Angeles.
The porter finally returned and announced that their trunks had been loaded into a hired carriage. Camri tipped him generously and motioned to the other ladies to follow her.
Outside the depot, San Francisco was damp and chilly and noisy. The carriage driver helped them board and hardly waited for them to settle before putting the horses in motion. He paid little attention to the conveyances and people around him, almost as if he expected the traffic to magically part for his horses. It was quickly apparent that travel through the city was pretty much a free-for-all. Camri watched in silence and not a small amount of fear as horses and carts darted between automobiles and cable cars with a daring that should have been reserved for a circus act. Added to this were people who crossed streets and maneuvered in and out of traffic as though they had no fear of death.
The noise of a city was something Camri had missed. Long hours on the train traveling through wide-open farm country and prairie wastelands had left her longing for the city and its clamor. Vendors hawked their wares, cable-car drivers clanged their bells while newsboys sounded the headlines of the d