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Chapters (51)
  1. Cover
  2. Books by Elizabeth Camden
  3. Title Page
  4. One
  5. Two
  6. Three
  7. Four
  8. Five
  9. Six
  10. Seven
  11. Eight
  12. Nine
  13. Ten
  14. Eleven
  15. Twelve
  16. Thirteen
  17. Fourteen
  18. Fifteen
  19. Sixteen
  20. Seventeen
  21. Eighteen
  22. Nineteen
  23. Twenty
  24. Twenty-One
  25. Twenty-Two
  26. Twenty-Three
  27. Twenty-Four
  28. Twenty-Five
  29. Twenty-Six
  30. Twenty-Seven
  31. Twenty-Eight
  32. Twenty-Nine
  33. Thirty
  34. Thirty-One
  35. Thirty-Two
  36. Thirty-Three
  37. Thirty-Four
  38. Thirty-Five
  39. Thirty-Six
  40. Thirty-Seven
  41. Thirty-Eight
  42. Thirty-Nine
  43. Forty
  44. Forty-One
  45. Forty-Two
  46. Historical Note
  47. Questions for Discussion
  48. In 2020, look forCaroline Delacroix’sstory in
  49. About the Author
  50. Back Ads
  51. Back Cover

In their two hours this afternoon, they had talked about Caroline, the Pelican, and strategy against the Magruders. The one thing Luke consistently avoided was anything to do with his legal status. Every time Gray asked, Luke diverted the topic. When Gray asked about getting him transferred to an American prison, he said not to bother. He refused to comment on the pending charges or even if there had been a date set for the trial. In exasperation, Gray gave up and asked the broadest question he could think of.

“Tell me what I can do to make this better.”

Luke tilted his head as he thought for a minute. No matter what he asked, Gray would deliver. Money to bribe the guards? Political favors called in? A prison escape? Gray would do his best, but when Luke finally answered, it wasn’t anywhere close to what he’d been thinking.

“There are three families in Philadelphia. You know who they are. Keep an eye on them for me, will you?”

Gray swallowed back his frustration. Those families had already been richly compensated, and no amount of money would ever ease Luke’s conscience, but it was the only thing Luke asked of him, and he would do it.

“Of course.”

Gray stayed as long as the guards permitted, but eventually they showed up to lead Luke back to his cell. With his wrists shackled, his brother couldn’t scoop up the newspapers and magazines, so Gray gathered them together and placed them atop Luke’s outstretched arms. The issue of Good Housekeeping was on top of the stack.

Luke glanced at it. “Don’t be too hard on Annabelle,” he said just before being led down the hall. “I’m guilty as sin, and this wasn’t her fault or anyone else’s.”

As he watched the door slam behind Luke, Gray couldn’t be so sure. Annabelle may have turned him in, but who had failed Luke in the years leading up to his arrest?

Thirty-Three

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Annabelle’s first test in her new position supporting the food purity initiative came exactly one week after the Good Housekeeping article was released. She was measuring soil samples when the department’s secretary entered the lab to tell her that a journalist from The Washington Post wanted to speak with her.

“Does he really want to speak with me?” she asked the secretary. “Surely there is someone more senior than me to represent the department.”

The secretary shook her head. “That’s what I told him, but he says he wants more details on Magruder’s applesauce. I suppose you’re the right person to talk to about that.”

Annabelle looked at Mr. Bryant, who had worked at Agriculture for more than thirty years. “Should I go?”

Mr. Bryant nodded. “It is a challenge to get the popular press to cover anything from the Department of Agriculture, so jump on this opportunity. I’m sure you will comport yourself professionally.”