Secrets and Lies

Twelve

The train ride rocked Ashton back and forth on his seat, and his hat slid around on his head so much that he wanted to take the blasted thing off. Today's ride wasn't for enjoyment, anyway. He was determined to find out who was robbing from the Conrail Railroad one way or another.

For today's ride, he decided to disguise himself a little. He added a fake mustache and long sideburns to his face, and he even wore a suit that was pretty old. The elbows and knees were worn thin, but at least the costume made him look more like everyone else on the train.

He'd boarded the train sitting in one car, but with every hour, he moved to the next car. He visited with others passengers as he closely watched the porters. So far, everyone and everything seemed normal. He didn't expect a robbery to happen this soon after the last one, but he was hoping to see something out of place—at least something that would make him curious enough to dig deeper and get more answers.

The train had already arrived at its destination in Hartford, Connecticut, and had just started its journey back to New York. He moved to another car and found a seat next to a woman with two young children.

"Ma'am," Ashton said, tipping his hat. "Do you mind if I sit here for a few minutes?"

"That is fine, as long as you don't mind my children being fussy." She smiled.

"I don't mind at all. I love children."

"Do you have some of your own?" the woman asked.

"Not yet, but I have siblings who have children," he fibbed. "I get to see them every few months."

"How nice for you."

Ashton took the seat and finally removed his bothersome hat. "Do you live in New York?"

She shook her head. "No, but I have relatives in New York. We will only visit for a week."

"I hope you enjoy your stay."

"We will. I have been to New York before, but it was before my children were born. I'm excited to show them the city."

"I'm sure they will like it."

A few other people were moving about in the car, and he switched his attention to the man making his way toward the back door. Because this was the last passenger car, the only other railcar left was the mail car. Immediately, Ashton was alert for anything. There was no reason for that man to leave this car using that particular door.

Just before the man reached the door, he turned and sat next to a woman. Both were dressed similar to the way Ashton was, but there was something different that caught his eye. The woman looked familiar, even though he could only see the side of her face right now.

He wanted to leave this seat and move closer, but since he had just sat down, he'd wait a little while before moving again. But he kept his attention on the young couple. Their heads were leaning in close to the other as they whispered.

The woman's outdated bonnet hid most of her hair and her eyes, so all he could see was her nose and mouth. Strange that he would still think she looked familiar, yet something deep inside of him told him they had met before. Unfortunately, his memory wasn't finding that exact time or person.

The child sitting on the woman's lap in front of him dropped his toy. The ball rolled and knocked against Ashton's boot. He reached down, picked it up, and handed it to the child. Bashful, the boy buried his face against his mother's shoulder.

"Thank you, sir," she said.

"You are very welcome."

He switched his gaze to the other couple at the end of the car once again. They had swapped seats and the front of the woman was now easier to see. Yet, he still couldn't figure out where he knew her since her bonnet shadowed her eyes.

The person sitting next to the couple spoke to them, and the woman laughed. The merry sound from her mouth floated through the car and hit Ashton like a ton of bricks. No...that couldn't be Nicole.

He narrowed his gaze on her, studying her movements more closely now. The flip of her hand, the tilt of her head, and the curve of her smile gave away the person she was trying to hide underneath those drab, old, and very worn clothes.

What was she doing on the train...and with another man? And why in the blazes was she dressed in that fashion? She had told him at the costume ball that she usually didn't look so elegant, and even their afternoon down by the bay, she'd said it again. Could she have been telling the truth? Could he be staring at the real Nicole Bastian?

For some reason, he didn't think so. The woman he had gotten to know in Staten Island was the real Nicole. He felt it deep in his heart. So then what was she doing dressing up like this? And who was the man she was with?

The man sitting beside Nicole laughed and he rested his arm behind her. She didn't seem bothered at all by the intimate gesture. Not very often did Ashton become a possessive man, but the green monster of jealousy crept over him slowly and twisted something inside his chest as he watched the two interact together. He didn't like the unknown feeling at all. He wanted answers now.

Unfortunately, he couldn't say anything yet. He, too, was in disguise, but for a good reason. What could Nicole's reason be?

The longer he watched her and the other man, the more he realized they were keeping their eyes on others in this railcar, too. Very interesting... Ashton's curiosity bumped up a notch, yet at the same time, doubt sneaked into his head. Would she be with the people who were robbing his train? Could that be the reason she'd become so enthralled in him the night of the masked ball, and especially the next day? Then again, she hadn't known who he was.

Or so she's said.

Now he wondered if she had known his identity the whole time. For certain, something wasn't right, and he was determined to discover what was going on.

Something bumped against his boot again, and he glanced down. The little boy's ball had dropped and rolled against him, again. Ashton bent to retrieve it when the newspaper on the seat next to him captured his attention first. Actually, it was the bold large letters reading: General Babcock arrested for Whiskey-ring Fraud that made Ashton pause in picking up the ball.

"What the devil?" he grumbled and grabbed the newspaper instead of the child's ball. He skimmed over the article plastered on the front page. Apparently, the general was under suspicion of the federal government. He was arrested for conspiracy to defraud the Treasury of the United States.

As Ashton read further, the article stated that the general was amongst a group of distillers and public officials who were defrauding the government of liquor taxes. The proof of this was a journal that had been kept between the public official and the sellers that were found in Babcock's house. The article went on to say that over three-million dollars in taxes were recovered.

Blowing out a ragged breath between his teeth, Ashton shook his head in disbelief. And to think that Ashton was in the general's presence a few times during the masked ball. He and Nicole had even seen the man the next day at the park near the bay. Had the man been under suspicion during that time?

Yet it all made sense now. Babcock probably knew he was under suspicion. That could have been why he looked so angered when Ashton noticed him at the park. Yet, the general appeared to aim his anger toward Nicole. She must have felt something because that was the moment when she decided to hurry away from Babcock and his friends and...hide.

Come to think about it, Ashton had witnessed Nicole in the general's study the night of the ball. She'd appeared to be reading some kind of book. Could this book have been the same journal found in Babcock's house?

Coincidence or not? For some reason he couldn't explain, he thought not.

More doubt sneaked inside of him as he slowly lifted his gaze to focus on Nicole and the other man. Strange that she would somehow be involved with Babcock, and now she was on the train, appearing even more suspicious.

One way or another, he needed to get her alone and have a long talk with her...and hope to shout that he believed her story.

****

Nicole was certain her father would be disappointed. She and her brother spent most of the day on the train traveling to Hartford, Connecticut, and back. Out of all the people they talked to and watched, they didn't discover about the robberies. Either nobody knew about the theft, or they just didn't want to tell her or Gordon. She and her brother were nearly to New York's station, they would return home to give their father the disappointing news.

She'd been on cases that had disappointing days and they never bothered her as much as this one. The only thing she could pinpoint to why she felt this way was because she wanted to be the one traveling to Staten Island and talk to Ashton, not sitting on this train asking strangers questions they didn't know anything about. Out of everyone on their team, she felt she was more qualified to ask Ashton questions. She would be able to get more answers out of him, more so than the other agents.

The motion from the train began to lull her to sleep, but that was something she couldn't afford to do while on assignment. If her brother caught her dozing, he'd certainly reprimand her, and rightly so. She glanced at Gordon. He stared at the window, his eyes narrowed at something in the distance and his mouth pulled down into a frown. She knew this look all too well. She'd first seen it five years ago when they'd been on assignment searching for a murder suspect. Gordon had blamed himself for letting the suspect slip through his fingers. He'd been wrong to feel that way, much like today. Her brother was a good agent. He shouldn't think himself a failure just because they didn't find a lead on the robbery. She felt bad enough for both of them.

Sighing heavily, she adjusted herself on the uncomfortable seat and smoothed out her dress. She'd had this particular yellow dress for many years and used it for the sole purpose of disguising herself as a working-class woman. Even her beige bonnet was a little tattered. At least it worked, and others in this class of people saw her as an equal.

When she lifted her head to glance around the railcar once more, she caught a man looking at her. Quickly, he lowered his attention back to the newspaper in his hands. Curiosity got the better of her, and she continued to watch him closely. Every minute or so, the man would look up at her, only to turn his head as if he hadn't been caught gawking.

Perhaps today hadn't been a total failure after all. For some reason, this man was watching her. Strange that she hadn't noticed before now.

For the next little while, she tried to visit with those around her, but she was in tune with the man on the other side of the car. Her skin prickled with awareness every time he looked her way—which was quite a lot. She didn't dare say anything to her brother yet, only because she didn't understand why the man would be spying on her. The few times she'd looked his way and he hadn't been watching, she tried to study him to see if she knew him. His nose and lips looked familiar, but then at times, they didn't. If only she was closer and could see his eyes, but unfortunately, all the seats were taken.

Although he sat with a woman and her two children, the man didn't appear to be with them. The children wouldn't go by him, and he and the woman rarely spoke to each other. In fact—Nicole scratched her nose—she didn't recall seeing him in this car when the train first left the station. She'd only really noticed him as they were returning. Was he someone who had boarded at Hartford? If so, she was certain she didn't know this man.