“Summer!” Jonah leaps from the carriage and into her waiting arms, sending the towel flying from her head.
“It's alright, love. There's no need to fret. I'm okay.” His trembling body is clutching her, and he begins to cry.
“I'm sorry, Miss Summer. We shouldn't have left you.” Her eyes connect with Victor, and he drops his head in shame, unable to stomach the truth of his son's words.
“Well, that’s nonsense. I’ll not have the two of you acting this way. Your father did exactly as he should have, Jonah, you are his first priority. Besides, he is my hero, Jonah. You both have saved me.” More than her body, but her heart as well. Watching them drive away was horrible but hearing Jonah’s cries broke her heart.
She puts him on his feet and tilts his chin up, forcing him to meet her eyes. “I need some more clothes, and we can leave this place and never think of it again. Okay? We will not let that…, you know, ruin our trip! Now let me finish getting dressed.” Summer wipes his tears and helps him climb back into the carriage before moving to her trunk in the back.
Victor joins her in the back, and his hand stills her. He leans close and says, “Thank you. I guess I owe you twice now.” He kisses her forehead before moving away to give her privacy. Summer finishes brushing her hair and is too tired to try to change. For now, she pulls on her boots. Victor is picking up her clothes and tossing the pieces into the fire when he realizes what he is burning.
He glances at her and then back down at his hand. Summer winks at him and locks her trunk before climbing into the carriage with Jonah. Freezing and exhausted, they curl up with a blanket and soon Jonah is asleep across her lap. While he waits for the clothing to finish burning, he digs a shallow grave and rolls the corpse inside.
After the trauma they’ve experienced, Victor decides to travel to the nearest town and look for a hotel or inn to stay in. They need a break and Summer hasn’t told him what happened while he was gone. When he enters the carriage later, it is with two loaded pistols and a loaded rifle by his side. He will be more diligent from now on. “No one will ever touch you again,” he promises as he glances at her sleeping with her arms wrapped protectively around his son. Plans have changed. He pulls off in the carriage and changes course.
Chapter 24
“She jumped!” Someone screams.
Josiah is ringing the bell at the lobby desk when the screaming starts outside the hotel. He runs towards the commotion with a sick feeling in his stomach. Outside people are screaming and pointing at the ground. “She jumped!”
“Get back! Help is coming!” He hears them say as they quickly cover Janet’s body with a sheet. Josiah rushes towards the man in charge and grabs him and whispers in his ear. This must be contained as quickly as possible.
Two hours later, Josiah enters the isolation chamber at the hospital to await his fate. Janet killed herself, but her body may be contagious for days after death. It is yet to be known if it will be spread or how quickly. Just to be safe, they burn her remains, and the police were sent to the train stations and livery in town to see if they could stop Dr. Rudolph.
“It was genius really of Dr. Rudolph to use Janet to slow us down,” Josiah tells his associates through the glass window of his isolation room at the infirmary. They all agree, “With any luck, the police presence at each train station will slow him down, and he will be caught by morning.”
Jung settles into his seat on the train bound for New York. It is not a private car, but one does what one must. He bought the next passage bound for his destination, and with all luck, he will arrive in six hours. While Miss Summer Denning travels across the land, he will wait for her at her place of refuge. The next few hours he spends devising his plan. A smile curves his lip as he stares at a dark-haired young woman across from him and imagines all the glorious ways he could have her begging for mercy. Summer will never know what hit her.
He lies back and closes his eyes, with his medical bag secured in the compartment above he sleeps until the first stop an hour later. When the porter walks down the aisle, Jung stops him.
“Excuse me, why did we stop so soon?”
“No worries, sir. We are loading up the mail at each station. With the ports closed in Boston, the mail has to travel by train. We will make three stops before our final destination. You are asked to keep to your seats.” The porter walks off, and Jung decides to stretch his legs. He stands up and smiles at the young woman across from him.
“Good day. Are you traveling to New York?” He asks.
The girl blushes and giggles a high-pitched sound that grates on his senses. “I am, have you been before?” She inquires.
“Of course.” He bows, “Dr. William Aston. Come stroll with me, and I shall tell you all about it.” He holds out his hand, and she hesitates only a moment before rising to walk with him.
“Olivia Reynolds, it's a delight to meet you, Dr. Aston,” she is excited to be traveling home to see her family in New York. She had been visiting her grandparents, and they were all shocked that she wished to travel alone, but times are changing, and she wished to have
