“Thanks, but we ate at the Harvey House. I’ll come back later.” Gary left without another word.
“He’s acting strange,” Susanna said, not meaning to say it aloud. She looked at Owen, who nodded.
“There, I told you it wouldn’t be so bad,” LeRoy said as they gathered the last bits of sooty debris. “Susanna, we’ll get rid of this stuff while Lia shows you how to make things smell better. You’ll be able to sleep here tonight without any trouble.”
“I hadn’t planned to sleep anywhere else,” Susanna admitted even though Gary had mentioned sleeping at the house with their parents.
Once the men and her brother had gone, she turned to Lia.
“You’re such an answer to prayer. I had no idea how I was going to get things back in order, much less make the hotel smell better.”
“We’ll finish cleaning with the vinegar while the oranges and lemons boil. I think you’ll be surprised at how much odor is eliminated just by doing this. Lastly, we’ll use orange oil to rub the furniture in each of the rooms upstairs. It will take away any lingering smells and leave the room smelling fresh.”
“It was smart to open all the windows in each room. Such a simple thing, but I know it helps.”
“That and washing all the bedding and curtains. That job is laborious but will finish things out nicely. It was so kind of the church ladies to take over that duty for you, and with all of them helping, you’ll have fresh bedding and curtains by tomorrow.”
“I really appreciate the help. I couldn’t have managed by myself.” Susanna gave Lia a grateful smile. “You have been such a good friend to me. Thank you for arranging for the extra help.”
“I’m glad we can be friends. I think you’ll find the people here, especially at church, are good folks. They have hearts of gold and are eager to help one another.”
“I wish my mother could see how good they are. I wish she could stop with her pretenses and desires to be something she’s not and appreciate the people around her. I think her entire life would change if only she could do that one thing.”
Lia shrugged. “Sometimes people can’t see the blessing that is right in front of them.”
Susanna thought of that later when Gary came to check on her. He looked so tired—weary from something more than the fire.
“What’s going on with you? You look like you’ve lost your last friend.”
Gary shook his head. “I’m fine. Just tired. Tomorrow I have to be at the shops by six, so I need to go to bed. I was going to sleep at the house, but then I figured it might not be safe for you here by yourself.”
She stopped him as he trudged toward his bedroom. “I have some food if you’re hungry.”
“Yeah, that might help.” He looked at the table and chairs. “I’m glad the place didn’t go up completely.”
“It’s amazing the fire wasn’t much worse. We are very blessed. Uncle Harrison could have lost the entire hotel.”
“Yeah.” Gary plopped down in a chair and shook his head. “Do you suppose he has fire insurance?”
“I don’t know. I haven’t even sent him a telegram. I wasn’t sure if Father was going to do that, and since it’s Sunday, I figured I’d wait and ask him in the morning. Did he say anything to you about the fire?”
“Like what?”
Susanna brought him a sandwich she’d made earlier. Ham and cheese with butter. It was one of Gary’s favorites since their arrival in San Marcial. “I just wondered if he knew anything about the candle and what had started the fire.”
“Why would he?” Gary snapped. He grabbed the sandwich and took a big bite.
Susanna was taken aback by his attitude. “You don’t have to be so angry with me. It’s just a question. We need to figure out what happened. Someone was careless, and it could have ended in complete tragedy. As it is, it burned up all the money we made from the Saturday and Sunday guests, and had a passerby not seen the smoke, it might have burned more than the hotel kitchen. The whole block could have caught.”
“But it didn’t. And I’m sure Uncle Harrison can afford the loss. Besides, he probably has insurance. No one will suffer.” Gary took another bite. “You got something to drink?” he asked with his mouth full.
“I can make some tea or coffee.”
“Water’s fine. Don’t bother to make anything.”
She nodded and got him a glass of water. Whatever was eating at him, Gary wasn’t at all himself. Perhaps he knew more about the fire than he was letting on.
Owen was awake long after he’d gone to bed. He couldn’t help but wonder what had actually set the hotel on fire. He remembered Herc being unhappy that Susanna wouldn’t go to lunch with him. Could he have done it to get back at her?
LeRoy had mentioned the casual way Susanna’s father acted about the entire matter. He hadn’t said much in front of Susanna, but when he and Owen were alone, he’d voiced his opinion without hesitation.
“I think Mr. Ragsdale and his son know more than they’re letting on,” he’d told Owen as they washed up for supper. “Mr. Ragsdale wasn’t all that interested when we sent someone to let him know the hotel was on fire. Mrs. Ragsdale was even worse. She actually said she hoped the place burned to the ground.”
Had one of the Ragsdales set the fire, hoping to eliminate their responsibility to run the hotel? Owen rolled onto his stomach, then raised up to punch the pillow into a more comfortable form. It would soon be time to get up, and he hadn’t slept a wink. He sighed and did his best to relax.
Susanna had been gravely concerned by the situation. She had worked throughout the day and evening to see that the hotel was put back in order. She’d obviously had nothing to do with the fire, but someone had deliberately set it, and that knowledge made Owen furious. They could have caused the entire block to burn down. Fires were nothing to play around with. San Marcial had lost a portion of the town just a few years back due to a fire.
When he opened his eyes again, it was just starting to lighten up outside. He checked his clock and found it was time to get up. He couldn’t have had more than two hours of sleep. He yawned and sat on the edge of his bed. Today he had to decide what to do about Gary, but there still didn’t seem to be a clear resolution.
He dressed and headed over to the Harvey House rather than take time to make his own breakfast. He ordered a big meal, knowing he’d burn through the calories before lunchtime. While he ate, Owen contemplated what was to be done. He knew Gary was ill-suited to boilermaking and repair but couldn’t honestly say that he’d shown a proclivity toward anything else.
“Looks like you’re eating for an army,” Timothy Payne said, stopping by Owen’s table.
Owen looked up and nodded. “There’s plenty here, if you want to join me. Help yourself to the extra toast.”
“I believe I will. I came to get my thermos filled with coffee, but toast sounds good. They have the best strawberry jam. Just don’t tell Sylvia.” He grinned and took the chair opposite Owen. “I told her that her jam was better.”
When the Harvey Girl arrived, Mr. Payne handed her his thermos. “Fill ’er up, please, and put it on my tab.”