Turner's Vision Read Online Free PDF Page B

have it. Tomorrow.” She opened the door, waiting for him to exit.
    “Madam, I could kill you for this.”
    She simply smiled once more, a very sympathetic smile. “No, you won’t. You need me to show you the book tomorrow.” Then with a click of the door, she shut Micah out in the night.

CHAPTER FOUR
    One hand on the hilt of the knife in the scabbard strapped to his back, Micah read the paper once more. He slipped it into his pocket then glanced up and down the once fashionable, but now shabby, hotel’s dark hallway. The mysterious note had summoned him to this room.
    He rapped on the door then stepped to the side to give himself space to maneuver, if needed.
    Footsteps sounded on the other side of the door.
    Micah gripped the knife handle tighter.
    The door eased open just wide enough to allow the cautious occupant to see out.
    Suddenly, the door swung open.
    “Captain. Right on time, you are.” The bald man grinned at Micah, extending a hand.
    “Kelly, you Irish reprobate.” Micah laughed and shook the smaller man’s hand. “I thought you were heading to New Orleans after the war. What are you doing this far north?”
    Kelly moved back to let Micah into the room. “Well, now, Captain, these old feet still have the wanderlust, I be thinking. And the Old Queen of the Mississippi isn’t the same as it was before the war of Northern aggression.”
    “Officer Kelly, no Southern politics tonight,” came a voice from the far side of the room.
    Micah didn’t need to focus on the man hidden in the room’s shadows as he strode across the room. Despite the rebuke against Kelly’s viewpoint, the southern drawl was all Micah needed to identify its owner. He extended his hand as his once-junior officer approached. Dressed in a simple black suit worn by most businessmen in the nation’s capital, few would guess the gentleman was a Colonel in the army now. “Cain.”
    “Good to see, you, Captain.” Cain Duncan moved back, showing Micah the table with the two chairs near the window. “Have a seat?”
    Micah took a seat. The early-morning light filtered in through the greying lace curtains. He watched Kelly take up his position at the door once more as Cain sat across from him.
    The man had matured from the young pup that almost got himself killed disobeying orders while under Micah’s leadership in the war. The trimmed dark beard added a distinction Micah imagined leant authority when Cain wore his uniform. “Nathan told me of your promotion. Congratulations, Colonel. The last time I saw you, it was Major, wasn’t it?”
    “Thank you. Yes, it was when you helped us bring Chief Joseph to ground up on the Montana and Canadian borders, wasn’t it?”
    “He was a smart chief,” Micah laughed. “Led us all over Oregon and Washington territories before surrendering.”
    “Not entirely,” Cain countered. “Forty more miles and he would have safely crossed his people into Canada.”
    Micah lifted his lips in a sly smile. “Yes, but he knew they would not last the winter up there. Better to surrender and let the white man’s government feed them through the cold winter, than let half his nation starve to death.”
    “True. He was a wily old coot. Gave General Howard quite a battle.”
    The two men laughed and relaxed back in their seats. Micah lifted one brow in question. “As stimulating as this conversation is, I don’t think you brought me here to reminisce.”
    “No, you’re correct. I have more important matters to discuss with you.” Cain rested one elbow on the arm of his chair, rubbing his beard. Micah felt the tension increase across the table. “Nathan sent me a note, telling me you would be coming to the capital soon. I must say, it took you longer than I thought it might.”
    “A personal matter at my old home in Georgia delayed me a bit more than I thought it would.” As much as he trusted Cain, and that was almost as much as he trusted Nathan Cantrell, his sister’s disappearance was not