In The Beginning by Gail Daley (top 100 books of all time checklist .TXT) 📕

As they mounted and rode away from the pleasure house, Bethany looked over at her grandmother in wonder. "Gran," she asked, "is there any place on St. Antoni where you don't know someone who has information when you need it?"

"A few places," Giselle admitted. "It's time for you girls to begin to know about the Women's Circle and meet the next generation. This is what we do, honey, this is how we survive."

Returning to the Hotel by the same route, they left the tricorns tied to the back of the building, letting the porter know to have them returned to the stable. Once back upstairs, Giselle and Bethany changed into the clothes they regularly wore in town.

Outside the bank, Giselle looked over at her granddaughter. "You remember what I told you to do?"

Bethany nodded, nothing in her face showing how nervous she was. She held open the door so her grandmother could enter.

Giselle nodded at the smattering of customers and acquaintances in the bank lobby they passed on their way to Lutz's office. His office was off to the side, with glass halfway up the walls so he could watch his employees while they worked. Giselle entered without knocking. Lutz rose from his chair as she entered.

"Why Mrs. St. Vyr, what a pleasant surprise. How can I help you today?" he asked genially.

Giselle seated herself in a leather chair opposite Lutz's enormous desk. Bethany closed and locked the office door before she pulled down the shades on the windows and came to sit in the chair beside Giselle's.

Lutz's eyebrows rose. "I take it this is a private matter?"

Giselle folded her hands in her lap, allowing her eyes to run over him. Lutz was short with a round, moon shaped face and sandy hair but she remembered seeing him at a few council functions.

"Yes, Jake Smith, this is a private matter."

Lutz quickly hid his startled expression under a surprised one. "Jake Smith? Who is Jake Smith?"

"Don't bother to pretend you don't understand me, Mr. Smith. I used to live in Copper City, remember. Survival there meant becoming familiar with all the prominent members of both the Smith and Jones families. You are a little fatter, but you haven't changed much."

He sat back down in his chair slowly, his benign expression hardening. "What do you want?"

"I still have ties to some of the Jones family. Caleb Jones is still alive," she said, watching his face, smiling a little when she saw the flicker of fear.

"What do you think he will do when I tell him where you are?"

"He can't do anything," Smith, alias Lutz, blustered. "The Jones family is no longer in power."

Giselle laughed, a light rippling sound. "I don't think Caleb will care about that, do you? You killed and raped his baby sister, Smith. Caleb has a long memory."

Smith was breathing a little fast. "I had an alibi," he said.

"Your brother and his wife? The Jones thought your alibi was a lie, they just didn't have time to do anything about it because the war was going on. You should have left my family alone, Mr. Smith."

"What do you want?" he repeated.

"I certainly think not passing on this information to him will be worth my price. I want every piece of paper you have about the ranch, the mine, and the railroad stock, signed or not, and I want them right now."

Smith's teeth drew back over his lips in a snarl. "I don't have them all here in this office."

She waited, just looking at him.

"Some of them yes, but the others are at my home."

"I suppose we will need to visit your lovely wife while you retrieve them," she replied.

He looked at her slyly. "There might be other copies out there; I don't have them all."

She smiled at him. "Hennessy's copies are being retrieved as we speak."

He glared at her and went to the safe behind his desk. Bethany rose and followed him. He glanced at her and flinched when he saw the pistol a few inches from his ear. He opened the safe and reached inside.

"No," Bethany said mildly. "Go and sit down over there in the chair. I will look for them."

Glaring in impotent fury, Smith did as he was told.

Bethany removed the pistol inside the safe and took the bundles of papers out and put them on the desk, along with several heavy bags of gold and silver chips. Setting these aside, she carefully went through the papers, removing anything having a connection to her family, the ranch or the mine. After returning the money bags and the other papers to the safe, she closed it and stuck the pistol in her shoulder bag. Picking up the papers she had selected, she folded them and tucked them inside it as well.

Meticulously, she also went through all the drawers in the desk and in the file cabinet next to the wall. "I think this is all he has here, Gran," she said.

"Excellent," Giselle said. She gestured for Smith to get up. "Let's go and pay a visit to your lovely wife, shall we?"

Sullenly, he stood up and led the way out of his office. Bethany tucked her own gun back inside her shoulder bag and followed Giselle and Smith. She kept her hand on it though. She didn't think he would cause any trouble; it was broad daylight and there were too many potential witnesses around for him to try any tricks, but it never hurt to be safe.

When they finished searching it, Bethany and Giselle left Smith, alias Lutz at his house fuming and attempting to explain to his irate wife why he had allowed the two women to search their home.

"I'm sending you back to Copper City to visit your family," he told her. "It isn't safe here right now. I'll follow you as soon as I can."

When Gran showed Alec the papers from Lutz's safe and house, he examined them carefully. "No District Seal," he said. "Mike and I decided if