Chapter 14

CHAPTER 14 She sprinted away from the train, ducked behind a snowdrift, and crept around to the back of the coal shed. "Janie!" Frederick had come after her. "Janie!" he shouted. Any minute he'd find his father. He'd tell Mr. McBride that Janie had been lying since the

moment they met. Mr. McBride would be furious. Soon everyone on the train would know who she was. What she was. A mob would come after her. And when they found her? They'd lock her up somewhere—a shed, the freight car—until they could hand her over to the police. Tick, tick, tick, tick. Janie had to get away. But to where? Tick, tick, tick, tick. She closed her eyes, clearing her mind. She had to remember who she really was. Not some goody-goody little girl. Not a spoiled prince like Frederick. Janie had spent most of her life in the shadows. She knew how to hide. How to escape. How to disappear. A plan quickly came to her: She'd walk to Scenic, then get on a train to Seattle. Just like Mr. Riggins had done.

She'd find a way to sell the jewels—she'd find a pawnshop somewhere—and then get to Boston. Just like she'd planned. But she couldn't leave for Scenic now. It was getting dark. She'd need to hide somewhere until the sun came up. Bailets, she decided. Supper hadn't started yet; only Mr. and Mrs. Bailets would be there right now. Janie would sneak in and find a place to tuck herself away for the night. She peered around the coal shed. She didn't see—or hear—Frederick. He must have gone to the observation car to get his father and Miss Wade. She pictured their furious faces, their looks of horror and disgust. She closed her eyes again, wiping her mind clean. Janie scurried up toward Bailets. She glimpsed Mr. and Mrs. Bailets through the dining room window. Ducking down, she made her way around the side of the building to a back door. In a flash, she was inside, hurrying past the kitchen.

She scanned for a place to hide. She heard footsteps—she had to move quickly. She held her breath and rushed down the hall, carefully opening the first door she saw. It was a storage room filled with crates and barrels. Perfect. She squeezed behind a big barrel, settling herself in a dark corner. She lowered herself to the floor, pulling her knees tight to her chest. It was pitch-dark in the room. But Janie was used to the dark. Tiny footsteps scratched around somewhere close. Rats, she was sure. But Janie was used to rats. Her stomach grumbled. But Janie was used to being hungry. Soon she heard muffled noises drifting from the dining room—voices, clinking dishes, scraping chairs. Supper had started. She pictured Frederick and Mr. McBride. Violet and her baby brother. Tears prickled behind Janie's lids. She squeezed her eyes closed, pushing the faces away.

Once, Mrs. Bailets opened the door to the storage room. She held her lantern as she grabbed a jar from a shelf and then left quickly. The hours drifted by. The dining-room noises faded. Janie tried to sleep. She'd need plenty of strength for her long trek through the snow. Finally, she managed to drift off, until, Boom! Her eyes popped open. She was lying on the floor, curled up under an empty flour sack. It took her a moment to remember where she was. Boom! The jars on the shelves rattled. Was that thunder? How much time had gone by? Could it be morning? Janie wriggled out of her hiding place, stood up, and cracked open the door of the storeroom. She slipped out of the room and started down the hallway. Lightning flashed as she passed the kitchen. She caught a glimpse of the clock on the wall—one thirty-five in the morning.

It was still the middle of the night, hours before she could leave for Scenic. She heard the rain pouring down and more rumbles of thunder. Strange, she thought. She'd never heard of a thunderstorm after a blizzard. She hoped the rain stopped before morning. She turned to go back to her hiding place. But then she heard noises coming from the dining room. "We looked everywhere. But she's nowhere to be found." Mr. McBride, for sure. "We have to keep looking for her." Frederick. Janie crept closer, peering around a corner. They were standing just inside the front door with Miss Wade and Mr. Bailets. "She has to be somewhere in Wellington," Mr. McBride said. "There's no way she would have tried to walk to Scenic in the dark." "I agree," Miss Wade said.