The Golden Unicorn by Phyllis A. Whitney

Author:Phyllis A. Whitney
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Open Road Media Romance
Published: 2017-09-28T14:58:00+00:00

11

Mrs. Blake’s words had been a sharp disappointment, even though I wasn’t sure why I had set any value on this meeting with Olive Asher.

“Is she coming back?” I asked after a surprised pause. “Do you know why she’s gone away?”

The woman shook her head. “She had a telephone call a little while ago that made her very excited. She packed up right away and then a car came to take her to the station to catch the train. You didn’t miss her by much.”

I tried to make my tone casual. “Do you happen to know who was in the car?”

“It was none of my business, was it?” Mrs. Blake regarded me in disapproval.

“When does the train for New York leave?” I asked.

But she either wouldn’t tell me, or didn’t know, and it took a few minutes to pry out of her the information that it was a train that left from East Hampton.

I ran to my car and drove back to the highway, pushing the Volvo whenever there was a clear stretch of pavement. I didn’t know why I was driven by this sense of urgency, but only that a chance was slipping away from me that might never come again. I had to make this last effort to retrieve what otherwise might be lost for good.

The train was braking into the station when I pulled up to park my car. I got out and ran toward the platform. Olive Asher, suitcase in hand, mounted the steps of a car ahead. Though I glanced around hurriedly, there was no one on the platform whom I recognized. If whoever had brought her here still lingered, he was keeping out of sight. Since there was no time to buy a ticket, I ran up the steps after her and followed her into a smoking car. A few people had come between us, but I recognized her gray head at the window side of a seat ahead. Quietly I sat down beside her and she didn’t even glance my way, her attention on a packet of cigarettes she was fumbling from her handbag. I waited until the train had pulled out of the station on its journey to New York, and then spoke to her in a low voice.

“Hello, Olive. I’m glad I was able to catch you.”

Her astonishment was evident as she dropped her cigarettes. I bent to pick up the pack and when I handed it to her she gave me a look of sheer misery. My presence had upset her more than a little.

“I really did want to talk to you,” I said, “and I thought you wanted to talk to me.”

When she had struck a faltering match and drawn in a long breath, she managed to find her voice.

“That’s not necessary any longer, miss. Something unexpected’s come up and everything’s changed.”

“Can you tell me what it is?”

She shook her head vigorously. “No—I don’t want to talk about it. I don’t want to talk to you.”

“Because you’ve been told

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.