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Chapter 12: Sunday Morning
Phineas
waited outside the shop. He was getting antsy. It shouldn’t be taking him so
long to grab a simple gadget. He knew it was there, he had seen it when he was
last in the shop. He tapped his foot impatiently, and readjusted his hat for
the umpteenth time. He looked up toward the upper room and saw activity up
there. Finally, he came out of the shop, a package in hand.
“Here you
go, Phineas, as promised.”
“Thanks,
Everton.” Phineas shook Dr. Montebanque’s hand. “In a few months, when this has
all blown over, I’ll come back around to see you.”
“Phineas,
I wanted to ask you a question.” Dr. Montebanque said after a moment’s
hesitation. “I am not good at being sneaky. I wonder what do you plan to do
with the money?”
Phineas
laughed, “Lesson one: don’t be so open about things. I will stash some of it
about in different places. A lot of it I will spend.”
Everton
scratched his head. He shifted nervously. “What sorts of things will you spend
it on?”
Phineas
looked around to make sure there was nobody else nearby. “I’m buying a boat. I
plan to put it in the river and sail away. A few months on the water will do
wonders for my mental wellbeing.”
“That
sounds nice, Phineas. I am envious.” Dr. Montebanque replied, wistfully. “You
are a lucky man.”
“What are
you talking about, Everton? You’ve got just as much. You can do anything you
want.”
“Yes, of
course. But I do not have your sense of adventure.” Everton looked at his
watch. “Alas, I must be going. Good luck to you, Phineas.”
At that,
Phineas took his package and went to the safehouse. He had to collect the last
of his portion before heading out of the city for good. He’d spent most of
Saturday stashing what he could of his take. He had opened several accounts at
local banks under his many identities and stashed what he could there. He was
now at the limit of what he guessed was possible without raising suspicion. You
can only carry so many gold bars into a bank without getting funny looks. Today
was the day he would make a move from the city entirely. He could always come
back for what he left at the banks, but he needed to get as much of the rest
out today.
The city
was a few hours into the Day of Rest and he knew they wouldn’t be paying
attention. There were races to watch, picnics to attend, and children to
entertain. There was one day each week where the people of the city forgot all
their troubles and relaxed. That day was Sunday, which meant that this was the
day for Phineas to get out of town.
He still
had a half dozen gold bars to move, plus the miscellaneous things that he could
shove in his pockets. There was enough here for him to live his life on, even
if he never returned for what was in the banks. He climbed into the boxcar and
was surprised to find another person there.
“Hello
Phineas. I see you’ve been busy.” Anabelle smiled at Phineas and pointed at his
area of the boxcar, now nearly empty. “You work fast.”
“It’s the
only way, Belle.” Phineas hadn’t wanted to see anyone here, Anabelle least of
all. He went to his remaining things and began to load them into his backpack.
His back was turned to Anabelle, hoping she would get the hint and leave him
alone.
“It’s all
very strange, Phineas.” Her voice had lost the flirtatious edge that it once
possessed.
Phineas
sat on the floor of the boxcar and turned to face Anabelle. Something was
wrong, and Phineas didn’t want to pour salt on the wound by being a jerk. “What
is?”
“Everything
is different now. I used to know who I was. Despite what you might say about
the way I lived my life, it was my life. I knew how to live that way. Now I’ve
got my own wealth, I don’t need to depend on others. And yet, I feel more lost
than ever.” She sat on a stack of gold bars and put her head in her hands.
Phineas
stood and went to her. He put an arm around her and she buried her face in his
chest. “Come now, Belle. You’re going to be fine. It’s an adjustment, but
you’ll get used to it. Look, you’re finally free to go where you want to go, do
what you want to do. You don’t have to worry about keeping up appearances any
longer.”
“You know,
Phineas, I never loved any of the men that I met. None of them lit a spark for
me. But I never stopped hoping. I truly believed that I would find someone who
I wanted to be around just because of who he is, not because of what he could
do for me. I’ve spent so long cultivating fake love, I’m afraid I’ll never know
what true love is when I see it.”
“I don’t
know what to say, Anabelle. Someday, you will find what you’re looking for.”
Anabelle
looked at Phineas. There was a look in her eye that said that if Phineas asked
her to run away with him, she would accept. Her face was splotchy and red from
crying. She wasn’t wearing a fancy dress or makeup. Her hair was pulled back in
a sensible way. For the first time, Phineas saw her as a person not that
different from himself. He smiled sympathetically at her.
“You know,
Phineas, you were wrong.”
Phineas
laughed. “Pray tell. How was I wrong?”
“What you
said about self-interest. On the train, when I didn’t come back in time, you
went looking for me. Why did you do that?”
Phineas
was defensive. “We weren’t in the clear, I didn’t want to risk having you
caught. You knew too much.”
“I don’t
think so. You know I’m trustworthy. Besides, there couldn’t have been any doubt
in your mind that I could have handled myself. Despite what you might say, I’m
as good a con as you.”
“Sure you
are.” Phineas smiled sarcastically.
“I think
you came for me because you cared for me. You were concerned for me, despite
that your rational self-interest would dictate that you should have left me
behind.”
Phineas
smiled without further comment. He stood up and picked up his backpack. He
hopped out of the boxcar and began to walk away. He heard Anabelle’s boots
behind him.
She called
out to him, “Take me with you, Phineas.”
He stopped
and turned to face her. “You don’t know where I’m going.”
“I don’t
care. Take me with you.”
“Trust me,
Belle. If you come with me, you’ll grow tired of me in a hurry. I am a
dreadfully boring companion.”
Anabelle
smiled, “I’m willing to take that risk.”
Phineas
turned and walked toward the exit. He got to the stairway and turned around.
“You’d better grab some of your gold. I’m not going to be your sugar daddy.”
***
At the
marina, Phineas approached the first boat he saw. It was a wooden-hulled steam
yacht. The owner was loading the boat for a day on the water.
“How much
for the boat?” Phineas shouted as he walked out onto the pier.
“She’s not
for sale.” The owner replied.
“Everything’s
for sale.” Phineas replied quickly. “How much?”
“Sorry.
I’m taking my family out on the boat today.” The owner shook his head and took
another box from the pier, and carried it below decks.
Phineas
removed a gold bar from his backpack and put it down on the pier. When the
owner came out, he nearly choked at the sight of it. It was more than twice the
value of the boat, and the owner said so.
“That’s
fine. Then you’ll have some leftover after you buy a new one.” Phineas smiled.
“I really like this boat.”
“What are
you, a criminal or something?” the boat owner asked
Phineas
sat quietly for a moment. He looked around the marina. There were a few other
boats with people near them. He reached down to pick up the gold bar. “Sorry to
waste your time. I guess I’ll need to find another boat.”
The owner
put his hand out and grabbed Phineas’s wrist. “I think you just bought yourself
a boat.”
A minute
later, Phineas and Anabelle set sail down the river for destinations unknown.
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