Page 11 of Buck Baxter and the Mysteries of Love

I felt like I’d been put in my place like a naughty child, or worse, an incompetent employee. Perhaps I deserved it for lying about the bruising I got, but it still stung. Part of me felt embarrassed, being chided like that in front of Stella and the Logan twins. But part of me also felt heartbroken and disappointed in myself that I’d upset Harry… that I’d let him down by lying to him.

I felt my face flush. Along with the shiner I was now no doubt a cocktail of red, black, and blue.

I plucked Stella off Lois or Lucy’s shoulder. “Come on, Stella. We got a job to do.”

I put her down, and as we turned to walk through the crowd, I glanced back over my shoulder at Harry. His brow twitched and danced with so many emotions—betrayal, annoyance, hurt, maybe even remorse at the way he spoke to me—that it was impossible to tell what the overriding feeling in his heart was at that moment.

Then a spectator in the crowd stepped between us, and another and another, until soon I couldn’t see him through the throng.

I was still trying to spot Harry and wasn’t looking where I was going when I bumped into one person, then another, then stood on Stella’s foot.

“Say, watch it, ya klutz!” she grumbled. “I know you can probably only see outta one eye at the moment, but you still got one good eye to watch whereyou’re going.”

“Sorry, you know how much I hate—”

“Bein’ told how to behave by your bossy, big-spender boyfriend back there?”

“I was gonna say, crowds. You know how much I hate—”

I was interrupted again, this time by the metallic squeal of a microphone, followed by a distortedtap-tap-tap. “Can everyone hear me? Good morning, can everyone hear me?”

Every face in the crowd turned toward Howard Hart, standing in front of the microphone on the dais. Camera flashes began to pop in the front few rows of the gathering, and Howard pulled his wife close. They both smiled for the cameras.

“What’s goin’ on?” Stella asked, tugging at my trouser leg. “Buck, what’s happening? Geez, where are those leggy Logan twins when you need ’em?”

I sighed impatiently and picked Stella up, shuffling her into a piggyback position where she could peer over my shoulder at the proceedings about to take place.

“Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for joining us here today to unveil not only the very latest in innovation and technology, but the jewel in the crown of Hart Industries; a mode of transportation destined to take not just Wilde City, but the entire world into the future.”

Rapturous applause echoed through the station, as Hart not-so-modestly tried to quell the crowd with a lowering of his hands. “I know, I know, this is cause for much excitement. The all new rocket-train is a project years in the making, using state-of-the-art mechanics in its engineering and the finest lavishly-appointed interiors to create the ultimate first-class, high-speed rail experience. But have you come to expect anything less from Hart Industries? First, we conquered the seas with our luxury fleet of ocean liners. Then we conquered the skies with our flotilla of airships. Now, it’s time to conquer the land with this groundbreaking vision of the future. A vision made possiblethanks to our collaboration with Berlin’s most influential tycoon, Herr Gerhard Garbutt.”

As the cheering continued, Stella and I watched a bespectacled man step onto the stage. He was the complete opposite of Howard Hart: where Howard was tall and dashing, Herr Garbutt was short and strangely twitchy; where Howard had a generous head of smooth silver hair, Herr Garbutt’s thin streaks were combed from one side of his balding scalp to the other; where Howard smiled with confidence, Herr Garbutt seemed to struggle just to summon up a sneer for the audience.

He gave a wave that looked more like he was raising his hand to the sky, and uneasily I recognized it as the salute of the new political party making waves in Berlin… the same one that bore the emblem on the pin I’d pulled off the one-eyed man’s lapel.

I turned my face to whisper to Stella. “I got a real bad feeling that things are getting more complicated by the minute.”

“You’re tellin’ me,” said Stella, not looking at me but gazing wide-eyed at the stage. “Look at the goon behind the sauerkraut.”

I turned back to see none other than the one-eyed German himself, standing in the background behind Herr Garbutt. “God, I hate being right. This case is turning into a real fucking trainwreck, I can see it coming.”

“Ladies and gentlemen,” continued Howard Hart. “While the purpose of today’s presentation is to give you a first glimpse of the rocket-train, this Saturday will be the day we truly showcase the wonders of this extraordinary machine and what she’s capable of. Believe me when I say Wilde City, and indeed the world, will never be the same again. My new rocket-train will blaze a trail not only into the next century, but the next thousand years, heralding a golden age of transportation. I give you… the Millennium Express!”

With that, the veil draped over part of the engine fell away, revealing the wordsThe Millennium Expressin shimmering gold letteringon the side.

At that moment, Hart and Garbutt exchanged a quick look that made my blood run cold. Why, I couldn’t say. All I knew was, I didn’t trust anyone on that stage. That is until…

“And joining me on Saturday’s launch of the rocket-train will, of course, be my beautiful wife and the future heir to my empire, my son, Holden Hart.” Howard looked into the crowd. “Holden? Where are you, son? Come up here and take a bow.”

I saw the top of Harry’s blond head as the crowd parted for him, before he stepped up onto the dais to the adoring cheers of the crowd.

The sound of their applause filled me with anxiety and a strange sort of jealousy. That crowd might have adored Harry, but nobody loved him like I did. Nobodyknewhim like I did. As he stood there waving and smiling to the crowd, with his father’s hand planted firmly on his shoulder, all I wanted was for Harry to turn to me.

To look atme!

To findmein that sea of faces.

But he was too busy soaking in the adulation.

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