Free Cera's Place by Elizabeth McKenna Page A

stay in bed for the next several days. The more you rest, the quicker you will heal.” The doctor stared at Jake’s swollen face. “Do you know who did this? Were they after your money?”
    “No.” He closed his eyes and concentrated on breathing. “I think they were trying to send me a message.”
    “So you do know who did this?” the doctor asked. “Then we need to tell the police immediately.”
    Jake shook his head, though it cost him another shot of pain. “No. You can’t do that. It will make it worse for her.”
    “Worse? For who? You were nearly beaten to death. These men need to be caught.”
    “Oh, they will be, Doc, but not by the authorities.” He dismissed the doctor with a wave of his hand. “I appreciate your help, but you can go now. Leave the bill. I’m good for it.”
    As he gathered his supplies, the doctor glanced toward George and frowned. “Keep checking on him. If he gets worse, come get me straight away.”
    When the door clicked behind them, Jake rolled over and fell into a fitful sleep filled with cannon fire and screams of dying men.

Chapter 6
    Cera finally had a plan. Over their morning coffee, she tried to convince Isaac it would work. “If the Chinese community isn’t going to talk, then we need to catch Biggs red-handed. He’s bound to kidnap more girls soon, so we follow him.”
    Isaac choked on the swig of coffee he was about to swallow. “What are you going to do when he does? Are you gonna say ‘Biggs! Put that girl down. I’m taking you to jail!’ And he complies? Why it’s so simple, I can’t believe we didn’t think of it before.”
    “Well, there’s no need to be sarcastic,” she snapped back, failing to keep her Irish temper in check. “And no, I don’t expect him to cooperate.”
    “Oh, so you’re going to tote your shotgun around? That’s an even better plan. You’ll get everybody killed that way, Cera.”
    “We can’t just sit here and do nothing! Last night proves we won’t be safe until Biggs is stopped. It’s either him or us, and I’d rather it was him.”
    “I would too, but the fact is, we need a plan with a bit more—finesse.” Isaac drew circles in the air with his hands. “Something that doesn’t involve guns and dead bodies.”
    “I don’t see any way around that,” she replied stubbornly. “The man is a rabid animal and deserves to be treated like one.”
    “You have no argument from me there. But whatever we do, it has to be within the law with no one getting hurt. Otherwise, we’re no better than Biggs.”
    Cera sighed and patted Isaac’s hand. “I know you’re right.” Noticing the dark shadows under his eyes, she asked, “Is anything else wrong? You seem a bit out of sorts.”
    Isaac stared into his coffee, swirling the black liquid with a turn of his wrist. Putting the cup down, he shrugged his shoulders. “I’m worried for you, Cera. You got Biggs threatening you and this stranger coming around. I don’t want you to get hurt.”
    Before she could respond, the girls came clattering down the stairs ready for another day of work. Ginger gave her a hesitant smile, but she pretended not to notice.
    Pushing up from the table, Isaac called out, “Sonya, Mary Beth? Let’s see what’s cooking in the kitchen today.” He gestured with his head and the girls followed him, leaving Cera and Ginger alone.
    Ginger nervously fingered the pendant on her necklace while she waited for her boss to say something. With her best poker face on, Cera stared straight ahead. She was being mean spirited and stubborn, but her jealousy over Jake and Ginger still rubbed her raw.
    Finally, Ginger blurted, “I didn’t do anything with Jake. Honest. I was only giving him some advice.”
    Tilting her head to the side, she crossed her arms over her chest. “Which had to be given upstairs?”
    “You don’t understand.” Ginger gestured helplessly with her hands. “He’s hurting. I’ve seen it dozens of times since the war’s ended.