The Bachelor's Bride

Chapter 18-Jack

I was glad to get to work again and out of the cramped apartment and away from Etta and my sister. I'd caused enough trouble as it is, and the tension in the house was bad when I was around.

After hurting Etta, I focused even more of my efforts on the factory fire story. I needed to make things up to her by figuring out who started the fire, disproving Sullivan's lovers' quarrel story about Etta in the process.  I hadn't gotten any new information from any of the women who worked on Etta's floor. But today I had finally gotten a lucky break. A woman by the name of Eva Maria Rodriguez had contacted me by posting a letter to my mail box back at the office.

Mrs. Rodriguez had worked at that factory on the first floor, and was one of the few who had survived on the floor where the fire had originally started.

I would be meeting her today during her lunch break at the laundry mat, where she currently worked. She had promised me that he had valuable information to contribute to my newspaper story and would gladly meet with me for a few minutes.

I hurried down to the laundry mat that afternoon, eager for a break in this story.  I also hoped desperately that I could catch whoever had started the fire and that they would be put behind bars.

The laundry mat was hot and humid inside and smelled strongly of cleaning chemicals and soap.

A large Spanish woman, who I assumed was Mrs. Rodriguez, stepped out from the back room and beckoned me out side, "Vámonos, Señor. I eat mi almuerzo at the restaurant on the corner."

I hurried down the sidewalk with her, avoiding the carriages and wagons rumbling down the road, carrying passengers and heavy loads of supplies. For an older looking woman, she moved quickly.

Once she was settled with her chicken salad and tea at a table near a window in which one could watch passerbys, I pulled out my notepad.

"Mrs. Eva Maria Rodriguez is your name, correct?" I asked, scribbling it down once she nodded her approval. "And you were going to explain what happened at the factory fire on South 21st street."

"Sí. I was working that afternoon along with the other girls and women. Our shift was almost over. And the strangest thing happened." She began, her brown eyes gazing upwards as if recalling the events that took place. "Mr. Jeffers was monitoring all of us that day, making sure we were all working, as usual. And then he went around, closing all the doors, explaining it was mucho frío."

"It was cold?" He hoped he translated correctly.

"Sí, sí that's the word. Cold. We didn't think much of it. Mr. Jeffers is an odd man, and we don't question the things he does. What was strange, was when we heard the locks click." Mrs. Rodriguez shuddered slightly at the memory. "My co worker, Dorothy, tried opening the door, but those locks are solid. It wouldn't budge.

'And then we heard a giant explosion...." Her eyes grew hazy at the memory. "There was so much panic. It grew hot quickly and smoke filled the room. Most escaped through the windows. Some girls didn't make it out in time. But I know it was Mr. Jeffers who starred that fire. He's a cruel hombre. Mucho malo. I know he did it."

"My wife has the same suspicions." I eagerly wrote down her recounting of what happened. I shook the woman's hand gratefully. "Thank you so much, ma'am. Having the view of someone who saw what happened will help strengthen my story. And hopefully push the police to seek out the man who did this."

"De nada, Señor. I only ask that you bring the poor girls and women who died justice." She held her free hand over her heart.

"I promise to try." I said.

A/N
Another short chapter for you all! I haven't had much time to write recently, and I feel bad for leaving you all hanging for an entire week!  I will try to write more in the next chapter!

This chapter's shout outs go to
@DorothySharpe
@VirtualWords
@GeraldineGerald2
@Alemsangyu
@DamagedCrown_07
@HoneyPrabhale
You all have been so supportive and we are getting close to 20k reads because you guys are always checking out my new chapters whenever I post them. It's super encouraging to see you all voting and leaving lovely comments for me and keeps me writing!

Want a shout out from me? Just tap that little star in the corner and vote or leave a comment below! If I didn't catch you this time, I'll try to give you a shout out in the next chapter since I only choose a select amount of readers per chapter!

Let me know what you think about Etta and Jack so far. Do you think they can mend their broken relationship?

As Always
Stay Awesome Possums
Rosanna

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