She chewed furiously, not so much because she was hungry, but rather because the bread was stale and dry. She wanted to spit it out, but she didn’t think a woman who was starving would do such a thing. As Rosalind continued to eat, struggling with every bite, the men turned their attention back to whatever they had been focused on before, and Stiles and Sharp relaxed into their seats.
“Higginbotham is gone,” Stiles said. “You vouched for him. How is it that two of the men you brought into this operation have landed in such hot water?”
“Higginbotham knows how to take care of himself,” Sharp said. “I’m not worried about him. I’m more concerned about Reggie. You were the one who insisted he could be trusted. How do we know he’s not going to talk?”
It wasn’t proof, but clearly, the men were afraid of whatever Reggie and Higginbotham had to say.
“He won’t talk,” Stiles insisted. “But I’m working on a plan, just in case. I took care of Fink, didn’t I?”
Rosalind gasped, and the men turned to look at her. She quickly looked down at her food, but Stiles got up from his chair. “Are you listening in on our conversation?”
Rosalind lowered her eyes and focused on the moldy cheese staring back at her. “No trouble,” she muttered in broken English.
“Leave her be,” Sharp said. “She’s just a crazy old woman.”
Stiles continued coming toward her. “There’s something familiar about you,” he said. Rosalind didn’t respond but shrank back farther into her seat.
“What are you doing, messing with an old lady,” Walt said, coming in their direction.
Stiles turned to stare at him. “There’s something funny about her. And I think she was spying on us.”
Walt came to stand next to her. “That’s ridiculous. What would an old lady want from you two?”
“She’s not your normal clientele,” Stiles said.
“Neither are you,” Walt said.
Stiles took another step closer. “What are you doing here, old lady?”
The way he stood over her with the look of malice in his eyes made Rosalind shake. Jane had been right. She shouldn’t have come. But what else could she have done?
She closed her eyes and said a silent prayer that she would make it through the situation unharmed.
Walt put his hand on her shoulder. “It’s going to be okay, old lady.” Then he cursed under his breath. “Does anyone here know any Spanish? I was able to understand her enough to know she wanted food. But maybe if someone who knows more words can talk to her, we can find out what she’s doing here.”
One of the men at the bar turned. “I’ll talk to her,” he said.
Rosalind shook as he came toward her. He was a real Mexican, judging from his appearance. He’d know she was faking it. The man approached, speaking softly in Spanish. Not only did she have no idea what he was saying, but he was so quiet, could barely make out his words. She cupped her ear the way she’d seen other old people do.
“Que?”
The man repeated his words, speaking a little louder, and Rosalind repeated the gesture. The man shook his head. “She’s harmless,” he said, turning away. But then he stopped and stared at her again. “Or maybe not. Look at her hands.”
She and her sisters had never been much in the habit of wearing gloves. Not with all of the work they did. And now, as she looked down at her smooth, unwrinkled skin, she wished she’d thought of that tiny detail.
Walt stared at her. “What are you trying to pull?”
The seemingly sweet and mostly harmless man suddenly turned into the kind of brute she’d been told she’d encounter here.
Rosalind sank back against her chair. “Sorry,” she said. “As a woman, traveling alone, I thought if I looked like an older woman and couldn’t speak English, I wouldn’t run into any trouble. Please, I don’t mean any harm. I just wish to eat my meal in peace, and then I’ll be on my way.”
She’d already lied, so they had no reason to believe her half-truth. And from the way Walt looked at her, he didn’t.
Stiles took another step forward. “I know who you are,” he said. “You’re one of the Creary girls.”
Rosalind nodded slowly. “Yes.”
At that point, it would do her no good to lie about who she was.
“What are you doing here?” Sharp asked, getting out of his seat and going over to her.
“I was looking for Hawk. But I went too far, and I got cold and hungry.”
“And the disguise?” Sharp stared at her. The crowd had started to dissipate, but Walt hovered nearby.
“It isn’t safe for a young lady to be out on her own. I thought it would offer me protection.”
Stiles ripped off the scarf she’d wrapped over her head. “Then what were you doing out at all? I think the real problem isn’t that you were afraid of being a young lady on her own. I think that you were sticking your nose in other people’s business. And I don’t like it when people stick their nose in my business.”
At just that moment, the door to the saloon burst open. “Leave her be,” Hawk said, coming toward her.
Stiles jumped back. “Isn’t that convenient? It seems you found Hawk,” he said.
Hawk faced him down, his hands on his guns. “Rosalind, get behind me. Now.”
She’d never heard him speak like that, not even in the worst situations they’d been in. His voice had a strong, menacing tone that made everyone in the saloon take a step back. This was the man everyone feared. She hadn’t understood it because she’d never seen this side of him before. She quickly got up and did as he asked. Once she was behind him, Hawk looked over at Walt.
“Were you bothering the lady?”
Walt shook his head. “No. I thought she was an old woman, and I was trying to help her. When I realized that she was a young woman, I stayed close, just in case.”
Hawk nodded slowly. “Were these men harassing her?”
“Just what you witnessed,” Walt said. “I’d have stepped in if they’d have gotten out of hand.”
Hawk tapped his fingers on the handle of one of his guns. Then he looked over at Stiles. “Why were you threatening Rosalind?”
Stiles looked like he was going to wet his pants. Sharp took a step back so that he was somewhat behind Stiles.
“It was a misunderstanding,” Sharp said. “Everyone is on edge right now because of the damage those men did to the railroad. We’re grateful that they were arrested before they could do any more damage.”
Stiles nodded. “What they had planned was terrible. It would have been a huge blow to both the railroad and Noelle.”
As far as Rosalind knew, they hadn’t made public what the men had planned. Just that they were caught in the middle of trying to sabotage the train. She wished she could have seen Hawk’s face to see his reaction. But as he tapped his gun again, Rosalind figured he probably had realized the same thing.
“It was. I wish Higginbotham hadn’t gotten away.”
“Higginbotham got away?” Walt asked. “We just heard he was shot and arrested.”
Hawk turned to the other man. “Unfortunately. He’s injured, so we don’t think he could have gotten far unless someone is helping him.”
Then Hawk swung around and addressed the rest of the people in the saloon. “And just so you all know, the bounty on Higginbotham’s head has doubled. If any of you are looking to make a quick buck, you find him and bring them to the sheriff’s office in Noelle.”
Some of the men started talking amongst themselves, and Rosalind noticed that a couple jumped up and ran out of the saloon.
“Do you think they’re going to go warn him?” she asked, not sure Hawk would answer.
“No,” he said, turning back toward Stiles and Sharp. “They’re going to look for him. Every cutthroat bounty hunter in the area is going to go after him now that the price on his head is so high.”
“You should’ve killed him when you had the chance,” Stiles said. “One less ne’er-do-well on
the loose.”
“Sometimes killing isn’t the answer,” Hawk said. “But I should have done a better job of wounding him.”
Sharp relaxed slightly. “It’s a waste of resources to let them live. There were three men involved in Dorcas’s kidnapping, and you caught two of them. One has escaped, probably with the help of their third associate. Which leaves Reggie. At some point, they’ll come back and break him out. And then we still got three dangerous men on the loose.”
Stiles looked over at Rosalind. “Has he told you yet about killing your father? Surely in the interrogation, that information must come out.”
Hawk glanced over at Rosalind and shook his head slightly. So Reggie hadn’t told him anything. But based on Reggie’s location when her father had been killed as well as when Horatio had been beaten, it was likely Reggie had been involved in both. And yet, it was interesting that Stiles had so quickly gone to accepting Hawk’s version of what he thought had happened.
More proof that Stiles was connected. But it wasn’t enough.
“We can’t discuss an ongoing investigation,” Hawk said. “There’s still much we have to learn, and it would be imprudent at this time to make any of that information public. However, if there’s anything you know and would like to share, we’d be very interested to hear it.”
She’d heard Gant ridiculing Hawk for being quick to make a judgment, to shoot, and to not look at all the facts of the case. But watching Hawk now, Rosalind had absolute faith that the man Gant was describing was not the man standing in the saloon right now.
Hawk had changed. And even if Hawk wasn’t ready to admit it yet, Rosalind could see the difference. But was it enough to make him let go of his old hatred and vendettas?
18
Hawk was itching for a reason to shoot Stiles. But killing was too good for him, and the worst punishment would be forcing the man to sit in prison.
“What happens if Reggie gets away?” Stiles asked. “Can you live with yourself, knowing that you’ve already let one dangerous criminal go?”
Stiles was trying to push his buttons, Hawk could tell. But he wasn’t going to take the bait.
“I don’t think that will be a problem,” Hawk said.
“I want justice,” Stiles said. “You know what that’s like. These two men nearly ruined my career, as well as the damage they did to the railroad. The damage they did to you and your reputation.” Then he gestured over Rosalind. “Not to mention the damage they did this poor young lady’s family. They killed her father, and thanks to all the talk, her family suffered so much damage.”
It was unbelievable how the man was trying to turn it around on Reggie and Higginbotham. Hawk stared at him. “The Creary family suffered because you were so keen on blaming them for the troubles. My reputation was damaged because you refused to let me investigate and then fired me for trying to do my job. If there’s anyone to be held accountable for the situation, it’s you.”
He could smell the fear emanating from Stiles. Sharp had opted to keep his mouth shut, and it was probably a good thing, considering everything out of Stiles’ mouth was convicting him.
“I’m sorry,” Stiles said. “Reggie came to me confidentially as your assistant and said that he’d seen you do it, but he was afraid of retribution. He was an eyewitness. Who was I supposed to believe?”
Lies. So many lies. “You could have let me investigate,” Hawk said. He detected a slight tremor in Stiles, the fear that came with being backed into a corner and having no way out because he’d put himself there with his lies.
“I trusted the wrong person,” Stiles said. “But please, let me make it up to you. If the third man breaks Reggie out of jail, there will be no justice in the situation. Now that we know who really did everything, we have the chance to make it right. But I need your help.”
This was going to be interesting. “Tell me more,” Hawk said.
“We know how slowly the wheels of justice move. Think about your wife, and how one of her killers is still at large. I know you were counting on the railroad bonus to continue pursuing justice for her. Reggie and Higginbotham ruined that for you.”
Hawk regretted the fact that he’d once told Stiles about his plans. Looking back, Stiles was pumping him for information, something he could use against Hawk as leverage to get Hawk to do what he wanted.
Stiles gestured at Rosalind. “And justice for her father. For her family. If Reggie escapes, they will be left with the same hole in their hearts that you have. So I’m going to make a deal with you. You have access to Reggie in the jail. Take care of him. I don’t care how. I don’t want to know. But Reggie’s death would be a relief to us all.”
Hawk stared at him. “Are you asking me to kill Reggie?”
“I’m asking you to give justice to people who were wronged,” Stiles said. “And I’m prepared to pay you handsomely for it. I’ll make sure you get the bonus you were promised, and I’ll even see to it that the Creary family get something for their trouble. You’d be doing the world a favor, and I know the railroad would be grateful for your service.”
Hawk knew that Stiles was an evil man. But listening to him try to manipulate him into murdering someone and calling it a positive thing made him sick.
He glanced back at Rosalind, and he saw the fear in her eyes. The sadness.
Did she think he would actually take Stiles up on his offer? Hawk was a lot of things, but he wasn’t a mercenary. And yet, who was he, really? All this time, he’d been planning a man’s murder, calling it justice. Every excuse he used were the same ones Stiles had given.
Suddenly the plan he’d been chasing for so long no longer seemed like a viable option. It would just make him the kind of monster he’d been pursuing. He finally understood what Moses had been telling him about justice and how he needed to leave it up to the Lord to decide. That in the end, God would make it right.
Beth’s killer needed to be found. But he deserved the chance at a fair trial and for the laws of the land to decide this disposition.
The ever-present aching ball in his stomach didn’t hurt so much anymore. And when he looked upon Rosalind’s face, he knew he had to do the right thing. Not that he even considered Stiles’s offer. But in this case, Hawk had to let go of the desire to kill.
He had a new reason to carry on, a new love, at least if Rosalind would have him.
“You know it’s the right thing to do,” Stiles said.
“The right thing to do is to follow the process of the law.” Speaking the words strengthened Hawk’s conviction that it wasn’t his job to murder Beth’s killer. Justice would come another way, and it didn’t need to be at Hawk’s hand.
“We brought you on because you were the kind of man to do whatever it takes to get results,” Stiles said. “Why would you deny justice?”
Hawk looked over at Rosalind before answering. Did she understand what he was saying?
“Justice isn’t mine to decide. I’m sorry, but you’re going to have to be patient and see this through with the rest of us.”
A noise at the back of the room caught Hawk’s attention. Hawk looked over to see Gant, standing there with Draven.
“I’m glad to hear you say that,” Gant said. “And we also find it interesting that Stiles was working so hard to get you to kill Reggie.
Draven stepped forward. “Agreed. Noelle is currently crawling with lawmen because of the threats to the railroad. You wouldn’t know them to see them on the street, but they’re there. Only a fool would try to break Reggie out. Higginbotham getting away, that was just a stroke of dumb luck. It won’t be so easy for Reggie. We’ve made arrangements for him to be transferred to Denver, where he will be kept in a secure location until he can go on trial. We’re not worried about him escaping.”
Gant nodded. “But what we do find interesting is something I like to call solicitation of murder.” Then Gant grinned. “I think that’s what the law calls it. But you just said it in the saloon with dozens of witnesses, including
two officers of the law, that you were going to pay Hawk to kill Reggie. That’s a crime. It looks like you’ll be spending some time with Reggie in a jail cell. I’m sure you two can have a heart-to-heart about all the reasons why he’s betrayed you.”
It was going to be a pretty interesting time, in the jail, with both men there. Hawk just wished they had something to get Sharp on. But the man had remained silent, and Hawk could see the mental wheels turning in his head, trying to find a way to distance himself from Stiles and his crimes.
“It’s going to be real interesting, seeing what’s gonna happen when we put Stiles in a cell, and Reggie finds out that he’s there for trying to hire me to kill him.” Hawk turned to Draven. “Do you think there is room for them in the same cell? Or is that cruel and unusual punishment?”
Draven grinned. “If we find Higginbotham, it’s going to be mighty crowded in there. Who knows? If we find who helped him escape, we might have our third man.”
Holding a pair of handcuffs, Draven took a step toward Stiles. “Let’s get this over with and get you back to Noelle. My poor wife would sure like to have me home for a while tonight. All this running around and late nights, it’s not good for marriage.”
Stiles lifted his chin as he stared at Draven. “Go ahead. We all know the charges won’t stick. I have access to some of the best lawyers in the country.”
Draven shrugged. “I’m willing to take my chances.” Then he looked over at Sharp. “Do you share your friend’s desire to murder men before they go on trial?”
Sharp shook his head. “I have nothing to do any of this. I didn’t ask anyone to kill anyone. I was just here to meet with Stiles to discuss all the trouble on the railroad and what we were going to do about it. You cannot prove anything else.”
Unfortunately, Sharp was right. But at least now they knew who to keep an eye on. At some point, Sharp would slip up.
Hawk turned to Rosalind. “Let’s get you home. Jane was worried sick about you, and I want to reassure her that you’re all right.”
Rosalind smiled at him. “I should have known that she would have told you everything.”
Rosalind: A Thanksgiving Day Bride (Brides of Noelle Book 8) Page 22
