No Way Up

by Mary Connealy

  “So Ramone’s ma having knowledge of how to climb Skull Mesa might not mean she’s the one who passed on the secret, and Ramone might have nothing to do with this?”

  “All I know is if Ramone is not the killer, then Sarge spent his life looking in the wrong place. And if the governor—or people working behind his back but using the power of his office—was behind this, well, they never followed up on stealing the land after your grandfather died. Doesn’t that prove it isn’t about politics? It has to be Ramone.”

  “But whoever is behind the current trouble has to be linked to the past somehow,” Sadie said. “That note proves it. And if so, why now? Why reappear and pick up on trouble left behind thirty years ago?”

  “That I just don’t know,” Heath admitted. “But it might be linked to finding gold on Mount Kebbel. Gold is a mighty good reason to cause trouble.”

  Heath saw Skull Gulch ahead and figured Cole and Justin were only minutes away from coming to their senses, meaning his ride with Sadie was nearly over and they’d wasted it trying to solve a crime and talking about things that had happened decades ago.

  Sadie nodded. “They found gold there, the first strikes anyway, right after the Civil War. Why wouldn’t they have acted then?”

  “Maybe there was an honorable man in the governor’s seat at the time. Maybe new folks became in charge, not so honorable as in the past.” Heath hoped all this jawing got to the bottom of who’d attacked them. But he kinda hoped they’d talk about more personal things.

  “And maybe they know the stories, or maybe Ramone has been drawn into some kind of conspiracy. And they’re using him, hoping he’ll end up the scapegoat so that they can get their hands on a fortune in gold.”

  Cole twisted in his saddle real sudden-like, then reined in his horse so that Heath and Sadie caught up to him fast.

  Justin figured it out and was only a couple of paces behind.

  “A conspiracy is mighty hard to arrange,” Heath said, “especially between a middle-aged man in Mexico City and the political crowd in an American territory. Let’s don’t make this more complicated than it already is.”

  The Boden brothers were upon them, and Heath raised his voice for them to hear. “So we get to town and we split up.”

  The sun had fully set now, but to Heath’s way of thinking they still had some time and he didn’t want to let another day go by.

  “We question the folks in town about Ramone. Maybe we find someone who remembers him or his ma. If she was mixed up with that rich old Don and had a child with him, folks will sure enough remember it.”

  Cole shifted his eyes between Heath and Sadie as if he’d like to start yelling, only he didn’t see anything to get ahold of and yell about. “Agreed.” Cole seemed to give up on yelling in order to focus on crime-solving. “The menfolk can go on alone. Sadie, you can either come with me or wait for us at the orphanage, whichever you want.”

  Heath saw the turmoil in Sadie. She wanted to hunt, yet she missed the orphanage. She glanced at him, and he thought for a second that maybe she’d come along on the search.

  “If it helps you decide, little sister, you’re not riding around with Heath. But I’d be glad to take you with me.”

  Sadie’s lips curled into a smirk. “I’ll go to Safe Haven, thank you. I’ve missed the children, and I’ve no interest in having a babysitter.”

  Justin snickered.

  Cole gave a satisfied nod. “Then let’s start. We want to talk to anyone connected to the Pueblo tribe who’s heard the story about the mesa. It had to be someone who mixed with them and, considering the tribe’s private ways, there couldn’t be that many. Don’t forget to ask about Ramone’s mother.”

  Rosita had pulled up at the edge of town, and when they reached her, she told them the Pueblo woman’s name. She remembered her well.

  “And ask about any Mexican who’s over fifty years old, someone new around here. Maybe we can find Ramone just by learning who’s new around these parts.”

  “That’s a whole passel of folks, Cole.” Justin sounded doubtful.

  Cole admitted that to be the plain truth. They rode off in different directions. Heath glanced back a couple of times, wishing Sadie would defy her brothers and come along with him. Instead she trotted straight for the orphanage and swung down. Every move she made looked like she was eager to get back to work.

  Heath realized this was what she’d do when her year of living at home was up. If her pa let her go, she’d go back to working at a job she loved and felt called to. If that annoyed her pa, Chance had probably better stretch his rules out for another year. He could hold ownership of the CR over their heads for the rest of his life.

  And if things went on with Sadie as he hoped they would, then Heath was trapped here with her. Yet he wanted to go home and mend things with his brothers. The more he hung around with Justin and Cole, and saw the lengths a good father went to in keeping his family together, the more he wanted to find a way to live and work with his own family.

  He saw his part in the troubles. In fact, the fault was almost all his. Yes, his big brothers were bossy, but only a kid would let that bother him. A man needed to take charge of his own life, be confident in his own skills, and take whatever advice he wanted and ignore the rest without letting it bother him overly.

  He was finally man enough to do that. Now he wanted to get home and prove it. But he wasn’t going anywhere so long as the Bodens were in danger.

  24

  Sadie walked into the Safe Haven Orphanage and found Angie up and bustling about in the bright lantern light of the kitchen.

  “I see you’re feeling better.” Sadie was relieved. “I’m sorry I haven’t been in to check on how you’re doing.”

  Angie took the last stack of dishes off the long tables where the children were served their meals. “I’m much better, yes. I mostly just needed rest and a few good meals.” With a warm smile, she set the dishes by a basin of sudsy water.

  “You’re still as slender as a reed, but don’t worry—Sister Margaret will fatten you up. You look happy, too.” Sadie grabbed a dish towel and began drying while Angie washed.

  “I am.”

  The youngsters did chores, being very much a part of keeping the place running smoothly, just as children in any family would help out. But the days were long, and by early evening they were worn down. Sister Margaret had set the hour before bedtime as a time of quiet prayer and reading. The older children read to the younger ones after they were all in their nightclothes and ready for bed.

  Sister Margaret and Sadie had always helped them prepare for bed, and afterward Sadie did the dishes as Sister Margaret arranged small reading groups, then came in to help finish tidying up. Now Angie was hard at it in Sadie’s absence.

  “I’m doing the job you used to do.” Angie looked sideways, up to her elbows in dishwater, and blushed. “Aunt Margaret speaks so highly of you. I’m hoping I can begin to teach with your skill. I have a lot to learn.”

  Margaret stepped into the kitchen and said, “You’re doing wonderfully, Angie.”

  Sister Margaret hadn’t called her niece Angie the last time Sadie was here. Hopefully that was a sign they were getting on well. She’d been at this job for many years and, due to her age, Margaret desperately needed the help.

  Which made Sadie think of something. She was standing right next to a woman who’d lived near Skull Mesa for years. And the ladies who helped her were also longtime residents of the area. “Are Maria and Louisa here tonight?”

  The two ladies always cleaned the schoolroom and set everything in order for the next day of school while Margaret and Sadie were busy cleaning up the kitchen.

  “Yes, of course,” Margaret said. “They should be done with their chores soon. Can you stay long enough to share a cup of tea with us?”

  “Oh, yes. I’d love that.” Sadie finished wiping the last pan.

  Maria and Louisa came in only moments later. Sadie was glad to see them, because she was
going to find the two ladies and drag them in here if they hadn’t shown up.

  They all sat together at one of the tables in the dining area, each holding a steaming cup of fragrant tea.

  “I have some questions concerning events around here nearly thirty years ago. During the time my father first settled in the Skull Gulch area and Grandfather Chastain was killed. Were any of you here then?”

  Sadie’s heart sped up as she realized that instead of being sent off to behave while the big, strong men solved the crime, she might be the one talking to the best possible people to help them get to the bottom of what happened so long ago.

  All three ladies nodded. “I well remember your pa and little Cole,” Sister Margaret said. “Such a sweet child.”

  “Do you remember Don Bautista de Val? He left before my pa came into the country.”

  “Yes,” Margaret answered, “he was a regal man. Not exactly friendly, though he was generous to the orphanage. He helped us financially when we were just getting Safe Haven started. Of course, later he boasted about it to everyone. But I always tried to remember his generosity when he passed me on the street, nose in the air, as if I were unworthy of his notice.”

  Nodding, Sadie turned to the other ladies. “Do any of you remember a scandal involving a Pueblo woman who was the Don’s companion? She had a son, and that son was a suspect in my grandfather’s murder.”

  The ladies glanced nervously at one another.

  Sister Margaret swallowed hard. “We know of it, Sadie, but we mustn’t lapse into gossip.”

  “I wouldn’t ask except that the child, the Don’s son who was born on, let’s say, the wrong side of the blanket, may have returned to Skull Gulch.”

  A gasp escaped from two of the ladies. Angelique leaned forward, clearly caught in the tension.

  “Do you think he might have come back to cause more trouble?” Sister Margaret asked, running a hand along the high collar of her faded work dress.

  Should she tell the ladies about her climbing Skull Mesa? Should she mention the accident that hurt her pa wasn’t accidental? Or that someone had recently shot at her? These weren’t facts widely known.

  Before she could decide, Maria straightened and cleared her throat, drawing everyone’s attention. As if she had to physically force the words from her mouth, she said, “I know much about this.”

  “You do?” Sadie watched every nuance of Maria’s expression.

  “Yes.” Maria looked at Sister Margaret and waited.

  Margaret nodded. “It’s time for the truth, Maria. Be assured that you will always have a home here.”

  “What?” Sadie was shocked to hear that Maria had a secret so dark, she might fear Safe Haven would be closed to her if it became known by the community, regardless of her years of service. Sadie took a firm grip on herself, resolved to be silent and let Maria speak.

  “Thank you, Sister.” Maria’s eyes lowered. “I know of this because I am . . .” Maria took a shaky sip of tea. “I am Ramone de Val’s sister.”

  Despite her best efforts, Sadie gasped. She quickly clamped her mouth shut.

  Maria looked up, then went back to talking into her teacup. “Mi madre died shortly after the terrible business with Ramone and Señor Chastain. I was an outcast because of my mother’s choices and stayed strictly to my home. The Don was also my father and I had no hope of a decent marriage, and no interest in a life like my mother had lived. When Mama died, I came here to the Safe Haven Orphanage. I was already an adult woman, nearly thirty years old, far too old to be considered an orphan. But to avoid an unsavory life, Sister Margaret took me in and let me be one of the teachers. It would never have been allowed in a regular school. But here, with only orphans, there were no outraged parents to complain. And the need was great.”

  “What about Ramone?” Sadie couldn’t resist asking.

  After a long moment of hesitation, Maria said, “Ramone is here. I have seen him.”

  Sadie clenched her fists. “The man accused of killing my grandfather is nearby?”

  Maria looked sharply at her. “My brother is no murderer. He is a man of gentle heart. But recently the Don died, and Ramone is bitterly furioso that he was left nothing and cast out. He served Padre long and well and became the next thing to a slave to a father who had a twisted view of love. There were children within the Don’s marriage, and they were remembered while Ramone was not. Ramone had been with him all his life, since the day he abandoned Mama and me and followed Padre back to Mexico. I struggled not to be bitter about that. My father left us, and his abandonment included his no longer supporting us. As if his move back to Mexico City somehow absolved him of his duty. Then Ramone was accused of murder, and he vanished. Shortly afterward, Madre died of a broken heart. So long as the Don was here, his name protected her. And foolish though it was, she cared for him and sacrificed everything to be his woman.”

  Every last detail of the story was hard for Sadie to believe. She’d never imagined such a thing. All three of these ladies were pillars of faith. For the first time, she wondered about all of them. What had brought them to this life of pure self-sacrificing service?

  “With him gone, Mama was left to be nothing but a fallen woman. She couldn’t bear to be such. But she was very beautiful, so the men came. When she rejected their advances, the men turned to me, assuming I was no better than my mother. Mama protected me until her death, selling the finery Padre had lavished on her when he was with us. After her death, and with a town that considered me little better than la prostituta, though it was never true, I fled my home and came here. Sister Margaret took me in. She saved me, and even more precious, she led me to a faith in God that has given me peace.”

  Sadie was so taken aback she could barely think of all she needed to ask. Yet she had to find out if Ramone was behind the attacks. Despite his sister’s loyalty, Sadie needed to talk to the man. Each word seemed weighty and heavy, deep in Maria’s soul, like stones that weighed her down. Maria was a woman of melancholy temperament, and this explained so much.

  That helped Sadie to remember what was most important. “Maria, I know you well, and I believe what you’ve said about your brother. Even back when Grandfather died, there was talk that Ramone had run out of fear, that maybe he witnessed something. Or maybe he was involved somehow, tricked into going along with some plot. We think Grandfather held his silence for the same reason. He saw something that—” Sadie stopped, took a deep breath, and frowned—“that he thought was so dangerous, he was willing to take the name of his killer to his grave. . . .”

  A tense silence filled the room.

  Sadie surged to her feet. “I have to find my brothers. We must speak to Ramone, Maria, and find out what he knows. If he’s innocent, then someone may be setting him up to look guilty. Where can we find him?”

  Maria told her, and the information tightened Sadie’s jaw until she feared it might crack. It was all she could do to speak. “I must go. Thank you, Maria. We will be careful with your brother. We aren’t chasing him down to hurt him or arrest him.” Unless he needed arresting, of course, but Sadie didn’t say that out loud. “We just need to ask him some questions. And there’s a very good chance his life is in danger.”

  Maria had an expression of such sorrow on her face. Her shoulders slumped, but honor shone from her eyes. She looked like a woman who’d spoken the truth and knew it was what she was called to do by her Father in heaven. She wouldn’t regret it.

  “Heath, come quickly.”

  Heath wheeled around, reaching for his gun. The urgency in Sadie’s voice had him looking for who was harming her.

  She was alone, riding her horse hard, straight at him.

  “What is it? What’s happened?”

  “Where are Cole and Justin and Rosita? We need to get back to the CR right away.”

  It was getting mighty late. Heath had gone door to door with questions and had come away with nothing. In the last few houses he woke people up.

  “Cole too
k the east, Justin the west, and Rosita went toward the north part of town where most everyone speaks Mexican.” It wasn’t like Skull Mesa was a huge city. “We can find ’em—”

  “We need to get home,” Sadie snapped. “Let’s find them. And we should stay together.”

  That shocked him. Sadie was always trying to be tougher than her brothers, tougher than anyone. But suddenly, after a visit at the orphanage, she didn’t feel it was safe for her, or any of them, to be alone.

  They were a while finding Cole, Justin, and Rosita. It had to be near midnight before they hit the trail for home.

  “What is it, Sadie?” Cole asked as they reached the edge of town. “Tell us.”

  “I want to get back to the CR, and I want to ride hard. No time for talking. I think the danger may be coming closer to home every minute.” Sadie steered her horse for the trail out of town and spurred it into a flat-out gallop. They all had good mounts. Heath’s buckskin was an equal to Chance’s big bay, and Justin was riding that one. They were big men, though, and Sadie’s little palomino mare was quick as a flash. Cole rode fast along with them on his black stallion.

  Bent low over his stallion’s neck, Heath turned to Justin. “If she’s so all-fired worried about staying together, we really oughta make her stop leaving us behind.”

  “I agree,” Justin said. “But we’ve got to catch her first.”

  Heath started to grin, but then he thought of the fear in Sadie’s voice and her near-frantic demand that they all get home, and his grin disappeared.

  This desperate ride reminded Heath of the day Chance had been injured. Heath had come for Sadie. It had started everything—his closer acquaintance with the family, his longing for home.

  Before long, they were charging into the ranch yard. Sadie reined in and sat up straight in the saddle. Heath was close enough to hear her deep sigh of relief, and he wondered what in the world she’d learned.

  Men came boiling out of the bunkhouse in response to the thundering horses. Guns in hand, ready to fight for the brand. It stirred something deep in Heath’s heart to see their loyalty.