Too Far Down

by Mary Connealy

  Her eyes glowed with compassion. As if she knew what it cost him to think ill of his grandparents. He had no illusions about their arrogance, their influence, and their wealth and how they had manipulated him to stay in Boston. But he’d made his decisions with full awareness of what they were doing, because he’d seen the kind side of them as well, and also the lonely side. They really had loved him, and he’d loved them back. And he’d loved the opportunity to see the city and get himself an education.

  By the kindness in her gaze he thought Mel realized all of that.

  He took a step in the direction his brothers had gone, and because she didn’t move, that meant he took a step closer to Mel.

  He held up the kerchief. “Talking about my grandparents distracted me from thinking about this kerchief, which in turn distracted me from my first thought when we got left alone together. I will admit that when we’re alone, I have a few notions that’d cause your uncle Walt to shoot me dead.”

  “I don’t think Uncle Walt would shoot you dead. He’d probably just wing you.”

  Which made Cole take another step forward.

  A gentle smile broke out on her face. A smile Cole had never seen before. Mel had a great smile, big and bright and wide. He’d also seen her give a fine smile while she bottle-fed an orphan calf. And she had a special one for her ma and pa. But this one was something different. Something just for him.

  He liked it real fine.

  “Go ahead and think about that kerchief for as long as you want,” she said. “I’ll hush up. I’ll let my mind wander about this or that while you do your thinkin’.”

  “This or that?” Cole got just a bit closer, and the next time he did that he was going to be in big trouble. He really had no business being alone with her like this. Uncle Walt should be horsewhipped. “You want to tell me exactly where your mind is going to wander?”

  “Nope. I’m not interested in doing that at all.”

  He forced himself to do the right thing. “I’ll leave off my thinking for now. I want to find Justin and Heath and talk with them about how my grandparents could fit into this mess.”

  “And then later you can study that clue I found.” She seemed to enjoy that smug little reminder. “And then we’ll know who attacked you and we can round ’em up.”

  Nodding, Cole said, “I sure wish it was that easy.”

  Her smile faded. “So do I.”

  13

  Mel turned to find her uncle coming straight for them. “You’ve looked at the tracks around where we found this cloth already?”

  “Yep.” Uncle Walt was moving slow, studying the ground alongside the trail. He raised his eyes. “You two get off the trail. There are already plenty of footprints muddling things up, I don’t need more.”

  “Sorry, I figured it was trampled beyond what we could harm.” She stepped off the trail, Cole right behind her. Justin came toward them from the direction of Mel’s cabin.

  “Justin, Heath, I want you to break off tracking for a minute. I want to ask you a question.”

  “I’ll keep on,” Uncle Walt said. “It’s slowgoing so you can catch up, Kincaid.” He went on, eyes locked on the ground, while Mel stayed.

  “I have a suspicion,” Cole said, “about why my grandparents’ names were in the note Ma has. I want to talk it over with you and see if you think it’s possible.”

  Justin crossed his arms and watched Cole close. Heath found a tree and leaned against it.

  “My grandparents always tried to get me to stay in Boston. You know that, Justin.”

  “I mostly remember what an old bat your grandmother was when she showed up here with nothing good to say about our house, our parents, our clothes, or our speech, but with a wagonload of gifts for you and nothing for me and Sadie. Well, I was a kid back then and it stung. When I got older, I calmed down about it and knew she was your kin and none of mine, so it made some sense. But then I got older yet and decided I was right to begin with. She knew you had a little brother and sister. I can remember how she showed you those gifts, right in front of us. She wanted to hurt us. She wanted to aggravate Ma and Pa, who were nothing but nice to her. She—”

  “Okay, stop. I know you don’t like them and I know why. I’ve heard it plenty of times and, what’s more, I agree with you. Let me finish what I want to say.”

  Justin clamped his mouth shut as if forcibly holding back the words.

  “I don’t believe my grandparents would hire a killer. I just don’t. They were a lot of things, but not that.”

  Justin remained silent, but Mel had a good idea what he was thinking.

  “But what if they were trying to get the land grant overturned? What if they were buying influence, getting the right people elected and appointed, with the idea that if I didn’t have a home to go to, I might settle down in Boston for good. Or even if they just hated Pa, they might want to do him harm by taking his ranch away. That I can believe about them, but not that they hired killing. And after they died, what if money they’d sent for that nasty but not murderous plan got turned aside by others with uglier goals?”

  Heath tilted his head. “I don’t know your grandparents at all, though they don’t seem like kind people, neither are they wise.”

  “Grandfather Bradford was a college graduate,” Cole snapped. “My grandmother spoke several languages and was an avid reader of the classics.”

  “Whoa there, Cole.” Heath held up his hands, his eyes not as fun-loving as usual. “I didn’t say they weren’t smart, I said they weren’t wise. If your grandmother wanted to buy influence with you, being generous and kind to your family would have gone way further than treating the people you love poorly. It wasn’t wise of her. Neither was it wise to think she could drive your family off this land and that would change your decision to return to them. Family isn’t a place, it’s people—if you’re lucky, it’s people you love and who love you. If your folks lost their ranch, a wise woman would know you’d run for home to help.”

  “I would have.” Cole looked at Justin. “If you’d lost the CR or even if it was threatened, I’d have come and fought beside you.”

  “I reckon you know them better than anyone else, Cole,” Justin said through gritted teeth. “So if you’re sure they wouldn’t hire a killer, then let’s say they didn’t. Instead, they ordered your home destroyed, Pa and Ma’s lives ripped up. Your little brother and sister thrown off the only land they’d ever known. That may not be killing, but it’s a hateful thing to do. Cruel and cold as the grave to my way of thinking.”

  Justin might’ve been madder than Cole. Mel didn’t blame him. If someone had tried to steal the ranch from her family, they’d have been mad enough to start a war.

  Cole’s jaw tightened until Mel worried his teeth might crack.

  “I’d say,” Heath said, breaking the ice-cold silence, “you’re the one who knows what your grandmother is like. You wouldn’t have come to us with this story if you didn’t think it was possible that however twisted the plot became, your grandparents at one time at least were behind it.”

  Cole nodded so tightly that it was almost impossible to see the motion.

  Mel wished she’d gone with Uncle Walt. She wasn’t a bad tracker and this was family business. But her uncle was out of sight, and she doubted anyone would let her wander off, what with a man planting dynamite in the area.

  “So what does the old Don’s wife have to do with this?” Cole finally managed to say.

  “If your grandmother was, as you said, buying influence, maybe Don de Val was, too.” Justin finally got his jaw unclenched. “His wife was an old terror, I remember hearing that. They were gone back to Mexico before I was born. Before you were born, come to that. Ma knew them. When the Don looked to be losing his ranch, he and his wife were both angry about it. I heard Ma say they went off in a fury to Mexico, their pride all tangled and twisted up. Maybe Don de Val wanted to see our grandfather lose his land and that was what drove the first killing . . . when they killed
Grandpa Chastain thirty years ago.”

  Cole had his eyes focused somewhere in the past. “Maybe the Don started this, and since his death, the folks behind all our trouble have been using his money and the Bradfords’. Now that they’re all dead, these outlaws have the money and are using it for far worse things than it was intended.”

  “You said that wrong,” Justin interrupted. “All four of ’em aren’t dead. The Don’s wife isn’t.”

  “She’s still living?” Mel asked. She knew neither of them, as they’d been gone before she could remember. But her folks had spoken of them a few times, though not like they were friends.

  “Yes, she is. Ramone talked of them,” Justin’s eyes were suddenly alert. “He said the Don was decent to him. Treated him like a servant, but at least he was fed and clothed. But Señora de Val was a different story. She always hated him and cast him out of her house within hours of her husband’s death. Considering he was a child born on the wrong side of the blankets, Ramone didn’t blame her much, but to me it wasn’t Ramone’s fault how he was born, and a father has a responsibility to care for the children he sires.”

  Mel remembered that Ramone had been innocent of the attacks on the Bodens. Ramone was a hired hand on the CR back when Cole was just a young boy. He’d kept quiet about being the old Don’s son.

  “We need to talk to Ramone.” Cole tugged off his white Stetson and slapped it against his leg.

  “Let’s go to town,” Justin said, then started climbing up the mountain toward his horse.

  “Hold up there! We found something.” Walt moved fast, next thing to running. “All the tracks have faded but one. We need horses and men. I found where he left the trail, and it climbs a ways into a canyon. There are good sentry spots on the way in and I’m not going in blind. We need to scout it out and make sure we aren’t walking into a shooting range. And that’ll take all of us.”

  Cole and Justin exchanged a glance. “Ramone will keep.” Justin said it, but he didn’t seem to like it. Then he headed uphill to the stable.

  Cole was on his heels. “Heath, we’ll bring your horse. No sense all of us walking all the way up there.”

  “Mine too,” Mel yelled after him.

  Cole stopped and turned to her, frowning.

  Mel arched her brows. “Or are you going to leave me here all by my helpless little self?”

  His eyes narrowed. Which meant he’d gotten that she was using his own words against him. “We’ll bring your horse, and you can ride with us right into an ambush. I sure hope your pa is agreeable to this.”

  Walt said, “She rides with me and that makes her safer than she’d be in the cellar at my brother’s ranch.”

  Mel heard what he didn’t say. Yes, he’d take care of her, but Walt didn’t think she should be here at all. Cole clearly agreed. She decided to enjoy herself before she got sent packing for home.

  “Mel,” said Walt, “you’re not armed. Go back to your cabin and fetch your gun.”

  She noticed she was the only one who wasn’t armed. The Boden brothers each had a gun on their hip. She couldn’t remember ever seeing Heath unarmed. And Walt, well, there was a mighty good chance Uncle Walt slept with his gun in hand.

  Mel decided from now on she was going to do the same. As much as she wanted to help Cole and wanted to spend time with him, this was a serious business and she’d better be ready for a fight.

  14

  Cole never had a job he didn’t want to boss.

  He knew that about himself and he kept it under control around Pa, mostly. It was more of a battle with Justin.

  Now he found himself taking orders from Walt. And not regretting it one bit. The man knew how to scout a trail. They’d gone a long distance away from the mines. Now Cole looked at the tight entrance to a canyon that might lead to a hideout. “I’ve never seen this trail before.”

  “Well, as I understand your property, this is off Boden land. It’s a long ride away from the mines, too. Easy to see why you never rode out this way.”

  “And the three men you’re trailing rode in there?”

  “At least one came through here. And it makes sense they’re keeping watch of this passage. So we’re not riding that way. There are some likely lookout spots that cover this trail. If we stay back from it, we can maybe get the drop on them or at least slip past them. But be careful, and count on them being watchful. Cole, you and Mel go up that way.” Walt kept his voice down, which really got Cole’s attention. Sound didn’t carry far in the mountains, not as a rule. Walt must think the trouble was close by.

  “The rocks give good cover, and the mountain isn’t so steep you can’t climb up there from the main trail.” Walt flicked his eyes between all of them. “Justin, go to the south of the trail with Heath.”

  “I’ll come with you, Uncle Walt.”

  “Nope, I’m going to swing wide and beat you all to the top of the mountain. I want to go in alone. We know there could be three men, if not more. Maybe I can thin the herd some.”

  “No, you should scout things out but stay back, Walt.” Justin scowled at him. “You’re a tough man, but we’re tough too, and this is Boden trouble.”

  “Trust me, I’m careful. And I work better alone. Let’s head out.” Walt turned and rode his horse toward the south, then veered uphill.

  They wouldn’t be able to get their mounts all the way over the top, but they could go a ways.

  Cole nodded at Justin, and the foursome split up. Cole and Mel managed about a third of the trip before a stretch was too steep for the horses. They tied them near a stretch of grass that’d keep them occupied, then headed up on foot.

  “There.” Mel grabbed him by the front of his shirt and dragged him to the ground. Her whisper had a streak of urgency to it. He saw where she was pointing and looked about fifty feet up. He spotted footprints on a rocky track that led behind a man-sized boulder.

  A lookout must be posted behind the rock . . . just as Walt had warned.

  They went on, keeping rocks between themselves and the sentry. Cole got high enough he could look for a likely spot for a second guard on another peak. He couldn’t see anyone, but he had to be sure. How could they sneak up on this varmint without alerting another guard?

  Cole inched toward where their man must be, pausing to study the terrain before moving on, keeping well down and out of sight of any possible lookouts. Anger stirred within him. He might be within moments of catching the men responsible for the death of six miners.

  Crouching lower with each passing minute, Cole finally dropped to his knees. He looked at Mel, who knelt beside him, pointed to her and then up the hill. A boulder loomed ahead, the footprints obvious now. The sentry was right on the other side of it.

  Taking a deep breath, then hesitating because he knew Mel would be exposed, Cole kept his mouth locked shut. It’d be a waste of time to try to get her to stay hidden. He needed to trust her. She was a savvy woman and could hold her own.

  He nodded, pointed to himself and then the downhill side of the boulder. He wanted to remind her about other guards, but he’d be insulting her, and the whispering might give them away.

  They separated. Cole started crawling, letting more and more of the front side of the boulder show, until he could see . . . nothing. There was nobody there.

  Boot heels were clear enough, though. Someone had been up here and not long ago. But they were gone now.

  She stood from behind the big rock. “No one on the far side either.”

  Justin poked his head out from behind a boulder, grimaced and nodded, then vanished.

  Mel turned, and Cole followed her gaze to a mountain valley thick with lush grass. Cole blew out a quiet whistle at the beautiful pasture. “A herd of cows could thrive in here.”

  Mel gave the view the quiet moment it deserved, then said, “Let’s see if Walt left anyone down there who needs catching.”

  Justin and Heath stepped out in an opening down the mountain a ways, ahead of them.

 
“Let’s go.” They both headed down in a hurry to catch up, still careful in case there were other sentries.

  They met at the bottom. Cole saw a sturdy cabin so new that the fresh-sawn logs weren’t weathered yet. The high walls of the canyon blocked the worst of the wind.

  All four of them ducked behind the nearest boulder. Mel just happened to choose the same one Cole did.

  A bit of snow was blown up against the north side of the biggest rocks, and a thick stand of aspens had knee-deep snow surrounding them. The trees stood on the far side of what Cole guessed was a twenty-acre stretch of land.

  “We haven’t seen hide nor hair of Walt yet,” Justin said. “If he got ahead of us, I’d guess he might be in that cabin.”

  No smoke came out of the cabin’s chimney. And it was cold enough a fire should’ve been going day and night.

  “We use all the boulders possible for cover.” Cole crouched low and headed for the next closest one just as Walt poked his head out from behind the south side of the cabin.

  He gestured with his gun in silence. All four of them moved faster but still tried to keep a barrier between them and the cabin.

  Heath got there first and went north. Cole darted behind the cabin on the south. Mel followed him as Justin went after Heath.

  Walt spoke quietly when Cole and Mel reached him. “The cabin’s empty, but someone just hightailed it out of here. His tracks are fresh, and it looks like two more horses rode out a bit earlier. I climbed to high ground and watched a man ride through a gap in the canyon wall. Justin, you come with me. There are two horses in the barn. I’ve got ’em saddled and ready. Maybe we can catch the varmint. The rest of you ride for Skull Gulch and tell them what you’ve found. Tell Sheriff Joe I’ll be in and will vouch for these men, whoever they are, setting off that dynamite. The signs all read that way. Heath, you can tell him what you saw too with the tracks. Two of us with the same story will carry more weight.”