That didn’t work. A boot toe nudged her, none too gently, and Hannah said, “I know you’re awake. Don’t try to fool anybody.”
Eden pried her eyes open. The redhead stood over her, hands on hips, glaring down at her with the usual dislike on her face.
“I’m not trying to fool anybody,” Eden said. “I…I just woke up.”
“Uh-huh.” Hannah reached down, took hold of Eden’s shoulders, and hauled her upright, pushing her back against the cottonwood trunk.
Last night before everyone turned in, Hannah had changed the way Eden was tied, lashing her ankles together and her hands behind her back, but at least she wasn’t bound tightly to the tree trunk anymore. She was able to stretch out on the ground. Hannah ran a rope from Eden’s wrists to the tree, though, to make sure she didn’t try to roll away. Tied up like she was, she certainly couldn’t get up and run.
As uncomfortable as she was, her sleep had been restless. She had roused briefly what seemed like a thousand times. As a result, she was still very tired this morning, and the chill from lying on the ground in the open had seeped into her bones and made her ache from head to foot.
“Someone could have at least thrown a blanket over me,” she said now.
“You’re lucky nobody’s thrown a few feet of dirt over you, princess,” Hannah snapped.
Eden ignored the threat in those words and looked around. The campsite was even more bleak in the gray light of predawn. A couple of the outlaws were stirring around. One poked at the ashes of last night’s fire, trying to bring it back to life, while another had climbed down into the wash and was filling canteens from the creek’s trickle. The other men were still rolled in their blankets.
Not for long. Hannah raised her voice and said, “All right, get up, you bunch of loafers! We need to cover some ground today.”
Caleb sat up and yawned. He said, “I don’t recall putting you in charge of rising and shining, Hannah.”
“Somebody’s got to do it,” she said with a snort. “You’re probably too busy dreamin’.”
“Somebody has to dream,” Caleb said. “Everything worthwhile in the world started with somebody’s dream.”
“Yeah, and while you’re doin’ that, somebody else has to get the coffee boilin’ and see to the horses.”
Hannah turned away and started walking among the outlaws, prodding them with her foot as she told them to get up. Caleb, watching her, smiled and shook his head.
Then he looked over at Eden and asked, “How are you this morning?”
“How do you think?” she asked through clenched teeth. Her jaw was tight from both anger and her effort to keep her teeth from chattering. “I’m cold, I hurt all over, and I want you to let me go.”
Caleb shook his head again.
“I’m sorry about the first part of that,” he said. “And you know I can’t let you go.”
“Why not? Just leave me here. When the posse finds me, I…I’ll tell them you went a different direction than you really did.”
Caleb gave her an indulgent smile.
“You don’t think I believe that, do you?” he asked.
“You’ve treated me halfway decent,” Eden argued. “I’m grateful for that. I…I don’t mind if you get away.”
“What about that money we took from the bank? Are you saying you don’t want the posse to recover it?”
“I’m saying that my life is a lot more important to me than any amount of money.”
“Well, that’s where you and I are different.” Caleb pushed aside his blankets and climbed to his feet. “But I’ll do what I can to keep you comfortable as long as you’re with us. You should have had a blanket last night. It was such a long day yesterday I just didn’t think of it. Sorry.”
Hannah came back up in time to hear that. She said, “Don’t apologize to her. She’s a prisoner. She’s lucky we didn’t just put a bullet in her head and leave her for the buzzards and the coyotes.”
“There’s no need to talk like that,” Caleb said with a frown.
Hannah just glared at him and turned toward the fire. The cottonwood trees along the bank of the wash, stunted though they were, provided some small branches for firewood, and the outlaw who had been messing with the embers earlier now had flames leaping merrily in the gloom. The coffee was on to boil, and the man soon had salt pork sizzling in a frying pan.
Eden began to feel a pressing need. She felt her face burning hotly with embarrassment as she was forced to say, “I…I could use some privacy…”
Caleb opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, Hannah said, “I’ll take her down in the wash. You men stay here.”
Caleb’s eyes narrowed.
“I don’t want you shooting her and then claiming she tried to get away.”
“If I wanted to shoot her, I’d shoot her,” Hannah said. “I wouldn’t make up some damned excuse.”
She bent down and untied the rope connecting Eden’s wrists to the tree. Then she untied the one around Eden’s ankles.
“What about my wrists?”
“You don’t need ’em,” Hannah said. She took hold of Eden’s arm and hauled her to her feet, seemingly effortlessly.
The rope around Eden’s ankles had been so tight that her feet were numb and unresponsive. When she tried to take a step it was like nothing was there at the ends of her legs. She cried out and would have fallen if Hannah hadn’t been holding her up.
“Wiggle your damn toes,” Hannah ordered.
Eden tried to. The pain was even worse as the blood began to flow freely again in her feet. She bit her lip, determined not to cry out again.
After a few moments, the pins and needles eased. She was able to hobble along with Hannah’s help. The side of the wash wasn’t too steep, and it was rough enough that there were plenty of places to step as they went down into it. Here below the level of the prairie, shadows still lingered.
For about half a second, Eden considered the idea of lowering her head, butting Hannah in the stomach, and trying to knock her down. If she could do that, she could turn and run along the twisting wash.
And if she did, she would probably get all of ten feet or so before Hannah put a rifle bullet in her back. Caleb would be angry about that, but the outlaw leader’s anger wouldn’t bring Eden back to life.
Eden didn’t want to give Hannah the satisfaction of killing her, either.
So once they were out of sight of the camp, she took care of her personal business awkwardly but the best she could, ignoring the shame she felt about knowing that Hannah was watching her.
When she was finished she staggered to her feet. Hannah smirked at her and said, “You know, for a second there I thought you were gonna make a run for it.”
“I have more sense than that,” Eden said.
“But not sense enough to keep from gettin’ carried off by a love-struck outlaw.”
Eden blinked in surprise.
“Love-struck?” she repeated. “Caleb’s not…He took me to use as a hostage.”
“Yeah, that’s what he says. Might even be what he thinks is true. But I know better. I’ve seen him get smitten by some sweet-looking gal. You see, he thinks that because he’s had some book-learnin’, he’s too good for a hillbilly girl like me. But sooner or later he figures out that he’s wrong about that. He tries to stray, but he always comes back to me. And when he don’t…” Hannah shrugged. “Well, when I get through with those gals, they ain’t so sweet-lookin’, and he don’t want ’em no more. So you’d best remember that.”
Eden swallowed hard and said, “I…I just want this to be over with. I just want to go home.”
“Maybe that’ll happen.” Hannah’s cruel grin made it clear she didn’t believe there was a chance in the world of that. “As long as you behave yourself, it won’t do any harm for you to hope. But if I was you I wouldn’t hold my breath waitin’ for somebody to come along and save me. Once we get to the badlands, it’d take an army to get us out of there. You got an army com
in’ after you?”
Eden didn’t answer the question, but she knew she didn’t have an army coming after her.
But she had the tough Texan she was married to, along with some friends, and she would have to hope that would be enough.
Chapter 20
Roy Fleming came by the marshal’s office that afternoon to check on Mordecai.
“You know, a normal man would be laid up in bed for a week or more if he was injured as badly as you are,” Fleming said.
“Normal is one thing I ain’t been called that often,” Mordecai said. “The fellas like me who went west to trap beaver, back when there weren’t hardly any white men west of St. Louis, we were a hardy breed. If we got hurt, we might be a hundred miles or more from the closest help, so we learned to take care of ourselves. Learned how to keep goin’ and not pay it any mind, too. I’ll be fine, Mr. Mayor.” Mordecai paused, then added, “But I been takin’ it pretty easy today. As long as no more trouble crops up, I’ll make my rounds and that’s about all.”
“Should the town council see about getting some help for you? I’m sure we can afford to hire a temporary deputy.” A frown formed on Fleming’s face. “Or maybe we can’t, come to think of it. Except for a small petty cash fund, the town’s money was in the bank, and those outlaws took it.”
Mordecai’s bushy eyebrows rose.
“You’re sayin’ you can’t pay my wages no more?”
“Now, I’m sure it’s not going to come to that,” Fleming went on quickly. “Marshal Harvey and the posse will catch up to the thieves and recover the money. Even if they don’t, we…we’ll find a way to carry on somehow.”
Mordecai leaned back in the chair and said, “Anyway, I don’t need no help. I told Bill I’d handle things here, and that’s what I intend to do. Who would I hire, anyway? Is there anybody else in town fit to be a lawman?”
“I’m sure we could find someone…”
Mordecai shook his head.
“If I need help, I’ll ask for it. Until then, don’t worry about it.”
“All right. There is one other thing…”
When Fleming hesitated, Mordecai said, “Spit it out.” He was aware that technically he was talking to his boss, since Fleming was the mayor, but he’d never had much patience for dawdling when there was something unpleasant to say or do.
“Were you aware that there’s a gypsy in town?”
“You mean that Gregor Smo…Smoz…that Gregor fella?”
“That’s right. He’s parked his wagon down at the edge of town and is selling pots and pans and all sorts of other things. Plus he says he can sharpen blades and repair things.”
Mordecai shrugged his good shoulder.
“I reckon he can do that. I ain’t seen nothin’ to prove otherwise.”
“Yes, but people of his…ilk…have a rather dubious reputation. It’s well known that most of them are thieves.”
Mordecai cocked an eyebrow and commented, “Some folks say the same thing about bankers.”
Fleming’s round, friendly face didn’t look so friendly for a second. Mordecai thought that maybe he had pushed the mayor a mite too far, especially considering that the man’s bank had been robbed only twenty-four hours earlier. Fleming had to be in a pretty bad mood.
“You’ve obviously spoken to this man.”
“Yeah, he stopped by and introduced himself when he got to town,” Mordecai said. “Told me his name and why he’s here in Redemption.”
“Do you think he could have anything to do with the robbery yesterday?”
“I don’t see how.” Mordecai frowned. “Seems to me it was just a coincidence that he got here the next mornin’. If he was part of the gang, why would he come back here when the robbery’s over and done with?”
“I don’t know,” Fleming admitted. “I just don’t trust him, and I don’t like having his sort in town. Can’t you go down there and run him out?”
“What for? He ain’t broke any laws that I know of.”
“There must be something…”
Mordecai was starting to feel pretty irritated. He had enough on his plate at the moment without Fleming piling on any unnecessary chores. But since Fleming was the mayor, it was sort of Mordecai’s job to do what the man said, he supposed.
“Tell you what I’ll do, Mr. Mayor,” he said. “I’ll walk down there and have a look-see, just to make sure Gregor ain’t doin’ nothin’ wrong. If I see anything that strikes me as fishy, I’ll tell him it’d be best for him to move on. That do for now?”
“I suppose,” Fleming said. “I just know I would sleep easier if that man was gone.”
After everything else that had happened, he was going to lose sleep over one lone gypsy? That seemed loco to Mordecai, but he didn’t say anything about it. Instead he got to his feet and reached for his hat.
“I’d go with you,” Fleming said as they left the office, “but I’m in the process of drafting letters to out-of-town depositors informing them of the robbery and assuring them that everything humanly possible is being done to recover the stolen funds.”
“How about ever’thing humanly possible bein’ done to get Eden back safe and sound?”
“Yes, well, that, too, of course. The two things go hand in hand, don’t they?”
Not exactly, Mordecai thought. If it came down to choosing between saving Eden and recovering the money, he knew which one Bill would pick. That was the same decision Mordecai would have made if he’d been in that position.
Fleming turned toward the bank while Mordecai went the other way. There weren’t many trees in this part of Kansas, but there were a few and one of them stood at the end of Main Street. Gregor Smolenski had parked his wagon in the shade of that tree. Part of the vehicle’s side folded down to make a table where Gregor could display some of his wares, Mordecai saw as he came closer.
Maybe half a dozen people were gathered around the wagon, examining the things Gregor had for sale. The colorfully clad gypsy stood there talking to them, not really pressuring them to buy but extolling the virtues of the items. The dog Tip still sat on the wagon seat. Gregor had unhitched the mules and tied them under the tree where they cropped lazily at the grass.
“Hello, Deputy,” Gregor said as Mordecai strolled up. “What brings you here? You have a knife you need sharpened? Or perhaps you’d like to buy some pots and pans?”
“I already got an old fryin’ pan and a coffeepot, and that’s all I’ve ever needed when it comes to things like that,” Mordecai said. “I just thought I’d see how you were doin’ now that you got set up and all.”
“You mean you wanted to make sure I wasn’t swindling the citizens of Redemption,” Gregor said with a smile.
“I never—”
Gregor waved a hand.
“Oh, don’t worry, Deputy Flint, please. I’m accustomed to mistrust from everyone in this world except my friend Tip here. I long since stopped being insulted by that attitude.” He nodded toward his customers. “You can ask these people, or anyone else who has done business with me since my arrival this morning. All my transactions have been honest and aboveboard.”
One of the women who was examining a pot nodded and said, “Mr. Smolenski’s right, Mordecai. I thought he’d be a thief, too, but his prices are very fair.”
“You see?” Gregor said, spreading his hands.
“Yeah, I reckon. Just keep things that way.”
“Of course.” A frown of concern appeared on Gregor’s face. “You know, Deputy, I can tell that you’re in pain.”
“I’ll be fine,” Mordecai said curtly. “I been shot before.”
“I have an herb that’s very good for relieving pain. All you have to do is chew it, or brew some tea with it.”
“I don’t chew plants except tobacco, and I ain’t much of a tea drinker. But I’m obliged to you for the thought.”
“If you change your mind, come and see me. My people have many cures that are quite effective, just like your Indians in this country.
You know, some people actually believe that my countrymen and the Indians are related somehow.”
“Is that so?” Mordecai squinted. “You do look a mite like an Injun. You ain’t gonna put on feathers and war paint, are you? We already had to deal with that not so long ago.”
Gregor laughed and shook his head.
“No, no war paint for me. I’m just a businessman.”
“And I’m just a lawman. So you don’t want to have any business with me.”
Mordecai left it at that. He headed back toward the office, and with each step the throb that went through his injured arm and shoulder made him wonder if he should have taken Gregor up on that offer of the herb.
Probably not, he decided. Who knew what other effects it might have?
Chapter 21
By midday, the tracks left by the outlaws led the posse to a seemingly endless stretch of rocky ground that didn’t take hoofprints nearly as well.
“I knew that sooner or later they’d try to throw us off their trail,” Bill said as he reined in to study the hard ground.
“I don’t know if that’s what’s going on here,” Josiah Hartnett said, “or if the direction they were headed just happened to have a lot of rocks in it.”
“Either way, this is going to make it harder. This is where I wish we had Mordecai with us. The tracks would probably still be plain as day to him, even on the rocks.”
“We can follow them,” Hartnett said. “We just have to be careful.”
Bill nodded and said, “Which will slow us down.” He heaved a sigh. “But there’s nothing we can do about it.” He turned to face the other members of the posse. “Unless one of you fellas has a lot of experience as a tracker…?”
All he got back in return were blank looks and a few of the men shaking their heads.
“I’m pretty good at followin’ a few thousand head of cattle,” Overstreet said. “That’s about all.”
“All right,” Bill said. “We’ll see what we can do.”
They started forward, moving at a walk now. After a while, Bill had to get down and walk, leading his horse as he searched the ground for fragments of hoofprints, chipped places on the rocks where horseshoes struck them, flat stones with their darker surfaces facing up, indicating that something had overturned them in the past twenty-four hours…anything that told him a good-sized group of riders had moved through here.
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