The Last Renegade

by Jo Goodman

  “Not every man is,” Uriah said. “And I count that as a real shame. Still, I won’t take advantage of a weakness. Neither should you.” His eyes swiveled to Eli, and he fixed his stare. “Or you.”

  Eli did not try to defend himself. He simply nodded. “How about we bring him back after we take care of the other matter?”

  Uriah shook his head. “Invite him, but tell him to come the following morning. Riding out alone will be a test of his mettle, and he can spend the day. You can escort him around some of the spread. He can’t see it all in an afternoon, but he’ll get an idea of the length and breadth of it. Do you know if he’s talked to any of the other ranchers?”

  “Didn’t seem like he had,” said Eli. “I’m not sure he’s planning to. He was interested in our ranch.”

  “My ranch,” Uriah said. Although he said it without rancor, the distinction was important to him. It kept the competing interests of his children at the forefront of their minds. It also kept his youngest son at the forefront of his. “Either one of you seen Isaac lately?”

  It was Clay who answered. “He’s still working with Sol, putting up fence in the Cross Creek parcel.”

  “That isn’t what I asked. Have you seen him?”

  “No, sir.”

  “You, Eli?”

  “No. It’s been two weeks since I laid eyes on him.”

  “One of you will have to go out there and make sure he knows not to show himself when the reporter’s here. That’s a story we don’t need.”

  “I’ll go,” said Clay. “First thing in the morning.”

  “I’ll go tonight,” said Eli.

  Uriah took in both of his boys at once and smiled.

  Emily Ransom had been cold in the ground for ten days when Dan Sugar strode into the Pennyroyal Hotel with one hand hovering near his gun. The Davis brothers accompanied him, Jem on the right, Jessop and Jake just behind his left shoulder.

  All activity in the dining room ceased, but as the diners had all left, it was only Renee and Cecilia who were shocked into stillness. As this was an unnatural state for them, only a few seconds passed before the cousins dropped the plates and utensils they were holding and threw up their hands.

  The crash and clatter brought Raine from the kitchen. She took in the tableau in a single glance, the frightened expressions of the girls, the fierce ones of the men, and forced down the wild fluttering of her own heart. It was happening. She wasn’t ready, she thought. She had merely wanted to believe she would be, and now she knew the truth.

  “Are you arresting them, Deputy?” she asked with credible calm.

  Sugar let his hand fall to his side. “Of course not. Put your arms down, girls.”

  Renee and Cecilia obeyed, but slowly. They looked uneasily at each other, then over their shoulders at Raine.

  “Go wait with Mrs. Sterling in the kitchen,” she told them. “You can clean up this mess later.” They didn’t wait to hear if there were counterinstructions from the deputy. The girls hurried past Raine and disappeared into the kitchen, closing the door solidly behind them. Raine’s accusing stare encompassed the deputy and the Davis brothers. “I hope you’re ashamed for scaring them the way you have. If you’re not, you should be. I imagine it’s by accident rather than design that you are here after my diners are gone.”

  She noticed that the Davis boys were all glancing away, looking distinctly uncomfortable. She didn’t blame them. They were taking Sugar’s lead, and whatever they were doing following him, it was because they thought they were doing it for Emily. Deputy Sugar, though, stared right back at her. She thought his chest puffed a little, but she was willing to put it down to her imagination.

  “What is it that you want, Deputy?”

  “We’re here for Mr. Coltrane.”

  “Why?”

  “That’s not your concern.”

  “I think it is.”

  “You run this establishment, Mrs. Berry. You don’t run the town. Now I’ll let you escort us to his room just so you know we’re not doing your place any harm, but then I’ll be asking you to leave. If you don’t like those terms, then we’ll go up on our own. I remember the way.”

  Raine’s mouth flattened briefly. “I’ll take you.” She removed her apron, tossed it on the back of a chair, and without a second look in Sugar’s direction, she headed for the lobby. The deputy stayed on her heels up the stairs. She could tell from the leaden footsteps following him that Jem and his brothers were keeping a more respectful distance. It was probably better that Sugar had men with him, and the Davis boys were as good as she could have hoped for. As far as she knew, she had more credibility with them than the deputy. They would be inclined to give her every benefit of the doubt, and they could prove to be valuable as witnesses.

  Raine knocked lightly on Kellen’s door. She counted to three in her head and then rapped on it twice more. Her hand was still raised when Kellen opened up. He looked past her to the men standing behind her.

  “Deputy,” he said. “Boys. What can I do for you?”

  “Not a social call,” Sugar said. “You can leave now, Mrs. Berry.”

  She didn’t step aside. He would have to shoulder her out of the way if he wanted entry to Kellen’s room. She didn’t think he would do that, not with Jem, Jessop, and Jake hovering. “I’d like to stay.” She watched him turn the consequences over in his mind but was still surprised when he did not argue.

  “Suit yourself.”

  Kellen opened the door wider and let them file in. He rested his back against the door once it was closed. “Not a social call? I guess that means it’s business. How can I help you?”

  Sugar reached into the pocket of his black wool coat. When he withdrew his hand, it was a fist. “Found something that I think probably belongs to you. I was hoping you could tell me if I’m right.”

  “Sure.”

  The deputy’s fingers unfolded. In the heart of his broad palm lay a gold-plated cuff link.

  “I’ll be darned,” Kellen said, approaching. “May I?” When Sugar nodded, Kellen took the cuff link out of his hand and examined it. KMC. “It’s mine.” He extended his hand toward Raine. “This is the one I told you about, Mrs. Berry.”

  Raine took it and subjected it to the same study Kellen had. “It matches the other perfectly.” She handed it back to Kellen but looked at the deputy. “He came to me five, no, six days ago and told me it was missing from his wardrobe drawer. I’ve asked my staff. We’ve all been looking for it. Walt even took out all the drawers to see if it had fallen behind them.”

  “Where did you find it?” asked Kellen.

  It was Jem who answered. “Back where Petit and Reasoner found Emily.”

  Kellen frowned deeply. “What? How is that possible?”

  Jem straightened, threw his shoulders back, and took a rigid stance. “Don’t you dare accuse Emily of taking it. She wouldn’t. I’ve known her all my life. She’s not a thief.”

  “I have no intention of accusing anyone of anything. I’ve always assumed I misplaced or lost it.”

  “I’m still thinking you did,” said Sugar.

  Kellen’s eyes narrowed. “What are you trying to say?”

  “Didn’t think I was trying to say anything. Thought I was saying it. You’re not denying the cuff link is yours, and we’re telling you where we found it. Most people would see how the two connect right away.”

  “Most guilty people would see how the two connect. I’m not guilty, so bear with me. I’ve never been to the site where Emily was found. I was with you when we came across Petit and Reasoner. You didn’t want to go on, remember? We brought Emily back, and I haven’t been away from town since. You didn’t ask me to join you when you continued the search for Mr. Weyman.”

  “But you’ve been out that way.”

  “There’s a lot of way out that way,” said Kellen. “I did some exploring after I got here. I wanted to get my bearings, add some color to my writing. I can’t say if I ever got close to where Emily was
found, since I don’t know where that was. What I can tell you, though, is that I wasn’t wearing my dress shirt and cuff links when I went.”

  Raine watched Deputy Sugar rock slowly back on his heels. She recognized it as something he did when he was unsure of himself. If the Burdicks had been with him, he would have let one of them take the lead and shown off his badge as support. His footing was unsteady when he was the one in charge.

  “How do you think it got there?” Sugar asked, rolling forward on his toes.

  Kellen refused to accept what was essentially a challenge. “I don’t know. I will leave it in your capable hands to sort out.” He tossed the cuff link into the air, caught it, and then carried it to the wardrobe. He opened the left-hand door, then the uppermost drawer. Before he dropped the cuff link inside, he lifted its mate out and held it up for the deputy’s inspection.

  “I appreciate you returning it,” he said. “A gift from my parents on my eighteenth birthday.”

  The deputy shook his head and held out his hand. “I’m not returning it,” he said. “Not yet.”

  “Why not? I’ve proven it’s mine.”

  “It’s evidence.”

  “Of what?”

  Dan Sugar set his jaw hard. The pained look that often shadowed his expression returned. “I’ll tell you when I decide.” He kept his hand extended.

  Shrugging, Kellen scooped it back out of the drawer and dropped it in the deputy’s palm.

  Sugar pocketed it. “If you weren’t with Emily the night she was murdered, where were you?”

  “Here,” said Kellen. There was a perceptible hesitation and a glance in Raine’s direction. “In the hotel.”

  Sugar missed neither the pause nor the glance. He reckoned someone thought he could be led around by the nose. “Which is it? Here in this room? Or here in the hotel?”

  Kellen hesitated for a second time.

  “Think before you answer, Coltrane.”

  “Here,” he said. “In my—”

  Raine stepped into the breach, cutting him off before he could finish. “Don’t, Kellen. Don’t do it on my account. It’s not right. We can tell them together.” Her chin came up as she addressed the deputy. “What he does not want to say is that he was with me the night Emily was murdered. In my rooms. Specifically, in my bed. All night. Have I thoroughly answered your question?”

  Sugar shifted his weight from foot to foot. He said nothing.

  “You look surprised, Deputy. Have I surprised you?” Raine wondered if her cheeks were flaming. They did not feel warm, but sometimes she couldn’t tell. Her hands, though, were cold. She refrained from making fists or plunging her fingers into the folds of her skirt.

  “I think you have, Mrs. Berry. Never heard that you took up with your guests. A thing like that usually gets around.”

  “Be careful, Deputy,” said Kellen.

  Raine knew that Kellen never moved, yet it seemed as if he was closing the distance that separated him from the deputy. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Jessop and Jake inch backward. They must have sensed the same thing she had.

  “I’m making no judgment,” Sugar said.

  It was exactly what he was doing, but Raine managed to keep from saying it aloud.

  “Have you considered what will happen when Eli Burdick finds out?”

  “And how would he do that?” asked Raine. She looked at each of the Davis brothers in turn, repeating the question, only this time with her eyes. When she gave her attention back to Sugar, there was a certain satisfaction in her expression. “I believe they have no intention of telling anyone. Are you prepared to say the same for yourself?”

  “I won’t have to say a thing, and the Burdicks will learn about it just the same. They always do.”

  “I think what he means,” Kellen said, “is that it will be in his report. Is that right, Deputy? You’ll make a report?”

  “I will. Murder demands it. I have to have something should it come to an arrest and trial.”

  Kellen nodded, and his gaze slid past Sugar to take in Raine’s ashen face. “It’s your decision, Raine. Tell him or not.”

  “He shouldn’t be the first to know,” she said.

  “Tell me what?” asked Sugar.

  Raine ignored him. “I haven’t told Mrs. Sterling. My God, she’ll never forgive me. And Sue? She’ll be so hurt.”

  Dan Sugar came close to stamping his foot. “Tell me what?”

  Raine stood at the center of everyone’s attention. She chewed on her lower lip and stared at the floor. It was her decision. Kellen had left it in her hands. She could back away from her own plan, and he would not hold it against her. She had only ever had his reluctant agreement in the first place. He was not convinced that Dan Sugar would prove himself so mean-spirited. She never had any doubt.

  “People will need to stop calling me the Widder Berry. I’m Mrs. Coltrane now.”

  There was a long silence, then Jake Davis said, “Well, ain’t that somethin’?” He tipped his hat to Raine and clapped Kellen on the back. “When did you two jump the broom? It seems you ain’t been here but a minute, Mr. Coltrane.”

  Raine spoke so Kellen didn’t. “The arrangements were made before Kellen came to Bitter Springs.”

  Jessop Davis lifted his hat to scratch his head. “What does that mean exactly? Are you some kind of mail-order bride, Mrs. Berry?”

  Jake elbowed him and whispered out of the side of his mouth. “Coltrane. She’s Coltrane now.”

  “Right. How about it, Mrs. Coltrane? Is that what you are?”

  “Not precisely,” she said. She could feel herself faltering, wondering what words she should use to explain their situation.

  “I’m the mail-order bride,” Kellen said. His expression was as flat as his inflection when their heads all whipped around to stare at him. At least the attention was off Raine for a moment. He couldn’t be sure that she wasn’t already regretting her revelation, but she had to realize there was no retreating from here. “Now you know.”

  Jem Davis whistled softly. His brothers followed suit. There was nothing musical about the overlapping tones.

  Dan Sugar was not similarly impressed. “Why keep it a secret?” he asked Raine.

  “It wasn’t a secret. I just wasn’t ready to tell everyone.”

  “You mean you’re not ready for Eli to know.”

  “No, I’m not. It will cause trouble. I’d like to avoid that.”

  “You should have thought of that before you signed the certificate. Eli’s going to take this real personal.”

  Jem thrust his hands in his pockets. “We still don’t have to say anything. Eli can find out when everyone else does, when they’re ready to tell folks. You understand what I’m sayin’, Sugar? That cuff link got us all barkin’ up a flagpole thinkin’ it’s a tree. Sure, we found it there where Emily was, but we’ve got Mrs. Ber—I mean, Mrs. Coltrane’s word that it couldn’t have been her husband that left it behind. And I know sure as I’m standing here that it wasn’t Emily who took it. That makes me want to look at things differently. It would probably be good if you did the same.”

  Sugar set his jaw again. His expression turned sour. “I’m keeping the cuff link.” He started to leave, got as far as the door, and turned. He looked from Kellen to Raine and back again. “If you’re thinking about a wedding trip, my advice is that you leave before Eli hears about it.”

  Chapter Nine

  “You can have one of the bedrooms at the front,” Raine said. She thrust an armful of fresh linens against Kellen’s chest, forcing him to accept them.

  “What’s wrong with your bedroom?”

  “I’ll be in it.” She gave him a nudge in the direction she wanted him to go. He didn’t move. Raine set her hands on her hips. “Are you purposely being difficult?”

  “I don’t think so.”

  “Then what is the problem? The other bedrooms are in that direction.”

  “Does this mean you don’t intend to honor our vows?”
r />   Raine extended an arm, hand, and index finger toward the bedrooms that he could occupy. “Go.”

  Kellen went.

  Raine thought he might have been smiling as he turned. A glimpse of it usually made her heart stutter, but just now it made her want to throw something at his head. “I’m not a violent person,” she called after him.

  He kept on walking. “Good to know.”

  Raine waited to see which room he would choose and was marginally relieved when he did not choose the one that had been Ellen’s. It was when he lit the lamp on the bedside table that she turned toward her own bedroom.

  She had it in her mind that she would undress, wash her face, take the combs from her hair, and tumble into bed. What she did was sit on the edge of the bed fully clothed and fall backward. She lay there unmoving, staring at the ceiling, and wondering yet again about the consequences she couldn’t anticipate. It was like gazing at the sky at midday and trying to find the stars. You knew they were there, but knowing that never allowed you to see more than one. She was blinded by the sun or, in this case, Kellen Coltrane.

  Raine closed her eyes and rested a forearm across them. She swore softly under her breath. The second exhalation was only a sigh, but it was a long one.

  The Davis boys had filed out of Kellen’s room soon after Dan Sugar left. They accepted her explanation without question, and as certain as they had been about Kellen’s guilt when they arrived, they were equally certain of his innocence when they left. She wondered what it was like to see things so clearly in terms of black and white. That had never been her view. There was always nuance. Always gray.

  She believed she knew what Dan Sugar would do, and not because she thought of him as a bad man, merely as one with a faulty compass. Occasionally he could find true north, but it was wiser not to depend on it. Since Marshal Sterling’s death, Deputy Sugar’s compass generally pointed in the direction of the Burdick ranch.

  He was going to tell Eli Burdick about her marriage, and it would happen sooner rather than later, perhaps on Eli’s very next visit to town. Eli was due. The last time the Burdicks rode in was to pay their respects to the Ransom family at Emily’s graveside. They spoke to almost no one else. Raine knew because she’d watched them, looking for signs that would hint at their involvement in Emily’s death. She saw none. Eli and Clay took their demeanor from their father, and Uriah had embraced the very essence of solemnity for the occasion.