The soft timbre of her voice went straight to his heart, melting it. Lowell moved closer to her.
“Marissa, I know something is wrong here.” He took her hand. “And I think it has to do with your father.”
She pulled her hand away and stood quickly. “He’s not my father!” Then she clapped her hand over her mouth and looked at her sister with tears in her eyes.
Clarissa pulled her into her arms and patted her back. “It’s all right, Mari.” Clarissa looked over her sister’s shoulder at Lowell. “Now see what you’ve done!”
Marissa stepped away. “Don’t blame Lowell. It’s all Pierre’s doing.” The two women stared at each other. “We’ve wondered if our new friends in Litchfield would understand. Now would be a good time to find out.”
Clarissa shook her head. “No. Pierre would be very angry.”
Ollie stood up and turned toward Clarissa. “Who is Le Blanc, and what kind of hold does he have on you?”
Marissa covered her face with her hands and burst into tears.
“Hush, Sister,” Clarissa said gently, holding her and patting her back again. “It will be all right. It must be.”
Marissa finally stopped crying, and the two women walked over to the woods, then disappeared among the trees.
“I think it’s time for us to pray for them,” Lowell said, bowing his head.
❧
Tonight Ollie was glad Lowell wasn’t talkative. His own thoughts occupied him. He finished praying and watched the woods, hoping the girls were safe. It was dark now. They’d probably been here long enough to know how to get around at night. He looked up. The moon and stars shone brightly overhead, illuminating the dark sky, but even with the brilliance the shadows of the grove might obscure a tree root or something else they could trip on. He was about to search for them when they stepped into the circle of light.
Clarissa led the way to the side of the campfire opposite where the two men waited. “We’ve decided we can trust you. We’ll tell you what you want to know.” Marissa stood behind her and nodded. “We are Clarissa and Marissa Voss. Pierre is our stepfather.”
Clarissa Voss. Ollie liked the sound of that name much better than the one she used when he first met her. “So why did you call yourselves Rissa Le Blanc?”
Clarissa looked at him. “Pierre thought we should go by Rissa when we were in town, because it’s part of both our names. We never told anyone our last name was Le Blanc. People assumed it was, and Pierre forbid us to say otherwise.”
Lowell frowned. “What kind of hold does Le Blanc have on you?” His voice sounded harsh as he repeated Ollie’s earlier question.
Marissa stepped up beside her sister. When she spoke, her voice was gentler. “Why don’t we all sit down? Clari and I will tell you the whole story.”
The brothers had pulled two logs near the fire before supper, and now they sat opposite the girls on the logs.
“We came from a Southern family,” Marissa explained.
Lowell chuckled. “We could tell that.”
Marissa smiled. “Our family owned a large plantation before the War between the States.”
Ollie had learned about the war through studying history in school and from the stories his father told them.
“Somehow our family retained the plantation throughout the war,” Clarissa added. “Our grandfather was able to run it, hiring workers to help him. When our mother and father married, Father took over the plantation.”
“I remember wonderful times with our father before he died.” Marissa was staring into the fire. “He was tall, and he loved us very much.”
“But he died when we were young.” Clarissa went on with her story, ignoring the interruption. “When we were about seven years old, Grandfather sold the plantation, and we moved to a large house in New Orleans with him and our mother.”
“So New Orleans wasn’t exactly a lie.” Lowell stared at Marissa until she looked at him and shook her head. Lowell smiled. “I’m glad.”
Ollie saw something pass between them. He glanced at Clarissa, and she was staring at him. He smiled. Oh, yes, this was the woman he remembered.
Clarissa cleared her throat. “Grandfather died after we moved into town. It wasn’t long before Mother met Pierre. He swept her off her feet, and they were married soon after that. I think she was just lonely. Then, about two years later, Mother contracted malaria. She never recovered.”
“Actually, that was a blessing,” Marissa said. “She didn’t know Pierre was a confidence man. If she had lived longer, I don’t think he would have been able to hide it from her.” Marissa gave a deep sigh. “But he inherited what was left of the family fortune—and us.”
Ollie stood and stuffed his hands in his front pockets. “Didn’t you have any other family to take care of you?”
Clarissa shook her head, and her abundant black curls swirled around her shoulders. Ollie liked her hair hanging free, instead of up in an elaborate style. He could just imagine how soft it must feel.
“It didn’t take Pierre long to go through the fortune. I think he gambled it away.” Clarissa looked at Marissa, who had her head down. “He sold the house, and we started moving around the country. We were only twelve years old then. He said he’d worked out the ‘greatest confidence game of all.’ He forced us to do what he wanted. If we tried to rebel, he beat us.”
Lowell slammed his fist against the log and jumped up. “Why didn’t anyone stop him?” He looked from one sister to the other.
“Oh, he never left bruises where anyone could see them,” Marissa said. “After we were older, he quit striking us.”
“Because I stood up to him,” Clarissa said.
Her sister nodded. “But he threatened to sell us into. . .a house of. . .ill repute if we didn’t do what he wanted.”
Lowell paced away from the fire and stood gazing up at the starry sky.
He turned back to the girls. “So what is this ‘greatest confidence game of all’?”
Clarissa put her head in her hands, rubbed her face, then answered. “He takes one of us into a town and leaves the other in a remote campsite. Sometimes he switches us so we both have a chance to be in town.”
“But I usually prefer being in the camp because I like to read,” Marissa said.
Lowell turned to her, a look of compassion on his face.
“While Pierre is getting to know ‘all the right people,’ he is scouting possible places for us to rob. Then when a big event happens, which most of the people attend, he takes me with him to the event.” Clarissa glanced at Marissa.
“And I rob the places he has told me to.” Marissa dropped her head into her hands and sobbed again.
Lowell walked over to her and gently put his hands on her shoulders.
“If anyone happens to see Marissa and comes to the hotel to arrest me, Pierre has many witnesses to the fact that he and I were at the event. We leave town at once and never return.”
Ollie looked at Lowell, his brother’s face reflecting his own shocked feelings. The poor women. “How long has this been going on?”
Clarissa stood. “Almost eight years.”
“Eight years!” Ollie exclaimed. “How many towns have you been to?”
Clarissa turned away from him and sighed. “I don’t know. At least two or three a year—maybe more some years.”
Anger welled up inside Ollie. How could that man have done this? It was a wonder the women weren’t ruined. “What about the friends you’ve made? Didn’t anyone try to help you?”
Marissa finally looked up. Trails of tears still stained her cheeks. “We’ve never made friends before. Pierre kept us away from people. He’d always tell them he’s very protective of his daughter, and they believed him.” She stood beside her sister. “You two and Gerda and Anna are the only friends we’ve had since Mother died.”
Ollie shuddered to think what could have happened to them. He thanked God for bringing them to Litchfield. Somehow he and Lowell had to rescue them f
rom Le Blanc. The women had been held captive by his evil mind.
Eleven
Lowell and Ollie camped far enough away from the young women so as not to bother them, but they kept the other camp in sight. They wanted to protect Clarissa and Marissa, if the need arose during the night. They spread their bedrolls close together on the ground, then lay down on them without taking off their boots.
Lying on his back, Lowell gazed up at the stars. He was tired, but he couldn’t sleep. His mind went over and over the story he had heard that evening. It was more fantastic than the lie the young women had told him earlier, but he believed every word. Marissa looked at him while she talked, and he could read the sincerity in her gaze. His heart nearly broke when the twins relayed all that had transpired in their lives since their mother died. He knew it wasn’t right to want to hurt anyone, but if Le Blanc had been there, Lowell probably would have done so. What kind of man used young women for his own ill-gotten gains? No kind of man. He had no conscience. He and his brother had to devise a scheme for helping the Voss sisters escape from him.
“Ollie.” Lowell kept his voice low.
“Yes?”
“Ah. You can’t sleep, either?”
“No. We have to help them.” Ollie raised his head and leaned on one elbow. “I’ve been trying to figure out a way.”
Lowell sat up and crossed his legs. “Whatever we do, we need to do it soon.”
Ollie moved to a sitting position also. “I believe the sheriff would take into consideration the fact that they were forced to do what they did.”
Lowell nodded. “I’m sure he would too.”
A gentle breeze started blowing across the prairie grass that filled the large clearing, bringing welcome relief from the heat of the day. It had not cooled down much after sundown. Lowell turned his face into the wind. Just then, a rustling in the grass caught his attention. In the bright moonlight, he glanced at a place where the grass was moving more than anywhere else. He glimpsed the light glinting off shiny fur. Probably some nocturnal animal out foraging for food. Lowell watched it disappear into the underbrush.
“I’d like to talk to the sheriff. What do you think?” Ollie asked.
Lowell turned to his brother. “That’s a good idea. But when?”
“Well, I can’t sleep. I think I’ll go now.”
“Sheriff Bartlett will be asleep.” Lowell chuckled. “He might not like you waking him in the middle of the night.”
Ollie stood and straightened his clothes. “I think this is important enough to wake him. Besides”—he glanced toward the other camp—“I think we should do something before Le Blanc returns. Every minute we waste might be dangerous for them.”
Lowell stood, then placed his hand on his brother’s shoulder. “Just be careful. It’s dangerous to ride across unfamiliar territory in the dark.” He hesitated. “I’m glad the problem between us was just a misunderstanding. I’ll be praying for you while you’re gone. I don’t expect to get any sleep, either.”
❧
Ollie walked his horse the short distance to the tree line; then he mounted the horse and let him pick his way through the underbrush. Dark shadows made it harder, but while he rode, he prayed for protection. Once out of the forest, he stepped up the pace, though he still had to be careful on the uneven, rocky ground through the canyon and gully.
When he arrived at Litchfield, it looked like a sleeping town. The only lights were down the street at the saloon. He made his way up Main Street to the sheriff’s office and jail. Bartlett, a widower, lived in a room behind the office. Ollie went around the building and tapped on the darkened glass of the window. He waited a few minutes, then tapped again. Immediately after the second tap, he saw a kerosene lamp flare, then Bartlett holding the lamp by the window. He motioned to Ollie to go around to the front.
“What brings you here at this time of night, Ollie?” The sheriff closed the door behind him. “Is there a problem at the farm?”
Ollie shook his head. “It’s something else. I’m sorry to bother you at this hour, but I thought it was important.”
The sheriff eased into the chair behind his desk. Ollie sat across from him; then he began to relate to him what the Voss sisters had told him and his brother. Bartlett leaned back in his chair and listened carefully.
At the end, the sheriff sat forward and looked him in the eyes. “Do you believe the story?”
Ollie nodded. “When Lowell first saw them this morning, they told him a lie; but later, when he took me back, we were able to convince them to trust us.”
The sheriff chuckled. “I’m sure you were. So where is Le Blanc now?”
“I don’t think the twins know for sure. He left them in the camp and said he had some business to attend to. He told them he’d be back in a couple of weeks.”
“Twins.” The sheriff scratched the stubble on his jaw. “That’s really something, isn’t it?”
Ollie stood and walked over to the desk. “The robbery will take place when the circus comes.”
Sheriff Bartlett looked up at him. “That would be a good time. Most of the people in town will attend the performance. It’s the first time the circus has ever been in Litchfield. It’s not long off, is it?”
“I know. That’s why I didn’t wait until morning to see you.”
The sheriff stood and opened the bottom desk drawer. He withdrew his gun belt and strapped it around his hips.
“Um, there’s one other thing.” Ollie stuck his hands in his front pockets. “Clarissa and Marissa don’t know I’ve come to see you. Lowell and I wondered if you could somehow arrange to keep from prosecuting them if they help you capture Le Blanc.”
The sheriff grabbed his hat off the hook by the door, shoved it on his head, then turned back to Ollie. “Let me think about that on the ride. How far did you say they were from town?”
❧
Dawn was peeking over the treetops when Clarissa heard horses coming through the woods. She had dozed off and on all night. In one way, she felt as if a burden had been lifted from her shoulders. But she was also afraid of what would happen now. She thought she could trust Lowell and Ollie, especially Ollie. What if she was wrong? What if their decision to be truthful backfired and they ended up in prison? Would that be any worse than the life they were living? For the first time since she had become an adult, she knew what it meant to have friends. If that was taken away from her and Mari, it might as well be prison.
Two men burst through the trees across the clearing and headed straight toward their camp. In the dim light of early morning, she recognized Ollie. Where had he gone this early? And who was the other rider? She could see Lowell moving around the campsite across the way. For a moment, she was afraid it was Pierre. But why would he be riding with Ollie, and where was the wagon? She shaded her eyes from the rays of the rising sun to get a better view.
“Who’s that?” Mari spoke from just behind her.
Clarissa whirled around. “I don’t know who the other one is, but Ollie is one of them.”
“Then everything is all right, isn’t it?”
As they drew closer, Clarissa noticed the other man was wearing a star on his shirt. Her heart dropped like a rock in the pool at the base of the waterfall, and she felt as if she were drowning. What had Ollie done? Had he turned them in to the sheriff? She hoped Marissa didn’t notice, but when her sister grabbed her shoulders, she could feel her trembling.
“Oh, Clari, it’s the sheriff.” Mari’s voice caught on a sob. “What are we going to do?”
Ollie dismounted and started toward her. She glared at him, and he quickened his pace.
“Don’t worry, Clarissa. Everything’s going to be all right.”
His whispered words did nothing to calm the storm raging inside her.
The sheriff was an older man with kind, clear blue eyes, but Clarissa knew he wouldn’t go easy on criminals. She had heard about him while she was in town.
Lowell walked over to him. “Sheriff Bar
tlett. Good to see you.” The older man extended his hand, and Lowell shook it.
Clarissa wanted to scream at them. Everyone was being polite, and she was worried about her future—hers and Mari’s. She wished they would dispense with the pleasantries and get to the point. Were they going to jail—or not?
“Sheriff, I want you to meet Clarissa and Marissa Voss.” Ollie gestured to each woman.
The sheriff reached up and tipped his hat. “Ladies.”
Clarissa looked at him. “So, Sheriff, why are you here?”
“I want you to tell me your story. Then we’ll see where we go from there.”
Clarissa let out a little breath; then, with her sister’s help, they both related the story. Mari’s voice trembled at first, as did Clarissa’s, but soon they relaxed. Clarissa watched the sheriff. He kept his gaze focused on the one who was talking—never showing any emotion, positive or negative.
When they were finished, he cleared his throat. “Well, now we have a situation here, don’t we?”
Clarissa wondered what he meant by that.
“I think I can be of help to you, if you will help me.”
“What do you mean?” Clarissa asked, almost feeling hopeful.
“If you will help us catch Le Blanc in the act, we won’t prosecute you. Even though you’ve committed many crimes, I believe you when you say he forced you. I’d like to put him behind bars.”
And I’d like to help you. Clarissa let out a deep sigh. The sheriff believed them and was offering a way out of their bondage to Pierre. She smiled and looked at her sister. Mari nodded. Clarissa turned back to the sheriff. “Just tell us what we have to do.”
The women sat down with the sheriff and the two brothers and planned how they would catch Pierre. They decided it would need to be during the robbery or when he had the stolen goods. After awhile, the three men mounted their horses and rode toward the forest. Near the trees, Lowell turned and made his way to his camp. He loaded the supplies onto the packhorse, then rode off with the sheriff and Ollie. Clarissa wondered what Ollie and the sheriff had talked about while they waited for Lowell.
Double Deception Page 10
