Bad Day for a Killing (Book Three of the Western Serial Killer Series)

by Hestand, Rita

  "She wanted her taken care of." Vivian cried.

  Everyone rejoiced about the baby.

  Ruby leaned over and grabbed Vivian and they both cried for a moment. "I'm really very happy…but this just isn't the time to reflect on that…"

  Vivian's stomach clinched with tension, as her emotions were overwhelming her. A doctor had to remain detached from such things, but this went beyond endurance. She and she alone held the secrets that Sadie had shared and the hasty made decisions that they had compromised on. Had she done right? Had she comforted Sadie at all? Even though her heart swelled with anticipation at being a mother at last, she felt something missing. Would the baby?

  The funeral would be difficult to endure, when she knew it was a farce. Something inside Vivian had strengthened her through this trial. Sadie had given the rights to her child to Vivian, and Vivian had promised to raise her well. That much she was determined to do, but withholding all the information, that she knew she should be sharing with Jim and Smitty was most difficult and trying.

  Did the right of it, make it wrong?

  A slow building panic threatened to erupt.

  Had she made the right decisions for all concerned? Why had she agreed to this scheme? Still, as she looked into the baby's beautiful blue eyes, her heart melted. She had fallen in love with the child the first moment she saw her. Sadie had seen it and had quickly turned her head.

  But what of Sadie? What would happen to her now?

  Something screamed the unfairness of it all inside Vivian.

  What would Sadie do now? Going home to a ghost town didn't sound promising and Vivian wanted better for Sadie.

  Perhaps she was too emotional to handle this. Perhaps she should have thought it through, but once the baby was born, Sadie turned away from it. Vivian wondered how hard that had been for her. What had gone through her mind at that moment.

  There could be complications from the union of Sadie and Elmer. Those complications would arise in the child. Vivian knew this. But her love for the child at that moment was too strong to resist her. Besides, she had a lot of studying to do about the subject, and a lifetime of time.

  The one thing she knew…she would love the baby with all her heart and mind. She would not cheat Sadie of a future for this child. For despite Sadie's reluctance to have anything to do with her child, she still wanted what was best for her. Vivian admired her strength.

  "She didn't have anyone to raise the child?" Smitty asked controlling his emotions.

  "No, just her brother and she said he had run off to make a life for himself. She didn't feel that Elmer would take care of the baby properly, or even want to. And we all know that he is not a suitable candidate to take this child. I think she felt sorry for me, but I know she trusted me more than most everyone else. I don't mean that as it sounds, but it is true. She begged me to take the baby. She wouldn't look upon it. I knew why…had she looked at her, she would have fallen in love with the baby. Sadie was doing what she had to do, thinking of the baby's future. She was a wise woman in many ways. A great woman in many ways. She instructed me to lock the house and leave her there until time to be buried. She insisted on a closed casket. I respected those wishes. I hope you all understand. She wanted it that way. No tears…she said, she was going to be with the Lord, and that would be a joyous occasion."

  "Of course we understand." Mary Sue cried as she handed the baby back to Vivian. "It must have been very hard for her. But Elmer would be the Uncle, he might want to see the baby, do you think?"

  "Elmer probably won't be coming back here, Mary Sue." Jim added.

  "She didn't live long enough for it to be hard, Mary Sue. Having the baby took too much out of her. She was frail as it was. She was so malnourished. I'm not sure Sadie could have taken care of the baby anyway, in her condition.

  The baby sighed and Vivian looked at Smitty. "I'll need some cow's milk for the baby…I have a bottle I can use to feed her, but she is hungry…" She glanced at the baby that sucked it's fingers hungrily.

  Smitty nodded. "I'll get some from the café, right away…It's a wonder she isn't crying her head off." Smitty said and slipped out the door to attend to it.

  "She's a good baby…" Vivian smiled.

  "What are you going to name her?" Ruby asked as she motioned to hold the baby herself.

  "I haven't decided yet. Maybe ya'll can help me with that." Vivian cried.

  "Did Sadie have time to suggest a name?" Ruby asked.

  "No…she died peacefully, but quickly. It was a very difficult birth for her." Vivian recalled as a tear slipped silently down her cheek. "She wasn't coherent enough to find a name. We all tried to help Sadie, but she was in such bad shape by the time she came to Melville. She was much too weak to go through childbirth. I think she knew this a long time ago. I really think it is the only reason she agreed to come to Melville."

  Ruby cuddled the baby close to her and smiled down into her deep blue eyes. "She's beautiful. Her skin is so pink, her eyes so blue…I can't wait until we have a baby."

  Jim smiled.

  Everyone gathered around the baby and stared down at the pink bundle of joy.

  Vivian's mind was still on Sadie. She wondered seriously if she was doing the right thing. She wondered if Sadie would regret it and come back. She wondered if she would be a good mother. Her heart was heavy with unsung emotions. She felt drained. She needed time to think of what to do next. She needed to think about what she had done already. She had set in motion the plans and there was no turning back now.

  "Okay…why don't we think about some names?" Ruby suggested handing the baby back to Vivian, who cuddled it to her so naturally.

  "Elizabeth, Victoria, Kathryn," Mary Sue reeled off a list of names. "Any of those would be better than mine. It's so plain."

  Ruby and Vivian glanced at each other with a smile.

  Jim fumbled with the baby's fingers, and smiled, "What about Angelica…and call her Angel."

  Vivian's eyes rounded on him with tears. "My God Jim, it fits so well…yes, I love it."

  "Angelica Leeann Peters…" Smitty smiled happily as he rushed back inside with a pail of milk.

  "That was fast," Mary Sue said coming to take the pail to the kitchen. Vivian instructed her that there was a bottle inside her bag. After washing it well, and heating the milk just a tad, she handed it to Vivian.

  In minutes the baby was sucking on the home made baby bottle.

  "Wonderful…Smitty…" Vivian gasped. "I never knew men had such talent. Yes, that will be her name…Angelica Leeann Peters. And we will all call her Angel…"

  Ruby smiled. "I'm so sorry Sadie didn't have the opportunity to hear all of this. She would be beside herself with joy."

  Vivian didn't remark. A strange niggling ran up her spine. Sadie hadn't wanted this child and the child needed and deserved to have love in abundance. But under the circumstances, Vivian had a strange sense of understanding it all. This child was born from brother and sister, and who knew what that could mean in the long run. Thank goodness she was a doctor and could help the child if there were any problems. Perhaps God was shining on the three of them, her, Sadie and the baby. Perhaps he had a greater plan in store…

  ~*~

  The day of the funeral it wasn't just raining, it was pouring. There was no thunder, no lightning, but the rain was insistent, hard and unstoppable. The gray of day lent a miserable day. The rain played a quiet somber tune as it hit the tin roofs and the hard dry earth. The sky was a cloud of silver.

  Yet Vivian realized the rain allowed for less time to spend with the casket. She had arranged everything, from the funeral, to the placing of a dummy body in the casket. She had obtained it through medical school and decided it was more necessary now than ever. No one knew that Sadie wasn't in the casket. At least she hoped they didn't.

  Her heart hammered in her chest as she glanced at the casket.

  Vivian remembered going back to the shack to collect several things for the baby, and Sad
ie was already gone. The shack looked so forlorn. She grabbed some things for the baby and locked it up once more. Before she shut the door, she stood staring at the small little shack that Sadie had lived in. How dismal, how utterly pitiful, Vivian had thought. Everything of value was for the baby. Sadie had nothing.

  She wondered how Sadie had gotten out of town undetected, but no one seemed to have seen her. She prayed she was safe, somewhere.

  Vivian had one of the older women from church watch Angelica for her during the service.

  The baby, she smiled solemnly to herself was a good baby. She cried very little and slept a lot. For now Vivian was thankful.

  The preacher murmured words of comfort as half the town gathered to pay their respects to Sadie.

  Vivian glanced about. Sadie would have been proud that this many people wanted to say goodbye to her. She already missed her. Sadie had become an everyday part of Vivian's life until the baby was born. Now there was a void. And Vivian knew she would miss her greatly.

  Ruby leaned on Jim, Mary Sue comforted Smitty and Vivian stood at the head of the burial plot and stared down at what she knew was an empty casket. In her mind, she prayed that Sadie would have a good life now and a happy one. But she doubted it, too.

  She stood there, staring down at the wet ground as the grave-digger pitched the wet mud on top of the casket. "Goodbye Sadie…may God be with you." She murmured sadly. She sincerely meant it. And she worried.

  She rushed back to the baby's side, because already, Angelica had become a balm for Vivian.

  That evening she sat in the rocker that Smitty had brought Sadie and rocked the baby. "I promise to you, Angel, that I will give you the best life possible. That I will love you like a real mother, and you will always be first in my life…my darling…"

  She cuddled the baby to her close and sighed. The baby was warm and cuddly and Vivian sighed heavily as she loved her.

  They were preparing a big meal over at Ruby and Jim's and Vivian covered the child well and walked over to their small little house on the corner with the white picket fence and roses growing along the walkway. Jim had done everything to make this little cottage a home for Ruby and Vivian smiled at the small touches of love around the place.

  When she arrived she shook the rain from her and the baby, then uncovered her.

  The baby squirmed a moment then settled back into a sleep.

  Vivian laid her in the crib that Jim had brought over for the dinner.

  Jim seemed especially quiet this evening and Vivian wondered why.

  "I'm gonna miss Sadie," he managed to say as Vivian joined him. "It's funny how you can know someone for such a short time and become so close to them. Sadie was such an innocent in a world filled with bad things. I wish her life had been easier."

  "I know. I had grown to love her too…Jim. I was with her so much, she seemed like part of my family." Vivian cried. "We got very close…"

  "The funeral was nice, she would have been proud to see it, herself." Smitty said as he came to stand beside them. "More turned out than I figured on. Especially in this rain."

  "I wonder if Cross Timbers will be wiped off the map now?" Jim said as he grabbed a biscuit wrapped with bacon.

  "I guess we won't have to go over there anymore." Smitty smiled.

  "I hope not." Jim answered.

  "Yeah, me too. I'd miss Sadie even more if we had to go and she wasn't there." Smitty remarked. "Do you think Elmer will ever come back?"

  Jim thought about it for a long moment. "I hope not…"

  "Yeah…me too."

  "Did Sadie ever say who the father of the baby was?" Mary Sue asked innocently.

  Vivian cast her a frown, as though she had no right to ask. Mary Sue could be crude when she wanted.

  "N-no…" Vivian lied.

  "Wonder if he ever knew…." Smitty shook his head.

  Vivian moved to the table, her hands going about but not touching anything. It was a nervous reaction to the busy-body questions. "That secret will rest with Sadie. But as far as I know, the father never knew he had a child, or was going to."

  Jim glanced at her questioningly.

  "You seem pretty sure of that…"

  "Sadie was sure of that…" Vivian murmured. "And for the baby's sake, I hope this is the last discussion we will hold about the father…"

  "Yeah, that might be best. We will all see that little Angelica has a good raising. And it's totally unimportant who her father was. If Vivian chooses she doesn't have to tell the child about her parents. She'll never need to know. But that decision is up to Vivian."

  But Vivian knew better. She knew that such a union had brought forth a baby, but she wasn't sure if the baby would be normal or not. She prayed that it would be. She had to take the chance that all would be well. She had to believe.

  Chapter Eighteen

  But back in Hard Tack things were getting a little tense.

  "Don't you find it odd that George Stanley hasn't returned to his business, John?" Penelope questioned a week later as they were getting ready for bed.

  John pulled his jacket off and hung it in the closet. He realized that Penelope had no clue about the killing and somehow that made him want to protect her all the more. Just like he had protected Sadie from the truth all that time.

  "Yes, of course I do. But since I left, maybe he was making other plans for himself. I mean it was me that brought him the extra business. Maybe he panicked and decided to go live somewhere else or something. Maybe he sold out and moved on." John offered, hoping to quell her curiosity. "There's no use us worrying over him. He's a grown man, and there is no law that says he has to tell everyone what he's fixin' to do."

  Penelope nodded and came up to John, putting her finger on his vest and following it downward. "I suppose you are right. And you did bring in more business for him. Do you think he became angry about your leaving?"

  "I'm sure he wasn't happy about it. But I can't do anything about that. Your Pa asked me to move out here. I agreed. It's as simple as that. I wanted to be near you, and I wanted to get to know your Pa better too." John insisted, trying to laugh it away. "It doesn't do us any good to speculate what happened to Stanley."

  "You are right, of course. A woman just gets curious is all."

  Penelope ran her finger back up to his chin and caressed him there letting him know that she was in the mood to play. In the time since their honeymoon, she'd become quite aggressive in letting him know when she wanted his undivided attention.

  Their foreplay alone could last for hours and John was ever indulgent with her.

  He never tired of loving her.

  "I'm surprised that the sheriff hasn't been out asking more questions of you. After all, you worked with him, and leaving him like you did, should throw a certain amount of suspicion on you. I'm glad that he trusts you though."

  "Let's not worry about Mr. Stanley right now." He encouraged as he bent to kiss her hotly on the lips.

  Penelope became wrapped up in their love-making and there was little talking.

  Tonight his mind wasn't on making love. Tonight he worried over the conversation he'd heard and what he should do about it. It was all his fault. If he hadn't told Mr. Carver about it, Stanley might still be alive. He should have known better and kept quiet.

  Still, in the back of John's mind, he worried.

  He wondered if she should tell her father he knew or not.

  Funny, but he'd never considered Mr. Carver a dangerous kind of man. He reckoned even a good man could kill.

  ~*~

  Leaving Melville in the middle of the night Sadie had just enough money left to buy an old nag, or maybe a mule. She had walked for miles that night in the rain and mud and she hadn't been up to it. So she spent the night in a barn that had been abandoned. Exhausted and hurting, she knew she'd overdone it. After all, she'd just had a baby. She figured she could get up and do. But it wasn't that easy.

  Things had changed.

  She was so tired and she
was bleeding a bit. She cleaned herself up as good as she could and laid down in the hay to sleep. She didn't know anything until the sun peeped over the horizon and shone in her face through the slats of the barn.

  She tore off some of her petticoat and covered her feet, as her shoes hadn't lasted long walking like she did.

  Although she was weak, she struggled to walk to a ranch or somewhere she could buy a horse or mule. It was nearly noon when she spotted one. She stopped, as there was a woman tending her garden there.

  "Ma'am, might I have a little water?" Sadie asked as she nearly collapsed against the fence.

  "Goodness…you look about done in…" The woman turned to stare at her. She began to move toward the fence and Sadie fell to the ground. "Do you need some help?"

  Sadie didn't want to cause a problem. She wanted to buy a horse and go home, but she wasn't as strong as she'd once been. She started to say something, then collapsed.

  "Oh my goodness…" The woman grabbed her chest then she yelled as loud as she could. "Leroy….Leroy, come quick."

  Her husband came from around the house and saw Sadie laying on the ground.

  "What in the world…?" The man looked at his wife. "Who is she?"

  "I don't know. But she looks awfully pale to me. She just walked up, asked for water and looks like she's passed out." The woman said.

  "You know her?" Her husband asked.

  "No, never seen her before. I wonder where she came from. Oh…my look at her feet, they are all bleeding and raw. We need to get her in the house. She must have walked for miles, poor thing."

  "I'll carry her in, you get a bed ready. I'll go fetch the doc." Leroy directed as he picked her up and carried her inside.