Outlaw's Lady

by Bobbi Smith

  "Thank God," Loretta Mason breathed.

  They had been working in the small general store they owned when a customer had come running in to tell them the good news.

  "I just wish they'd caught the Dakota Kid, too," Emily said as she and her mother moved apart.

  "Rob's a good man. If there's any possible way to do it, he will. You'll see. He's already accomplished more than any other lawman in the territory."

  "I hope nothing goes wrong now that they've got some of the gang in custody."

  "I wonder what Rob's going to do about the hearing? I wonder if Alyssa will preside?"

  "I know judges are supposed to excuse themselves if they're personally involved in a case, but if she doesn't handle it, who will? Besides, she'll only preside over the preliminary hearing and bind them over for trial. It's not like she's going to be sentencing them or anything."

  "I wish she could try them," Loretta said fiercely. "And sentence them."

  When John was murdered, Alyssa had been chosen by the townspeople to finish out his term as justice of the peace. There had been no one better qualified in the law to take over. Though she'd only held the office for a few weeks, so far Alyssa had upheld their belief in her completely. Many who had doubted a woman's ability to administer justice had changed their minds after watching her conduct the business of her office. Her father would have been proud.

  "Don't worry. They're going to hang whether she's in charge of the sentencing or not. There are witnesses who saw everything that day. There's no way the gang can get away with this."

  "I hope you're right, but you know how vicious the Dakota Kid is. Anything might happen before they go to trial."

  "Rob will make sure everything goes smoothly. He worked too hard to catch them to let them get away."

  Even as she tried to sound positive, though, both Emily and her mother knew the dangers involved. They offered up silent prayers that justice would be done.

  Rob knocked at the door to Alyssa's small office.

  "Come in," she called out from her desk, where she sat poring over a thick law book.

  "I need to talk to you right away," he told her, taking off his hat as he entered the room. His gaze was upon her as he went to stand before her desk. Her blond hair was pulled back in a tight bun; she was wearing glasses for reading; and she was dressed in a mourning gown, as she had been since her father's death. Even so, he thought she looked lovely.

  "You're back!" Alyssa was excited at seeing him. She'd heard of his plan to trap the Dakota Kid's gang and hoped it had gone well. "Did you get them?"

  "I got some of them," he told her, and he felt ten feet tall at the look in her eyes as she gazed at him.

  "Thank you, Rob," she said with heartfelt sincerity.

  "Don't thank me too much. I only brought in three of them, and we managed to kill two. The Kid got away, though."

  "Who'd you catch?"

  "Nash, Johnson-and Braxton."

  "You got Braxton," she repeated, stunned.

  "Yes."

  She felt a great weight lift from her soul. The eyewitness to the shooting claimed that Slade Braxton was the one who'd gunned down her father. Now, thanks to Rob, justice would be served.

  "Thank you," she whispered, fighting back the tears as she looked up at him. He was a fine man, and she was proud to call him her friend.

  Alyssa looked so feminine and helpless and beautiful to Rob right then that he felt an overwhelming need to go to her and hold her, but he didn't. She'd never given him any indication that such a forward, personal gesture on his part would be welcomed, so he held himself back.

  "It was my pleasure, believe me."

  "What can I do to help you?"

  "That's why I'm here. I want them arraigned as quickly as possible. Can you do it tomorrow? In the morning?"

  "How's nine A.M. tomorrow? Is that soon enough?"

  "Yesterday wouldn't have been soon enough for me," Rob said gruffly, giving her a half smile.

  "Me, either." Alyssa managed a grim smile of her own. "I should disqualify myself, you know."

  "Don't even think about it." He admired her for taking her job so seriously.

  "But I am personally involved in this."

  "Aren't we all? Everybody in town could say the same thing. But this case is too important to us. We can't take any chances with delays."

  "All right. What about the Kid? Do you have any idea where he's holed up?"

  "No, not yet, and that's the reason I don't want to waste any time if I can help it." His expression grew even more determined. "When I get back to the office, I'm going to interrogate each of the prisoners individually. Maybe I can persuade one of them to tell me where the Kid is right now."

  "Good luck." She saw the steely glint in his eyes and knew that if anyone could get information out of the prisoners, Rob could.

  "It's going to take more than luck. I doubt any of them will talk, but I have to try. I'll be posting armed guards around town and in the jail tonight. We're going to keep watch every minute."

  She nodded, respecting his precautions. "I'll see you first thing in the morning, then."

  "I'm looking forward to it."

  Alyssa's relief that the outlaws had been brought in was tinged with fear as she watched Rob head back to the jail. Everyone knew how deadly the Dakota Kid was. No one involved would rest easy until the trial was over, so she would do everything within her power to help.

  Alyssa stayed late at her office, going over more of her father's law books. She didn't want to make any mistakes during the hearing the next day. She would do things by the letter of the law.

  "All right, Braxton. It's your turn. The sheriff wants to talk to you next," Hawkins said as he shoved Johnson back into the cell later that night.

  Slade got down off his bunk as Hawkins took the handcuffs off Johnson. He offered no protest as the deputy fastened them around his wrists. Since they'd taken Johnson out to be questioned, he'd been trying to decide the best way to handle his situation. There were risks involved in telling the truth, but there was a bigger risk of dying by staying silent. Slade knew what he had to do. It angered him, but he had little choice. He followed the deputy from the cell and waited while the man relocked the cell door behind them.

  "The sheriff's really looking forward to talking to you," Hawkins told him in an almost gloating tone as they made their way to the outer office. "Go on through that door over there." He pointed toward a door off to the side.

  Slade did as he was told. He was pleased that he and the sheriff were going to have some time alone. What he had to say needed to be said in private. It was important that no one else knew of their conversation.

  The windowless room was starkly furnished with only one table and chair. A single lamp burned on the table top. The sheriff stood across the room, his expression unreadable.

  "Sit down." Rob's order was terse as he fought to control his anger. His interrogation of Johnson had been infuriating. The outlaw had been arrogant and had refused to cooperate with him in any way. And now he had to face Braxton-the worst of the three in his opinion. He'd read the wanted posters. He knew what this man was capable of, and he hated him with a passion. "I've got some questions I want answered, Braxton."

  Slade sat down at the table and waited. He was trying to judge Emerson's mood so he could figure out the best way to handle things.

  "Where's the Dakota Kid?" Rob demanded abruptly.

  "I don't know. He could be anywhere right now." Slade was serious in his answer.

  In the time Slade had been riding with the gang, he'd learned that they had any number of places to hide out-friends with ranches who'd cover for them, abandoned mining cabins up in the mountains, box canyons that were easy to guard and sometimes even caves in the wilderness. That was what had made this assignment so difficult. He'd needed just another few weeks, and he could have set up the arrests. As it was, he was now trapped in a deadly web of his own making. He only hoped the truth would be eno
ugh to save him.

  "That's not good enough." Rob moved threateningly toward him. He grabbed Slade by the shirt front and glared down at him with murderous intent. "Deputy Hawkins out there would just love an excuse to put a bullet in you, and I'm beginning to feel the same way about you and your friends. I've taken all I can from the likes of you. I want some answers and I want them now!"

  "Sheriff-there's something you need to know," Slade began.

  "What's that?" Rob released him and stepped back, eyeing him coldly. Braxton was a deadly gunslinger-a bank-robbing, cold-blooded killer, who deserved to hang.

  Just remembering that terrible day of the robbery filled Rob with an even blacker rage. Black Springs was his town. He was the law here. If outlaws decided to cause trouble, they'd soon learn that there was a steep price to pay.

  "I've been working with the gang undercover. I'm a Pinkerton agent." Slade had not wanted to reveal his true identity, but he could see no other way out.

  "And I'm the President of the United States!"

  Outraged by the lies and the arrogance he'd faced first with Johnson and now Braxton, Rob lost control. He hit Slade, knocking him from the chair.

  "You're a lying, no-good bastard is what you are! A Pinkerton agent?" He scoffed. "Witnesses put you at the scene of the crime, Braxton! We all know what a killer you are!"

  "My reputation is a cover," he argued. There was blood seeping from his cut lip, and his jaw ached. "The agency created it to convince the Kid to let me ride with the gang."

  Slade slowly started to rise, but Rob was lost in a white-hot rage. He kicked him in the side and sent him sprawling back on the floor.

  "Stay down in the dirt where you belong!"

  Slade bit back a groan as he looked up at the lawman. "I can prove it. If you wire Denver-"

  "You're just stalling for time. While I'm waiting for a telegram, the Kid will have the chance to break you out! I'm not going for it. I'm going to see you hang, Braxton, all nice and legal, and as far as I'm concerned, it can't happen a minute too soon!"

  "Check my story out."

  "Story is the right word! It's a big one, and a lie!"

  "Wire Denver. They'll tell you the truth about me."

  "The truth is you're a wanted man-a killer with a price on his head in more states than I can name! I brought you in. The only thing I want anybody to tell me is the location of the Kid's hideout, and the only wire being sent is already gone. I wired the district judge in Green River a while ago and told him to get ready for a trial-and a hanging."

  "You've got to listen to me-"

  "All right. I'm listening. Where's the Dakota Kid?" Rob was oblivious to any protest or logical argument. Slade Braxton was going to face justice. He was going to pay the price for his killing ways.

  "You're making a big mistake-"

  Emerson hit him again. "I'd say you were the one who made a mistake, Braxton. You're the one on the wrong side of the law. The only mistake I made was not following Hawkins's advice and shooting the three of you dead when I had the chance out in the canyon."

  Slade was bleeding from a cut over his eye, and his eye was already swelling shut. His side felt as if it were on fire, and his jaw was aching. He wanted to prove his identity to this man, to convince him they were on the same side of the law, but he had kept nothing with him that would show his connection to the Pinkertons. If he had, someone in the gang might have found it. Slade realized his only hope was that his supervisor, Ken Richards, was keeping track of the gang and would learn through newspaper accounts what had happened. He hoped Ken would get there in time to save him from hanging-unless the Kid managed to break them out first.

  "Now, get the hell out of here before I do something I might really regret." Rob's regard was condemning as he watched Slade struggle to his feet and start from the room. He smiled thinly at seeing him in pain. "If you think you're hurting now, wait until that noose tightens around your neck."

  Johnson and Nash both looked up as Slade was returned to the cell and unhandcuffed. They'd always known he was a tough man, and from the looks of him, he'd just received a beating that reaffirmed it. Johnson had suffered some of the sheriff's wrath, but nothing like what had happened to Slade.

  "I take it you didn't tell him anything," Nash drawled, managing to smile in spite of his own pain.

  "They're not going to find out where the Kid is from me," Slade answered, climbing slowly back into his bunk.

  "He didn't get anything out of me either," Johnson said with pride.

  "I guess it must be my turn," Nash remarked as Hawkins glared at him from where he was standing by the open cell door.

  "You think you're pretty smart, Nash, but let's just see how smart the sheriff thinks you are." Hawkins was waiting to put the cuffs on him.

  Nash got up. The deputy quickly restrained him and led him away after securing the cell door once again.

  "Let's make a break for it when he brings Nash back in!" Johnson told Slade when he was sure they were alone.

  "I'm all for getting out of here, but we're not going anywhere without guns. The sheriffs got armed guards posted all around the building and the town."

  "But there's just the two of them here in the jail. We'll kill them and take their weapons." He was excited about his plan. He was sure they could pull it off. "It's late, nearly midnight. Once we get away from here, we can sneak out of town without anybody seeing us. No one will even realize we're gone until tomorrow morning."

  "Your plan's all well and good, but you're talking suicide if anything goes wrong. If either Emerson or Hawkins managed to get just one shot off while we were trying to break out, we'd be dead men before we got out the front door."

  Johnson shot him an ugly look, knowing he was right, but not wanting to die without a fight. "We're as good as dead anyway. We gotta find a way out of here."

  "Do what you want. You're going to anyway. But I'm telling you, we stand a better chance of escaping while they're transporting us for trial. They'll need to take us to Green River, and there's bound to be an opportunity somewhere on the trek."

  Patience wasn't one of Johnson's stronger traits, but this time he accepted the truth of Slade's words. Breaking out of the jail wouldn't mean much if they never made it to their horses. He would wait for his chance, but the waiting wouldn't be easy.

  Alyssa rose early the following morning. She'd stayed up long past midnight, thinking of the day to come, and now it was here. In less than two hours, she would be presiding over the preliminary hearing of the men responsible for her father's death.

  So much had changed in her life since that terrible day. It was hard for her to believe that just a few weeks before, she'd allowed herself to be carefree. The light-hearted memory of her dance with the mysterious stranger had faded now, replaced by the re sponsibility that had fallen heavily on her shoulders. Her mother and her sister looked to her for strength and guidance. She could not let them down.

  Alyssa dressed with care, though she had little choice in gowns. Because of her state of mourning, she donned a black, long-sleeved, high-necked day gown. She pinned her hair back in a tight bun at the nape of her neck. She didn't want anyone in the courtroom to have any reason to criticize her or be distracted by the fact that she was a woman. This hearing was serious business.

  A quick glance in the mirror told her she was ready. She looked exactly as she'd wanted to look-staid and serious. For the first time in her life, she was glad she had to wear glasses to read. It added to the studiousness of the image she wanted to project.

  "Are you ready?"

  The sound of her mother's voice startled Alyssa, and she jumped nervously as she turned toward the open bedroom door to find her mother standing there, watching her.

  "I'm as ready as I'll ever be." She drew a steadying breath. "You're coming to the hearing, aren't you?"

  "Yes, Emily and I both are. We decided not to open the store until it's over. Nobody will care anyway. The entire town is eager to see what's
going to happen today."

  Alyssa nodded. "I hope it all goes well."

  The constant, nagging fear that the Dakota Kid might somehow find a way to disrupt the proceedings stayed with her, but she knew Rob would have planned for possible trouble and be prepared for it.

  "You know it will," her mother said with confidence. "Your father trained you. You know the law. You'll do fine."

  "I have to," she declared fiercely. "The Dakota Kid's gang is one of the meanest in the West. I want to make sure they never have the chance to hurt anyone else again."

  Loretta gave a small sob as she went to embrace her daughter. "I'm so proud of you, and I'm sure your father is, too."

  "I want him to be proud of me."

  "I miss him so." Loretta choked, struggling not to give in to the tears that threatened. "I never really thought his killers would be caught. But Rob never gave up. He's a wonderful man and a true friend to have tracked them down the way he did."

  "If only he'd caught the Dakota Kid, too, then we could put this all behind us after the trial."

  "The law will catch up with that man some day. I know it!" Loretta refused to believe anyone as evil as the Kid could remain untouched by justice.

  "I hope you're right," Alyssa agreed.

  Classes were canceled at the one-room schoolhouse that morning so the building could be converted into a courtroom. As soon as they were allowed, the townspeople packed into the building. Nearly everyone in Black Springs had been affected in one way or another by the robbery and killing, and they were eager to see justice finally done. Though this was just the first step, they were glad some progress was being made. They waited, talking quietly among themselves, for the hearing to begin.

  Al Carson was in the front row, taking notes for The Gazette. Tom York was there, too. He was to be called as a witness today. He had seen everything. There were several others who'd been notified by Alyssa that they would be called upon as well. All were eager to do their civic duty in helping see these men convicted.