“Something he called hypnotism,” Sammy said faintly. “It works pretty good, too. I saw it firsthand. She don’t remember a thing. Never will.”
“We need to get this man to a doctor,” Thunder said. “He could be a witness in Mary’s trial.”
They tried to pick up Sammy, but when they moved him, too much blood gushed out, staining the ground.
“You boys are wasting your time.” Sammy gave a halfhearted laugh. “Don’t want to rot in no prison anyway.”
“Where is McCoy now?” Carter persisted, trying to get as much information out of the dying man as possible.
“Gone ...” Sammy’s voice was trailing off.
Carter leaned closer. “Gone where?”
“Back to Gregory Gulch,” Sammy said with his last dying breath.
Thunder looked down at the lifeless body. “There goes our witness.”
Mary had a puzzled look on her face when she asked, “What does he mean, hypnotism?”
“I’ve heard of it,” Carter said, but he’d never seen anyone who had been hypnotized.
“I had a friend I went to school with back in Boston. He is actually an expert on the subject,” Thunder said. “Let’s get these men buried and then go back to town. I need to send a telegram.” He looked at Mary and squeezed her arm. “There still might be some hope. You see, when you are hypnotized it’s possible that you don’t remember anything. Which explains why you answered that you couldn’t remember when asked.”
Mary thought for a moment. “It also means that I could have killed Big Jim because I was told to.”
Thunder looked at Carter and then back to Mary. He saw the stricken look on her face. “Yes, kid. It could mean exactly that.”
Mary burst into tears, and Carter pulled her into his arms, holding her close. “Don’t cry. We’ll figure something out.”
Just who was the monster in all of this? Carter thought with a frown. It seemed like all the answers were just whispers on the wind, and catching and understanding them could mean life or death for Mary.
Chapter Eighteen
The first hint of daybreak threatened to seep through the blackness as Carter, Mary, and Thunder rode back to Windy Bend with the prisoner in tow.
Since there wasn’t a jail, or much of a town left, they rode to the livery. Carter sent a boy to go find Rick, then told Mary to get down and stretch her legs while he took care of the prisoner.
Carter shoved the prisoner into a stall and tied him to a post. Next he instructed the stable boy to water and feed the horses. They would be leaving by midmorning, and the prisoner would be Rick’s problem.
By the time Carter returned to the tack room, Thunder was leaning against the wall talking to Mary. He glanced up as Carter approached. “It’s been a long night. I probably forgot to thank you back there for watching my back.”
“No problem. You would have done the same for me. I’m going to get some canteens and a few supplies and then we’re heading back out.”
Thunder nodded.
But before Carter could say more, Rick strode into the stable, still tucking in his shirttail. “What happened?”
Carter swung his head toward the stall. “That’s what’s left of the Carlson gang.”
Rick sauntered over and jerked the prisoner to his feet by the scruff of his neck. “Now to find someplace to lock him up.”
“Why don’t you stay and help Hank?” Carter suggested to Rick. “He’s going to need a hand, and I won’t be here. I’m going to take Mary back to Gregory Gulch.”
“I’ll handle everything,” Rick said. He turned to Mary. “It has been a pleasure to meet you, ma’am. I hope everything works out for you.”
“Thank you,” Mary said.
Rick shoved his prisoner out the door, mumbling, “Come on, you no-good trash. We need to find someplace to keep you. Then I need some grub. If you’re lucky, I might toss you a crumb.”
Once Rick had left, Thunder said, “I’ll see you both back at Gregory Gulch. I’m going to contact my friend, Delaney Shoff. He’s always wanted to travel out west, so maybe he’ll look forward to coming out here.”
“How can he help?” Mary asked.
“Delaney can explain how someone is hypnotized, and maybe he can help us solve the problem of what actually happened the night of the murder,” Thunder explained. He gave Mary a hug. “I’ll see you later, kid.”
When they were alone, Carter finished tying the supplies on his horse, then turned to Mary. “Are you up to the ride?”
She nodded. “Yes. Better get it over with.”
“If we ride all night, we should be there sometime tomorrow afternoon.”
Mary mounted her horse. It looked like Carter was anxious to get rid of her. He could have suggested that they get some rest before continuing, but it seemed Carter had a job to do. She realized that once he turned her over to the sheriff, his duty would be done and she’d never see him again. Maybe that was the way he wanted it, she thought as they rode out of town. Maybe the other night meant nothing to him.
Mary sighed wistfully. How she’d love to see Judith. She’d bet Judith would take her in her arms and tell her everything would be all right Because right about now, nothing in Mary’s life was all right She had started out to make a lot of money, figuring that money would make her happy and solve all her problems.
Now Mary was a wealthy woman in her own right, but the money hadn’t solved anything. It had just brought her more problems.
She watched Carter riding ahead of her, and she admired the way he sat his horse, his trim hips and broad shoulders. The sun was just coming up over the horizon, and the bright orange ball seemed to peek out from behind the mountain, promising them a new day. That was what she would like, not only a new day but also a new life. One with none of the problems she had now.
Mary realized the only time she’d truly been happy was when she had been at Carter’s home. She loved the ranch. It had truly felt like home. But it wasn’t her home, it was Carter’s, and she didn’t belong there.
That was the problem. She didn’t belong anywhere.
Mary felt very much alone as they rode. Maybe she wasn’t the type to settle down and have children. She actually couldn’t picture herself with children, so she probably didn’t need a husband anyway. And she knew she didn’t want a man telling her what to do. Mary smiled at that thought, but it was a sad smile.
The rest of the day, they rode in silence. Mary wondered why Carter wasn’t saying anything. Then after awhile she didn’t care. She was numb after not sleeping the night before, and she rode in a daze, wondering why she couldn’t be a normal woman. Her eyelids felt so heavy. They would start to drift closed and then she’d jerk herself upright. The process had gone on for the last hour. Maybe if she shut her eyelids for just a moment she’d feel better.
Carter had a damned headache.
He’d been battling with himself half the day, and still he didn’t have the answers he sought Why didn’t he take Mary and run? They could start a new life someplace where no one knew them. He knew the answer even before he asked the question. Mary’s guilt or innocence would always hang over her head.
Was he plumb loco? He sounded like he was planning a future with the girl, which would mean giving up the law. He’d never considered giving up the law for anyone.
Not even a wife.
A thump sounded behind him followed by a moan. Carter turned and glanced behind him.
“What the hell?” He jerked his horse around and trotted back to where Mary was sitting on the ground, rubbing her eyes. She Evidently had fallen off her horse. When he reached her, she was blinking in confusion, her long, golden hair hanging in her face.
Carter slid off his mount to help her up. “What happened?”
She yawned before answering, “So you do know that I’m alive.” When she realized he wasn’t going to reply to her barb, she continued, “I must have fallen asleep and slipped off.”
Carter felt lower than a
wagon rut as he realized he’d been driving Mary pretty hard. He was used to such travel, but Mary wasn’t “I should have let you rest”
Mary brushed off her skirts, but her head snapped up at his remark. “It has been evident from the start that you’re in a big hurry to get rid of me, so let’s not stop now. Let’s get this over with.”
“That’s what you think?” Carter asked, but he didn’t wait for her to answer. He brought the horses around and held hers. “We are almost there. I can see that you’re still sleepy. Do you want to ride with me so that you can sleep?”
Yes, she wanted to ride with him. She wanted Carter to hold her, to tell her everything would be all right but her pride kicked in. “I’ll ride my own horse, thank you.” After all, he was going to leave her once they got there. She might as well get used to it
Again, they started riding, but this time Mary rode beside Carter and he kept his eye on her. He really didn’t know what to say to her. He knew that she was angry with him for bringing her in. He really couldn’t blame her, but dammit, it was his job—it didn’t mean he didn’t care about her. How in the world were they going to close this gap between them? He had no idea.
Sure enough, a half hour later, Mary began to nod. This time Carter didn’t ask, but instead pulled her in front of him and told her to be quiet when she started to argue. She gave up the struggle and rested her head on his chest.
It took another hour before they rode into town, but when they arrived, it was time to wake Mary. “Wake up. We’re here.” Carter nudged her.
She blinked several times. “This isn’t Gregory Gulch.”
“No, it isn’t,” Carter said with a smile. “I thought you might like a bath and a good night’s sleep. We’re in Appleton.”
Carter liked the surprise he saw in Mary’s eyes as she looked at him and whispered, “Thank you.”
It didn’t take long before they were settled in the Stratford Hotel. Carter had ordered a hot bath for Mary at the front desk, and she had to admit she was looking forward to easing her aching body into the tub. The past two days had been draining both physically and emotionally.
“This is a nice hotel,” Mary commented as she looked around the room. There was a big feather bed and two overstuffed chairs that faced a fireplace. It stood cold and empty at the moment, but she knew in the winter there would be a blazing fire.
“We’ve stayed here once before,” Carter said.
“We?”
Before he could say anything else, the maids brought in the last buckets of hot water for the bath. They filled the tub, then left as quickly as they had come.
Carter started to leave with the maids, but paused, his hand on the door. “You relax and take your bath. I’ll be back in an hour.”
“All right,” Mary said as he strode out the door without looking back. She was a little disappointed that Carter was leaving, but she didn’t know why. Maybe she was getting used to having him around, and that wasn’t good.
However, the water was so inviting, she quickly forgot her disappointment and settled into the tin hip tub. She did nothing for a long while but soak. The water did its job, soothing her aching muscles. She’d been through a lot in the last twenty-four hours, and the part of it she didn’t remember scared her. What if the men had taken advantage of her? She shivered at the thought Then again, maybe it was better she didn’t know what had happened.
Mary scrubbed her body until it had a nice pink glow, then she washed her hair. Feeling much better, she stepped out of the tub and dried off in the bath sheets the maids had left She wrapped her hair up, then slipped on her chemise. For a moment she thought about getting completely dressed and then decided against it as she climbed into the middle of the bed. As she rubbed her hair with the towel, she decided she was tired of fighting herself over Carter. She wanted him, if only for a day, an hour, whatever she could get
As if she had conjured Carter up, the door opened. He stopped short when he saw her sitting in the middle of the bed. He must have taken a bath, too, because his hair was still damp, clinging to his forehead, and he was dressed in black, looking very mysterious. When Carter didn’t move, Mary said, “Come in. The bath was wonderful. Thank you for arranging it for me.”
Carter saw the heartrending tenderness of her gaze and felt more like a fool than ever. Her half clothed body short-circuited his brain. There was so much to say, so much that needed to be said, but not knowing where to start, he stated the obvious. “You’re beautiful.”
Mary blushed.
Carter attempted to regain his composure. “Here, slip on my shirt. I’ve ordered dinner in our room. It should be here in a minute.”
“How did you get dinner brought to our room? Hotels are not usually that accommodating.”
Carter gave her a slow smile. “They are with enough money handed to them.”
Mary felt alive with excitement as she slipped on Carter’s shirt, which was three times too big for her. Why was he going out of his way to make this a special evening?
Even a condemned man got one last meal, she thought wryly.
A knock on the door got their attention. When Carter answered it, the staff brought in several trays and placed them on the round table by the window.
After everyone had left, Carter asked, “Would you care to join me for dinner?”
Mary smiled as she walked over and took her seat at the table. She had to adjust the shirtsleeves of Carter’s shirt so she could see her hands.
He lifted the lids, which consisted of big pots turned upside down over the plates, off the food. The aroma of fried chicken and creamed potatoes made Mary’s mouth water.
“I don’t know about you, but I’m starved,” she admitted as she took a crispy chicken leg and bit down into the juicy meat.
Carter laughed. “I’m kind of hungry myself. Jerky isn’t very filling.”
At first, they were too interested in eating to talk, but once she had her stomach halfway pleased, Mary reminded him, “Earlier, you said we had been here before.”
“That’s right After we found you in the snow, the storm was so bad that we stopped here to spend the night and have a doctor look at you.” Carter wiped his mouth with the linen napkin and sat back with a cup of hot coffee in his hands. “As a matter of fact we stayed in this same room.” Mary’s brow raised slightly. “We? As in me and you?”
“Yep. I slept there right beside you.” He pointed to the bed.
Mary gave him a sexy smile. “At least you were a gentleman.”
“Always a gentleman. However, in your condition you looked more like a drowned cat,” Carter said. He glanced at her. “Tell me what happened for you to be out in the snow.”
Mary grew serious. “First, do you think that I killed Big Jim?”
Carter studied her for a long while before he finally said, “No, I don’t.” The smile Mary gave him warmed his heart
“In that case, I’ll tell you. Most of it I’m sure you heard when I told Thunder. I was so scared that I didn’t know what to do. I wanted to go for the sheriff, but I looked guilty, even to myself, so the only thing I knew to do was run. I gathered the only dress I had and a couple of bags of gold. I figured that I would go someplace until I could remember what had happened. But”—she smiled—“as you know, there was a terrible snowstorm, I lost my grip on the reins, the horse stumbled, and I went flying.”
“Well, that certainly explains why you were headfirst in the snow bank.” Carter laughed. “It’s a wonder you didn’t break your fool neck.”
Mary placed her napkin on the table and got to her feet. “I guess I should thank you for rescuing me. Although I must admit that a marshal was the last person I wanted to see.” She leaned over and placed a kiss on his cheek, then said, “Thank you.”
“I think you can do better than that,” Carter said as he stood up.
She held out her hand as he reached toward her. “I promised myself that you wouldn’t kiss me so easily the next time, unless I knew how y
ou felt about me.”
He paused and looked at her. He was waging a war with himself. Finally, he took a deep breath as if he’d come to a decision, and said, “Don’t you know?”
“No, I don’t,” Mary said.
“I care a great deal,” Carter murmured, his eyes brimming with tenderness and passion. “If you say the word, we will leave this hotel and go anywhere but Gregory Gulch.”
Mary’s heart slammed hard against her ribs. “You would break the law for me?”
“Yes.”
She could feel the tears pooling in her eyes. “What’s wrong?”
“I—I never thought you would do that for me,” she admitted as she lowered her hand to wipe a stray tear from her cheek. “I think I’d feel much better if you’d hold me.”
She didn’t have to ask twice. Carter wrapped her in his arms.
“If we ran,” Mary finally said, “then I’d always look guilty, and you would always have some small doubt that I might have committed the murder.” She pulled back to see his face. “You see, I still don’t remember what happened, so even I’m not sure if I killed Jim. I want to stand trial.”
He looked down at her. “Are you sure?”
She nodded. “But I’m scared.”
Carter took a deep breath, folding her back in his arms. “I know, sweetheart The unknown is always frightening, but I’ll be here for you.”
She felt so small and helpless in his arms, he thought—until he remembered it was Mary that he held.
He placed kisses on his little spitfire’s face, and she responded by molding her body into his. His anticipation was almost unbearable, and the blood pounding in his head told him it was impossible to go slower much longer. He wanted to remember every moment with her, but it wasn’t enough to satisfy the fire within him.
As he pressed his mouth a bit harder, she parted her lips and Carter found heaven. Mary was so warm and loving, and he was drowning in pleasure like he’d never known existed. He slipped his arm behind her knees and lifted her into his arms. She kissed the side of his neck as he carried her over and placed her on the bed. Quickly, Carter dispensed with his clothes to join her.
Whispers on the Wind Page 20
