“So I did.” He pulled her ever closer. “And it isn’t. ‘Cade’ comes from my middle name, Caden.”
“And—?” She very heavily hinted.
“And, I’ve not told a soul my true given name in fifteen years, so you’ll have to bide your time a bit longer, love.”
She hooked her finger around one of the buttons of his vest. “I do like when you call me ‘love,’ though I suspect it’s more of a general endearment than one specific to me.”
Liked it, did she?
“I heard it a lot in our Irish neighborhood in Boston, so I’d say I picked up the habit there.” He saw disappointment enter her expression. “But, then again, I don’t use it for anyone but you, so it can’t be too general.”
The smile that graced her lips was the softest he’d seen from her. “It’s a nice change of pace. Thackery started calling me ‘Miss Bell’ when he switched from competitor to would-be suitor, but being ‘Miss’ all the time is tiresome. Joshua calls me ‘Paisley’ but in a tone somewhere between begging and frustrated. And Papa—” Her face fell. “He has started calling me by his sister’s name.”
Cade pressed a kiss to her forehead, lingering over it. “I’m sorry about your pa. I truly am.”
She sighed and stepped away. His arms hovered for the tiniest moment where she’d been. How quickly he’d grown used to her being near him. Every time she pulled away, he felt as though a bit of him had severed itself.
She sat at the desk. “You said it yourself. Life ain’t easy.”
They drank their coffee in silence. It was a somber way to end their adventure that night. His heart ached for her. She’d lost so much in her life. He knew the weight of loss far too well. He wished he could ease that burden for her.
She stood and stretched. “These late night break-ins are going to catch up with me if we do this too often.”
“Don’t blame me,” Cade said. “You’re the one who knocked on m’ door at an unearthly hour.”
She smiled at him. “Are you complaining?”
“Not in the least.” He slipped his fingers around hers. “I’ll break into a bank with you any time.”
“And then listen to me grumble about my problems?” she added.
He pressed a brief kiss to her cheek, but kept himself to nothing more than that. “Any time, love. Any time.”
He meant that promise to include so much more than listening to her worries, but also to hold her when she needed an embrace, to be with her in her loneliest moments, and to someday kiss her again, but truly and deeply. Though it might take time, he fully believed he could eventually earn enough of her regard to make that possibility a welcome one for both of them.
Cade didn’t care a whit for Lewis, but he had to admit the man ran his bank well. He watched every detail, managed every minute and person. It was little wonder people thought him tedious; he was tedious. The two of them spent the better part of a half hour discussing the coming delivery.
“Who will you have acting as guards?” Lewis asked.
“Same as last time,” Cade said. “Will Delancey be about again?”
Lewis nodded.
“You trust him?” Cade asked, keeping the question almost offhand.
“He has given me no reason not to trust him.”
Careful wording. Hesitant tone. “Not a heap of praise, that.”
Lewis hemmed a moment. “Mr. Delancey’s experience as a clerk and his keen mind for numbers is an asset to any bank. He came highly recommended by the bank officials in Omaha. He is being groomed to become a manager himself someday.”
It wasn’t evidence one way or the other. “Is there anything you’re wanting to see changed in the deliveries? Maybe have the money brought directly to your office rather than the teller’s counter?”
“The teller’s counter works best.” Lewis didn’t look at all suspicious at the questioning. Neither did he seem eager to have the money come straight to him behind closed doors. Either he was playing his part well, or he didn’t have plans to nip away a few hundred dollars by tucking it away in the comfort of his office. Perhaps his plan was more complicated than that.
“All’s been well with the other banks who’ve sent men to pick up their share of these deliveries?” Those amounts were smaller, so Cade hadn’t been asked to oversee them; that’d have to change if the amounts increased.
“Perfectly fine,” Lewis said. “Their days are staggered, so it isn’t terribly complicated.”
And not seen by anyone other than those already in the bank. Now that was a potentially suspicious arrangement. “Who generally hands over the money?”
“Mr. Delancey counts it and has the funds bundled and ready,” Lewis said. “When the bank representatives arrive, I am there to see to it they sign for their money so there is a record.”
So Delancey did the money counting. It didn’t explain how the money disappeared from the original deliveries, but it did put him fully in the thick of dispensing it. And what was to stop Delancey from handing the pilfered money over to someone coming in under the guise of a customer? There were so many different ways the thieving might’ve been accomplished.
“How much, exactly, will be delivered this next time?” Cade asked.
“Three thousand,” Lewis read off a paper on his desk. “Of course, they said two thousand two hundred last time and ended up lowering the amount.”
Now he was getting somewhere. “They told you they lowered it?”
“Well, no. But that was all we received. I sent a telegram regarding the change but haven’t heard back.”
That was interesting. “Did you, now?”
“Actually, Mr. Delancey sent it. He runs errands for the bank quite regularly. One of the advantages of having a teller.”
That was more incriminating than anything Cade had heard yet. The bank in Omaha would’ve said something in two weeks’ time about two hundred missing dollars. But only if they’d been told. If Omaha hadn’t heard and Delancey had been the one charged with sending word…
Still, it wasn’t anything close to proof. He’d have to very nearly catch Delancey in the act. But how to manage that without tipping his hand and giving Delancey unwanted warning?
“I mean to go forward with the delivery as planned,” Cade said. “I’ve more than enough guards, even with the extra money.”
“If you think so.” It was somewhere between agreement and skepticism.
Cade had never cared what Lewis thought of him; he still didn’t. “Let me know if anything changes,” he said.
“I will.”
Cade passed through to the bank lobby. The counter was unmanned. A Will Return Soon placard sat on the counter where Delancey would’ve been. It was about lunchtime.
“Is Delancey at lunch, do you think?” Cade called back toward Lewis’s office.
“He asked for the afternoon off. He hasn’t asked for time off in two weeks, so I granted it.”
Delancey was either very conscientious, or he needed extra time at the bank. Cade thought that over as he strode down the road. They were focusing on securing the deliveries, but he needed to keep the money safe after its arrival as well.
He stepped inside the jailhouse to find Hawk sitting at his desk.
“I ain’t got any prisoners for you,” Cade said. “But if you’re handy with a broom, the cells could use a good sweep.”
“Not my kind of cleanup job, Cade.” Hawk grinned as he leaned back in his chair. “I’ve come on a matter of a few thousand dollars.”
“Has there been a robbery?” Nothing had been mentioned in the recent telegrams.
“I meant the bank deliveries here,” Hawk said. “Word’s spreading throughout the territory about little Savage Wells being the new gold rush.”
“I’ve been worrying about that.” Cade checked the low-burning fire in the potbelli
ed stove. The jail was growing colder as winter drew near. “Our idiot of a banker agreed to the deliveries before giving the town a chance to prepare.”
“Then I hope that idiot’s kissing the ground you walk on, Cade. I’d wager you’re the only reason he isn’t already in deep water.”
Cade pulled up the stool. “We’ll be up to a full three thousand dollars with the next delivery.”
Hawk whistled appreciatively. “Even your reputation’s not gonna be enough in the long term with that kind of money coming in. How long before the town has enough funds to hire you a deputy?”
Cade had asked that very question every council meeting. “The money only passes through here, very little of it actually stays. Unless the town grows quick and the increase brings the council more money, it’s just me standing between Savage Wells and bloody anarchy.”
“And that is what I was afraid of,” Hawk said. “For the next few weeks, months maybe, I’m moving my headquarters here to Savage Wells.”
Cade folded his arms over his chest. “Are you taking over m’ job, Hawk?”
“Not at all. You’ll still be sheriff. You’ll still run things.” He crossed his booted feet on the desktop. “I’ll just be another eye on the town, another reason for thieves not to try their luck here. The fate of this town affects the western half of this territory and up into Montana. I’m not risking it.”
Cade nodded firmly. “I gave Paisley your letter. Do you really mean to recommend her as a deputy marshal?”
“I have already. From all I could learn of her, she’d do a fine job. Though she’d not have all the opportunities a man would, it’d be something.”
It was exactly what she’d been asking for. A chance to prove herself.
“Has she given an answer yet?” Cade asked.
“Not yet. But I’ll be here until your council quits dragging their feet. She can give me an answer when she’s ready.”
If Cade didn’t have complete confidence in Hawk, he’d have wondered at the man’s motives. But arrows didn’t come straighter than John Hawking.
“Speak of the devil,” Hawk muttered, getting to his feet and nodding toward the doorway.
Paisley was stepping inside. “Hey, there, Cade. Howdy, Marshal. What brings you around?”
Hawk offered her his seat, but she didn’t take it, preferring instead to lean against the cell bars.
“He’s come to lend a menacing air to Savage Wells,” Cade said.
Paisley nodded her approval. “We need it.” She turned to Cade. “Did you tell him about our troubles with the bank?”
Cade caught Hawk up in a few minutes, then shared with them both what he’d learned at the bank, which was, admittedly, nothing rock solid.
“That’s not much to go by,” Paisley said. “And I haven’t seen Joshua yet, so I don’t have anything to add.”
Cade leaned his shoulder against the wall beside the desk. “Our culprit’s keeping things quiet, that’s for certain.”
“Culprit?” Hawk shook his head. “I’d reckon what you have are culprits.”
“I hadn’t thought about this being a group undertaking.” Paisley paced away absentmindedly. “What if they are both part of this? They’d be able to cover their tracks very well.”
“We need to sniff ’em out, but carefully,” Cade said. “Are you two up for a bit of strategizing?”
Paisley’s eyes danced with mischief. “Always.”
Cade couldn’t say if Hawk was nodding his approval of Paisley’s answer or his agreement to Cade’s challenge. Either way, Cade kept himself close to Paisley’s side. Delancey hadn’t proven much competition, Thackery only slightly more. Hawk very well might.
“Unless our thief is passing his bounty off to someone, he has to be stashing it somewhere. If we could find it, or find evidence it’d been nearby, that’d point us toward the guilty one.”
“Search their homes, you mean?” Paisley didn’t look entirely supportive. “Asking for permission might warn them off, but sneaking in would likely mean whatever we found wouldn’t be accepted by a judge.”
She was right, of course. “That’s where my friend Hawk comes into the picture.”
“You want me to request a warrant from the judge in Laramie?”
Cade gave a quick nod. “But you’d need to send the telegram yourself. I don’t want anyone but the three of us to know what we suspect.”
“I can send it today and likely have a response no later than tomorrow—perhaps even tonight if we catch Judge Barclay before he leaves the courthouse.”
Cade had long ago learned that Hawk knew how to get things done quickly and correctly. “Even with the warrants, we’d do well to time our searches so they aren’t noticed by either man—or by anyone, if at all possible. Lewis’s house’ll be more difficult, but Delancey’s rooms at the hotel are more accessible.” Cade kept to the topic at hand. Letting the two of them see his jealousy would do him no good. “But we can’t let Delancey catch us at it. We’d best keep it quiet and small.”
“Once we have the warrant, I’ll chat with Delancey at the bank as a distraction,” Hawk said. “As a marshal new to town, he’ll figure I’m just being nosy.”
Paisley stopped her pacing right beside Cade’s stool. He preferred that to her taking up a position next to Hawk. “Do we intend to ask for keys at the hotel desk or should I keep my lock-picking tools handy?”
Cooper ran the hotel. While Cade didn’t peg the man as a scoundrel, he wasn’t precisely a saint. “I vote we climb in a window.”
“That’s what I hoped you’d say.” Paisley raised a triumphant fist. “Just give me a shout when all the t’s are crossed and i’s are dotted. I’d enjoy another breaking and entering.”
Hawk laughed. “Another breaking and entering?”
“What you don’t know can’t hurt us,” Cade answered. “Hawk, go send that telegram. I want to get on with this as soon as possible.”
Apparently, Hawk’s telegram caught Judge Barclay at the perfect time. Not an hour after Hawk sent his request, the judge sent back the word that the warrant had been issued.
Hawk pulled on his heavy overcoat. “When we’re done with this bit of detective work, Miss Bell, I’d like to talk to you about that job offer.”
She nodded her agreement. Hawk headed toward the bank. Paisley and Cade crossed the road to the side of the restaurant.
“How long do you need?” Cade asked her.
“A minute or two.” She slipped in the back door of the restaurant.
Cade took his time walking around to the front. He spotted Hawk through the front windows of the bank. With slow steps, Cade made his way into the restaurant and back to the hotel’s check-in counter.
“Sheriff O’Brien,” Cooper greeted. That fake English accent of his never failed to fall short of the mark. “What can I do for you?”
“I’m checkin’ on things. Any difficulties of late? Troublesome tenants? Customers?”
“None,” Mr. Cooper answered. “Not that we have many.”
“How many are there?” That’d be a helpful thing to know even without the problems at the bank.
“Mr. Brown was in room one, but he checked out yesterday. There’s a Mr. Darrow in room two. He arrived a few days ago, thinking of moving here.”
Cade would need to keep an eye out for those two.
“Mr. Thackery moved out when he took the ranch job, and Mr. Rice left after the council didn’t pick him for sheriff.” Cooper looked over the hotel roster. “Rooms three and four are empty at the moment. Mr. Delancey is in room five, but you know him already.”
Cade nodded as if he was only vaguely interested.
“Mr. and Mrs. Jones are in room six. They are in town visiting their son, Mr. Jones, whose wife rather prefers that her in-laws stay here when they visit.”
The hotel
only had six rooms. That was everyone, then. He wasn’t concerned about the Joneses. He’d check into the recently departed Mr. Brown and the newly arrived Mr. Darrow later.
“Do you mind if I take a look around upstairs?” he asked casually. “I haven’t checked things here in a while.”
“Go right ahead.”
That was easier than expected. “I’ll show myself out when I’m done.”
Cooper nodded his agreement.
Much easier than expected.
The stairwell was empty. The corridors were empty. The doors were closed and locked. All except for room five. Paisley stood in the open doorway.
“Nice work.”
She straightened imaginary cuffs. “I am good with a lock. Perhaps that’s why the US Marshals are so desperate for me to join them.”
“Or maybe it’s because you’ve got experience, good aim, and a cool head.”
She shrugged. “There is that. I’m also far better looking than any of the other marshals.”
“I don’t know about far better looking.”
She threw him a look of shocked amusement. “You’re just itchin’ to be shot, aren’t you?”
Saints, he loved when she bantered with him. “We can settle this with a shoot-out later. At the moment, I have some drawers to dig through.”
“Have fun,” she said.
He threw caution to the wind. “How ’bout a kiss for good luck?”
Her eyebrows shot up in surprise. She watched him for the length of a breath, not saying a word. “Do you always start investigations this way?”
“I’m starting a new tradition.” He leaned in close. “What do you say? Kiss for luck?”
“You’re on duty, Cade. You don’t need any distractions.” She stepped into the doorway. “Now, get to work. I’ll keep an eye out.”
He looked around the room. If he were a low-life bank robber, where would he hide his ill-gotten goods? Cade checked under the bed, under the clothes in the bureau, the dim corners of the armoire. Nothing.
Delancey might be hiding the money at the bank. They’d have to check there as well. Cade opened the small drawers in the writing desk and carefully flipped through the small stack of papers. Most were scraps with notes jotted on them, nothing of importance, but halfway down the stack he found something intriguing. A bit of arithmetic, splitting two hundred three ways, then adjusting the answer a few times.
The Sheriffs of Savage Wells Page 24
