"Really? With a sheriff for a brother?"
Noah chuckled, removing the cloth and tucking it away. "He always was a pigheaded boy. Last I heard, he was down in Mexico, living a fine life."
Leo, who was probably exhausted from his play and his ordeal, was now leaning against her side, drifting off to sleep. She braced his small body with her arm around his shoulders. "You don't seem too bothered by your younger brother's occupation."
He shrugged, looking out over the field. "Not much I can do about it, so I don't worry over it." His gaze shifted, and his eyes locked with hers. "I like to put my efforts into what's important." He reached out, cupping her face in his large hand. "Like you."
She could feel the heat filling her cheeks. "Why, Noah."
His handsome face lit up from his smile. "It's true. You're important to me. I'm too busy thinking on our future to meddle in other folks' affairs."
His mention of their future made her bristle. With Leo cradled against her, she couldn't miss the obvious implication in his words. She couldn't keep her secret from him, not after she'd seen his natural fatherly instincts, and the way he smiled at the little one. "Noah, I have something I must tell you."
"What is it?" His expression changed to one filled with concern. "Why do you look so troubled?"
"I..." She knew she owed him the truth, but the words were so hard to formulate. She struggled with the gravity of what she was about to say for a few moments, then whispered the words that might destroy any chance she had with him. "I'm barren."
He looked confused, as if he hadn't understood her. "What? Speak up a bit, darling."
Drawing a deep breath, she closed her eyes against the blinding pain. "I said, I'm barren. I can't give you babies, Noah."
He lapsed into silence for a moment, and she wondered what was going through his mind. If he was like the other men who'd courted her, he would soon be making some excuse to leave. So, she waited.
Finally, he looked at her. "I understand, Valerie." His eyes held something akin to disappointment. He tried to hide it by turning away quickly, but she'd already seen it there.
"I'm sorry, Noah. I felt you should know." Unable to look at him, she instead focused her gaze on Leo's innocent, sleeping face.
He nodded. "Don't apologize. I appreciate your honesty."
The mood had changed, she could feel it. A palpable awkwardness now existed between them. True, he hadn't run away after her admission, but it was growing dark. His protective instinct likely kept him there, rather than any urge to pursue her further romantically. Until he told her different, she would assume their courting days were over. Now that he knew her greatest fault, what reason had he to stay with her?
She was so lost in thought, she didn't notice him easing closer to her.
He leaned in, and gave her a gentle, fleeting kiss on the lips. Before she could close her eyes, he slid away. "I can't stay. I need to get some sleep before my shift in the morning."
Still dazzled by the brief kiss, she nodded. "Alright."
"Come, I'll escort you home."
The sun was hanging low on the horizon, and would soon give way to the silvery moon against the midnight blue of darkness. There, in the growing shadows, he clasped her hand, and she stood. Gathering the sleeping Leo in her arms, she let him walk her back to the mercantile.
**
Finished with her weekend cleaning duties, Janice placed the broom in the closet in the back of the schoolhouse. She always spent part of her Saturday here, sweeping out a week's worth of accumulated dust, polishing the desks, and generally making everything neat and tidy for the coming school week. Doing things the way she did left her free to attend services at the church on Sunday, and have a relaxing afternoon at home before Monday came around.
She untied the old brown scarf she'd tied her hair up with, crumpled it, and used it to mop the sweat from her brow. After the day's chores, she was sorely in need of a bath, and couldn't wait to get home to attend to her own needs. Before she could go home, however, she'd need to ride over to the Chase homestead and pick up Adam, who was being looked after by Prudence for the day.
When she'd put away all of her cleaning supplies, she shut the closet door. Gathering her cloth purse, she eased outside into the cool of the night, closing the doors. She used her key to lock the schoolhouse, then proceeded to the tree where she'd hitched Sally, her old mare. With her purse and a lit lantern hooked on the saddle horn, she mounted up and rode off, trotting down Town Road until she left the boundaries of town.
As the buildings and walks gave way to trees and the sounds of animals, Janice kept the horse moving at a good pace. She was in a hurry, yes, but didn't want to risk an accident by riding too fast in the dark.
She’d taken this route every Saturday evening for the past several months, but tonight, something seemed different, odd. She scanned the sides of the road, and saw nothing out of the ordinary. Still, there were areas outside of the circle of light cast by the lantern that she couldn't see clearly. Doing her best to shake off the strange feeling, she rode on.
Until she heard Sally screech in pain.
Confused and frightened, Janice could do nothing as the horse fell forward, tucking her front legs beneath her. She slid off the saddle on the left side and landed on her bottom in the dirt.
She immediately got to her knees, grabbed up the lantern, and peered at her animal. "Sally? What's the matter girl?"
She moved the lantern about, trying to ascertain the extent of the horse’s injuries. In the pale yellow light, she could see the scrapes on the front lower portion of the mare's legs. Her brow furrowed, she wondered where the marks had come from.
She looked again, and there, in the lantern light, she saw that a length of rope had been stretched across the road. It was low enough that it would likely be missed by someone walking or riding by, but just high enough to cause them to lose their footing.
But who would do something like that?
A chill ran down her spine, and she realized something was amiss.
The crunching of leaves behind her made her turn away from her injured mare, toward the thick line of trees.
One shadowy figure stepped out, followed by another.
Janice's heart pounded in her ears.
They stalked closer, close enough for her to smell the pungent stench of unwashed flesh and horse offal on them.
Then one of them spoke.
"Looks like we got us a pretty lady needs some help."
The other man laughed. "Yeah. So, let's help ourselves."
Janice backed away, her skirt catching on the sharp edges of jagged rocks and twigs as she slid across the dirt road. "Please don't hurt me."
The man closest to her grabbed her lantern, and lifted it so she could see his face. He was a white man, maybe in his late thirties. His dirty, unshaven countenance was occupied by two hollow black eyes. His twisted, grinning mouth was full of brown, rotted teeth. "Sorry, miss. Can't promise you that."
"No!" She scrambled to her feet, and tried to get away.
But rough hands grabbed her before she could make three steps.
She struggled against the unknown fingers, now yanking at the buttons of her blouse. They popped off, and she could feel the breeze on her bared neck and shoulders as the blouse was dragged away.
With all her might, she struggled against them.
"Stop fighting, damn it!" one of the men's agitated voices rang out.
She wouldn't stop.
She couldn't stop.
Couldn't let them befoul her, steal her virtue right here in the middle of the road.
So she swung her arms, and kicked her legs, and did whatever she could to make it hard on them. Maybe if she put up enough of a fuss, they'd leave her be.
One of the men swung out with something hard and heavy, smashing it into the back of her head. The blow made her mind reel with an explosion of pain so great, all the fight drained out of her in an instant.
And the
n the darkness set in.
CHAPTER 9
His hands full of sheaves of paper, Noah used the toe of his boot to open the bottom drawer of his desk, and dropped them inside. That done, he closed the drawer and sat down. Having spent the last hour doing the thing he hated most about his job, organizing his warrants and reports, he was glad to be rid of the stack of paper. Lord willing, he wouldn't have to bother with the paperwork again until this time next month.
Clerical work was always handled on a Sunday, as it was typically his least busy day for keeping the peace. With the saloon and most of the businesses in town closed for the day, folks usually busied themselves with wholesome pursuits, like attending services at Reverend Chase's Ridgeway Community Church, resting from the week's labors, or spending time with their families. Now, with the lunch hour approaching, Ruby's Diner would open to feed the hungry parishioners as they left the church.
He sat back in his chair, propping his feet up on the desk, and chewed over the problem of convincing the townsfolk they needed a posse. He hadn't had any more reports of crimes since Miss Parker's purse was stolen, but his lawman's instinct wouldn't let him rest on his laurels. He knew, deep down in his bones, that something else was going to happen. He wished there was more he could do to prevent it, but with only himself and Gregory to handle the job, his hands were pretty much tied.
Loud pounding on the office door shook him from his thoughts. Getting to his feet, he opened the door, and found Prudence standing there. The worried look on her face, along with the way she wrung her hands, made him particularly concerned. "Mrs. Chase. How can I help you?"
"It's Janice." She wiped away a tear sliding down her cheek. "She never came to get Adam last night."
Hearing the schoolteacher's name made him shake his head. He reached up to the hooks mounted beside the door frame, retrieving his hat and gun-belt. "And that's unusual for her?"
"No, she sometimes stays overnight at the school, if she's not done cleaning. But she never misses service, and she wasn't there today." Prudence began pacing, walking in a small circle on the walk outside the door. "No one's seen or heard from her since yesterday."
He didn't like the sound of this. Everything he knew about Miss Smart told him that she would not leave her nephew with anyone this long, nor be absent from church services—at least not if she had any say in the matter. He fastened the gun-belt around his waist, glad of his policy of keeping it well-stocked at all times. "Where's Adam now?"
"With Valerie. Derrick and some of the other men have volunteered to help search for her." She ceased her pacing, and her teary eyes met his. "Please find her, Sheriff. She's a good person."
He nodded, placing the Stetson on his head. He shrugged on his long coat to stave off the chill in the air. As he stepped onto the walk, he closed the office door and touched Prudence's shoulder. "Go sit with Valerie and the boy. We'll find her."
She nodded. "The menfolk are waiting for you at the schoolhouse." With that said, she crossed the street toward the mercantile.
He unhitched Justice from his post, and mounted up, taking off at full gallop. When he rounded the corner behind Doc Wilkin's clinic and into the clearing where the schoolhouse sat, he saw the mounted men waiting there for him: Derrick, the town's only reverend since the passing of Thomas Earl last winter; Ricardo Benigno, the sea-captain turned farmer; Uriah Stevens, the young son of the town's undertaker, Eunice. And, to Noah's surprise, also present was Thaddeus Stern, the only child of the mayor and his wife.
Deciding to leave questions about Thad's presence for later, he called out to them. "Ready, men?"
They all gave their affirmatives, vocally and with their gestures.
Noah turned his horse toward the town boundary, and urged Justice ahead.
As they rode alongside each other down Town Road, Thad spoke. "I used my father's skeleton key to unlock the schoolhouse. No sign of Miss Smart inside."
So they'd searched her last known location. That would work in their favor.
Derrick's voice rang out. "Look! It's Miss Smart's horse!"
Noah looked in the direction Derrick indicated, and saw the mare limping toward them. She was still about a half mile away. "Well, now we know we're headed in the right direction."
They moved on, all except for Ricardo, who stopped and dismounted to check on the animal. "Her forelegs are injured. I'll get her to the livery, so she can get some help."
As Ricardo went about hitching the mare to his own horse, they moved on down the road. Noah scanned the scenery as they rode, looking for any sign of Miss Smart.
An uncomfortable silence fell as they moved farther away from the border of town. The mood was solemn, and he knew it was because they were all dreading whatever unpleasant fate had befallen Miss Smart. He only hoped she was still among the living.
As he visually assessed the roadway, he saw a small object laying in the road, about twenty feet ahead of him. He halted Justice, and raised his hand so that Thad and Derrick would stop as well. Dismounting, he walked closer to the object until he could make it out. Stooping down to pick it up, he felt his chest tighten. "It's her purse." He knew it was hers, as he'd seen her carrying the thing around town. The mouth of it, on either side of the drawstring, was embroidered with her initials, J.S.
The other men dismounted, and came near.
Derrick removed his hat and placed it to his chest. "My Lord."
Thad turned slowly around, taking in a full circle view of the area. "This is outrageous. If our women aren't safe, something's got to be done about it."
Noah clutched the purse in his clenched fist, swinging his gaze around. Janice was close by, he knew it. He prayed that she was still alive.
He drew a deep breath, doing his best to calm his rattled nerves. He needed his wits about him, so he wouldn't miss any important details.
He squatted low, allowing himself closer examination of the area where he'd retrieved the purse.
He could see some horseshoe indentations in the earth, as well as an intriguing imprint that looked like two small trenches. Focusing on them, he realized they were marks made by a horse's forelegs. Remembering Sally limping toward town, he assumed she'd taken a fall.
But why?
Acting on instinct, he moved to the area in front of the indentations.
Then he saw it.
A broken length of rope, lying in two pieces, across the width of the road. He picked up the frayed ends, and examined them.
He voiced his findings, loudly enough for the other men to hear. "There was a trip rope strung across the road."
There, a trail was etched in the dust, one that was consistent with something, or someone, being dragged. The trail extended from the center of the road, off to the left side, and stopped where the road gave way to the dense California brush.
Without a word, he stood and followed the trail in the dust.
His cohorts followed him.
As he left the road and pushed aside some low hanging branches to enter the woods, he moved slowly, in case danger lurked ahead. He sniffed the air, and picked up two distinct smells.
One was the scent of the forest: soil, blooming plants and dampness.
The other was the dense, metallic scent of blood.
He coughed, and braced himself. As he moved deeper into the brush, the smell of blood became stronger.
Behind him, he could hear Derrick praying, a soft spoken entreaty to God for the life of young Miss Smart. At a time like this, he certainly didn't begrudge the minister his prayers.
He stepped around a large oak, and the sound of moving water filled the air. He knew there was a creek out here, and knowing they were getting close to it helped him determine their approximate location.
As he eased along the banks of the narrow creek, he glanced around, searching the sun dappled forest for any sign of Miss Smart, or her assailants.
His foot caught something, and he tripped. He nearly went crashing face first into the creek, but he caugh
t himself, bracing against an old, fallen tree to steady his balance.
"Hold on!" He wanted to warn the other men, before they tripped over the same root or branch, or whatever it was that had tripped him.
Derrick and Thad, still a few feet behind him, halted in their steps.
Noah searched the forest floor for whatever had made him lose his balance.
What he saw made his vision blur with horror.
It had not been a branch or a root after all.
It was a leg.
He stooped down, brushing aside the dead leaves and pine straw until he revealed the rest of Miss Smart. She lay in the cold, damp soil, her eyes closed.
Thad and Derrick ran to his side, and helped uncover her still form. All the while, Derrick continued to pray. "Heavenly Father, please allow your daughter a little more time among the living."
When they'd moved everything aside, Noah gasped. In his days as a lawman, he'd seen some pretty ugly things. But this was definitely the worst of it.
Janice's form was naked, save for a badly torn, blood stained corset, which did little to conceal her breasts. There was considerable swelling around her jaw, and her head rested in a pool of congealing blood.
Thad, obviously unable to handle such a sight, turned away. "I'll go back into town for the Doc." He fled, leaving Noah and Derrick alone to tend to the schoolteacher.
Wishing he could have stopped such a travesty from occurring in the first place, Noah pushed his emotions aside and performed his duty. Despite how still and pale she looked, there was still hope. He touched the side of her throat to check for a pulse.
As Derrick prayed fervently to the heavens above, Noah felt a faint, but steady beat beneath his fingers. Leaning near her face, he could feel the soft warmth of her shallow breath on his cheek. With a deep sigh, he reported, "She's alive."
Derrick closed his eyes for a moment. "Thank you, merciful God." He opened his eyes again, and turned to him. "What can we do for our sister now?"
Noah was already removing his coat. "We cover her, keep her warm. That's all we can do until Thad comes back with the doc, and a wagon." He draped the coat over her, leaving her face uncovered so she could get what little air she was able to draw.
As they sat there on the damp ground, watching over Miss Smart and waiting for help to arrive, he tried to control his emotions. The river of anger raging inside him was a stark contrast to the calm, babbling flow of the creek in front of him. How someone could be so brutal, so crass, and so cruel to a sweet person like Miss Smart was beyond his realm of understanding. She was a schoolteacher for Heaven's sake, a pillar of town, and a doting caretaker for a child not her own. She didn't deserve to be treated this way; ravaged and left for dead in some lonely forest.
Loving the Lawman Page 6
