The Unexpected Champion

by Mary Connealy

  Rising to his feet, Trace said, “You reckon they’d hide a key out here somewhere? We might be able to find it and unlock that door and walk right in.”

  “Or, you could let me pick the lock.”

  Trace and Cam whirled around, guns drawn, as John stepped out of the woods with his hands up.

  Penny stepped out of the woods behind him. “We trailed the man who kidnapped us right to this house. And we found out something mighty interesting in Ringo.”

  Cam holstered his gun, bulled past John, and hugged Penny. “Are you all right?”

  She froze.

  Cam wondered if he’d ever hugged her like this before, so freely. He was just plain relieved to see her alive and well, so that was probably it. Though it was possible that marriage was making him soft.

  Then she thawed and hugged him back hard. “It’s good to see you, brother.”

  “You too, Penny. I had plenty of time to imagine you coming to harm. Glad to see you made it through, too, McCall.” Cam took a moment to offer John his hand. “What’s this interesting thing you found out?”

  She patted him hard on the shoulder, then stepped away. “Florence and Edmond Chilton came through Ringo just a day ago, and they headed out to this mansion.”

  “It looks like the Chiltons got tired of waiting on you, McCall.”

  Trace snorted. “Or they had to run from the bill collectors and decided to run this direction.”

  “It’s all connected—it’s got to be.” John started pacing.

  “So there’s a mansion behind this wall?” Trace asked. “It stands to reason there is, but we can’t see anything behind it.”

  “That’s what we were told in town by Mr. Bolling at the boardinghouse. And he said they built the house first, then the wall, so he saw it. They had decent trails in, too, but once the house was up, they filled in the trails and blocked them to make it hard for anything but a rider to pass through.”

  “Mighty strange behavior,” Cam said. “Did you see the Chiltons in town?”

  “Nope. Bolling had their baggage in the hallway. He said they haven’t come back for it. They rode out to see the place. Bolling admits he was hassling them by sending them out, figured they wouldn’t see a thing but this big wall. But they never came back. They’ve either gotten themselves taken prisoner or been invited in for a visit.”

  “Unless they’re dead,” John added.

  “We’ve learned a lot more about the Chiltons since you two left,” Cam said. “They ran off, a step ahead of creditors in Philadelphia. And we found out that Delia and now Ronnie have a sizable inheritance they’d never gotten word of. It’s a sure thing that the Chiltons want Ronnie so they can get their hands on his money. Oh, and we took three men in to Sheriff Walters, then backtrailed them to this place. We’re just here from Dismal. Are the three men we caught hired by the Chiltons?”

  “Three men?” Penny’s eyes went sharp.

  “Yep, we reckoned these were the same three men who kidnapped you and the fourth man was behind this wall, but couldn’t quite figure what the Chiltons have to do with it.”

  “The fourth man”—John walked while he talked—“is named Payne. Luther Payne.”

  “Luth?” Cam exchanged a quick look with Trace. “The same name that was tattooed on Raddo’s arm?”

  “Be mighty unlikely if there were two Luths in this business,” John said. “Let’s fall back from this wall and compare notes. The one that I found most interesting is that Payne is known to only have three men working for him. If you took them out of the picture, he might be in there with only the Chiltons.”

  “What else do you know about this mess?”

  The four of them spent a few minutes learning the details each had found out. Trace led John and Penny’s horses off to hide them with the others. Then John pulled a small leather packet out of his satchel and extracted a small metal tool. “Let’s just see how tough Mr. Payne’s locks really are. Sometimes the big ones are the easiest.”

  John spent an hour muttering and fiddling with the lock before he gave up.

  CHAPTER

  27

  Penny was surprised how much she was hoping John could get that lock open. Not just because they needed to get in, but because she was proud of her husband’s dubious skills and wanted Cam and Trace to be impressed.

  She’d have to hope he impressed them later. Now wasn’t going to work.

  “You’re welcome to try climbing,” Trace said. “This is at least fifteen feet high. I gave up at about eight feet, and eight feet was my hands, reaching high overhead. I’d say whoever built it spent time checking for details like making sure it can’t be scaled. Even if I stood on my horse’s back I couldn’t reach it, ’cuz I considered trying that.”

  “There has to be a key hidden out here somewhere.” Cam began moving through the rock and scrub brush nearest the gate. “The men didn’t have one with them, and they have to come and go.”

  John folded his arms across his chest and began pacing. “I’d say it’s more likely there’s a way to signal someone to come and unlock this thing. I doubt Luth would trust anyone with a key. So somewhere there’s a cord to pull or a way to send a flare up, something like that, to alert those inside to come and let them in.”

  “Help me hunt.” Cam kept searching.

  “No, it’s a waste of time,” John said. “We’ve got to figure a way over it.”

  “I’ve already told you,” Trace snapped. “We’ve tried.”

  Penny got food out of her pack and passed it around. She could tell by their shortening tempers that the men were hungry. She was hungry, too. But she had more sense than to snarl at someone because her belly was aching for a meal.

  John chewed and paced as he studied the wall.

  Cam ate while he turned over small rocks.

  “We’ve been so busy trying to breach this fortress of Payne’s, we forgot about the tattoo.” Cam quoted the ink they’d read on Raddo. “‘Luth if I die Revenge Watchbook Tahoe Jewel Overlook.’”

  “The mansion could be Tahoe Jewel.” John walked a little slower. “A big old mansion could be considered a jewel. That could be what he meant by Tahoe Jewel . . . but overlook. The house overlooks Lake Tahoe.”

  Penny said, “Take the words separately. ‘Luth if I die Revenge’ makes sense. He’s saying he’s got a way to get revenge against Luther Payne. ‘Tahoe Jewel Overlook’ could be this house.”

  “That leaves watchbook.” Trace quit studying the wall and looked in the other directions. “What in the world can he mean by watchbook?”

  “Is it some reference to a book Raddo kept and hid around here?” Penny mused. Talking more to herself than the others. “Some evidence against Payne? It has to be that, but what evidence and where is it?”

  All of them thought in silence for a full minute.

  “Could be—” Penny hesitated, and they all looked at her.

  John even stood still. “Could be what?”

  “It could be”—Penny looked sheepish—“a rock shaped like a book hidden in a spot that overlooks the mansion? Tahoe Jewel Overlook. Watchbook . . . maybe he found a flat, book-shaped rock and used it to cover a hole he dug for his evidence?”

  They all stared at her until it was a little embarrassing. She began to regret speaking. Then they pivoted in three directions, ignoring the wall since there was nothing to see there.

  “Why would he call a book a watchbook?” Trace shrugged. “No one else has any suggestions.”

  Penny pointed to the west, up behind the wall. “Whatever it is, if it overlooks Payne’s Tahoe Jewel, figuring that means his house, it should be up the hill.”

  “And the ground has been cleared of trees all the way to the top of the hills. No real rocks or boulders in the open area.” Cam crossed his arms. “Payne was mighty careful to give no one cover close enough to fire a gun.”

  “So maybe there’s something in the tree line? Where it wouldn’t be noticeable?” Penny started up the hill.
“If Raddo wanted to hide blackmail material on Luther he might like the idea of his secret looking down on Payne’s fortress.”

  “He might indeed,” John said and started up.

  Cam and Trace came after them. Penny had to hustle to stay ahead. She almost said words like “I could be wrong” or “I’m only guessing.” But what did it matter? They’d either find a stone that made them think of a book, or they wouldn’t. And right now, no one else had any better ideas.

  And while they searched, maybe they’d find a catapult or some such device to get them over this blasted wall.

  “Mr. Payne, has our baggage arrived yet?” Florence’s irritated voice worked like a cheese grater on Luth’s ears.

  It occurred to him briefly that the selfish woman had morals similar to his own.

  With one big difference. Florence was lazy. Luth might’ve cheated and murdered his way to the top, but at least he was ambitious.

  The thought sent a chill of icy pleasure through his soul—where he should’ve been warm. Well, he figured himself bound for the devil, so he’d better enjoy the cold now. When he met the devil, he’d strike a bargain, and Old Scratch would make room for him to rule in hell.

  “My men had things to see to this morning, Mrs. Chilton.” The woman considered herself his better. Maybe she thought he was more servant than host.

  Let her enjoy that for as long as she could.

  “I’ll send them for your things as soon as they come back.”

  “Edmond and I would be glad to ride into town to get them. You’d have to lend us horses, of course, and let us out of that massive gate. Goodness, the West must be dangerous. Did you build that wall fearing Indian attacks?”

  “I prefer privacy, Mrs. Chilton. And I was sure once I built this house people would have a hard time not stopping in to visit. They might figure I’d welcome company. I don’t.”

  Florence sniffed. “People can be so presumptuous.”

  Luther almost ground his teeth to dust to stop himself from snarling that she hadn’t been invited. But he wanted that kid because he wanted all those who protected and championed the little boy, so he’d keep Florence around. For now.

  He never let anyone inside his fortress walls if he didn’t want them.

  The woman had missed that sly insult.

  He added stupid to the list of faults this woman possessed. Irritating, stupid, and rude. Not to mention greedy and ruthless—a willingness to kidnap a child couldn’t be anything but ruthless. That meant he and Florence had a lot in common.

  It was enough to make a man change his ways.

  CHAPTER

  28

  “Does this look like a book to you?” Trace stood looking down doubtfully at a rock.

  John thought it looked like a one-hundred-pound potato. A bigger problem than that was, it looked like pretty much every other rock they’d seen during their search.

  Which meant Trace was just plain grasping at straws . . . or John was getting hungry and things were starting to look like food.

  John rolled his eyes, but he did it before he drew Trace’s attention. “Not really.”

  Trace looked back at his discovery.

  Penny came up beside John.

  Trace shrugged one shoulder.

  John looked at the huge potato. “I’ve got no idea where a man like Raddo would get his idea about what a watchbook looks like. I mean, what is that really, anyway? Why would he pick that word to ink into his skin as a clue?”

  Cam came up to the rock and arched one eyebrow. Without commenting on its bookish shape, or the lack of such, he said, “A watchbook isn’t really a military term, but we posted a watch and we kept a book we called a duty roster. Could Raddo have something like that in mind?”

  “I’ll look around this wrinkled, rounded-off rock, see if anything’s buried under it.”

  John exchanged a look with Penny. “We haven’t found anything better, so why not?”

  Trace turned to his rock, looking glum. “Or maybe I’ll just mark it and keep looking. If we don’t find something better I’ll come back.”

  Penny found herself muttering, “Watchbook, watchbook. It has to mean something. But maybe it doesn’t. My idea about something being buried up here was nothing but a guess.”

  Then she shoved irritably at a scrub pine that scratched at her leg and saw a pointy rock. It gave her a whole new idea.

  “We could barely read that faded tattoo. What if it didn’t say watchbook? What if it said witchrock?”

  John, Cam, and Trace all turned to look at her, saw what she was pointing at, and moved closer.

  “A rock shaped like a witch’s hat,” John said. “That’s something that makes sense. Especially when you look at this pointy-topped stone right here.”

  The witchrock was a real different shape than the rest of the rocks. It was rounded on the bottom and turned narrow as it went up about two feet tall to the point of its hat. They were back in the woods about ten feet past the tree line, and looking at the rock, Penny said, “You can tell this is new growth close around it. Raddo found this and used it as a marker. I’ll bet we find something we can use to have Payne arrested under this rock.”

  John slung an arm around Penny’s shoulders and gave her a loud, smacking kiss on the cheek. “You’re gonna make a good detective. I need to get you to a town where there’s a Pinkerton office. We can work as a team.”

  She kept her face straight. She didn’t want him to even suspect how interesting she found that idea.

  “I wish I’d brought a shovel,” Cam muttered.

  John said, “I’ve got one.”

  Penny chuckled. “Of course you do.”

  “I’ll get it.” Trace headed for where he’d stashed the horses.

  “I’d better go with him. He’ll have to dig through everything to find it.” John headed out after Trace.

  For a second there was silence, then Penny turned to Cam and hugged him again. It was Cam’s turn to be startled, but she noticed he got over it quickly and hugged her back.

  Then he stepped back a pace, looking serious. “What are you going to do about being married, Penny? You know you’ve always got a home with me.”

  “John and I decided we’d give ourselves time to get to know each other. We wouldn’t run off from each other, but neither are we carrying on as if we’re married. It’s been interesting watching a Pinkerton work. But I’m not sure if it’s a sinful life. I feel like it is, but John with his sneaking and lying is trying to solve crimes. I’ve decided he’s a good man, but should he be doing such underhanded things for a good cause?”

  Penny looked at Cam, hoping he had the answers.

  Cam stood silently, but Penny was used to her brother thinking things through carefully before he spoke.

  Then he shook his head. “Is he breaking commandments?”

  “He sneaked into a business after hours, but he didn’t steal anything. Well, he took a record book, but the owner of the store was dead. We found his body. And he lies. We went by false names and told a pack of lies to find out where Luther lives. But the commandment is to not bear false witness against thy neighbor. That probably has to do with a court, lying to get a neighbor in trouble. We—we—” Penny paused, then threw her arms wide. “Do you hear me? Trying to justify what he does?”

  “You’re doing a fair job of justifying it. Do the police tell lies to solve cases? Do they tell lies to trick suspects into confessing?”

  “I don’t know. The only sheriffs I’ve ever dealt with drew a gun and marched people off to jail. I don’t know much about solving a tricky crime. Maybe that’s why there even is a Pinkerton Detective Agency.” Penny grinned. “Honest, Cam, it’s kind of exciting. We sneaked around. Hid from a deputy. We pretended to be young and wealthy, then—because John carries disguises in his bags—he dressed us up so he was an old man with crippled knees and I was his fat shrew of a wife.”

  “I’d kind of like to see you being a fat, old woman. I can picture yo
u acting like a shrew, though.”

  She punched him in the arm.

  “Hey.” Cam looked down at where the blow had landed. “You pulled your punch. Marriage must agree with you.”

  She made another fist, but Cam jumped back, and they both laughed.

  Then Cam took her into his arms again.

  “You’ve never been a hugger, Cam. Marriage must agree with you, too.”

  “Not sure it’s got anything to do with being married, but I suppose it might. Mostly, I’ve just been real worried about you. Kicking myself for letting you go haring off with a near stranger.”

  With a little jerk of one shoulder, she said, “A stranger I’m married to.”

  “That didn’t make me worry one bit less. I figured you could look out for yourself. Leastways, I sure hoped and prayed you could.”

  “So, what was the hug for?” Penny asked.

  “I’m just mighty happy to see you alive and well. You’re looking pretty happy, too. I reckon you and McCall can figure out a way to get along. I’d sure like to see you stay around here. I’ve been away from family too much in my life, and I’ve enjoyed having you close by.”

  “I’d like to stay close, too. And John is going to have to be worth it for me to give up on you and the little ones. I’m uncommon fond of them. And I was there with Maddie Sue a lot when she was real little. I can tell you stories about those years that you’ve never heard.”

  “I’d love to hear every word you’ve got to say.”

  The snap of a twig told them someone was coming. Cam’s hand went to his gun. Penny reached into the bag she always carried.

  “He really had a shovel.” Trace emerged from deeper in the woods. A man wise to the ways of the frontier, he warned them of his approach with the twig and by calling out.

  John followed him out from behind a tight clump of trees, carrying a small shovel. He went straight to the rock and started digging. Then he stopped and looked up at all three of them.

  “I just figured out how to get inside that wall, too.” He went back to digging with such energy that they didn’t have time to fire questions at him.