“I’ve not kissed a man as many times as I’ve kissed you. I suppose you’ve kissed lots of girls lots of times.” Her words broke into his thoughts. Her voice shook with uncertainty.
“I’ve kissed a few. But I’ve never wanted to do it as much as I want to do it now.” He laughed in relief. She lay relaxed against him. Her soft breasts were against his chest. He wanted more than anything to caress them, strip away her blouse, and let the rough hair on his chest arouse her nipples to rock-hardness. Fighting down his desire for her, he stroked her hair. Her breathing was quiet, and he wondered if she had drifted off to sleep. He closed his own eyes, but they wouldn’t stay closed. He wanted to be aware of every moment he held her. He wanted to fill his mind with an indelible memory of her.
Footsteps sounded on the wooden floor outside the door. She stirred. Her lips brushed against his ear. “I should go.”
Quickly she sat up, smoothed her hair down, and pulled up the neck of the blouse.
“Embarrassed?” His eyes teased her.
“I don’t want Jorge and Yelena to think I’m taking advantage of you.”
“They might think I’m taking advantage of you,” he said, chuckling.
Tate pulled her back down to him and held her chin firmly. She felt a flutter of excitement rush through her as he brought his face close to hers. Again, their lips touched. Their kiss began firmly, but then softened as their passion rose. She moaned as his lips began to roam to her chin, her cheek, and her neck. Her breath came in fits, and she found it hard to move.
When her arms slid around his neck, a low groaning sound came from his throat. Kate felt a sweet singing in her blood as she lifted her head and looked down at him. He was looking at her with such a yearning that, for a moment, she was speechless. When she finally spoke, it was low and breathless.
“You do strange things to me.”
“I’ve never met another woman who could make me feel like I do when I’m with you,” he murmured. “You’re so beautiful.”
Tears came to her eyes. They weren’t tears of sadness, far from it; she was overwhelmed with joy. Tate was surprised to see the shimmer of tears in her eyes.
“Why are you crying?”
“I’m not,” she lied.
“Yes, you are,” he said firmly. “You didn’t cry when I took you from the cabin, and you didn’t cry when you shot Hayden or the longhorn. Why are you crying now?”
“I … am not … crying.” A sob racked her body.
“Look at me.” With one hand, Tate turned her face toward him. Through wet eyes, she could see the concerned look on his face. “I’ll never hurt you. Don’t you know that?”
“It’s too late. You already have,” she answered as another large tear ran down her cheek. “Ever since you came for me, everything that you’ve done has made me care for you, but it’s not enough. Soon you’ll make me leave.”
“Why do you say that? I won’t make you leave. Sweetheart, a few more days here on the ranch, and you won’t be able to get out of here fast enough.”
“How can you say that? How do you know how I’ll feel?” A flare of anger rose in Kate. She started for the doorway, but before she could reach it, Tate called out.
“I don’t want you to jump into something you’ll be sorry for later.”
Scarcely pausing to answer, Kate said, “I think we’ve both said enough for tonight. If you need me for anything, call out.” She left the room.
For a long while, Tate stared at the closed door, fearing he’d ruined his chance with her.
His concerns were real: Her life in the city was too different from life in Muddy Creek. Conflict raged within him. After Hazel had left, he convinced himself that he would never marry again. Meeting Kate had changed all that. He wanted her to stay. What they had could be wonderful.
“Let’s go back to town.”
Squirrelly stood in the doorway, oblivious to the beautiful scenery spread out in front of him. The sun had begun to rise in the east, and the tops of all the trees were bathed in the early morning light. “I’m gettin’ so sick of this place. Hayden’s probably killed her anyhow. If he hasn’t, it ain’t any skin off our nose. If someone’s pissed about it, we’ll just blame the whole damn mess on him.”
Eddy got up from the table, where he had been looking at a map. “Stop complaining,” he barked. “You don’t have anyone to blame for your boredom but yourself. If you hadn’t gotten as randy as a goat and pulled your pants down around your knees, things would be different now. You had your mind on one thing. That’s why we lost her.”
“She’ll pay for that,” Squirrelly groused, choosing to ignore the blame that Eddy was placing on his shoulders. “The damn high-and-mighty bitch.”
Eddy grunted with disgust. “Don’t talk about Kate like that.”
“I don’t wanna be here any longer!” Squirrelly strode across the room and snatched the empty booze bottle off the floor next to his bunk. “Damn! If the old man’s got the money, then I’m gonna get my share no matter what Hay-den does to that bitch. I got enough in my pocket for a train ticket out of here. I’m going home to get my money from Jacobs.”
“You’re welcome to go anytime.”
“I want to go now!” Squirrelly shouted, and tossed the empty bottle into the corner of the room. It exploded in a shower of glass. “Take me to town!”
“All right, goddamn it! I’m sick of your whining and bitching. Get your stuff together, and I’ll take you. Don’t think you’re going to fill your father’s shoes with that attitude.”
“You think I can’t do it?” Squirrelly said confrontation-ally “You think I can’t deal with men like William Jacobs? Hell, guys like him will be working for me before long!”
Eddy ignored the boasting and headed for the door. The sooner he was rid of the whiner, the better. “Come on. I’ll drop you off at the station in Muddy Creek.”
Not much was said between them on the drive to town. As they approached the depot, Squirrelly turned in his seat and said, “You better hope that split tail don’t make it back here. Her old man’ll be on us like stink on shit. My father will protect me, but ain’t nobody gonna look after you. Your uncle sure as shit won’t do nothin’.”
“What happens to me isn’t any of your business. But I’ll tell you one thing: If Hayden’s done anything to Kate, there’s nowhere he’ll be able to hide. He’ll pay with his life.” The only response he got out of Squirrelly was a laughing fit.
They drove slowly into town. Eddy glanced at his watch: a quarter after one. Muddy Creek was active in the early afternoon. Men and women walked along the boardwalks and moved in and out of the shops. He hated to be visible as a stranger in town, but if it meant getting rid of Squirrelly, he’d take the chance. Eddy stopped the car beside the depot.
“I’ll see if there’s another wire. Stay here.”
“I’m not sittin’ in the car,” Squirrelly growled. He got out of the vehicle, slammed the door with a bang, and followed Eddy into the depot.
“Keep your mouth shut,” Eddy warned as he walked up to the counter. The same agent who had been there on each of their previous visits looked up from his newspaper as they approached. “Hello, again,” Eddy said.
“You fellas still here?”
“Just for a few more days.” Eddy smiled easily. “Anything for me?”
The agent placed a yellow envelope on the counter. “It’s a good time for you two to come to town, what with all the excitement we’ve had around here today.”
“What kinda excitement?” Squirrelly asked, his ears perking up.
“Haven’t you heard about the woman that was kidnapped from the train?”
“You don’t say?” Squirrelly said. “Now, what kinda dirty, low-down skunk would do a thing like that?” Before he could continue, one of Eddy’s elbows found his rib cage and silenced him.
“Has she been found?” Eddy asked the agent.
The agent grinned. “Yep. Tate Castle, a fella that sometimes wo
rks with the Texas Rangers, found her and brought her back to town last night. From what I heard,” the agent whispered as if he were telling a secret of the utmost importance, “they went out to his ranch this morning. Couple of people in here earlier said they saw the doctor’s car headed that way.”
“I’m glad she was found.” Eddy picked up the envelope from the counter and started for the door. When he realized Squirrelly was lingering behind, he called over his shoulder, “Better come on. We’re late enough as it is.”
“Late for what?” Squirrelly asked as he followed Eddy to the car. Once they were both inside, Squirrelly reached for the telegram. Eddy jerked it out of his reach and opened it. He scanned the message before handing it to Squirrelly.
THINGS COMPLETE ON THIS END. STOP. DO WHAT YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO DO. STOP.
“Hot dog!” Squirrelly whooped. “The old man paid up! We’re rich!”
“Hush your mouth, you stupid fool,” Eddy hissed. “Do you want everyone in town to hear you?” He glanced up and down the street, looking for anyone within earshot. An old woman was making her way down the boardwalk toward them but gave no sign that she’d heard anything.
“You know what we gotta do now, don’t you?” Squirrelly said.
“What are you talking about?”
“We gotta get rid of the girl.” The look in Squirrelly’s eyes was disturbing. Even voicing the thought of killing Kate had excited him. “We know where she is. I bet that Castle fella is the one that knocked me out! All we gotta do is find out where his ranch is and we’ll get ’em both!”
Eddy folded the telegram and put it in his pocket. For a moment, he seriously considered just driving out of town, shooting Squirrelly, and dumping the body. The thought surprised him; killing was completely abhorrent to him. He’d never thought about killing anyone, even a low-down, worthless piece of trash like Squirrelly. Would he even be able to do it? He supposed that he could if either his or Kate’s life were threatened, but to kill someone in cold blood was an entirely different matter.
A crowd of thoughts raced through Squirrelly’s mind. Any plans now of getting on the train were forgotten. The girl was still alive! If she were to testify against him, he’d be sure to get the chair or, at minimum, life in prison. He couldn’t leave until she was taken care of. Hell, he just might have to get rid of Hayden and Jacobs too. That son of a bitch Hayden, supposed to be so tough, but he hadn’t even managed to find one girl, let alone get rid of her!
Well… I’ll show them what it means to be tough!
Chapter 27
JOHN AWOKE FROM A FITFUL SLEEP. The turmoil filling his mind had allowed him to sleep for only a few hours. He’d spent the entire night thinking about Kate and how he was going to settle matters with William Jacobs. God! It was a relief to know that she was all right. He hoped he would never have to go through an experience like that one again!
He’d had a long talk on the telephone with Lyle Holm-gaard in Waco. His friend had assured him that Tate Castle, the man who found Kate, was honorable and that Kate would be perfectly safe with him. Lyle also said one of the men involved in taking Kate from the train had been killed, but he didn’t know any of the particulars. Further, there had been no sign of Edwin and Squirrelly John gave descriptions of the two, and Lyle said he would send a couple of agents to Muddy Creek.
Later that morning, he had a meeting with Detective Michael O’Malley, a man who had been of considerable help to him in the past. John was anxious to have his confrontation with William over. He wasn’t sure how he was going to proceed, but one thing was certain: He would make sure William Jacobs got what was coming to him.
Neither Lila nor Susan was up when John went down for his breakfast. They were still resting from yet another party they attended the night before. There was a smile on Malcolm’s face when he greeted him in the dining room.
“Morning, sir. I’m so happy Miss Katherine will be coming home.”
“So am I, Malcolm.”
“Do you know when she will be returning, sir? We thought it would be nice to have a homecoming celebration. Cook will make her favorite dinner.”
“Good idea. She will be pleased,” John said. “Have you seen Mrs. Tyler this morning?”
“No, sir.”
“After breakfast, I’ll be leaving. You can tell Mrs. Tyler I’ll be going out of town and won’t be back until noon tomorrow. Will you have Jamison bring the car around?”
“Certainly, sir.”
John hurried through his breakfast and was soon headed through the early morning traffic toward Tony’s restaurant, where he would be meeting the detective. He hadn’t wanted to talk to his wife this morning. He didn’t want Lila to know anything about what had happened until it was over. He had cautioned Malcolm not to tell her.
Shortly after John had been seated in the restaurant, Detective Michael O’Malley came through the door, cautiously looked around, then walked over and took a seat at the table where John was sitting. Placing his hat on the empty seat next to him, he said, “This is a good place for us to talk. Not many customers here this time of the morning.”
O’Malley was a short, brawny man with a head of thick brown hair, a squat neck, and broad shoulders. His suit coat was wrinkled, and there were a couple of spots on his tie. He was much younger than John, though there were already deep lines in his face and sprinkles of gray in his hair. Despite his appearance, O’Malley was considered a meticulous police officer.
“Thank you for coming down so early, Mike.”
“What’s on your mind?”
“It’s a long story.” John waited until after the waiter had filled their coffee cups and walked away before he continued. “My daughter was kidnapped.”
Mike nodded and lifted his coffee cup, his sharp brown eyes on John’s face. He listened intently for the next ten minutes while John spoke in detail about the events of the past week. “I can’t tell you, Mike, how disappointed I was when Kate told me that my partner, William Jacobs, planned this whole thing in order to get money from me. I need help in finding out the truth. I am determined to see that those responsible are punished for what they’ve done.”
“You gave Jacobs the hundred thousand dollars to deliver?”
“I did. He insisted he should be the one to deliver it. He said it would be too dangerous for me. I was supposed to stay home and wait for a phone call from the kidnappers, but the call never came.”
“Clever.”
“Not as clever as he thinks. I had the bank mark the bills. It’s a new process they have. It takes an X-ray machine to detect the markings.”
“If we’re going to convict him, we’ll have to get some of those bills. Do you have any idea where he might have hidden the cash?”
“I’ve been thinking about this ever since Kate told me William was involved. He’d want the money to be secure. He has a safe in his office, but I doubt that he would be foolish enough to hide it there. The next place would be his apartment.”
“Where does he live?”
“The Asbury House on Park Avenue.”
Mike took a notebook out of his jacket pocket and wrote down the address. “I’ll take this to a judge to get a search warrant. Do you know what his schedule is? I’ll want him to be home when we get there.”
“He’s involved in a lot of social activities and is usually gone most evenings. He should be back before midnight.”
“Sounds good.”
“I want to be there, O’Malley”
The detective nodded his head. “I can understand how you feel, John. Where can I get in touch with you?”
“Call here and leave a message with Tony. He’ll get it to me.”
The detective placed his hat back on his head, got up, and went to the door without a backward glance. John sat at the table for a few minutes more, then slipped a bill under his coffee cup and walked out the door. He melted into the heavy sidewalk traffic.
John Tyler sat in the car in front of William Jacobs’ apartm
ent house next to a uniformed police officer. It was eleven-thirty in the evening. Detective O’Malley had gone in to talk to the doorman. When he returned, he climbed into the backseat of the car. “Jacobs is in his apartment. The doorman said that he and a lady went up about an hour and a half ago. That doesn’t make any difference, John. The wheels are in motion. Are you ready?”
“As ready as I’ll ever be.”
They got out of the car and stood on the sidewalk.
“Let’s get up there in case he decides to leave.” O’Malley went through the front door. He paused and spoke briefly with the doorman. “Don’t let anyone go up to the apartment until we come down.”
The doorman nodded as he crammed the bill John handed him into his pocket. John, O’Malley, and the policeman stepped into the elevator. On the ride up to William’s floor, John tried to tamp down his rage. He had to stay calm and control his anger. Manipulating him through the kidnapping of his daughter had been easy for William. The bastard had played him for a fool. He had laughed up his sleeve when the ransom was handed over, John thought bitterly. The man had placed his daughter’s life in jeopardy! If it took him the rest of his life, he would see that William Jacobs paid for what he had done.
Getting off on the twelfth floor, the three men walked down the hall to William’s door. They heard music coming from inside. The detective motioned John forward and then rang the bell.
A moment later William opened the door. At the sight of his partner, his mouth dropped. “John!” he exclaimed. “Has something happened? Have you heard from Kate?” William looked beyond John to see the detective and the uniformed policeman standing in the hall.
“I’ve heard from her,” John said dryly as he pushed open the door, forcing William to step back. The other two men crowded in behind John and closed the door.
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