Gant looked thoughtful, then said, “What if this other guy is the one who stole Reggie’s story?”
“I’ve verified the other man’s story. It checks out. I thought Reggie’s did, too, but I’d like to have someone else look into him. I don’t know who I can trust anymore, and I’m now afraid to trust Reggie.”
“And you trust me?” Gant sounded incredulous, almost like he was mocking him.
“I don’t have a choice,” Hawk said. “And at least, knowing your character, you’ll do a thorough investigation of every person on your list before presenting me with any results. It’s not in your nature to give an incomplete report, and everything you give me will be examined carefully for its veracity before I see it.”
Gant shrugged. “Well, I can’t say that you don’t know me. And I do think you’re right to look into this Reggie fellow. I have half a mind to look into everyone on the railroad crew, especially anyone with any level of authority. You wouldn’t happen to have a list of them, do you?”
Hawk let out a long sigh. “All records were considered railroad property. If I kept any of them, it would be considered stealing from the railroad. But I’ll make a list for you of what I can remember.”
He had all the names written down in his journal, a practice he’d started back in his lawman days, writing down names and information about the people he came across because he didn’t want to trust his memory of them should that information later prove useful. He was sure that was one of the reasons Stiles wanted that journal because somewhere in there, he’d probably unwittingly written down one of the keys to this entire case.
However, the fewer people he told exactly what he had written down, the better. He’d show the relevant parts to Draven out of courtesy, but he didn’t want too many people having that information.
It was one more reason he suspected Reggie. Only two people on the entire crew knew about the journal—Reggie and Moses. Moses wouldn’t have told because Moses thought Stiles, with his prejudice against former slaves, was about as useless as a bonnet on a goat. Moses hadn’t even wanted to take the job because of Stiles’s attitude, but he also hadn’t wanted Hawk to go it alone.
The only reason Moses hadn’t quit at the indignity of watching Hawk pack up his tent was that Moses had promised to be Hawk’s eyes and ears in the railroad camp. But Hawk figured that sooner or later, Stiles would give him the boot as well.
“I’m riding out later today,” Gant said. “Get that list to me as soon as possible.”
At least, with Gant’s position, he could do a more thorough investigation on the backgrounds of these men. As a marshal, he had resources unavailable to Hawk and even Draven. And even though it hadn’t been on Hawk’s mind when he approached Gant for this favor, he now couldn’t stop thinking about the man who’d gotten away after Beth’s death. With all the resources at Gant’s disposal, why hadn’t he been willing to lift a finger to help Hawk?
After he and Gant parted ways, Hawk started back toward the boarding house. He’d left his things in the barn, not that Stiles had allowed him to take much, because even things like his bedroll, which he had brought himself to the job, Stiles claimed as railroad property. It seemed like too much effort to fight the man over something so simple and easily replaced.
At some point, Hawk would have to purchase more supplies, but he hated having to dig into his meager savings. As it was, he’d need to pay for his meals until he could find himself an honest way to make a living.
That was the part that hurt the most. He spent the past two years doing the right thing, living the right way, saving up to have enough money to find out more about the man he was seeking, and someone else’s wrong living had ruined it all. What was the point in doing everything right when it didn’t matter in the end?
Hawk kicked a rock on the ground. Gant could have helped him, but he’d chosen not to. And even now, on something completely unrelated, Gant had given him a hard time.
The funny thing was, the hurt he felt now wasn’t the same blinding anger that had been driving him all these years. Instead, it was this dull ache, a longing for closure.
Because as much as he tried to conjure up Beth’s face, he kept picturing Rosalind and the pain in her expression as she matter-of-factly told Draven that it was preposterous to think that Hawk could ever love her. Preposterous? No. It was more and more likely every day. But for him, loving someone was about honor, which was why he couldn’t give up on his quest for Beth. And he certainly couldn’t promise someone a lifetime, knowing his would be so short.
For now, Hawk, Draven, and Gant were all working on the same team. But once they solved this case, Hawk would be back out on his own, and they might very well be facing off each other again. And the only satisfaction Hawk would feel swinging from a noose with Gant watching was knowing that Hawk had loved Beth enough to die for her, and Gant had never loved at all.
As he walked back toward the boarding house, a rock sailed past him.
“Liar!”
Hawk spun, drawing his gun. Only someone with a death wish would throw a rock at one of the fastest guns in the west.
But when he saw the person who’d thrown it, he paused. Johnny Sawyer, just a boy of fourteen. His father, Sam, had been injured in one of the many sabotage incidents and was unable to work. Stiles had sent Sam and his family packing. They’d had no place to go, and from what Hawk had heard, they were relying on the charity of the good people of Noelle.
“I never lied to you, son.” He re-holstered his weapon, hoping it wasn’t a mistake. He’d heard of men brought down by boys, tricked into thinking they were harmless.
“Because of you, my dad can’t work. And my family is living in a tent on the edge of town, begging for people’s scraps.”
Because of him? “I didn’t hurt your father. I’ve been trying to find out who did, so no one else gets hurt.”
“Liar!” Tears ran down the boy’s eyes. “I heard Mr. Stiles talking about how you were behind it all, making it look like there was someone bad in the railroad camp so you could get Rosalind Creary to marry you.”
Rosalind came and stood beside him. “Mr. Stiles is the liar,” she said, taking Hawk’s arm. “Someone killed my father, and there’s no way it could have been Hawk. He was on the other side of the camp when it happened. I saw the direction he came from when the explosion happened. There’s no way he could have been at the bridge and doubled back in time. I’m sure if you looked at what happened to your father and Hawk’s location at the time, you’d see clearly that he wasn’t involved.”
The way she looked up at him, with such trust and admiration, he wished he could be that man. Yes, he’d been honorable in those situations, but he still had murder in his heart, and every intention of committing it when the time came.
Hawk took a step toward Johnny. “If I recall correctly, your father was injured when a pin came out of the mechanism for the drill he was using. Now, the only reason I know that is because one of the engineers came and told me about it. I don’t know the first thing about those drills or how they work. I wouldn’t have known to take out a pin or even which pin to remove. I know it’s just my word here, but let me ask you. Why would I want to hurt a man who’s been nothing but good to me?”
Looking down at Rosalind, Hawk continued, “And what kind of woman would be impressed by that? Miss Creary would never want any family to suffer as hers has, and I can’t imagine a man thinking that hurting someone would be an effective means of courting.”
“Maybe you didn’t mean for my dad to get hurt,” Johnny said, wiping tears from his face. “Maybe you thought it would be just an accident that messed things up but didn’t injure anyone. Like with the bridge.”
Unfortunately, Hawk did know enough to know how to damage the bridge. And whoever did it had extensive knowledge that only a few men on the crew would have had. But so far, all of them had checked out.
All but Reggie.
He’d discounted Reggie as a potential su
spect, and he shouldn’t have. But at least now, he was rectifying that mistake. He just wished he’d have realized it sooner, and maybe good folk like Sam Sawyer wouldn’t have suffered for it.
“Miss Creary just told you I couldn’t have done it,” Hawk said. “And I know right now, you’re not inclined to believe either one of us.”
He mentally tallied the amount of money he had. At this point, it would be years before he’d make up what he would’ve gotten with the railroad bonus. What difference would a few months’ salary be?
“I know it’s not railroad wages,” he continued. “But there have been a lot of delays on the Creary boarding house construction because of people’s prejudices against them. It’s going to be cold soon, and the tent won’t protect your family in the weather. I’ll pay you to help me finish building the boarding house, and then you can stay on as the handyman until your father is well enough to work.”
“We don’t have money for that,” Rosalind said, tugging at his arm. “We’ve sold all the books Mother is willing to part with.”
He patted her hand. “I’ll be using my money. I didn’t cause the accident that hurt Sam Sawyer. But he was one of my men, a good man, and I failed to protect him by finding the saboteur in time. For that, I’m sorry.”
A woman had joined Johnny and put her arm around him. Sam’s wife, Hawk assumed. And when she nodded, his guess was proven correct.
“Thank you,” she said. “Sam has always spoken highly of you. I didn’t want to believe Mr. Stiles when he said those things about you in Cobb’s Penn, and I’m sorry my son is acting this way. It’s been hard, living as we have, especially because we’ve never had to beg for things the way we are now.”
Her wounded pride hit him hard in the gut. It wasn’t just that Sam had been hurt because Hawk hadn’t been able to find out who was behind the sabotage, but he’d been so wrapped up in everything else that he hadn’t given thought to what might have happened to him or his family.
“I’m very sorry, ma’am. I’m ashamed that the family of one of my men is having to beg for food.” He pulled a coin out of his pocket. “This should be enough to get something for you all to eat. I’ll be by shortly to help you move to the boarding house. It’s not done yet, but at least it will be a roof over your heads until Sam is well again.”
Mrs. Sawyer stared at the coin. “It’s too much.”
“Take it. Your family needs it more than I do.”
She nodded slowly, then led Johnny back toward Cobb’s Penn. Hawk hoped they would get what they needed.
“Let’s go see what we need to do to make the boarding house habitable,” Hawk said, tugging at Rosalind’s arm.
Rosalind didn’t move.
At the incredulous look she gave him, he took a deep breath. “I’m sorry, that was high-handed of me to offer your boarding house when you haven’t even been able to move in yourself. You can show me which rooms to give them, and I’ll cover the cost. And like I said, I’ll cover the cost of Johnny’s wages.”
“You did the right thing,” she said quietly. “I’m just wondering where you’ll get the money to take care of all this.”
He didn’t want to tell her all the details of his previous plan for the money, so he simply said, “I’ve been saving up for a while. My plans can wait. It doesn’t seem fair to let all this money sit around when folks can starve or freeze to death.”
She gave his arm a squeeze. “I know people say you’re cold, but you’re one of the most loving human beings I’ve ever met.”
Praise he wasn’t worthy of. He looked down at her. “Don’t go putting me on a pedestal. I’m human, just the same as anyone else. I make my mistakes, and there’s sin coursing through my blood that would make most people cringe.”
“Your sin only defines you if you let it,” Rosalind said. “Let’s go see what we can do for that family. Is there anyone else Stiles has let go because of these incidents?”
Sam had been the only one injured, and even though Hawk had tried firing some of the more incompetent workers who were getting away with all kinds of idiocy under Brian’s watch, no one else had been let go.
“No, but we’ll see what happens now that I’m off the job. Sometimes the fear of my wrath was the only thing motivating some of those men. I’m not sure what will happen now.”
They continued on to the boarding house, and it wasn’t until they were nearly there that Hawk realized Rosalind still had hold of his arm. True, it was the proper way to escort a lady through town, but something about the intimacy of it gave him pause. He’d always been uncomfortably aware of Rosalind, and yet now, her touch seemed natural. She fit with him in an unexpected way.
When they arrived at their destination, Hawk stared at the building. The biggest reason the place was uninhabitable was the gaping holes where the windows should be. Windows that should have been installed today.
“What are you going to do about the windows?” he asked.
She shrugged. “We’ve ordered replacements, but without the railroad, it will be weeks before they can get here. Too much backlog for the freight company and they have to take extra care not to break the glass. As it is, we ordered the windows when construction began over a month ago. With winter weather coming, we may not see them until spring.”
Which meant that they might not be able to open until then, either. How could anyone think Rosalind’s family had any motivation at all for delaying the railroad?
Then she let out a long sigh. “Mother was really hoping to be able to have Thanksgiving here. It’s her favorite holiday, and I know it would boost her spirits to be here to celebrate. At this point, we’ve got to give her something to look forward to. With my father’s death, it seems she’s lost most of her will to live.”
He was never a man to make promises he couldn’t keep, especially to a woman, but if there were anything he could say about it, the Creary family would have Thanksgiving in their boarding house.
“I’ll see what I can do to make it happen,” he said, giving her the closest to a promise he was willing to give. “Show me what else needs to be done, so we can figure out what to prioritize.”
As she led him through the boarding house, he made a note of all the things that still needed to be done. Part of the problem with the building was that they’d hire workers, but then they’d quit once the attacks against the family got to be too much to bear. Hawk wasn’t going to rely on workers. He’d do the work himself, and have Johnny help with the things he was capable of. A boy like that needed to be in school, but Sam had told him the boy would rather work than study.
She showed him a room in the front. “This is going to be Mother’s room. I don’t know what we’re going to do here. My father promised her a stained-glass window, but I haven’t been able to find a way to get one here. I don’t even know where we’d find the money for such an expense, but I thought I’d mention it in case you run across someone who can help.”
He had no idea about such things, but Rosalind was right. You never knew when you’d find someone who could give you exactly what you needed.
Like Rosalind.
As she chattered about the different rooms and their plans for them, he realized that he hadn’t had the urge to have a drink in months. Even under all the stress of the bridge destruction, Joe’s death, and now the unfounded accusations against him, he hadn’t once thought about going to the saloon to seek his escape. Instead, he always came back to Rosalind, fool that he was.
But, he supposed, leading himself to certain heartbreak was better for him than the bottle.
She paused at a room in the back of the house. “I was thinking my sisters and I would stay here because it’s large enough for the three of us, but we can make one of the smaller ones work, which would leave this for the Sawyer family.”
Of course, she would give up the better room for someone in need.
How could he not care about her?
And how could he keep her from caring about him? The only
difference between these emotions and the drink was that at least when he focused on the bottle, the only person he was hurting was himself. Every time he turned to Rosalind, he risked breaking her heart as well as his own.
Somehow, he’d find a way to bury himself in work and stay as far away as possible.
Which would be next to impossible given that he’d be staying in her boarding house.
12
After Rosalind finished showing Hawk the boarding house, they returned to the Assayer’s office, where Charlie and Hugh were talking about possible suspects.
“But what I don’t understand is what benefit it is to Stiles to delay the railroad,” Charlie said. “He stands to lose as much as we do. Why the cover-up?”
“Then maybe that’s what we need to find out,” Hugh said. “Minnie’s father, Arthur Coveney, owns Coveney coal, which does a lot of business with the railroad. I’ll ask him to quietly look into Stiles and his dealings, as well as any reason Stiles might have for wanting to hurt the railroad.”
Then Hawk looked over at Charlie. “I know this is all a lot to take in. I’m meeting with Draven tomorrow to go over my notes as well as the evidence I have. I’d be happy to include you in the meeting. I have nothing to hide, though I will admit I am afraid to show my hand to too many people given that I believe a close friend has already betrayed me. Gant is investigating that angle.”
Charlie nodded slowly. “I would appreciate that. I know it seems like I'm overbearing, but you have to understand, Noelle needs this railroad. And though many of our residents are not fond of Mr. Stiles or his wife, they represent the railroad and the railroad’s interests. The last thing I want to do is displease them in such a way that they would decide not to have the railroad come to Noelle after all.”
Rosalind: A Thanksgiving Day Bride (Brides of Noelle Book 8) Page 14