by Dallis Adams
“Celeste,” Jack said in greeting, as he walked to the cell and reached through the bars to grasp Uma by the hand. He gave it a squeeze, then glanced at Uma’s step grandmother again. “Nice to see you. Have you been out of town?”
Uma squeezed his fingers in return, the tightness that seemed to be always there in her throat easing at his touch.
“Yes. And I have a confession to make.” Celeste took a deep breath. “I shot Doc Elroy.”
“If that is the reason you left town, you shouldn’t have. Because you missed your target,” he teased in an obvious attempt to ease the older woman.
“I know that,” Celeste responded in a pert tone. She grimaced. “Now, at least. Are you going to lock me up for my temporary bout of insanity?”
“No.”
Celeste’s forehead wrinkled in obvious confusion. “Then why did you lock up Uma?”
“I didn’t. Marshal Spivey did.”
“Why?”
“Because, as you and everybody else knows, I opened my big mouth without thinking and threatened to choke Doc Elroy with his own medicines.”
“As if you would announce what you were going to do and then do it.” Celeste gave an unladylike snort. “What an imbecile the Marshal is. And like I told you, I heard your little outburst and thought nothing of it. Like you would actually announce your intention to murder Doc Elroy like that. But that’s not evidence that you actually did it. Although somebody thought it was a good opportunity to make your threat come to fruition. Too bad Marshal Spivey is stupid enough to fall for the distraction.”
Jack played with the dent in his chin. With his other hand he played with Uma’s fingers. All the while, he gazed at Celeste. “So. You must have shot Doc after Uma left.”
“Yes. I saw Uma leave the vardo. But I was too intent on punishing Doc Elroy and so I didn’t call out to her. Besides, I didn’t want Uma near the vardo when I did the deed.”
Jack gave Uma’s hand another squeeze after kissing the back of it. Then he let go and wandered toward his desk. He propped his rear against the surface and crossed his arms against his chest. “I know why you shot him. George.”
Celeste sighed and nodded as she stared down at her gloved hands.
Jack ran his fingers over the top of his thick, straw-colored hair. “I’m sorry, Celeste. I should have realized that you blamed him, and that George’s death could have been perpetrated by Doc’s ministrations. Looking back, I should have never pursued his friendship. Then maybe none of this would have happened. He wouldn’t have gotten the job with Cojocaru’s if I hadn’t recommended him to Spiridon, which was the reason he came to Cryptic Cove.”
Celeste smoothed down the edge of one sleeve, and then looked at Jack. “Doc Elroy was smooth talking and very, very likable. But he had a rotten core beneath all that veneer.”
Uma wasn’t sure about that anymore. She had been returning to Doc to accept his apology. Because she’d felt as if he’d repented. And she still believed that. But his change of heart, and whether or not he’d repented was a moot point.
Jack paced in front of her cell. “Let me get this straight. When did you visit Doc?”
“I-I’m not sure. It was before four o’clock, I think. I saw Uma walking away from Doc Elroy’s caravan, but I was too intent on my mission to shoot Doc to call out to her.” She turned to look at Uma. “I didn’t want you anywhere near the vardo when I did the deed. So I watched you walk into the woods until I couldn’t see you anymore and then shot him.”
“Why didn’t anybody hear the shot?” Uma asked from where she sat in her cell. “Doc’s vardo was set about a hundred yards past Caravan Row, but somebody should have heard it.”
Celeste shook her head. “I don’t know.”
Jack rubbed his jaw, his expression considering. “Maybe Caravan Row folks thought it was Rosia, shooting off her gun because of another fight with Orlando. Zada falsely confessed to shooting Doc because she feared her mother or father had done the deed. I’m hoping that seven-year-old Zada’s rash confession will open up her parents’ eyes and they’ll cease their dramatics.” He shook his head. “But that’s another story. Celeste, what did you do after you shot him?” Jack asked.
“I saw the blood blossom on Doc’s shirt, the shock on his face. I was in shock myself over what I’d done. I think I dropped the derringer.”
“You did,” Jack answered her. “Zada Cruz found it.”
“Oh, my. I should be locked up for endangering children by dropping my weapon.”
Jack pulled open his drawer. “We’ll let it pass this time. Doc Elroy stirred up a lot of emotions.” He held out her derringer. “Here.”
But Celeste shook her head. “Keep it. At least for now. That thing has caused enough trouble for me.”
Jack shrugged and shut the drawer. “Tell me what happened after you dropped the gun.”
Celeste played with the lacy trim on her parasol. “I ran back home through the woods, avoiding everybody. I was a mess, disheveled and shaking and pretty much out of my mind. Chuck was there.”
Chuck. Uma’s step-uncle and Celeste’s son. An irritating man that Uma despised. She forced herself to shake off her ire and continued listening to Celeste’s recounting.
“He persuaded me to tell him what was wrong,” Celeste said. “That was when he convinced me to visit our townhouse in San Francisco. He said he would take care of everything. I was so distraught that I let him handle the situation.”
“So,” Jack replied, rubbing the dent in his chin. “It sounds as if Chuck might have visited Doc Elroy, too. I’ll need to visit with him. Find out what he said and what he saw.” Jack studied Celeste. “Do you think he forced the medicines down Doc’s throat?”
Uma had been wondering the same thing. She was glad it was Jack and not her who had asked the question.
Celeste anchored the pointy end at the top of her closed parasol to twirl it as she watched it absently. “If I had succeeded in killing Doc Elroy, or wounded him so badly that he was about to die at my hands, Chuck might have tried to cover up the cause of death by forcing medicine down his throat. But I didn’t … kill the doc. He wasn’t mortally wounded. So I think Chuck would more likely talk to Doc Elroy. Reason with him to not press charges against me. Even bribe him.”
Jack rubbed his chin and then nodded. “I’ll still need to talk to him.”
“He’s in San Francisco, closing a business deal with Cahill Construction Company,” Celeste told him. “He’ll be home this afternoon.”
Just then, Spivey bolted into the office, waving a telegram in the air. “Hallelujah! Rishley and Tye Bloom have just robbed Evenlight Express.”
Uma cocked her head to study the strange lawman. “And why does a train robbery make you happy?”
The Marshal reached for his saddle bags that were between the wall and his desk, and opened one flap to start packing his belongings. “Because I finally get to leave this nightmare of a town.”
Jack smirked at the Marshal. “Yeah, we’ll all be disappointed to see you go.”
Marshal Spivey stopped in his gathering and gave Jack a sour look. “Don’t lie.”
Jack shrugged, giving the Marshal an innocent look. “I’m not lying. You were great entertainment for the folks of Cryptic Cove. The perfect dupe.”
A flush rose to his narrow face. “Oh, shut your mouth. Never mind. Keep flapping your lips because I’ll soon be out of here.” He reached for his tin cup and packed it in one of his pouches.
Uma noticed the ring of keys for the jail cells was still hooked to his belt. Knowing the Marshal, he would probably try to leave with them, just to spite her, Jack and the town of Cryptic Cove. She frowned and opened her mouth to ask about them. But her question was interrupted when Orchilo and Lala walked into the office. Between them stood a man Uma recognized as Cojocaru’s Fire Eater, Marco Dragavei. He was a comely fellow that Uma guessed was in his early twenties, with dark hair and eyes. But not as devastatingly handsome as Jack, in Uma’s
opinion.
Orchilo gave him a nudge. “Tell them, Marco.”
Marco stepped forward and cleared his throat. “On the day Doc Elroy was murdered, I saw Uma walking in the woods about two miles east of Doc Elroy’s caravan. It was dusk, around five o’clock according to my pocket watch, the time Doc was poisoned. She was talking to herself about whether or not to forgive Doc Elroy for giving the wrong medical treatment to a girl named Tiffany.”
Mortified, Uma could only glare at the Fire Eater. She couldn’t believe she’d had a witness during her soul-searching among the Redwoods. “I was not talking to myself.”
Marco grinned. “I know. But I thought that sounded better than saying you were talking to the trees.”
Her humiliation climbed up to the roots of her hair, making her scalp itch. “Good grief. I was not talking to the trees, or to myself.”
Raising his dark brows, Marco threw up his hands. “Then who were you talking to?”
“Isn’t that beside the point?” Jack said, interrupting. He studied Marco. “Why didn’t you come forward earlier?”
“Because I’ve been gone, hunting. I didn’t hear what happened — that Uma had been arrested — until I came home this morning.”
“And why didn’t I see or hear you when you saw me?” Uma demanded, still smarting over her embarrassment.
“Because I’m a good hunter. I can blend in with the plants. I can walk like a wolf.”
A wolf? He seemed a little too confident to her. Cocky. “You spied on me, instead of coming forward and announcing yourself?”
“Yes. I didn’t want to interrupt you.” Marco leaned against the Marshal’s desk, which caused it to scoot. Even though Spivey scowled, Marco ignored the lawman and continued talking. Uma had hoped he would hush. But apparently, he wasn’t going to abide any of her silent wishes. “You were in a deep discussion with the Redwood sentinels, don’t forget. Are you a Dryad? And you were asking deep questions. Besides I was stalking that buck you seemed to be communicating with. Or are you a Lingvist Zoo?”
“A what?” Uma looked at Marco, confused.
“Or maybe you’re a mixture of both.”
Orchilo tapped her lower lip. “I always wondered if there was something special going on inside Uma.”
“Despite this fascinating conversation, I think we need to abandon it for now,” Jack said. He turned toward the Marshal. “You heard. Uma has an alibi. Unlock her cell.”
“Fine. Whatever. Just stop this crazy talk of talking to trees and animals. At least stop it until I get out of here.” Begrudgingly, Spivey withdrew the ring of keys. He walked over to her jail cell, inserted the key in the lock and turned it, his movements jerky, his mouth pressed into a grim line. He swung the door opened and then rushed over to his saddle bags.
Before Spivey could take a step toward the door, Jack blocked his way. “I think you owe Uma an apology.”
Spivey puffed out his chest. “I don’t owe her anything.”
“You do if you want to keep your job,” Celeste said in a soft tone underlined with steel.
Face reddening, the Marshal glared at Celeste before slowly turning toward Uma. “I’m sorry. But you need to watch your tongue and not issue threats that can land you in jail.”
“Last time I checked, this country allows free speech,” Jack retorted. “Uma can say whatever she wants. We know she isn’t capable of murder. It’s her fiery nature that we all love, especially me.” Jack hugged her and then gave her a fierce kiss in front of everyone. “And I’ll be the one to take care of her mouth. It’s mine to nourish and protect.”
“Please,” Celeste exclaimed at the same time Lala said, “Ugh.” Marco groaned and Orchilo muttered, “NIST!”
“NIST?” Jack asked.
“No intimate sex talk,” Orchilo replied. “Please. I mean, I’m glad you adore your wife and she adores you, but can you keep your intimate talk between yourselves? Unless you’re doing it to torture Spivey, that is,” she added.
“Yes, there is that, which I totally agree with,” Celeste agreed with a smile. Marco and Lala nodded.
“Well, all of you are crazy. Lunatics.” Marshal Spivey swirled his forefinger in the air, close to his temple and crossed his eyes. “If I see you five hundred years from now, it will be too soon.” He left the Sheriff’s Office, slamming the door behind him.
“Thank the stars,” Orchilo exclaimed, raising her arms to the ceiling in exultation. “The Mad Marshal is gone.”
Uma smiled at her friends in the room, and then cupped Jack’s cheek. “Take me home. I’m ready for you to nourish my mouth and other parts that are unmentionable.”
The threesome glanced at each other and then said in unison, “NIST!”
Twenty
Lovemaking with Jack was an experience Uma could have used as fodder to write a song. That was, if she could sing. No, she wasn’t musical. But at that moment, basking in his arms, surrounded with the musky, clove-like scent that was all Jack, she felt as if she could.
Jack tightened his arms around her. “Oh, Uma. I was about to lose my sanity, with you in jail. I missed this. I missed you. And I’ve been so scared that … that I would lose you forever.”
She realized he was trembling. Returning his hug, she gave him a chaste, tender kiss on his cheek. “It’s alright, Jack. We’re alright.”
“Thank the Universe because I wasn’t sure I could take much more of you being locked up by that nincompoop Spivey. I was close to wringing his neck. If you were going to be on trial for murder, I figured I might as well be on death row, too.”
“Come on. Solve a murder with another murder?”
“Admit it,” he said, tickling her ribs and making her laugh. “Killing Spivey would have been worth it. Besides if you were going to hang, so would I. Then we could have been in eternity with each other forever. Not that I’m complaining that you’ve had a stay of execution because we’re too young and have too much to live for here before we spend forever beyond the pearly gates.”
“Even if Spivey is intolerable, I’m glad you didn’t retaliate against him,” she told him earnestly. “A time or two, I thought you might.” She internally cringed at the thought of Jack losing his calm.
“Yeah, me, too.” Darkness flitted across his expression before his features eased and he gave her an impish grin. “At any rate, I considered breaking you out and going on the run. Maybe joining the Bloom brothers, or starting our own gang.”
“Speaking of the Bloom brothers. It was weird how everything happened at once, as far as getting Spivey to leave Cryptic Cove. Three different ways could have made that happen.” She sat up in bed and held up a finger. “The Bloom brothers’ train robbery on the Evenlight Express, which required Spivey’s attention.” She added her middle finger to her first finger. “Then Marco coming in with my alibi, by saying he saw me two miles away when Doc Elroy was poisoned.” Then she added a third finger. “Then, Celeste coming in and threatening to get rid of Spivey by contacting her good friend, who happened to be Spivey’s boss.”
“Yes,” he said, delight lighting his expression. “The fates were aligned in your favor.”
“I guess so.” She settled down in the crook of his shoulder and wrapped her arm across his body, enjoying his warmth as she squeezed up close to him.
“Well, about the train robbery,” Jack murmured after a few beats.
“Yes? What about it?”
“I met with the brothers this morning and asked if they would help draw Marshal Spivey away so I could get you out of jail, and get control of Cryptic Cove again. I asked them to rob Evenlight Express.”
She raised her head to look at him. “You did? You advocated breaking the law to get me out of jail?”
“Yes, I did. Although I have a feeling they’d already done the deed.”
“What do you mean?”
He rubbed the afternoon bristles on his jaw line. Thoughtful eyes, eyes that had darkened to a beautiful indigo blue just moments before du
ring their incredible intimacies, were now lighter, more of an azure color. “The telegram for Spivey came much too fast. I mean, I had just visited the Rishley and Tye a couple of hours ago before Spivey received notice about the train robbery.”
“Hmm,” she said and propped her hands on his chest, then her chin on her hands so she could stare down at him. “Yes, that does seem to be a quick turnaround. Was it just a coincidence?”
“Maybe. But I doubt it. A couple of days ago, I might have hinted to Creed that I would need his brothers’ help in luring Marshal Spivey away. Maybe Creed knew that his brothers were already planning a train robbery.” He stroked her hair, down to the ends and and stroked his cheek with them. “Because when I was at their hideout, I should have recognized the signs. Their horses were lathered, as if they’d run hell for lather. I saw a large canvas bag that I should have realized was a money bag.”
“And you didn’t arrest them. Because you wanted to help me by getting rid of Spivey.”
“I love you, Uma. More than anything on this Earth. Even if I have to break the law, I wouldn’t hesitate to do it to keep you safe and in my life.” He kissed her deeply and she reveled in it.
After a while, he settled her against him, and stroked her hair. “Yep, the more I think about my meeting with the Blooms, the more I realize that they’d already done the robbery and just wanted to make me beholden to them. Or, more like, make you owe them.”
“Me? Why me?” She lifted her head to look at him.
His brows arched and then he sighed. “They have researched you and have seen how you fight for what you believe in: the downtrodden, the minority. They called you a Revolutionist. A Firebrand. They believe you can help them with their fight against the mighty train company, Evenlight Express, who the brothers claim stole their blueprints of a new, revolutionary locomotive.”
“Hmm.” She knew nothing about Rishley and Tye. She knew next to nothing about Evenlight Express or any other train company.
“You don’t have to do it. I’ll just call them out on the fact they’d already robbed the train and didn’t do anything they wouldn’t have done on their own. In other words, Spivey would have been called away regardless of my visit with the brothers.”