by Lynn Wolfe
“Now, about the man who was left guarding your home, he’s tied up in the barn. He’ll have a great view of the blaze that will destroy your home and those inside. He may even smell the smoke headed his way, once we set the second fire in the barn. Your man might be lucky; he may never awake from the blow to the head Chester gave, and won’t be aware of his fate. You didn’t think we’d leave the barn standing, did you?”
“Hell no, you bastard. You want to ruin everything!” Thomas barked, as he tried to figure a way to get the gun from Henry. But if he did that, he would then need to get to Chester before being shot himself. There was no one left that could be of any help. He hoped and prayed he would be the only one harmed by the hand of these two jackals, but in his heart he knew the truth, Henry and Chester wouldn’t dare let anyone live to tell what they’d done. The horrible truth was Henry wouldn’t be happy until he felt his revenge was complete. And Thomas knew that meant killing anyone with the name of Ball. Then it would be James and his family. There was no question Henry was insane, and probably had been for years. And he had no way of taking both of them on without being killed or putting Anna, Jane and Mary at risk of being shot.
“Let me introduce you folks to my good friend, Chester Hartley. He’s been waiting a long time to meet my family, especially you, Mary. Chester has asked about you for months. He loved me telling how pretty you are. I promised him some time with you before all is said and done. Doesn’t that sound exciting?”
Mary was furious and scared to the core. The man called Chester was evil looking and creepy. He’d been eyeing her over ever since she entered the house. For all her life, she’d been saving herself for James, and now she’d come so close to having her dream come true, to see it again destroyed, was a cruel twist of fate. What had she or Thomas done to deserve this? Her dream was once again about to be shattered. Was there any way out? Why did life have to be so unfair? But if she had to die this night, she knew damn well she was going to fight like hell.
When Mary glanced to Anna, she saw nothing but extreme fear upon her face. Anna was clinging to Jane trying to hold herself together. Mary saw Thomas trying to reassure his wife everything was going to be alright by giving her nods of comfort and a small smile. But Mary knew the truth, Henry Ball was mad. She felt certain their lives were going to end soon.
Mary felt a tear slip down her cheek but she wasn’t about to show Henry how much she feared him, or his partner, Chester. But the truth was Mary had never known fear such as this.
“Chester, why don’t you bind the hands of Thomas and the ladies? This is going to be a long night. No wait, let Mary free for a moment, since we haven’t ate in some spell, she can fix us some supper. She’s a fairly good cook.
“But don’t try anything funny, Mary; I’m not opposed to shooting someone sitting here if you try anything stupid. Killing a man, woman or child doesn’t matter much to me or Chester.”
“You wouldn’t dare!” Thomas hollered as he tried to break free of the rope placed upon him, confining his hands. “You can’t really believe you’ll get away with this! Leave everyone else be, it’s me you want. Let the others go!”
“Hell, Henry, you never said Thomas was such a demanding bastard. Let me shoot him now. I don’t think we should push our luck tonight. He might figure a way out of his predicament and foil our plan.”
“Don’t be stupid, Chester, what can he do with his hands tied? With the herd of cattle a good three miles away, by the time Thomas’s men get there and back, it’ll be too late to help anyone and we shall be long gone.”
Mary finished cooking the eggs and bacon and placed the food on the table. “Chester, tie Mary’s hands.
Mary walked over and sat in the chair next to Anna. She looked to Thomas and tried to smile, but found she couldn’t. She felt the tears pooling in her eyes. She saw Thomas look to Anna with so much love Mary had to turn her face away. She knew he was saying a silent goodbye and Anna was doing the same. Jane had fallen asleep again and Mary was thankful her niece could at least escape the torture that was upon them. If only she could say goodbye to James.
Mary felt Chester’s breath on her neck. He rubbed his hands along her arms as he tied her hands tight. He then brushed his hands over her front and she shuddered. She wanted to vomit all over him, but he was behind her. His body smelled, his breath smelled, and Mary wished and prayed she could find a way to avoid his touching her again.
“For the time being, Chester, leave her be. I want to talk to her about poor James, shall we, Mary? The man has lost everything, didn’t he? Don’t worry about James, he’ll be joining you folks in hell in due time, he and those brats of his.”
“You’re mad!”Thomas spat out. “The only one who’s going to hell is you and that idiot friend of yours.”
“Watch it, Thomas. But you may be right. I might be mad, but I’m in control. Did I not tell you what happened to my own father? Of course, I told you he passed away. I guess I forgot to mention how. He was shot in the back and I was the one who shot him! My father beat me every chance he got when I was just a youngster. He gladly beat me and my mother at will. Well, one day, I’d had enough, so I shot him. He was dead before he hit the floor. I was fourteen years old. I left that day and went to sea. I never saw my mother again. She was a weak woman and I really had no use for her either. I returned to England four or five years later when I was a grown man and had changed my name.
“When I came to America to seek my revenge for what you and Mary had done to me, I’d the good fortune to meet Chester. He’s been a good friend and a loyal companion. He loves fires, did I mention that? He’s done his share of killing, and his share of taking woman. Your wife there, now she might enjoy having a real man, what do you think, Thomas? With child or not, I bet she’s quite the woman.”
But as Thomas was about to answer, Henry walked behind him and knocked him unconscious. Anna screamed and cried out begging Henry to spare Jane’s life as Jane awoke to the ruckus and became hysterical when she saw her father unconscious. Anna had been the only one who had her hands tied in front of her, wrapped around Jane. She was in no position to reach over to Thomas and check his condition.
Yet, through all this, Mary said nothing. She was furious, but she managed to maintain her composure. She wanted to show Anna to stay strong. There had to be a way out, Mary thought. She prayed the blow hadn’t killed Thomas, but she wasn’t sure. She just felt numb.
“Mary, I can see your turning things over in your mind. You might as well get used to the idea, there’s nothing you can do to escape your fate.” Henry said, as he finished gulping down his food. “Find us something to drink, Chester.”
“I could take Mary now, if you want, Henry. I’d gladly finish up my supper later.”
Henry glanced at Mary and saw the fear she tried so desperately to hide, “No, Chester, there’s plenty of time. I want to enjoy my evening toying with our prey. I guess we could let them know what’s in store. If you thought the fire at the Parker place did some damage, wait till this home goes up. The fire will destroy everything and everyone remaining in this house!” Henry paused and watched as the look of shock appeared on the faces of Anna and Mary. Jane was too young to figure out the meaning of what he’d said. Too bad, he might have enjoyed her theatrics, he thought.
“You can’t mean what you say! Jane’s only a child! It would be murder!” Mary screamed, shocked that such a brutal act was to be placed upon them. But Mary knew Henry meant what he said. He was insane. No one would even know of their demise until it was too late.
Too late for her to wed James when she was only hours away from fulfilling her dream, it was if she was in a nightmare. Now, she’d never know the love of a man. She’d only know the brutal taking of her, if Chester had his way. But Mary vowed she’d fight him until he either gave up or killed her. She prayed all their deaths would be swift. If God was a merciful one, he’d at least give them a quick death.
Henry gloated as he watched his frighten
ed prey. Mary, Anna and now Thomas, who’d finally regained consciousness, now realized their fate.
Anna looked at each and every face present. She could tell Thomas and Mary feared, as much as she did, about what was to come. She knew they were each trying to be brave knowing they were destined for death.
When Anna looked at Henry and Chester, she saw two insane men who had managed to come together and feel exhilarated by destroying lives of innocent people. Why? Little Jane hadn’t even had a chance to experience life, and to lose the baby due in three months was intolerable to think about.
She wondered if she was carrying a son, a son she planned to name after his father. But if Thomas and Mary could maintain their composure, she’d be damned if she wouldn’t try also. She thought of her parents, and how they grieved over losing Susannah. How would they survive losing her and her family in such a violent manner? She held some comfort in the thought that they’d be buried next to Susannah. She wondered where Mary would be buried. She guessed her parents would place Mary by Thomas.
Anna wished her parents could sense that danger was close and come to save them, but Anna knew that was an impossible wish to have, for they were spending the night, along with Edward, at the Parker Plantation. They’d been too tired, after the auction, to travel home and then return the next day for the wedding.
If only she and Thomas had made the time to change their name to Pierce. She hated the fact that Ball was her last name, when this creature before them wasn’t even blood related and mad to boot. She again thought about their burial, and for the first time showed a smile. She knew her parents and Edward would put Pierce on their tombstones, she had no doubt Edward would see to it.
Henry hadn’t expected any of them to be brave and it angered him. He was going to break them before this night ended. Torture was an added bonus. Yes, this was going to be a long night, but break them he would. Then, once Chester was done with Mary, they’d enjoy burning them alive. But this time, they’d be gagged, and he and Chester would be far away from any screams made this night.
He knew that Chester, being the depraved soul he was, would be looking forward to his time with Mary, and possibly Anna, too.
Chapter Eighty-Nine
Revenge
Jack had worked for Thomas Ball from the beginning. When he spotted tracks of two unknown riders close to the herd, he thought it’d be best to move the fifty head of cattle closer to the ranch. He knew every shoe track made by the horses used on the Ball farm. These two rider’s tracks he’d never come across before. To Jack, this could only mean Henry Ball and his accomplice had found Thomas, the same men who ruined James Parker.
There was a ravine between the north pasture and the homestead and that was where Jack chose to place the cattle. They’d used the ravine before to hide the cattle, so Jack felt the cattle would be safe there. Once he had the cattle settled, he planned to ride to the homestead to let Thomas know what was happening and ask for a couple extra men to keep an eye on everything.
Jack had taken two days to complete his task of getting the cattle into the ravine. He headed out to speak with Thomas, even though it was late in the day. He felt certain no one had followed him, so it was quite a surprise when he heard a group of riders approaching. Jack slipped his horse behind some rocks and waited to see who was approaching.
It surprised him to see Shorty and the others from the homestead. “Shorty, what the hell’s going on?”
“We came to help you catch those prowlers. Why aren’t you with the cattle?” Shorty asked, puzzled and upset Jack wasn’t where he should be.
“How could you know about the prowlers? I just finished moving the cattle to the ravine and was riding to tell Thomas what I’d done,” Jack stated, concerned and confused.
“From the man you sent. We headed out to the north pasture, but saw no sign of you or the cattle. We had to backtrack and figured you may have moved them to the ravine, for better protection.”
“Tell me McKee’s guarding the house.” Jack said, fearing the answer.
“Hell no, he’s on his way to Washington. He was told his kid brother was shot and not expected to live. We’ve been fooled!” Shorty said.
“Damn. I haven’t spoken to anyone in days. I haven’t even seen sign of those prowlers for four or five days now. We’d better ride hard and get back to the homestead, now!” Jack yelled out.
“We left Hank guarding the place. He won’t be any match for the two men we’ve been looking for,” Shorty said, worried for his friend. All the men were anxious to get going.
“I’ll ride to intercept Will, my horse is fairly fresh,” Jack stated.
Shorty nodded. “Thomas may still be at the Parker plantation. We’ll ride straight there and try to catch him before he heads for home. We’ll then meet up with you at the abandoned barn on the Parker land, right before you get to Thomas’s place.”
“What if Thomas has already left?” Jack inquired. “You’d better tell James we could use help. Knowing Parker, he and the men will be joining us either way, once he knows what happened. See you soon,” Jack called out, as he kicked his horse hard enough to send him into a full run. He had to get to Will and fast. He took the short cut to intercept McKee and prayed he wasn’t too late.
*****
Shorty and the men made good time getting to the Parker Plantation. Clayton and James were on the veranda smoking cigars when they saw riders coming in fast.
James hurried down the steps when he saw Shorty and the men. “What’s happened?” James shouted.
“We came hoping to find Thomas, but I see he’s already gone. How long ago did he leave? He’s heading for a trap.” Shorty stated.
“He left some time ago. Tell me what you know.”
Shorty filled Clayton and James in, but not before Edward and John Webb appeared to hear the tale. They’d obviously been awakened when they heard the riders approaching the house.
The cursing was rampant as the men hurried to saddle their horses while John Webb and Edward went to finish getting dressed. Annabelle and Constance came out long enough to realize the possible danger at the Ball farm.
“Please be careful.” Annabelle said, as she tried to appear calm. But everyone there knew Ball was behind this evilness. “Constance and I’ll watch over the children. Hopefully they’ll remain asleep.”
“Annabelle, you and Constance get a couple of guns loaded and ready. I don’t believe you’re in any danger, but one never knows. We’ll leave a couple of men outside to keep watch. Stay inside and lock the doors. Be prepared for anything. Shot first and ask questions later.”
All the men, but two, headed out of the Parker Plantation heading straight for the barn, which was far enough away from Thomas’s home, to hide them from view.
James prayed everyone was safe. “Shorty, about what time did you and the men leave to get to Jack?”
“About four hours ago. Sorry James. We got caught up in the excitement of finally being able to capture Ball and his friend. We tore out of there never assuming we’d been told lies until we spoke with Jack. We’re all sick about it.”
“Ball’s a very clever and despicable man. I’m sure this is a trap. I pray we’re not too late.” James was going crazy inside with fear. He knew if anything happened to Mary, or Thomas and his family, he’d spend the rest of his life tracking down Ball and Hartley. He couldn’t lose Mary. Not now. Not like this.
Chapter Ninety
“James, quit pacing!” Clayton snapped, knowing everyone had the same concerns for Thomas, his family, and Mary. “Jack and Will should be here anytime. We need a good plan. We now know for sure that Henry and Chester are holding the hostages in the main room of the house, thanks to Shorty’s expert snooping skills.”
Have you or James thought of a plan?” Edward asked. He had a solid plan in mind, if Clayton and James would only agree.
“Not one I like. What about you?” Clayton replied.
“I’ve a plan that would only risk one li
fe, mine,” Edward stated. He explained his plan in detail, hoping Clayton, James, and John Webb would agree.
“Anna’s my daughter, I should be the one to enter,” John declared, not fearing for his life. “Anna is the only child I’ve left, and she and Jane mean everything to me, not to mention the child within her.”
“Wait, you must understand, Henry would be most pleased to see me.” James interrupted. “He’d gladly kill me. That’s just one of the reasons I suggest I be the one to go, another is I’m younger and in better shape than the three of you.”
Edward quickly jumped in, “Listen, we don’t have time to argue. But think about what I’ve got to say, if I go, Henry will be shocked to see me. For that fact alone, he may not think to look for a second gun, which I plan to have hidden in the back of my pants. It’ll easily be covered under my coat. But if any of you enter the home, he might stop to think we’ve set a trap. I’ll make it appear as if I’ve been staying with Thomas, and just mosey into the cabin.
“As long as Thomas, Anna and Mary don’t say otherwise, Henry will not suspect anything. I’ve no one left in my family but those inside. The rest of you have other family members that still need you.
“And I’m quite good with a gun. If there’s any hope of a rescue, it’ll only be by a surprise confrontation. But the rest of you must be ready to complete the plan, once you hear the first shot. ”
As much as James hated to admit Edward was right, they all knew his plan was their best chance. This was a dangerous plot in which they’d only have seconds to make it work.
William and Jack had ridden up in time to hear the plan and the decision that only Clayton, James and John would sneak up to the house, enter through the bedroom windows and wait. Once the shooting starts, Will, you’ll need to bring the rest of the men to finish up, if needed. But under no circumstances, can Henry or Chester be allowed to escape their grasp.