by Ginny Aiken
A wave of revulsion struck her. “Yes.”
Mr. Peterson turned back to his notes. He riffled through the pages, tapping his pencil a couple of times. “These Indians. Did they ever argue with your husband?”
“If they did, I never knew about it. But they did come close to attacking the store one time.”
Her words clearly piqued his interest. He pinned her with a sharp stare. “Tell me about that.”
“There’s not much to tell. They wanted more of the…” Oh, how foolish could she be? She shook off her distaste, and went on. “They wanted more liquor than they could pay for, liquor I reckon Roger promised, but when they came for it, he didn’t give it to them.”
“You do know, Mrs. Nolan, it’s against federal law to sell liquor to Indians, right?”
She closed her eyes. Goodness! Roger had been breaking the law. She’d known his lack of respect for Marshal Blair, but evidently he’d flaunted his disdain in more than snide remarks. “I knew there was a problem with doing so, but I didn’t know the details. Against the law? Are you sure?”
“I’m quite sure. True, it’s not a law that many uphold, and authorities have more pressing matters to see to, but it is illegal.”
“No wonder, then, that Roger made sure I was nowhere near the store whenever they came.”
“A good thing, I’d say.” The lawyer checked his notes. “You were saying about the one time Mr. Nolan didn’t give the Indians the liquor they wanted…”
“Oh, yes. I never knew if they paid for it and he didn’t have any or if he refused because they couldn’t pay. In any case, they left, but came back that night, enraged and making quite the clatter, with screams and howls and—and well, it was blood-curdling.”
Horror widened the lawyer’s eyes, yet he still leaned forward, enthralled by her tale. “I can well imagine, but how did you escape?”
A faint smile curved her lips. “They never did strike. Evidently, Nathan Bartlett and his men realized what was about to happen. He cut them off at the pass.”
The oddest light, almost relish, lit his face. “An old-fashioned battle, then. How many died?”
She chuckled. “None. That’s what was so wonderful. From what Roger said, Nathan negotiated with them, without spirits, even, and somehow persuaded them to leave us alone. That was the last we ever saw of them—at least, the last I ever did.”
Although the lawyer looked disappointed, he said, “A relief, I’m sure.”
“I’ll say. Blessed relief.”
Mr. Peterson then took the time to scribble additional notes in his small book before looking at her again. “So we’re back to no apparent explanation for any of this.”
“It would seem so.”
He closed his notebook with a gentle slap of the cover. “All right, then. It’s my job to uncover that hidden reason.”
“What do you mean, sir?”
The lawyer stood. “You strike me as an upstanding, believable woman, Mrs. Nolan. I don’t think you’ve done any of these things, especially in light of the times you’ve been hurt. Once? I can see someone feigning an injury to distract the law. But all these times?”
She shrugged.
“No, ma’am. I don’t think you’re guilty. And so, it’s up to me, Marshal Blair, and the rest of your friends to uncover what happened here. I’m fairly sure we’ll have enough to show the judge the error in Theo Nolan’s charge.”
“Fairly sure…” Faith said. “That doesn’t give me much to hang my hat on. I’d be far happier if you’d said you knew for absolutely certain you could prove my case.”
It was the lawyer’s turn to chuckle. “I never promise more than I know I can deliver.”
“That’s fair, Mr. Peterson. I can respect a cautious man.”
“As I can respect an honest lady. An honest client, as well.”
“All I can do now is pray the judge and jury will see me as your honest client.”
Mr. Peterson ran his briefcase against the bars to alert Marshal Blair that their meeting was over. “I commend you for the prayers, and I’ll join you, myself. We should all pray, Mrs. Nolan. It never hurts to bring our one true Advocate into any legal matter.”
“I agree the Lord is righteous, sir, but it’s His mercy I need most right now. That’s where I’ll hang my hopes.”
“Let’s hope I’ve learned my business some better than that.” He put on the hat he’d left on the small table by the door, and rattled the bars again. “As promised, though, I will pray for His wisdom and justice. That’s what it’ll take for us to prevail.”
Chapter 16
Nathan refused the chair Adam Blair offered, getting straight to the point. “You know me fairly well by now, right?”
A smile twitched the marshal’s heavy mustache. “Something ’bout your words tells me I’m not fixing to like your visit much today.”
“I’m not here to discuss the weather.” He dropped his hat on the empty chair and paced the short area in front of the lawman’s desk. “It’s about Mrs. Nolan—”
“How ’bout you drop that ‘Mrs. Nolan’ nonsense?” At Nathan’s surprise, Adam chuckled. “We both know her name’s Faith, and you’re sweet on her. I reckon you oughta just up and marry her before letting any more time go by.”
Nathan blinked. Could Adam have overhead his recent proposal?
Faith’s refusal?
That would make matters embarrassing.
Then he took a closer look at his friend. “Hm…if you find marriage so attractive, and see Faith as such an excellent choice, I can’t figure out why you haven’t taken the lead and proposed yourself.”
Adam bolted out of his chair, which clattered to the office floor. “I never…why, that’s not…never said…I—I—I—”
“You sound something like a teakettle there, my friend.” Nathan smirked. He crossed his arms and took time to enjoy Adam’s discomfort. “I suspect you might be done telling me to wed the lady, don’t you think?”
Adam’s cheeks ruddied. “Humph! Let’s see here, then. If you didn’t come here on account of being sweet on Faith, then why did you come?”
As though a curtain had slid over a sunny window, Nathan’s humor vanished. “Eli and I talked a few nights ago. We both agreed we don’t have the whole picture of the Nolan situation. Something’s missing, and the only way to find it is to—well, we have to ask questions. Have you spoken with the men out at the Army fort? And how much time have you spent with Theo? Aside from when he’s wailed to you about Faith stealing his mules, which he’s had no interest in since he got them back. They’ve been up at my camp, where my men have been caring for them all this time.”
“I’ve spent time talking to him. Didn’t get much. If he saw anything, it must’a been through buckets of booze.”
Nathan gave a sharp nod. “Then how about the fort? Have you questioned the military men Faith mentioned? The ones who spent the night drinking with Roger?”
“I had me a chat with the captain. There wasn’t much to what he had to say.”
Nathan narrowed his eyes. “A chat? While Faith sits behind bars?”
Adam held out a cautioning hand. “Easy, there. The captain and I agreed he’d round up his men and bring ’em to see me.”
“And when is this trip going to happen?”
“I reckon just about any time before that judge fixes to get here.”
Nathan crossed his arms. “What’s keeping you from heading out there instead? This morning?”
Adam checked the clock behind his desk. Nathan did the same. It showed a few minutes past nine.
The marshal then glanced out the window. Nathan did, too. The day was clear—no rain, and while it was cold, no snow had fallen as yet.
“Not much,” Adam said at last. “I can head on out that way any time now.”
Nathan tightened his jaw. “We, Adam, we can head on out any time now.”
Adam tipped his head to a side, studied Nathan. “You’re not about to let me change you
r mind about this, now are you?”
Nathan shrugged.
“Let’s go then, my friend. Don’t want to go making us too late coming back this evening. Sure would hate to make you miss one of Cooky’s right fine meals.”
Nathan waited for the marshal to step out from behind his desk. “If we get there at the right time, you may wrangle yourself one of those fine dinners, if you ask nicely.”
Adam slapped him on the back. “Ask? Nah. Mrs. Whitman’s always the one who’s asked me to stay. So, what are we waiting for, then?”
The two men headed south, riding in companionable silence as their horses’ pace ate up the miles. At no point, however, did Nathan lose his sense of urgency.
They found no trouble on their way to the fort. Once there, the drab appearance of the three unimpressive structures surprised Nathan. Built of logs from nearby mountain forests, they were little more than large cabins, the long walls broken only by small windows at shoulder height. Smoke puffed out of the three chimneys, and five horses stood in a large corral, ears pricked upright, tails switching as they watched the two new arrivals approach the largest building.
Nathan dismounted, tethering Horace to a hitching post at the right of the door. Adam did the same on the left.
They rapped loudly on the door, and waited as footsteps approached. “Who on earth—”
“Captain Roberts, sir,” Adam drawled. “I decided we had us a fine day to give you the chance to make good on your offer to round up your fellers for me. You know, the ones who were up to the Nolan brothers’ store that night of the fire. I’m needing to ask them some questions.”
Nathan stepped forward. “You’re needing to get some answers, I’d say.”
Adam glanced over his shoulder, and while his expression remained serious, Nathan caught the twitch of the mustache that suggested a smile. “Those would be a mighty great help.”
The captain stepped back. “Come in, please. It’ll take me a spell to fetch them. They each have their jobs, you understand. That’s why I meant to bring them in to you in town.”
“Well, now,” Adam said, his eyes narrowing a bit. “That’s mighty kind of you, but time’s running, and I need to know what’s what before the judge comes to town.”
“I understand,” Captain Roberts said. “I’ll only be a minute or two. I’ll fetch my wife. See that she offers you a bite to eat, iced water, coffee, something stronger—”
“Water,” Adam said, cutting off the offer of spirits.
“Coffee,” Nathan offered at the same time.
The captain snagged a navy uniform jacket from a peg on a wall and, shrugging into it, strode outside. Nathan took the time to study the room, curious about the fort. “Hm…not what I expected.”
Adam gestured. “Not much more to look at inside here, either.”
“Seems it does the job. They have a kitchen—it’s over to the rear. The tables for meals are large enough.” He gestured toward the right. “And that door likely leads to the captain’s office.”
“Sure, it works.” Adam stood and walked to the nearest window, peered outside. “What d’you figure the other buildings are for?”
“I’m not that experienced when it comes to forts,” Nathan said with a smile. “I fought in the war, but didn’t spend any time on this kind of duty. I suppose one cabin’s for the captain and his wife, and the other some kind of barracks for the rest of the men under his command. Plus, I think I saw what could be a barn a ways back before we got here.”
Light footsteps crossed the narrow porch outside the front door. A brown-haired lady in a plain gray dress hurried inside. “Welcome, gentlemen! I’m Suzanna Roberts.” She hung her cream wool shawl across the back of a chair. “That wind! I sure wish I were back in Ohio. I could do without the howling and kicking up dust.” She scurried to the cookstove without pausing to allow them a response. “Can I dish up a bowl of venison stew for you gentlemen? And I’ll have a pot of coffee ready in no time.”
Adam’s mustache danced a jig. “Yes, ma’am.”
In no time, they were seated at the table, stew, tender biscuits, and hot coffee before them. At no time did Mrs. Roberts stop her chatter, not a word of which mattered to Faith’s future or afforded Adam or Nathan any clues.
As Nathan swallowed his last mouthful, the front door opened again. Three young soldiers stepped in, followed by Sergeant Graves and the captain. Mrs. Roberts excused herself, leaving the men to their business.
To Nathan’s disappointment, none of the troopers had anything much to offer. They’d gone to the store to pick up an order, but had learned Roger hadn’t had it after all. The captain returned from Bountiful with the sergeant to join his men at the Nolans’ store and “visit” with Roger for a while.
Hours later, when they’d realized how fast time had passed, they’d said their farewells and left.
Disappointed with the results of the trip, Nathan stayed seated when Adam sent the soldiers back to their duties. When only Adam, the captain, and he remained in the room, Nathan turned to the officer. “Your story about the missing order is something I experienced as well. Had it happened before?”
The captain returned to his chair. “A time or two.”
Adam leaned back against a wall, crossed his arms over his chest, moved his right ankle over the left. His eyes bounced back and forth between Nathan and the officer. Only a fool would have thought his stance lazy.
“What did you do then?” Nathan went on, seeing as Adam continued to keep his peace. “Didn’t it affect the supplies you needed for the post?”
“Not much. I waited for Roger to let me know our things had arrived. You see, Mr. Bartlett, the Army supplies most of our needs. We’ve only had to make up the lack on occasion.”
“The night of the fire, you did send your men to pick up an order, right? And you’d expected your things to be there.”
“Of course. I’d seen Theo in town, and he’d said my order was in.”
“But it wasn’t?”
“Roger said there’d been a mistake. Our whis—er…our supplies were missing, and we’d have to wait for a new shipment.”
Nathan met Adam’s gaze. No wonder the man had counted Roger as a friend. It seemed he, too, indulged in the Nolan brothers’ favorite pastime. Having nailed down that one detail, he turned to another topic.
“I hear you and your men are stationed here to make sure the Indians who’ve stayed behind don’t make mischief,” Nathan said.
Captain Roberts nodded.
“Do you deal with many?”
He smiled. “Not so often anymore. Most are now on the reservation in Idaho. The ones around these parts know we’ll move them up north, but they don’t give us much trouble anymore. We can deal with them.”
Adam stepped forward. “Do you recollect if the night Roger died you and your men all came back here together?”
The captain started. “I—I…think so.” He drew out the words, a thoughtful expression on his lean face. “I’d had a drink or two”—or more—“so I didn’t pay as close attention as usual, but the men were tired. I’m sure they all made it back at around the same time.”
“But you’re not certain,” the marshal pressed.
He gave a one-sided shrug. “I suppose I am certain. I went by the barracks before I headed to bed.”
“You didn’t see them ride back together.”
His concentration deepened to a slight frown. “We all left at the same time. Don’t see why they wouldn’t have.”
“And you?”
At that, the officer stood. “What are you suggesting, Marshal Blair?”
“Not suggesting, asking if you joined your men on that ride back. I reckon you wouldn’t know if they did make the trip all of ’em together if you didn’t ride down with them all.”
Captain Roberts looked from Adam to Nathan and back. “I don’t know what you’re trying to get me to say. Of course, I came with them. Why wouldn’t I have?”
“So you wou
ldn’t have been at the cabin long enough to see who killed Roger Nolan?”
“I’ve answered more than once. Why are you asking these questions over and over again? I thought the man died in a fire.”
Nathan had reached the end of his patience. “Someone struck Roger Nolan in the head before setting him and the store on fire. That blow’s what killed him. Now his widow stands accused of murder. There’s those of us in town that can’t bear the thought of a woman being found guilty, much less sentenced to hang.”
The captain’s eyes bulged. “Murder! That lady from the general store? I’m sure no one in his right mind would find her guilty of killing that big husband of hers. And hanging?” He scoffed. “They’re none of them fool enough in Bountiful to hang a woman—a lady. Who would ever do such a thing?”
“You’re sure, now, you know nothing of the death or the fire that night?” Adam asked.
“Are you accusing me of killing Roger?”
“I don’t recollect saying that.”
A look of shame overtook the captain’s lean face. “Look, Marshal. I’m not proud of the time I’ve wasted up at the general store or the times I’ve had too many drinks with Roger and my men, but I always found Mrs. Nolan a fine lady, one who had a heavy load to carry. I’m sorry she’s had another burden with all this.” He gestured vaguely. “I wouldn’t go and do anything to harm her any further. If I knew anything that could help her…”
After that, the men exchanged a few niceties before Adam and Nathan said their good-byes. They mounted their horses, and headed back to town.
Neither spoke.
They had enough to fill their thoughts.
A week later, Nathan joined Adam, Eli, and Mr. Peterson to await the coach that was bringing Judge Michael Hess to Bountiful. Heightened anxiety filled him, and he found it hard to stand still. He shuffled, paced, shifted his weight from foot to foot. After about fifteen minutes in the clear, crisp, and cold morning air, a heavy hand landed on his shoulder, bringing him to a standstill.