Justin swung off his horse, hitched his collar close against the frigid wind, and found a stretch of grass in between the scrub brush on the side of the trail away from the hidden cliff. He rigged a halter and staked out his mount to eat while he climbed down a mountain to look at a corpse Heath had already searched.
It was a complete waste of time. He’d like to yell at Heath for such a harebrained idea, except Justin was sure the whole idea had been his.
“Lean out carefully. The trees lining this trail look strong, but they aren’t, and there’s a cliff only a few feet beyond ’em.” They both leaned down. Justin was surprised by how quick the land dropped away.
When they pulled back, both on their hands and knees, Heath looked at Justin and smiled. “Did I tell you how Sadie saved my life?”
“No.” Justin glanced over sharply as they got to their feet. “I reckon we’ve been so busy playing nursemaid to Cole, I’ve only listened to the details that might help us figure out who’s behind all this.”
“After we caught up to Cole and realized Sadie was missing, when you went on and I went back, I rode straight up on Dantalion and didn’t see him until he had me covered with his six-shooter.”
Justin could see it on this heavily wooded, curving trail. He knew there was almost no way to beat a man with a drawn gun.
“We were standing there, and Dantalion had me figured for dead so he was talking, gloating. I was worried to death because Sadie wasn’t with him and I was afraid he had her, then he said something that made me sure he didn’t. I was looking for one split second of distraction to give myself a chance. And I wasn’t finding anything.
“Then out of nowhere a rock smashes into the backside of Dantalion’s horse. The horse reared, and I got my gun drawn and took a shot. The horses were all fighting us and then Dantalion fell. I couldn’t get a bead on him anymore. That’s when Sadie comes charging out of the woods with a fist-sized rock in one hand and her other arm loaded with more. Charging an armed outlaw with nothing but rocks to save my worthless hide.”
Heath shook his head and spoke quietly, almost to himself, “How could I not love a woman like that?”
He fell silent for a moment as Justin thought of his sister. All his instincts were to protect her and make her life easy, but Sadie was a fighter and it was high time he admitted it.
“I got three bullets into Dantalion. He was dying, bleeding out.” Heath pointed at the trail where bloodstains had dried and turned black, but they were unmistakable.
“I started questioning him and, considering Cole had been shot, I wasn’t feeling too merciful. Sadie was trying to convince him to get right with God.”
With a chuckle, Justin said, “That sounds like my Sadie.”
“She’s my Sadie now, but you can call her yours if you want.” Heath’s blue eyes flashed with mischief. Justin didn’t bother to punch him.
Heath went on. “I got a few nasty comments out of Dantalion and searched him and found those papers I showed you. Then real sudden-like he goes from lying on his back on the trail to a desperate attempt to escape. And if ever a man was desperate, I reckon it was him. He charged at the woods, and I went after him and fell right behind him. But I grabbed a tree and held on. Sadie was right there, shouting she’d get a rope from the horse and save me.”
Justin smiled. “She’s tougher than I give her credit for.”
“Yep.” The look on Heath’s face told Justin that was exactly the point he was supposed to understand.
Since Justin didn’t like anyone telling him he needed to act better than he already did, he decided it was time to get back to work. “So, are we wasting time climbing down there?” Justin wasn’t looking forward to getting close to an aging carcass.
“Yep, but I suppose we’d better go anyway.” Heath sounded about as excited as Justin felt. “I should have gone hunting for his horse right after I got Sadie home, but I was too busy marrying her.”
Justin growled, “Let’s get going.”
Heath grinned. Justin had to admit he liked his new brother.
“It’s a lot easier climbing if you can start from the top.” Heath grabbed a rope off his saddle horn and tied it to a sturdy tree. “I’ve put knots every few feet on the rope so we can just skedaddle down.”
Since Justin didn’t know much about climbing, he took Heath’s word for it.
“I’ll go first. You make sure the rope is holding and we aren’t pulling this tree that’s clinging to the edge of a cliff right out by the roots.”
“I hope it doesn’t decide to wait to tear loose until you’re down and I’m dangling from it.”
“Me too. How would I get back up?” Heath grinned again and then was gone.
Justin leaned forward and saw Heath scramble down the rope like a big squirrel. The tree didn’t budge, but they both knew it wouldn’t. The thing had clung to this mountainside for many years.
The rocks the outlaw had landed on were brutally jagged. Dantalion hadn’t stood a chance. Of course, if the bullets had struck where Heath said they did, he was dead either way. No man . . . Justin paused. No normal man liked killing. It was a sickening thing to shoot a man. Or Justin might say he guessed it was, because he’d never shot anyone in his life. He was glad for Heath’s sake that Dantalion’s wild escape attempt had finished him. It might help Heath not carry it so heavy on his soul.
Justin swung over the edge and climbed down hand over hand. With the knots it was only a little harder than going down a ladder, and the way up wouldn’t be much worse. When he hit the ground, he had to set each foot down carefully. The ground was so broken, there wasn’t a level place anywhere.
Heath had picked his way to Dantalion’s side and knelt. Justin was relieved to see the cold had kept the body in decent condition. Even the vultures had left the body alone. Mostly.
Heath started digging in pockets while Justin, crouched across the body from Heath, did the same. They found nothing until Heath dragged a small notebook out of Dantalion’s boot.
“I missed this.” He shoved the small book in the breast pocket of his shirt. “I looked in his boot for weapons but didn’t notice this notebook.”
“Let’s be real thorough. He might have other hideout spots.”
As it turned out, they found nothing else. Justin finally stood and looked down at the man. “I’ve never seen him before.”
“Me neither. Not until I came up on him on the trail.”
“The man we took prisoner I recognized. He was a layabout I’d seen in Skull Gulch, a newcomer who’d been around only a few weeks. I don’t understand,” Justin said, shaking his head. “What in the world could this man have against the Bodens?”
Heath studied the body a few moments longer, thinking. Then he pulled the notebook out of his pocket and flipped it open. “Lots of notes.” Heath turned the notebook so Justin could see. “The handwriting is so small and cramped it’ll take a while to figure it out.”
He turned one page after another with the faint rustle of crisp paper. Justin couldn’t see what he was looking at and had to fight down an impatient request to grab it and do the looking himself.
Heath suddenly curved the little book and ran his thumb along the edge to flutter through the pages. The quick, careless way he did it told Justin the pages were most likely blank.
He reached the end of the book and froze, staring at the last page. “What does this mean?”
Heath’s eyes flashed hot and sharp as lightning. Before Justin could demand to see what was bothering him, Heath shoved the book into Justin’s hands.
Justin spread the back page wide and read it. “Chance Boden. Pa’s name, with a line drawn through it.”
“And then”—Heath reached over and tapped the top of the page—“in tiny print at an angle it says ‘missed.’”
The two of them looked up at each other.
Quietly, with menace, Heath said, “And the next name is Veronica.”
Justin’s jaw got so tense it looked
near to breaking. “He had plans for Ma, too.”
“And after that, Sadie.”
The way he said it, Justin wondered if Dantalion wasn’t lucky he was already dead. Although, considering his likely destination in the afterlife, probably not.
Justin nodded. “And out beside her name the word bait. What did he have planned?”
“And was it still in the thinking stage?” Heath asked. “Or has he set something in motion?”
“If he did, she might be in danger right now.”
Justin thought of Cole, so hurt he wouldn’t be able to protect anyone for weeks. John was a tough man, but they hadn’t sent him in to stand guard. He was working, not staying around the house.
“I’ve even eased off on posting a sentry.” Justin wanted to kick himself.
“Sadie’s there, and she’s mighty tough.”
“No, she’s not.”
That tricked a smile out of Heath. “You’re thinking of your delicate baby sister, not the woman ready to face a gunman with an armful of rocks.”
“I have to admit it’s hard for me to think of her as a woman who would do that.”
“Read who’s next.” Heath had memorized the whole list in the seconds he’d seen it.
“I’m next.”
“Yep, then Cole, and there’s a question mark beside his name.” Heath started moving, heading for the rope. “He made that mark after we were waylaid. He knew Cole was wounded.”
“We already knew that, didn’t we? You’re on here, too.” Justin pulled the book closer. “The ink is different on your name.”
Heath had rounded the body and passed Justin. He grabbed the rope, then looked back over his shoulder. “Different how?”
“The ink’s thicker, like maybe he used a different sorta fountain pen. I wonder if you were added later.”
“Well, he didn’t add it after the wedding, since he was good and dead by then. Now I’m another barrier between him and the CR if his goal was to clear out the legal owners and heirs so he could move in and stake his claim. But Dantalion was dead before we got married.”
“He might’ve seen the lay of the land between you and my sister and known you were going to be a big problem. Killing you stops a wedding, but even without a wedding, killing you gets rid of a man sweet on a woman and willing to fight for her.
“Whichever one of them was shooting from on top of Skull Mesa saw you protecting Sadie. He’d know you were willing to side with us. If Sadie got married, that’s one more Boden who’d need to get out of the way.”
“You think this is a list of all the people he’s out to kill?” Heath asked.
“A hired gun, that’s what it looks like. And since he had another man with him, I’m guessing he got the job and then found someone else to do the dirty work. The question mark proves he knew Cole was shot. And he whipped this book out and wrote in it before he rode after us.” Justin paused, then added, “Dantalion seemed willing to shoot or hurt whoever he could get at, going all the way back to Grandfather. But what about Sadie? Why is the word bait by her name? He must’ve planned to take her and use her to draw us out and kill us.”
“I don’t reckon I know for sure what the plan is, but I can promise you one thing.”
“What’s that?”
“His purpose in putting that word by her name is pure evil. She’s in danger.”
With a jerk of his chin in agreement, Justin snapped the book shut. “Let’s get back to the ranch. Heath, you need to take Sadie and get out of here. Whatever this is, it’s big. A thousand dollars in gold in Dantalion’s pocket, that’s someone with a lot of money. And when Dantalion hired a man to help him, it turned into a conspiracy. There are more people involved, and Dantalion’s death doesn’t put an end to any of it.”
“I’m not leaving you here shorthanded. That’s a coward’s way.”
“Take Sadie and go see Ma and Pa. I know Sadie wrote asking permission, and I reckon she’ll hear back that they want her to come for a visit. Get her far away from here. It’ll be one less person I have to worry about protecting. Anyway, if their goal is to kill us all, they might give up if Sadie’s beyond their reach.”
Never had Justin seen a man so torn by indecision. “They’ve always done their damage dry-gulching. Lying in wait, back-shooters every one of them. Now that I know, I can take steps. But they don’t want to shoot Sadie. They want to steal her away, and that makes me sick to think what they could be planning for her. I want her out of here.”
“All right, let’s get back,” Heath said. “We can talk about it more if your pa gives her permission to come.” He looked down at the dead man. “By rights we should haul his body up and give him a proper burial. I’d as soon leave him to the vultures.”
“What if there are wanted posters on him?” Justin felt his fists clench, useless, as Dantalion wouldn’t feel the beating he deserved. “Maybe we can find out who he’s working for. We might be able to get to the bottom of things faster if we haul his carcass in to the sheriff.”
“I reckon that’s a fair reason to take him.” Heath sounded disgruntled. “About the only one.”
“How fast can we get him to the top?”
Disgusted but resigned, Heath replied, “About as fast as I can climb up there, and I’m a mighty fast climber. Tie the rope around him under his arms and then take a good grip on it. Don’t start climbing yet. I’m going to untie it from that tree and hitch the lasso to my saddle. We’ll let my horse pull you both up.”
“I’d rather leave him to the worms,” Justin said. “A fitting end for a man such as him.”
Nodding, Heath said, “Plotting against an innocent young woman makes him rotten enough he might taste too bad even for worms. Now get him hitched up.”
Heath scampered up the rope so fast, Justin had to hustle to get Dantalion strapped tight before the rope was ready to start hauling.
9
The door stopped, blocked by the chair, and then the knob rattled.
“Mr. Boden?” A man’s voice was followed by a hard knock on the door. “Are you all right?”
Chance looked at Ronnie, and they both heaved a sigh of relief.
Ronnie rushed to the door. “Just a minute, Dr. Radcliffe.”
Chance wanted to help. He wanted to stand between Ronnie and that door. Even though he knew the doctor’s voice well after these last few weeks.
Instead, Ronnie unblocked the door, and the doctor came in frowning. “What are you doing with that chair, Mrs. Boden? What’s going on here?” His eyes darted between Ronnie and Chance. The eyes then widened, and the doctor blushed. “Uh, you really shouldn’t . . . your leg needs . . . that is, if you’d like, I could come back, uh, later . . .”
It took Chance a few moments to figure out what the stammering was about. Then he knew. A married couple. Behind a locked door.
“It’s not that,” he said. As if Chance had any hope of romance with his leg in pain every time he moved.
The doctor blushed even deeper. Chance hurried to get to a reasonable subject. “We need your help, Doc, and it’s serious. A letter came today . . .” The doctor said he didn’t want to hear the details, so Chance skipped ahead and got right to the point. “It was no accident I was hurt, Doc. Whoever attacked me might strike again, up here in Denver. I need to get out of this hospital and find a place where we can protect ourselves.” And there Chance lay, flat on his back. Talking about taking action when he couldn’t even move.
“Not with your leg. It needs more time to heal.”
“I’ll be very careful with my leg, I promise. I want to be walking right when this is over with, and I know the care you’ve taken of me and how blessed I am to have your skill and the Lord’s healing working through your hands. But you don’t want a gunman to come into this hospital. Those who tried to kill me sent a rockslide down on my head, and a group of my hired men rode with me. They didn’t care who else died. If my enemies come here, they may shoot anyone who gets in their way.”
> The doctor’s frown turned downright grim. “You’re right. You do need to get out of here.”
“Is it possible for me to go home?”
“You mean to your ranch?”
“Yes, I could take the train all the way to New Mexico Territory. That’s an easy ride coming up.”
Ronnie interrupted, “Chance, you were unconscious for most of it. You don’t know what kind of ride it was.”
Chance pressed on. “I don’t know much about fancy train cars, but maybe I could find one to borrow or rent. I could have a bed and be careful the whole time. Once I get back home, I can—”
“I’m afraid that isn’t possible.” Dr. Radcliffe was adamant. “A train is a modern marvel, but every turn of those wheels shakes the train and it’s constant. You’ll be bounced along for hours and hours. While it’s not a rough ride, it might shake apart a newly knitted bone and completely undo the healing of your leg. It just needs a few more weeks. You sure you can’t stay put?”
“What, stay here and wait for a killer to find me? It’s not safe here, and I’m putting my wife in mortal danger. You too if you happened to be in the hospital when an assault comes. And what kind of danger will I bring down on the patients in here with me?”
“Well, you can’t take the train.” As he mulled the situation over, the doctor plucked at the whiskers near his bottom lip, as if coaxing out an idea.
Ronnie said, “There must be somewhere safe here in Denver.”
“I’m sure there is, but where?” The doctor was skinny and short, wore a threadbare suit with a stained white shirt. Chance got the impression the man wasn’t poor, despite his manner of dressing. He was just absentminded about his appearance, probably because he was consumed with trying to save lives.
“Moving you could be done if we’re gentle. We could spirit you away from the hospital. I can think of a way to handle that. Then we’d have to make sure we aren’t followed.”
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