by Kit Morgan
Katie took a deep breath. “Where’s the sheriff?”
“Out there.” Fletcher nodded toward the window at the other end of the hall. “Keep the bedroom doors closed. I’ve locked the back door – I’ll have to listen for Betsy and Cecil when they return. I know they didn’t think to take a key with them – no need for one during the day.”
Sophie nodded and stepped into his arms. “Oh, Fletcher, this is so awful!”
“It’s all right, darling. We’ll catch him.”
Katie watched them a moment and thought of Sheriff Diamond, out there chasing the gunman. Was it something as simple as a misfire – a neighbor cleaning a rifle, perhaps? Had a child gotten hold of a weapon and it discharged? She hoped it was just an accident – poor Sophie had been through far too much already. It made her situation look ridiculous in comparison.
Fletcher went downstairs, made iced tea and brought it up on a tray with some cookies. “Here, we might as well get comfortable while we wait for Jace to return.”
They brought some chairs from the bedrooms and sat. It would be hard for a stray bullet to hit them here, unless someone climbed the tree that grew outside the window at the end of the hall, and that wasn’t likely. “How much longer?” Katie asked as she glanced at the window. “Do you think he’s all right?”
Fletcher’s eyebrows rose. “Jace? He’s fine. You have to remember, the man was a Texas Ranger. He’s probably enjoying this. He’ll have the scoundrel rounded up in no time.”
“But what if it was an accident?” Sophie asked.
“Then he’ll speak to whoever pulled the trigger. The shot had to have come from down Cherry Lane, maybe the Andersons’ house. I know Mr. Anderson owns a gun, so maybe little Jimmy was playing with something he shouldn’t.”
Katie took a breath. “That’s horrible. How old is Jimmy?”
“Twelve, but mischievous. I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s all this is. But no sense taking any chances. We’ll wait right here.”
Katie sighed and sipped her iced tea. He was right, of course, but her mind kept racing over all the different things that could happen. What if it wasn’t a boy playing with his father’s gun? What if it was someone after Sophie? Her heart went out to her new friend, whom she could tell was still upset. Sophie was leaning against Fletcher as if she were trying to soak up all the comfort he could give.
There was a knock at the front door. “There he is.” Fletcher got to his feet and handed Sophie his glass. “Wait here.” He hurried downstairs.
Katie forced a smile. “Don’t worry, I’m sure he found out what happened.”
The men came up the stairs, Sheriff Diamond with his hat in his hands. His forehead was beaded with sweat and the front of his shirt was drenched, as if he’d been running hard. He looked at both women. “How did you come through the gate?”
Sophie stood and gave Fletcher back his glass. “What?”
“Who went through first?” the sheriff asked.
“Sophie did,” Katie told him. “But I was right beside her.”
“On her left?”
She exchanged a look with Sophie before she nodded. “You didn’t catch him, did you?”
“No, whoever it was got away.” He put his hat on. “But there are only so many places a person can take a shot like that. If it were me, I’d be as far away as possible so I’d have plenty of time to disappear.”
Katie, Sophie and Fletcher stared at him. “How far away are we talking here, Jace?” Fletcher asked.
“A few hundred yards. We’re at the end of Cherry Lane. If you stand at the front gate and look down the street, you can see all the way past Main Street to the woods beyond. Someone could’ve taken a shot from those woods.”
“But wouldn’t the shot have sounded far away?” Katie asked. “To me it sounded so close.”
“Sound carries,” he said. “If it was closer, they would’ve had to position themselves near the Millers’ house.”
Sophie, still catching up, put her hand to her mouth. “It wasn’t Jimmy Anderson?”
Fletcher put his arms around her. “It’s all right, darling, we’ll solve this.”
“Sophie,” Sheriff Diamond said gently, “I don’t think they were shooting at you.”
Fletcher’s head snapped to him. “What? Then who?”
The sheriff shook his head and looked at Katie.
Katie gasped. “Me?!”
Jace solemnly nodded.
Another knock at the door. Fletcher glanced between them, then raced downstairs. Others might have heard the shot, Katie surmised – it was only a matter of time before someone showed up on the mayor’s doorstep to find out what happened. Especially if they saw Jace running here. She wondered if anyone was as shocked as she was. She’d been scared earlier, but this? “What are you saying?” she asked the sheriff.
He shrugged. “Either they’re a poor shot or a half-decent one. They almost got you.”
“But that makes no sense!”
Sophie hugged her – for which of their sakes, Katie wasn’t sure. “We’ll figure this out. I still think it was Jimmy Anderson.”
“It didn’t come from the Anderson’s place – not the way the bullet hit the gate post,” the sheriff said.
Katie’s heart raced. Had her father … no, that was absurd. Ronald? He wouldn’t want to kill her. But scare her … a chill went up her spine and she began to shake.
“Here, now.” The sheriff came closer. “You’ll be all right. I’ll get this figured out.”
Katie stared at him as she trembled in Sophie’s arms. “I c-certainly hope so.”
His eyes filled with concern. “I have some questions, but first I need to talk to whoever is on Fletcher’s doorstep. You’ll excuse me a moment?”
Katie nodded, not sure what to say. Who on earth would want to harm her? The thought was unnerving, overwhelming. She left Sophie’s arms, headed for the nearest chair and fell into it.
Jace stood, his arms folded, as the concerned citizens of Independence filed down the front walk and through the Vanders’ gate. Albert Anderson peered at the iron gatepost, saw where the bullet nicked it, then looked wide-eyed at him and Fletcher. He insisted his son had nothing to do with it, and he was right. Jimmy had been helping Mr. Holbrook, Priscilla’s father, at the feed store.
Fletcher whistled. “Looks like you get to chase someone after all.”
“Maybe, maybe not.” Jace glanced at the staircase behind them. “I’m going to check on Miss Haverdash.”
Fletcher took his arm. “Jace, do you really think someone’s trying to harm her?”
“The thought crossed my mind before this happened – now I’m sure of it. The question is why.” He looked at the staircase again. “She’s got some explaining to do.”
“You make her sound like a criminal.”
“Not at all. But if I’m going to keep her safe, I’ll need some answers from her.”
Fletcher nodded. “True enough. All right, I’ll have Betsy make a batch of lemonade or something. She and Cecil came home while everyone was here, so she’ll want to know the real story, not the gossip that’s already spreading through town.”
“No doubt about that.” Jace headed for the stairs. “After I speak with Miss Haverdash, I’ll take another look around before I let her come downstairs.”
Fletcher glanced at the door and back. “You think they’ll try again?”
“You never know.” Jace took the stairs two at a time and found Miss Haverdash on the landing, in Sophie’s arms again. “Ma’am?”
Sophie looked at him, her eyes misted with tears. Miss Haverdash also looked terrified.
Jace’s gut twisted. “Fletcher’s getting together some refreshments. I’ll have another look around, then you can join him downstairs.”
Sophie nodded in acknowledgement. Miss Haverdash just stared at him. He took the remaining chair, placed it in front of her and sat. “Are you up to answering some questions?”
“Yes,” she s
aid, her voice low. Then a little louder: “Of course.”
It was a shock, he knew, but he had to find out some things. “Miss Haverdash, is there anyone that would wish you harm?”
She looked at him again, her eyes seeking. “I have no idea, unless … no, it makes no sense.”
“Tell me everything.” He pulled his notebook and pencil from his pocket.
She took a deep breath. “I came here to escape an unwanted arranged marriage.”
“So that’s why you became a mail-order bride.”
She looked away. “Yes.”
He knew how that had worked out for her, the poor thing. He ignored the pang of guilt and continued. “Who was this arranged marriage with?”
“A man named Ronald Finch. His family started in lumber …”
He noted how her voice trailed off and hoped she wasn’t going into shock. “Would he harm you for running away?”
She shook her head in confusion. “How could he find me? No one knew I came here except Mrs. Pettigrew and my friend Beryl.”
“Would your friend have told him?”
“Of course not. Besides, this was her idea.”
“To become a mail-order bride.”
“Yes.” She covered her face a moment, then let her hands slide away. “My father might try to find me, but he’d never try to shoot me.”
“You’re right – that’s not what fathers do.” Well, except for that one time in San Marcos when he was a Ranger … but he doubted Miss Haverdash’s father was so deranged. Normally he felt little emotion dealing with something like this – you had to if you didn’t want the job to drive you loco. But his blood boiled at the thought someone was trying to harm this woman – she’d been through enough already.
“I’m sorry, I’m upset …”
“Understandably so.” Jace kept his voice gentle. “There’s no one else you can think of?”
She shook her head.
“Very well, then. I’ll take another look around. You stay here with Sophie. I’ll let you two know when it’s safe to come downstairs.” The women nodded as he stood and left the hall.
Jace left the house, looked left, then right, cracked his neck and began patrolling the perimeter. Small-town sheriff or no, he was once again the hunter he’d always been.
Chapter Ten
Katie sat as Sophie stood and paced. How long did it take to have a look around? Was Jace checking the whole town? Well, being the sheriff, maybe he was.
Betsy came up the stairs with a tray in her hands. “This is taking forever. Here, have some cookies and lemonade. Who knows when the sheriff will be back?” She set the tray on the empty chair and handed out glasses, then offered cookies.
The women each took one. “Thank you, Betsy,” Katie said, glancing down the hall. “We should see if they’re awake.”
“By now they are. Probably reading, oblivious to what’s going on. I think I’ll keep it that way – no sense getting the old folks upset.” Betsy picked up the tray. “I’ll take them some lemonade. You might as well go downstairs – I’ve drawn all the curtains. Can’t shoot at something ya can’t see.” She started down the hall.
Sophie took Katie’s hand. “She has a point.”
“But Sheriff Diamond said …”
“I know, but Betsy’s right.” She sighed. “If Fletcher thinks it’s safer up here, we’ll come back upstairs.”
Katie nodded, being tired of sitting in the hallway. What she really wanted to do was lie down – the thought that someone might want to harm her had drained her strength. “I think I’d rather go to my room.”
“I don’t see a problem with that.” Sophie headed for the nearest door. “It faces the back of the house.”
As Katie stood, she heard the front door open downstairs and her stomach flipped despite the circumstances. But she didn’t have time or energy to think about her growing attraction to a man who didn’t want to deal with her any more than he had to. And now that he did, what was he going to do – label her a nuisance as well?
Men’s voices carried up the stairwell. Throwing caution (and exhaustion) to the wind, Katie headed downstairs, wanting to know what was going on.
She met Sheriff Diamond halfway down. “I thought I told you to stay where you were,” he said stiffly.
“The curtains are drawn,” she pointed out. “No one can see me.”
He glanced downstairs, noticed the darkened drawing room and sighed. “Fine. Follow me.”
She did, to the dining room across from the drawing room. “What did you find out?”
He took off his hat and tossed it on the dining table. His hair was mussed, making him look more rugged than normal. “I found tracks behind several houses. They belonged to a tall, heavyset man from the looks of them.”
Her eyes widened. “You can tell all that from a set of tracks?”
“And then some.” He pulled out a chair for her. “Please, sit.”
She did and waited for him to do the same. “Well?”
“Would your father have sent anyone to find you?”
She wiped her hands on her skirt. “He might, if he knew what happened.”
“Would your friend have told him?”
“No, our agreement was I would telegram her and let her know I was settled, then she’d tell him. And I haven’t done that yet.”
“So you were planning on marrying, use your new husband as a shield against your father’s wishes, then pray you two didn’t come to blows?”
She sighed, suddenly feeling tired again. “Something like that.”
To her surprise, he looked sympathetic. “I’m sorry things didn’t work out the way you planned. Are you going to go back?”
Her heart sank. “No. If I do, they’ll just start all over again.” She squared her shoulders. “But it might interest you to know that I got a job today.”
His eyebrows rose.
“Oh, don’t look so surprised. I have a mind and I know how to use it. Just because I’m a woman doesn’t mean I can’t think, Sheriff Diamond! I’ll have you know I’m very well read!” She shouldn’t have snapped, but she’d had enough of this day.
“I wasn’t implying that you weren’t smart, Miss Haverdash. Where did you get hired?”
“Professor Hamilton’s bookshop.”
He nodded. “Kind of … public, isn’t it?”
“I need this job, Sheriff. I need it badly if I’m to stay.”
He stared at her a moment. “You’re staying?”
She stood. “I am.”
He stood as well. “Only it might not be safe for you.”
“As opposed to where?” She waved at the curtained window. “If someone can find me here, they’d find me just as easily elsewhere. But I haven’t been here long – I don’t understand how anyone could have located me that fast.”
“They could have threatened your friend, gotten her to talk. That could put them a day behind you easy enough.”
Her eyes rounded. “That fast? But I don’t understand. Beryl wouldn’t have said anything …”
“Would your father have threatened her?”
She had to think about that. She didn’t think her father would stoop to such measures. If he was angry enough, he might bluster and bellow, but threaten? “I don’t see that happening.”
The look on his face was intense. “Are you sure?”
“My father might have sent someone to look for me if he found out where I was, but he certainly wouldn’t have told the man to use me for target practice.”
“What about the jilted suitor?”
“Ronald Finch was no suitor. More like a rich, boring acquaintance.” She rolled her eyes. “But nothing more. There’s a reason they call it an arranged marriage, Sheriff.”
He almost smiled. “Understood. Still, would he be angry enough to seek revenge?”
“Ronald doesn’t seem the type. He’s what you might call … milquetoast.”
The sheriff’s eyebrows rose. “I see. Can you think o
f anyone else that would want to hurt you?”
She sighed again. “Couldn’t it just be an accident? That someone’s pistol or rifle misfired?”
“Rifle. A Sharps, if my guess is right.”
“Not a pistol?”
“Not a pistol, not at that range. Either way, they came very close to killing you, Miss Haverdash. And a Sharps rifle can bring down a buffalo at that distance.”
She shuddered at the thought. “What do I do now?”
“Be careful. When do you start work?”
“Tomorrow. Professor Hamilton wants to keep the shop open in the afternoons.”
He smiled. “He always naps for a few hours after lunch. Everyone in town knows.”
“Yes, so I have the naptime shift.”
He chuckled at her joke. “All right. But don’t leave the house until I come for you. I’ll escort you to the bookshop.”
She stared at him – were things that serious? Well, someone had shot at her with a buffalo rifle. But who on Earth would want her dead?
“I know what you’re thinking,” he said. “But we can’t be too careful. I’ll be here at lunch, I’ll walk you over, you’ll do your shift and I’ll walk you home.”
Katie nodded. At least he was letting her go to work. “Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it.” He stood, put on his hat and nodded.
She nodded back and watched him leave, a tiny part of her pleased he was being so protective.
He stopped at the entrance to the dining room. “Oh and Miss Haverdash?”
She stood. “Yes?”
He smiled sardonically. “Welcome to Independence.” He tipped his hat again and left.
The next day at 12:30, Katie had just finished a quick sandwich with Sophie and Fletcher when Sheriff Diamond entered the kitchen.
“Afternoon, Jace,” Fletcher called. “Did you find out anything more?”
Jace … er, Sheriff Diamond shook his head. “My best guess is they sighted Miss Haverdash between some trees and houses, took a shot, hopped on their horse and fled. The trail goes cold outside of town – there’s too much wagon and horse traffic to tell the tracks apart.”