“Never doubted that fact for a moment, she told me as much the first time we met.” John ate the last of his breakfast and leaned back in his chair. “However, just because Dixy is no longer a suspect, I’m not convinced she’s still not in danger. Whoever killed Tobias knows she was in the wagon, and they might be tempted to come after her.”
“True, but that means the killer has to be someone local.” Nathaniel reviewed the people he knew in town and couldn’t envision anyone capable of murder.
“Maybe, but I’m guessing, she hasn’t met everyone either.”
A chill ran down Nathaniel’s spine.
How could he ensure her safety?
****
The next afternoon, Dixy walked into Naked Bluff’s general store smiling. “How’s it going, Mr. Randal?”
“All’s good, Mrs. Murphy,” The owner answered and nodded at Nathaniel, who was following in her wake.
He shut the door behind them and proceeded to the counter while she ventured around a table laden with bags of rice and continued to the back of the store. “We’re here to restock our supplies.”
Confident her husband had the list of what she needed, Dixy scanned the display case of different hair clips and paused in front of a lacy white corset. She’d never felt the need to wear such an item, but she thought Nathaniel might enjoy seeing her in it.
“We’ll look around while you get everything together.” Her husband nudged her from behind and leaned in close. “Do you think it’s your size?”
Without waiting for her answer, he turned and lifted his voice. “Wrap up this thing here, too.”
Mr. Randal glanced their way and smiled. “Splendid. I told my missus you might be partial to that getup.”
Dixy blushed and stepped to another display. “I don’t need that.”
Nathaniel winked at her and whispered, “Maybe not, but I will sure enjoy seeing you in it.”
Her cheeks burned, and she studied the fabric they had on a shelf. Once her heart rate returned to normal, she realized she had to have a few more dresses to wear. She only had two when she’d arrived. One destroyed by Tobias’ blood, she wore the other every day. The few nice clothes she had, she used to attend church and go to town. Most came from the items that belonged to Nathaniel’s sisters. If she wanted something new, she needed to find someone to make it for her because she never perfected her seamstress skill.
The store’s entrance bell rang.
Several people came in from outside, and Dixy overheard their greetings to her husband.
Still concentrating on the fabric, she jumped when a hand landed on her shoulder. “What the—”
“Sorry, sweetheart, I just got a message that Bo needs to see me right away.” Nathaniel tugged her close and whispered, “I’m taking John Smith’s horse, and he’ll drive you home in our wagon.”
“I could go with you,” Dixy offered not thrilled with the idea of being alone with John, especially after what happen yesterday. Would he expect her to make love to him when Nathaniel wasn’t around?
Her husband’s gaze narrowed. “Don’t worry. John won’t touch you unless I’m there to give him permission.”
She nodded, still unhappy with the change in their plans. “All right, I’ll just wait for our order and head home.”
He smiled. “That’s my girl.”
After giving her a quick kiss on the cheek, he hurried to the door. She swallowed her misgivings of him leaving without her and strolled to the glass display case that held ornamental silverware and decorative bowls.
“Mrs. Murphy.” Mrs. Randal walked along the counter and stopped in front of Dixy. “We have your order ready. Can we help you out to your wagon?”
Dixy smiled and spotted John, talking to a man near the front door. “No, John should be able to help me. I just need to let him know.”
Strolling to the exit, Dixy noted the other people in the area. Most she had met at either Nathaniel’s or church. The man who was currently next to John, she had not. Shorter than him, the man appeared to be in his forties and had a thick solid build. However, the smooth cadence of his voice seemed almost familiar as if she remembered it from somewhere but the place and time alluded her.
She stepped closer.
The man’s scrutiny ran from the top of her head to the tip of her shoes. He frowned. “Mrs. Murphy, I take it you’re ready to leave?”
John swiveled on his heels and took away her chance to answer. “Right, Nathaniel said to help you with your packages and see you home.”
“Yes, but I don’t mean to interrupt anything.” She smiled at him and turned an eye to the stranger with him.
“Gab Van Pelt, madam, we’re done.” He nodded a farewell and swaggered to the exit without a backward glance.
Dixy stared at the retreating figure, trying to understand his problem. Why had he taken an instant dislike to her?
Still annoyed by his obvious snub, Dixy turned to John and slid her arm around the one he offered.
“Come on, Mrs. Murphy, let’s pick up your purchases from the counter and be on our way.” He guided her back across the store.
****
“But I don’t understand. John Smith told me to head over to see you.” Nathaniel walked into Bo Kildare’s home and smiled at his wife, Sarah.
He closed the door, cutting off the flow of cold air invading the warm room. “I said everything I had to say to you yesterday when we talked.”
“Yes, but he even lent me his horse so I could get here.” Nathaniel replayed the conversation he had with John before he left the general store.
His focus fell, and his thoughts shifted to the last time he’d visited this house. A man had lay spread out on the floor, dead. Sarah shot the man to save Bo’s brother, Chase. If she hadn’t, he probably would’ve died too. Unlike in Tobias’ case, where there was no decisive reason for him to have been killed. “I guess I just assume you were having a medical issue.”
Why had John sent him on a wild goose chase?
“I don’t know why he told you to come here. We’re all fine.” Bo stepped forward and offered Nathaniel a seat.
Sarah sat on the couch in the spot closest to the fireplace. The large fire in the hearth had him choosing the comfortable chair near the door. He did not intend to stay, but he needed to figure out why John had sent him here. Perching on the edge, Nathaniel searched for a reason for John’s deception.
An answer quickly jumped to the forefront of his mind. Did he want Dixy to himself?
Bo strolled to his wife and settled next to her. “The last time I talked to John, his only concern was that whoever shot Tobias might go after Dixy.”
“He’d said the same thing to me yesterday.” Nathaniel reviewed the conversation. “For some reason, I got the impression he knew more about the case than he was letting on. But before I could question him, he was heading out the door.”
“I felt the same way, and I did pressure him. All I could get out of him was a general unrest concerning Mr. Van Pelt’s part in Tobias’ murder.” Bo laid his hand on his wife’s and drew it onto his lap.
“Isn’t that kind of strange considering John works for Mr. Van Pelt,” Sarah interjected and stared at her husband.
“No, from what I understand, John does odd jobs for anyone who will pay him.” Bo glanced at Nathaniel for more input.
Rubbing the back of his neck, he debated what information he could add to Bo’s assessment.
“That’s not what Gab’s wife, Tess told me. She said that he visited their house regularly to help out.” Sarah lifted a brow of enquired to Nathaniel. “But you see more people than we do. What have you heard?”
Again, Nathaniel shrugged off the assumptions he made with respect to John. “Well, he does do a few handyman jobs for people. Some I understand are of a more personal nature.”
“What do you mean by that?” Bo straightened, the change showing off his power behind the Texas Deputy.
“He has sort of a reputation of b
eing available to join into, uh...” Nathaniel fought for a way to say this delicately and cleared his throat. He didn’t want to offend her or Bo by saying the wrong thing.
“The act of personal pleasure?” She offered and grinned.
Nathaniel nodded.
“Darn, I should’ve suspected that by the way Tess was smiling when she mentioned John’s regular visits.” Sarah tugged her hand free from her husband’s and stood. “If you two will excuse me, I’ll go start dinner.”
Bo rose to his feet and kissed her cheek before permitting her to pass. Once she’d stepped through the doorway into the kitchen, he turned. “Is she right? Does John fuck other men’s wives?”
Nathaniel shifted out of his chair and stared at his friend. “Only as far as I know when the husband is present. He’s like the appetizer to the main event.”
“And Tobias? Was he doing the same thing?” Bo queried.
Nathaniel couldn’t hold back the laughter bubbling up in his throat. “I can’t believe most women would want to have sex with him.”
“True, but that still doesn’t give us an answer as to why John sent you here.” Bo stepped to the closet by the door and pulled out his coat. “Why don’t I ride to town with you and we’ll ask him?”
Thrill by the idea, Nathaniel nodded. “Great. Let’s go.”
Chapter Sixteen
John drove around the side of the house and stopped by the back door. “Why don’t you head inside while I unload the things from the carriage’s storage box? Then I’ll...” His gaze jumped from hers to something behind her.
Turning to see what attracted his attention, Dixy stared at Gab Van Pelt as he stepped out of the barn. “Excuse me, what were you doing in there?”
He withdrew his hand from beneath his coat and pointed a gun at her. Suddenly, she recalled where she’d heard his voice. He shot Tobias.
A bolt of pure terror sped through her, and she clenched her hands together in her lap.
“Whatever you have planned, it’s a bad idea to do it on the doorstep of the town’s doctor’s home.” John wrapped his fingers around her shoulder and pulled her back against him. “And there’s no reason to involve Dixy.”
“Wrong, she’s why I’m here.” Gab stepped closer. “Now, move over, darling. We’re going to take a ride.”
Keeping her gaze on the gun, she shifted across the seat and allowed enough room for him to sit beside her. His thick bulk shoved her against John and she laid a hand on his thigh to steady herself.
“So that’s the way it is. You’re fucking her too.” Gab settled onto the bench, placed one arm along the back, and stuck the barrel of the gun into her side. “So is she as good of lay as Tess?”
Fighting to remain calm, Dixy worried her hands together and tried to decide if John was sleeping with Gab’s wife. If so, was he planning to get rid of both of them at once?
“That doesn’t deserve an answer,” John grumbled and tapped the reins against the horse’s rear. The carriage rolled forward. “So where are we headed?”
“Tobias’ house. It’s the perfect place for Nathaniel to find his wife and her lover.” Gab snickered, “I must say you both or making this much easier to sell as a lover spat than I initially thought.”
Tugging at her gloves, Dixy fought to catch her breath. She didn’t want to die. Not now, not like this. The people in town might believe she’d cheated on Nathaniel, but would he?
She loved him and wanted a life with him?
“I guess you wouldn’t buy that I won’t tell a soul you killed Tobias if you let us go.” She studied Gab and noted the malicious glint in his eyes.
“Sorry, I wasn’t born yesterday. I need to clean up a few loose ends and get back to business.” Gab pointed to a side street. “Cut across Mr. Wilson’s meadow so we aren’t seen by anyone. It’ll take us by that old shed on Tobias’ property. We’ll stash the horse and buggy in there so they won’t draw any attention to the house.”
Following his orders, John directed the carriage over the rough terrain and guided it through the trees. The constant bouncing had Dixy worrying that Gab’s gun might go off by accident. She tried to sit up straight, but each bump sent her into either one man or the other. Finally, she spotted a small shed with a cover area off to one side.
John guided the horse under the enclosure and stopped the carriage against the rough wooden structure. “Now what?”
“Get out. You have me close off over here.” He dug the butt of the gun into her ribs. “Remember, I have your girlfriend right here, and I’m not afraid to kill her either. Though, I believe you might want to wait for that inevitability until you two have a little fun.”
Confused, Dixy waited while John exited the buggy before she slid across the seat. What did Gab have in mind? Did he plan to have them naked and locked in each other’s arms before he pulled the trigger?
John helped her from the carriage and drew her close. “What do you have in mind for us to do?”
“Just feeding my wild side,” Gab said with a smirk and jumped from the buggy. “Now, head inside.”
“Right, come on, Dixy. Let’s get you out of this cold wind.” John gripped her hand, and she realized she’d lost a glove somewhere along the way.
Stumbling up the stone steps, she admired the thick logs of the cabin and waited for him to unlock the door. “Do you live here?”
He opened the cabin and ushered her inside. “Yes, Tobias let me stay here with him while he was alive. Once he was dead. No one else showed up to claim the place, so I continued living here.”
It took a moment for her eyes to adjust. The dark walls didn’t reflect any light, and the lone window over the counter in what appeared to be a kitchen pointed away from the setting sun. On the far wall stood a large stone fireplace, John walked toward it.
Gab grabbed her by the waist the minute he stepped through the door. “Don’t be stupid, John. Because the first bullet, I fired, will tear this woman into.”
“Calm down. I’m only starting a fire unless you want us to freeze to death.” John seized a box off the mantel and bent over the stack of logs in the fireplace. A quick flick and a light sparked. Setting the match to the kindling, John worked the blaze to life.
Held tight against Gab’s bulky body, she searched for a plan to survive. Gab had already killed Tobias so he wouldn’t worry about committing murder again. His objective from what he said earlier appeared to be to shift the blame to John and her.
With the fire glowing bright, she noticed the room had very few items that could help them. The large square area had a kitchen with a stove on one wall, the fireplace on another, a bed position in the corner of the adjacent wall, leaving the front one bare. A couple of rockers sat near the hearth. A table with two chairs occupied the space off to the left of the door. Other than a few buckskin rugs on the wood floor, the space gave no indication of the personality of the person or persons that lived there.
Gab shoved her forward. “Go over and stand next to John. I want to watch as he undresses you.”
Swirling around, she stared at the man. “What? Why would you tell him to do that?”
Gab lifted his hand that held his gun. “Because like I said in the buggy, I’m hoping to make it appear as if you two are lovers.” He stepped to the table, pulled out a chair and sank onto the wood surface. “Now, move.”
Dixy blinked, uncertain how far he’d go to make an affair look authentic. Biting her lip to keep from arguing with him, she spun away in disgust. Would Nathaniel believe the lie if he discovered her dead body lying naked in John’s arms?
Raising her gaze, she stared at him. He in so many ways reminded her of Nathaniel. Both were tall, lean, and had an inner strength she found strangely appealing.
“Come here, Dixy.” John removed his jacket and threw it over the arm of a rocker before he motioned her to him. “It is warmer over here so you can take off your coat.”
His steady gaze reassured, but her heart continued to pound in her che
st. Was she going to die here? The thought had her mind reeling. A slightly raised plank in the floor caught the edge of her heel. Unprepared, she lurched forward and fell hard onto her hands and knees.
John rushed to her and grabbed her upper arm. “Easy there, we don’t want you hurting yourself.”
She didn’t see how it mattered if she’d be dead in a few minutes. “I’m okay. I’m just nervous.”
“Get her up and turn her around. I want a clear view of every part of her,” Gab ordered.
John helped her to her feet.
She read the concern on his face and gathered her strength. If she was going to die, shouldn’t she, at least, know why? Determined to have a few answers, she called out, “I don’t understand why you killed Tobias. He was a nice man, and from what I remember of your conversation with him, he had the problem solved.”
Gab shrugged. “Funny thing is he did, but I had my doubts. So I took care of the problem to ensure other notable parties didn’t find any discrepancies with our service. Otherwise, more than Tobias might’ve paid with their life.”
“And who are those people?” Dixy felt she had nothing to lose at this point. If he intended to kill her, she might as well know the full story.
“Not anyone you’ll ever meet, so you’re in the clear as far as they go,” Gab replied. His sinister gaze ran from her chin to her toes several times. “Now, let’s get you naked.”
John moved off to one side of her and drew her attention to him. “Just keep looking at me.”
Taking to heart that he’d see her through this ordeal, she studied his face and followed his direction. “Now, why don’t I help you out of your coat?”
She fumbled with the buttons and struggled to release the top one from its mooring. “I’m not sure I can do this.”
“Here, let me.” John moved her hands out of the way and hastily had her free of her coat. The thick fabric slid off her shoulders and hit the floor behind her.
“Now, get her out of that awful dress,” Gab demanded and waved the gun in his hand as if trying to hurry them along.
The Country Doctor's Bride (Historical West - The Cowboys of Naked Bluff, Texas series Book 6) Page 11