Martine, Missy - Star Wishes (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour)

by Missy Martine

  Abe shook his head. “On the way out, just now. Nothing yet.”

  Ike turned toward the horses. They were going to need a miracle today, and it had been a long time since he’d believed in miracles. Maybe I should have been star wishing with Sarah.

  He jumped up and took a seat next to the driver. He gave him a look guaranteed to keep him from asking questions. After a minute, Abe pounded on the door signaling they were ready to go. The driver picked up the reins and they were off. It took about twenty minutes to get across town to the courthouse. The buggy stopped and Ike looked around carefully before he jumped down. He continued to scour the area, searching the faces in the crowds, for another few minutes and finally motioned for Abe to get out with Sarah.

  “I’m glad to see you’re being so cautious, little brother.” Abe chuckled when Ike scowled, and helped Sarah to the ground.

  “Here you go.” Ike handed the driver a five dollar gold piece. “Can you stick around?”

  The older man looked at the money and smiled. “Yes, sir. I’ll be happy to.”

  Ike took one of Sarah’s arms while Abe took the other. They led her around the buggy and started up the steps to the courthouse. A loud booming sound filled the air, and people began to run in all directions. Both Ike and Abe drew their guns and turned in opposite directions trying to determine where the gunshot came from.

  Ike backed up, wanting to be closer to Sarah. “Let’s get her inside.” He turned to take her arm and froze. Her face was white, her hands clutched against her lower abdomen where the green velvet of her dress looked wet. Her mouth opened and closed but no sound came out.

  “Sarah,” Abe cried out.

  She sank to her knees, hitting the sidewalk hard, and then toppled over on her side. Bright red began to seep through her fingers.

  “No!” Abe screamed and dropped to the ground beside her.

  Ike knelt on her other side as Abe turned her gently to her back. He laid a hand on her head as Sheriff Watson came running up, his gun drawn. He raised his gaze to the lawman. “We didn’t see where the shots came from.” He turned back to Sarah and found her eyes open, and filled with pain. “Don’t worry, honey. We’re gonna take good care of you.” He yanked off his shirt, raised her hands, and pressed it against her bloody abdomen. It nearly killed him when he heard her groan of pain. He looked over his shoulder. “Get that buggy over here,” he yelled. “We’ve got to get her to a doctor.”

  Sheriff Watson walked over and knelt beside him. “I’ve got my deputy searching, but so far there’s no sign of anyone with a gun drawn and nobody seems to have seen anything.” He put his hand on Ike’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, I’ll stay on it.” He turned to the driver. “Help me get her into the buggy and then you get her over to St. Joseph’s Hospital as quick as you can.”

  Sarah raised one hand to Ike’s cheek, and the other to Abe’s. Tears ran down her face, and they had to lean in close to hear her words. “I love you both, so much.” She coughed, and had trouble catching her breath. “Take care of my kids, and tell them I love them.” Her breath caught, and her eyes rolled back in her head.

  Ike leaned over and pressed his ear to her chest. His eyes closed in relief when he heard a faint beat.

  “Is she gone?” Abe sobbed.

  “No, she’s still alive.”

  Sheriff Watson pulled back on Abe’s shoulder. “Let’s get her in the buggy. If we get her over to the hospital they might be able to save her.”

  Ike looked up at the sheriff. “Did you see her wound?”

  He nodded, and looked away. He helped Abe and Ike pick Sarah up and lay her on the seat inside the buggy. “One of you should go with her, but the other needs to come with me and appear before the judge.” He looked at Abe. “It’d be better if you talk to him since you’re the sheriff.”

  Abe nodded and pushed Ike toward the buggy. “You stay with her and make them do whatever they can. I don’t care what it costs, you get her the best.”

  Ike blinked back his tears and climbed in beside Sarah. “Get this thing moving.” He pressed his shirt tight against the gunshot wound as the buggy swayed back and forth, the wheels rumbling against the streets.

  * * * *

  Abe watched the buggy drive off and felt as if his heart had been torn out. He looked down at the pool of Sarah’s blood on the sidewalk, and then at his own hands and clothes.

  “Come on.” Sheriff Watson grabbed his arm and pulled him toward the back of the building. “Let’s get you cleaned up before we go inside.”

  Abe allowed himself to be led to the water pump behind the courthouse. The sheriff pumped some water into a trough and Abe leaned down and dunked his head. He rose up, shook the water out of his hair, and then washed off his hands. His gaze focused on the sheriff. “What did you find?”

  “Nothing, yet. But I’ve only had time for a brief sweep. I was looking for a gunman in case they weren’t through shooting but didn’t see anybody with a gun drawn.”

  “Okay, so they weren’t close. That means it had to be a rifle of some kind, and somebody that knew how to use it. All those people, they would have had to be a pretty good shot to hit one person in that crowd.” He dried his hands on his pants. “After we see the judge, I’ll do a thorough sweep and question everyone in the area.”

  Sheriff Watson put his hand on Abe’s shoulder. “I’ve already got Ellis out doing that now. Come on, son, let’s go see the judge.” He walked toward the front of the courthouse. “Did you get your proof from that lawyer feller in New York about the money Miss Keevers inherited?”

  “No, the wire never came.” Abe raked his fingers through his wet hair. He knew when Watson didn’t say anything it was bad. He followed the sheriff into the courtroom and let him direct him toward the front.

  “You’ll be seeing Judge Winston Arlington,” Sheriff Watson whispered. “He’s a fair man, Sheriff West.”

  Abe looked up at the man and sighed. “Why don’t you call me Abe? Seems kind of silly to be acting formal with each other now.”

  “Okay, Abe, then you can call me Robert.” He pointed to the other side of the room. “I see Miss Rivers and Mr. Estes are here.”

  Abe studied the two people who had treated his love so badly and felt a rage sweep through his body. They treated her like a slave, and he had no doubts that they would have sold her if they could. He chuckled silently. That’s one time her daddy’s reputation did her some good. Nobody would have taken her for fear she had too much of her daddy in her.

  “We’ll sit down there.” Robert led him to a table in the front of the room.

  Abe looked around and tried not to feel overwhelmed. He’d only been a sheriff in Big Springs. He’d arrested a few men in his time, but only drunks and disorderly cowboys. He’d never even seen the inside of a courtroom and had no idea what to expect. All of his drunks had just plead guilty and paid their fines. He looked up when a door off to the right opened and a distinguished-looking man walked in.

  “All rise!” Everyone came to their feet when a uniformed officer called out.

  Abe got to his feet with everyone else and self-consciously smoothed down his wrinkled shirt. He knew he looked a sight with all the blood stains on his clothes. Once the judge took his seat, everyone else sat down, and Abe followed their example.

  The judge glanced toward their table. “Sheriff, I understand we’ve had some kind of excitement out front that’s directly related to our first case this morning.”

  “Yes, Judge.” Robert pointed to Abe. “This is Sheriff Abraham West from Big Springs, Kansas. He was bringing Miss Sarah Keevers into the courthouse this morning when someone shot her on the courthouse steps.”

  A steady hum of whispering filled the air. The judge pounded a little wooden gavel on his desk. “Silence,” he roared out. He looked at Robert. “Was Miss Keevers killed?”

  Robert shook his head. “No, at least she wasn’t dead the last time I saw her. We loaded her into a buggy and Sheriff West’s brother we
nt with her to the hospital.”

  “Sheriff West, how did you come to apprehend Miss Keevers?”

  Robert motioned for Abe to stand. “I didn’t apprehend her. She turned herself in when she saw the wanted poster.” He figured it was close enough to the truth. “She had bought a farm outside Big Springs and didn’t know about being wanted until the poster came through on the stage.”

  Judge Arlington glanced at the papers on his desk. “I understand that she kidnapped some children from the Grover Street Orphan Asylum when she left. Are the missing children also in Big Springs?”

  Abe hesitated, and then decided it probably would be better not to lie to the judge. “Yes, sir. She made a good home for them on the farm. They have plenty to eat, warm clothes, and a roof over their heads. She’s even planning on sending them to school in the spring.”

  “Sheriff Watson, it’s my understanding that Miss Keevers has some kind of proof that the money she took from the Grover Street Orphan Asylum was actually her own inheritance. Is that true?”

  “I don’t have any personal firsthand knowledge of this, but perhaps Sheriff West can shed some light.”

  Abe watched Hannah and Raymond lean forward in their chairs. “An associate of a law firm in New York delivered Miss Keevers’s inheritance and I have someone in New York going around to all of them trying to find out who handled the transaction.”

  Judge Arlington frowned. “Why doesn’t the girl know who handled it?”

  “According to Miss Keevers, the associate talked with Miss Rivers and had her sign papers showing she’d received the money. She wasn’t present for their conversation.”

  Hannah jumped to her feet. “That’s a lie. I never had any New York lawyer come to me and give me money that was meant for Sarah. Why, it’s ridiculous. The girl has no family. She’d been at the orphanage since she was five years old.”

  The judge banged his gavel against the desk. “Sit down, Miss Rivers. You’ll get your turn in a moment.” He glanced back at Abe. “Continue, please. How did Miss Keevers find out if she wasn’t present for their conversation?”

  “One of the boys that was living there, Ezekiel, was apparently hiding in the closet outside her office and heard their conversation. He told Miss Keevers that Miss Rivers then tore up the papers the man had her sign and threw them in the trash. He saved them from being burned and gave them to Miss Keevers who put them back together so she could read them.” He glared over at Hannah. “Unfortunately, she didn’t keep them. Later, she opened Miss Keevers desk when she and Mr. Estes went away to deliver a young boy to his new home. She took her money, and only her own money, and had the opportunity to read over a ledger and some letters that Miss Rivers was storing.”

  “That’s another lie!”

  “Madame, if you don’t take your seat and be quiet, I’ll have you removed from this courtroom.” The judge looked at the papers on his desk. “Sheriff West, did she tell you what was in the letters and the ledger?”

  “Not word for word but she did tell me that she took the children to save them from what fate Miss Rivers had in store for them. She said that the ledgers and letters proved they were selling the orphans off to people as slave labor, and in some instances, selling the girls as companions, if you get my drift.”

  Again the buzz of whispers swept through the crowded courtroom. “Order.” Judge Arlington pounded on his desk. “Quiet.” He rubbed his temple with his hand. “Sheriff West, these are serious charges, but what you’re telling me is hearsay. You didn’t actually see any of the evidence yourself so you can’t testify to its content.” He paused. “Sheriff Watson, do you think Miss Keevers will recover enough to present the testimony of what she saw?”

  Robert gave Abe a brief look of pity and then turned back to the judge. “Judge, the girl was gut shot.”

  There were gasps all around the room, and Abe felt bile rise in his throat. He knew what that meant. Very few men survived gunshot wounds to the gut. Even if she survived the doctor taking out the bullet, the infection would most likely kill her.

  Judge Arlington sighed. “Then, I’m sorry, Sheriff West, but without her testimony, there’s nothing I can do. I have no proof to back up her charges against Miss Rivers, nor anything that can disprove the charges Miss Rivers has made against her. The broken desk clearly showed a break-in, and Miss Keevers did disappear with several of the children.” He looked down at his desk and frowned. “I’m afraid I have to order the return of the orphans to the Grove Street Orphan Asylum.”

  Hannah’s face erupted into a smile.

  “What if you had the proof, judge? Would you leave us kids alone and make Miss Rivers pay for what she done to Miss Sarah?”

  Abe spun around, his mouth dropping open at the sight of Daniel standing in the doorway of the courtroom. He carried a gunnysack, his clothes covered in mud and dust.

  Hannah jumped to her feet. “That’s Daniel Potter, and he belongs at the orphanage. He’s one of my boys. Somebody grab him.”

  Before anyone could lay a hand on Daniel, he pulled a gun from his bag and pointed it at Hannah’s table. Abe recognized the Horse Pistol that had given Sarah so much trouble. He saw some officers at the side of the room start toward Daniel. Before they could reach him, he got to his feet and made his way to where Daniel was standing. Everyone was quiet as he approached the boy with the gun drawn. “Daniel, please give me the gun so we can end this without further bloodshed.”

  Tears welled up in Daniel’s eyes. “So, it’s true? Did somebody shoot Miss Sarah?”

  Abe wouldn’t lie to the boy, not even to calm him down. He nodded. “Yes, it’s true, but she’s at the hospital with Ike, and she’s gonna be okay.” He desperately needed to believe that. “Give me the gun, son, and tell the judge whatever you wanted to say.” Daniel glanced over at Hannah, and then up toward the judge.

  “Daniel, if I had proof of what Sheriff West told me, then I could certainly do what’s right.” The judge smiled at the boy. “Why don’t you come up here and tell me what you know? I promise nobody will hurt you.”

  Daniel was silent for a moment and then he handed the gun to Abe. A collective sigh of relief filtered through the room. The boy looked up and frowned. “Stop him,” he yelled. “Don’t let him leave.”

  Abe looked up to see Raymond Estes moving toward the door. Before he could say anything, Robert had grabbed him and forcefully put him back in his chair.

  The judge pounded his gavel again. “Daniel, do you have some kind of evidence to present?”

  Daniel moved forward, clutching the gunnysack to his chest. He stopped at the table where Abe had been sitting.

  “What’s your full name for the record, son? And how old are you?”

  “I’m Daniel Potter, sir. I’m twelve years old.”

  “Where do you live, Daniel?”

  He smiled. “Miss Sarah bought a farm so we could all live together over in Big Springs. It’s a great place. We have a garden for food and a stream nearby that has great fishing. We got us a milk cow and a whole bunch of chickens so we have eggs every day and fried chicken once a month.” He sighed. “It’s a wonderful place to live.”

  “Who all lives there with you?” asked the judge.

  “There’s me, and my little brother Jonathan. Then there’s Zeke, he’s ten and Jake. He thinks he’s about ten, but he’s not sure cause he’s never had a ma and pa he remembers. Miss Sarah gave him his own birthday so we can celebrate it each year.” He thought for a moment. “And there’s Rachel. She wasn’t supposed to come with us, but when Miss Sarah found out what they planned to do with her, she said Rachel had to come and live with us.”

  Judge Arlington cleared his throat. “What did they plan to do with Rachel, Daniel?”

  “Miss Sarah found a letter asking them to sell Rachel to a…um, well a house of, well.”

  The judge peered at him closely. “A house of ill repute.”

  Daniel reddened and nodded his head.

  “The boy is
lying, judge. Can’t you see that?” Hannah’s voice had lost some of its earlier bluster.

  The judge consulted the papers on his desk and then turned his gaze toward Hannah. “Miss Rivers, I find it interesting that your original complaint didn’t mention any disappearance of a young woman at all.” He looked back at Daniel. “Go ahead, son. What evidence is it you have to prove what you’ve said?”

  Daniel laid the gunnysack on the table and pulled open the end. He reached inside and pulled out a little black book along with a stack of papers. “This here is the ledger that we found when we broke into Miss Rivers’s desk so we could get Miss Sarah’s money.” He held up the papers. “And these are the letters proving they’ve been selling the children and making a profit instead of finding them decent homes.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a pile of torn pieces of paper. “This is what that lawyer man had Miss Rivers sign so he could leave Miss Sarah’s money. You’ll have to put it back together, but Miss Sarah did it so I’m sure you can.”

  “Would you bring those items to me, Daniel?”

  Raymond Estes jumped up and ran for the door. Sheriff Watson knocked him to the floor and held him there at gunpoint. “Somebody send for my deputy.” Hannah’s face was so pale, Abe wondered if she might faint.

  The judge spent several minutes reading some of the letters and then put them down and glared at Hannah. “Madame, if it’s up to me, you’ll find yourself in a women’s prison by the end of the week.”

  “No,” she cried. “It’s just a misunderstanding.”

  “Silence.” Judge Arlington turned to Robert. “Sheriff, it’ll be up to you to retrieve as many of these unfortunate children as you can. As for Miss Sarah Keevers, I hereby dismiss all charges against her.” He looked over at Abe. “And I do hope the young woman survives. As far as this court is concerned, she’s a true hero for saving as many of the children as she could.”

  Abe took a deep breath. “Judge, if it’s all right with you, I’d like to take Daniel home with me. He and the other kids are happy, and my brother and I would take responsibility for them.”