by Natalie Dean
"What d'ya want?" he asked.
"Sheriff, do you know Frank Ward?" she asked without bothering with small talk.
"I reckon I do, what's it to ya, Miss?" The Sheriff spat his tobacco a little too close to her for her liking.
"I think something has happened to him. He's supposed to meet me, but he’s not here. I'm his fiancée, Miss Cahill."
The news didn't affect the Sheriff in any way. He looked her up and down.
"Nah, reckon Frank's changed his mind. He's not the reliable sort."
"Please Sheriff, if you could take me to him. I'm sure something untoward has happened."
"I ain't no delivery service. I'm Sheriff Palmer. You'd be better off heading back from where you came. Men in these parts get into all sorts of trouble."
His attitude was far from helpful. Lottie wanted to protest, but the Sheriff walked away from her before she had a chance.
She stood there, wondering what to do next. All she wanted now was some place where she could get a bath and rest. She was worn out. Lottie wanted to look presentable when she met Frank. If his reluctance to meet her was due to second thoughts, then she needed to look her best for him.
The hotel looked nice enough, but it meant crossing what passed for a road again. Lottie tiptoed across the road, but her boot got stuck in the mud. "Look out," someone called as a loose horse came running through the town. Lottie was in its path. She tried to pull her foot out of the boot, but the laces were too tight. Lottie looked up to see the horse barreling towards her. She closed her eyes, waiting for death to descend upon her.
Suddenly she was catapulted out of harm's way, but she had landed face down in more mud. A hand rested on her back. It was Doctor McLennon who had come to her rescue again.
"Let’s think of the positive side, at least you weren't trampled," the good doctor smiled at her as Lottie sat up and tried to wipe the mud from her face. It was the last straw, and she burst into tears. Her little suitcase had fallen open when she fell, and her few possessions had tumbled out.
"Don't cry, Miss Cahill. Let's get you into Mrs. Lavery's hotel. Oh, here she is. Mrs. Lavery, you may be better suited to this." Doctor McLennon moved out of the way. He tried to wipe himself down.
"Come along, young lady and I'll get you sorted with a nice hot bath. You arrived today?" Mrs. Lavery asked kindly, and Lottie nodded.
Mrs. Lavery turned to Doctor McLennon, "you get yourself cleaned up Doc. I'll take care of your new arrival."
"She's not my… I mean, she isn't here for me," the Doc spluttered.
The commotion had brought the ladies out of the little tea shop. They overheard Mrs. Lavery's comments. They began to whisper that it was time the young doctor found himself a wife. It wasn't right for a young man like him not to have a wife.
They had to know more, and so they followed Mrs. Lavery and the young woman into the hotel.
"Is she the doctor's new wife? Isn't she pretty? Why didn't he tell anyone he had sent for a bride?"
Mrs. Lavery hushed them, and Lottie looked horrified to be the center of attention.
"Ladies, there's nothing to see here. This young woman is tired, hungry and in need of a bath. You can come back later when all three have been seen to."
Lottie was bemused as she watched the women reluctantly leave the hotel lobby.
"Horace, you see that none of them linger. Fetch the young lady's bag and wash anything that's muddied and bring the rest to her room. We'll put her in room 4."
Lottie interrupted, "But my fiancé, Frank Ward, will come to meet me. He's a little late."
"Frank Ward. Are you sure? I know I've only met you, but you don't seem his type. Imagine that, Horace, Frank sent for one of those mail order brides." Mrs. Lavery tutted and scurried Lottie upstairs to a room that served as a bath room. There was an iron bath in the room and towels were on a shelf. There were smelling salts for men and women on another shelf.
"You get those clothes off, and I'll have a lovely hot bath for you in a few minutes."
Lottie disappeared behind the screen to undress. She could hear Mrs. Lavery directing Horace on the amount of water the Miss would need.
"It's all ready for you. Your bedroom is next door, and I'll leave the key here for you. Horace has left clothes that weren't muddied on the bed, and he'll sort out the rest for you. Join me when you're ready, and we'll have something to eat."
The room fell into silence as the door closed. Lottie peered out over the top of the screen. She was alone. A fire was blazing by the bath, and the bath itself smelled divine. She was looking forward to soaking in the suds that had formed. Lottie had never taken a bath for granted but this was exactly what she needed. She lowered herself into the water, and it enveloped her. She could finally relax. Her fingernails had been dirty, and it bothered her, but now they were clean.
With some effort, she left the bath and dried herself off. With a towel wrapped around her, Lottie peaked out the door before running to what was now her room. It was small but perfectly situated. A comfortable looking bed and dressing table were in the room.
Dressed in fresh clothes and smelling so sweet, Lottie made her way downstairs.
"Aren't you a pretty little thing?" Mrs. Lavery said as she welcomed Lottie.
"We'll dine in my quarters. Horace, send for Cecilia please." Mrs. Lavery took Lottie's arm and whisked her back up the stairs.
"You'll like Cecilia. She owns the tea shop. Tragic story really. She came out here like you to marry, but her husband died within a few months. Then Clem Palmer forced her to sell to him. He made his money in the gold mines, but he wants to own the land rights. Enough about Cecilia though, what is this notion of marrying Frank Ward?"
"He was supposed to be waiting for me when I got here so that we could get married. Mrs. Lavery, what do you know about him?"
The arrival of a very elegant woman interrupted the conversation.
"Hello, I’ve heard all about you. You've caused quite the commotion around town. Seems you fainted when you got off the stagecoach. I'm Cecilia."
After greetings had been made, Lottie spoke, "Mrs. Lavery, Cecilia, I came here to marry Frank Ward. But everyone seems surprised by this."
Mrs. Lavery and Cecilia exchanged looks.
"It's only, Frank is very much at home in the saloon. In fact, that's where he spends most of his nights. He's harmless enough, but he tends to spin tall tales. I'm surprised that he wanted a wife."
"I thought he was a God-fearing man who didn't drink! Is there another Frank Ward perhaps? My fiancé said I would want for nothing. He sent me my fare although…" Lottie paused. She had said more than she planned.
"What is it, dear? You're among friends now," Mrs. Lavery motioned for her to go on.
"Well, he did say he'd pay for the most comfortable travel, but I fear there was a mix-up. He only paid for a very basic fare. I sound childish for complaining."
Cecilia chimed in, "That sounds like Frank. And I do believe if he had the money, you would have had the most comfortable travel, but Frank isn't good with money. He gambles, and luck never seems to be on his side. What do you think, Mrs. Lavery?"
"Everyone knows Frank. There's no harm in him, but it isn't a match that would suit you. The doctor would be a much better fit for you dear," Mrs. Lavery said as she smiled at Cecilia who concurred.
Lottie's cheeks felt hot at the suggestion.
"I went to the Sheriff to ask him for help, but he was of no use at all. I know in my heart something is wrong, and I wanted to go to Frank's ranch to find out what."
"Oh my dear, I feel you have been fooled. It's not like you're in the city any longer. You can't trust the law out here. Firstly, Sheriff Palmer is useless. His brother, Clem Palmer, is the one I had mentioned earlier, who wants to own most of the land and secondly, Frank doesn't have a ranch. He has a few fields that he won from Willie Parsons in a poker game. There were rumors it had a gold mine, but poor Willie never found any," Mrs. Lavery revealed.
"I'll take you out to Parsons Place when we've finished here. You can meet Frank Ward and make up your own mind. I'll ask Horace to get my horses ready. I must say that I did hear that Frank had been giddy about some find on his land. It was about two nights ago."
"And where did you hear that?" Mrs. Lavery shot a look of condemnation at Cecilia. Cecilia took no notice of Mrs. Lavery's judgment only saying she had her sources.
Lottie had mixed feelings. Could she marry a man who drank and gambled? It was the road to ruin. She wanted stability in her life. How could she get out of her promise to marry him?
Time seemed to pass by very slowly as Lottie waited impatiently for Cecilia and Mrs. Lavery to finish. Mrs. Lavery was an elderly lady and it transpired that Horace was her son. She had moved to Bannack with the first gold rush. But, rather than seek gold, Mrs. Lavery provided accommodation to the gold miners. Now that the Homestead Act had passed, more families were expected to move into the area and needed accommodation while they built their houses. She also mentioned her livelihood was under threat from the Palmers. They didn't like the idea of small farm holdings interfering with their cattle's grazing.
"Mrs. Aikens, your horses and wagon are ready now," Horace informed them as he quietly entered the room.
"It won't be as bad as the stage coach. I promise," Cecilia said to the very pale Lottie. Her stomach churned as she thought about another journey.
It surprised Lottie at how deftly Cecilia got on the wagon as she was at a loss to figure out how to climb up. There didn't seem to be any steps.
"Let me help," Doctor McLennon jumped up and offered his hand to Lottie. He was all cleaned up, and she was glad she looked clean and refreshed too. She jumped as their hands touched and made a spark. She giggled at him, and he shyly smiled at her. He took her hand again and in one swoop, pulled her up on the wagon. The force had been enough to make her fall against him, and he placed his hands around her waist as he steadied her. Doc gave her another shy smile as she looked into his eyes and said a quiet “Thank you.”
"Showing her around, Cecilia?" the doctor asked trying to deflect from his shyness.
"We're going out to Parsons Place to see what Frank is up to."
Doctor McLennon went pale.
"Are you sure you want to go all the way out there? Miss Cahill should probably stay in town and go out there tomorrow after she’s had some rest."
"It isn't that far, Doc. There's no need to put her off," Cecilia said.
"After the journey and day she has had, Miss Cahill should take a break from all the riding." But the Doctor's insistence fell on deaf ears.
"Thank you for your concern, Doctor McLennon. But I am feeling quite refreshed now," Lottie said as she sat beside Cecilia.
"Off you get Doc, unless you want to come with us."
Cecilia was surprised when the doctor paused to consider her offer.
"Very well, I will come, but I'll ride out on my horse. I have to go that direction in any case."
Doc jumped off the wagon and seemed to run towards his horse. Cecilia cracked the reins, and her horses moved off.
"That was very strange behavior from the doctor," Lottie observed.
"You noticed that too huh? I was joking when I said to him to come with us." Cecilia had heard from her tea shop's clientele, how the doctor looked like he was madly in love with this new young woman in town.
"What do you think it means?" Cecilia asked trying to gauge if the attraction was mutual. But Lottie wasn't giving anything away. Cecilia continued, "So you were a nurse in the city? Those skills will be handy in these parts. You should work with the doc. What do you think of him?"
But Lottie wasn't concentrating on Cecilia's inquiry about her impression of the doctor. "According to the Sheriff, I should go back home but I can't." Lottie shook her head. She didn't want to reveal what had happened.
"I understand, Lottie. When my husband died, Clem Palmer tried to drive me off the land. He set fire to my barn. He ran my cattle off the land. It was horrendous, but I went up to him and said, "Pay me a fair price, and it's yours." I had no children and never planned to run a farm by myself. So he paid up. But I had left a past behind in the city. Everyone has a reason to come here. I stayed and opened my tea shop. But a word to the wise, Frank is not husband material for you. He tries, God love him, but he's not for you. Here we are. It's still called Parsons Place even though it belongs to Frank now."
Lottie looked at the painted sign that was barely hanging by a nail. It had seen better days. She could see a little cabin, but it looked dilapidated. Lottie's heart sank. Although she had grown up in the orphanage, life with Mr. Peabody had given her a taste of the better things in life. Even the little hotel room had more charm than this place.
"Oh, Cecilia. What will I do?"
Cecilia put her hand on Lottie's arm to comfort her. The closer they got to the cabin, the more Lottie wished for the wagon to turn around. It was difficult to even see the windows with the amount of dirt that covered them. There was a very basic barn and a couple of cows in a field beside the house.
"Mr. Ward. It's Lottie Cahill," Lottie called out. There was no reply.
"Look the barn door is open, you go over there, and I'll check the house," Cecilia suggested, and Lottie nodded.
The women called out for Frank, but there was still no reply. The cows began to moo at Lottie, as though they needed something from her. She walked to the barn, two horses were in their stalls. They were very agitated. Lottie had no experience with animals, but it didn't seem right that one of the stall doors should be open. The horse reared up as she approached.
"It's okay. Let me help you. What's wrong?"
The other horse began to neigh with its ears twitching back and forth.
"Let me deal with your friend first, and then I'll come to you. Now, there's a good horse. Are you caught in something?"
Lottie put her hands up to try to get hold of the rope that kept the horse tethered.
"Good horse. Here we go."
Lottie's focus was on the horse. Not on the ground. She kicked against something with her foot. She looked down and screamed. A man's body lay before her. She ran out as fast as she could.
"Cecilia, there's a man…." she pointed before vomiting, "there's a dead man in the stall. It's horrible."
She had seen many sights in her life but none as brutal as this. The horse had trampled on the body and in its agitated state hadn't stopped for a while.
"Lottie, you have to help me move the horses."
"Is anyone here?" Doc McLennon called out.
"Over here, Doc. We've found a body."
A shiver ran down the doctor's back, causing him to hesitate.
"Frank's dead!" Cecilia called out to him as she and Lottie walked out with the horses.
Although he felt horrible for feeling this way, Doctor McLennon felt relieved that Lottie wouldn’t be marrying Frank now.
Chapter Four
Doctor Hamish McLennon knelt beside the body. He had been one of the town's founders, and Frank Ward had been one of the early inhabitants of Bannack. When the new gold rush started in Alder Gulch, many of the people moved on. The Doctor and Frank Ward had remained.
The Doc had started life in Bannack as a gold miner, but it soon proved more fruitful to instead sell the tools for gold mining. Also, mines would collapse, and his services as a doctor were required, so he had put his shingle out and stayed in Bannack. Mrs. Lavery, her husband, and a few others had set up their businesses in the place they called home.
Now as he knelt beside Frank's lifeless body, Doc felt maybe this was better for Frank. No one could understand the guilt Frank had carried for these past few years. Because what the others didn't know was Frank Ward had come to Bannack with a wife. It was before Mrs. Lavery's time when the place wasn't fit for decent women.
But, now was not the time to think about this. Doc made a cursory examination of the body. It surprised him how Lottie, who had regained her compos
ure, came to join him.
"What do you think happened?" she asked, concerns rushing through her mind about what was to become of her.
"He may have fallen and hit his head, and then the horse trampled him. It's not a good way to go. I'm sorry to tell you this but Frank was a drinker, and he may have had a turn while locking the horses up. We may never know what really happened. What will you do now?"
Doctor McLennon's frankness caught Lottie off guard.
"I see you're surprised by my question. Around here you learn to get up and dust yourself off and move on." He turned to look at Cecilia.
"Cecilia did it. But it's not a great place for women on their own. The men work and play hard, and good manners are cast aside."
Lottie was frowning as she moved in closer to the body.
Doc noticed her frown and asked, “What’s wrong, Miss Cahill?”
"Let me wash this wound. Something isn't right about it."
The Doc caught her hand as she stood up.
"Don't go looking for what's not there."
She didn't know what he meant, but something about the wounds wasn't exactly adding up. Why had poor Mr. Peabody crossed her mind as she looked at Frank's body? Maybe it was due to not being able to investigate Mr. Peabody's death, but Lottie was curious. The position of Frank's body was off to her.
"Cecilia, where would I find water in a place like this?" Lottie looked around.
"There's a well over there. I'll come and help. Why do you want it?"
She explained her concerns to Cecilia.
"Aren't you clever? What did the Doc think?"
"He seems against it. In fact, ever since I mentioned Frank's name in his surgery, it appears to cause him discomfort."
"Yes, he's definitely not his usual self. And he seemed keen that we not come out here. But what are we saying, Lottie? You don't think it was an accident? If you think the Doc knew that Frank was dead… You think he did it?"
This piqued Cecilia's interest. A murder mystery.
"Should we get the Sheriff?" Lottie asked.