“I’m not going to the hotel, Beau. I want to help.”
“Caro…”
She looked away from her fiancé to Cash. “Who else is helping?”
Wincing, he looked at Beau, then back at Caro. “If you’re asking if Lena, Abby, Allie, and Suzanne are helping, yes, they are.” He sent an apologetic shrug to his closest friend.
Caro didn’t try to hide her smug smile. “I’m staying. Tell me what to do.”
Resting her weight against the wall by the door, Rosemary listened. The voices were muffled, as if those on the other side had moved away. She waited, her eyelids heavy. Rosemary knew if she passed out, she might never live to see another sunrise, and the future she’d hoped for with Dirk would be lost.
Her stomach twisted at the thought of him, injured and in immense pain. By now, Gabe would know she hadn’t returned. He would’ve gathered a group of men—his deputies, friends, and anyone else willing to help—to search for her.
She didn’t know if her captors had stashed her in a secret location in town, or whether they’d ridden miles from Splendor. Something told her it was the first.
Hearing the voices again, she tensed, licking her lips as she concentrated on identifying her kidnappers. The muffled sounds gave her no clue as to how many held her or what they planned to do. She grimaced, realizing not knowing her fate caused more distress than the blow to her head.
Straightening her back against the wall, she summoned whatever courage remained. Rosemary refused to be a victim, cowering at the threat before her. Strengthening her resolve, she took in the room. Now that her vision had adjusted, she noticed shelving against one wall held a variety of canned goods, bags of flour and sugar, and extra pots.
Her first thought was they held her beneath the boardinghouse, but that made no sense. Rosemary had worked for Suzanne, had been in the root cellar many times. A room such as this didn’t exist. She considered the other businesses. The saloons wouldn’t store such a vast array of supplies and pots.
She closed her eyes, trying to think of where else they would’ve brought her. If they were still in Splendor, the location had to be close to the clinic. And it would have to hold the supplies before her.
Her eyes flew open. The general store.
Rosemary had never been in the back room, but she’d heard Stan Petermann had a basement below the store. The location made sense, as did the slight smell of smoke coming in through the gaps in the door. Learning her whereabouts provided a renewed sense of hope. Now all she needed was to find a way to alert those looking for her without warning the kidnappers.
Chapter Twenty-One
“Rosemary?” Dirk’s rough voice could be heard by no one except him. Opening his eyes, he looked around, already knowing he was alone. A sharp pain jolted him, eliciting a series of curses that should only be voiced in private, or in a group of other men.
He couldn’t afford to have a broken leg, and neither could the ranch. In a few days, they’d be taking the horses to the army, then not long afterward, a large herd of cattle to Salt Lake. Being laid up for weeks wasn’t an option, yet it was now his reality.
Dirk’s back and arms ached to stretch, feel something beneath them other than the hard examination table. Straining to rise, he rested on his forearms, getting a measure of relief. If only he could shift his weight enough to sit up.
“I see you’re awake.” Doc Worthington walked in, a frown creasing his forehead. “You’re supposed to be lying flat.”
“My entire body hurts, Doc. I need to sit up.”
Charles nodded. “Let’s see what we can do.” Leaving for a few minutes, he returned with a stack of pillows, using them to support Dirk’s back. “Is that better?”
“Yeah. Thanks, Doc.” He rested an arm over his eyes, then lifted it. “Where’s Rosemary?”
Charles didn’t meet his gaze, feigning renewed interest in Dirk’s injury. “Looks pretty good right now.”
“Good. Where’s Rosemary?”
“With luck, you’ll get through this without infection.”
Dirk let out a frustrated breath. “That’s good news. Now, where is Rosemary?”
“Well, now…while you were out, there was a fire at the lumber mill. People scattered, trying to help.”
“And Rosemary?”
“She, uh…well, they’re looking for her.”
Finding strength he didn’t know he had, Dirk pushed up, forcing one leg over the edge of the table, then hesitating on the one held together with splints and bandages.
Charles tried to steady him. “It would be madness to try and walk on your broken leg. You could do permanent damage.”
Eyes full of fury and fear gazed back at him. “I don’t care about the leg, Doc. If Rosemary has disappeared, I’m going to find her.”
“Dirk, listen to me. You’ll do more damage than good trying to help. Gabe and the entire town are looking for her. I don’t know that there’s anyone not searching.”
“Then I need to be out there with them.”
Charles glanced behind him, knowing the only other people in the clinic were Rachel and her son. Even Dax was out searching, along with several men Bernie had fetched from the ranch. Settling his hands firmly on Dirk’s shoulders, he increased the pressure, keeping his voice calm and firm.
“Listen to me. If you tear up your wound, infection could follow. Once there’s infection, the chances of you keeping your leg are slim, but the chance of you dying is worse. Think about Rosemary, son. If she were standing right here, what would she say?”
Closing his eyes, Dirk breathed in through his nose, letting the air out in a whoosh. “She’d tell me to stay still and listen to you.” His troubled gaze searched Doc’s. “But she isn’t here and I have to do what I think is best. Even with the town looking, they don’t need to find her as much as me. I’ve got to be out there.”
Studying Dirk’s face, Charles could see there’d be no dissuading him. “All right. I’ll help you outside and into a chair where you can watch what’s going on. Then I’ll find Gabe. As God is my witness, I will not allow you to put your life in danger. You will be in once piece when they find Rosemary. You defy me on this and I’ll get men to tie you down.”
Dirk sent him a warning glare.
“You can be mad at me all you want, son. That young lady is going to have a man to come back to when they find her. And believe me, I’m more scared of her than I am of you.”
“Where is he?” Clay looked where Charles pointed at the clinic down the street. “I should’ve known he’d do something foolhardy when he learned about Rosemary. Well, as long as he stays put with his leg elevated, he should be all right. Is that Gabe with him?”
Charles nodded. “Gabe and Dax. They’re trying to calm Dirk down.”
“I’d better go talk to him myself. I hate to gang up on a patient, but…” Clay dashed off, leaving Charles to follow.
“There are close to a hundred people looking for her, Dirk. If you want to stay out here, that’s fine, but you cannot walk on that leg.” Dax knelt beside him, knowing how his foreman felt, wishing there was more that could be done.
“Gabe!” Beau hurried up to them, pointing behind him. “You’d better come with me. Cash found something.” Gabe wasted no time following Beau.
Dirk tried to push up, but Dax’s strong arms held him down. “Don’t even consider moving, Dirk. I’m not above putting you in a wagon and having someone haul your sorry ass back to the ranch.”
Scrubbing his face with both hands, Dirk mumbled a curse. “Go with them. Come back and tell me what Cash found.”
Dax nodded. “I’ll do that.”
By the time he found them, Cash was pointing to something on the ground, then walked several steps away, pointing to something else as Clay joined them.
“Does anyone know if Petermann has a basement?” Cash asked.
“He does,” Clay answered. Before the town learned of him being a doctor, Clay had worked for Petermann in the ge
neral store, gaining a reputation as a man who could be trusted. “He seldom goes down there. It’s doubtful anyone but Stan, his family, and me know about it.”
“Someone else does. See these tracks?” Cash knelt beside them. “Appears two people tried to carry a third, stopping every few feet to adjust the weight. It’s why it took me so long to figure it out. At first, the footprints made no sense, seemed like any others. Then I began to study them.” Standing, he walked to Petermann’s back door. “They came here, then the tracks disappear.”
Clay looked at the others. “Stan has been busy helping put out the fire, then with the search. It would’ve been easy for someone to get down to the basement.”
“Beau, get Mack, Dutch, and Caleb…and Wyatt, if you can find him. I want everyone in place before we go down.”
Beau nodded at Gabe, then took off.
“Clay, would you mind letting Dirk know what’s going on?” Dax asked. “I don’t want him getting edgy and trying to follow us.”
“I’ll go right now.”
“What about the rest of the people searching?” Dax looked at Gabe.
“We won’t say anything. I don’t want to alert whoever has her that we may have found them.”
Rosemary jolted awake, surprised she’d drifted off. Her head still throbbed, her wrists and ankles ached from being bound.
She wondered what woke her. The voices had ceased before she fell asleep. Rosemary remembered trying to make her way to the shelving, thinking if she could tip the unit over, others might hear it and come to her aid. The prospect seemed slight. Still, it was better than sitting here doing nothing. Before she could go more than a couple feet, the voices stopped her and she inched back to her place against the wall, which was where she’d fallen asleep.
Scooting a few inches, she stopped, listening. When she heard nothing, Rosemary continued, stopping every foot until she sat to the right of the shelving. If her wrists weren’t bound behind her, it would be a simple task to leverage herself to a standing position. Even with her ankles tied, she could lean against the wall and shove the shelving to the ground.
Still, she had to try before whoever took her returned. Settling her back against the wall, she tucked her legs under her enough to get into a crouch. Pushing with her legs, she slowly edged upward, her hands scraping against the rough walls. If she could stand, she might be able to get her weight behind the unit, toppling it forward.
Rosemary always thought herself physically strong. As a nurse, she needed to be. Pushing upward, her legs began to shake with the effort, her arms and back burning from scraping against the ragged surface of the wall. Ignoring the sound of tearing fabric, she continued, determined to reach her goal. Taking one more deep breath, she pushed with every ounce of strength left, exhaling when she stood next to the shelves. Now she just had to keep her balance long enough to dislodge the shelving.
“I want you to stay up here, Stan. Let me and my deputies take it from here.” Gabe checked the bullets in his gun, glancing at his men as they did the same.
“I won’t argue with you, Sheriff.” Stan backed up a few steps, then walked out the front door, feeling no shame in letting the lawmen do their job.
“Is everyone ready?” Gabe looked at each man, waiting for them to nod. “You all know what to do.” Gabe started toward the back stairs, stopping when Dutch grabbed his arm.
“Let me go first.” He pinned Gabe with a meaningful gaze.
“I know what you’re trying to do.”
“Then let me do it. You’ve got Lena and a son to think about.”
“I’m still the sheriff, Dutch.”
“That’s why you’re delegating me to go first.” Without waiting, Dutch took long strides to the back stairwell, then quietly opened the door. He started down, one slow step at a time.
The stairs were old and in need of repair. As he looked down, he saw nothing except darkness. Placing his boot on the next step, he froze at the sound of splintering wood. The next instant, his weight broke the weakened board, sending him down to the floor.
At the exact same time, a crashing sound echoed through the room. Landing hard, his gun in front of him, his jaw slackened at the sight before him.
“What in tarnation?” He glanced around, grateful for the lantern resting on a barrel near the wall.
“Are you all right, Dutch?”
“Yeah, Gabe. Fine. But you’d better get down here.”
He began to lower his gun, then instinct warned him not to as the frightened eyes of the women before him signaled their intention. Seeing the gleam of a rifle, he shook his head.
“I wouldn’t, Miss Ritter. I assure you, I have no qualms about shooting a woman if she threatens me.”
The sisters gave him a venomous glare, but didn’t move, keeping their mouths clamped shut.
Dutch nodded. “Wise choice.”
“Help!”
Gabe dropped to the ground, Cash and Beau close behind him, the scream piercing their ears.
“Rosemary?” Gabe shouted, his gun steady on the women as he moved past them to another door. “Rosemary, are you in there?”
“Gabe…help me!”
He turned the knob. Finding it locked, he stepped back and kicked it open. Relief flooded him. Across the room, tottering on legs bound at the ankles, stood Rosemary. Holstering his gun, he rushed forward, letting her sag against him.
“You found me…”
Getting Rosemary and the Ritter sisters back up the stairs was no easy task. They’d broken partway down, leaving three feet of open space.
“It’s a good thing Mack and Caleb stayed up top or we’d never get these women out of here.” Beau swiped an arm across his forehead.
“Who would’ve ever thought?” Cash pushed Selma Ritter from behind and into Mack’s formidable grip. He looked behind him at the small stash of weapons and paraphernalia they’d found on the elderly sisters. Rope, chloroform, a knife, two revolvers, a rifle, and a thin coil of wire. He shuddered at what they intended to do with it.
Dutch settled his hands on his hips, shaking his head. “Not who I thought.”
Beau still looked stunned. “I thought it might be that Willard Cullin guy who came in on the stage with a couple other men.”
“About those men, Beau. Sorry Gabe and I couldn’t say anything, but they’re Pinkerton men. Allan would only provide information to me if I kept their identity a secret.”
Beau snorted, clasping Dutch on the shoulder. “You did a fine job. I began to have my doubts about Cullin when I saw him and his men helping us put out the fire, then doing all they could to find Rosemary.”
“They wanted to do more, but Gabe was afraid they’d blow their cover before we found her.”
“What will happen to the Ritters now, Dutch?”
“My guess is Cullin will escort them back to Boston. Their crimes crossed state and territorial lines, but it all started in Boston.”
“You boys going to gab down there all day, or do you want some help up?”
Chuckling, Cash moved to the bottom of the steps, grinning up at Mack. “We’re on our way.”
“Oh no, you don’t.” Clay pushed Dirk back down into the chair when they spotted Gabe and Rosemary on the other side of the street.
“Dirk!” She ran across the street, grateful for the lack of wagons and horses. “What are you doing out here?” Rosemary dropped next to him, wrapping her arms around his neck.
Groaning, he hugged her back. “Easy, sweetheart.” He pulled back, looking at the tears in her eyes, his nostrils flaring in anger. “What happened?” He looked up at Gabe.
“She was taken by the Ritter sisters.”
Dirk’s gaze darkened. “Who are the Ritter sisters?”
Gabe explained, Dirk’s hold on Rosemary tightening the more he heard. “They’re the ones who’ve been kidnapping and murdering the women.”
Dirk closed his eyes, kissing Rosemary on the cheek before she stood, continuing to rest her hand on his shou
lder. “What of Trask?”
Gabe shook his head. “Seems he may still be out there. The two men who escaped with him were spotted in Wyoming. The last message I received said they’d gotten away.”
“Trask wasn’t with them?” Rosemary asked.
“He wasn’t seen. It doesn’t mean he wasn’t with them.” Gabe looked down at his hands still black with soot. “Time for me to clean up. Do you need some help before I leave?”
Rosemary touched Gabe’s arm. “Thanks, but I believe you’ve done enough for one day. Go home to Lena and Jack.” She glanced down at Dirk, who nodded.
“You know where to find me.” Turning to leave, Gabe glanced over his shoulder. “Don’t forget, Trask is still out there.”
Boyden Trask lay on his back at the bottom of a ravine, fighting to catch his breath, his horse long gone. Staring up at the night sky, he knew his time was short.
He’d been so careful—conserving his water, eating sparingly, watching the trail for danger as he headed through the arid grassland on his way to Splendor. Then his horse had spooked. He’d started to rise, then stopped at the unmistakable sound of a prairie rattler. His heart seized. The only snake he knew about in Montana that could kill a man.
When the hissing started again, his horse took off as he hurried to scoot away. If it hadn’t been so dark, he’d have seen the ravine behind him. Instead, his instincts to run kicked in as the rattler struck. The bite went through his shirt, into the soft skin of his stomach. A scream tore from his lips, his feet struggling for purchase to get away.
He reached behind him. Instead of finding a solid surface, open air greeted him at the same time he shoved himself backward. There’d been nothing to stop his fall. Landing on his back, the air knocked from his lungs, the venom began to take effect.
Trask bellowed out a last heart-wrenching roar of anger, knowing he’d never be found and never find his revenge.
Epilogue
Several weeks later…
Courage Canyon Page 20