She turned around and poured herself a full glass of whiskey. “I’ll tell you the same thing I told Luke, I don’t know what happened to Sam.”
“I’ve heard gossip around town that you hadn’t been faithful to Sam even before he disappeared,” Luke said.
She swirled the whiskey in her glass before she took a drink. “I told you, Sam knew I would see other men; I’ve made no secret of that.”
Luke could tell she wasn’t embarrassed to have this conversation with them. “Were you discreet, or did he know?”
She shrugged. “Well, I never came out and told him, if that is what you are asking. As I said, I told him I wouldn’t advertise it on the street. I could have gotten a job in a saloon if I wanted everyone to know.”
Luke didn’t understand her heartless attitude. Sam had given her respectability and he was a kind, decent man, and this was how she showed her gratitude. He’d never thought he’d feel like he could smack a woman, but at that moment he was sorely tempted. “It doesn’t seem to bother you much that your husband was shot in the desert and left to the animals. I was told there was little left of him to identify.”
Arina looked at him, void of emotion. “He’s dead. I’m alive. I have a life to live.”
Jake could appreciate the anger he heard in his brother’s voice. He knew it was difficult for Luke to believe that a woman could be so ruthless. Jake saw Arina for what she was, a cold-hearted, evil woman. She wasn’t the first woman he’d seen who was completely without conscience, but he had a feeling she might be the most cunning. It’d serve her right to hang. “Before you make plans to finish the job that cowboy started in Wyoming, you should know that Luke has full control of the mine and he has a will. It will not benefit you in any way to kill him.”
Arina drained her glass and slammed it on the table. “Are you finished?”
“One more thing. Who’s been in your bed besides Thomas?” Luke asked.
The question didn’t ruffle her. “I told you I’ve been discreet.”
“You might as well tell us, Arina. Jake and Cole were U.S. Marshals and they will find out.”
“I have nothing else to say.” She turned and led the way to the front door.
“I never thought I would want to see a woman hang, but I might make an exception in Arina’s case,” Luke said as they were riding away from the ranch.
“I wonder what made her marry Sam in the first place if she didn’t want to settle down,” Cole said.
“Sam was a good man and he didn’t deserve someone like her. I have a hard time believing that he would agree to her seeing other men,” Luke told them.
“It doesn’t seem logical any man would agree to his wife bedding other men,” Cole said.
“Yeah.” She wasn’t the kind of woman Luke would have married, but obviously Sam saw something he liked. If Sam had been lured by her body, he sure as heck wouldn’t have accepted another man touching her. “Unless we have a witness willing to come forward, I don’t know how we will ever find out what happened.” The only thing that cheered Luke was knowing Arina would have a lot to answer for when she met her Maker.
* * *
After breakfast the next morning, Luke, Jake, and Cole met with U.S. Marshal Rafe Colston, who had just arrived at Jake’s request.
Jake outlined the situation to Rafe. “I think the only thing we can do is start talking to the men in this town to find out if the gossip is true. If she has a lover maybe she slipped up and said something that might incriminate her.”
“There is always the chance a man was working with her,” Cole said.
“She sounds like a woman one of our guys has been tracking for a few years. She was a soiled dove in Santa Fe. Everyone said she was very young and beautiful,” Rafe offered.
“What did she do?” Luke asked.
“She married a much older man who was to be her ticket out of the saloon. It seems like married life didn’t agree with her either. She poisoned the groom three months after they said their I do’s. Somehow word got out that the sheriff was going to question her for murder and she took off. She didn’t even get the old man’s money.”
“How long ago did this happen?” Luke asked.
“About four years ago,” Rafe replied.
“How old was this gal?” Jake asked.
“About seventeen when she married the old man,” Rafe told them.
“That’s young to be a murderer,” Luke said.
“That’s not all. She’s supposed to be one heck of a shot,” Rafe said.
Luke glanced at Jake. “Do you think Arina could have shot Sam? They said he’d been dead for some time.”
“The woman we talked to yesterday is cold enough to shoot anyone,” Jake replied. “I wouldn’t turn my back on her.”
“I agree,” Cole said. “She could have killed him before she left for Wyoming.”
“If the woman we’ve been searching for is Arina, she’s dangerous, particularly if she’s done this twice,” Rafe suggested. “I’ll send a telegram and see if we have a photograph of the woman from Santa Fe, or get a better description other than a beautiful woman.”
“Arina is beautiful, at least until you get to know her. Let’s keep this information to ourselves. Until we find out if she is the woman from Santa Fe, we don’t want her taking off,” Jake said.
The men nodded their agreement. Rafe headed toward the telegraph office and Luke, Jake, and Cole decided to speak to Tom Sparks again to see if he could shed some light on Arina’s lover.
* * *
“I hate to give you a name on just hearsay,” Tom told them.
Luke gave him a level look. “Tom, this is all we have to go on right now. I want Sam’s killer.”
“We need to find out if she may have said something which would incriminate her,” Jake explained.
Tom ran his fingers through his hair. While he didn’t like carrying tales, if this was the only way to find out what happened to his friend, he felt it was his duty to help. “There was gossip that she was real friendly with the circuit judge and the sheriff. I also heard there was another man, but no one ever mentioned his name.”
“Do you think the sheriff or the judge would be involved with her?” Luke asked.
“At one time I would have said that it was real hard for me to believe, the judge is a fine man. But more than one man I trusted carried that tale and swore it was the truth. I just don’t know about the sheriff,” Tom said. “It’s a real shame, Sam was good to that gal.”
“Did you ever see her with anyone else?” Luke asked.
“Nope,” Tom responded. “What I couldn’t figure out, if the gossip was true, is why did she marry Sam in the first place?”
“Good question,” Luke said.
* * *
When Luke, Jake, and Cole reached town to meet up with Rafe, they were side-tracked when they spotted Arina and Creed Thomas walking out of the church. “Look at that. You think the church will still have a roof?”
“Doubtful,” Jake said.
They reined in beside the couple as they were getting into a buggy. “You getting baptized, Arina?” Luke asked.
Arina laughed. “Not hardly. We just got married.”
Her response left them momentarily speechless. Luke was the first to comment. “This is kind of sudden, isn’t it?”
Thomas put his arm around Arina’s waist and pulled her close. “She’s honored me by becoming my wife. I know it’s sudden considering Sam’s death, but after we were together in Wyoming, we decided we loved each other.”
Luke exchanged a glance with Jake. Creed Thomas wasn’t their favorite person, but they didn’t think he deserved someone like Arina. “You’re a brave man.”
Thomas looked up at the men. “I know what you’re thinking and you’re right. Both of us have a past we’re not proud of. You know better than anyone that I was trouble, but I swear I’ve changed. Arina’s changed, too.”
Arina pulled his face to hers and kissed him. “That’s right. You’
re all the man need.”
Luke wondered if she’d said the same words to Sam.
She looked directly at Luke when she said, “Sam was too old for me and you know it’s the truth.”
“That’s your truth.” Luke took a long look at Thomas. He inclined his head in Thomas’ direction and said, “He’s at least twenty years older than you.”
“You’d never know it,” she shot back.
No one had to ask what she meant by the comment.
Thomas and Arina rode away like a normal newlywed couple. “I wonder if she married him because of the marital communication law,” Jake said.
“What’s that?” Luke asked.
“It’s a law which says a man or wife cannot be forced to testify against their spouse even if they have incriminating evidence against them,” Jake told him.
“If that was her reasoning she’s even smarter than I thought,” Cole said.
“Hopefully, we can outsmart her,” Luke said.
Chapter Sixteen
Luke headed to the telegraph office to send Colt a message. He started to leave, but decided to send one more telegram. When he was finished, he met up with the other men and they walked to the sheriff’s office. They confronted the sheriff with the rumors they’d heard about him and Arina. He denied having a relationship with Arina, swearing he’d only seen her in town a few times.
They finished questioning the sheriff and when they left they saw the judge walking into the saloon. At first, Judge Rivers was not forthcoming about the nature of his relationship with Arina, but after they plied him with whiskey, he became more talkative. He insisted his relationship with Arina was strictly platonic. He said he hadn’t heard the rumors that Arina was seeing other men while Sam was alive, and he wouldn’t have listened to the gossip. He also told them that he knew Sam, and he had never heard an ill word spoken about the man.
Luke thought the judge genuinely liked Arina. When he talked about her his whole demeanor changed and his face lit up. Not many people had good things to say about her, but the judge was one of them. But to be fair to the judge, Luke had to admit he also spoke highly of Sam.
The judge pointed out three men in the saloon who worked for Sam, so Luke spent some time talking to them. The three men did not share the judge’s opinion of Arina. They admitted they heard the gossip she was seeing another man, but no one could give them a name. They also insinuated the judge’s relationship with her seemed more than neighborly.
“You know, Luke, the way Arina was throwing herself at you I think it was her intent to make you her next husband. That would have been the best of both worlds, she’d have the mine and a younger man,” Jake told him when they left the saloon.
“Yeah and I wonder how she would have eliminated me,” Luke replied.
“I don’t think she likes men,” Cole said.
Luke, Jake, and Rafe stared at him in disbelief. “Well, if she doesn’t she sure spends a lot of time with them,” Rafe said.
“I know. But if she really liked men don’t you think she could settle down with one who treated her well?” Cole questioned.
“You may have a point,” Luke said.
“We still need to find the man she was seeing before Thomas, if he wasn’t the one helping her,” Jake told them.
* * *
Mary Ann sat down at a table in the corner of the restaurant and opened the letter she had dreaded receiving.
My dearest daughter,
I was so happy to receive your letter and to know you are safe with my dear brother. I cannot believe you dared such a journey alone. What would I have done had something happened to you? And I cannot even consider some ill fate befalling you and forever wondering where you were. Daughter, this was a foolhardy decision on your part, but I thank God for seeing you safely to your destination.
Your father is on his way to America, and I would expect him to make his way to Wyoming soon. He departed before I received your letter, but after his men searched London, they found you had sailed to America. I am not without sympathy for you, dear. I know you think you do not want to marry Edmund, but I am certain you will grow fond of him in time. There are many reasons your father wants you to marry Edmund, and you must think of your duty. We all have our role to play and we must put aside foolish romantic notions. You and Edmund are well suited and Edmund will not be dissuaded.
I pray I will see you soon. Please give my love to my brother and express my deepest appreciation for caring for you.
Loving thoughts,
Mother
Victoria walked into the hotel and saw Mary Ann sitting at a table in the restaurant looking very sad. She walked toward her but stopped when she saw Mary Ann wipe tears from her face. Victoria didn’t want to intrude on her, yet she couldn’t help thinking she might need to talk with a friend.
“May I sit down?” Victoria asked.
Mary Ann was surprised to see Victoria standing there. “Of course. Shall I get you some tea?”
“No, Colt will be coming for me soon, he may want something then. I came ahead to give you this.” She handed Mary Ann a piece of paper. “It’s a telegram from Luke.”
“What does it say?”
“I don’t know, it’s for you. He sent Colt one as well.” Victoria watched as Mary Ann tentatively unfolded the paper. A sad smile crossed her face as she read. “Are you okay?”
Mary Ann picked up the letter and handed it to Victoria. “I received this from Mother. “Now, I fear all of my plans will be for naught.”
After Victoria read the letter she placed it aside. “They cannot force you back to England, or to marry this Edmund! If he comes here tell him you refuse to go back if you don’t want to go.”
“It’s not so simple. Things are so different in England. Everyone expects us to marry.”
She sounded so dejected that Victoria didn’t know what to say. “Did Luke have good news?”
Mary Ann opened the telegram and placed it on the table. Victoria glanced down and saw three words. I miss you.
“That is sweet of him. Luke’s a man of few words.”
Her comment made Mary Ann smile. “He’s talkative enough when he’s making promises to women. When I first came here every time I saw him he was making a promise to a different woman. Usually he was promising to show them a good time.”
Victoria laughed. “Luke is a unique man. He has a real appreciation for women. He will be the first one to notice if Promise or I change our hair, or if we are wearing a new dress. We always ask his opinion when we are selecting a new hat. As a matter of fact, he told us about the beautiful pink hat you were wearing the first day he saw you. He said you were the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen.”
“Really?” She didn’t know why that surprised her. He had told her several times he thought she was beautiful, but she thought he probably said the same thing to all women. She’d never expected him to discuss her with his family.
“He’s never said such things about another woman.”
“I find that difficult to believe considering the way he flirts.”
“It is true. I’ve never seen him so taken with another woman.”
“It’s flattering to be sure, but it will make no difference.” She pointed to the letter. “It looks like I will be going back to England.”
“Don’t let your father determine your future.” Victoria didn’t know if she should say more, but she couldn’t resist. “Do you care for Luke?”
Since Luke had been gone she could think of nothing else. She’d never felt the way she did when she was in his arms, or when he was kissing her. From the first day she saw him, her feelings had vacillated between indignation over his behavior with women and a desire to be the woman wrapped in his arms. “I’m enamored with Luke, but I’m not certain he is husband material.”
* * *
Luke and Jake were on Sam’s ranch talking to some of his men about Arina. One man told them Arina had mentioned she couldn’t wait to get rid of her husba
nd. She told him Sam was too old and she didn’t want to be tied down to him forever. Still, she hadn’t approached him to murder her husband. But every man on the ranch seemed to think it could easily have been Arina who pulled the trigger on Sam. They all felt she was a woman with few scruples.
One man told them he saw her with a man at the lake on the ranch a few times, but he couldn’t identify the man.
“If you were so far away, how did you know it was Arina?” Luke asked.
“You’ve seen her. Do you think I wouldn’t recognize her body a mile away?” the man replied. “The man had his back to me.”
Before they rode back to town, Luke and Jake decided to ride to the lake. They didn’t expect to see anything, but as Jake had learned as a Marshal, sometimes you just got lucky when you weren’t expecting it. They were talking about home and barely paying attention to their surroundings when they rode around the bend of the lake. Luke glanced ahead and saw two saddled horses standing at the water’s edge a few hundred yards away. He motioned to Jake and they slowly backed up their horses to a copse of trees, all the while scanning the area for the riders.
Luke spotted two people walking toward the horses. “Can you see them?”
“Yeah.”
“It’s Arina, but I can’t make out who the man is. Maybe it’s her new husband.”
“I don’t think so, he’s not tall enough. Let’s ride in slow, maybe they won’t notice us,” Jake suggested.
Luke leaned closer to his brother. “Are you sure you just don’t want to get a good look at Arina if she has her clothes off? I’m going to tell Promise.”
“I’ll tell Mary Ann,” Jake replied.
Luke stared at his brother. How did he know he had feelings for Mary Ann?
“Don’t look so shocked, little brother. Any fool could see she has you chasing your tail.”
On that point, he could agree. He winked at Jake. “I won’t tell if you don’t.” Together they moved slowly in the direction of the couple by the water.
They hadn’t expected the man with Arina would be the judge. By the look on the judge’s face, he was equally surprised to see them. True to form, it didn’t seem to concern Arina one way or the other. It looked as though they’d caught the two of them in the middle of an argument.
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