“Maybe you and Oliver can wait outside of town,” he said. “I’ll ride in first and talk to the people…”
Julia sniffed and tears streaked down her cheeks. She wasn’t looking into his eyes anymore. She seemed focused on the badge he wore on his jacket. The thing that had come between them two years ago and still crushed any chance they might have at love and trust and permanence.
“Julie?”
She sobbed, only once, but it broke his heart. Adam folded her in his arms. Her head just fit against his shoulder, and he held her close, like he had two years ago, the night he proposed to her.
“Sweetheart, I’ll protect you. I can handle the townsfolk, so don’t worry about that.” Somehow he would make it happen. He’d gather the town’s most trustworthy men around them. No matter how angry the people were, he wouldn’t let them lay a finger on the woman he loved.
“How do you know?” she choked out. “When I left Ardell yesterday, folks were demanding justice. And they think that means hanging my brother.”
She wept then, in big, painful gulps.
Adam tightened his hold on her, feeling helpless. “We’ll find a way to get at the truth. We’ll go to Clew first.”
She raised her head and looked at him, bleary-eyed.
“That’s what we’ll do,” he said. “We’ll find Clew, and if he can’t account for his whereabouts during the holdup, I’ll arrest him. Then we’ll ride into town together, and I’ll lock Clew up and call a meeting to tell everyone Oliver is innocent.”
She didn’t speak. He must not be saying the right thing. What was it he hadn’t hit on yet?
“Tell me what you’re thinking,” he pleaded.
She pressed her lips together and avoided meeting his gaze.
“If Clew’s not at the mine, we’ll find him,” Adam said. “Oh, and I’ll ask Mr. Gerry where he was that morning, too.”
Still she said nothing.
“Julie, please! I’ve loved you so long I can’t stand this. I’ll do anything if you’ll just trust me again. I know I made a mistake—no, worse than that. I was just plain stupid. I see that now. All I want is for you to forgive me.”
He bent down and peered at her in the moonlight. “Please?”
She stepped back from him, distancing herself by a few inches. He hadn’t gotten through to her, and he felt awful, like he’d failed her last test. He would never get another chance.
“What am I missing? You’ve got to tell me.” His voice was ragged, and she peered into his eyes.
In the moonlight, she was tragically beautiful with tears glistening on her face. Slowly she raised her hands. He stared down at them, still tied, clasped together in supplication.
Adam grabbed the hilt of his knife and pulled it from the sheath on his belt.
“I’m so sorry.”
He stuck the tip between the strands and sliced through one. She twisted her hands, and the rope fell to the ground. She raised her arms toward him and leaned forward.
Adam caught her and swung her up in his embrace. He held her close, fighting for a deep breath when his chest ached like anything. She clung to him, her arms around his neck, and buried her face in the hollow of his shoulder. She hadn’t said she loved him, or even that she trusted him, but this was a start. Now he would have to make good on his promise. He couldn’t survive failing her again.
Chapter 12
In the morning, Adam woke to the sound of bacon sizzling. Julia had apparently packed along a small frying pan and enough side meat and oatmeal for them all to make a meal of it. The last of his meager stash of ground coffee beans provided them each with a cup of coffee. Oliver, freed from his bonds the night before, contributed by scrounging up enough greasewood and cottonwood branches to replace the wood they’d used from the back of the cave.
No one talked much as they ate. They packed up everything and rode most of the morning to get to the trading post. While Oliver and Julia watered the horses, Adam went in and told the trader he was headed back to Ardell.
“Did you meet up with Ben Newman’s boy?” the trader asked.
“I did. Thank you.”
When he strode out into the glaring sun again, Oliver was leaning against the wall, under the eaves of the building. The horses stood patiently nearby.
“Where’s Julia?” Adam asked.
“She saw an old friend and went to talk to her.”
“You’ve got a lot of friends among the Navajo.”
Oliver shrugged. “Some. This woman is the daughter of a man Julia saw yesterday. We used to play with her. Julia’s telling her to let her father know that we’re leaving, and that you’ve also left their territory, and all is well.”
Adam considered that and nodded. “I suppose they probably knew already that we were going, don’t you?”
“Maybe.”
“And I don’t suppose they’d have let me leave with you trussed up.”
“I dunno,” Oliver said. “I’m glad we don’t have to find out.”
Adam shook his head. How could he have been so cocky as to think he could ride alone into Indian lands and come out again on his own terms? He guessed he still had a lot to learn. He squinted against the sun and spotted Julia moving away from a group of Navajo women. “Here she comes.”
He and Oliver untied the three horses.
“All set?” Oliver called as she approached.
“Yes. Look what Atsa gave me.” She held out a tiny silver bell. “Niyol makes them for his wife and daughters, and they put them on moccasins and bridles for the trader.”
“You told her we’re all leaving?” Adam said.
“Yes. She said her father will be glad to hear that we are safe.” She looked at Oliver. “They were worried about us.”
Oliver gazed toward the group of Navajo women approaching the door of the trading post and waved. One of the women lifted her hand in return.
The air was chilly when they’d left the cave, but now it was so warm that they all peeled off their jackets and tied them behind their saddles with their bedrolls. They rode as quickly as they could without pushing the horses too hard. A couple of hours after their dinner stop, they began to climb into the hills, and by late afternoon were close to the High Desert Mine.
“What’s the plan?” Oliver asked.
Adam drew Socks to a halt, and the others brought their horses up closer to him, squeezing in on the trail.
“Where are we most likely to find Clew?” Adam asked.
“Either the guardhouse or the stable, unless they’ve got him off working on something.” Oliver stood in his stirrups and peered up toward the mine buildings.
Adam could see the roofline of the headquarters and one end of the stable. “Do we want to let him see you? I mean, if he was involved in the robbery, he might count on you taking the blame. But if you show up…”
“If I show up with you, he can’t lie to you,” Oliver said. “I mean, with me standing right there, he can’t misrepresent what happened between him and me. I guess he could still lie about the robbery.”
“How about if we leave the horses down here in the bushes and walk up there,” Julia said. “You talk to him first, Adam, and then we can join you and see if he changes his story.”
“That might work,” Adam said.
“Or it might backfire.” Oliver frowned. “Can’t think of a better plan, though.”
“All right,” Julia said. “If he’s outside, it shouldn’t take us long to locate him. But, Adam, you might have to go inside the headquarters and ask for him if he’s not out where Oliver said. I mean, we can’t let anyone in the office see Oliver.”
“Let’s do that.” Adam dismounted and led Socks off the trail and into a stand of acacia that was thick enough to camouflage the animals from the mine. However, if someone rode along the trail, he doubted all three horses would keep quiet. “Let’s do this quick,” he said.
Oliver was right behind him, with his pinto. “Agreed.” He and Julia tied up their horses, and they made thei
r way back out to the trail.
Julia looked back. “I can see Bravo’s spots.”
“They’ll be all right,” Adam said. “Let’s just be as quick as we can.”
They walked cautiously upward toward the buildings. The stable lay behind and off to one side of the headquarters. A dozen of the company’s mules milled about or dozed on their feet in the adjacent corral. A man came out of the stable, pushing a wheelbarrow full of manure. Oliver held up a hand and ducked low.
“That’s Clew.”
“He’s cleaning out the barn,” Adam said.
“Yeah. People from Ardell who work at headquarters leave their horses in the corral on the far side, or in the stable. During the hottest part of the day, there might be fifteen or twenty horses inside. Somebody has to clean up. And Clew makes sure the horses all get water once or twice during the day, too.”
“Tell you what,” Adam said. “You and Julia stay hidden, but get into the stable if you can. I’ll get Socks and ride on up there like I’m just coming in from my trip alone. I’ll take Clew inside and talk to him.”
“All right,” Oliver said. “While you get your horse, we’ll sneak up there.”
When Clew had dumped his load on the manure pile out back, he brought the wheelbarrow around again and left it outside the stable. He went inside and emerged with two horses, which he led toward the watering trough.
“Go on,” Oliver said. “Julia and I can get inside while he’s taking more horses out to drink.”
Adam went back down the trail and off to the acacias. Socks snuffled a greeting. Untying his lead rope, Adam spoke to the other two horses. “Don’t fret now. We won’t be long.” He sure hoped he was doing the right thing.
Julia waited, flattened against the end wall of the stable, while Oliver peered around the edge of the building. Horses were shifting about inside, and she heard Clew slap one and say, “Get over, you!”
A few seconds later, Clew’s muttering grew fainter as he led some of the animals out of the stable. Oliver turned to her and jerked his head toward the front of the building. He scurried away, and she bent over and ran after him, around the corner and into the semidarkness. They huddled in the shadows together and looked outside. Clew was pumping more water with the pitcher pump over the company’s well, while two horses guzzled it out of the trough.
Oliver touched her shoulder and beckoned for her to follow him. They plunged deeper inside.
“Here?” Julia pointed to an empty stall.
“He’s probably going to put one of those nags back in there,” Oliver said. He kept walking to the end of the building, where several saddles hung on racks. Beneath them were a couple of wooden barrels. Oliver rocked one and moved it out from the wall a foot or so. He nodded to her.
Julia went over and peeked behind the barrel. There weren’t any snakes. She tried not to think about spiders and scorpions as she slid in behind it and crouched against the wall. Meanwhile, Oliver moved the other barrel out and hid behind it just as Clew brought in the horses he’d watered. He led two more from their straight stalls and walked them outside.
Julia had the sudden urge to laugh. This whole cloak-and-dagger escapade was ridiculous. “We should just march out there and talk to him,” she whispered.
“Let’s try it Adam’s way,” Oliver said.
A minute later they heard Adam’s hail.
“Howdy, Sheriff,” Clew replied.
Socks’s steel shoes thudded on the trail as he trotted closer. “Can I talk to you for a minute?” Adam asked.
“Sure. Just let me put these critters away.”
Julia peeked from behind the barrel. Having left Socks outside, Adam entered the stable in the wake of the horses Clew led.
“So, Clew,” Adam said as the older man came out of the stall where Julia had suggested hiding, “have you seen Oliver Newman lately?”
Clew stood still and stared at him. “No, sir, Sheriff. I heared you took out after him. You mean you didn’t find him? ‘Cause that boy is innocent. I’m tellin’ you, he’s not a stage robber.”
“What makes you so sure?” Adam asked.
Clew shrugged. “He’s a good boy. Always was, even when they was out to Canyon Diablo. He always did what his pa said. Now, his sister, she was a handful, but she was a good kid, too.”
Julia clapped a hand over her mouth to keep a giggle from escaping.
“So, Clew, where were you when the stagecoach was robbed?” Adam asked.
“I was right here, at the mine headquarters, same as I am ever’ day. Not countin’ Sunday, that is.”
Oliver stood and walked out of the shadows. Surprised but not willing to be left out, Julia squeezed between the barrels and followed him.
“Good to see you, Clew.”
The old man stared at him with a slack jaw then grinned and stuck out his hand. “Ollie! Man, where were you?” Clew peered past him toward the barrels and spotted Julia. “And your sister’s with you. Ain’t that fine?”
“We think so,” Julia said.
“Thanks for helping me the other day.” Oliver pumped his hand.
“You’re welcome, boy.”
Julia studied Clew’s face critically, but she couldn’t see anything that hinted he wasn’t sincere.
“Now, Clew,” Adam said, “getting back to the day the stage was robbed, is there anybody here who can vouch for you?”
Clew sobered and shot him a keen glance. “What do you mean, vouch for me?”
“Anyone who saw you working around here that day? At different times of day, I mean. Especially in the morning, before Oliver came back from the village.”
Clew went completely still for a moment. “Sheriff, I don’t like what you’re getting at.”
Oliver touched Clew’s sleeve. “It’s all right, now. Don’t get upset. You’ve got to look at this from Adam’s point of view. I was his best suspect. Well, I think I’ve convinced him I didn’t do it. So now he’s got to look at everyone else and see if he can tell who did.”
“But…” Clew looked around at them. “You think I’d shoot Bub Hilliard? That’s crazy. Bub was a good man.”
“Yes, he was,” Adam said. “But if he didn’t know who you were, and if he was going to kill you, wouldn’t you shoot first?”
“In self-defense, you mean?” Clew asked.
Julia decided it was time to speak up. “No, that’s not what he means, Clew. Defending yourself when you’re committing a robbery is not considered self-defense.”
“But I didn’t shoot nobody.” Clew glanced toward the door, then to Oliver. “Tell him, Ollie. I was here in the mornin’, when you left.”
Oliver nodded. “That’s right. You saddled Bravo for me.”
“Sure. And I was right here when you came back.”
“Yes,” Adam said, “but a whole lot happened in between there. You were the one who told Oliver that he was suspected of robbing the stage.”
“Well, yes, I admit that. I didn’t want to see the boy get hurt.”
Adam nodded. “I understand that—if you had nothing to do with it. But think about this, Clew: Wouldn’t a guilty person try to throw suspicion on someone else?”
“Hold on just a minute there.” Clew drew back as if he was about to swing at Adam.
Oliver leaped to grab his arm and hold him back. “Easy, Clew. Just tell us how it was.”
The old man glared at Adam, and his breath came in short, shallow gulps. At last he shook Oliver off.
“All right, here’s what happened that day. I went about my business. Ollie left on that paint horse of his. I made myself a pot of coffee along about midmorning, and then all—” He glanced at Julia, cleared his throat, and said, “Then things got crazy around here.”
“How did you first hear about the robbery?” Adam asked.
“It was when you rode out here, Sheriff. I heared some of the other men talking about it. They said the stage was held up and our payroll got stolen. And Bub Hilliard was shot dead.” Cle
w nodded firmly. “That’s what I heard. It was all over the offices. I went in to do some sweepin’ in there, and that’s all I heard, wherever I turned. Folks was wantin’ to know where Ollie was and why he wasn’t at his desk for two or three hours past.”
“What did you do?” Adam said.
“I kept on working. After a while, I went out to the guardhouse again. At dinnertime, some of the men from the office came out to get their horses so they could ride into Ardell, so I got ’em ready. That’s when I heard them sayin’ right out that they bet Ollie was the robber. Well, lookee here, mister, I ain’t goin’ to put up with that, no sir.” Clew glared at Adam. “I stayed around here, watching for Oliver. And when he come back, I told him he was in a bad place for sure. That he’d better lie low until this thing blew over.”
“And I appreciate it,” Oliver said.
Adam nodded, but his expression looked a little pained. “I hear you, Clew, I really do, but see, there’s a couple of things that I don’t understand.”
Julia decided Adam was trying to keep Clew from getting mad so he’d keep talking. Maybe he’d had some training for being a sheriff’s deputy, or even back with the Rangers, that taught him how best to question a suspect.
“Now, you can see how it looks, can’t you, Clew?” Adam said. “You were the one who told Oliver he was suspected of the robbery. And that’s why Oliver ran away and hid—based only on what you told him.”
“But it was the truth,” Clew said with a stubborn jerk of his chin. “I truly believed Ollie was in danger. Not just from you, but the people in town was all het up. I couldn’t stand by and see the boy get railroaded for something he didn’t do.”
“That’s very loyal of you,” Adam said.
Oliver nodded. “I consider you a true friend, Clew. You did a lot for me.”
“Well, thanks,” Clew said, “but the sheriff here don’t sound like he believes me.”
Adam winced. “Well, there’s a couple of other things. See, when you were out here puttering around the stable, nobody else saw you, so no one can vouch for where you were during the robbery. And then there’s this.” He pulled the matchbook out of his pocket and held it out. “Do you recognize this?”
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