“Most likely, this cave was used by some animal last winter,” West explained.
“Do you think any person would come in here and hide something valuable with the smell and the possibility that whatever made that smell might return?” Julia asked, trying not to take in deep breaths.
“I think this would be an ideal hiding place. Who else would want to come in here?”
Julia had to admit that it made sense and followed West further into the small cave.
The torch didn’t cast off a lot of light, and Julia stood still in the center of the cave while West searched for any possible clues.
“Look here,” West said, and Julia took small steps to reach him afraid she’s trip on the cave’s floor that she couldn’t see.
“What?”
“This cave has been inhabited by something other than an animal. There’s a small remnant of a fire over here and a couple of empty food tins.”
“You think it was Kate?” Julia asked.
“Could be, but then again, I’m not sure how many people might be aware of this cave. It looks like a good place to spend a cold or rainy night as long as the animal that calls it home has left.”
Julia shuddered. “I’m not sure I’d want to sleep in a cave where a bear might come wandering in at any moment.”
“That’s why you build a good fire and keep your rifle close,” West explained.
“But,” Julia stammered. “I don’t have a rifle, and neither do you.”
“I didn’t expect we’d need one.”
“I intend to buy one as soon as we get back to wherever I can find a store that sells them,” Julia insisted. “I don’t ever want to be out in the middle of nowhere with who knows what walking around only armed with my handgun.”
West wanted to reassure her. “Don’t worry. I don’t think whatever lived here will be back for a while, and if it does come back, we have two guns, and that’ll be enough to take care of any problem.”
Julia wasn’t sure about West’s statement but nodded her head in agreement and then realized he couldn’t see her in the dark cave.
“All right, I’ll trust you on that,” Julia finally said. “Now what?”
West lifted the torch higher and saw the cave split in two directions. “We have a decision to make. Do you want to go left or right?”
“You want me to go into one of the tunnels alone? I don’t have a torch. How will I be able to see?” Julia questioned.
West chuckled. “No, I’m only asking your opinion on which way we should go.”
“Don’t laugh at me.”
“I’m sorry. Truly I am. It’s just that you can be so cute when your confused,” West admitted.
Julia huffed. “I am not confused. I merely asked a question. And I don’t like being called cute. I’m not ten years old.”
“All right, I’m sorry I called you cute. Would beautiful be better?”
“It might, but how can you see me in the dark? I can’t see you.”
West chuckled again. “I remember what you look like. You are beautiful, you know.”
“Thank you, but don’t you think we should decide which way to go?”
West said, “That’s what I asked before we got into this odd conversation. Which way?”
“Right,” Julia said.
“Follow me. I’ll go slow so you can stay right behind me and see. I’ll hold the torch as high as the ceilings will allow.”
Julia gripped the back of West’s shirt and said, “Don’t worry. I’m right behind you.”
West smiled, enjoying the feel of Julia’s hand clinging to his shirt for safety. Anything that brought her closer to him was welcome.
The torch’s light formed a small semi-circle in front of West as they moved through the tunnel.
Julia said, “Do you think this leads to anywhere Kate might have hidden the chest? The further we go, the worse it smells.”
“I don’t know. I think something died in this tunnel, and I hope it wasn’t human.”
Julia shuddered.
West stopped abruptly and said, “The tunnel ends about two feet in front of us, and there’s a pile of eaten and partially eaten small animals causing the smell. We need to turn around and try the other tunnel.”
“I don’t think there’s enough room for you to get past me,” Julia said.
“Just turn around, and you can carry the torch. I’ll follow right behind you.”
Julia held the torch as high as she could and carefully watched her feet as she slowly walked back the way they’d come.
“Ouch,” West grumbled.
“What’s wrong,” Julia asked, stopping in her tracks. “Are you all right?”
“Yeah, I forgot about that low spot and didn’t see it before my head connected with it. I need to keep my head lower,” West answered as he drew closer to Julia and lowered his head to her shoulder.
Julia smiled at West’s closeness and slowly began walking again, enjoying feeling him near. She had to stop her emotions from taking over her common sense. She and West would go their separate ways when this assignment was over, and she would only see him if their paths crossed in Denver. If only she could get her heart to agree.
When they exited the tunnel into the larger room of the cave, West said, “We’ll try the left one, and I’ll carry the torch again. I value my head.”
Julia giggled, “I didn’t have any trouble seeing. You’re too tall. Did you eat everything in sight as a child the way you do now?”
“I don’t do that,” West emphatically answered.
“No, then who was it that finished part of my steak and half my apple pie at Smiley’s?” Julia asked.
“I didn’t want it to go to waste and thrown out to the hogs. That apple pie was good considering Smiley made it,” West defended.
“If you say so,” Julia said and winked again. “Lead the way.”
West raised the torch high, and they slowly entered the remaining tunnel.
“I do hope we find that chest,” Julia said.
“Let’s hope we don’t find Kate hiding around a corner with a gun,” West stated as he slowly advanced through the narrow tunnel.
“I don’t know how she could stay in here with the smells,” Julia wondered aloud.
West replied, “You’d be surprised what a criminal will tolerate in pursuit of what they want.”
“I suppose,” Julia said.
“West stopped suddenly, and Julia asked, “What’s that noise.”
“Shhh,” West said. “It’s a rattler, and I can’t see exactly where it is.”
West held the torch higher and whispered. “Stay quiet and don’t move.”
Julia obeyed. She’d never seen the snakes here in the west. They had Timber Rattlers back home, but she was fortunate to never have seen one of them either. The stories she heard about Diamondback Rattlesnakes made her shudder.
She felt more than saw West’s right arm move slowly to his side and pull the gun from its holster. The noise of the gun’s report in the narrow tunnel nearly deafened her, but she could make out West telling her it was all right. He got the rattler.
She nodded her head when West asked if she was all right. She really wasn’t, but she couldn’t tell him that. After all, she was a Pinkerton agent, and she couldn’t let an unseen snake affect her even if it did, but West couldn’t know that. She would keep it to herself.
“Good,” West said. “let’s keep moving. I think I might feel air moving. Maybe there’s another entrance up ahead somewhere.”
Julia grabbed West’s shirt again and assured him she was all right before they moved forward into the tunnel. Julia prayed hard that the rattler was not the mama to a nest of more snakes or had a group of friends waiting around the next turn.
Julia scolded herself for not feeling as brave as she thought she was. She was going to face whatever danger lay ahead and help West the best she could. Julia kept telling herself she was an agent and strong. At least she was when snakes we
ren’t involved.
Chapter 12
Even with the torch West was carrying, Julia had a difficult time seeing in the darkness of the cave. She tried her best to avoid the loose soil and rocks while watching for any indentations on the cave floor that might trip her, and the fear of another rattlesnake gripped her. When she felt a slight tremor move through her body, she stopped.
Alarmed, she looked at West and asked, “What was that?”
West’s answer came quickly and sharply, “Run.”
West grabbed Julia's hand and pulled her as fast as he could back toward the cave’s opening. Julia was nearly out of breath as she fell to her knees after tripping over an unseen obstacle. West pulled her to her feet and kept dragging her toward the cave’s entrance.
The rumbling and shaking grew stronger and louder as the light from the entrance came into view. West practically threw Julia out of the cave and covered her with his body while the entrance crumbled behind them with a crash and a thick cloud of dust.
Julia coughed the dust from her lungs and spit out several pieces of dirt. She turned her head toward West and said, “Thank you. I never would have gotten out of there if it hadn’t been for your help.”
West pushed himself to his feet and held his hand out to help Julia. “It’s my job as your partner and husband,” he said, grinning at her.
“Thank you,” Julia replied again, standing and brushing off her shirt and trousers.
West looked at the massive pile of rocks and debris in front of the cave and said, “I think that’s the end of Kate and her misdeeds.”
Julia shuddered. “If the cave-in didn’t kill her, she’ll die alone of starvation in the dark. No one deserves that.”
“Maybe not, but she did kill the old priest, and that’s a hanging offense. I think I’d prefer not to hang at almost any cost.”
“Hey, are you two all right?” The booming voice startled Julia, and she spun around to see a huge man with a graying beard that hung to his mid-chest.
“Who are you, and what are you doing here?” West demanded.
The old man laughed. “That would be my question. I live here around the bend in the creek. I’ve seen men come and go looking for gold, silver, or anything of value in these caves, but it took a city boy and a woman to cave it in. Name’s Colby.”
West stood straighter and pulled his shoulder’s back. “We’re here hunting a criminal.”
“Bounty hunters?”
“No, Pinkerton agents,” Julia answered before West could snap at the man again.
“Did you catch him? Looks as if you didn’t bring anyone out with you.”
“No, we lost her in the cave,” Julia said. “I’m sure she’s dead or dying.
“Her? A woman? Red hair, maybe? Pretty? Name’s Kate?”
“Yes,” West answered, stepping closer to the old man. “How would you know?”
“I’ve seen her around her a lot the last few weeks. She has been in and out of that cave several times. Might be she found the chimney and got out before the cave-in.”
“Chimney?” Julie asked with furrowed brows.
Colby nodded and asked, “Did you two get as far as the large room?”
West shook his head, “No, we were still in the left narrow passageway when the tremor started.”
“If you’d gone on a bit further, you’d run into that large room and see the sunlight streaming through the hole in the ceiling. I’m not sure if it’s a natural chimney or some minor dug it out as protection in case of a landslide. If that girl you’re hunting is smart, she’d have a rope coming down through the chimney as an escape.”
West looked up the hill and asked, “Is there a path up that hill? I couldn’t find one.”
Colby nodded, “Right behind that large outcrop of rocks you’ll find a path that leads up around the hill to the top. Once you’re up there, you have a dozen directions she could run.”
West took off at a run heading for the outcropping, and Julia thanked Colby before following him.
Within a few minutes, Julia reached the top of the hill and saw West walking in circles.
“She must have been up here several times. There are a lot of footprints, and they lead in different directions,” West called to her as Julia came into sight.
Julia began examining the ground as well and, after a few moments, asked, “I think maybe I found where she went. It rained last night, and the ground is soft. These tracks are a bit deeper as if she recently walked on the wet ground.”
West strode to where Julia pointed at the tracks and smiled. “I think you’re right. You might make a good agent after all.”
“Hey, I’m already an agent. I’m becoming a more knowledgeable agent each day.”
West turned and winked at Julia, “That you are. Come on, let’s follow her tracks.”
Julia and West followed the tracks for a half-mile until they reached the edge of a small cliff. Sitting on a large boulder staring out across the vast expanse of wild grasses at the bottom of the cliff was Kate.
She was humming a tune and bouncing her handgun up and down on her thigh.
West pulled his gun and motioned for Julia to stop. Kate never turned around but spoke to them in a loud, clear voice.
“I suppose it’s all over,” Kate started. “You know I never meant for that priest in New Mexico to die. He fell, and I ran. I heard later in town that he died, and rumor was that he died for keeping the treasure safe. No one knew where the treasure was, but they talked about a young priest leaving town, so I nosed around and found the direction he went. I followed him here. I never meant for him to be hurt either, and I’m glad I didn’t kill him, too.”
Julia began to walk toward Kate, and West tried to stop her, but Julia shook her head. When Julia was within five feet of Kate, she stopped and spoke.
“Kate, my name is Julia, and the man with me is my husband, West. I’d like to know why you needed the treasure and what made you follow it all the way to Wyoming.”
Kate turned and smiled at Julia. “You look like a nice person. Maybe you’d understand.”
“I would like to try,” Julia said.
West, hoping he could help the situation, and possibly get close enough to Kate to grab her weapon said, “Julia used to live in a convent. She’s a very understanding person.”
Kate chuckled. “A convent. Why would a beautiful girl want to be a nun?”
“I wasn’t going to be a nun. I needed a quiet place to grieve my mother’s death.”
Sadness washed over Kate’s face, and she said, “Then you understand grief?”
“All too well,” Julia admitted. “You look as if you’ve experienced it, too.”
Kate nodded. “My baby died.”
Julia drew in a quick breath. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know you had a baby.”
“It was five years ago,” Kate explained. “I was married and realized I made a mistake, but I stayed because I was pregnant. Marie died two days after she was born. My husband was so angry with me, blaming me for not having a healthy child that he beat me severely. The doc said I would never have another child after the beating.”
Tears flowed freely down Kate’s cheeks, and Julia did her best to keep a professional manner and not allow Kate’s pain to affect her.
“I’m terribly sorry to hear that. Did I hear you right when you said your baby’s name was Marie?”
Kate nodded.
“May I ask you a question,” Julia asked the sobbing young woman.
Kate shrugged, and Julia said, “I read that you changed your name and removed the name Marie from your name because it was your mother’s name, and you hated your mother.”
Kate shook her head violently back and forth. “No, I loved my mother. Marie is a family name, and it had been a part of my mother’s ancestors for several generations. When my Marie died, I couldn’t keep her name as part of mine. It was too painful, and I had to come up with a reason the court would understand when I asked to change my nam
e.”
“I understand,” Julia said. “Your name is Mulligan. Did you marry again?”
Kate spat, “No. I would never marry again. Men are the cause of all women’s troubles, and I despise them. The judge said I needed a last name since I was divorcing my husband. I didn’t want my family to find me and couldn’t use my maiden name. Mulligan was the name of the local saloon, and I used it.”
West kept creeping closer as he listened to Julia and Kate talk.
“Well, that explains a lot,” Julia said, “but it doesn’t explain why you wanted the treasure.”
“I needed the money.”
“That’s a lot of money. You could get a job,” Julia said.
“You don’t understand. I want a baby. A baby girl like my Marie. I went to an orphanage, and they said I had to be married to adopt a baby, but the head of the orphanage said something might be arranged for a price—a substantial price. I was desperate and heard about the treasure. If I could get it and sell it, I could get another baby.”
Kate broke down in sobs again before she looked back up at Julia and said, “I can’t sell the treasure now, and without it, I can’t get a baby. There’s no reason for me to keep living.”
West leaped at Kate and grabbed her arm just before she tried to push up off the boulder and jump off the edge of the cliff.
Kate screamed and fought, but eventually settled down and laid on the ground sobbing.
“Be gentle with her,” Julia told West. “She has suffered a lot and requires medical help.”
West nodded and helped Kate to her feet but bound her wrists in front of her and searched her for any hidden weapons.
“The courts will decide what’s best for her,” West said before addressing Kate.
“Miss Mulligan, where is the gold chest?”
Kate shrugged. “I’m not sure. When I heard the rumble, I thought there was a cave-in, so I had to drop the chest and scramble up the rope to get out.”
Chapter 13
West guided Kate to a nearby tree and told her to sit.
“Don’t move,” West told Kate. Julia knows how to use that gun, and she won’t hesitate to shoot you if you run. I’ll be right back.”
An Agent for Julia Page 6