Mr. Brewer coughed a little before answering. "I did threaten you and I did leave a knife, I confess to that much. And it was not all about the money. I heard from my friend Herbert how you rejected him," he explained.
Clementine could not believe her ears. "So you tormented me to make him feel better?" she yelled at the other man.
He shrugged or at least tried to. "You shouldn't play with man's feelings."
Alexander hit him again without warning. "One more wrong word out of your mouth and I will continue hitting you until you reach enlightenment, a complete attitude change toward women," he growled, enraged.
"And I won't stop him," the sheriff agreed, looking somewhat bored like Mr. Brewer getting beaten down was of no concern to him.
Mr. Brewer looked at Alexander with utter hatred and said nothing.
"What about Pauline then?" Clementine pressed. "Where is my niece?"
"I don't have her," Mr. Brewer replied simply.
This was getting them nowhere, Clementine realized in desperation. Clearly, she was not the only one. “We will see about that.” Sheriff O'Conner whistled, and two of his deputies collected Mr. Brewer from Alexander.
"We will take him to the precinct and have a more thorough conversation there," the sheriff explained.
A part of Clementine believed that was a waste of time.
"To the precinct?" Lee Brewer started to protest. "That is outrageous. I didn't do anything."
"And you'll get your chance to prove it."
Clementine appreciated their effort yet as far as she was concerned the truth was plain to see. He did not have any reason to deny taking Pauline when he could gain so much by admitting it. It was safe to assume it was not him. He did not take her Pauline. That fact frightened her more than anything else in this world because now they had no suspects or leads.
Believing Mr. Brewer was telling the truth meant some unknown foe wanted to do Clementine harm. Suddenly she felt rather lightheaded, and if Alexander hasn't been there to catch her, she would fall to the ground. "I was so sure it was him," she cried out in despair.
"Me too," Alexander replied in the same manner.
"What are we to do now, Alexander?" she begged. "She is out there alone, with some stranger and I can't bear it."
"You must."
"We don't even know where to start." Clementine could feel the panic overwhelming her, drowning her, clouding her mind. She kept picturing Pauline in the dark with some stranger, completely in his power, and that drove her mad.
"Calm yourself," Alexander ordered, seeing he was losing her. "I need you levelheaded. We will find her, I promise you that on my life," Alexander said gravelly.
He embraced her, and Clementine tried really hard not to cry because Alexander was right. She needed to be strong, for Pauline.
"How?" She questioned in a small voice.
If Mr. Brewer truly had nothing to do with this kidnapping then they still had to discover who did, and why? There was one question that imposed itself based on all of this. How many enemies can one simple woman have?
Clementine was about to find out.
Chapter Twenty-Five
"We have to find her, Alexander," Clementine implored like he was not already aware of that. "I cannot stop thinking about her. She must be beyond scared because of my mistakes," she tried really hard not to cry anew, out of her mind with worry.
"I know just how you feel," Alexander replied softly.
Clementine speculated he was trying to make her feel better. It was all in vain. They parted so he could look at her in the eyes. "I truly do. My own mistakes led to Honey's demise. She was killed because of me."
That revelation stunned her. The sister he so rarely spoke of, yet clearly adored was killed because of him? In a way that did not sound true, at least not to Clementine. There had to be more to that story.
"Alexander..." She desperately searched for something to say and there were no words, also he continued speaking.
"You probably wondered why I felt so guilty following her death. Because I am. It is more than a sentiment how a big brother failing to protect his little sister." Alexander closed his eyes. "I wanted to bring down the most notorious criminals, and they took revenge upon me. They killed her to teach me a lesson," his voice broke at the end.
Clementine's heart broke for both of them. An innocent life lost because of a power play. Life could be cruel, especially since there were rather cruel people walking on this Earth.
"I am so sorry about Honey, Alexander," but then she actually registered his words. "Do you believe Pauline..." it was her turn to hesitate.
Alexander's eyes opened and he looked at her in alarm, clearly realizing what he inadvertently did. "No. I didn't tell you this to prepare you for the worst," he was quick to explain as she was having trouble breathing. "Just to tell you I've been where you are, the fear, pain, self-doubts, I understand. And Clementine?"
"Yes?"
"We will find her. I won't lose anyone else I care about."
"Promise?" she replied meekly even though she felt ridiculous for asking that of him. Alexander could not guarantee her that. Nobody could.
"I promise," Alexander replied instantly. "I will turn over heaven and hell to find her for you. And surprisingly she believed him. His conviction calmed her like nothing else. She felt a bit ashamed for wasting all their time with her panic attack, especially now when she needed to be stronger than ever. Sadly, it couldn't be helped. She would do better from now on.
"Let's go," Alexander said again and they finally left the store.
They didn't make twenty steps when Clementine spotted Herbert in front of one of the shops. "Look, Alexander," Clementine exclaimed.
He followed the place where she was pointing at, then frowned spotting Herbert. "So what?"
"Herbert hates me." Although with a little bit of thought, it was a close tie who he hated more, Alexander or Clementine.
"You think that pest had something to do with Pauline's disappearance?" he guessed.
"Well, I don't know," Clementine replied honestly. "You heard what Mr. Brewer said. He did all of those things to me partly because Herbert is his friend. Maybe Herbert decided to take matters into his own hands, take his revenge by taking Pauline," she presented a theory. Once she said it out loud it sounded quite possible. The theory had merit.
A question that presented itself was would he dare to do it? A coward like him could do it, and Clementine would not be surprised he stooped so low, especially if he was drunk at the time.
"He did say we would regret it," Alexander said carefully.
"Precisely."
"Let's go have a chat with our friend then," by the look in his eyes, Clementine knew he meant more than a simple exchange of words would occur.
Herbert looked startled when the two of them started running toward him. He started looking around himself as though in hopes they were aiming for someone else. He raised his hands in surrender before Alexander grabbed him.
"I saw Lee being taken away by the sheriff," he said in haste. "I had nothing to do with it."
"Do you admit Brewer kidnapped Pauline?" Alexander demanded, giving the other man a little shake.
"No. I mean, I know nothing about it," Herbert stumbled over his words.
He was trying to save his neck, Clementine realized.
"I'm sure he didn't do it."
"How about you?"
"I would never harm a little girl," he defended, raising his chin ever so slightly.
"Liar," Clementine snapped.
"I am not," he argued like a child.
"Then why are you sweating like you're hiding something from us," Alexander shouted, clearly losing patience.
"I'm not hiding anything."
Yet Clementine saw a slight hesitation while he was saying that and she was not the only one.
"I can see it on your face you know something. Speak scoundrel," Alexander growled into the other man's face.
"
If you know something about Pauline, please tell us," Clementine was not too proud to beg. She would do that and so much more if only she could be reunited with her niece.
Herbert made a face, it was apparent he did not want to speak which only deepened her belief he knew something, he just didn't feel like sharing.
Was he embarrassed? Clementine speculated. It certainly looked like that. She was utterly confused by his actions. "Please," she stressed again, trying to get through to him.
"I did see something," he said eventually much to her relief, "I'm not sure if it was real or not," Herbert hedged.
Clementine felt like screaming at him, he was frustrating to no end. "What do you mean by that?" Clementine and Alexander demanded at the same time.
Herbert looked at Alexander's hands, his meaning obvious. Quite reluctantly, and after some coaxing from Clementine, Alexander released him.
"Tell us what you saw," Clementine prompted.
"It was in the middle of the night. I was rather drunk back then," Herbert started his narrative.
"And when aren't you," Clementine commented mostly to herself. He heard her nevertheless and stopped talking immediately, looking insulted.
"I apologize," she replied, ashamed. He was in the process of telling them something that could very well be of use. She shouldn't be unnecessarily rude toward a man helping them no matter how nervous or scared she was at the moment.
"As I said," he tried again, clearly satisfied with her words. "I was drunk. Old man Clyde just threw me out of his establishment." That was no news either. This time, Clementine used her inner voice to make comments on his story.
"After charging me two drinks for the price of five," he grumbled. Clementine was certain he was exaggerating. "So I started wondering about, trying to find some other place where I could continue with my festivities and quench my thirst. I went to Dixie Road." That was way across town, in a seedier part of Courtfield. "That was when I saw it. Or at least I think I saw it."
"What, man? Speak up," Alexander burst out right before Clementine got a chance to do the same.
"A man carrying a small child."
"What?" Clementine and Alexander said at the same time.
Herbert nodded. "It was dark, and I am not quite sure, but I think I saw a man carrying a child, a girl," he corrected himself while making all kinds of faces. He was trying really hard to remember things, sort through the mess of thoughts inside his cloudy mind. "And she was tied up. I think."
Clementine's pulse quickened. That must be Pauline, she was sure of that. This was definite proof someone has taken her. She thanked the heavens for sending Herbert to them because now she knew her niece was still alive and did not simply wander off.
"And you did nothing?" Alexander snapped at the other man.
"I thought I was seeing things," Herbert defended. "It wouldn't be the first time," he said, matching Alexander's levels of frustration. Clementine completely believed when he said that. She knew how much he could drink and how he acted afterward. Alexander knew it too.
During her life, Clementine heard strange things, anecdotal tales about some men and what happened to them when they drank too much. Some of the stories were rather bizarre. Like she needed another reason to never touch that vile stuff.
"And then what happened? Where did the man with the girl go?" Clementine returned them to the main subject. She did not care about the rest, only about Pauline.
Once again Herbert paused in deep concentration. "I saw them near that old exchange warehouse. She was struggling, however, he didn't have to carry her long. He threw her on a horse."
"Oh no," Clementine was beyond herself with worry.
"And then he started riding south."
"Are you sure?" Clementine insisted, praying he was wrong, as Alexander looked at her in confusion.
"Yes," Herbert replied without further explanation.
"Oh no," Clementine said walking the short distance between two men.
"What is it, Clementine?" Alexander asked her, clearly not understanding her agitation.
"They left town," she explained while Herbert nodded.
"How do you know that?"
"Because going west on Dixie Road will take you out of Courtfield. There's nothing else there."
What were they going to do now? Once again desperation threatened to drown her. Her little girl was God knew only where by now.
Will I ever see her again? Clementine stopped herself there. She couldn't think like that. She had to remain strong and pray for the best while doing everything in her power to find Pauline. Besides, she was not alone. She had Alexander, and Clementine knew that together they would find her.
"Take us there, to the place you saw them," Alexander asked Herbert as Clementine prepared to do the same.
Herbert instantly complied. Unfortunately, they found nothing there, the warehouse was empty.
"Let's go inside and have a proper look," Alexander urged. So they did. They split up to cover the grounds more quickly.
All kinds of thoughts went through Clementine's head as she walked through the old, abandoned exchange warehouse that the bankrupted owners left a long time ago to just rot. It was rather dark inside, the only light came through busted windows and the odor was so potent, foul it made her sick to the stomach. She couldn’t quite decipher what it was, yet she did not like it one bit.
In a way, it resembled a train because it was so long yet narrow, with rooms lined one after the other. Since it was abandoned by people, animals found refuge in its shadows. Clementine could hear rats scurrying about, disturbed by their presence and the ceiling was populated by pigeons. Why was this building here? It was clear only criminals used it for nefarious reasons, so it was better to simply tear it down. She would be first in the line of volunteers to help in that endeavor.
"There's June," Alexander yelled and Clementine ran to meet him. He was right, June, Pauline's doll was on the floor.
Alexander picked her up and gave it to Clementine. "She was here," Clementine sobbed hugging the doll which was the only link to her niece.
Where was Pauline now? That was the most pressing question. "Pauline!" She started to call out for her, and nobody replied.
"She is not here anymore, remember," Alexander's voice was kind and full of compassion.
"You say you saw them riding out of town," Alexander was once again all business, clearly satisfied Clementine was not going to break down again.
Herbert backed them out of the warehouse and pointed. "They went that way, so I think."
"There's nothing out there but the desert," Clementine cried out. Poor Pauline. What on earth would become of her niece? Clementine's mind was in utter shambles. She could not say who or why has taken her niece and to the desert no less.
"Are you sure?" Alexander asked her.
"Yes," Clementine replied instantly.
"That's not completely true," Herbert jumped in, taking them both by surprise.
"What do you mean?" Alexander asked.
"There's an old Swenson family farm that way," he explained.
"Old Swanson farm?" Clementine repeated. "Never heard of it," and she lived in Courtfield all her life.
"It's near Mary's Basin," Herbert tried to explain to her.
Mary's Basin was just a piece of land, with a small natural depression that was formed and when it rained it was filled with water. There was an old folk tale about that place. A girl named Mary drowned herself there because of unrequited love. Others believed she was killed there. Either way, folks rarely let their horses go to that watering-place during the rainy season.
"You were probably too young to remember them," Herbert continued. "They moved further west after that terrible drought."
Clementine heard about that, yet the name of that family did not ring a bell, although she did know about it, she remembered.
"The farm stands abandoned for decades now."
Hearing that gave her hope that perhaps that man did take
Pauline there. It was better than the alternative.
"That would be a perfect place for a hideout," Alexander mirrored her thoughts perfectly.
"All right," that raised Clementine's spirit ever so slightly. With a definite plan ahead of them she could breathe again. "Could you please take us there?" she asked Herbert.
Even though she was familiar with that area she wasn't one hundred percent sure of the farm's location. And this was not the time nor the place for guesswork. Herbert was in the process of telling her yes, already nodding with his head when Alexander interjected.
A Courageous Bride to Bring Him Hope: A Historical Western Romance Book Page 23