Too Many Secrets

by Marie Higgins

Nicole touched the woman’s hand. “But my father and the police need to know this.”

  “I know, and I also know that I won’t go to jail for it…only because I’ll give the money back. Well, sort of.”

  Nicole narrowed her gaze on the woman. “What are you talking about now?”

  A mischief grin stretched across Mrs. Phelp’s face. “I left the money in Glynn’s house. When your father and brother search through his house, he’ll be arrested.”

  A laugh caught in Nicole’s throat, and she slapped a hand over her mouth. “How ingenious of you. Gordon was heading that way.”

  “I pray that everything works out the way I’d planned.”

  “What if Glynn doesn’t confess to hiring the train robber?”

  Angela shrugged. “He’ll have the evidence in his house, so he’ll be arrested anyway.”

  Sighing, Nicole rubbed her forehead. “I would like nothing more than for this case to be over with. Maybe Ashton will start treating me differently.”

  “Are you in love with Ashton?”

  “Well, I thought so.” Nicole’s eyes watered. “But after I confessed to him, he doesn’t think he can trust me now. I fear he’ll never forgive me.”

  “Oh, my dear Nicole. Give him time. Give his heart time to heal, as well as yours.”

  “I’m afraid his heart will never heal.”

  “You must have faith, my dear. A man in love will eventually allow his heart to lead the way.”

  Suddenly, from the hallway, an eerie laugh bounced off the walls as the creak of footsteps came closer. Nicole jumped up and faced the doorway. Joseph Donnelly sauntered in holding a pistol and pointed it right at Nicole. It was then that she noticed he was tall like Ashton and he was the same weight, too. If Joseph masked his hair color and made it brown, he’d resemble Ashton at a distance.

  “That’s a bunch of rubbish, ye ‘no,” Joseph snickered. “Men will never let their hearts lead the way. But really, it doesna matter if Mr. Lee loves ye or not. Neither of ye will be alive much longer anyway.”

  His evil grin sent chills of dread up Nicole’s spine. How could she escape this? For the first time in her life, she was all out of ideas.

  FIFTEEN

  Being the daughter of a secret agent for many years had taught Nicole a lot of things, and not to panic was one of them. Unfortunately, because the situation looked bleak, she couldn’t stop the rise of fear building inside of her.

  Unlike when Ashton pointed a gun at her, Joseph’s eyes were filled with murderous intent. If she and Angela weren’t rescued soon, they might not live to tell about this particular tale.

  “Mr. Donnelly, what are you doing in my house uninvited?” Nicole snapped.

  He sauntered into the room and took a chair as if he owned the place. Keeping his eyes—and weapon—on Angela and Nicole, he casually stretched out his legs, crossing one booted-ankle over the other.

  “I was followin’ Miss Bastian in hopes of havin’ her lead me tae her father,” the Scottish man answered.

  “Why?” Nicole asked warily.

  “Because I’m slowly gettin’ rid of ye all. I dinna exactly like it when ye shut down me business in San Francisco a few years back, and so I decided tae stop ye from interferin’ now as I’m startin’ to expand.”

  Nicole huffed. “I doubt my father cares what you’re doing now.”

  He stayed quiet for a few moments, cocking his head as he stared at her through a narrowed gaze. She didn’t think she’d be able to convince him. She wasn’t an agent like her family, and she must accept that she would never become one. She just didn’t have the intelligence for it.

  “Aye, but I think he does care, Miss Bastian. Yer father might not be workin’ on puttin’ me outta business now, but he soon will.” He shook his head. “And I canna be havin’ that.”

  “Mr. Donnelly,” Angela said with a stronger voice. “There is no reason to kill us. We are not your enemy.”

  “But ye are, Mrs. Phelps. The two of ye ‘no’s I was the train robber.”

  “So does Mr. Nickerson,” Nicole reasoned.

  Joseph shook his head. “He won’t say anythin’ to the police, b’cause he ‘nos I’ll kill him.”

  Silently, Nicole groaned. He was right, of course. Her father and brother certainly wouldn’t think Joseph Donnelly was involved. Her mind quickly thought of an argument. “I see what you mean, but what about now? Don’t you think my neighbors saw you come into my house? The people in this community look out for one another. If you kill me and Mrs. Phelps, the police—and my father—will hunt you down like the rat you are.”

  It only took Joseph Donnelly a moment before he nodded. “I think yer right, Miss Bastian.” He jumped to his feet. Waving the pistol in the air, he motioned toward the front door. “We need tae leave. I’ll kill ye in some other place so nobody will ‘no it was me.”

  Fright consumed Nicole harder this time. She had to convince him otherwise—and quickly.

  He threw both Angela and Nicole a glare. “Let’s get goin’.”

  “You must be joking.” Angela gasped. “I’m injured and in my night clothes. I’m not going outside dressed like this. If people saw me leaving the house adorned in such a fashion, they would certainly think something was amiss.”

  Nicole held her breath, watching Joseph’s reaction carefully. She knew what Angela was doing—biding her time. After all, her father and brother would hopefully get some answers from Glynn and come back here looking for Angela. Perhaps there was a chance someone would come save them after all.

  Joseph grumbled. “Then I suggest you go to your room and change.”

  Angela’s gaze jumped to Nicole as the older woman silently communicated that everything would be all right. Nicole was glad Angela felt this way because she felt differently. Still, she must go along with Angela’s plan in hopes of getting them free from this madman.

  When Angela made the move to get up, Nicole slid her arm around the woman’s waist in an attempt to help.

  “Whoa! Whot do ye think yer doin’, Miss Bastian?”

  She arched an eyebrow. “What does it look like I’m doing? I’m helping Mrs. Phelps to her room.”

  “No, yer goin’ to stay down here with me.”

  Nicole opened her mouth to argue, but Angela cut her off. “Now what good will that do, Mr. Donnelly? I’m injured and weak. How do you expect me to dress myself when I’m in this condition?”

  Joseph’s jaw tightened and his free hand bunched into a fist at his side. “Fine,” he growled. “But I’m comin’ with ye.”

  Nicole helped Angela to the bedroom, her mind buzzed with ways to get away from the madman. She picked out a dress for Angela and they stepped behind the dressing screen so that Joseph couldn’t watch.

  “I have a plan,” Nicole whispered. Thankfully, the rustling of the skirts and dress made more noise.

  “You do?” Angela whispered.

  “Once he takes us to where he’s going to shoot us, you pretend to swoon, which will draw his attention to you. I’ll then attack him from behind.”

  Taking a deep breath, Angela nodded.

  It sounded so easy, but Nicole knew from past experience that nothing ever turned out how she wanted. She prayed this time was different. She prayed luck would be with her.

  When they were finished dressing Angela, they walked out from around the screen. Angela took her cloak and bonnet and they led the way downstairs at a slow pace with Joseph following. After reaching the bottom floor, Nicole draped her cloak around her shoulders as well.

  “Now we are goin’ to walk out this door and act like nothin’ is happenin’,” Joseph said roughly. “Believe me, I won’t have any second thoughts about killin’ ye right here.”

  Tears spiked her eyes and she blinked rapidly. She didn’t want to die, not like this. She said a silent prayer that her father—or Ashton—would rescue her.

  The afternoon air was cool, and she bundled the collar of her cloak against her throat with one hand
, while holding onto Angela’s arm with the other. They walked slowly down the road toward the ravine. That would be the perfect place to kill them. Joseph could push their bodies in the ravine and they wouldn’t be discovered for quite a while.

  “Can’t ye ladies walk faster?” Joseph snapped.

  Nicole threw him a glare. “I don’t know why it keeps slipping your mind, but Mrs. Phelps is injured. She’s extremely weak, you imbecile!”

  He grumbled something incoherent and shook his head. Thankfully, he didn’t say anymore because Nicole just might attack him now. She was already tired of his attitude.

  “Are you all right?” she whispered to Angela.

  The sluggish way the other woman turned her head toward Nicole gave her the answer she sought without any words needed. The housekeeper’s face was pale, and Nicole worried that Angela might swoon sooner than planned. All of this walking wasn’t good for a woman who had lost a lot of blood. Nicole knew that feeling well.

  Frowning, Angela shook her head. “I don’t feel well at all.”

  I know, Nicole mouthed. I’m so sorry.

  The closer they came to the ravine, the slower Nicole walked. Angela stumbled a few times, and Nicole wrapped an arm around the older woman’s waist, but it wasn’t helping. Angela just didn’t have the strength. Silently, Nicole prayed that a miracle would happen—anything that would help out their dire situation.

  “Over there,” Joseph snipped, “down that slope.”

  Suddenly, Angela released a weak sob and crumbled to the ground. Gasping, Nicole tried to reach for her, but Joseph pushed her away.

  “Leave her,” he commanded. “That’s where I’d planned for her tae be, anyway.”

  Nicole gnashed her teeth, wanting to shout obscenities at him whether it was lady-like or not. But before she could do anything, he lifted his foot and kicked Angela’s limp body, pushing her down the slope.

  Screaming, Nicole pounded on his back with her fists, and kicked him in the legs, which brought him to his knees. She tried to keep an eye on Angela to see if she had stopped herself before reaching the water, but her friend had rolled out of view.

  Joseph muttered a few choice words and aimed the pistol at Nicole. Fear had left her and was replaced with raging anger. The emotion filled her and she balled her hands into fists. She was frustrated at him, at her life, and definitely irritated at what fate had handed her. She lifted the skirt of her dress a little higher to give her legs better access and more room to kick him again. This time, she let the fury flowing through her guide her limb. Her foot connected with his jaw and he fell back, dropping the weapon in the process.

  She reached for the pistol, but Joseph regained his bearings and lunged for it as well. Nicole wrapped her fingers around it just as he jumped on her, knocking her down on her back. The man was strong, but that didn’t stop her from fighting as hard as she could. If she were going to die tonight, she would do her best and fight to the end.

  “Give me the gun,” he shouted, trying to pry her fingers off the steel.

  “Go to the devil, Mr. Donnelly. I will not relent!”

  Using her legs, she kicked as much as she could with him on top of her. She rolled one way and then the other, doing her best to keep him from winning.

  Cussing loudly, Joseph drew back his fist before slamming it into Nicole’s face. The right side of her jaw exploded with pain, and for a brief second, blackness filled her head. All sounds around her disappeared for a moment before slowly returning and sounding as if she were in a tunnel.

  The agony shooting through her made her limp, and Joseph took the opportunity to snatch the pistol from her. As her vision gradually returned, she could see him struggling with the weapon, getting it ready to fire.

  Suddenly, a large figure ran up behind Joseph wielding a thick board in his hands. The person swung hard and the piece of wood connected with Joseph’s head. The strength of it knocked the weapon from his hands as he rolled to the ground beside her in an unconscious heap.

  Her vision was still a little fuzzy, but she could now tell it was a man. He dropped to his knees beside her.

  “Nicole, speak to me. Are you all right?”

  Ashton? No, it must be a dream…but that was all right. Imagining he was here with her would make her last moments on earth very peaceful.

  Gentle fingers breezed across her face. Warmth filled her. Perhaps it wasn’t a dream after all. She blinked and kept her focus on him. Gradually, his face became clearer, and she could tell he was concerned for her welfare. Her heart sang with happiness.

  “Oh, Ashton.” With an unsteady hand, she grasped his. “I’m fine, but Angela isn’t. She rolled down the slope.” Nicole motioned her hand in the general direction. “She’s injured and has lost a lot of blood.”

  Ashton jumped to his feet and ran to check on her. Nicole struggled to sit, but she forced herself even through the pain throbbing in her face and her healing shoulder injury. Joseph lay very still on the ground. A long gash lined his forehead as blood poured from the wound. She pushed away from him, not wanting to even touch him.

  “Ashton?” she called out. “Did you find her?”

  “Yes. She’s unconscious, but she’s alive.”

  Nicole sobbed with gratefulness and wobbled toward him as he carried her up the slope. Two more men ran her way and this time she recognized them. Her father and brother were also here to assist. Relief poured through every inch of her body and she cried.

  Her father wrapped his strong arms around her, holding her up. “Oh, Nicole, I was so worried we wouldn’t arrive in time.” He kissed the top of her head.

  “How…how did you know we were in danger?” she asked.

  He nodded in Ashton’s direction. “Mr. Lee felt it.”

  “He felt it?”

  “Yes. When we arrested Mr. Nickerson and he started talking, he confessed to blackmailing Mrs. Larson because she was an opium user. Mr. Lee remembered you telling him about how evil Joseph Donnelly had been a few years ago.” Her father shrugged. “That’s when Mr. Lee felt you were in trouble. He was hell-bent to get back here to you as soon as possible.” He chuckled lightly. “He’s definitely one determined man.”

  The fluttering in her heart calmed the pain throbbing in her head slightly. Perhaps Ashton really did care about her. What were the chances he would forgive her now?

  When Ashton carried Mrs. Phelps to them, he frowned. “She’s bleeding again. We need to get her to the house.”

  Nicole’s father instructed Gordon to stay with Joseph Donnelly until the police arrived. Her father then helped Ashton carry the housekeeper on his horse before Nicole mounted her father’s horse and rode back to the house with him.

  During the short ride, she explained to her father and Ashton how Mrs. Phelps was involved with the train robbery.

  Her father grumbled. “Mrs. Phelps knew better than to do that.”

  “I know, Father.” She patted his arm softly. “But Mr. Nickerson had wronged her family. Revenge was all she could think about.”

  “It doesn’t make things right.” He shook his head.

  “It’s remarkable, if you think about it,” Ashton said.

  “What is?” Nicole asked.

  “Mrs. Phelps thought to do something like that. She suspected Mr. Nickerson was the one responsible for the train robberies, yet the man was trying to make me look like the thief. So then what does she do? She makes it look like he was doing it just to get the focus off me.”

  “Mr. Nickerson is definitely one crafty man.” Nicole smiled.

  “Oh, he’s craftier than you think,” her father added. “While we had him and Mr. Larson in a room together—thinking they were the only ones—the truth came out about something else those two fools had done.”

  Sadness etched Ashton’s forehead, which confused Nicole. “What else?”

  “They killed my father,” Ashton answered in a low voice.

  She gasped and covered her mouth. “Oh, no.”

&
nbsp; He nodded. “I knew my father wasn’t a very ethical man. He ruined a lot of people and made many enemies. Apparently, Glynn and Steve were two of them.”

  “What will happen to them now?” she asked her father.

  “They will stand trial of course, but I’m thinking they will be hanged.” He nodded toward Ashton. “And if that’s the case, Mr. Lee will be sole owner of the railroad.”

  She swung her gaze back to Ashton. His expression was unreadable, but then again, he had been through quite a bit lately. “How would you feel about that?” she asked him.

  He shrugged. “I haven’t decided yet.” He managed a small smile.

  They reached her home and Ashton carried Mrs. Phelps inside and to her bedroom. Nicole led the way. After he lay the other woman down and turned toward Nicole, his eyes widened and he hitched a breath.

  “Nicole, your face is swollen.” With much tenderness, he ran his fingers over her jaw. “You better take care of that before it bruises.”

  “I will.” She couldn’t stop staring into his eyes. She enjoyed seeing how much he cared.

  “I…I want to thank you for everything you have done to help me.”

  She nodded. “It was my pleasure.”

  “What are you going to do now that the case has been solved?”

  “I don’t know exactly. I suppose I’ll return to my normal, boring life. Perhaps I’ll go visit my cousin again.”

  “I’m sure Mrs. Thompson will enjoy having you back.”

  Her heart was full of emotion and she wanted so much to fall into his arms and confess her love, but she wanted him to make the first move. He knew she was sorry since she’d repeated it many times already. So now it was up to him to forgive her, and her heart beat faster with every second she waited.

  But he didn’t say it. Instead, the smile slowly left his face and he turned back to Mrs. Phelps lying on her bed.

  “I suppose you should get the town doctor here quickly.”

  A sob rose in her throat, but she refused to release it. He hadn’t said anything to her about his feelings. She supposed he never would.

  Tears stung her eyes and she blinked quickly in hopes of making them disappear. “Yes, I’ll get to that now.”