Chapter Two
“Marshal Trent” shouted one of the townsfolk in the street. “Get out here fast! The stage is coming in at a run, and they’re screamin’ something about being robbed!”
Jared had been sitting at his desk, enjoying the quiet of the moment, but now that was over. He charged from his office, ready for trouble.
Glancing down the street, he stared in disbelief at the sight of what looked like a slender, auburn-haired woman driving the stage. As it came closer he could make out that it was Tessa Sinclair, and he could see that she was having trouble stopping the team. In a daring move, he stepped out into the street and grabbed the lead horses bridle as the team slowed before him. The horses dragged Jared a short distance before they came to a ragged stop.
“What happened?” Jared demanded, still keeping a tight hold on the bridle.
“Three masked gunmen robbed us about four miles out of town. Our driver was shot, but he’s still alive. He’s in the stage,” she quickly explained as she sawed back on the reins, struggling to keep control over the animals. She’d been glad when she’d seen Marshal Trent come running out of his office to meet them. She’d deliberately driven down this street in the hope that he’d be there, and she was impressed by the way he’d helped stop the team. He had a reputation as a fine lawman, and she hoped he could go after the outlaws right away.
Jared rushed to throw open the stage door. He stared into the cramped interior of the stage to find Doris Peters bent over Butch.
“How is he?”
“He’s still breathing,” Doris answered, glancing back at the marshal over her shoulder.
“Thank God.” Jared got one good look at Butch’s wound and turned toward the crowd of people who were gathering around. “I need help getting him out of here!”
Two men came forward, anxious to help Jared in any way they could. The three of them lifted the grievously injured driver from the confines of the stage.
“Take Butch down to Dr. Murray’s office,” he ordered. “Tell the doc I’ll be down to check on him shortly.”
“Yes, Marshal.”
They hurried off, carrying the injured man to the office less than a block away.
Jared turned to the two women. It took a lot to impress him, but Tessa Sinclair had just done it. In spite of the horror of the robbery, she’d kept her wits about her and had not only saved the driver’s life, but had brought the stage in single-handedly. She was one hell of a woman, and darned pretty, too. He went to assist Tessa, who was now helping the older woman climb out of the stagecoach. Jared had been so caught up in the drama of stopping the team and getting Butch to the doctor that he hadn’t paid a lot of attention to the two women. As they turned to speak to him, he went still.
“What happened to you?” Jared demanded at the sight of their bruised faces.
“One of the robbers did it!” Doris declared tearfully. “He hit me, and when Tessa tried to help me, he hit her, too! He was going to shoot her.”
Jared’s expression turned stony at her tale. He was outraged over the robbery, but even more furious that the robbers would hurt defenseless women. “Are you all right?”
“I don’t know,” Doris said, near hysteria again now that she no longer had to concentrate on helping Butch. “It was all so terrible, and they stole my money!”
“I need to talk with both of you about the robbery, but first I want Dr. Murray to take a look at you. Do you need any help getting over to his office or can you make it on your own?”
“I’ll help Doris,” Tessa told him.
“Should we come back to the jail to talk to you after we see him?” Doris asked, clinging to Tessa’s arm for support.
“No, I’ll come find you.”
The women moved off, leaving Jared staring after them. He’d been hard put to control his anger when he’d seen their injuries. But when Doris had told him that Tessa had been hurt coming to her aid, he’d almost lost his temper and said something to the young woman that he knew he would later regret. He couldn’t imagine what she’d been thinking, putting herself in harm’s way like that.
That was how innocent people got killed—just like his father.
A muscle worked in Jared’s jaw. He turned away from the stagecoach and strode back toward the office. He had to get a posse ready to ride—and fast.
It was nearly an hour later when Jared knocked on the door at the Sinclair house. He had organized the posse, and arranged for Deputy Wells to take over for him while he was away. The posse was waiting for him at the jail, ready to ride out as soon as he returned. He had stopped to talk to Doris first at her home and was now ready to speak with Tessa. He needed to learn all he could about the gang of outlaws before he went after them. This was their second robbery in the area, and he was bound and determined to catch them.
Maggie Sinclair heard the knock at the door and hurried to answer it. She was thrilled to find that it was the lawman. She thought highly of him and knew that if anyone could catch the robbers, it would be Marshal Trent. The tall, dark-haired marshal had an aura of power and command about him that garnered respect from all who met him.
“Hello, Mrs. Sinclair. I need to speak with Tessa, if she’s able.” His expression was serious as he spoke.
“Come in, Marshal Trent, and, please, just call me Miss Maggie, like everybody else does.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Tessa is right here in the parlor,” she said, leading the way down the hall.
“Thank you.” He followed her, taking off his hat as he came inside.
Maggie showed him into the parlor, where Tessa was sitting on the sofa. She sat down beside her daughter as he took a chair opposite them.
“Miss Sinclair,” Jared said, taking care not to show any emotion as he saw the vivid mark on her cheek. It was testimony to the terror she’d been forced to endure, but it did nothing to mar her natural beauty. Tessa was a lovely woman, and he was impressed by how calm and in control she seemed. She had to be a very strong woman to be so composed after what she’d been through. He had just left Doris, and the older woman had been nearly hysterical as she’d related the details of what had happened during the robbery.
“Please call me Tessa,” she invited. Jared Trent was a compellingly handsome man, and she found his presence reassuring. She started to smile in welcome, but the effort failed when the pain in her cheek reminded her of her injury.
“And I’m Jared,” he returned. “Did everything go all right at the doctor’s?”
“Yes. Dr. Murray said it was just a bad bruise, and that it will go away in a week or so.”
His dark-eyed gaze was so intent upon her that she reached up self-consciously to touch her cheek. She attributed her sudden nervousness to all that had happened that day.
“I’m glad it was nothing more serious,” he told her, and he meant it. He knew from what Doris had told him that Tessa was very lucky that she hadn’t ended up dead.
“Did you speak with Doris already?”
“Yes, I just came from her house.”
“How is she feeling?”
“She’s still shaken and badly bruised, but I’m sure she’ll be fine in time.”
“Good. What can I help you with?”
“Tell me everything you remember about the men who robbed you. How many were there? What did they look like? What were they wearing? Did anything about them seem familiar?”
Tessa related what little she could, but it was nothing substantial. The outlaws had been smart and careful. And Jared was frustrated.
“So there was nothing distinguishing about them? Nothing at all?”
“No,” Tessa answered slowly, thoughtfully. “If they had just been wearing bandannas, I might have been able to tell you more, but with the hood-type masks they had on I couldn’t see their faces. I grabbed one outlaw’s mask and did manage to tear it a little, but not enough to get a look at him.”
“What about their horses? Was there anything about them that would make them stand out? Did you happen to notice any of their brands?”
“No. There was nothing unusual or different about their mounts,” Tessa told him. “I wish there had been, but it all happened so fast. . . .”
“All right. You said the robbery happened about four miles out of town?”
“Yes, right where the road narrows. We were trapped. Poor Butch. Did you hear anything more about his condition from Dr. Murray? When Doris and I were there at the office, he told us that he’d managed to get the bullet out, but he still didn’t know if Butch was going to make it or not.”
“I haven’t heard anything new. I’ll check with the doc again before I ride out with the posse.”
“So you are going after them,” she said with satisfaction.
“The posse’s waiting for me at the jail right now. If I can find the gang’s trail and bring them in, I will,” Jared promised her. He’d given chase after the first robbery the month before, but had lost their trail in the mountains. From the description of the masks Doris and Tessa had given him, he was certain it was the same gang.
“Good,” Tessa said with heartfelt emotion. “I’ll feel much better when I know they’re locked up.”
“So will I. These are vicious men, and they shouldn’t be on the loose.” He rose to go, and then knew he couldn’t leave without cautioning her about her reckless behavior. “Doris told me how you tried to help her.”
She nodded, looking up at him. “I couldn’t believe that they were going to steal from an old lady.”
“The men you were dealing with were not gentlemen—they were criminals. You could very easily have been killed today for your effort,” he told her critically. “In the future, be more careful.”
“But I couldn’t just stand there and let that man hurt Doris!”
“All your good intentions could have gotten you shot. You wouldn’t have been much help to her dead!”
The thought of someone as vibrant and beautiful as Tessa Sinclair dying senselessly over money infuriated Jared. His gaze went over her, seeing the fire of defiance in her eyes—and the mark of her injury. He realized then just how delicate she really was—and how vulnerable she had been to the outlaws’ attack. She’d been unarmed and defenseless, and yet she’d tried to face down brutal bandits alone! If he hadn’t been so angry with her, he might have admired her spirit.
Tessa saw the cold anger in the lawman’s gaze, but though Marshal Trent was the intimidating sort, she didn’t cower before him. She wouldn’t have been able to live with herself if she hadn’t tried to help her friend. “I had to do something” she countered. “They’d already shot Butch. What if they’d shot Doris, too?”
“You were no match for an armed stage robber.” Jared lectured sternly. “Anytime you’re dealing with criminals, take the path of least resistance. Give them what they want. What did you think you were doing, putting yourself in danger that way?”
“I know exactly what I was doing,” she replied with cool dignity as she gave a stubborn lift of her chin. “I was helping a friend.”
“Moral superiority is no defense against savage force,” he countered.
“I know that,” Tessa replied, her own anger returning at his harsh criticism. “But it was up to us to defend ourselves. It wasn’t as if there were any brave lawmen riding up in the nick of time to save us!”
Her words were a slap in the face to Jared. He prided himself on keeping Durango safe from trouble. A muscle worked in his jaw as he struggled to control his temper.
“I’ll be in touch.”
With that, he strode from the room and the house. He didn’t look back.
Tessa was glad when he left. His dictatorial manner had irritated her, and she decided that she didn’t think he was quite so handsome, after all. No, in fact, she thought he was rather arrogant.
Will, Zeke, and Bob arrived at the Ace High by midmorning. They were pleased and relieved to find that Michael had not yet returned. Everything had gone according to plan. Life was good. After quickly tending to their mounts, they got a lantern and went to hide the money in the abandoned shaft. They had to get back to work again right away for it was important to convince Michael that they’d been hard at work the whole time he’d been gone.
“Not too bad for just two jobs,” Zeke said as he stared down at the money they had stashed away.
“How long do you think it will be safe for us to keep this up? Do you think they’ll catch up with us faster here than they did in Arizona?” Bob asked.
“No,” Will answered. “I know Marshal Trent has a good reputation, but we’ll just make sure we don’t give him anything to go on. Who would suspect that we’re the robbers and that we’re hiding the money in a working mine?”
“I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to work here for too damned long,” Zeke said, looking around the mine shaft. “This work is too hard.”
Will shook his head in disgust. “You think any work is too hard, Zeke. No one will ever think to look for the money here.”
“What money?”
The sound of Michael’s voice coming from just behind them shocked all three.
“Michael? You’re back early,” Will said quickly, unsure of just how much their boss had overheard.
Will started walking back toward him, but Michael had already come near enough to see what they were doing.
“What money, Will?” Michael looked from Will to the others and then down to the saddlebags and small chest on the floor. “What are you doing in this shaft? Did you find something in here?”
Michael had returned from town early, knowing that there was a lot of work to be done at the mine and that his men worked a lot harder when he was there keeping track of things. And judging from what he’d just found, it was a good thing he had come back early. It didn’t look as though they’d done much of anything in the three days he’d been away.
Michael started around the three men to see what it was they were talking about, and it was then that Will struck.
Will knew he had no choice. As Michael passed him, Will drew his gun from his holster and hit him full-force on the back of the head. Michael had been totally unsuspecting of any possible danger. He collapsed to the rocky ground and lay unmoving.
“Damn! What did you do that for?” Bob asked nervously as he stared down at Michael’s prone figure.
“What was I going to do? Let him find out what we’re doing here?”
“But he’s going to be real mad when he comes around.” Bob was scared.
“We ain’t going to let him come back around,” Zeke spoke up. “We’ve got to kill him.”
“Couldn’t we just tie him up and leave him here? Nobody would be coming to check for days, and it would give us time to get away!” Bob looked at Will, waiting to see what he would say.
Will smiled thinly. He’d had a plan about what he wanted to do here, but if Michael were dead . . . that changed things, and, as he thought about it now, it changed things for the better. This was definitely an opportunity for him. The mine would need someone to run it, and he could be that someone. He was Michael’s friend, and he was ready and willing to take over running the Ace High for Tessa Sinclair and her mother. He knew the mother liked him already, and if he played things right, he might end up not only with the mine but with Michael’s good-looking sister, too. “It seems such a tragedy that we had the cave-in this morning,” he said in a cold voice.
“Cave-in?” Bob asked, confused. “What cave-in?”
“That’s how Michael was killed, you know. We were checking out the abandoned shaft, and one of the support timbers gave way. It took all three of us over an hour to dig Michael out, and by the time we did, it was too late.”
The three outlaws shared a look as they began to make Will’s plan a reality.
It was much later that afternoon when Will mounted up, ready to ride for town. He was leading the horse that was carrying Michael’s body. Will had had Zeke hit him several times so that Will looked like he’d been injured by the cave-in, too. He wanted all the sympathy he could get when he reached town with the tragic news.
“What do you want us to do while you’re gone?” Bob asked. He was nervous.
“I want you to work the mine. That’s what you were hired for, and that’s what you should be doing.”
“How long are you going to be?” Zeke asked.
“As long as it takes to set this up the way I want it—probably a few days.”
They watched him ride off. Zeke was pleased by the way things were turning out, but Bob was worried and more than a little scared that the truth of their crime would be discovered.
Tessa stood beside her mother, her arm supportively around her shoulders, listening to Reverend Ford’s final prayers over her brother’s grave. The past week had been hellish for them. The stage robbery had been terrible enough to deal with, but her brother’s tragic death had been devastating. Michael had been only twenty-eight years old, and now he was gone forever. Her heart ached, and she knew how totally lost her mother was feeling. It seemed her mother had aged ten years before her very eyes.
“Amen.” The preacher concluded the final prayer, then turned to them. He took Maggie Sinclair’s hands in his as he spoke. “Mrs. Sinclair.”
He looked at Tessa. “Tessa. You both have my deepest sympathy in your loss. Michael was a fine young man. He will be sorely missed.”
“Thank you, Reverend,” Maggie managed in a voice choked with painful emotion.
“If you need anything, anything at all, just let me know,” he said.
Tessa nodded, but didn’t speak. She wasn’t sure at that particular moment if she would be able to. Memories of her brother were overwhelming her. She had loved him dearly and wondered if she’d ever get over losing him.
Those who had come to the cemetery with them gathered around to speak with them.
“Tessa, I am so sorry.” Julie Stevens, her closest girlfriend, hugged her.
“Me, too,” Tessa answered raggedly. “Michael wasn’t only my brother. He was my friend. I’m going to miss him.”
“I know.”
Adele and Lyle Stevens, Julie’s parents, came up then to talk with Tessa and her mother as others offered their condolences, too.
Clad in the suit he’d bought just for the funeral, Will stood off to the side, slightly apart from the rest of the mourners. He was waiting for just the right moment to approach the two women. He had remained in town for the funeral and planned to stay on one more day to discuss what to do about the mine. He planned to offer to take over running it for them and hoped they would go along with the idea. It would be the perfect setup for him and the boys.
Will smiled to himself as he thought of how smoothly everything was going. Things couldn’t have turned out any better if he’d planned it this way. He’d gone to a saloon the night before to have a few drinks and relax, and he’d heard all the talk of how the marshal and his posse still hadn’t returned from trying to track down the outlaws who’d robbed the stage. The news had made him smile. This had been their second robbery, and they had successfully managed to elude the lawman. Life was good—especially now that they didn’t have to worry about Michael. They could come and go as they pleased, and no one would ever be any the wiser about their activities.
“Will, we’re going back to the house now. Would you care to join us?” Maggie Sinclair saw him standing by himself and invited him along. Michael had liked him, and she had always trusted her son’s opinion of people.
“Thank you, Mrs. Sinclair. I’d like that.” He made sure his manner was properly respectful. He offered her his arm, and he was pleased when she took it. Glancing up, he found Tessa’s gaze upon him, so he gave her what he hoped passed for a reassuring smile as he led her mother from the graveside.