Flora's Wish (54 page)

She nodded and handed it to him. “Thank you,” she said as she lingered in the doorway, “for taking care of us.”

He shrugged. “It's what I do.”

An echo of Lucas's words. She smiled. “No, I mean for worrying about Lucas enough to test my feelings for him.” She paused to watch his expression. “I know that's what you were doing in the carriage.”

He chuckled. “Lucas didn't. That almost got me punched.”

“I hope you found what you were looking for.”

“I believe I did.” Kyle paused only a moment before he added, “He loves you, you know. I'd advise you not to abuse that.”

“You have my word, Mr. Russell,” she said as she let his statement settle against her heart.

“Under the circumstances, I figure you ought to call me Kyle.”

The door across the hall flew open and Lucas came stumbling out, his shirt half buttoned and the tails hanging out over his trousers, with no shoes on his feet. “Is something wrong? I thought I heard Flora,” he demanded, his hair sticking out at odd angles.

“Nothing's wrong. I was just returning my breakfast tray.”

“Get some rest, buddy,” Kyle added. “We've got another few hours before we dock in Natchez, and we both need to be ready for whatever happens.”

In a bold move, Flora walked across the hall to smooth back Lucas's hair and kiss him soundly. Without a word, she turned back toward her stateroom.

“I'm supposed to get some rest after that?” she heard Lucas ask Kyle as she closed the door.

An eternity later, the
Venerable
landed at Natchez. From her stateroom window, Flora could see the collection of law enforcement officers awaiting the vessel. Or, rather, awaiting the steamboat carrying Martin Lennart. Apparently, their boat had bested the other in travel time, for none of the men with badges appeared to be holding anyone prisoner.

Flora took one last look in the mirror and frowned at the smudges beneath her eyes. There was no remedy for it except sleep, and she would be able to do that tonight back at Brimmfield…but only if the man who meant her harm was in custody.

The moment Lucas knocked, she opened the door and stepped into the hall. Whether he'd slept or just completed his grooming, her Pinkerton agent looked every bit the calm and collected lawman.

“I'm escorting you to your carriage, and Kyle is already doing a little reconnaissance. From what I can tell, the
Bertolino
arrived just ahead of us and is already discharging its passengers. My guess is our man won't walk onto the docks of his own steam with all the law in full view, so Kyle's going to see if he can get on board the other boat and have a look.”

“What if he doesn't find him?”

“We'll worry about that if it happens,” he said as he linked arms with her. “But I doubt seriously that will happen. There's no place for him to go and no place to hide.”

“If you say so,” Flora said as she allowed him to escort her down the stairs and onto the lower deck.

“I say so,” Lucas said, squeezing her arm. “Once we get out in the open, you're going to have to stick very close to me. Ready?”

She nodded as she offered what she hoped was a calm expression. Once she reached dry land, Flora released the breath she hadn't realized she was holding. All around her were convenient places to hide. “Calm down,” she whispered to herself, “and trust God.”

“Miss Brimm?”

She looked up to see the deputy who had refused to accept her at the jail some nights ago now standing in her path. “Good afternoon, Deputy.”

A flush climbed into his cheeks as he stepped between her and the exit. “I'm sorry, Miss Brimm, but you have to go with me.”

“Go with you? Where?”

“To jail,” he said, refusing to make eye contact. “You have an active warrant for your arrest on the charge of receipt of stolen property. According to Pinkerton Russell of the Denver bureau, we're to hold you over for trial or until the Eureka Springs folks come to fetch you.”

“Don't be ridiculous,” Lucas said. “You're supposed to be arresting Martin Lennart, not Miss Brimm.”

“They both have warrants, so we're to bring both of them in.” The deputy squared his shoulders and looked as if he were preparing to do battle with Lucas. “I understand your irritation, sir, but the law's the law. I ought to have listened to you the first time you brought her to the jail, but I didn't. I'm sworn to uphold the laws of this state, and one of 'em is seeing that those with active warrants are brought in.”

“Active?” He groaned. “I thought that had been taken care of. She's in my custody.”

“Not anymore.” The deputy reached for Flora's wrist to clamp a handcuff on it, but she jerked her wrist away.

“I demand to speak to my attorney. He will see that everything is cleared up.”

“I'm sorry, Miss Brimm,” he said as he reached for her again.

This time something inside her snapped. She would not see the inside of a jail cell. Not with the man she loved in harm's way.

She ran.

Eluding the slightly overweight deputy proved surprisingly easy as Flora ducked behind some stacked barrels and quickly made her way into the crowded waterfront. With lawmen everywhere, she knew she could not step into the open, so she paused to catch her breath and contemplate a plan.

A moment later a large hand wrapped around her arm.

“Let me go!”

“You'll have to take this up with the sheriff, ma'am. I'm just following orders.” With that, the deputy led Flora away.

“Lucas!” she called as she stumbled forward and leaned heavily on the deputy's arm. “Do something!”

But he was nowhere to be found.

L
ucas took three steps in the direction the deputy and Flora had gone and then stopped short. As much as he hated allowing this, at least she would be safe in jail until he could come for her. The fact that she might not forgive him was a risk he would have to take.

Kyle jogged up to interrupt his thoughts. “Where's Miss Brimm?”

“Thanks to you, she's in jail,” he snapped. “What did you say to the sheriff?”

“Only that we were pursuing a suspect with active warrants and requested arrest upon sight.” He paused. “Wait, are you telling me she still had a warrant? I thought you took care of that.” Kyle hit his forehead with his palm. “I should have been more specific and told them it was Lennart we wanted, not her.”

“You can explain that to Flora when she's released. Right now we have a man to capture.”

They briefly discussed strategy and then parted, Kyle going aboard each of the vessels with one party of deputies and Lucas combing the waterfront with another. A third group went on to Brimmfield to search and then stand guard. Lucas personally alerted the authorities in Memphis.

By daybreak Lennart still had not been found. The likelihood he had remained in Natchez, however, dimmed with each moment that passed. It was time to go and fetch Flora from her prison cell.

“Keep at it,” Lucas told Kyle as he turned away from the docks and headed toward the jail.

“Don't you want me to come with you to spring Miss Brimm? I figure you might need backup once she's set loose.”

“Very funny,” he said, though Lucas knew it wasn't far from the truth. Flora would be furious. And though Kyle's wording of the message hadn't helped matters, the reason she'd been arrested rested on Lucas.

He was the one who had sworn out the warrant.

“Get some sleep,” he told his friend. “Lennart will show eventually, likely somewhere upriver, and when he does I'll need you rested so you can go get him.”

By the time Lucas reached the jail, the sun was beginning to rise in earnest. After taking a side trip around the corner to rent a horse and buggy for the trip to Brimmfield, he returned to find an unfamiliar fellow asking questions of the deputy. It only took a moment for Lucas to realize the man was asking about Flora. Thankfully, the deputy didn't appear interested in answering.

“Who are you?” Lucas said as he stepped between the two. “And what business is it of yours to be asking around about my fiancée, especially here?”

The man's pale brows rose. “So you're the mystery fiancé. We had a tip that there was to be a wedding at Brimmfield, but due to an unfortunate mistake in addressing invitations, mine did not arrive.”

“I see.” He leaned closer to the man and put on the expression he generally saved for the more hardened criminals he dealt with. “I will repeat the question. Who are you?”

“Carlton,” he said as he stuck out his hand in an attempt to shake. “Asa Carlton of the local paper.”

Lucas ignored the gesture to narrow his eyes. “Reporter,” he said with all the derision appropriate to this man and his ilk.

Carlton withdrew his hand and reached into his pocket to produce a pencil and pad of paper. “My sources say Fatal Flora was arrested upon her return from New Orleans yesterday afternoon. Any chance you two were returning from your honeymoon? And what's your name by the way? Oh, what where those charges against Miss Brimm?” He shook his head. “If she's married to you, then she wouldn't be Miss Brimm anymore, would she? But if she's married, she also wouldn't be Fatal Flora anymore, would she?”

The barrage of questions died a quiet death when the reporter finally raised his eyes to meet Lucas's glare. At that point, he fumbled the pencil and then scrambled to retrieve it.

“Well, Mr. Carlton,” he finally said. “Your sources were only partially correct. There is a major investigation underway regarding a suspect in a substantial threat to certain parties in this city. What your sources likely saw was Miss Brimm being taken to a place of safety so as to be removed from the imminent danger.” He nodded toward the deputy. “Can you think of a safer place than right under the nose of the Natchez law?”

The reporter laughed. “I suppose you're correct. However, I'm told she was carried away in handcuffs and was quite uncooperative.”

“Have you not considered that is
exactly
what law enforcement wished the suspect to see?”

Carlton was practically giddy with excitement at this idea. “Then do allow me to interview Miss Brimm. Or, rather, Mrs…what was your name, sir?”

“I didn't say.”

He peered up at Lucas. “Yes, well, you'll have to say if you want to be named in the write-up.”

“There will be no write-up. Security reasons. I'm sure you understand.”

“No, actually I don't.”

Lucas swiveled to turn his attention to the deputy. “Deputy, would you tell this man what happens to someone who interferes in an active investigation?”

The young man grinned. “That would be a charge of aiding and abetting a criminal, for one. Then there's the—”

“No need to continue,” Carlton said quickly. “Just give me my scoop about the wedding, and I'll leave you to your investigation without a single mention of any part of it.” He gave Lucas a pleading look. “I need my job, sir. If you're marrying Flora Brimm, just give me some sort of scoop about the when and where of it. Something, please?”