Rocky Mountain Oasis (37 page)

Another laugh. “You don’t think I know about the girl? She didn’t talk, not to the men in town anyway. I made sure of that. Now her husband…I haven’t figured out yet whether he knows or not, she might have told him…but I’ll take care of them shortly. Neither of them will be doing much talking after today.”

As he spoke, Hunter led Chang’s horse over and stopped it just under one of the ropes, keeping his sawed-off shotgun trained on the other four men. He must have seen the thought of escape gleaming in Ping’s eye because he raised the gun in his direction. “Ah, ah, ah. I would just as soon shoot you as hang you, so don’t move.”

Ping’s face blanched and his throat went dry as Hunter stepped up on a box, slipped the noose over Chang’s head, and cinched it down with finality.

Chang’s lips were moving now, his eyes closed, and if Ping hadn’t known better, he would have sworn Lee was praying.

Pulling a gleaming knife from the scabbard at his waist, their murderer made a clean slice through the bonds that kept Chang’s legs tied to the saddle, first on one side and then on the other.

Ping closed his eyes as Hunter slapped Chang’s horse sharply and it lunged forward. Much as he disliked Chang, he didn’t want to watch him die, especially not with his own death looming so close.

22

Sky was up well before dawn and riding down the trail on the way back to town. His brown buckskins blended with his surroundings, making it difficult for any potential enemy to spot him. Knowing any sound he made could be his last, he had traded in his boots for moccasins. Wearing moccasins, he could feel a twig underfoot before it snapped and readjust his step to prevent the noise. His ability to move soundlessly through the forest would be needed on this day.

He knew Brooke had not merely had an accident and gotten lost trying to find her way home. This was far more serious than that.

Darkness still cloaked the heavens. The place where they had found Brooke’s blood the day before was a good four miles from his cabin. He wanted to get there early so he could renew his search at the first hint of light.

He had not awakened Pa, knowing that as soon as day dawned, he would come. Sky hoped by then he would have some evidence to go on.

His long wait during the night had given him plenty of time to think, and he’d realized he must slow down and act rationally. He had known too many men who had let their hearts dictate their actions in tense situations and had lost their lives because of it. His ability to keep a cool head, even in the craziest of situations, had enabled him on more than one occasion to capture his foe, but his heart had never been so involved before. Because of that, on this day he would have to be even more careful than usual.

When he got to the place where Brooke had been knocked from her horse, he settled down to wait for the light. Sky wondered what had happened to Trace Johnson. Could it be that he was in on this? He didn’t think so.

Everything about the man said that he was trustworthy. But where was he?

His thoughts turned to Brooke, wondering if she was all right. He refused to allow himself to think about the possibility that he might be too late to save her life. He chose instead to pray.

He must have sat for an hour talking to the Lord, before he finally allowed himself to start following the trail. The light, under the thick branches of the overhead trees was still dim, but he couldn’t force himself to wait another minute.

His moccasins made not even the slightest of sounds as he squatted next to the patch of pine needles bloodied by Brooke’s wound.

In the light of day Sky noticed something they had missed in the gathering darkness the evening before. Brooke had been picked up after she had fallen from her horse, and placed on another horse.

Sky closed his eyes, his dread mounting as he read the tracks. They were the same tracks he had found in the alley the day after the murder; the same tracks he’d seen in the barn yard the day Brooke had gone berry picking.

Sky swallowed the lump in his throat. He had dreaded this, hoped he was overreacting, but now the evidence proved it. Percival Hunter, a man he suspected of cold-blooded murder, had his wife. “Oh, Jesus, be with her.”

Sky berated himself. He’d been expecting the man to come to his house. He had not expected this. The first rule he had learned as a young lawman was never to underestimate his enemies. Yet he had ridden off yesterday morning, sure that Brooke would be fine until he came home. He had trusted too much in the fact that his father would be there if anything happened, never foreseeing that Brooke would take it into her head to ride into town. Now she was missing, and the evidence before him said a murderer had her in his clutches.

Percival had led the horse carrying Brooke away from the trail. Sky followed the tracks, leading Geyser behind. Moving uphill, he picked out the clear trail with ease, walking quickly but soundlessly through the brush.

Brooke came to with a groan, opening her eyes mere slits. Bone-chilling coldness permeated her body, and she shivered violently. She tried to raise her head and gasped as numbing pain shot all through her. With every beat of her heart, pulse waves of agony throbbed through her head and down into her shoulders. The pain originated from a large gash on her forehead, but it was so intense that even the back of her head felt tender to the touch. And the dim light she could see only caused the pain to worsen.

She closed her eyes and tried to remember where she was. What had happened? Moving one hand carefully along the ground she tried to feel around herself to see if she might gain a clue as to her whereabouts. Although the ground was very cold, she laid on something semi-soft. Her hand came into contact with a hard object. Picking it up she pulled it to her face and eased her eyes open, not daring to move her head for the pain it caused. Focusing slowly she saw that the object in her hand was a pine cone.

She frowned. Sudden memory flooded in. Percival Hunter! She had been knocked from her horse while trying to get away. He had brought her here, and then this morning she had come to for a moment and seen him moving off up the hill. She remembered trying to get up but must have passed out again, because she was in the same location. Where had he gone?

She forced herself to sit up. Pain shot through her head, and her stomach churned with nausea. She closed her eyes and tried to concentrate on not passing out again. A low moan escaped her lips as the throbbing pain in her head sent a wave of dizziness over her. She leaned back against a tree trunk, bringing her fingers to her temples as though she might be able to massage the pain away. She paused, her hand running over the side of her face. From her forehead to her temple and spreading back into her hair on the right side of her head there was a sticky mass of drying blood. She pulled her hand away, gazed in shock at her reddened fingers, and began to tremble.

She must get away from here. But where was she? Glancing around, she didn’t recognize anything. Which direction should she go? Where was the nearest help? And where had Percival gone? How long had it been since she had seen him moving off up the hill? He couldn’t be far away.

This thought propelled her into action. She must escape while she had the chance! Turning slowly, she grasped the trunk of the tree and painstakingly pulled herself to her feet. Too exhausted with the effort to think further, she simply stumbled from tree to tree in the direction that her feet were pointed.

She headed downhill. Not knowing whether that was good or bad, only caring that she was moving away from this place and heading in a different direction than she had seen Percival Hunter going.

How long ago had she fallen from her horse? Where was Sky? Had she been gone long enough for him to miss her? Was he even now out looking for her?

With sudden clarity she realized just how much she loved him. She had denied it—to him and even to herself—but back in the recesses of her mind she had known. She must find him, tell him.

Tears pricked the back of her eyes at the thought and she prayed that God would give her another chance to talk to him. To tell him how much he meant to her. What a balm his gentle kindness and tender care had been for her wounded soul. To thank him for modeling the love of her Heavenly Father. To tell him that she loved him with all her heart.
Please God!

She also wanted to get to town and explain what she had seen on that terrible night. She didn’t know if any of the Chinese prisoners were innocent, but she knew that if she didn’t tell what she had seen, she would always feel responsible if they alone were convicted. Percival had had something to do with this.

She had not gone very far when her foot came down on a large pine cone. Although she tried, her body was too spent to right itself, and she tumbled down the hill. It was not far to the bottom, but she felt fresh blood running down her cheek as she rolled to a stop. Excruciating pain pounded in her head.

She wanted to curl into a ball and let the blessed blackness claim her. To get away from the pain and the nightmare of this whole situation. But she forced herself to go on. She pressed her palms to the ground, slowly trying to push herself up onto her knees. As she lifted her head, she looked into the cruelly amused eyes of Percival Hunter.

Her heart sank. How did he get here? He had gone the other way,
up
the hill.

Terrified as he made her feel, it wasn’t until she peered past his shoulder that she gave a little moan of horror. There, only a short distance away, she could see five Chinese prisoners hanging. All of them were dead.

She was too late then. Had any of those men been innocent?

“Surprised to see me? I should have tied you up, I see. I underestimated you, but that won’t happen again.” Grabbing her roughly, he swung her up over his shoulder with surprising agility. Picking up a large duffel bag at his feet, he headed past the dangling bodies and up the other side of the ravine. “Come on. Let’s go set a little trap for that husband of yours. I can’t have any loose ends hangin’ around.”

As the pain coursed through her once more, Brooke, exhausted from her effort at escape, lost the fight against the incoming blackness. Her body slumped into the dead weight of unconsciousness.

Percival smiled and moved slowly up the hill with his burden, being sure to leave clearly evident tracks as he went. He didn’t want Sky to somehow miss the trail and ruin all his carefully laid plans. It was time to get this whole messy business over with and move on with his life. And in order for that to happen, Jordan needed to follow him.

Jason rode hard. Driven by his newly reclaimed peace with God, he wanted to be able to clear his conscience of one last thing. He wanted to tell Chang, the man who had caused his mother’s death, that he forgave him. And make sure Chang understood he was able to do so only with Christ’s help.

Rounding a corner in the trail he suddenly pulled rein. His horse skidded to a stop on its haunches. Jason turned unbelieving eyes to the scene before him. The five prisoners hung from a pole suspended between two trees, their lifeless bodies swaying in the early morning breeze.

Hadn’t Carle said they’d only left fifteen minutes before he did? How could this have happened so quickly? Where were the guards who were supposed to be protecting these men? Were they the ones who had done this?

A sadness overwhelmed him as he studied the face of Lee Chang. He had spent a good portion of the last several years hating this man, but now in his death Jason could only feel sorry for him. He had gone to meet his Maker, and Jason could only hope he’d taken time to make his peace with God before he died.

The thought that it could have been him who did this to these men made Jason sick inside. Even to think that he had contemplated such an act shamed him, and he now thanked God once more for protecting him from himself.

Sorrow gripping his heart, Jason moved toward Chang. “I came out here to tell you that I forgive you for all the pain you caused my mother and our family back when I was a kid,” he said to the lifeless form. Emotion clogged his throat. Blinking, he looked away. “I only wish I had gotten here a few minutes ago. Maybe I would have been able to save your life.”