The Lady and the Lawman (36 page)

***

The
horse sped across the grass as quickly as he could. They paralleled
the road, its rutted surface dangerous for the animal at such great
speeds. In the distance and fast approaching, there was another rider
heading toward him. Grant easily recognized the woman quickly enough,
her flaming red hair vivid even against the dark sky.

“
Rose,
what are you doing out here?”

“
I
was coming to find you. People in town saw you heading toward your
brother’s ranch. I have news,” Rose patted her mount’s neck as
she told him the events inside Croft’s the previous night.

“
So
Dalton’s plotting my demise, is he?” he asked, not too surprised.

Rose
nodded, then continued. “Sounded that way. A man, never seen him
before, bragged how he’d get a large bounty when you ended up
dead.”

“
How
did you tie him in with Dalton?” he wondered.

“
That
was easy. He was with Dalton’s usual brood. Once I heard about the
trouble he was going to raise, I plied him with a large amount of
Jimmy’s whiskey. Before long, he was ready to take matters
upstairs.” She sighed. “The man was too far gone to do more than
flap his gums, if you know what I mean.”

He
did, but he remained quiet, waiting for her to continue.

“
I
asked him some questions. He said Dalton wanted you dead and brought
to his ranch. In that order.”

“
Did
he say when he was going to carry this off?”

“
Sure
did. He blabbered he was going to do it sometime today. That’s why
I had to find you as quick as I could.”

“
I’m
much obliged. You haven’t by chance seen Maggie, have you?”

One
hand covered her ample bosom. “What’s happened to Margaret?”

He
looked down at his hands on the pommel of his saddle as he spoke.
“Haven’t seen her since this morning. I went to Croft’s for
some information about a shooter—”

“
A
shooter? You mean the same man?”

“
Could
be. Didn’t get a look at him with the bullets raining down on us.”

“
Dear
lord!”

“
Maggie
wasn’t at the house when I returned, and I thought she might have
gone to Tom’s. She’s not there and I’m sure something’s
happened to her.”

“
What
can I do to help?”

It
seemed he could read her thoughts. “Nothing. I don’t want to
stick my nose in your business, but I would guess there’s not too
much back in town for you. I’m sure Croft wouldn’t take kindly to
one of his women, if you beg my pardon, walking out on him. Why don’t
you head out to Tom’s and stay there for a bit. I know he won’t
mind.”

“
That’s
mighty kind of you. Thank you.”

Her
hesitation showed on her face and in her body. She was tense, nervous
for once. She could handle every low life in town, but it surprised
him she was afraid of Tom.

“
I’
ll
escort you to the ranch and you can share with Tom what you told me.”

After
only a moment's hesitation, they returned to the ranch to make plans,
enlisting Tom.

Tom
helped Rose down from her mount when they rode up. Their eyes met and
locked for but a moment before Grant broke their gazes.

“
We've
got trouble. More than I thought. Let's get some coffee. Rose, you
can fill Tom in, then we'll make plans.”

Tom
took Rose's hand, smiled down at her, and planted a solid kiss square
on her mouth. “So much for being honorable. Got a problem with
that?”

Stunned,
Rose just stood there and shook her head.

CHAPTER
SEVENTEEN

“
Tell
us the story again and don’t skip a single detail,” Grant said,
looking to Rose across the table. It was difficult to sit still,
eager to begin his search for Maggie. Something in Rose’s story
would be a clue to finding Maggie, and that’s what kept him in his
seat.

“
I
was working my usual shift at Croft’s,” Rose said, looking down
at her hands. The shame of her profession reddened her cheeks.

“
I’m
sure I can speak for Grant when I say we don’t care you worked at
Croft’s. You’re away from there now, which took a wagonload of
guts. You have information that could save Grant’s life—and find
Maggie,” Tom reassured.

Tom’s
words seemed to have comforted Rose. She lifted her chin and
continued. “I overheard a conversation at one of the poker tables.
I recognized the players quick enough as Dalton’s men. There was
one man I’d never seen before, but he acted as though he was with
them.”

“
What
did he look like?” Grant cut in.

“
Dark
hair, probably late twenties, maybe thirty years old. He was very
dark, lots of sun. His clothes were old and frayed, but he was clean,
like he had a bath recently. He was friendly enough with the other
men, and I’d guess they’d met before.”

“
Go
on.” Tom put a plate of leftover biscuits on the table, but no one
made a move to take any.

“
They
were talking about business being taken care of and said Dalton would
get even. Well, that didn’t sound too good to me, so I joined them.
A woman can sit and listen in on conversations as if we don’t
exist. Those men have three things on their minds, drinking,
gambling, and women. I was able to join their group and listen to the
mens’ stories. None of them certainly took the time to think I
have a brain in my head.”

She
was right. Most men who spent their evenings at Croft’s only took
interest in women for one thing, and that wasn’t conversation. Rose
would be the best person to slip in and listen to a conversation
unnoticed. He looked over at Tom and saw him watching Rose closely.
He could read his brother’s mind like an open book by his changing
expressions. Tom clearly cared for Rose and was having a difficult
time with her taking chances with men like Dalton’s.

“
They
didn’t say too much more about it, but I worked my wiles, if you
know what I mean.”

He
knew, and he had not doubt his brother did, as well. Not knowing what
to say, they both nodded.

Rose
continued, “I got the one who was doing most of the talking, the
one I’d never seen before, to go upstairs. He was pretty drunk to
begin with, but I got more information out of him with a bit more
whiskey and lots of flirting. He told me, between shots, that Dalton
paid him to take care of the sheriff, and he didn’t mean wash his
clothes.”

“
Did
he say anything about Maggie?” Tom asked.

Maggie!
Grant stood up so quickly his chair fell backward. He started pacing
the room.

“
Are
you thinking Dalton’s got Maggie?” Rose questioned Tom across the
table.

“
He’s
either got her or knows the person who does,” Grant offered.
“They’re luring me out, knowing I’ll search for her, so they
can pick me off. That’s about right, isn’t it, Rose?” He turned
to face her.

“
Well,
based on what the drunk said, they want to kill you. He did say
something I don’t understand. He said, 'I missed him once, I won’t
do it again.' Something like that. Make sense to you?”

Grant
knew exactly what the man meant. When they were shot at in town, they
weren’t aiming at Maggie, they were aiming at him.

“
Now
whether Dalton’s using Maggie to draw you out, I really couldn’t
say. The man never said anything about her, and when you told me
earlier she was gone, it was a surprise to me. All the same, it did
look like I ran into you just in time.”

Tom
reached and pulled Rose’s hand into his. He looked at her and
beamed a reassuring smile.

“
I’m
so worried about Margaret. What are we going to do?” Rose asked,
sadness easily read in her eyes.

Grant
continued to pace the kitchen, his mind a blur of thoughts, trying to
think things through. Running his fingers through his hair, he turned
to his brother and Rose.

“
Rose,
you’re going to do nothing. You’ve already helped more than you
know. You stay here at the ranch out of trouble. Tom, you’ll need
to stay here and manage things. I’m going to find Maggie.”

“
What
about the person who’s trying to kill you?” Tom asked.

“
The
way I figure it, they want me to go into town looking for her.
Whoever this man is, he must only flap his gums when he’s drunk.
Dalton’s made him the fall guy, and Dalton will deny knowing him
once the deed is done. I’ll worry about him when the time comes. In
the meantime, I need to find Maggie.”

“
Sheriff,
where do you think she is?”

Before
Grant could answer, Tom spoke. “He’ll go after her, wherever she
is, for she’s got his heart. And now it seems you’ve got mine.”

***

Grant
searched Cranston as if he were looking for a needle in a haystack.
With no clues to Maggie’s whereabouts, and darkness having set in
hours before, he resigned himself to return home and sleep, ready to
continue his search in the morning. Sleep would have been a blessing,
a temporary reprieve to his horrible worry, but it was impossible
with her scent on the sheets and in the air, a constant reminder as
he lay in bed.

A
noise, subtle as it was, pricked his senses. At first it sounded as
if a tree limb was scraping against the side of the house. Then the
not so subtle sound of broken glass reverberated through the small
bedroom. He climbed from bed, grabbed his gun and moved to stand
behind the closed door. And waited.

As
the door slowly opened, he could see a gun pointed directly at the
bed. Little did the man know he was dead in Grant’s sights. As the
man slowly entered the room, Grant took a silent step behind him and
placed his gun to the back of his head just below his hat.

“
Don’t
move.”

The
stranger lifted his hands toward the ceiling, gun slack in his grip.
With his free hand, Grant took the gun away.

“
On
your knees.”

An
audible gulp came from the man as he lowered himself to a kneeling
position. Grant moved to light the lantern, keeping his gun trained
on the intruder.

“
Who
the hell are you?”

The
man remained silent.

“
All
right, I’ll talk.” Grant sat down on the edge of the bed,
uncaring he was naked. His gun never wavered from its intended
target. “You’ve been hired by Dalton to shoot me dead.”

Grant
paused, letting his words sink in. “I can tell from the look on
your face I’m fairly accurate. I have a witness that has you
pulling the trigger that killed the stage driver.” It wasn't true,
but it might get the man to talk.

“
Now
hold on!” The man’s hands were still up, but his palms opened as
if to signal Grant to stop.

“
Oh,
so you do speak. We hang murderers around here. And, since Mr. Cawley
was a dear friend of
mine,
lenienc
y
will not be an option.”

“
I
didn’t kill no one!” The man’s voice boomed in the small room.

“
No,
no. Hands back up. That’s right. I don’t take kindly to men who
try to kill me in my own bed, either. It’s not looking good for
you. You better talk now, otherwise I can get the judge to sentence
you by noon tomorrow.”