Chapter 19

19

In the days that followed, Laura wrestled with what to do. Should she go to the town marshal and tell them what she knew? Get her father in trouble for what might have been nothing more than him spouting off as he'd done so many times before? As time passed, Laura was more and more certain that her father wasn't going to commit murder. After all, she'd heard him say outrageous things herself, and he never meant it. At least he said he didn't.

But there was the matter of theft. If her father's men had truly taken the bank box and things belonging to the stagecoach travelers, what kind of legal ramifications would they face? Could she stand to be the one who sent Father to jail? What if Etta had misunderstood?

Laura could hardly bear to look her father in the eye. Thankfully, he didn't seem to notice or care. He told her more than once that he had a great deal of business to take care of but offered no other explanation. Laura couldn't help but wonder at the kind of business he'd gotten himself involved in. Frankly, she was glad he was gone and that she didn't need to make small talk with him. Everything had changed for her regarding the man she had once all but worshipped as a hero.

There was word around town that he was quite busy with the mayor and city council as they prepared for the new governor's arrival in Cheyenne. Laura wondered if her father was truly planning the poor man's death.

Finally, she knew she couldn't just keep this to herself. She didn't know exactly what to do but figured that Will would know. She hated to get him involved, but reminded herself he was already plenty involved. And as much as she didn't like the idea of telling him about her father's men ransacking the stagecoach, she felt she must. If Will ended up hating her because of it, then Laura would just have to face that when it came.

She waited until Thursday evening, knowing her father had plans that would keep him out late. The boardinghouse was only a few blocks away, so she decided to walk. She wasn't sure how she was going to tell Will about all that had happened, but she took the necklace with her and hoped that by giving it back to him, he would see she was on his side.

Although the air was a bit chilly, some of the other boarders were smoking at one end of the porch and laughing about something when Laura arrived. She asked about Will, and they told her he was at home.

"He's locked up in his room, as he is most evenings," one of the men told her.

Mr. Cooper agreed to see if Will would receive her while Laura waited in the foyer. It wasn't long before Will came downstairs.

"I need to talk to you." She hoped she wouldn't have to say anything more until they could be alone. "Could we maybe take a walk?"

"All right. Let me grab my hat." Will retrieved his hat. He followed her outside but said nothing more.

"I'm so sorry to bother you. I've needed to talk to you for some time now, but I didn't know how to go about it or what good it might do. However, it can't wait." She sighed and looked off down the road. Laura knew if she looked Will in the eyes, she would start to cry.

"What's so important?" The friendly familiarity between them was strained, and Will's tone reminded her of when she'd first met him.

Yet another thing that made her want to cry. She reached into her pocket and produced the necklace.

"First of all, I brought this for you. I should have done it before now, but I wasn't sure ... I mean, I felt that ..." She couldn't figure out what to say and handed the necklace to Will. "I'm sorry."

"Sorry about what?" he asked, pocketing the piece without looking at it.

Laura pulled her shawl closer to ward off the chilly air. "It belongs to you, and I should have been quicker to return it. I'm afraid a great many things have happened, however, since you first saw me with that necklace. Things that I'm not even sure how to tell you about. All I ask is that you please hear me out and try not to hate me."

Will frowned. "Why would I hate you? You didn't know. Your father lied to you about the necklace."

"And a lot of other things. He's not ... he's not the man I thought him to be," she said, her voice breaking. She took a moment to regain her composure and continued to walk.

Fear gripped her like nothing ever had. She was terrified that Will would have nothing more to do with her once he knew the truth, and she was starting to realize that she was very afraid of her father. The night before, she'd heard someone walking in the hallway outside her bedroom door and worried that her father had learned what she knew and had come to silence her. That was the biggest reason she had decided she must speak to Will.

They moved away from the neighborhood and into the less populated edges of town. "Nothing is right in my life, and I'm afraid that what I have to say will cause you to hate the very sight of me. I just want you to know, I've had nothing to do with any of it, and I still don't even know everything that has happened."

Will touched her arm to stop her. Laura turned and found his expression much more compassionate. "Tell me what's happened."

"Etta quit the day you spoke to Father. After you left, someone else came. She wasn't sure but thought it was my father's man Gus Synder. He's the only one she knew who would be likely to sneak around the place."

"Sneak around?"

"Yes, Etta told me that he hadn't come to the door. He just showed up in father's office. No one let him in, so he must have snuck in."

"I see."

"Besides the department store staff, he's the only one of Father's men I've met, and when I did, Father didn't introduce him. He just dismissed me and ... he was the one Father told to drown the kitten."

"Oh ... him."

"It gets worse. Etta told me Father spoke to him about the stagecoach passengers. I can barely tell you what was said—it's so awful." She drew a deep breath. "Apparently, my father's men came upon the stagecoach after the attack and ... and ... they were the ones who ransacked the dead passengers. They're probably also the ones who took the money box." She forced herself to look up at Will.

His eyes narrowed as he frowned. "Are you certain?"

"Etta overheard the conversation. Father told his man to get the stuff they had taken, along with things they had collected from other jobs, and take it to Chicago. Etta said that Gus told Father he had a cousin who could take it that evening. This was a week ago."

His frown deepened. "Why didn't you come and tell me right away? Maybe I could have stopped them."

"There was something more, and ... well, I can't explain why I delayed. I suppose because I'm afraid. I don't know what it all means or what's going to happen next, but Etta also overheard my father say something about killing the governor, and while I think he was probably just talking out of anger, I know the man is a friend of yours. Just in case he is really plotting something ... I ... well ..." She shook her head. "I don't know what to do."

Will had never much liked Granite Evans. The man always seemed to be hiding something, and Will accounted it to spiritual discernment and avoided him. But now Laura was giving him proof that his suspicions were more than just odd feelings.

"He wants to kill John Campbell? You're sure?"

"Yes. Etta didn't know anything more than that. She heard footsteps and feared the man was coming to the door and fled. She was so afraid, she didn't even stick around. She told Mrs. Murphy that she was resigning her position and left immediately. I had to go to her house to find out why, and this is the story she told me."

They started walking again as Will tried to digest all that he'd heard. Evans's men and not Indians had ransacked the dead. Had they just happened upon them? Had they perhaps heard the attack and come to their rescue, then seeing they were too late decided to take what they wanted?

A horrible thought came to mind. Will tried to put it aside, but it wouldn't go. It was all that made sense.

"What if ... your father's men attacked the stagecoach to begin with? What if there weren't any Indians at all?"

Laura stopped and shook her head. "No, that can't be. Surely not. There were arrows."

"How hard could it be to buy some and leave them around the stagecoach? People are always buying up Indian artifacts for museums. A white man who has the skill to make bows and arrows could easily paint them in the Sioux fashion and leave them around after the attack. The deaths were caused by bullets. A couple of people were shot with arrows, but anyone could have shot them if they had a bow. They might have even done so after the people were dead."

"But the men were scalped."

"A white man could do that as easily as a native."

Laura looked as if she might be sick. She glanced around as if to make certain no one could overhear her next words. "Then my father might be responsible for ... all that happened?"

Will put an arm out to steady her as she swayed. He thought she might faint, but she straightened and looked at him. Her eyes were wide with fear. "Surely not. He can't be that ruthless and cruel."

But even as she spoke, Will could see in her expression that she already knew the answer to that question. Her eyes filled with tears.

"All of my life I've adored him. I thought he was the finest and best of men. He loved my mother so dearly, and when she died ... our world fell apart. He was heartbroken." She sniffed back tears and used the edge of her shawl to wipe her face.

"I thought he was a good man. He always assured me of his love and kindness. People all around Cheyenne have told me what a wonderful man he is, but I know now for myself that he's not. He takes and sells stolen goods. He lies to cover up what he's done. And he ... he may have been responsible for killing innocent people." She broke down, unable to hold back her emotions.

Will pulled her into his arms and held her while she cried, but the dreadful conclusion was playing out in his thoughts as well. Granite Evans very well may have staged the entire attack. There had been all sorts of Indian attacks along the stage routes. Both private and freight company wagons had been attacked, and it was thought Indians were responsible since they chased off the drivers and took the horses and wagons. The victims had fled for their lives, asserting that Indians had tried to kill them. What if all of it had been white men posing as Indians? Men who wanted the Indians to be blamed. But to what end?

Granite Evans was all about politics. He wanted the governorship for himself. He knew the Indians were a problem to the whites. They held reservation lands that might be good farm and ranch lands, and the whites were eager for homestead lands. Evans might have it in mind that he could turn everyone against the Indians and see them moved out of the territory altogether.

He put such thoughts aside and looked down at the woman in his arms. She was heartbroken. She had done nothing wrong, and he could not blame her for the deeds of her father. He cared too much about her.

As if hearing his thoughts, Laura looked up. "If my father is to blame ... if he's responsible for the death of those people ... then he's evil and must be made to pay for his actions. I will do whatever we have to do to see justice done."

"Justice..." Will murmured the word. "I have just been reading in Micah six as I've been trying to figure out what God wants of me."

She nodded. "‘He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the L ORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?'"

Will nodded. "Exactly." He gently touched her cheek. "I know this is hard on you, Laura. For that I am so very sorry, but I agree that justice must be done. We must find the truth and see that whoever is responsible pays for what they've done. Too many people have suffered."

After dropping Laura off at her house, Will made his way to the city marshal's office. He shared the information Laura had given him with Edward Vogel and waited to see what his thoughts might be.

"And that's why I think it's possible that Granite Evans has a gang of cutthroats who has been pulling all of these attacks around Cheyenne."

From his expression, it looked like Edward was just as shocked as Will had been. "The man has a sterling reputation. He's liked by everyone and has helped a lot of the local charities. Even the army esteems him."

"I know. Laura thought him a hero as well, but she told me of things that have happened since she's arrived that have changed her thinking. This is just one more thing in a long line of discrepancies. She heard him threaten to kill a young employee, but he said he was just trying to drive home a point and scare the boy. Then she overheard him tell one of his men to drown a kitten she'd found—the one you have now."

"From what you've said, it sounds like he's power hungry."

"I haven't told you one other thing. It's something that you're going to have to take straight to the top of the law enforcement around here."

Edward cocked his head slightly, and his brows came together in a worried look. "There's more?"

"Unfortunately. Mrs. Duffy said she heard Granite Evans say that he plans to kill the new governor."

"The governor?" Disbelief was evident in Edward's tone, and Will gave a nod.

"Apparently Evans is making a plan to get the position for himself."