Chapter Six

An hour later, Lucas and Gail sat at the jailhouse in front of the sheriff's desk. Deputy Zeke Ritter handed them each a cup of water. Lucas stared at the liquid. It wasn't clear like he expected. It had a cloudy look to it. He glanced into Gail's cup and saw the same thing was true with her water.

"I don't think the sheriff will keep you waiting too much longer," Zeke said.

One could only hope. Lucas was tired of waiting here. Though Gail hadn't voiced a single word of complaint, she had to be ready to leave this jailhouse, too.

"Zeke, get back here!" the sheriff called out from the other room which held two cells.

"Alright, Uncle." Zeke gestured to their cups. "Drink up. You two look parched."

Lucas' gaze went back to the water in his cup. He blanched when he thought he saw something move. He quickly placed his cup on the desk then settled back into the uncomfortable chair. He shifted to ease the stiffness in his back and knees, but it didn't work.

Gail took a sip of her water.

Alarmed, Lucas grabbed the cup from her. "Don't do that," he whispered as he set it next to his cup on the desk. "Something's probably swimming around in there."

"There's nothing swimming around in it," she whispered back. "It just looks like there's some grains of sand in there."

"Do you really want to drink that?"

"I'm thirsty. We haven't had anything to drink since we got off the train."

While that was true, he couldn't imagine her being so thirsty she would settle for drinking dirty water. "Once we get back to the hotel, we'll ask for some clean water."

He tilted his head back to work out the kinks in his neck. He should be asleep already. He needed a full night's rest so he could be ready to find his sister. The longer he stayed up, the worse things were going to be. At this rate, he wouldn't get out of town until nine or ten in the morning. He noticed Gail's head nod forward and saw that her eyes were closed. So she was just as exhausted as he was.

They remained quiet for a few minutes before the sound of footsteps got their attention. They straightened up in their chairs and directed their gazes to the sheriff and deputy.

Sheriff Walter, followed closely by Zeke, sauntered up to his desk. "Zeke, get the pen and paper."

"Yes, sir." Zeke retrieved the items from his desk then turned his attention to Lucas and Gail. "Don't you two want the water?"

When the sheriff's eyebrows rose in interest, Lucas answered, "We're not thirsty, but thank you anyway."

Gail squirmed next to him, and for a moment, Lucas thought she was going to protest, but she remained silent.

"Sorry it took so long back here," Sheriff Walter said as he sat across from them. "Marv was unusually chatty tonight."

Zeke pulled up a chair and sat at the side of the desk, his fountain pen ready to start recording whatever his uncle wanted him to.

"Are you two from out of town?" the sheriff asked Lucas.

"Yes," Lucas replied, surprised he would even ask that since the sheriff had to know they weren't from the area.

The sheriff put his feet up on the edge of the desk and clasped his hands over his lap in what Lucas felt was an unprofessional manner for someone representing law enforcement.

"Cody means well," the sheriff said, either not noticing how appalled Lucas was or ignoring it. "He tries to make the hotel safe for travelers, but once in a while, Marv gets a bee in his bonnet and thinks someone is cheating."

Zeke nodded much too enthusiastically. "I grew up with him. He was like that even at the schoolhouse. He would accuse others of stealing his lunch. One time, he thought I did it. Gave me a black eye that stuck around for weeks. I didn't think that thing was ever going to disappear."

"Anyway," the sheriff interrupted, "we want you to know that we don't often have these outbursts around here. I do my best to keep a respectful town. I don't want you to think Flagstaff is lawless."

"It's not. No matter how many Wanted posters you see," Zeke added. "Or how many stories you hear about men fighting like they did tonight at Cody's hotel."

"That's enough, Zeke," Sheriff Walter said before Zeke could go on. "The point is, Zeke and I are serious about our jobs. We've been hired to protect Flagstaff, and we take that responsibility seriously."

Zeke nodded and wiped his badge with the sleeve of his shirt so that it shone brighter. "I'm proud of my profession. Ma says I'm on my way to being something great around here."

Lucas noticed the way the sheriff gave a slight roll of his eyes. Apparently, the sheriff wasn't as proud of Zeke's performance as Zeke was. He recalled the things the men at the hotel had said about Zeke and wondered just how true they were. From what he had seen so far, Zeke seemed fine. But then, appearances could be deceiving. Why, look at him and Gail. Everyone thought he was actually in love with her.

The sheriff sighed. "I don't suppose there's an easy way to say this, so I might as well just come out with it. I have bad news. Your luggage has been destroyed."

Forgetting about Zeke, Lucas focused in on the sheriff. "What do you mean our luggage has been destroyed?"

"Well, it seems that as Cody was trying to break up the fight that was going on in your room, Rex managed to come in through the window. This led to some more gunshots. Now, Rex is a bad shot. One can only wonder why Marv lets him have a gun. Anyway, a couple of bullets went through your luggage, and when Rex finally managed to shoot Gus in the arm, Gus landed on your luggage and bled all over it. Since your luggage had already been shot, there were holes in it that allowed blood to go on your clothes. Also," he added after a pause, "it didn't help that Lenny threw some of your things at me as he tried to avoid me."

"There's no saving your things," Zeke said, as if the sheriff hadn't done a sufficient job of pointing that out. "My ma has some old clothes from when my pa died. Mr. Reid, you can have those. As for Mrs. Reid, I think the church has some dresses. They aren't as nice as the ones you had in that luggage, but they'll cover you up. That's what clothes are really for anyway, right? Making sure you're covered up."

Lucas didn't like the thought that these people had not only seen the contents of their luggage but had ruined them, too, but he forced that particular issue aside. "Rex and Marv should be forced to give us money so we can buy new clothes."

"We'd make them do that if they had any money," Sheriff Walter replied.

Lucas frowned. "How could they not have something? They were gambling with money."

"Yes, and while the men were fighting, the others stole what was on the table and hightailed it out of the hotel," he informed him.

"Then get the money from the men who stole it," Lucas insisted.

"If I know those men, they already wasted it on the alcohol and women at the saloon."

Lucas gritted his teeth in aggravation. "So much for this being a respectful town."

"Now, hold on there, Mr. Reid," Zeke hurried to speak up before the sheriff could respond. "This place is a lot better than it was when I was a kid. Back then, a woman and child weren't safe to walk these streets without a man to protect them. Ma used to always take Pa with her wherever she went, and I wasn't allowed to even go out and play without Pa nearby with a gun in hand. Women and children no longer have to worry about going out in the daytime anymore."

"Do they have to worry about going out past dark?" Lucas asked.

Zeke looked taken aback by the question. "Why would they want to go out alone at night?"

"Alright," the sheriff interrupted, "it's not as nice as it could be, but we're working on that. That's why we're here. Someday, it will be completely safe. Cody says you can return to the hotel. He says you're welcome to stay for a full month with no charge if you need to."

"I can't stay." Recalling that Gail planned to go with him to find Bernadette, he reluctantly amended, "We can't stay. We have to find my sister."

"What town does she live in?"

"She was on her way to Hardyville when a group of bandits abducted her from the train," Lucas answered. "In fact, I was going to come here tomorrow to ask for your help in finding her."

"What a coincidence," Zeke spoke up. "I was just hanging a bunch of Wanted posters on the suspects for that kidnapping."

"Do you know who took her?" Lucas asked.

The sheriff rubbed his jaw. "We think it has to be Bower, Squiggy, and Big Mike."

Lucas arched an eyebrow. "Squiggy?"

"That's not his real name. His real name is Hogarth," the sheriff replied.

Zeke shook his head. "One can only imagine what his parents were thinking when they gave him that name."

Lucas didn't think the name ‘Squiggy' was much better but kept that thought to himself.

"The reason we suspect it's Bower, Big Mike, and Squiggy," the sheriff began, "is because of Wilson's sister. It's no secret she's struggling financially. No man will marry her because of her association with Wilson, but the good people of the church will help her out. I think Wilson snuck into town to give her some money because she hasn't been to church for two weeks now. She goes to the church when she needs things."

"Wilson could have taken the money from my sister's purse and given it to her," Lucas pointed out. He had given Bernadette all of the money he'd had left in his bank account. While that hadn't been much, it would have helped her—or any other sister—for a good two months.

"Did you send your sister out this way with a chunk of gold?" the sheriff asked.

"No. I gave her real money."

"A chunk of gold from a mine is real money."

Lucas supposed so, but no one in Pennsylvania would take something like that into a store to purchase something.

"Anyway," the sheriff continued, "Wilson's sister was seen at the bank with a small chunk of gold."

Given that information, Lucas had to agree that the likely suspects in his sister's kidnapping had to be Bower, Squiggy, and Big Mike. "Do you know where Bower and his gang would take my sister?" Lucas asked.

The sheriff rubbed his jaw. "Best I can figure it, they are hiding somewhere in the canyon. They're good about finding new hideouts. These are seasoned outlaws. They started out in California, stole a lot of the gold out there during the rush, then they made their way down to Mexico where they almost got hung by the law. Now they're in this area. The canyon has many hiding places. It's the perfect location for anyone who doesn't want to get caught."

"We figure they've been here for a good two years now," Zeke added. "They're harder to catch than a fly buzzing around one's head in the middle of the night."

Ignoring Zeke's comment, the sheriff told Lucas, "I'll head out with you first thing in the morning to get your sister. Be ready at six. I'll come over to the hotel for you." He glanced at Gail. "It's dangerous out there. This is mostly unsettled territory. You're better off waiting here in Flagstaff where it's safe."

"But I can read a map," Gail objected.

Surprised that she'd spoken up after being quiet for so long, Lucas directed his gaze to her.

"I can read a map, too," the sheriff replied, not looking the least bit impressed with what she had assumed to be a valuable skill. "Also, I know the area. I grew up here. Cody said you two are from Pennsylvania. You don't know what kind of critters we have roaming around out here, and I bet you don't know what it's like to go without food and water for days."

"I might not have been out in the wilderness, but I have read books about it," Gail insisted.

The sheriff chuckled. "Ma'am, I'm not trying to be contrary, but there's a big difference between reading about something and living through it. Trust me, you'd be better off staying in town with the other women. You can stay at my home. My wife will see that you're comfortable while your husband and I search for his sister." Gail seemed as if she was going to continue arguing with him, so he added, "There's nothing you can say that will change my mind."

His resolute expression made Gail shut her mouth. She crossed her arms and slumped back in the chair. While Lucas felt sorry for her, he was secretly relieved. He didn't want something bad to happen to her. He was having a difficult enough time worrying about his sister. He didn't need to worry about her, too.

"Good." The sheriff rose to his feet. "Zeke, as of tomorrow, you'll be the stand-in sheriff around here." His gaze went to Lucas and Gail. "I don't want to rob you two newlyweds of what remains of the night, so I'll let you go."

Lucas' face went warm. He glanced at Gail. Would she expect him to consummate their marriage after everything that had occurred that evening? Sure, he could have seen her expecting it before, but the brawl in the hotel and finding out their things had been destroyed had ruined any chances he had of summoning enough passion to do anything. All he wanted to do at this point was sleep.

Thankfully, Gail turned out to be very practical about the whole thing. Once they were in another room, she wished him a good-night and slipped into the small bed that was on one side of the room. Relieved, he went to the makeshift cot on the opposite side of the room. With that worry out of the way, he was able to go right to sleep.