Untangling the Knot of Love, page 17
“Tell me about your folks,” John prompted, and she tried to paint a picture of growing up as the daughter of a minister.
“They would have liked me to stay in Houston, but they let me go and stay with Aunt Dora so that I could go to college.” She smiled at him. “When we have this robber business dealt with, we should take a trip and you can meet them.”
“When I make a proper proposal and you accept it,” he said, and she saw that he was still worrying that she had turned him down. She went over and sat on his knee.
“Stop worrying. I want it to be the happiest day of my life and that means this lookalike that has caused me so much trouble is either in a cell or on the gallows.” Then she shuddered. “They probably will hang him if the gang has murdered people.”
John held her close and said they would stick together and find out about the gang leader in the end. He stroked her hair.
“I know people think that I am easy going and not an ambitious person. I don’t get into fights and arguments, but I can defend myself. I can fight if I have to, and I can defend you as well. I did practice drawing a handgun because you never know when something will make you need it.”
Cilla laid her head against his. “I know that you would defend me to the death, sweetheart, but I don’t want that. I want this gang leader to be gone. I love it that you make wonderful things and you do not want to be king of the world. I just wish everyone was like that but they are not.”
“One day, we will be safe and together,” he told her. “They cannot hang out here forever. They will either get bored and move on or they will be caught.”
“And for now, we are safe and together and can plan the future.”
“Tell me what sort of furniture you like and I can start to build it in between orders. I will have to do some catching up when I can get back to work.”
The subject changed and they talked about the sort of things they would like to do when it was safe. He threw some more logs on the fire, and they pulled a blanket around themselves. Cilla drifted off to sleep and John was trying to decide whether to let her stay that way or not.
There was a single noise outside and he stiffened and woke up from the sleepy state he had been enjoying. He sat very still and waited to see if another sound would come.
It could have been an animal, he reasoned but knew in his heart it had not been a natural sound. He was glad that he had closed all of the shutters. They were strong and made by himself.
There was no way that anyone could see inside the house. The doors were locked. His handgun was on the chair at the other side of the room and the only light was the glow from the fire. He eased to one side and when she opened her eyes, he put a finger to his lips.
Cilla was instantly awake and he whispered for her to stay down.
“I am going for the gun over there,” he whispered and trod softly across the floor. He strapped on the holster and loosened the gun in the holder. Then he tiptoed to the door and pressed his ear against it. Satisfied that there was no one right outside, he eased it open a crack and peered outside. Cilla came quietly behind him and pointed to the workshop. There was a small flicker from a paraffin lamp that showed in the window. She went to her bag and found the handgun.
“I will see who it is,” he said in her ear. “You stay here.” She shook her head.
“Go on. I’ll follow.”
John walked quietly to his workshop. It was close to the house and took just a few seconds. He opened the door with one quick movement. With gun in hand, he called out that he was armed.
The man digging a hole in the corner of the workshop was startled into dropping the small shovel that he was using. He turned around and saw John and Cilla both pointing guns in his direction. He held up his hands.
“I am not armed.”
“Stand up and keep your hands in the air. I won’t miss if I shoot so stay very still. Cilla, run and get Earl.”
Cilla hitched her skirts and ran as if the devil was at her heels. She hammered on Fiona’s door with the butt of her gun and the window upstairs flew open.
“Come and help. John has an intruder at gunpoint.” Then she ran back to make sure that John was okay. Fiona pulled on a robe and grabbed a gun herself as her husband put his legs into a pair of trousers and took a rifle. They both ran after Cilla and into the workshop where John still had the man called Old Joe at gunpoint.
“I am not armed,” the man said again.
“Tie his hands, Earl,” John asked and the blacksmith found some rope and put the man’s hands behind his back. “Now, why are you here, what are you doing, and who sent you?”
The old man closed his mouth and said nothing. Earl pushed him away from the corner of the room and picked up a bag of coins.
“He was burying this.” John went over and took it in his hands.
“It certainly is not mine and why would I dig a hole in the corner of my own workshop when I have a perfectly good safe in the house?”
“Who sent you, you miserable old man?” Cilla was really angry and was tempted to slap him across the face. Fiona sensed it and came beside her.
“Let me go and find the sheriff,” she said.
“Rich might be a better bet,” John suggested. Fiona nodded and despite just having her night things and a robe, she hurried off to where Rich Sanderson still lived with his parents.
“You are friends with the red headed man with the shotgun,” John remarked in a reasonable voice.
“He was part of the robber gang that raided the train I was on six years ago. If he is a robber, then chances are you are as well.”
“I am saying nothing,” the old man said. “I was asked to find where this carpenter hid his gold and here it is.”
“What a lot of absolute rubbish,” John returned. “It wasn’t buried because you were still digging the hole.” The man closed his mouth again and said nothing more. Rich Sanderson came in with Fiona.
Chapter 24
“Well, what have you caught here, John?” Deputy Sanderson asked as he came up to them. “One of the strangers in town?”
“He was burying a bag of coins in the corner,” Cilla added and Earl said that it would be so that it could be found and John could be accused again. Rich nodded.
“That sounds as if it would be true,” he said. He turned to the old man. “I’ll put you in a cell and tell the judge in the morning.” He picked up the bag of coins and took the stranger by the arm. “The sheriff can take over when he starts work tomorrow.”
“I will be out by noon,” the old guy told them and walked off with the deputy as if he didn’t have a care in the world.
“That bank bag was like the ones we found discarded by the railroad tracks,” Cilla observed and they explained to Earl and Fiona about finding them because the ground was damp.
“We must tell my uncle because it is his land and there might be water there,” John added. “That would be good for the town if there was a water supply.”
“I can ride out there and tell him about tonight. He will probably come over and see you.” Earl stood up as he spoke and John thanked them both.
“It would be a good idea that Uncle Charlie knows. He will pass on the information and his workers are trying to help,” Cilla added.
“The three coins we found and the two discarded bags are in the safe,” John told them. Fiona and Earl went home and John locked up the workshop and the house.
“Now, who sent Old Joe to do that?” Cilla said. “I am wide awake now. I will write that letter to my dad and you can get someone to send it tomorrow.”
“Dawn is breaking,” John said, looking out of the window. “Is it too early for bacon and eggs?”
She started the letter and found that there was a lot to tell her parents. John brought the food and she left the writing to eat.
“Do you think the gang leader on the poster is telling them all what to do?” Cilla asked. John nodded and swallowed what he was eating.
“He must have a lot of money hidden away. I would think he is paying folk to keep their mouths closed.”
“Hatch has stopped actually looking for him. He either knows where he is, or has done a deal with him.”
“A bounty hunter is always after money. He could be bought off,” John observed.
“And then still turn the man in and collect the reward.” Cilla added that she was becoming cynical.
“But we have to think like them in order to catch them,” John added. “I’ll let you finish that letter and grab a few more minutes on the sofa.”
Three sheets of paper later, she glanced across and saw that he was sound asleep. She sealed the letter and addressed it and then went to sit beside him and think about things. The day had to start and the two of them sorted out what they needed and headed for the store.
The family was concerned, and Mike said that he would make sure that the judge and the lawyer both knew about it. Then he walked Cilla back to the school.
The day was busy and the pupils succeeded in taking her mind away from the robber gang. They did mathematics and writing and in the afternoon, some reading. The younger ones were improving, and she was glad about that.
Jenny was the last one to go and then Cilla heard her shout out and run to the man who was there with Charlie Loveworthy. The man grabbed his daughter and she wrapped her arms around his neck. He held out a hand and Cilla shook it.
“Carl Carter,” he said. “We hear a lot about you at home.”
“Jenny was a star yesterday. She was a great help. That Badger Hunt felt quite threatening.”
“And he would be. I heard all about his history from other men at work.”
“Tell us about last night,” Charlie said.
Cilla offered them coffee as she went over the old man digging a hole in the workshop floor.
“Fiona ran for Rich Sanderson. He took the bag of coins and the man. The prisoner said that he would be out by noon and I haven’t heard anything since then.”
“I think the sheriff is not doing his job,” Charlie observed. “I think Carl and I will go over there and make sure he knows that his job is on the line here.”
“Jenny can come to the house with me. I need to check the oven.” Cilla paused and then decided to take Carl Carter on trust as Charlie obviously liked the man. “Can I show you what we found on the way home from being shot?” she asked. Charlie nodded.
“Earl mentioned something about it.” They closed the school and went over to the house and Cilla told him about looking for water.
“You can do water dowsing?” Carl asked. “I have seen men do it where I grew up.”
“We stopped for a rest and the earth was slightly damp. I let the necklace spin and John scratched away at the ground. He found three coins and two old and discarded bank bags.” She went and opened the safe and took out the things they found.
“Been used as a stash and then dug up again,” Carl suggested.
“This gang knows the area well,” Cilla added,” but we knew that Uncle Charlie had bought the land for the pipeline. If he had water as well, it would be wonderful. We just forgot to tell you with everything else going on.”
“It could be really useful but it can wait until we have these crooks.”
“What is dozing water?” Jenny asked and made them chuckle.
“Water dowsing is usually done with two metal rods that move about when they are near water. I use a necklace or anything on a string really.” She took the thong of leather over her head and held it still.
“Is this girl called Jenny?” she asked and the stone moved in a clockwise direction. “If the answer is no it goes the other way.” She held it against Uncle Charlie and asked if this man was called Jim. The stone obligingly moved the other way.
“You are moving it, right?” Carl asked. She shook her head.
“Try it. Hold it still and ask a question where the answer can be yes or no.”
Jenny’s dad looked uncertain.
“Go on, Dad,” Jenny said. “I want to try.”
Her dad was tentative, but had a good look at the polished stone on the string of leather. He held it out away from him and Cilla told him to make it still and then not move it at all.
“What will I ask?” he queried.
“Ask if my name is Polly,” Jenny suggested, and he gave a half smile.
“Is this girl called Polly?” They all waited and he held himself very still. Then Cilla saw the look on his face as the stone moved in an anticlockwise direction. “I am not moving a muscle,” he said.
“I keep telling folk it is a little bit of fun, but I know they do use rods to find water.” Cilla took back her necklace and then smiled and handed it to Jenny “Go on. Give it a try.”
The girl held it motionless and then closed her eyes.
“Will we find this robber?”
“You have one clever daughter here, Carl,” Cilla remarked and they saw the stone turn to the right. ”Let us hope the stone is correct.” Cilla took back the necklace. The two men went off to the sheriff’s office and Cilla locked up and took Jenny over to the house.
“Lemonade?” she asked and stoked the fire. Jenny accepted a glass and sat beside the fireplace. Cilla checked the roasting vegetables and poured herself a coffee.
When Uncle Charlie and Carl came back, they had John with them.
What did the sheriff say?” Cilla asked.
“John came with us,” Charlie told her. “The sheriff was in the office with Sanderson and Hunt. He said that Old Joe was still in a cell.”
“So, he had done the right thing?” Cilla asked.
“He was not happy and Hunt looked furious. They did not explain that, but Sheriff Cooper did agree that the old man should stay in a cell until the judge could arrange a hearing.”
“They said,” John added, “that Joe would not tell them who had sent him.”
“It has to be the gang leader,” Cilla said. “He must be around somewhere.”
“Old Joe says that he does not know any gang leader or robber gang,” Carl added.
“We have to find him somehow,” Cilla said.
Uncle Charlie said that they would go and see the judge and the lawyer before they went back home. He had the three gold coins they had found in his pocket. He showed them the coins.
“You did find these on my land,” he said and grinned. “I will hang onto them. Thanks for the tip about the water.” The two men and Jenny left them alone and Cilla served the meal.
“Why would these men want to incriminate you with gold? What would they gain from it?” Cilla was angry and frustrated.
“I think that the robber still wants me sent away for trial instead of him.”
Cilla gazed at him in horror. “Oh, no! We got you out of that one.”
She put down her fork and paced the floor. John stood up and caught her by the shoulders.
“It won’t work. We know what they are doing now. The lawyer and the judge made sure that I was always safe. They tried planting stolen money and we stopped them. If the sheriff is being paid and stopping the law, he will lose his job.” Cilla put her arms around his waist and rested her head against his chest.
