Faster Than the Rest Read online

  “You could stay, build a life here after you’ve sold the Dove. People like and accept you. It’s not like a lot of towns I’ve been through. You’ve done well for yourself, Gloria, and everyone knows how much you’ve given back to the town. Don’t throw it away so easily.”

  “And do what, Sam? Live in a small house on the outskirts of town and grow a garden?” She laughed but her eyes didn’t reflect amusement. He was right about the town, however. Most folks here were more tolerant of her profession than elsewhere. But still, it’d be expecting too much to think they’d be able to forget her past and accept her as one of their own.

  “Get married, have children. You do want that, don’t you?” Sam hoped her answer would somehow give him the encouragement he needed to tell her how he felt.

  “Yes,” she admitted in a quiet voice. “But who would I marry? I want love, Sam, not some meaningless marriage so I can be considered a respectable woman. Maybe I’ll be able to find it somewhere else.” How she wished Sam would say something to indicate he had feelings for her beyond the passion they shared in bed.

  “You don’t believe you could find it here? Love?”

  “With who? Jerrod Minton, Josh Jacklin?” She named men that Sam knew. Jerrod was the town’s most successful attorney and Josh was Trent Garner’s foreman. Men everyone respected, but men she didn’t and could never love.

  “Hell, no.” His answer came fast and firm. “With me.”

  She couldn’t contain her surprise. “You, Sam?” Gloria stared at him wide-eyed as if what he asked was unthinkable.

  “Yes, me. Is the prospect of having me as your husband so awful?” If he didn’t convince her to stay she’d sell the Dove and move away, looking for love in another town with another man.

  A wide grin formed on her face and then faded to one of resignation as the reality of their situation returned. “No, the prospect of you as a husband is not awful at all. But your job is here and I don’t know that the town will ever accept me as a respectable woman. Have you thought of that?”

  He was off the bed in an instant. “Gloria, I want to stay here. I want you to consider staying to share your life with me. You must know that I don’t care what the town thinks, only what you think. I’ve fought people’s opinions of me all my life. I’m half Comanche and am proud of that part of my past. But here, in this town, no one treats me different because of it.” He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulled her to him and, inch by inch, lowered his mouth to hers. He moved his lips over hers then down her neck before returning to stare into her eyes. “It could be that way for you, for us. Tell me you’ll consider a life with me here, in Fire Mountain.”

  She looked into his eyes. These were the eyes she wanted to look into the rest of her life. “All right, Sam. If you believe it’s possible, I’ll think about it.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  A few weeks had passed since first learning of Victoria’s possible duplicity when Sam showed Jamie another telegram from a judge in San Francisco. This one stated that Victoria was to be taken into immediate custody pending further investigation. She was to be held in the local jail until further instructions were received. “Looks like you don’t have a choice, Sam,” Jamie said as dispassionately as he could. “The sheriff is due back from Phoenix in a few days. Maybe he’ll have some other ideas, but for now I don’t see how you can avoid it.”

  Jamie knew Anna and Hen would be devastated and no doubt blame him. He didn’t believe Victoria could hate him any more than she already did, but there wasn’t a real choice. The order was clear. Sam had to arrest her, but at least they weren’t asking that she be taken to California, yet.

  “Do you want me to go with you?”

  “No, Jamie. I’d better do this alone. Maybe you could keep an eye on the jail until I return. I arrested Ned Parker last night and he’s still sleeping it off. His wife should be here anytime to take him home. His gun is in the drawer.” Sam had resigned himself to the task, knowing it was futile to ignore a message such as this one.

  Sam grabbed his hat, adjusted his gun belt, and picked up the handcuffs from a drawer.

  “Do you really think those are necessary, Sam?” Even to Jamie the handcuffs seemed a little excessive.

  “Thought I’d take the wagon so I wouldn’t have to march Mrs. Wicklin through town. If I think it’s needed, I’ll cuff her to the wagon until we reach the jail.” Sam knew the Wrights weren’t the only ones who would be upset by the arrest. He expected half the town would be on his doorstep demanding an explanation, as well as her release. He also knew that Gloria would be among those demanding that Victoria be freed. Gloria’s feelings on the matter ran high, and although she could usually be counted on to keep things professional, he thought she might very well cut him out of her life over this. He was reconciled to the town hating him. He just didn’t know if he could get over losing Gloria.

  While Sam headed to the livery to get the wagon, Jamie grabbed the letters and telegrams concerning Victoria and began to re-read them. He found paper and pencil and started jotting down questions as he read each several times. They were a place to start as well as a way to keep his mind off her. He and Sam had done all they could by telegram. Now they might need to step up their efforts, or at least he figured he’d have to increase his. Jamie didn’t know how much more Sam could do as the town deputy. He was sworn to enforce the law, not investigate possible crimes outside of Fire Mountain. But Jamie was a U.S. Marshal. He had no such restrictions.

  He continued to focus on the task of reviewing everything they knew. He hoped Nell Parker would arrive soon so that he could leave before Sam returned. The last person Victoria would want to see when she entered the jail was Jamie MacLaren.

  ******

  “There is nothing I can do, Mr. Wright. The warrant is legitimate, from a judge in San Francisco,” Sam tried to explain.

  “A judge who doesn’t know Victoria and who didn’t even ask her side of the story. It’s not right, Hen. We can’t let him take her. He and Jamie already believe she’s guilty.” Anna’s voice was on the verge of breaking as she paced back and forth in the living room, trying to come to terms with her daughter’s pending arrest.

  “Now, Anna, we don’t have a choice, and neither does Sam.” Hen turned to Sam and pierced him with a look he gave very few people. “Do you believe Victoria is guilty, Sam? Does Jamie believe it?”

  Sam ran his fingers through his hair and let out a breath before answering. “I just don’t know. None of it makes sense to either Jamie or me, but the judge says there are witnesses and evidence. I haven’t seen it, so I can’t rightly answer either way.” He stopped, deciding how best to proceed. “I do know that we’ll do everything we can to hold off sending her back to San Francisco until we get more information, either from them or on our own. I’m checking with Jerrod Minton regarding Victoria’s rights, and we still need to hear from Mrs. Wallace’s attorney. Jamie is sending a telegram to San Diego to get Tankard’s story on record—he’s the man who led Jamie to Hagan’s ranch and rode with Hagan during the kidnapping. We’ll do everything we can from this end.”

  “Thanks, Sam. We appreciate all your efforts. But you still didn’t say if Jamie thinks she’s guilty.” Hen was determined to get an answer. They needed to know where they stood with Jamie.

  “You’ll have to ask him yourself…” Sam started to reply when he was cutoff.

  “I can tell you what he believes.” Victoria stood at the bottom of the stairs. She’d started packing a few things after Sam had arrived to announce the unwelcomed news. “He believes one-hundred-percent that I’m guilty. Besides that, he doesn’t want to find any evidence that I’m innocent and being framed. He’s getting the revenge he feels is due him. No, Jamie will be of no help to us.” She placed her small bag on the floor then straightened and clasped her hands in front of her. “Do you plan to cuff me, Deputy Browning?”

  “No, Mrs. Wicklin, not unless you force me to. But I do need to look in your bag
before we leave.”

  “Of course. Help yourself,” Victoria said with as steady a voice as she could muster.

  Three minutes later they were boarding the wagon.

  “Look, Mrs. Wicklin. I don’t like the way this is playing out any more than you do. Nothing feels right about it. But you need to know that I’ll do my job and I caution you not to do anything that makes me do something both of us will regret.” Sam’s gut told him this was all wrong, but he had taken an oath as a deputy, and as a marshal before that. He’d do his job whether his prisoner was a potentially innocent woman or an avowed bank robber. Made no difference. But he’d keep her safe while she was in his custody.

  Victoria stiffened in her seat at his words, but nodded her understanding and stared straight ahead.

  The trip to the jail only took five minutes but it felt much longer. As they drove down Main Street, people began filing out of businesses and houses to watch. Not many, but enough that the news would be all over town within the hour. As the wagon passed the Desert Dove, Gloria walked out through the double doors and locked her eyes onto Sam’s. They were hard, devoid of emotion, and that one look gave him the answer he feared. No matter what happened now, he and Gloria might never work through their differences. Sometimes he hated his job.

  Sam pulled the wagon to a stop in front of the jail, then helped Victoria down. Nell must be picking up Ned from the jail, as their wagon was on the other side of the street. He had hoped they’d be gone, and Jamie, too, but that wasn’t meant to be.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Sam opened the door and motioned for Victoria to enter first. She started to follow his lead but stopped abruptly when she saw who was standing by the desk.

  “Here to gloat, Marshal?” Victoria said with as much pride as she could muster while glaring into stone cold eyes.

  Jamie winced at her words, but said nothing, just continued to help Ned outside to his wagon. At least Nell said nothing about Victoria. Her focus was on her still somewhat inebriated husband.

  By the time he returned, Sam had secured Victoria in the farthest cell from the front. At least she’d have some privacy. Most of the cells had bars on three sides, which prevented prisoners from concealing items. This one was at the far end, with bars only in the front and a solid wall between it and the adjoining cell. The other cells were sparse, but this one had a small desk and chair as well as the standard cot. There were no drawers to stash her belongings, but at least she had a bag to hold her clothing, books, pen, and paper. There was an outhouse behind the jail that she could use, and fresh water was provided three times a day.

  Jamie walked to the back and took in the cell. His gut clenched. Is this what he wanted? Did he still believe she deserved to be punished for the pain she’d caused him all those years ago? She looked so small standing alone, looking up at the only window, which was too high to see anything but the clear blue sky outside.

  She must have sensed his presence. She turned and stared directly at him. “Deputy Browning?”

  “What can I do for you, Mrs. Wicklin?”

  “Is the marshal required to be here?” To her own surprise, Victoria’s voice was steady and strong.

  “No, Mrs. Wicklin, he’s not required to be here. If the marshal’s presence upsets you, I’ll have him leave.”

  “He doesn’t upset me, deputy. His presence is insignificant, really. But I’d prefer to be left alone.” She turned her back on Jamie and pretended to assess her new living quarters. She didn’t know how long she could keep her composure with Jamie watching her. It was hard being arrested for something she hadn’t done, but so much harder to know the man she loved believed her to be guilty.

  Jamie didn’t budge. He just stood there, staring at her back, his gut twisting and his emotions in disarray. The truth slammed into him. He still loved her. Had always loved her. “I know you won’t believe me, Torie, but I’m sorry. Sorry it came to this. More than anything, I regret that you think I want you here, in jail. That’s not what I want. Not even close.” He stopped, not wanting to say too much. “Don’t blame Sam. He had no choice.”

  She said nothing. Just stood with her back to him and stared at a blank wall.

  He finally realized she had no intention of answering or absolving him of guilt. He walked back to the desk. While Sam was at the Wright’s, a letter from Mrs. Wallace’s attorney, Silas Dunsford, had arrived. He decided to focus on it. The message was very clear. Hamilton Wicklin had somehow discovered the terms of the will, but Victoria had never been told about them. If what the lawyer said was true, the motivation to kill her husband, at least for the money, didn’t exist. The attorney was adamant that Victoria could not, in any way, be involved in an attempt on Wicklin’s life.

  Jamie recalled that Torie insisted she was innocent of any involvement, but her protests had fallen on deaf ears. Both he and Sam had ignored her. Now she was in jail and blamed them for it.

  “What’s this?” Sam held up the letter as Jamie took a seat at the other desk.

  “From her lawyer. It arrived while you were at the Wrights.”

  “A pretty good start,” Sam offered. “Any word from the sheriff in San Diego?”

  “He says Tankard’s not talking. Told the sheriff that Hagan would kill him if he spoke to any lawman.” Jamie’s voice was flat as he relayed the news. He hadn’t been surprised when the message arrived and he knew Tankard’s lips would stay sealed.

  Sam walked over to a small stove and poured a cup of coffee. “You want some?” Without waiting for a response, Sam got a second cup for Jamie and sat down. “Jerrod’s coming by in the morning to talk with Victoria and review what we know so far. He’s agreed to represent her, if needed.” Jerrod Minton was considered the best attorney in the northern part of the territory and represented most of the ranchers.

  “Good. That’s real good,” Jamie said idly as he sipped the hot brew and reviewed the events of the past couple of weeks.

  “Sheriff Rawlins is due back tomorrow. You know he’ll have some ideas about this mess.” Sam cast a questioning look at Jamie.

  “I’m sure he will. But I’m thinking it would clear up a lot of questions if Hagan could be brought in. He’s the man with the answers as far as I can see, him and the attorney handling the will.” Jamie paused. There was so much they didn’t know. “Also, we need to find out anything we can about Wicklin. His finances, debts, and connections. Maybe that information will lead us to the truth.”

  “Best way to do all that is to hire someone we can trust, who understands San Francisco and knows how to ask around without tipping off Wicklin.” Sam’s voice trailed off as he went through his numerous contacts. “An ex-Pinkerton man would have the skills. I’ve worked with some who were good men, but others who were just as crooked as the men they pursued,” Sam added as he searched his mind for possibilities. “Got it.” Sam rose and walked toward the door. “Jefferson Delaney. You remember him, Jamie. He left the Marshals Service to join the Pinkertons. Wanted to move to the west coast and ended up in San Francisco. Think he’s still there, but heard he isn’t with the Pinkertons anymore. I’m going to find out.” Sam grabbed his hat and headed toward the telegraph office, slamming the door behind him.

  “Deputy, may I see you a minute?” Victoria called from the back. She must have thought Jamie had left when she heard the door slam. Jamie stood and strolled to the back.

  “What can I do for you, Mrs. Wicklin?”

  She looked up but stayed silent, shook her head, and turned away from him.

  “You know you’ll have to talk to me sometime, Torie.”

  “And why would that be, Marshal?”

  “Well, for one thing, I need as much information from you as I can get to figure a way to discount Wicklin’s accusations.”

  A skeptical sound escaped Victoria’s lips. “Just stop, Jamie. We both know your true feelings for me no matter what you said earlier. You’d enjoy nothing more than to see me destroyed.” She paused a moment befor
e continuing. “Well, I won’t discuss my marriage, the will, the kidnapping, nothing. It would’ve been better if you’d never found me. I had already escaped and would’ve made it back to San Francisco somehow.” Her words faltered. She was on the verge of cracking but still held tight to the illusion of composure. “It would’ve been better if you hadn’t come to my parent’s house that night, if we hadn’t walked to the knoll, if we hadn’t …,” Tears glistened in her eyes, but she refused to break down in front of him.

  Jamie stiffened as the words poured from Victoria. Did he wish her destroyed? He searched his heart but already knew that wasn’t what he sought. What he’d wanted, at least for the first few years after her marriage, was to understand why she’d thrown away their future. The pain he’d felt had been crippling, but he’d pushed through it and made a life for himself without her. Seeing Victoria again brought back all the bad memories, but he had no wish to see her suffer as she was suffering now.

  As far as her remarks about the walk to the knoll, he knew that was just her way of lashing out. She’d been as affected as him by their kisses. He knew her passionate response to him was genuine, but he’d broken it off, and for good reason. Neither had been ready to face the past or discuss the future. Now her future was uncertain and she was scared. What she needed was someone to lean on, talk with, trust, but it wasn’t going to be him.

  “Hey, Jamie, you still here?” Sam had returned. Jamie had hoped to have more time with Torie, but it wasn’t to be.

  “In the back. Be right out,” Jamie turned back to Victoria. “All right, Torie. For now I’ll leave you alone. But there’ll be a time when we’ll talk. Don’t doubt that. And not just about what’s happening now, but about the past.”

  ******

  It had been several days with no further word from the aunt’s attorney, and nothing at all from the judge who’d issued the warrant. Although Sam had located the ex-Pinkerton man, Jefferson Delaney, he’d received no new information about Wicklin. The lack of communication frustrated both Sam and Jamie, but Sheriff Rawlins seemed to take it as good news. At least they weren’t looking at sending her to California right away, which gave them time to continue their own investigation.