Train From Marietta (21 page)

“Go through his pockets. You might find something that could tie him to the kidnapping.”

Kate quickly searched Hayden’s pockets. She found a gold coin, the address of a man in Alpine, and a billfold that contained several hundred dollars. Also in the wallet was a picture of a nude woman lying on a couch. She placed all the items on the blanket beside Tate. Then she wound the other end of the rope around the saddle horn and picked up the reins.

“You don’t have to go far.” Tate pointed to a small stand of trees.

Kate led the horse, and it moved with little resistance. Tate lifted his head to see Hayden’s body slowly moving away. He hated that Kate had to do this, but it was necessary. She returned a few minutes later and again tied the horse to the scrub tree.

“He needs water,” she said, pointing toward the horse.

“Pour a little from the canteen into my hat. It’ll be enough to get him by until morning.”

Kate did as Tate instructed, and the horse drank lustily. She rubbed the spot between his eyes until he was finished. As she turned around, she glanced over to see that Tate’s eyes were shut. Dropping the hat to the ground, she hurried over to him and lifted his hand to take his pulse. It was steady, but not as strong as she would have hoped. She pulled the blanket aside and checked his wounds. Crimson spots had soaked through the makeshift bandages. She still had no idea how they were going to move him.

Gently she pulled the blanket up to cover him. She felt his forehead and found him cool to the touch. She knew that he hadn’t had time to get a fever from his wounds, but he was still in great danger. Her greatest fear was that he would go into shock. She took the blanket from Luke’s bedroll and spread it over Tate. Nightfall would be coming soon, and with it would come cooler temperatures. He needed to stay warm.

I wish the Mexican had carried a bottle of whiskey in his saddlebag.

For the next couple of hours, Kate sat in front of the fire and looked up at the thousands of stars in the sky. She had never seen them so bright! Once, a noise, like the snapping of a twig, startled her, and she grabbed the rifle and held it in front of her. But when nothing else happened, she went back to looking at the stars.

Finally she decided that it was time to check on Tate. She went to the blanket where he lay, and knelt down. It was dark, but the light from the fire was helpful. Carefully she turned his head toward her. The gash on his cheekbone had stopped bleeding, but his face seemed pale in the firelight. If only she had some antiseptic to wash his cuts, especially the cut across his chest and the one in his side. She placed her hand inside his shirt to search for signs of shock. She had seen many gunshot victims go into shock from loss of blood. The first sign of that shock was that they trembled as if they were freezing. His body was cool, and she didn’t feel a tremble.

She looked down to see that Tate’s eyes were open and that he was staring into her face. She felt a few seconds of embarrassment.

“I’m touching you to see if you’re cold.”

“I am cold.”

“I’ll get another blanket. We have one more.”

“No, don’t move,” he said, but Kate had already risen.

She laid the other blanket on top of him and tucked all of the blankets more tightly around his body. “Now go back to sleep. I won’t be afraid as long as I’ve got the gun.”

“If I doze off, wake me if you hear anything. I’m not worried about any four-legged animals. They usually stay away from a fire. Also, if a wind comes up, be careful the fire doesn’t spread.”

“Go to sleep. Don’t worry. I’ve camped out with my father many times. I know all about campfires.”

“When Luke comes back, he’ll whistle. It will be the call of a scissortail. Do you know what that sounds like?”

“No, but I won’t shoot him. Will he know where to find us?”

“He’ll have a pretty good idea. Wake me as soon as it’s daylight, and I’ll listen for his signal. He’s no longer trying to scare you, so you can trust him. The agent at the depot will have told him whether Lyle’s in town. If Lyle is there, he’ll come back with Luke.”

“Will Lyle believe him?”

“He knows Luke. He’ll believe him.”

Kate felt his forehead with the palm of her hand. His skin was still cool to the touch.

“Now that you’re awake, I want to look at your side,” she explained.

Gently she pulled the blanket down his body and then parted what was left of his shirt. The pad was as red as before; the bleeding hadn’t completely stopped. Loosening the belt, she lifted the pad. Even in the faint light, she could see that the wound wasn’t seeping blood, but it was still wet. She’d need to find something else to use as a bandage. She searched through Luke’s bedroll and found a ragged shirt. She didn’t know how clean it was, but it would have to do. She tore out a sleeve, rolled it into a pad, pressed it to Tate’s side, and readjusted the belt to hold it in place. The cut across his chest was in similar condition. She made another pad from the rest of Luke’s shirt and moved it into place. Now that his wounds had been cleanly dressed, she lifted his head to her lap and covered him with the blankets.

“Do you want a drink of water?”

“No,” he answered faintly. She could see that he was exhausted.

“You’re going to get one anyway.” She lifted his head and held the canteen to his mouth. He took one small sip. “That’s not enough.” She held the canteen to his mouth again. “You’ve got to have water. You’ve lost a lot of blood.”

“When did you drink last?”

“I’m not thirsty now.”

After Tate had drunk, Kate lowered his head. She reached across him and picked up the rifle.

“Are you gonna shoot me?”

“Not yet,” she said with a smile.

“I wouldn’t blame you. I let you down.”

“Let me down?”

“Hayden almost got me. He would have, if not for you.”

“Didn’t you tell me that if you save a person’s life, you own that person?”

“I believe I did.”

“Does that mean I own you and you own me?”

“That’s not such a bad idea …” His voice trailed off. She looked down and saw that his eyes were closed. Gently she slid her hand down inside his shirt to feel his heartbeat.

It was strong.

Chapter 19

“S
IT DOWN, DEAR.
You’re wearing yourself out pacing.”

John ignored his wife’s suggestion, went to the window, pulled back the heavy drapery, and looked out into the darkness. What he could see of the street was empty; the lamp at the end of the drive shed a soft glow. Unlike the empty street, his mind was full of thoughts.

I should have taken the money myself! What was the matter with me that I let William take it? Not only could they kill him because he’s not me, but they could hesitate about taking the paper sack.

“Would you like something to drink to calm your nerves?” Lila asked. John turned to look at her, sitting calmly in her favorite chair, a look of concern on her face.

“Not now, dear.” Drink would do nothing to ease his anxiety. He had waited impatiently for Lyle to contact him with news of the Texas Ranger’s search. With every passing day, his fear that something had happened to Kate escalated. He would gladly have paid double the amount of the ransom to have his daughter returned.

“John?” Lila prodded. “It’s too soon for us to hear any news. These things take time. We should wait another hour or two before we start losing hope.”

“I’ll never lose hope,” John said angrily.

“Dear,” Lila replied softly, “you must realize that there are some things that are out of your hands. William is complying with their wishes. We’re fortunate to have such a true friend. He loves Kate, you know.”

“I’m grateful for all he’s done,” John said, his voice trailing off as his thoughts returned to the telephone call he was expecting. He’d been told that he would receive word about Kate’s whereabouts when the kidnappers received the money. He hoped that they would also tell him that Kate had been released. His nerves were strung as tight as a wire.
Why doesn’t the damn phone ring?
If all went as planned, the extortionists should have had the money almost an hour ago!
Something must be wrong!
He abruptly turned on his heel and went to ring for Malcolm.

The door to the library was opened almost immediately by the manservant. “Yes, sir.”

“Check the telephone lines to be sure that there’s nothing wrong with them. I’m expecting an important call.”

“Right away, sir.”

Malcolm left the room. When he returned a few minutes later, he said, “The telephone is working, sir.”

John simply nodded dejectedly. Sweat formed on his brow, and he wrung his hands together roughly. He returned to pacing the floor.

Suddenly the door to the library opened, and, much to John’s relief, William stepped into the room.

“William!” John exclaimed. Lila jumped up from her chair and ran across the room to where William stood. “I’m so glad you’re back! We’ve been worried about you.”

“Have you received the phone call yet?” William asked.

“No. Nothing.” John nervously ran his fingers through his already tousled hair. “How did it go?”

“Just as we expected. I went to the place where they told us to go and waited. Damn near broke my neck looking around at all the people, wondering which of them was looking for me,” William complained “Then a man came up behind me, took hold of the sack, and said, ‘Katherine. Is this for me?’ I told him that it was, and before I knew it, he’d snatched it out from under my arm and disappeared into the crowd.”

“Did you see his face?” John asked anxiously.

“No. After he snatched it, I spun around, but he was headed into a crowd of people. From the one glance that I got of him, all that I can say for certain is that he wore a billed cap.”

“Did he say anything about Kate?”

“Nothing. He only said what I told you.” William sighed heavily and looked long and hard at his business partner. “I know that you want easy answers, old friend, but the man who took the money probably didn’t know much anyway. He was probably just a courier. Someone who was hired to pick up the money. That way, if he’d been caught, he wouldn’t know anything.”

Now that William had returned, and still no call had come from the kidnappers, John’s apprehension returned tenfold. “First thing in the morning, I’m going to call Lyle. Or maybe the local police.”

“We need to be patient now,” William said, placing a strong hand on John’s shoulder. “We’ve done all that we can do for the present. They have the money. There’s no reason for them to keep Kate now. They’ll let her go soon enough. If we do something rash, like calling the police, they may panic and hurt her.”

“You’re right, William,” John said, his voice unsteady. “But I won’t be able to rest until I hear her voice. Until I know that she’s all right.”

“None of us will.” Turning to Lila, William said, “Take him up to his room. He has a phone up there he can answer if they call.”

“Good idea,” Lila answered.

“I’ll be in the office first thing in the morning, John. Why don’t you come in around noon? If anything comes up, I’ll call you. Or if you hear from them, call me.”

“Thank you for everything that you’ve done,” Lila said, looping her arm through her husband’s, urging him toward the stairs.

John walked along unsteadily, the stress of the long days since Kate’s kidnapping taking its toll. At the foot of the stairs, he let go of his wife, steadied himself on the banister, and turned to his partner. “Thank you again, William. For everything.”

“It is my pleasure to help.”

Walking from the house to the street, William breathed deeply of the city air. It would be a simple matter to hail a cab to take him to his apartment, but he was so excited that he needed to walk. This was a night to savor, a night of triumph. All of his planning had come to fruition. When he first concocted the plan—hell, when he tried to explain it all to Edwin—he had a few doubts as to whether it could be done. But now, the money safely hidden away, he felt nothing but elation! He couldn’t believe how easy it had been!

Before he got too excited, he reminded himself that now was not the time to get careless. This was where lesser minds got caught. He couldn’t get complacent, feel like he’d already won. Now was the time to be thorough. Tomorrow he would take a few of the ransom bills to a friend he knew who was an expert on paper money. He would be able to tell him if they had been marked. John had said nothing about marking them, so he doubted that they had been; but he needed to make sure.

Poor, dumb John! If he only knew that he had handed the ransom money over to the man who had masterminded the kidnapping of his daughter … and John had been glad to do so! He would be shocked if he knew the truth!
But that will be nothing like the shock he’ll experience when I buy out his shares in the company. And that’s not all… there’s still one surprise left for poor, dumb John.

He hadn’t lied to John when he told him that he’d be in the office first thing in the morning. He had work to do. He needed to send another telegram to Edwin, telling him that he’d received the money and that he could do whatever he needed to do with Kate. He knew that his nephew liked the girl, but he didn’t share the affection. Throw her to the wolves, for all he cared. Nothing mattered now that he had the money.

Another person who no longer mattered was Edwin. The boy had served his purpose; he’d managed to keep Kate hidden in Texas. Now things had changed. Edwin, the fool, had believed that he would be welcomed back with open arms. He would be silenced. Squirrelly too, for that matter. He was the right kind of thug to get a muscle job done, but he talked too much. This Hayden fellow, though, was the kind of stone-cold killer who would do any job as long as the price was right. Once word reached Texas that the money had been paid, he’d know what to do.

William walked jauntily down the street. He tipped his hat politely to a lady and gentleman that he passed. Even when he was pestered by a raggedy old woman, only one brown tooth clinging to the inside of her mouth as she asked for change he could spare, he walked on smiling. He felt as if he had the world at his feet. Hell, he thought, I’ve worked long and hard for this. I deserve it. As soon as I hear from my contact in Texas that his man has done away with Kate, Edwin, and Squirrelly, I’ll make my move to take control of Tyler-Jacobs Steelworks. Jacobs Steelworks.