Wildfire Creek (17 page)

Splendor, Montana

“They took at least one chicken, dried beans, and flour. Don’t know how one person could carry it all.” Hiram Frey tossed his hat on Gabe’s desk. He and his brother, Frank, made the journey into town to seek the sheriff’s help after two more weeks of missing supplies. So far, from what they could determine, the thief hadn’t taken any livestock. The brothers believed they’d eventually lose cattle and horses if the culprits weren’t stopped.

“You heard anything from Noah or Luke? Those boys missing stuff, too?” Frank paced back and forth in front of Gabe’s desk, none too happy they had to take a day away from the ranch and ride to town.

“A few days ago, Noah told me a sack of beans and a shovel were missing. Luke left for Big Pine almost two weeks ago, but I’ll ride out and check his place. Did either of you see any tracks?”

“Nothing. Whoever they are, they’re like ghosts. No noise, no tracks, just missing supplies.” Hiram grabbed his hat and settled it on his head.

“I’ll ride out to Luke’s place. We’ll need to get a group of men together from your ranch and the Pelletier place to search the area.”

“Let us know what you need. We want this stopped.” Frank stepped outside, followed by Hiram, and headed straight for the livery to speak with Noah.

Gabe watched them leave, baffled by the strange thefts. No cash or other valuables were missing, which meant whoever did this needed the food. All of it pointed to the Blackfoot camp north of Pelletier land.

He guessed the village consisted of less than a hundred people and, for the most part, they lived in peace with the neighboring ranchers. Their chief, Running Bear, would oftentimes seek to trade for what his people needed.

A group led by a renegade warrior splintered off over a year ago after a dispute with Running Bear. Long Feather had no use for the whites. He and his band were suspected of attacking settlers and wagon trains in the northern part of the territory over the past year. They’d swoop in, steal what they could, kill the men, and capture the women and children. There had been no survivors on more than one attack. If Long Feather’s band needed anything, it wouldn’t be a bag of beans or hardtack. They’d steal cattle or horses, not basic supplies.

Gabe grabbed his coat and hat, then walked outside toward Blackheart, the stallion he’d had for years. He’d ride to the Pelletier ranch, talk with Dax, then go to Luke’s place and check around. He hoped to avoid making a trip to Running Bear’s camp, but would if needed.

He was so lost in his own thoughts, he almost missed the small child who ran out in front of his horse. Gabe reined the large stallion to a halt with a quick move and looked down to see a frightened Mary staring up at him, wide-eyed.

“Mary!” Ginny ran from the boardinghouse, Suzanne right behind her, and grabbed her sister by the collar, pulling her away from the horse. “I’m so sorry, Sheriff. She knows better than to run out like that.” She glared down at Mary, who shook under her grasp. Ginny’s heart still pounded from the fear at seeing Mary run toward the huge animal.

Gabe slid to the ground and knelt in front of the frightened child. “Are you all right, Mary?”

She didn’t speak, but nodded once. He could sense how scared she felt and didn’t want to upset her even more.

“I’m sure Ginny has told you how dangerous it is to run out into the street, right?”

She nodded again, trying to hide behind her sister’s skirt.

“You won’t do it again, will you?” Gabe asked in a low, calm voice.

Mary shook her head.

Gabe stood and glanced at Suzanne, then Ginny. They walked to the side, away from the passing wagons and horses.

“Appears she’ll be fine.” He looked down the street toward the new saloon. They’d made considerable progress in a short time. Gabe figured it would be open for business in another week. “What do you think of the new place?” He directed his question to Suzanne, nodding toward the building as he continued to watch the men work.

She took a breath, her heart settling down from the scare. “To tell you the truth, I’m not real comfortable about it since no one seems to know who owns it.”

“Horace Clausen does, but he isn’t talking.”

“I understand Horace has to honor the owner’s wishes. All the same, it doesn’t seem right. Besides, who’s going to work there? He’ll need at least one bartender, serving girls, and well…you know.” Suzanne did wonder if he planned to have the same upstairs services Amos offered. “You don’t think King Tolbert is behind it, do you?”

“Could be. Clausen did say the owner is out of Big Pine and Tolbert owns considerable property around there.” Gabe turned his gaze back to Suzanne and Ginny. “Guess I’d better get going. Hiram and Frank have had more thefts, and I need to find out if Dax or Luke are missing anything.”

“Is Luke back from Denver?” Ginny hadn’t heard anything about him returning, yet her heart skipped a beat at the mention of his name.

“I doubt he’ll be back for several more weeks. It’s a long trek from here to Denver.” He swung up on Blackheart and tipped his hat at the ladies before heading north toward the Pelletier ranch.

“You know the empty building at the end of the street, next to the general store?” Suzanne asked Ginny as each took one of Mary’s hands and walked toward the boardinghouse.

“Yes.”

“A new restaurant is opening in there within a week. One of the settler families who came in when you did has been working on it.” Suzanne’s voice sounded cautious and weary.

Ginny stopped as her gaze flew down the street, surprised at the revelation. “I haven’t heard anything about it, or noticed anyone working inside. Who is the family?”

“Percy Slater and his wife. Gabe mentioned it to me a couple weeks ago. They’ve been working nights, and since all the stores down at that end of town close up by sundown, no one noticed what they were doing—except Gabe. He spotted them entering in the back during his rounds. Slater told him they plan to serve breakfast and dinner at first, maybe add supper service if the others go well. I’m telling you this as I don’t know how the place will affect my restaurant.”

A knot formed in Ginny’s stomach at the thought that Suzanne might lose business. Perhaps enough to impact Ginny’s job.

Suzanne saw the concern on Ginny’s face and reached out to touch her arm. “I’ll let you know if I need to make changes. For now, don’t worry too much about it. I just thought you should know.”

The words didn’t ease Ginny’s fear. First a new saloon and now a new restaurant. Both could impact her and Mary. She couldn’t afford to lose even one hour at either place. Well, she’d just have to wait, like Amos and Suzanne were doing, and pray all would go well.

“I’ll ride with you.” Dax didn’t like what Gabe had told him about the continued thefts at Noah’s place and the Frey ranch. There’d been no time to ride over to Luke’s as he’d planned. Now he had no choice.

Hank had told him about the change in the daily egg count. Every few days he’d find no more than a dozen eggs when he expected to see three times as much.

They covered the short distance from the ranch house to Luke’s place in little time. Both men reined to a stop fifty yards from the porch at the sight of the front door standing open and what appeared to be a broken window.

Gabe pulled out his pistol as he slid from Blackheart. “Better check it out.”

“I’ll circle around back.” Dax moved behind the shrubs and trees surrounding the house. He guessed whoever had entered would be long gone by now.

Gabe climbed the three steps and stopped next to the open door. He glanced around, seeing Dax make his way to the back.

“Anyone here?” It didn’t surprise Gabe when he got no response. He repeated his question, then entered, taking in the sparse furnishings in the front area, then moving toward the kitchen. Nothing caught his attention, except a cupboard standing open at one end of the room. He turned to check the bedroom when Dax entered through the back door.

“What have you found?”

“Cupboard doors are open, but I can’t tell if anything is missing.” Gabe walked to the bedroom to see sheets, blankets, and pillows missing. He holstered his gun before returning to the kitchen.

“Luke brought over sugar, flour, beans, coffee, and some fruit Rachel had put up. I don’t find any of it on the shelves.” Dax closed the cupboard doors.

“Bed’s been stripped. There might be some clothes missing, but you’d have to check to be sure.”

Dax walked through the rest of the house. Foodstuff, bedding, and a few clothes were all he found missing. The answer seemed obvious.

“Someone’s living up in the caves.”

Gabe took one more look around. “That’s my guess. I’ll need some of your men, along with some from the Frey ranch. If I can get enough help, we might be able to cover a good-sized area in two to three days.”

“Blackfoot?” Dax asked.

“Hell if I know. We’d better check around outside, see if we can find any tracks. Neither Hiram nor Frank have found anything, but they’re certain it’s more than one person. Noah believes the same. By the looks of what’s missing here, I’d say they’re right. No one person could carry all that’s missing from each place.”

They circled the house, then concentrated on the path the men had created to the creek. A few feet wide, it contained enough loose rock to hide most tracks.

“Look at this,” Gabe called as he crouched down.

Dax squatted next to him. “They dragged something along here.”

“Some kind of tool. Strange there aren’t any boot prints.” Gabe glanced at Dax, knowing they both had come to the same conclusion.

“It has to be a group from Running Bear’s camp.”

“Or Long Feather’s band, although they’re quite a ways north. I’ve never heard of them taking much besides cattle and horses.” Gabe stood and looked around. “Guess I’d better talk to Running Bear.”

“I’d hold off on it until we’ve had a chance to search the caves. Bull knows where a good number of them are located.”

“So do Hiram and Frank,” Gabe added.

“Good. When do you want to start?”

Chapter Twelve

Big Pine, Montana

“It’s lovely, Frederick.” Felicity walked around the house Rick had purchased at the edge of town. The place had been vacant for months, allowing him to get it at a cheap price. It stood a few blocks from her home.

After the last job, Rick took Flatnose up on his offer to run the ranch while he spent time in Big Pine. He hadn’t yet told his partner of his decision to quit the life they’d started a few years before. Rick had as much gold as any man needed and he wanted out, away from the constant dread Flatnose would lose control and kill again.

He planned to return to the Star Ranch one more time—to pick up his share of the gold.

“I still need furniture, and there’s some repair work that needs to be done from standing empty for so long.” He walked to a window, pulled back the curtain, and looked out. The lots were large, allowing for more privacy than the smaller homes built close together near the center of town. He turned toward Felicity, admiring her beauty, wondering at her attraction to a man like him.

He watched as she moved from the front living area toward the parlor, then the study. She opened the door and stepped back.

“Oh, they left all the books.” She walked straight to the massive bookshelf, ran her fingers along the spines until her eyes locked on one and she pulled it out. “Look, Frederick. The first volume of
Great Expectations
by Charles Dickens.” She opened it reverently, turned a few pages, her expression bright and excited. “I wonder if the other two volumes are here.” She scanned the shelves again, finding them after a few minutes of searching. “Have you read these? They’re wonderful.”

Her enthusiasm over something as simple as a book touched Rick, and he found his breath hitch as her broad smile flashed at him.

“Uh…no. I’ve never read it.” He had no intention of falling in love again or trying to reclaim the life he’d lost to the murderous posse years before. Meeting Felicity had changed him and he found the hope he thought was lost. “I’m going upstairs. Take as much time as you want, then join me.”

Rick strode up the stairs at a slow pace, admiring the wooden banister, recalling the night he and his wife had laid in bed and spoke of the day they’d be able to afford a home such as this. It had been a silly dream back then, both knowing he’d never earn enough for anything more than what they already had, yet it had been a good dream. One that had turned into a nightmare a few days later.