Page 36 of Love and Order

CHAPTER 6

Monday, July 14, 1873

“How are you coming, tracking down the men on the wanted posters?” Andie turned to Joe and Calliope with a pleading look.

Joe crammed his hands in his trouser pockets. “Rion found Jimmy Albey, Al Langer, and Walt Esper. None of them are behind this. We’ve found news of Clyde Page and his gang. Two are in prison, and most of the rest are dead.”

Andie tried not to shudder. “But not all?”

“One’s free—but after a bad injury, he couldn’t pull off the travel to get all the places these murders have occurred.”

She turned the posters over, leaving two face up. “And these?”

Calliope chewed a fingernail. “Frank Dunwitty and Edward Hunney are deceased. See the two dates on the posters?” She indicated the handwritten numbers. “The earlier one is when Rion turned them in. The second is date of death. We’re struggling to find the families of each. I don’t know if those are false names or if female relatives have gotten married again. We’re doing our best.”

Andie jotted questions to ask Rion later, then leafed through her other points.

“Has anyone spoken to Ollie Sapey?”

Lu shuddered. “The night we collected Miss Hattie from her, yes.”

“Not since?”

Joe straightened from looking at the information spread across Lu’s table. “She’s a recluse. Seth and Lena say she gives one spoken warning then makes use of her shotgun.”

Andie gaped. “She’s shot people?”

“Her first shotgun blast is usually into the air. It was with me—and that’s what Seth and Lena experienced as well. None of us have been stupid enough to try a second time.”

“But she saw the man who she described as similar to Rion but somehow different?”

Joe nodded.

“We need her testimony.”

Lu’s expression was haunted. “I doubt she’ll agree.”

Joe folded his arms. “I could try to talk to her.”

“Would you?”

“What’s most important to you? I can head that way—with no guarantees that Ollie will testify. Or I can keep working on the wanted posters.”

“With the trial looming, we may not have time to find who’s framing Rion. At least, not as our sole means of saving him. We’ll have to prove it in court, and then find the real culprit.”

“Lu and I can work on the wanted posters, if you need him to go.” Calliope turned a stern look his way. “But if you do, Joe Trenamen, be careful.”

He nodded. “When aren’t I?”

If she were in St. Louis, Papa had a handful of trusted men who investigated matters, tracking down people, and the like. Here, she had Calliope, Joe, and Lu. Seth was willing, but with Lena’s baby due any moment, she couldn’t ask him to leave her. And without knowledge of Cambria Springs’ residents, she had no one else trustworthy enough to count on. Joe and Calliope had expressed questions about Sheriff Downing, so she hesitated to ask him.

“How’s Hattie?” Granted, Andie had been staying at the boardinghouse, but her days had been spent working on the case, so she’d yet to see the woman.

“Stronger every day.” Calliope nodded. “She’ll speak with you whenever you and Mr. Littrick are ready.”

At the very least, her testimony should rule out kidnapping and attempted murder. If she could make a jury doubt he did one thing, they might believe he didn’t do any of them.

She scanned her scribbled notes.

“Rion said someone gave him their cast-off boots, and the mark in the heel was there when he acquired them.”

“Yep.” Joe glanced sideways at her.

“Who gave him the boots?”

Lu, Callie, and Joe all paused.

“I asked, but I’m not sure he ever said …”

Her list of questions was growing longer and longer—and time was dwindling.

Daniel knocked then waited with Sheriff Downing on the boardinghouse porch, praying Hattie Ingram wouldn’t be too anxious at being questioned about her ordeal.

“Is this your first opportunity to speak with Miss Hattie since she was found, Sheriff?”

“Yep. She was eaten up with fever and infection when we brought her down. Only conscious for a few minutes at a time. Since we got her back here, Bess has kept her under lock and key.”

The door opened, and Bess Ingram smiled. “Gentlemen. Welcome.” She waved them to the parlor. Daniel hung his hat on the hat rack before proceeding.

Miss Hattie sat in a tall wingback chair, a blanket pulled to her waist, her long, dark hair loose about her shoulders. Despite the new growth, the shorn patch above her right ear was easily noticeable. The poor woman looked pale, though she smiled. “Howdy, Mr. Littrick.”

He returned her grin. “Miss Ingram. Glad you’re up and about. I was real sorry to hear what happened.”

“Thank you.”

“Miss Hattie.” Sheriff Downing handed his hat to their host before stepping through the door. “You look a sight better than when I last saw ya.”

“I feel better.”

Andromeda McGovern stepped off the staircase into the parlor and immediately greeted Hattie with a hand squeeze and a smile.

“Are you boarding here, Miss McGovern?” He’d thought that Mrs. Ingram’s rooms were all rented.

She turned, looking far more unwelcoming than he’d hoped. “Kezia Jarrett and I are sharing a room.”

Lord, is she always gonna be so aloof and distrusting?

“Please, find a seat,” Mrs. Ingram called from the doorway.

They did, and Mrs. Ingram offered them tea or coffee, and when they all declined, she stepped out to give them time alone.

Looking uncomfortable in his dainty chair, the big sheriff leaned forward, settling his elbows on his knees. “Thank you again for meetin’ with us, Miss Hattie. Do you remember what happened?”

“Some.”

“Please tell us. Any details are helpful.”

“I, um …” She closed her eyes. “I went to stay with Annie Tunstall for a night or two, and when I went out to feed the barn animals after dark, a man grabbed me.” Her eyes fluttered open, distant and unfocused. “I tried to scream, but he covered my mouth with a cloth.” Her voice pitched into a fearful tone. “Everything went black very quickly.”

Daniel spoke gently. “Take your time, Miss Hattie.”

Her chin quivered as if she might weep.

Miss McGovern moved to the matching wingback chair beside her, taking her hand. “You’re not alone, and there’s no rush. All right?”

The two women focused on each other, and Hattie took a moment to calm herself.

“Miss Hattie?” Downing met her gaze. “Would ya be more at ease if your ma sat with you?”

She nodded, and the lawman rose and returned with Mrs. Ingram, who sat beside Hattie. Miss McGovern returned to the settee, and Downing leaned his shoulder against the doorjamb.

“I don’t recall much. I woke up a time or two.” She bit her lower lip, fighting for calm.

Daniel prayed, not desiring to see the woman tormented by recounting her ordeal.

“I was tied over a saddle. As soon as the man realized I was awake, he’d put that cloth back over my face, and everything would go black again.” She took several deep breaths. “The next thing I recall, I was in a broken-down cabin.”

Her voice grew hoarse. “When I came around, I was in a room alone. Beyond the door, people argued. It was dark—and there was lightning and thunder.” Tears slipped down her cheeks, and Mrs. Ingram gripped her hand. “Then someone came in.” She gulped a breath. “I could see even in the dark he had a knife. I screamed and tried to get away, but—” She sobbed, Mrs. Ingram doing her best to comfort her grown child.

“Why don’t we give you a few minutes?” Daniel rose, motioning the sheriff toward the door. They both stepped onto the porch again. To his surprise, Miss McGovern joined them, keeping the door cracked.

“She’s told enough.” Downing folded his arms.

“She doesn’t need to go into the details of the attack, but I have some clarifying questions about what she’s already said.” And they knew from Seth and Lena Kealey’s statements, as well as Lucinda Peters, that Ollie Sapey supposedly heard her screams and rescued her during that heavy mountain thunderstorm. He hoped to ask about her—among other things.

Miss McGovern peeked back inside. “Thank you for being gentle with her.”

“Littrick and me ain’t so refined as you, but we ain’t monsters. No one wants to see her relive that horror.”

Embarrassment flashed in her eyes, and Daniel hurried on, trying to soften the lawman’s words. “Especially after all she’s endured in her life.”

For once, she looked humbled. “I’m thankful. Miss Hattie and I just met, but both Kezia Jarrett and Mr. Nesbitt speak highly of her.”

“Everyone in Cambria Springs loves Bess and Hattie Ingram.” Downing pulled a toothpick from a pocket and clamped it between his teeth. “If they don’t, they ain’t good people.”

She peeked inside again then opened the door. “They’re ready.”

As they headed toward their respective places, Hattie hung her head. “I’m so sorry.”

“There’s no need for that, miss.” Daniel shook his head. “You’re brave to speak to us.”

“I don’t remember much more.” She leaned her head against the chair.

“May I clarify a few points?”

Hattie nodded.

“Did you see who grabbed you?”

“No, Mr. Littrick. He came from behind.”

Miss McGovern cocked her head to one side. “When he covered your mouth with the cloth, did you see his hands, arms, feet? Anything?”

At first, she shook her head. “No.” Her eyes went suddenly wide. “But I felt them … as I tried to claw his hand away from my face. They were almost dainty for a man. I was able to get my hand around his wrist better than some.”

“Was his wrist like mine?” Daniel unbuttoned his shirtsleeve and pushed the cuff up. He wasn’t a small man, and his own wrists weren’t as meaty as many his size. He allowed her to test his arm against what she remembered.

“Smaller. His were bony in comparison.”

“That’s helpful, miss. Thank you.”

Hattie shook her head. “I recall him dousing that cloth with a liquid before he put it to my face. He had long fingers.”

She closed her eyes.

“Are you holdin’ up all right, Miss Hattie?”

Blinking, she nodded. “At first, he didn’t have me blindfolded, and while I was over the saddle, I saw his back, while he led the horse I was on.”

Miss McGovern perched on the settee’s edge. “Do you recall either the horses or what he looked like?”

“His horse was a real pretty black—with three white stockings—but there was something wrong with them.”

“Wrong?”

She closed her eyes again. “I can’t explain it. The fur was … cracked or …” She shook her head. “The legs were white, but with black showing through underneath. I don’t know. I was upside down. My head was pounding. Maybe I was seeing things. Or not seeing clearly anyway.”

“And did you see him at all?” Miss McGovern asked.

“He was a pretty big man. Tall. Wide shoulders.”

“Is this the fellow you saw?”

Miss McGovern unfolded a paper and showed it to Miss Hattie, who immediately shook her head. “No, it wasn’t Mr. Rion.”

Daniel came to stand behind Miss Hattie’s chair to look at the immaculately drawn image of Rion Braddock, both from the front and the back.

“You’re certain?”

Miss Hattie nodded. “The day of the medicine show, Mr. Rion escorted me to the wagon. I held his arm. His arms—particularly his wrists—are too meaty to belong to the man who grabbed me. And from what I saw, the man was probably as tall as Mr. Rion, his shoulders as wide, but he was too lean. Mr. Rion’s built more like a bear than the man who abducted me.”

Sheriff Downing sat again. “You’re sure it wasn’t Rion Braddock?”

“Absolutely. I sat behind him at the medicine show, Sheriff. Their hair color, beard, and height might be close, but Mr. Rion was not the man on the horse that day, nor was it his wrist I grasped in Annie Tunstall’s barn.”

“Now hold on there. You admit the fella what took you drugged you. How can you be sure of what you saw?”

Her face paled, and Mrs. Ingram’s features hardened.

The lawman turned Daniel’s way. “You best keep prosecutin’ Braddock for her kidnappin’ and attempted murder.”

Daniel’s mind flew. If Braddock wasn’t guilty of kidnapping Hattie Ingram but someone was trying to make it look as if he was … was he guilty of the other murders?

He glared back. “Beggin’ your pardon, sir, but I’m prosecuting this case. That’s my decision.”