Page 44 of Love and Order

EPILOGUE

Cambria Springs, Colorado Territory Monday, September 1, 1873

Andromeda stared around the large round table in the corner of Dutch’s Café. Joe slung his arm across the back of Calliope’s chair. Beside them, Rion leaned back, long legs stretched out before him, hands clasped over his stomach.

“They painted the white stockings on the horse.” From between herself and Rion, Lu Peters scribbled the detail into her journal.

“It’s why, the day Charlie scattered our horses, I ruined my dress with those strange white marks.” Callie brushed at her skirt as if she wore the ruined attire. “I thought it was the leavings from a large bird, but it was wet paint on the underbrush from Charlie riding through.”

“I’m going to have to use that in a story or article somewhere.” Lu continued to scribble.

Joe cleared his throat. “Also explains why Hattie said the stockings looked strange. They weren’t real.”

“I feel like a fool.” Rion shook his head. “They followed me around the country, and I didn’t catch on.”

Daniel sat forward to look at her brother. “They had about twelve wigs for Maya, with multiple costumes and props she could choose from—and quite a few disguises for her father and brother. They could take on all sorts of looks. If you weren’t expecting ’em, you wouldn’t know.”

“They set me up in Chicago, St. Louis, Omaha, Cheyenne, Denver, and here. You’d think, with that birthmark on Maya’s wrist, I’d have recognized her.”

Lu raked her gaze up. “She covered it. As the sharpshooter and trick rider, she wore a leather cuff over her wrist. Or she did while riding with the posse. And during her shows, she wore long gloves that covered half her forearms.” She indicated where the gloves stopped.

Callie nodded. “And anytime I saw the bearded lady, she had a flesh-colored stain on her sleeve. She must’ve used stage makeup to cover it.”

Rion shook his head. “I dunno. You’d still think I’d have recognized her height, build …”

“Go easy on yourself. She had shoes with over-tall soles so she could make herself taller.” Joe cocked his head. “She even had dresses with some kind of padding sewn into the lining to make her look plump.”

Rion looked around. “Is that true?”

“Very.” Andie nodded. “Marshal Epps has all that evidence from their wagons under lock and key, but I saw it with my own eyes.”

“Wicked woman.” Rion glowered.

“Wicked family,” Callie corrected. “Oldest brother Edward murdered two, and when you brought him in and he was hung, the others took revenge—by killing seven and attempting an eighth.”

Rion scrubbed his beard. “What a legacy.”

“A dark one,” Andie whispered.

The bell on the café door jangled, and one of the judge’s men waved. “Jury’s done deliberatin’.”

Her heart leaped into an anxious pace.

Daniel grasped her hand. “Ready, Counselor?”

Her stomach flip-flopped. “I’d better be.”

They headed back toward the Rocking J, Daniel carrying her carpetbag and his leather satchel. Once inside the packed saloon, she and Daniel proceeded to the prosecution table. Marshal Epps, Sheriff Downing, and several deputies walked the defendants to the other table, and a moment later, Judge Vost called the court back into session.

Andie’s heart pounded as the jury took their seats. To her amazement, the crowd was silent.

Judge Vost looked at the six men. “Has the jury reached a verdict?”

One man stood. “Yes, Your Honor.”

“Would the defendants please rise?”

Chairs raked across the plank floor and feet shuffled as Earl Hunney, better known as Dr. Darby Chellingworth, Emmaline Hunney—or Maya Fellows—and Charlie Hunney all stood.

“How does the jury find in the case of Earl Hunney?”

“We find him guilty on all counts, Your Honor.”

Gavel already in his hand, Judge Vost waited for the eruption, but none came. “In the case of Emmaline Hunney, how do you find?”

“Guilty on all counts.”

Still no sound came, but it felt as if the room held its collective breath.

“And in the case of Charles Hunney, how do you find?”

“Guilty on all—”

The room erupted as men celebrated or mourned the outcomes, passing money like they had at the dismissal of Rion’s charges.

Would Andie ever get used to such a thing? St. Louis certainly wasn’t the height of civilization and Eastern sensibilities, but it undoubtedly had more decorum than this.

But now that she’d seen it, she found a certain humor and charm to it, in its own odd way.

As the judge banged his gavel, Daniel gave her hand a hearty squeeze.

The commotion ceased after a third bang of Judge Vost’s gavel.

“Earl, Emmaline, and Charles Hunney, considering you’ve been found guilty of six murders, kidnapping, and attempted murder—I sentence you all to hang by the neck, one week from today at ten in the morning. Any questions?”

“Don’t we get an appeal, Your Honor?” the man once known as Darby Chellingworth called, his proper English lilt gone.

“Let’s see.” Vost tapped his finger against his cheek. “Considering I’m the territorial judge, that means I’m also one of the three Supreme Court justices for Colorado Territory, so I’d be hearing your appeal.” He shrugged. “I’ve heard the evidence of this case twice already—once during Mr. Braddock’s trial, and again in yours. I’m not inclined to hear it a third. No appeal. My sentence stands.” He turned to Downing. “Keep these three safe, Sheriff. They’ve got an important appointment in a week.”

“Yes, sir, Your Honor.”

“And … Marshal Epps.”

The marshal stood. “Yes, Your Honor?”

“You, Mr. Trenamen, and Miss Wilson notify the other jurisdictions that the culprits of the murders in their locales have been found and executed. I don’t want Mr. Braddock to have any further trouble because of this scheme.”

The marshal made eye contact with Joe and Callie, then nodded. “We’ll get that word out, sir.”

“Thank you. This case is closed, and court is dismissed.” Judge Vost gaveled out, and like before, everyone moved, milling and chattering about the verdict.

Daniel turned a wide smile on Andie. “Congratulations, Counselor. That’s two wins in six weeks.”

“You helped.”

He shook his head. “This was all you. You led an amazing prosecution.”

She wobbled a smile at him. “I still have so much to learn.”

Daniel pulled her to her feet. “I have a bit of a proposition about that.” He took her hands. “I never wanted to be an attorney … and I haven’t enjoyed it.”

She dipped her chin, her happiness dampening. “You said that before.”

“Then you came along.”

She dragged her gaze up. “Me?”

“Yeah … you, Counselor.”

Heat filled her cheeks.

“I was wonderin’ if you’d be interested in stayin’ in Cambria Springs. Maybe partnerin’ up with me?”

“As attorneys, or … something different?”

A slow smile spread across his face. “Attorneys to start, but …” He whispered in her ear. “I’m hopin’ for a lot more.”

Heart racing, she stole a chaste little kiss. “Yes.”

Daniel pulled back, eyes wide and brows arched. “You don’t want to think about it?”

She shrugged. “Let’s just say I had a feeling about you from the first moment we met.”

“Even though I smelled a little ungodly?”

Andie stood a little taller, looking into his intense blue eyes, then leaned in and sniffed the woodsy scent of his cologne. “You seem to have redeemed your ways.”

He laughed and kissed her palm. “This partnership’s gonna be fun.”

“I certainly hope so.”

Callie waited to congratulate Andie and Daniel as the pair shared a teasing exchange. The compliments could wait. However, when she turned to point out the charming interaction to Joe, he’d gone. She looked around the packed room.

“He went that way.” Lu motioned and went back to scribbling her thoughts in her journal.

There. Talking to Marshal Epps and Rion. Probably working out the details of informing the other jurisdictions of the Hunneys’ convictions. It would require traveling to the various locales, hauling evidence, and making the case.

She headed that way, but as she neared, Marshal Epps coughed, and the conversation stalled.

“Am I interrupting?” She glanced at them.

“No.” Joe shook his head. “Talking about logistics. The case, y’know?”

She stood a little taller. “Shouldn’t I be involved in that?”

“I didn’t want Marshal Epps to get away.”

All three men shuffled their feet or avoided eye contact. “All right.”

Epps clapped Joe on the shoulder. “I need to help Downing with the prisoners. Come find me at the hotel this evening, and we’ll work out the details.”

The man slipped away, hurrying to where Sheriff Downing and his deputies shackled Maya and her kin.

“Are y’all ready to go?” Rion nodded toward the door.

“I am, and Andie and Daniel should be too.”

“Let’s get Lu and go.” Rion approached the table where Lu still wrote, and the six of them walked out, mounted their horses, and departed.

As they reached a more respectable part of the town, Joe nodded for her to turn the opposite direction from Mrs. Ingram’s boardinghouse, where the others seemed to be headed.

She drew Lady to a halt. “What are you doing?”

“May I have a private moment?”

“For …?”

After a second, he waved in the direction of the meadow where the medicine show had performed. “If you’ll give me that moment, I’ll tell you.”

The others had ridden ahead, and she turned aside with Joe. At the center of the meadow he dismounted and helped her down.

“What’s wrong?”

“We’re at the end of our case.”

“No. We’ve got to get the evidence to all the other towns where these poor women were murdered, and—”

“Let me finish. Please.”

Cheeks warming, she shut her mouth.

“We’re at the end of our case. Once we deliver the news of this conviction, we’ll be assigned new cases, and we may not be working together anymore.”

Reality crashed over her. With all the turmoil—of finding both her brother and her sister, arresting Rion, his escape, the first trial, and the hunt for Maya and her kin—she’d barely thought about how today’s verdict would impact things.

She swallowed. “I don’t know how I feel about that.” Her voice quavered.

“I, for one, don’t like it.”

“But what can we do?” They were at the mercy of what the agency needed.

“We could …” He hesitated then dropped to a knee. “Calliope Ann Braddock Wilson, I’ve fallen in love with you. Will you marry me?”

Stunned, she was almost unable to breathe.

When she didn’t answer immediately, he turned a pleading glance her way. “Please?”

She blinked twice, seeming to come back to herself, and laughed. “Yes, I’ll marry you.”

Joe launched to his feet, grabbed her, and twirled her in a circle. From some distance off, applause and a sharp whistle filled the quiet meadow, and when Joe set her down, she noticed that Andie, Daniel, Rion, and Lu stood at the meadow’s edge, watching.

“Just so you know—I asked Rion and Andie both, and I wrote your Ma and Pa a letter and sent it to them in Chicago. They all gave their blessing.”

She grinned. “Good. Now, are you going to kiss me or not?”

Grinning like a schoolboy, he gave a laugh. “You don’t have to ask me twice.”

He bent and claimed her lips, tenderly, then with more passion. Her heart pounded and she slipped her arms around his neck, twining her fingers. His arms circled her waist, and for a second time, he picked her up so her feet dangled above the ground. Their kiss ended as she began to giggle, and she laid her head against his shoulder.

“Yes, I’ll gladly marry you. When?”

“Sooner rather than later, but I promised your pa we’d get married in Chicago. He and your ma don’t want to miss the nuptials.”

“Then it needs to be far enough out we can get Andie, Daniel, Rion, and Lu there.”

“I figured.” His voice tinged with disappointment, and she lifted her head and brushed his lips again.

“It’ll go by fast.”

Another earsplitting whistle shattered their silence, and Rion beckoned. “C’mon, you two. We got some celebratin’ to do!”

Joe set her down, and hand in hand, they started back toward the others.

As Joe and Callie rejoined the group, the pair nearly glowed.

“Congratulations.” Rion grinned as the others added their well wishes.

For once, Callie looked a little shy.

Lu grinned. “Maya and her kin were convicted. Andie says she’s staying in Cambria Springs to partner up with Daniel. And now you two are getting married. This is turning out to be quite the day.”

“So you are stayin’?” Rion turned toward Andie.

“I am.” She turned Daniel’s way. “It’s only right. This one needs my help.”

They all laughed.

Joe and Callie mounted up, and the group turned toward town.

“Everyone come to my place,” Lu called, leading the way toward her rented house. “My dime novel, Rion Braddock, Bounty Hunter, is published.”

The group congratulated her, but as they rode past the livery, the young hostler stepped out. “Mr. Braddock?”

He slowed. “Yeah?”

“Sheriff Downing’s lookin’ for you.”

His shoulders slumped. “Sorry, Lu. I ought to see what he needs.”

“We’ll all go.” She smiled.

Outside the log building, he dismounted, leaving Trouble’s reins to dangle as he strode into the office. One glance at the two functioning cells—one with Maya and one with her pa and brother—reminded him that he still needed to pay for the door.

He walked up to Downing’s desk. “Reckon you’re looking for the money to fix that door, aren’t ya?”

“Well, there’s that, but I asked to see you on a personal matter.”

He shot another glance toward Maya and her kin. “You got somethin’ to say, let’s go outside.”

Downing nodded to the two deputies as he rose. “Watch them.” He motioned to the prisoners.

They stepped out onto the porch and shut the door, but seeing the others waiting, Downing beckoned him around the corner of the building.

It took a moment for the lawman to find his voice. “There’s a couple things I need to say to you, Braddock. One is, I’m sorry. I—I took my distress at losin’ my daughter out on you. All the evidence pointed at you, so I made my assumptions, and …” He shrugged. “It wasn’t right, how I treated ya.”

“I appreciate that. It all worked out, so … no hard feelings.”

Downing cleared his throat. “And … I wanted to say thank you.”

“For?”

“Not lettin’ me gut that kid in there.” He pushed a pebble with the toe of his boot. “I’d’ve done it had you and the others not stopped me.”

“I’m hopin’ you’d’ve done the same for me if the tables were turned.”

He nodded.

“I didn’t realize Sarah Jacobs was kin. I’m sorry about your daughter.”

The man shrugged. “She didn’t know, and her ma didn’t want me tellin’ her. But she’s the reason I came to this town. To keep an eye on her.” His expression twisted into a mask of pain. “I failed her. I didn’t protect her from them.” He flung a hand toward the office, seeming to indicate the prisoners inside.

“I know it won’t bring her back, but at least now, they’ll pay the price.”

“Yeah.” He nodded. “And I can retire in peace.”

“Retire?” Rion turned a quizzical glance on him. “You’re hangin’ up your badge?”

“It’s too painful stayin’ around here.”

After a moment, Rion nodded. “I understand.”

“I’m stayin’ until the hangin’, but the town’s gonna need a good man as Sheriff. What d’ya think about takin’ my job?”

“Me?”

“Folks ’round here know you because of the trials, and they respect ya after hearin’ all Maya and them did to get you. I’ll put in a good word if you want the job.”

Rion stared. “You joshin’ me?”

“No, sir. I figure you’re the right man—especially considerin’ you got kin about these parts.”

“You heard about Andromeda.”

“I meant Dutch and the Kealeys. She’s stayin’ too?”

“Just found out.”

“What about the other sister?”

“They’ll still be workin’ for Pinkerton, but maybe he’ll assign ’em out this way so we can keep a connection.”

Downing grinned, the expression tinged with sadness. “Betcha he will.”

“I—” Rion extended a hand. “I been thinkin’ about settlin’ down. It’ll make it easier to get to know my kin—and Lu. If you think Cambria Springs’ll accept me as Sheriff, I’ll take the job.”

“They will.” He shook Rion’s hand. “The town council liked the idea.”

“Town council. That’s movin’ kinda fast.”

“Time’s short. I got a week until those three hang. Then I’m out.”

Rion shook his head. “I guess you’re right.”

“Least I can do after the hard time I gave you.”

They spoke a moment more; Rion paid him for the cell door he’d mangled and then returned to the others out front.

“Everything okay?” Lu met him as he approached.

“I just got offered a job.”

“A job?”

“Sheriff of Cambria Springs.” A smile overtook him. “I took it, effective after the hanging.”

“You’re not going back to bounty hunting?”

He pulled her close. “When Seth met Lena, he had to give up bounty huntin’ so he could court her proper. Now that I got you and Calliope and Andromeda, that job ain’t the right fit anymore. I need to be more settled. Unless y’all don’t want me around.”

Lu laughed. “What do you say, ladies?”

Calliope and Andromeda slipped from their saddles and came to throw their arms around him. “It’s the best news we’ve heard in fifteen years.”