VIOLET WAS TACKLED BY two of the guards, who gagged her and tied her up for the night. They put her on a bedroll and tossed a blanket over her. She craned her neck to try to catch a glimpse of Morgan, who lay behind her, which was a little too difficult to attempt more than a few times, and he wasn’t looking at her anyway. She so regretted not getting a chance to convince him that she hadn’t betrayed him. He obviously hadn’t believed her when she’d said it. And now she might never get another chance.
When she awoke, dawn had come and gone. The sun hadn’t topped the ranges to the east yet, but the sky was bright with early morning light. Just one campfire was burning and a pot of coffee was boiling on a rack that had been placed over it. By rolling her body, she managed to sit up, and glanced over to where Morgan lay, but couldn’t tell if his eyes were open yet. Her hands, which were tied behind her back, tingled uncomfortably.
One of the guards poured cups of coffee for Sullivan and himself, but didn’t offer her one, so she had a feeling she wasn’t going to be untied today. Why would they bother when it was likely she’d have an “accident” later and end up in a shallow grave before day’s end?
Violet was startled by the thunderous sound of hoofbeats. Sullivan looked alarmed as at least twenty men on horseback surrounded his camp.
He grabbed the arm of one of his men and shoved him toward Violet. “Untie her immediately, and take off that gag!”
But when the man took a step toward Violet, a bullet hit the dirt between them, changing his mind. Rifles were already aimed at Sullivan and his men.
As the posse dismounted and started handcuffing Sullivan’s guards and collecting their weapons, Sullivan walked confidently over to a big, barrel-chested man who looked older than the others and remained seated on his horse. “You’re just the man I wanted to see, Sheriff Gibson. Callahan over here”—he gestured toward Morgan, who was still bound and gagged—“showed up last night and abducted Miss Mitchell. If my men hadn’t rescued her, good Lord, who knows what would have happened to her. Arrest that scoundrel immediately!”
The sheriff tipped his wide-brimmed hat back and smiled down at Shawn. It wasn’t a friendly smile. “Save it for the judge, Mr. Sullivan. Imagine my surprise, if you can, when a dead man walked into my office yesterday, and quite a tale Charles Mitchell had to tell. Oh, and even better, your own housekeeper confirmed every word of it.”
As one of the men in the posse helped Violet to her feet and took off her gag and untied her, she saw that Sullivan no longer looked so self-righteous. In fact, he was scowling. “I just took the burden off Dr. Cantry by letting Mitchell convalesce in my house. He should be thanking me, not accusing me of wrongdoing.”
Sheriff Gibson laughed. “Is that so? Then I’m guessing you don’t know that he regained consciousness sooner than you thought and was awake to hear you and your sister discussing when and how to kill him?”
Sullivan’s face turned red. Gibson continued, “So here’s the thing, Mr. Sullivan. Abduction and confinement of good law-abiding folks doesn’t sit well with our circuit judge. Falsifying a man’s death and causing his family untold grief, when all along you’ve got the fella imprisoned in your attic, won’t either. And here you are giving me even more evidence against you, out here trying to steal a couple of mines, hog-tying the two owners of those mines. The judge really won’t like that charge, not when he’s a mine owner himself, you know. But I do thank you, Mr. Sullivan. Been a long while that I’ve been hankering to tell you that you’re under arrest, and that’s what I’m telling you now.”
“You’re making a mistake, Sheriff Gibson,” Sullivan said furiously. “I warn you—”
The sheriff interrupted sharply, “Like I said, save it for the judge. You know they hang horse thieves out here. Won’t be long before they start hanging mine thieves, too. You better hope the judge hasn’t reached that point yet. And don’t think I won’t be presenting my earlier suspicions alongside all these new facts, like those two mines on either side of yours that you miraculously managed to buy right before the owners had very odd accidents. But you were careful then not to leave a trail of crumbs. Weren’t so careful this time, now, were you?”
“I haven’t killed anyone.”
“That anyone knows about. But I have not one but two signed statements that you intended to commit murder. And I reckon I’ll have two more before we leave here.” He paused to look at Morgan, who’d been freed from his bonds, and asked him, “Did he threaten to kill you in so many words?”
“He was very clear that he’d kill Miss Mitchell if I didn’t show him the way to my mine.”
The sheriff glanced at Violet. “Did you hear Mr. Sullivan say that?”
“I can repeat every word exactly,” she assured him.
Gibson grinned. “Then I reckon it’s a good thing I brought some paper with me so you both can write it all down. No need for you two to wait until the court convenes. Signed statements are just as good around here.” And then his eyes pinned Sullivan again. “The judge just might think that’s enough to warrant a hanging. Stew on that on the way back to town.”
“After my lawyer gets through with you, you’ll never work in this territory again, Gibson!” Sullivan snarled.
“Someone gag him.” The sheriff’s response drew a few chuckles from the posse.
Violet rubbed her wrists and took a step toward Morgan, but the nasty look he gave her stopped her cold. That hurt, his not wanting to talk to her or share this moment of relief with her. She remembered the angry, possessive way he’d kissed her last night, and also the beautiful, passionate night they’d shared when he was so loving and irresistible, the many caring things he’d done for her. She would never forget any of that, but it was just as well that they keep their distance from each other, because she would be leaving soon. Yet she hoped she would have a chance to explain to him why she’d run off.
“Are you all right, Miss Mitchell?” Sheriff Gibson was approaching her.
“I am now, thanks to you, Sheriff. I was so scared that you wouldn’t arrive in time.”
“We caught up to you last night, but didn’t want to attempt to capture Sullivan while it was dark, which could have turned messy with men dying needlessly. But you weren’t in any more danger. I left a couple men to watch your camp. This bunch wasn’t going anywhere without my knowing about it. You were very brave to go along with Sullivan and lead him on a wild goose chase so Miss Hall could get your father out of Sullivan’s house. They’re safe at my office with Deputy Barnes. I reckon you and Miss Hall are the heroines of the day. Without you, Sullivan’s ruthlessness and perfidy wouldn’t have been exposed so thoroughly.”
She blushed a little, glancing at Morgan to see if he’d heard the sheriff’s praise and understood now that she hadn’t betrayed him. He was within earshot of the sheriff’s voice, but he wasn’t looking her way.
Sheriff Gibson had followed her gaze, and addressed Morgan: “Didn’t recognize you at first without your beard, Callahan. Isn’t this little lady amazing?”
Morgan still didn’t look at her when he replied, “She’s the bravest debutante I’ve ever met.”
Violet blushed further with the realization that he’d never met any other debutantes, so he wasn’t really agreeing with the sheriff.