chapter Twenty-Three
Mack Taylor stumbled away from the freight office. It was Friday, the end of a good work week, and like always he’d bought himself a little bottle from the saloon. It had been his intention to go behind the freight office and celebrate his liberty. He hadn’t expected to hear the exchange between Gentry and the army officer. His hands were shaking. Popping the top off the bottle, he raised it to his lips and drank a few gulps of liquid courage, then wiped his hand across his mouth.
He’d never been a hero. Never wanted to stand out in a crowd, but he had to tell somebody. He thought about Rand Weston, but he’d ridden out about a half hour ago, something about an urgent telegram. That left only one other person, Marshal Castillo. Turning the bottle upside down, he closed his eyes and let the rest of the contents drain down his throat.
Crossing away from the freight office, he moved behind the corral, keeping to the shadows and making a beeline for the sheriff’s office.
****
Trace adjusted his tie in the small mirror over the dresser. Elaine had brought him a telegram from the marshal in San Antonio. It seemed the captain had served with the cavalry during the late war with his half-brother, Moe. That connection fit well. Another telegram to the fort confirmed his suspicions that the officer did not get along well with his superior. “All good reasons to want to leave,” he mumbled, as his fingers finished with the tie. Downstairs, he heard the door to the sheriff’s office open and close.
“Marshal?”
“Up here,” he called out, and turned to reach for his jacket lying across the end of the bed.
“Marshal?”
Trace paused. The voice didn’t belong to his friend but to the livery hand. Grabbing his jacket, he hurried down the stairs. Stepping into Rand’s office, he found Mack pacing back and forth before the desk, wringing his hands.
“What’s the matter?”
“I gotta tell someone, I gotta.”
A cold fear crept across his shoulders. He kept an eye on the man as he crossed to the coffeepot that Rand always kept on the stove. “Why don’t you sit down, Mack.”
“You’re the law when there ain’t nobody else, right?”
“That’s the way the State looks at it,” Trace answered. “Sit down. Tell me what’s got you all shook up.”
He watched the man swallow, then lower his body to the chair. “I heard ’em.” Mack looked up with a tortured face. “He killed Daniel and Moe. I heard him say it.”
Trace’s nerves came alive. He leaned down. “Who?”
Slowly, with painstaking accuracy, Mack gave him every detail of what he’d overheard in the freight office, confirming Trace’s worst fears. He reached to the peg behind the desk where his gun belt rested.
“Who else knows about this?” he asked, strapping on his weapons.
“Just me,” Mack replied. His eyes grew large. “He could have killed me, just like he did his brother…”
“Yeah, but we’re not gonna let that happen. I’m escorting you over to the hotel. Doc’s over there, and I’m gonna get Elaine to put you in a safe room with Doc until the bouncer from the saloon can get over there as protection.”
“Clyde can ride for Sheriff Weston,” Mack suggested, standing.
Trace’s mouth pressed firm. There were other things in the works he couldn’t spill, not just yet. He pulled the keys from the desk, unlocked the rifle case, and pulled one down. “Hold this,” he told Mack, and relocked the rack. “All right, let’s go, and you stay close to me.”
Blowing out the light, he waited until his eyes adjusted to the dusk. Then, opening the door, he ushered Mack before him to the hotel and prayed he could get to Mary Rose in time.
Keeping his back to the buildings, Trace Castillo made his way to the Thornton house while keeping a watchful eye out for anything that moved. Across the way, light showed in the first floor window of the parlor. He paused, trying to see if there was any movement. But no one walked past a window. He needed to know where the captain was and if he had done anything to the women.
As silent as death, he stepped onto the porch. His back against the wooden clapboard, he peered around into the parlor window. The dining room table had been set and food awaited, but he didn’t see Mary Rose. Perhaps she was in the kitchen. Moving to the back, he looked in the window over the sink, but that room stood empty as well. A cold knot formed in the pit of his belly. He moved to the back door and eased it opened. His weapon held level at his waist, he crossed the kitchen and took a tentative look into the dining room.
He nearly missed her, sitting at the end of the table in the shadows. The bump of the chair against the floor made him turn his head. With a keen eye to the stairway, he crossed over and knelt beside Penny.
“Easy now,” he whispered, and began to undo the cords that bound her arms to the chair. With one arm freed, he moved to the other while she fumbled to get the gag from her mouth.
“She’s upstairs,” Penny hissed. “My…my husband is mad. He killed her brother, and now he wants some gold coin.”
“I know,” Trace assured her. “Listen to me. We’ve got to get you out of here. Can you walk?”
She nodded.
Helping her to stand, he led her to the open back door. “We’ll go around to the left and keep in the shadows. Elaine Harmon is waiting for us at the hotel.” Penny nodded and stepped out the door.
They made their way across the street to the boardwalk. There he continued to position her before him, his body protecting her, and he kept a watchful eye on the shadows. Just as they reached the hotel, Penny paused. Touching his hand, she said, “She loves you, Marshal, but if you love her, you are going to have to bend your pride and tell her so.”
“I do love her.” He heard the words come from his lips and knew they were true. Perhaps he had been infatuated with the lure of Amelia, but in his heart he knew Mary Rose was his woman. “I will tell her now and every day for the rest of my life.”
As they reached the hotel, Elaine opened the door, and Penny disappeared inside.
“Any word from Rand?”
Elaine shook her head.
Trace took a deep breath. “Take care of them.”
“I will. God speed, Marshal. Bring her back safe.”
Trace touched his forehead as Elaine closed the door, and he waited until he heard the lock click. Moving quietly in the night, he kept his eyes peeled for trouble. Wallace was in the house with Mary Rose. Gentry had yet to show his hand. He knew the captain had to come out into the open if she stood any chance of survival.
His back against the wall of the building closest to the Thornton house, he studied the light moving downstairs and to the left. Using the darkness, he crossed to the stand of trees between the buildings, crept as close as possible, and waited. Before long, he caught a glimpse of Wallace as he shoved Mary Rose against the wall and opened the cashbox. A look of confusion crossed his face. Through the glass, he heard the muted exchange between the two.
“Where’s the coin?”
“It was in there,” she replied.
“It’s not here now.”
“Maybe the man you had watching me has it?”
He stepped closer.
Trace’s fear and anger grew.
“No, he said you had it.” Wallace grabbed her arm. “Tell me, or so help me, I’ll kill her and then you.”
“You’ll never get the coin then,” Mary Rose snapped.
With a roar of anger, he shoved her toward the parlor.
Trace edged closer to the house, knowing that once Wallace got to the parlor he’d see Penny was gone.
“Where is she?” Wallace growled. “She couldn’t have gotten away.”
“What do you care? You won’t get away with this,” Trace heard Mary Rose bravely remark. “I know about the bank account. You made those deposits, didn’t you?”
“You’re a smart little strumpet, aren’t you? I bet that no-good half-breed marshal has spirited her away,” he snapped. “But I have you. I hardly think he can stop me now.”
“They will, you know. They will stop you. Otherwise you wouldn’t be so desperate to get that coin. What does that coin mean, anyway?”
“The coin?” He laughed. “That coin is my golden ticket to the good life.”
“You’re a fool, Captain Wallace. Penny will never go with you.”
“Penny,” he snapped, “is a millstone around my neck. Let someone else raise that brat.” He towered over Mary Rose’s petite frame. “Once I get that coin, I’m going to meet the buyer for the rifles, and you, my dear, are just added protection.”
Her expression fell. Trace hated seeing the fear in her eyes.
“Yes, I hardly think the marshal will fire at me with his beloved in the crossfire.”
Trace’s blood boiled with anger as Wallace brought his fingers down Mary Rose’s face. “You’ve put out for him, haven’t you? I can see it in your eyes. Well, when we get done, I’ll show you a few things I bet he doesn’t know.”
The captain shoved her toward the front door, and Trace moved to block the side road and cut off their escape. He didn’t want anything to tip off Wallace that he was here. From this vantage point, he could see them move out of the house. The creak of wood on the porch warned him of their coming. Hate washed over him as he watched Wallace hurry Mary Rose down the steps.
He allowed them to move past him. He needed time for Rand to get back. Summoning up his courage, he stepped out of the shadows behind them. “Evening, Captain Wallace. Going somewhere?”
“Trace,” Mary Rose gasped and tried to pull away from her captor.
The captain whirled, surprise showing on his face, and yanked her before him. It took a moment for him to compose himself before the corner of his lip curled into a sneer. “Well, what a nice surprise. Your being here saves me a little time, Marshal.”
“Indeed. Let the girl go, Wallace, and we’ll talk.”
“Let the girl go? How amusing.” The captain’s fingers curled more tightly around her arm, and Trace read her terror in the widening of her eyes. “You think because you wear that badge I’ll let her go? Maybe even turn myself over to you?”
“In theory.” Trace gave a shrug of his shoulders. “But as I see it, you’ve got few choices. Sheriff Weston will be here in a few minutes, and...”
At that, the captain laughed. “Oh, don’t you know? He’s out chasing a ghost in Coyote Canyon. When he returns, it will be too late. He never thought to look in the barn at the old Willard place.”
“You and your accomplice have it all figured out, don’t you?” Trace said. “But I’ve got the coin.”
Mary Rose silently mouthed, “No!” Wallace nervously licked his lips. “You? You can’t...”
Trace could see he hadn’t been expected to know about that. A step forward cut the distance between him and his quarry.
“Yes, you thought you could pull a fast one. But Mary Rose was onto Gentry. That’s why she brought the coin to me, and I locked it up in the hotel safe.” He glanced at Mary Rose, whose mouth stood agape.
“You couldn’t have known,” growled Wallace. He glanced at Mary Rose, then back at Trace. “She hadn’t told anyone.”
“But I did.” Mary Rose replied, finding her voice. She twisted her arm, trying to get free. “Daniel knew, too. He told me about it, and what to do should anything happen to him.”
“Daniel knew nothing,” Wallace growled, his eyes narrowing.
“Oh, but you’re wrong,” she replied. “He figured out that money was being put into an account under his name, but he didn’t know by whom. That’s why he gave me the records of each transaction.”
“Liar.”
“It was you, wasn’t it?” Trace coaxed, keeping his voice level.
Augustus Wallace nodded. “Yeah, it was me. That dumb Irishman made it too easy. But you want to know about the guns, don’t you?”
“It’s the last bit of the puzzle.”
Wallace’s confidence grew. “I’m sure you’ve heard of the Lion of Coahuila?”
A cold hand swept in, closing around Trace’s heart. The shadows covered the wobble of his hand.
“Yes.” Wallace’s cold eyes stared back. “Your own half-brother. It seems Don Castillo is interested in acquiring good military-quality rifles for the conservative defense of Mexico. The pay is excellent. Maybe this time you’ll be interested enough to join.”
“Unlike you, I will not betray my country,” Trace replied.
“Then it leaves all the more for those who will.”
“That coin is to signal the marshal’s brother that you have the rifles. That’s why it’s so important,” gasped Mary Rose.
“You’re a bit too smart,” Wallace snapped. “Your brother cost me that first handoff. But not this time. Once I produce the coin, I get ten thousand American dollars.”
“So you’d sell out the lives of Americans along the border for your own greed,” she spit.
A shot rang out. Wallace screamed in agony and turned. Mary Rose gave a startled cry, losing her footing with her sudden release and falling to the ground. Another shot echoed. Wallace grabbed his middle and fell also.
Mary Rose turned enough to watch, horrified, as he writhed in pain. Augustus Wallace’s gaze latched onto hers. “I would have been free,” he murmured. “Free.” His hand reached out. His fingers curled around thin air, and his eyes glossed over. He was dead.
“I got him, I got him.” Gentry’s frantic cries came from down the street. Trace stepped close and stood over her. “Whatever happens, do not move.”
“Trace,” she whispered.
“Do not move,” he said again.
She eased her body to the ground as low as possible and waited. Gentry’s footsteps echoed as he came closer and emerged from the shadows.
“Gentry, in the name of the Great State of Texas, lay down your weapon and surrender to the law,” Trace’s voice rang out.
“I shot him. I shot Wallace for you.” Gentry sounded confused. “He was going to kill you, Marshal.”
“No, you shot Wallace because he was going to name you as his accomplice. Unfortunately, you’re a little too late. I have a witness who overheard you in the freight office.”
“No! No, you’re lying.” Gentry took a step back, the moonlight shadowing the horror of truth.
“Put it down,” Trace called again as he stepped over the dead body of the army captain.
“Please, God,” she prayed.
“No,” Gentry hissed, raising his .45.
The silence in the street was deafening.
Trace stared into the glittering eyes of his adversary. He watched Gentry’s mouth twitch and his hand flex against the pistol.
Mary Rose screamed as two shots rang out. Trace had leaned to his right, smoke curling from the end of his pistol, and Gentry was prostrate on the ground. She raised her head as a tall man moved out of the shadows and approached them.
“You all right?” he asked, his voice carrying a hint of a proper British accent. She caught the flutter of ruffles on his shirt as they danced in the breeze.
“Fine.” Trace grimaced. “Just a scratch. Check on Gentry, will you?” he asked the man before bending to assure himself she was all right.
“Mary Rose?” His hands moved over her arms. “Tell me you’re fine.” He helped her scramble to her feet, and, once standing, she flew into his arms.
“I’m fine, fine. Don’t you ever leave me, you hear me?”
He wrapped his arms around her. “No, never, my love,” he whispered as she peppered his face with kisses.
“I love you, Trace Castillo. Penny told me I was being a fool. She was right.” She hugged him even tighter. “I can’t live without you.”
“And I love you, my sweet Irish Rose.” He kissed her soundly until the gentleman behind them chuckled. Breaking the kiss, Trace looked over her shoulder. He released her, and she turned. “Mary Rose, allow me to introduce you to a friend of mine, Robert Wythe, out of Claiborne, one of the governor’s right-hand men. Did you find the rifles?”
“Of course. The Willard ranch has an easy trail to the Rio,” he replied. “While there, we chased a friend of yours back to the other side of the border. Sheriff Weston’s on the road with the wagonload of rifles. He’ll have them in town by morning. Good call, Marshal. The governor will be pleased. I’m sure he’ll want a full report in person.”
“My regrets to the governor, Wythe, but it will have to wait,” he replied, looking down into Mary Rose’s shimmering eyes.
“Why?”
“I’ll be taking some time.” He smiled. “For a long honeymoon.”
“You’re getting married?” The words slipped from the astonished lawman’s mouth.
“Just as soon as you get Father Tomas, for I will not go another night without my Irish Rose in my arms.” He turned to look at the woman he held. “I love you, Mary Rose. Will you honor me by agreeing to be my wife?”
With a trembling smile, she nodded her head.
“Well, then, ma’am, I remand this poor besotted man into your custody until death do you part, and may that be a long time.”
“Amen,” she replied, kissing her beloved with all the love in her heart.