Lilly got to her feet and raced toward Pepper. “Stay away from her!” she shouted. The handlers stopped and watched with wary eyes. When she got closer to Pepper, Lilly slowed and put out a hand. “It’s all right. Calm down, girl, you’re okay.”
Pepper’s sad, amber eyes sought Lilly’s, her impossibly long lashes splattered with droplets of blood. She sighed, a low rattling sound that was more of a moan, reached for Lilly’s hand with her trunk, and pulled her closer. Lilly choked back a sob and leaned against Pepper, unable to speak around the burning lump in her throat. With a grave look on his face, Cole came over and picked up Pepper’s leg chain. Behind her, the Rowe & Company handlers quickly prodded JoJo back up the ramp and into the boxcar, jabbing the cattle prod into his neck every time he tried to glance back at his mother.
“Chain that goddamned bull down!” Mr. Barlow ordered his handlers.
“Kill it!” one of the townies shouted.
“Kill it!” someone else yelled. “Kill the elephant!”
Other voices joined in, “Kill the elephant! Kill the elephant!”
Lilly shook her head, the world a blur though her tears. No, no, no, her mind screamed. This can’t be happening. It just can’t. She took a few steps away from Pepper, toward the Barlow Brothers’ train. “Come,” she managed. Pepper stood rooted to the ground, head hanging. “Please, Pepper. You’ve got to follow me.”
Cole gave her leg chain a gentle tug. “Come on, girl,” he said. “It’s time to go.”
The sheriff approached with his rifle, his finger on the trigger, ready to shoot again. Mr. Barlow followed, his sweat-covered face pale, motioning his handlers forward. The walrus-mustached man from Rowe & Company drew a pistol from the waist of his suit and moved toward Pepper, his mouth hard. Lilly turned toward them and held out her arms.
“Please,” she said, choking back tears. “Don’t shoot her. She was just trying to protect her baby. You can’t punish a mother for acting like a mother, or an animal for acting like an animal.”
Cole moved between Lilly and the men. “Let us take her back to the train,” he said. “She’s not going to hurt anyone else.”
“The hell she won’t,” the sheriff said.
“Listen,” Cole said. “I’ve worked with this bull my entire life. She doesn’t have a mean bone in her body.”
“She’s got the taste a’ blood now,” one of the railroad officials said. “She’s a murderer.”
“That’s right,” the sheriff said.
Just then, Viktor stormed around the caboose of the Barlow Brothers’ train. The townies gasped and looked at one another with confusion and fear. Some moved farther away. Viktor hurried over to Merrick’s lifeless body and dropped to his knees, his giant shoulders slumped. He put a hand on Merrick’s neck to feel for a pulse, listened to his chest, then threw back his head and howled, a low, guttural, awful-sounding cry that tore from his throat. Everyone froze, their mouths and eyes wide with shock. Several women held trembling fingers over their lips and started to cry while others twisted their faces in disgust. The mournful sound pierced Lilly’s soul and she nearly cried out too, devastated for JoJo and Pepper. When it was over, Viktor staggered upright, scooped Merrick’s broken, bloody body into his muscular arms, and trudged back to the Barlow Brothers’ train.
“What the hell was that?” the sheriff said.
“Never mind that freak,” the mustached man from Rowe & Company said. “What are we doing about this damn bull?” The men retrained their guns on Pepper.
“Now listen, boys,” Mr. Barlow said. “You can’t just kill a $20,000 elephant. If this bull needs to be shot, I’ll be the one to do it. If nothing else, she’ll keep my big cats fed for a week.” He jerked his chin at Cole. “Put her back on the train.”
“Now hold on,” the sheriff said. “That elephant’s gone rogue. You can’t put it back in the circus.”
“For Christ’s sake, I’m not an idiot,” Mr. Barlow said. “From here on out, that bull will be raising tents and hauling equipment. If she acts up, I’ll put her down. My bull, my problem. Unless whoever finishes her off wants to pay me what she’s worth.”
Reluctantly, the men lowered their guns.
Lilly’s shoulders sagged in relief. “Come on, girl,” she said to Pepper. “Let’s go.”
Cole tugged on Pepper’s leg chain again and, after what seemed like forever, she took a tentative step forward, then another. The sheriff and handlers moved back to give her room, still on high alert. Lilly walked backward beside Cole and urged Pepper to follow them toward the Barlow Brothers’ train. Pepper took half a dozen more steps, then stopped and glanced back at JoJo standing in the open door of the stock car, his legs in chains. Lilly called Pepper’s name, pleading with her to keep moving forward, and after a few long seconds, she did as she was told. The sheriff and the Rowe & Company man followed, guns at the ready. When they reached the Barlow Brothers’ caboose, Pepper stopped and looked back at JoJo again. Tear tracks stained her cheeks. JoJo raised his trunk and bellowed.
“Shut that bloody door!” the bald man from Rowe & Company shouted. The handlers shoved JoJo backward into the car and pushed the door across its railings, slamming it shut with a final thud. Pepper flattened her ears and hung her head.
Lilly could barely see though her tears. “Come on, Pepper,” she managed. “Come with me, sweet girl.”
Pepper moaned, long and low, and trudged on, her wide feet dragging in the dust. Streaks of blood ran down her legs like circus stripes. By the time Cole, Lilly, and Pepper made their way to the other side of the Barlow Brothers’ train, Flossie and Petunia, along with the horses, had been reloaded. Viktor had disappeared with Merrick’s body, and Glory was making her way toward them with Phoebe in her arms, her brow furrowed. When they reached each other, Lilly took Phoebe and hugged Glory hard. Cole stopped to kiss his daughter. Behind them, Pepper stopped too. Lilly’s throat and nose were so swollen from crying she could hardly breathe. She drew away from Glory’s embrace and searched her face.
“I’m sorry about Merrick,” she managed.
“Me too,” Cole said.
“It’s all right,” Glory said. She ran a hand under her nose. “From what I heard, the bastard had it coming.”
Lilly didn’t know what to say. Glory was right, Merrick had finally paid the ultimate price for being so cruel, but she would never say that out loud. Because even after Glory moved out of Merrick’s car, she still cared about him. Whether it was blind love or gratitude for saving Viktor, Lilly had no idea. But she had to respect Glory’s feelings, no matter how misguided she thought they were.
“I’m sorry about JoJo,” Glory said. “And Pepper.”
Lilly nodded, gave her another hug, and they started walking again. Pepper followed, lost in her misery. Lilly clasped Phoebe to her chest and kissed her soft forehead, her endless tears falling on her daughter’s blond curls. Phoebe peeked over Lilly’s shoulder and pointed at Pepper with a drool-covered finger.
“Pepa!” she said in a high, excited voice. She giggled and gazed at Lilly with bright, happy eyes.