Brides of Prairie Gold (45 page)

The instant Cody saw Miles ride into the fort and leap off his horse, he knew something was bad wrong. Miles Dawson was a dependable hand; he wouldn't desert his post beside the arms wagon without a damned good reason. Cody left the men talking beneath the cottonwoods and strode rapidly forward, spotting Webb coming from the far side of the fort, a frown drawing his brow. They converged on Miles Dawson.

"Slow down, son. Start over at the beginning." Cody listened and his jaw dropped.

"All I know is there's a dead son of a bitch laying on the ground, and Miss Augusta, I think she's dead too. Miss Thorp and Mrs. Waverly have blood on them, but they don't seem hurt much. Mrs. Waverly sent me to fetch you and a doctor if I can find one. Frank stayed behind with the arms wagon."

Cody glanced at Webb. Webb nodded, then returned to the fort buildings, his expression seemingly unconcerned, his stride more rapid and purposeful than it would appear to a casual observer. If there was a doctor at the fort, Webb would find him. And Webb would know the dead man's identity before nightfall. He would accomplish this without alerting anyone that a problem existed.

"All right." Cody placed a hand on Miles's shoulder. "I'll get my horse, then you and I are going to ride out of here nice and slow, like nothing's wrong. Understand? We don't want anyone getting agitated until we learn what happened."

"I never seen a woman beat like that, Captain. Miss Augusta, she was the prettiest woman I ever"

"Stow it. We'll talk later." Quickly, he scanned the people loitering in the shade beneath the porch roofs fronting a makeshift boardwalk. When he spotted Heck, he gestured him toward the horses. "Keep our people here for another three hours," he ordered curtly. "Are the wagons ready to roll?"

Heck's eyebrows lifted like rising half moons. "I thought we were going to rest here for another two days."

"We'll roll in three hours, as soon as you bring the women back to the train and we can get under way."

"What"

"Not now." Wheeling the buckskin, he trotted toward Miles Dawson, grinding his teeth in frustration and wishing he had more information. Perrin. Was she injured? The possibility made him feel sick inside. He wanted to kick the buckskin into a canter, but knew it would be folly to raise questions until he discovered the answers himself. He and Miles rode toward the train at a leisurely pace until they dropped below a grassy rise. Then Cody galloped straight to Augusta's wagon.

He jumped from his horse and tossed the reins to Miles. "Go back to the arms wagon with Frank," he ordered. "I'll call you if I need you." If this had been a diversionary tactic, the arms wagon would have been gone by now. That he had spotted the wagon as they rode up provided enormous relief.

"Oh, Cody!"

Perrin flew into his arms and pressed her head to his chest as he ran his hands over her shaking arms, her throat, her face, checking for injuries. She was smeared with blood, but apparently it wasn't hers, thank God. He wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly while he whispered a prayer of gratitude.

She spoke against his chest and he only heard a fraction of what she said, but he understood that she had killed a man who was attacking Augusta. Holding her, stroking the hair that had fallen around her face, he looked over her head at the blanket-covered form on the ground.

Cora watched them, her mouth open in surprise, but he couldn't think about that now. "Who was he?"

Cora swallowed and tears sprang to her eyes. "He said his name was John Eaggleston." She wrung her hands. "I just wanted to scare Augusta, that's all. I just wanted to get back at her a little for being so mean. I swear I didn't know he would try to kill her!"

Perrin shivered against him, pressing close as if she wanted to melt into the heat of his body.

"Eaggleston, Eaggleston." Frowning, he tried to recall where he had heard that name.

The answer spilled out of Cora, reminding him of the man and woman he had buried. "I think Augusta found some money either in their wagon or near it, but I don't really know," she finished. "I just know that before we stopped to bury them she only had a few gold pieces that I ever saw, and afterward she had enough gold pieces to fill the brim of her Sunday hat. So I thought but maybe it wasn't that way. I don't know. I just"

"Where's Augusta now?"

"We put her inside the wagon." Cora lifted a bottle. "I went to look for something to help with the pain."

"Webb is searching for a doctor. Right now, I want you to stay with Augusta. I need to speak to Mrs. Waverly."

Mrs. Waverly was weeping on his chest and holding on to him as if they were very familiar with each other's bodies. Cody returned Cora's long stare. Whatever conclusions she might draw was a problem that would have to wait.

As soon as Cora climbed into Augusta's wagon, Cody held Perrin a little away from his body and examined the tears streaming down her cheeks. "First. Are you all right?"

"No," she whispered, looking up at him with those huge, thick-lashed, cinnamon-colored eyes. "Cody I killed a man. I shot him with his own gun. Oh, God, I think I'm going to be sick again."

He followed her toward a clump of chokecherries and held her head, then helped her back to her own wagon and gave her a ladle of water to rinse her mouth. Then he gently pushed her into a camp chair and knelt beside her, taking her hand.

"Tell me what happened. Take your time." When she finished talking, looking sick again, gaps remained in the story, but he'd begun to grasp the outline of it.

"Perrin, listen to me. If you and Cora hadn't displayed extraordinary courage and attacked Eaggleston, he would have killed Augusta. Once you were involved, he would have killed you too. By shooting him, you saved Augusta's life, and probably your own and Cora's."

She stared at him through tear stained eyes. "But I killed a man!"

"And that's hard," he said, smoothing a tendril of dark hair off her cheek. No one forgot the first time he shot and killed a man, and no one emerged unchanged. "But you saved three lives. Think about that, Perrin."

She pressed her fingertips to her forehead, and he watched her trying to pull herself together. "What do we do now?"

"I'm going to get Miles and we'll bury Eaggleston. As soon as a doctor has done what he can for Augusta, we'll move out. What I want you to do is clean the blood off your hands and skirt. Instruct Cora to do the same. Too many people know what happened for this to remain a secret, but maybe we can contain it until we've put Fort Boise well behind us. I don't want you detained for an inquiry into Eaggleston's death."

Slowly the shock faded from her beautiful eyes. He knew the instant she was thinking clearly again. Her shoulders slumped and her lips parted in a long breath. "Would they charge me with murder?"

Cody shrugged. "It's possible. We aren't going to let that happen."

"Cora saw me throw myself into your arms, didn't she?" Tilting her head back, she gazed at the sky. "I didn't think. All I knew was that I needed you."

"There's something I want to say, but now isn't the time." When she lowered her head and gazed at him, he cursed himself for imparting a wrong impression. "It's about money."

"Oh."

Why couldn't he tell her that he loved her? Did he love her? And if he did, was he ready to tear up his plans and his life? Was he prepared to take that kind of risk again? He pulled a hand down his face.

"Will you be all right if I leave you?"

She stared at him. "Yes." Standing, she swayed, then steadied on her feet. "I'll change and wash up, then I'll go to Augusta so Cora can" She gave her head a shake. "I killed a man."

"Thank God he didn't kill you."

He made himself walk away from her.

Dr. Falkenburg rilled a basin of water from the barrel, then washed his hands at the sideboard. "I've done what I can for her. And I've left two bottles of opiates with Mrs. Waverly." He dried his hands and squinted at Cody and Webb. "Miss Boyd endured a brutal beating, gentlemen. She'll need care for a least two weeks. But she'll recover."

"She was a beautiful woman," Cody stated in an expressionless voice. "Will she be disfigured?"

Dr. Falkenburg shrugged. "I did the best I could with her nose, but it's going to be crooked. She's lost two teeth. Other than that"

Cody pressed a gold eagle into the doctor's hand, then he and Webb walked away from the wagon to watch Falkenburg ride back toward Fort Boise. "What did you find out?"

"He went by several names. John Eaggleston, John Ryland, John Sneed."

Cody glanced at Webb's frown. "Ryland? Like the Ryland who stopped at Fort Bridger and asked how much James Conklin would pay for a load of arms and ammunition?"

Webb nodded. "It's almost certain that Ryland or Eaggleston is part of Jake Quinton's gang. But I'm guessing what happened here is probably a personal issue. Eaggleston was asking about our train before we arrived. But he wasn't talking about weapons, he was talking about a box of gold pieces. When Eaggleston drank, his mouth ran. Consequently, it seems to be general knowledge that Eaggleston and his brother robbed a bank in central Missouri, then split up, intending to meet in Laramie. The brother was bringing the money from the bank robbery."

"We can piece together the rest," Cody said, swallowing the last of his coffee. "Eaggleston and his wife die along the trail. We stop to bury them. Maybe Augusta found Eaggleston's money or maybe she didn't, but Cora decides that she did. Cora's carrying a grudge, so she starts looking for anyone with an interest in the Eagglestons. She sends him to scare Augusta."

"The reason Cora didn't locate Eaggleston earlier is that he's been ahead of us until recently."

"Eaggleston must be a newcomer to Quinton's gang, or he would have found us when Quinton did."

"He's been looking for us. He probably figured whoever buried his brother also took the bank money. Something you need to know: Eaggleston was waiting at the fort for Quinton. Quinton can't be far behind."

Cody thought for a minute. "Once Quinton arrives at Fort Boise and begins inquiries, someone will recall that Eaggleston paid a visit to our train and hasn't been seen since. Quinton just found one more reason to come after us."

"Revenge and profit weren't enough?"

There was no humor in their quiet laughter.

My Journal, 1852. I don't know what month it is or what day it is. I don't care anymore. I'm so tired, so exhausted and heartsick.

The whore has bewitched him; she has stolen Cody away from me.

Ellen accused me of imagining things. Ellen said I was insane. My own cousin said that. But I'm not imagining the way they stand too close, the way their hands brush and how they look at each other.

His flaw is that he is drawn to whores. So it was with Ellen, and now with Perrin.

I dreamed of Ellen last night and it was like I was standing over her again, pushing the pillow down on her face. When I woke, I remembered the baby and was glad it was stillborn, glad I didn't have to put the pillow over his face too. I couldn't have forgiven Cody if he'd made me put the pillow on the baby's face.