Texas Pride: Night Riders (23 page)

Ivan tried to convince himself the man Kesney had seen couldn’t have been Laveau, but ever since the war, Laveau had managed to stay close to at least one of the men he’d betrayed. If he was here, it was because something had gone wrong with the scheme in which Ivan had unwittingly become a part.

“We must get Kesney to the doctor,” Ivan said.

Danny objected. “I’m going to see Beth.”

“You have no horse, and you are injured,” Ivan told him. “Help your sister get Kesney to town. I’ll get Beth and take her to her father.”

Danny was all set to argue, but Carla told him, “Let Ivan go. You and Beth would probably get so caught up in your reunion you’d forget about her father.”

When Carla turned the buggy and started toward town, Danny was still threatening to get down and walk all the way to Kesney’s ranch. Ivan watched a few moments before starting his mount down the trail at a slow canter. He needed to think.

What was Laveau doing at Kesney’s ranch? Why had he shot Kesney? Except for losing his temper and stabbing Rafe’s stepmother, Laveau had always been careful to avoid being caught in any serious crime that might jeopardize his protection by the army and the Texas government. Was the man getting desperate—or angry enough to forget his usual caution? Having one scheme after another foiled by men determined to bring him to justice was probably enough to send his temper spiraling out of control.

Ivan hadn’t gone far when he came to a piece of ground where two horses had stopped. Twelve years ago he wouldn’t have known what to make of what he saw, but four years in the war and five years on a cattle ranch had taught him to read hoofprints. This must have been where Kesney was shot. There was no cover. Riders on the same trail would have been visible to each other at a great distance, but that was no reason for Laveau to shoot Kesney. He could have ridden by, and Kesney would never have known who he was.

It took only a moment to see that the horse that came from Kesney’s ranch had gone back. That made even less sense. Why should Laveau go back to Kesney’s house? Whatever the reason, Ivan was certain it was important. Laveau would never have taken such a risk otherwise. The only thing worth such a risk was Beth, but why should Laveau do anything to her? Did he even know she existed?

Kesney’s house stood on open ground with nothing around it Ivan could use for cover. Even several hundred yards away, he could see a horse tethered to the rail. At any other time, he would have ridden straight up to the house. Hoping Laveau wouldn’t decide to look out a window, he made a wide circle to come up behind the house from the bunkhouse. If he could surprise Laveau, he might have a chance to find out what he was doing here and why he’d shot Kesney.

It took longer than he expected to reach the bunkhouse. No one was inside so he left his horse there and sprinted across the open ground between the two buildings. Kesney’s ranch was one of the biggest in south Texas. His house was a large frame building with a porch across the front. From his previous visit, Ivan remembered four rooms on the main floor with additional rooms on the upper level. An extension at the back housed the kitchen and the dining room. He decided to enter there first—after he removed his boots.

The kitchen door was unlocked. Easing it open, he listened for any sound. When he heard none, he entered on stocking feet. On the far side of a butcher table he saw a woman bound and gagged. Wide eyes stared at him in fear. Indicating she should make no sound, Ivan approached her. “I will not hurt you. Has anything happened to Beth?”

After hesitating a moment, the woman nodded her head.

“Do you know who did it?”

Again she nodded.

“I will untie you, and you will tell me.” He removed the gag. “Speak softly. Someone is in the main house.”

“It was the foreman and a man I do not know,” the woman whispered in heavily accented English. “They tied her up and took her away in her own buggy.”

“Do you know where they were taking her?”

The woman shook her head.

Ivan took the ropes off her hands and feet. “Tell me about the house.”

The woman described each room, its position, and reminded Ivan of the location of the major pieces of furniture. He decided Laveau was probably in the room Kesney used as his study or in his bedroom. What he couldn’t understand was why he was here at all. He had to be looking for something he considered extremely important, or there would have been no reason to shoot Kesney.

“Stay here,” Ivan told the woman.

Ivan didn’t usually carry a gun. He was glad he’d made an exception today. He passed from the kitchen into the dining room without incident, but he was worried about the door leading from the dining room into the main house. If it squeaked, Laveau would know someone was in the house. He was also fearful that his weight would cause the floorboards to creak. It was essential that he surprise Laveau if he was to have any chance of finding out why he was here.

With infinite care, he turned the knob and began to ease the door open. Much to his relief, it didn’t make a sound. He found himself in the broad hall that bisected the house with two rooms on either side. Kesney’s bedroom was on his left. On his right was the old kitchen, which had been turned into a spare room. The study was at the front of the house on the left; the parlor where he’d had his dance lesson was on the right.

Should he try the bedroom, a closer but less likely place to find Laveau, or should he attempt to cover twenty feet over a squeaky floor that separated him from the study? There was nothing he could do to prevent the floor from creaking. Before he had time to weigh his choices, he heard a muttered curse and a drawer being slammed. Laveau was in the study.

With great care he placed his foot in the center of a floorboard and pressed down. He had brought only a fraction of his weight to bear when he felt the board start to bind against the boards on either side. He pulled back. What could he do? He couldn’t tiptoe over the floor without making enough noise to alert Laveau. He couldn’t go around to the front because he’d still have to walk over the floor plus hazard that Laveau wouldn’t see him, hear him on the porch, or know when he opened the front door. There was only one thing to do.

He drew his gun, tensed his muscles, then sprinted down the hall as fast as he could. He slid to a stop in the doorway of the study, his gun pointing at a surprised Laveau diViere. A look of pure hatred crossed Laveau’s face only to disappear as quickly as it had come. He was seated at Kesney’s desk, going through papers. Assuming a languishing pose of disinterest, he gave Ivan a pained smile.

“You must have lost your way.” His voice was steeped in the aristocratic condescension with which he spoke to nearly everyone. “This is not the Reece ranch.”

“I know whose ranch it is. I also knew you were here.”

Laveau’s eyebrows rose. “Now I find that hard to believe.”

“You should have checked more carefully before leaving Kesney for dead.”

Laveau’s eyebrows lowered, his expression turned bored. “I don’t know who you’re talking about.”

“Where’s Beth?”

“Who?”

“Hardin’s daughter. She has been kidnapped.”

“Why should I know anything about that?”

“Because you’re in his house going through his desk, while his housekeeper is tied up in the kitchen.”

Laveau’s boredom increased. “I would never sink so low.” His boredom lessened, and his eyes narrowed. “I am curious to know how you came to be here.”

“Kesney is alive and on his way to the doctor in Overlin. From his description, I knew you had to be the one who shot him.”

“I’m pleased to know I can’t be confused with your ordinary citizenry, but there must be at least one person of distinction in that miserable town.”

Ivan refused to let Laveau shake his focus. Laveau wasn’t wearing a gun, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t armed. “Ever since I found out Riley was stealing cows and robbing villages in Mexico, I knew you were involved.”

“If you’re expecting me to congratulate you on your cleverness, you’ll be disappointed.”

“I would rather know what you hope to find in Kesney’s desk.”

Laveau’s expression darkened, and the latent hatred he usually kept hidden practically leapt out at Ivan. “Kesney ruined a very profitable operation of mine. He came into possession of an incriminating piece of paper—that taught me
never
to put anything in writing—which he used to force me to leave Kentucky.”

“For that you had to shoot him?”

Laveau had recaptured his habitual reserve. “He deserved to die. Why do you care about him?”

“He has a daughter who needs her father.”

“You always were a sentimental fool. Otherwise you wouldn’t want to go back to a country that doesn’t exist anymore. That girl will marry some worthless cowhand who’ll spend her money and cheat on her as soon as she swells up with their first child.”

“You have a poor opinion of people.”

“After what happened in your country, you should, too.” Laveau stood. “All you have to do is mind your own business for the next year, and you can go back to your precious Poland.”

“And what will you do?”

“Pluck some fools of things they can’t appreciate the way I can. Then in a month or two I’ll move on, and you’ll never hear of me again. Shall we shake on it?”

Throughout the conversation, Ivan had been expecting Laveau to get up, move about the room, or reach for something to throw, anything that could give him the advantage. It was that unswerving scrutiny that saved him when Laveau stood and extended his hand. Almost as if by magic, a small derringer appeared in Laveau’s hand. Ivan threw himself to the side as a bullet crashed into the wall behind where he’d been standing. Firing as he went down, he hit the floor, then threw himself at Laveau’s legs, even as Laveau put a second shot through the study floor.

Ivan struck Laveau with the full weight of his body, which caused the lighter man to lose his balance and send his third shot into the ceiling. Rolling onto his feet, Ivan grabbed Laveau by the front of his shirt and hit him as hard as he could. Stunned, Laveau slumped to the floor. “I have waited seven years to do that, you son of a bitch.”

Laveau touched his hand to his mouth, which came away bloody. “Why didn’t you shoot me when you had the chance? You could have been a hero for stopping a robbery in the house of a man who’d been shot and his daughter kidnapped.”

“I want to see you hanged for two attempted murders.”

“I’ll never hang.”

Ivan jerked Laveau to his feet. “I will take you to the sheriff in Overlin. If you try to get away, I will shoot you.” He reached for Laveau’s right hand. When it was outstretched, it triggered a mechanism which caused a small derringer to appear. “I have heard of such a device, but I had never seen one.”

“It’s very useful, and not nearly so crude as a holster.”

Ivan spun Laveau around and stripped off his coat. Next he removed the mechanism, threw it on the floor, and stomped it into splinters. He picked up the four-barreled gun. “No more bullets. What were you going to do next?”

“I don’t know.” Laveau’s composure didn’t falter. “I’ve never missed before.”

Using Laveau’s own belt, Ivan tied the man’s hands behind him. “I intend to see that you never have reason to miss again.” He pushed Laveau out of the study and toward the front door.

“Don’t you want to relieve the housekeeper of her worry?” Laveau asked.

“I’m not letting you out of my sight until we get to Overlin.”

Ivan didn’t like the sound of Laveau’s soft laugh as they left the house.

***

“You’re lucky,” the doctor said to Kesney. “With that wound, you could have bled to death. You owe this boy your life.”

Carla was amused to see Danny blush. He wasn’t used to getting praise.

“Carla made me do it,” he said. “She said she’d shoot me herself if I got blood all over her buggy and let Kesney die into the bargain.”

Carla laughed. “I didn’t say any such thing.”

“It’s what you meant. Are you done poking at me?” The doctor had subjected Danny to a thorough examination.

“I’m through. Just take it easy until your wound has time to heal.”

Carla hoped Ivan would arrive soon. It was all she could do to keep Danny from going back to Kesney’s house.

“What are you going to do now?” Danny asked when they left the doctor’s office. “I’m going to find Beth.”

Before Carla could answer, a rider and horse appeared at the end of the street. Rather than walk or trot his horse into town, he galloped down the center of the street. “Riley found the cows,” he shouted as he rode by, “and he brought ’em back.” He rode to the other side of town before turning back. His shouts brought people out of buildings on both sides of the street. The saloons emptied first, followed by various businesses and offices. A woman being fitted for a dress emerged from Sadie Lowell’s shop. In less than a minute, people living on back streets were pouring into the main road. When the first cows appeared at the edge of town, some men shouted and threw their hats into the air. Women clapped while children raced about like playful prairie dogs.

“Ivan said this was going to happen,” Carla said to Danny.

“You’ll never get them to believe Riley is behind the robberies now.”

“Or that he could have had anything to do with Kesney being shot.”

“What are you going to do?”

“Wait for Ivan. He’ll know what to do.”

“There’s nothing to do except make sure Beth is okay. I’ll take Kesney’s horse.”

Carla tried to change his mind, but she didn’t try to stop him when he walked away. She felt a growing need to talk to someone. Much to her surprise, the person she wanted was Myrtle. It was impossible to cross the street as long as it was filled with cows and jubilant riders. When she saw Frank Bass heading her way, she was tempted to duck inside the closest store.

“Riley had already found the cows when we caught up with him,” he shouted to her over the noisy uproar on the street.

“Maybe he didn’t
find
them. Maybe he had them all the time.”

“Still trying to defend yourself?”