Lucinda (14 page)

“I’ll do that, Mac.”

“What did the Cole’s have?” Mac called after him.

“A boy this time,” Henry grinned.

“Poor little guy is going to be henpecked to death by all those sisters of his…”  Mac chuckled and headed on down the street, making his rounds and looking for any sign of trouble.  There were a couple of strangers in town, and he didn’t like their looks.  He didn’t see any sign of them and was told by the man who swept out the saloon that they’d left earlier that morning in a wagon.  Mac shrugged and started back toward his office when he heard Doc Z yelling for him.  He took off running.

“Lucy is gone,” Henry said.  “I smelled something burning when I walked inside, and there were charred cookies in the oven.  She’s nowhere to be found, and she didn’t leave a note.  She didn’t take anything with her, either, not even an emergency medical bag, which she would have picked up if someone needed help.”

“Calm down, Henry,” Mac said.  “We’ll find her.  That damned son of a bitch father of hers is behind this, and I’m betting he hired two men to abduct her.”  He headed toward the livery to get some answers about the wagon the two men left town with.

* * *

Lucinda’s head ached unbearably, but her memory was clear.  The man who claimed his wife was having trouble in childbirth drugged her and was taking her somewhere.  She kept silent, hoping to find out what was going on.

“I say we stop and have some fun with her before we take her to that city feller.”

“We took ‘is money.  Can’t do that, Slim.”

“Who’s to know?  She’s been with that Doc, so it ain’t like she’s a virgin.  Her old man won’t know.”

“I ain’t about to force a woman.  It happened to my sister when I was a kid, and she wasn’t right in the head afterwards.  You keep your pants buttoned, Slim, or I’ll hafta kill you.”

“Not iffen I kill you first,” Slim answered.

Lucinda was surprised they hadn’t tied her hands and feet.  She surreptitiously flexed her muscles and tried to shake off the last of the chloroform.  When they stopped the wagon, she was going to make them sorry they were ever born, especially Slim.

* * *

Henry and Mac were on their way out of town within minutes of talking to the livery owner.  It was easy to discern that Calvin Jacobs bought the wagon.  It was Mac’s idea to follow the stage coach because he was certain that Calvin was having Lucy delivered to him.  Henry didn’t know if that idea was a sound one… The thought of what the two men could do to her in the meantime scared him and he vowed he’d kill them with his bare hands if they harmed her in any way.

“Pull yourself together, Doc Z.  We’ll find Lucy.”

“I’m afraid they’ll hurt her, Mac,” he admitted.

“You know that she fights well.  She’ll be all right, friend, and if she’s not, they’ll never make it to trial.”  And neither would that son of a bitch father of hers, he added silently.  The bastard reminded him of his own pa, long since dead and residing with the devil if there was any sort of justice in the afterlife.

They finally spotted the stage and urged their horses to a great speed.  The driver stopped when he saw Mac’s badge.  “What’s up, Sheriff?”

“We need to speak to one of your passengers,” Mac stated and didn’t bother to stop Henry when he pulled the older man out of the coach.

“What is the meaning of this outrage?” Calvin Jacobs sputtered indignantly.  He was furious and didn’t bother to try and hide it.

“Where is my wife?” Henry demanded.

“How should I know?”

“We can do this easy or hard, and right now I would prefer the hard way,” Mac spoke quietly from behind the blustering man.  “You see, you remind me of my old man, and I hated his fucking guts.  You got one chance, just one, to tell us where Lucy is, or I’m going to start shooting off bits and pieces of you, and Doc Z, here, is the only Doc for miles around.  I guarantee he’ll let you suffer and bleed to death.”

Calvin started sweating and turned pale.  “I have no idea where Lucinda is.  Perhaps she came to her senses and left you?” he dared to suggest.

“You had your chance, old man,” Mac took out his gun and snorted in disgust when Calvin dropped to the ground, blubbering.

“I hired two men to bring her to me.  They’re meeting me in the next town.”

“You hired two ruffians to kidnap my wife, your own daughter?!” Henry was enraged.  “Do you have any idea of what they might do to her, or don’t you care?”

Calvin’s eyes filled with doubt.  “I paid them to bring her to me.  They wouldn’t dare touch her!”  Calvin didn’t even see the blow coming.  Henry hit him with everything he had and Calvin’s jaw exploded in pain and he passed out cold.

“I’ve got to find Lucy,” Henry said, quickly mounting.

“I’m with you, Doc Z.”

“What do I do with him?” the driver called out.

“Don’t know; don’t care,” Henry answered.

Mac looked over his shoulder.  “Leave him there.  I’ll pick him up on the way back to town.  He would bring the bastard back for trial just in case Lucy wanted to press charges.

* * *

The argument raged on and on until Lucinda had had enough.  She quietly made her way to the end of the wagon, lightly dropped off, and took off running in the opposite direction.  With any luck at all the two men wouldn’t realize she was missing until they reached town.  When she was sure they weren’t chasing after her, she slowed down to a walk and kept right on moving, her temper fueling her to keep going.  She left cookies in the oven and she was worried sick that there was a fire!  Henry would never forgive her!

* * *

“I swear, she was in the back of the wagon, sleepin’.  We didn’t touch her!”

Slim nodded virtuously.  “We took the man’s money.  Said his daughter was with a bad sort and he needed to save her from ‘im.  We thought we was doin’ a good thing.”

“We don’t know where she got to.  She must of woke up and slipped off the wagon without us none the wiser!”

Henry didn’t trust the men, but could see they were both shocked to find Lucy gone.  Knowing his wife, she’d given them the slip.  He shook his head.  “You lock these two up, Mac.  I’m going to go and find Lucy.”

“You sure you don’t want me just to shoot ‘em dead here and now, Doc Z?”

Henry knew that Mac was joking, but he said, “Only if they look at you wrong, Mac.”  He hurried to go and find Lucy, praying the men weren’t lying about hurting her.  If they were, he’d make them wish they were dead long before they were.

* * *

Lucinda heard the horse and she stepped behind some bushes to hide.  She watched and gave a shout of happiness when she spotted Henry.  She stepped out and waited for him to see her.  When he reached her, she said, “Well, it certainly took you long enough to find me, Henry Zabarski!”  He swept her up into his arms and held her close.

“Are you truly alright, honey?  Did they hurt you?” he asked emotionally.  “If they did, you need to tell me right now so I can care for you.”

“I didn’t give them a chance.  I’m fine, Henry, but I left cookies in the oven, and I’m terrified we’ve had a fire!” she told him, her eyes filling with tears.  “I’ll never forgive myself if your building burned down because of me.”

“The building is just fine.  I got the cookies out of the oven.  They were burned, but no damage done.  The kitchen might smell like smoke though, but I don’t care.  As long as you are safe, nothing else matters, sweetheart.  God, I was so scared when I came home and realized you were taken.”

“I knew you would come for me, Henry,” she whispered.  “I’ve wanted to tell you all morning how sorry I am for the way I acted last night.  I was pouting and doing my best to make you feel guilty when I knew full well I was disobeying you.  I’m so sorry I kicked you out of our room, darling.”

“I’m sorry, too.  I spanked you because I was…”

“Scared for me,” she interrupted him to say.  “I know, darling.  I was scared for you, too.  Hopefully nothing like that ever happens again.”

“Hopefully it won’t.  Let’s go home, Mrs. Zabarski.  I want to take good care of my wife.”  He looked at her once more and asked, “Honey, I want you to know that I realize I overdid the spanking I gave you.  I can’t say I’m sorry I tanned you; that would be a lie.  You disobeyed me, and as your husband, I just won’t allow you to get away with that.”

“I understand, Henry.  And, I can’t tell you I’m sorry I disobeyed you yesterday.  I did what I felt was right.  I am sorry for the way I acted afterwards, though.”

“Life is never going to be dull, is it?” he asked with a grin.

“I don’t think so,” she agreed.  “I don’t think I’m going to find riding very pleasant, Henry.”

“I’ll kiss it all better when we get home,” he promised.

Henry did his best to make her as comfortable as possible, but it took all her willpower to keep from complaining as they rode back to town.  Once they arrived, Henry said, “We need to go and see Mac and let him know I found you, honey.”  When they walked into the Sheriff’s office, Mac stepped from behind his desk and gave her a hug.  “You okay, little lady?” he asked.

“I’m fine, Mac.  Thank you for helping Henry.”

“I’ve got the three of them locked up.  The old one says his jaw is busted.”

“Good,” Henry said shortly.

“Do you want to file charges of kidnapping, Lucy?”

“I want to talk to them before I make up my mind,” she shocked Henry by stating.

“You aren’t going back there by yourself,” Henry said firmly, and he followed her, wondering what she was up to now.  Part of him wanted her to file charges against the lot of them, but Calvin Jacobs was her father, and he doubted Lucy could bring herself to give the man what he deserved.

Lucinda looked at her father with contempt, but she turned to the two men sharing a cell.  “Which one of you is Slim?” she asked.

Chapter Ten

“That’s me, lady.  Would you tell the Sheriff you wasn’t harmed no way?” Slim begged.

“Let this other man go, Mac.  He is the one who kept refusing to stop the wagon so Slim could abuse me.  Slim is also the one who chloroformed me.”

“But, lady, we didn’t hurt you none.”

“Thanks to your friend.  And just so you know, I would have hurt you real bad if you tried.”

Mac tried not to laugh as he opened the door to let the bewildered man out.  “Thank you, miss.  I am real sorry about this.  He done told us we was rescuin’ you from a mean husband, or I wouldn’t a had nothin’ to do with this.  Slim, neither.  He ain’t a bad sort, just not edjucated much like me.  He don’t go around hurtin’ women, just likes to talk a lot.  If he’d knowed you could hear us, he woulda minded his manners better, honest.”

“I’ll think about it,” Lucy said.

“Ma’am, please.  I’m real sorry for the things I done said,” Slim called out.  “I swear I ain’t never hurt no woman.  This one…” he pointed at Calvin Jacobs, “…said you was bein’ mistreated by your husband, but was too skeered to leave.  We figured we was helpin’ you.”  His face turned red.  “I figured you was asleep and I was talkin’ trash talk to pass the time.  I wish I’d a kept my mouth shut.  Heck, I wish me and Syd never talked to that one,” he pointed at Calvin again.  “He said he was your Pa.”

“Let Slim out, too, Mac,” Lucy said.  “I wasn’t harmed, and I believe that Slim and Syd were simply duped by him.”

“Are you sure, Lucy?”

“Yes.  I’m sure.  They were victims of his just as much as I was.”

“What do you want to do about him?” Henry asked his wife once the two men ran out of the jail and headed out of town.  Calvin’s eyes were full of hatred, and it was obvious to him that the older man was in serious pain.  A pain that Henry didn’t feel like abating in the least, considering what could have happened to Lucy if Syd and Slim were hardened criminals, which they weren’t.  He was proud of his wife for recognizing that Syd and Slim were duped.

“He hired men to kidnap me, Henry.  All I am is a business deal that is going to fall through because I married a man for love instead of to further his finances.  He couldn’t care less what happens to me as a human being, much less as a cherished daughter.  He proved that.  You make the decision for me, darling.  If you want to prosecute, I will testify.  I owe him nothing.”  She turned on her heel and marched from the jail and into the front office.

Henry looked at the man and saw no remorse whatsoever in the cold eyes, and then he spoke to Mac.  “I want him prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law for the way he treated his own daughter.”  He followed his wife into the other room and then told Mac.  “I don’t want to treat the bastard, not after the way he treated my wife, but I have no choice in the matter.  I’ll get my bag and return.”

Lucy waited at the jail for him, proud of her husband for doing what he felt was ‘right’, in spite of the anger that made him want to refuse treatment.  Of course, Calvin Jacobs refused to allow Henry to touch him.  She knew he would, but it absolved any guilt Henry might feel later if he refused to care for an injured human being.  Mac offered to send for another doctor, and Henry didn’t argue the matter.

Henry took Lucy home and then smiled when she bustled around their kitchen, opening windows and cleaning the glass, and all of the other surfaces that were affected by the black smoke from the burning cookies.  Henry pitched in and permitted her to boss him around until she was satisfied the kitchen was spotless.  “Now I can fix us some supper,” she said in determination.

“No, I’m going to take you out to the restaurant to eat tonight, honey.  You’ve been through enough for one day, and you don’t need to cook.”

“I know you’re trying to be nice, Henry, but I’d rather not go out tonight.”

“Why not?  If you’re worried about what people will have to say, I promise I’ll deal with them.”

“It’s not that, Henry.”  She blushed and then admitted, “I can’t sit down very comfortably right now,” she reminded him.

“I’ll bring along a pillow.”

“Henry!  I would be so embarrassed!” she scolded him, and when she saw his teasing smile she smacked him lightly on the arm.  “Oh you!”