Brave Beginnings (41 page)

“I’m Conrad Williams and this is Gary
Milton,” the man said, motioning to the tired man beside him. “Have
you seen a man and a woman riding a buggy?”

Noah let out a light whimper and wiped the
sweat off his forehead. He’d have to come clean and confess. The
sooner he did, the better. “Yes, sir.”

“You have?” Gary asked, looking hopeful.
“Where?”

“Uh…” Noah glanced back from where he came.
“Just north of here but a little more to the west. They stopped at
a deserted cabin. Not sure how many miles out they are from here.
I’m heading back to Bismarck. I…” He swallowed again and continued,
“I need to turn myself in.”

Conrad’s eyebrows furrowed. “Why?”

Wincing, Noah said, “Because I helped Ernest
abduct that woman.”

Gary moved his steed toward him and snapped,
“You what?”

Conrad held his hand up to stop Gary. “Wait.
He’s going to the sheriff to confess.” Looking back at Noah, he
asked, “Is that right?”

Noah nodded. “Yes. I am.”

Conrad glanced at Gary. “He can help us. If
he had a part in this, then he must know where Ernest is heading.”
He returned his gaze to Noah. “Do you?”

Noah nodded again. “Yes. They’re going to
Jamestown. He has tickets to go to Canada. He plans to get to
Jamestown in a week.”

“Which is doable if they keep traveling
east.” Conrad drummed his fingers on his thigh. “He plans to leave
with Julia?”

“Yes. I think he plans to marry her.”

“That’s good.”

Gary huffed. “How is that good?”

“He won’t kill her,” Conrad replied. “He
killed his first wife, but she was an imitation of Julia. What he
really wanted was the real one, and now that he has her, he’s going
to let her live.”

“I know Julia, and she’ll never be with him
willingly,” Gary muttered.

“We won’t let him take her out of Jamestown.”
Conrad scanned the landscape. “There’s no way we can know exactly
which route they’ll take to Jamestown, but we know that’s where
they’re going. Our best bet is to give up the trail she’s leaving
and get to Jamestown.” He turned his attention to Noah. “What day
and time are those tickets good for?”

Noah told him.

“We have enough time to get to Bismarck and
tell the sheriff,” Conrad said. “Then we take the train and get
there before they do.” He glanced from Noah to Gary. “Agreed?”

Gary sighed. “I hate the thought of her with
him, but I agree.”

Conrad looked at Noah.

“I can’t. The sheriff will put me in jail,”
Noah replied. “Not that I refuse to go. I know what I did was
wrong.”

Conrad sat up straight and rubbed his neck.
“I’m a detective, Noah, and I’ve been assigned to this case. I’ve
had a terrible time getting Ernest convicted, but now I got him
exactly where I want him. If you help us, then I’ll talk to the
judge about going easy on you.”

Noah realized this was the best thing he
could do, especially in light of how bad things were for him at the
moment. And if Ernest saw him in Jamestown and killed him… He
exhaled. If Ernest killed him, Ernest killed him. But at least he’d
finally be doing the right thing. Finally, he nodded. “Alright.
I’ll do what I can.”

~~********~~

“Julia,” Chogan whispered from where he
rested on the bedroll.

Citlali went over to him with a container of
water and propped his head up under another blanket. “Drink
this.”

Chogan pushed his hand away. “Julia.” He
tried to get up, but Citlali stopped him.

“You need to heal.”

Shaking his head, he said, “He’s hurting
her.”

“Gary and a detective went to find her.”

“No. I need to go.”

“You can’t.” Citlali tried to think of what
to say to make Chogan rest. “You’ve been shot. The bullets are out,
but you’re running a fever. If you’re not careful, you could die.
Then what will all this need to find Julia do for you?”

Chogan blinked several times before he looked
at Citlali, as if just noticing him.

“Gary is looking for her. She left a trail,
so he should catch up to her soon.”

Chogan continued to stare at Citlali, his
eyes giving no indication that he understood him.

Citlali sighed and put the container to
Chogan’s lips. “Please drink. You’re dehydrated.”

Chogan finally parted his lips and drank the
water.

Relieved, Citlali gave him as much as he
needed. When Chogan was done, he set the container on the ground.
“You are a stubborn man.”

Chogan reached out and grabbed his arm.

Surprised, Citlali looked back at him. “What
is it?”

“Take me to her. Follow the trail,” Chogan
said, his expression filled with worry.

“It is not an easy journey.”

“She’s my wife, Citlali. I love her.”

Sighing, Citlali thought over what he might
use to transport Chogan. There was no way Chogan could handle
riding a horse—not in his condition. But, maybe, he might handle a
buggy. Chogan hadn’t gotten very far when Gary found him, so the
buggy Julia and Chogan had used was within a reasonable distance.
“The buggy might work,” he slowly said, not sure this was a good
idea. “And I have my horse.”

“Please?” Chogan asked, his grip tightening
on Citlali’s arm.

He took a deep breath. “Fine. I will drive
the buggy, but you will rest. I will do all the work. I also need
you to eat and drink.”

“I’ll do whatever you say.”

Citlali hid his surprise. He never thought
he’d hear Chogan say that, but it told him a lot about the love he
had for Julia and a love like that wasn’t something seen often in
the tribe—not with arranged marriages granted in hopes of acquiring
sacred bundles and offspring. Citlali wasn’t one to envy another
man anything, but in this one situation, he did. Woape hadn’t
considered him worth marrying. She’d run off into the unknown to
avoid him. As for Onawa… She was Woape’s sister, and who knew if
she wouldn’t try to run off too as the date for their wedding
approached?

Citlali turned his attention back to Chogan
who seemed to gain some strength at the prospect of following
Julia’s trail. Yes, Chogan loved her, and it was obvious she loved
him. Citlali patted his hand. “You do well to find a woman whose
love can make you sacrifice everything for. I’m sorry I tried to
talk you into marrying Sarita. I will get the buggy. You must stay
still and rest while I do this. Promise?”

Chogan nodded and closed his eyes.

Citlali stood and went to perform the task at
hand.

***

Julia woke up to someone gently shaking her
awake. She opened her eyes, not knowing where she was for a moment.
But then she saw Ernest and the previous day’s events came back to
her. She started to gasp when she realized her mouth was sore. Then
she recalled everything that happened in the barn and drew away
from him. Her arms hurt, her back and sides hurt, her face hurt…
Everything hurt.

“We’ll eat and then we’ll be on our way,”
Ernest said, not seeming to notice the way she recoiled from his
touch. “You can have some privacy out back to take care of your
needs. I’ll get breakfast ready.”

She waited until he left the shack before she
exhaled. The past twenty-four hours seemed like a nightmare she
should be able to wake up from. But it was no nightmare. It was
real. Horribly real.

Reluctant, she eased off the cot, her body
stiff. She took a step forward and whimpered. Rubbing her hips, she
proceeded to walk outside, her steps slow. No doubt her sides and
back were covered with bruises. As she went to the old outhouse,
she saw Ernest enter the barn.

Shivering, she turned and hobbled to take
care of her personal business. When she finished, she left the
outhouse and approached the shack, staring at the hole she’d made
through the wall. Above that hole was a window. She stopped and
took a deep breath. Did she dare look at her reflection?

Licking her swollen bottom lip, she
approached the window, knowing she wouldn’t like what she saw but
having to satisfy her dreaded curiosity. She wiped the dirt from
the glass and stilled the motion when her gaze fell to her face.
Two bruises lined one side of her face and a red welt was on the
other. Dried blood coated her chin, and her lower lip was swollen
with a cut that had clotted overnight.

She brushed back her unkempt hair and pulled
it back into a bun as well as she could. Blinking back the tears
that welled up in her eyes, she waited until the urge to cry passed
before she stepped away from the window. Chogan would come for her.
Then she could go home and be safe again.

Glancing at the barn, she saw that Ernest had
pulled the horse and buggy out of it. He was attaching the reins to
the steed, so he had his back turned to her. An idea came to her,
and she eagerly searched the area for something sharp, something
that would dig into the wood. As soon as she saw the pointed rock,
she gingerly bent down to grab it. With another look at the barn,
she saw that Ernest still had his back turned to her.

Walking further down the length of the shack
so he couldn’t see her, she dug the sharp edge of the rock into the
wood and carved the word
Jamestown
into it. It was a long
shot that Chogan would see it, but she had to do something more
than leave a trail of petticoats for him to find.

When she was done, she threw the rock down
and hurried as fast as she could back to the window so she could
see where Ernest was. He just finished with the horse and was on
his way back to the shack. She closed her eyes and took a deep
breath. She could do this. All she had to do was bide her time
until Chogan got to her.

Opening her eyes, she shuffled toward Ernest,
ignoring the bile that rose to her throat. She just had to make it
long enough for Chogan to catch up to them. And as long as Ernest
didn’t see the word she etched into the shack, she stood a good
chance of making it.

Crossing her arms, she forced herself not to
run as Ernest came up to her.

“Meals will be simple until we get to the
train,” he told her.

It was then that she noticed the bread he
held in his hand. Trying her best to steady her hand, she took the
portion he offered her, unsure of how she was going to stomach any
food. Clearing her throat, she said, “I’ll hold on to it.”

“Not hungry yet?” he asked.

Unable to maintain eye contact, she shook her
head.

He placed his arm around her shoulders. “We
have to get going. We have a train to catch in Jamestown.”

Clutching her stomach, she took another deep
breath. “Alright.” It was all she could manage without crying or
vomiting again.

“There you go, Julia,” he said in a soothing
tone. “Everything will be just fine.”

She went with him to the buggy, her joints
aching to keep up with his fast pace. She got into the buggy and
set the bread beside her. Her appetite was nonexistent. She didn’t
know how she could eat anything as long as she was with Ernest.

“I should go back and make sure I didn’t
leave anything we may need,” he said.

“No!” She grabbed his arm. “No. Ernest, I
checked through the shack. All that’s there is a cot and a lamp.
Oh, and a couple of blankets. We should get going. You’re right. We
don’t want to miss that train.”

A smile widened across his face. “This is
nice. A good night’s sleep must have cleared you’re thinking.”

“It did.” She let go of his arm and brushed
back a strand of hair that fell into her eyes. “So let’s go before
someone finds us. Alright?”

He nodded. “Yes. Good. We need to get out of
here.”

She breathed a sigh of relief. He wouldn’t
see
Jamestown
written on the side of the shack. She picked
up the bread and tore off a small piece that she put into her
mouth. She gingerly chewed it on the side of her mouth that hadn’t
been injured the night before. She winced. It hurt anyway.

He got in beside her. “I’m glad you’re
eating. You need some food.”

She nodded and swallowed. Since he was
watching her, she tore off another piece of bread and ate it.

With a satisfied smile, he picked up the
reins and released the brake.

She took another piece of bread to eat and
looked off into the vacant land that spanned endlessly before them.
It would take them days to get to Jamestown. She wasn’t sure
exactly how many days, but hopefully there would be enough time so
that Chogan would be in Jamestown before the train took off.

***

That evening, Citlali and Chogan arrived at
the shack. Citlali pulled up to the tree and noted the petticoat
blowing in the breeze. Glancing at Chogan who was asleep, he
stepped out of the buggy and approached the shack. No one was
there, but he wondered if Julia left another clue for them.

He went into the rundown two room cabin and
noted the cot. That would be a good place for Chogan to rest for
the night. He checked out the rest of the shack and paused when he
saw the hand of a skeleton on the ground. Frowning, he inspected
the dirt which had been dug up and noticed another bone poking out
of the ground. He knelt down and brushed enough dirt from it to see
it was a foot bone. With care, he dug around it and pulled it out,
not entirely surprised that it was a foot that had been haphazardly
cut at the ankle. Turning to the rest of the small room, he
wondered where the pieces of the body were located.

He grimaced and threw the foot to the ground
next to the hand. He’d have to mention this to Conrad. Leaving the
room, his gaze went to the kerosene lamp that had been used
recently. A closer look at the cot revealed a couple strands of
blond hair. Julia was here last night.

He left the shack and went to the buggy.
Getting into it, he led the horse to the entrance of the shack so
he would have an easier time of helping Chogan to the cot. Chogan
was a tall man—a half foot taller than Citlali, and Chogan was more
muscular. Again, another difference from Citlali who’d spent more
time learning the customs of the tribe than hunting.