Brodie's Gamble (24 page)

“That would be my guess.” Sam slipped the cigar back into his pocket. “We’d better get moving.”

At first she’d thought Syd planned to take her to the cabin. The longer they rode through the thick brush and tall trees, though, it became clear they were nowhere near the dilapidated shack Arnie called their home. After a grueling and painful ride, Syd guided the horse into a clearing and toward a cutout in the hillside. Ahead were three entrances into the mountain. Her stomach twisted when she realized they were part of the abandoned mine tunnels Arnie, Syd, and Joel had spoken of more than once.
A good place to hide secrets,
she remembered Arnie saying.

Syd reined up in front of the closest mine, loosened the rope securing him to Maggie, swung his leg over the horse’s neck, and slid down. “This is it, missy.”

“What is this place?” She didn’t move, her legs clamping around the horse’s girth.

“This is where you’ll be staying for a good, long time.” Laughing at his own joke, he reached up, grabbing her around the waist and yanking her to the ground. Shoving her in front of him, he headed toward the entrance. Boards, hastily nailed in a crisscross pattern, sealed the front, a bleak warning of what lay ahead.

“You’re not going to leave me in there, are you?” She tried to dig in her heels, slow her progress. His hand tightened around her right arm, digging in, bruising her through the blouse and thin coat she wore.

“Believe me. You ain’t going to mind.” Syd shoved her forward, chuckling when she tripped and fell to the ground. “Don’t move.” Pulling his knife from its sheath, he used it to loosen several of the boards. Throwing them into a pile, he stilled at the warning rattle a few feet away. Laying the knife aside, he reached for her, his gaze darting around.

Maggie’s gaze never left the discarded knife as she let him pull her up, her skirt brushing against the spot the weapon had been carelessly left. Her broken left arm throbbed as she tried to straighten it enough to grasp the knife without him seeing. Without warning, he dropped his hold on her right arm, drew his gun, and fired.

“Dang rattlers.” He fired again, then holstered the gun and walked to where the dead snake twitched. Bending over, he picked it up behind the head, tossing it several feet away, never noticing Maggie as she grabbed the knife, hiding it within the folds of her skirt. Grabbing her arm again, he pushed her toward the mine. “In you go, missy.”

Maggie almost lost her grip on the knife as he shoved her inside. Taking a couple staggering steps, she looked around, letting her eyes adjust to the darkness.

“Keep moving.” Syd nudged her from behind, pushing her through a narrow passage and into another tunnel. “Hold up.” Striking a lucifer, he picked up a lantern and lit it. “Keep going.” They continued for another thirty or forty feet before the tunnel opened into what appeared to be a natural cavern.

Maggie looked around and then up. The opening had to be at least fifteen feet high and the same in diameter. Discarded tools, strips of leather, and a pile of old blankets lay strewn around the floor. Before her gaze moved away, she gasped, spotting what appeared to be the heel of a boot sticking out of one edge of a blanket.

“Over there.” He nodded toward another tunnel at the other side of the opening.

Maggie approached the narrow entrance, which was no more than two feet wide and five feet high. Fear gripped her as she looked toward the pitch black interior and froze.

“No. I won’t go in there.”

“You’ll be going in there all right.” Syd pulled out his gun, nudging the barrel into her back.

Swinging around, Maggie glared at him. “No. I’m not going any further. If you’re going to kill me, do it here.” She’d shifted the knife from her left to right hand, gripping it tight within the folds of her skirt.

Syd studied her a moment, coming to a conclusion. Gripping her arm, he pulled her toward the pile of blankets and threw her on top of them, crushing her already broken left arm. Her scream of pain faded when she slipped off the blankets, drawing them down to expose a decomposing body. She recognized the clothes, the ravaged face.
Tom Franks
. Another scream, soul deep and powerful, ripped from her throat, echoing in the small space as the horror before her sunk in.

“Did you hear that?” Brodie reined Hunter to a stop and looked around.

“It sounded like—”

Sam clamped his mouth shut as another scream echoed across the meadow separating the dense trees from the hillside dotted with deserted mines.

Nate reacted first, spurring his horse toward an opening where several boards had been pulled away. “It had to have come from in here.”

All three dismounted, drawing their guns and stepping into the darkness. Stopping inside, Brodie blinked several times, letting his eyes adjust as he listened. He moved toward a tunnel several feet away when he heard the sound of male voices. Nodding for Sam and Nate to follow, he stepped into the narrow space, following the voices and small splatter of light.

“Put the gun down, Syd.”

“Not a chance, kid. I’m not taking a chance the woman who killed Arnie is found innocent. You and I both know she’s not.”

“Maggie
is
innocent.”

Brodie continued forward, careful to stay as silent as possible. He recognized the second voice as belonging to Joel Stoddard. Stopping a few feet before the entrance to a large cavern, he flattened himself against a wall, signaling to Sam and Nate to do the same.

“You’ve always defended her, but you’re wrong this time. No matter what anyone says, she killed Arnie and buried his body. All I’m looking for is justice. You need to step away from her, or I swear I’ll shoot you both.”

Brodie risked a glance into the opening, seeing Maggie shifting her gaze between the brothers, her eyes going wide. “It was you, Syd.
You
killed Arnie.”

“The hell I did.”

“You hated him. Maybe more than I did.” Maggie rose, shifting the knife in her right hand, preparing to throw it. “And you killed Tom Franks.”

“I didn’t kill anyone, missy. Arnie got rid of Tom. I just helped him move the body in here.” Syd smirked, turning toward Joel. “I’m telling you, this woman is the one who murdered our brother. She deserves what she gets.”

“Brother or not, I can’t let you hurt her.” Joel raised his gun, pointing it at Syd’s chest, preparing to fire. “Maggie is innocent.”

“You don’t know that.” Syd’s voice rose as he advanced a few feet toward Joel.

“I
do
know.” A pained expression clouded Joel’s face as his gaze met Maggie’s. “I killed Arnie.”

Maggie gasped at the confession, taking a couple steps backward.

Syd’s jaw dropped. “You?” he growled, his eyes widening as he took another step forward.

Joel swung his gun, knocking his brother to his knees. Syd grasped the back of his head and moaned, a murderous scowl on his face.

“I found Arnie. Blood was everywhere, but he was alive. I helped him to a chair…grabbed a rag to help stop the bleeding. The longer he sat, the more his rage took over. He vowed to find Maggie, punish her, then make certain she never had a chance to come after him again.” Joel’s eyes glazed over as he recalled the hate in Arnie’s voice and heard what he planned for Maggie. “He would’ve killed her. I couldn’t let him do it.”

“So you murdered him?”

Maggie heard the deadly menace in Syd’s voice and stepped closer, ready to use the knife if needed. Joel had risked everything to protect her from Arnie. She could do no less for him.

“I did it to save Maggie.”

Before she could blink, Syd fired. Joel staggered backward, clutching his chest.

The scream ripping from Maggie’s throat seemed to come from someone else as she lunged forward, the knife plunging into Syd at the same time Joel’s gun fired, more of a reaction than a purposeful shot. Regardless, the combination of the two wounds stopped Syd, his body crumbling to the ground.

Maggie’s panicked gaze moved from Syd’s lifeless form to Joel, now on his knees, his face contorted in pain. She didn’t hear Brodie speaking her name, or register Sam and Nate rushing to help Joel. Her heart pounded hard and furious in her chest, feeling as if it were about to explode. She glanced down, the blood on her hand and skirt sickening her. An involuntary sob wracked her body, her terrified gaze landing on Brodie as his arms locked around her.

“I have you, lass. You’re safe now.” He continued to whisper reassurances, feeling Maggie’s body relax in his embrace. He watched Sam and Nate work to keep Joel alive, knowing the effort would prove futile. Even if Doc Vickery were in the room with them, the odds were slim of the lad surviving.

“Is he…”

Brodie looked into Maggie’s red-rimmed eyes, knowing what she asked. He looked at Sam, who shook his head. “Joel’s gone, sweetheart. I’m sorry.”

Gripping his shirt, she sobbed, her tears soaking through the fabric. She cried for Joel and the way he protected her, for the brutal years with Arnie, for the girl she used to be, and for the loss of her family.

“You’ll be all right now, Maggie. No one else will ever hurt you.” Brodie’s heart squeezed for the woman in his arms. She’d been proven innocent, but the cost had been high. Closing his eyes, he thought of the future, praying that when Maggie healed, she’d find a place in her life for him.

Chapter Seventeen

“She’s a most fortunate woman to have made it back alive.” August Fielder sat at his desk, his voice resigned. “I can’t say I’m surprised at what Joel did. The boy loved her, even if he never spoke of it.”

Brodie sat across the desk, fingering the brim of his hat. It had been obvious to anyone how much Maggie meant to Joel.

“And how is Miss King doing? I heard you moved her out to your ranch.”

“Aye. My parents offered to have her stay at their house. She didn’t have anywhere else to go, so…” He’d suggested she stay at his house, knowing no matter how much he wanted her there, it wasn’t the best choice. It hadn’t come as a surprise when she refused. Her acceptance of his parents’ offer had been a relief. “They brought the wagon into town yesterday and took her back with them.”

“I suppose you’ll be spending a little more time at the ranch then?”

“Not much more. I’ll follow them back after church, maybe ride out once or twice a week for supper. It depends on what is going on in town.” Brodie had no intention of leaving his job. It didn’t mean he wouldn’t do all he could to spend time with Maggie while she healed.

“I must say you’ve done an admirable job hiring deputies.” Fielder stood, walking to a small cabinet and pulling out a bottle of whiskey. Without asking, he poured two shots, handing one to Brodie. “And you’ve exceeded my expectations during your short time as sheriff.” He tilted his glass toward Brodie, then took a sip.

“Thank you, Mr. Fielder. It hasn’t been dull.”

“No, I suppose not.” Fielder studied Brodie, wrestling with something.

“Was there anything else?”

“I don’t know if you’ve heard, but Pinkerton believes he’s close to locating Maggie’s family.”

Brodie choked on the last of his whiskey. “No, sir. I hadn’t heard.”

“Sam mentioned it to me when I saw him in town last night. Seems they left Denver not long after Maggie’s kidnapping. Mr. King tried to find her, even hired an investigator. When they couldn’t find a trace, they decided to head back east. Pinkerton believes they are in Texas. It’s good news, don’t you think?”

“Uh, yes. Good news.”

“Of course, nothing is certain. It may be a false lead. I never count on anything these days.”

“Right.” Brodie’s voice was flat. He knew his thoughts were selfish, but he couldn’t stop himself from wishing her parents weren’t found, at least not until he’d had time to plead his case to Maggie, convince her to stay in Conviction.

“Sam should know more soon.”

Brodie set down his empty glass and stood. “I’m certain he’ll let me know as soon as he learns anything else.”

“Do you plan to tell Miss King?”

“Not yet. I don’t want to give her false hope. She needs to put all her effort into recovering.”

“Give her my best, Sheriff. Perhaps I’ll see the two of you in town soon.”