Journey of Hope: A Novel of Triumph and Heartbreak on the Oregon Trail in 1852 (35 page)

“That’s it for me,” the captain said. He had won a few dollars and knew when to quit. The others got up also. Captain Wyatt knew there was a time and place for everything. He wasn’t opposed to gambling in moderation. He went to the bar and ordered a drink. Jack came up and sat beside him.

“That was a good game, Captain. Do you play often?”

“Only when I’m winning,” Captain Wyatt replied.

Jack laughed. He had an easy manner, but underlying that was a man who knew what he was about.

“Where are you from?” the captain asked.

“Most recently from California.”

“How long you been here?”

“I just got in this afternoon. I prefer California to Oregon in the winter, but I have a job to do and it’s brought me here.”

“What line of work are you in?” Captain Wyatt asked curiously.

“I’m a lawman, Captain. I’m looking for someone name of Chance Parker. Ever hear of him?”

Captain Wyatt thought for a moment. “I meet a lot of people on these trains. Been doing this for a few years now, but I don’t believe I’ve ever heard the name.”

“He also goes by an alias. Ever hear of Luke Patterson?”

“No, I’ve never heard of him.”

“This man is a ruthless killer. He’s wanted in a few states, most recently in Kentucky. He gunned a man down in cold blood.” He reached into a pocket. “Here’s his picture on this wanted poster.”

Captain Wyatt stared at the picture. He looked at Jack Thompson. The name on the wanted poster said Chance Parker, but the picture was of Abel Brown. The captain smiled grimly. It looked like he had been in the right place, and it was the right time.

Reckoning

Chapter Thirty-Eight

The next morning, Abel Brown shaved, dressed, and left their room at the hotel. He didn’t tell Emily where he was going. He wanted to get to the bank as soon as they opened and check over his deeds that were stored in a safe deposit box. When he arrived, one of the tellers showed him to the private room where he could look over the contents of the box. He took the deeds out and checked them over one by one. All but one had been signed over to Emily and notarized. The only one under the name Abel Brown was his claim of one hundred sixty acres. He hadn’t wanted to put the deeds in Emily’s name, but he was worried about having them in his name, which wasn’t really his name. Abel Brown was an alias, and he didn’t want that to catch up with him down the road. He clearly couldn’t put the deeds in his real name, Chance Parker. No, having the deeds in Emily’s name was best. She was his wife; what she owned was his legally, and she never needed to know.

He looked at the other document in the box. There was the precise script of Emily’s so-called mother on the envelope addressed to “Mrs. Ernest Hinton.” He smiled thinly. He had no fear that Emily would ever leave him. As long as he knew her secret, she would remain with him.

Emily made her way to one of the tables in the café of the hotel. It was a small room next to the lobby with five tables. Only one other table was occupied by a couple having a lively discussion.

Mrs. Ortiz brought Emily a steaming cup of coffee.

“Thank you, Mrs. Ortiz.”

Emily took most of her meals here. The food was hot and nourishing, and Mrs. Ortiz was very kind to her.

“You’re too thin, Miss Emily,” she would say, and she would bring Emily a special treat she had baked.

Today Emily ordered biscuits and gravy instead of the usual eggs. While she waited for her food, she sipped her coffee and wondered what she would do today. Every day was much like the next. She spent her time reading her books and mending her clothes. All of her dresses were in various stages of ruin. She had bought yard goods at Mr. Weiss’s store, but she hadn’t had the motivation to begin a new frock. She couldn’t think of one reason why she wanted a new dress, so the material lay in the corner of their rented room. Buster had taken to making it his bed, and every night he scratched at it until he fluffed it up, and then he circled three times before he settled down. It would have made Emily laugh if she had felt anything but tired. Mrs. Ortiz came over with a thick slice of cinnamon bread.

“Fresh out of the oven. Still warm!” She left the plate on the table, and Emily picked at it. It was probably delicious, but she couldn’t taste it.

Soon, her food arrived, and Emily ate some of it. She was in the habit of taking what she didn’t eat up to Buster. He enjoyed her choices immensely. Maybe she would go up to the room and take a nap. It was still morning but she felt exhausted.

Abel closed up the safe deposit box and indicated to the teller that he was finished. The teller put the box away, and Abel made his way out of the bank. It was a fine day, and he was going to rent a buggy and drive around to check out all of his new properties. Just as he stepped onto the boardwalk a voice said, “Hold it right there, Parker.”

Abel froze at the sound of his real name. He turned towards the man who was holding a gun pointed at his chest. He saw a tall man with steel gray eyes under a wide brimmed black hat.

“You can put your hands up nice and slow. My name’s Jack Thompson and I’m a United States Marshall.”

“There must be some mistake. I don’t know who this Parker fellow is. My name is Abel Brown.” He was nervously watching Thompson who was handling his gun like he knew how to use it.

“Turn around Parker. Easy now. Put your hands on that hitching post and spread your legs,” Thompson ordered. He quickly frisked Abel and found the small gun in his boot.

“You won’t be needing this where you’re going,” Thompson said as he put Abel’s gun in his pocket. “Let’s go!” and he nudged Abel in the back with his revolver. He and Abel walked to the government offices, which served as a courthouse and a jail. There was a single cell, and this is where Abel would stay until Jack Thompson arranged their transportation back to California, and from there to Kentucky.

Captain Wyatt had watched the arrest from across the street. Today was a day of reckoning, he thought, and he made his way to the hotel to inform Miss Emily.

Emily was finished picking at her breakfast and had decided to return to her room when she saw Captain Wyatt from the window walking towards the hotel. She hadn’t seen him in over a month, and she wondered what his business was. He walked through the front doors, and when he looked to the left and saw her, he came over to her table.

“Good morning, Miss Emily,” he said, removing his hat. “May I join you?”

Emily tried to hide her surprise. He looked so serious! “Of course, Captain. What can I do for you?”

Captain Wyatt was a man of few words and he didn’t mince them now. “Abel has just been arrested.”

Emily gasped. “What? Why?”

“He’s wanted in the States for murder. There’s been a warrant for his arrest, and a United States Marshal has tracked him here. His real name is Chance Parker.”

“Abel a murderer!” Emily clutched her throat.

“He’s in the government building in a holding cell. The marshal will take him back to Kentucky where he will stand trial for murder, and most likely hang. I’m sorry, Miss Emily.”

“This can’t be right,” Emily said. The room began to spin. She tried to stand up but her knees buckled. Captain Wyatt caught her before she hit the floor.

When Emily opened her eyes, she was lying on her bed and Mrs. Ortiz was leaning over her. Captain Wyatt was nowhere in sight, and Emily thought that she must have dreamed their conversation.

“Are you alright, dear? You gave us quite a scare! That nice Captain Wyatt carried you up here.”

Emily groaned. It hadn’t been a dream. Abel Brown—or whatever his name was—her husband, was a murderer.

“Sit up, Miss Emily, and drink this.” Mrs. Ortiz gave her a glass of water. “You’ve had quite a morning. Captain Wyatt told me what happened. I never did like Mr. Brown, er, Parker. He was not a nice man!”

Emily gulped the water. She was having a hard time taking in the information that Captain Wyatt had told her. She couldn’t think of what to do or who to turn to.

“Is there anyone I can fetch for you, Miss Emily?” Mrs. Ortiz asked gently.

“I don’t know. I can’t think.” Then her eyes cleared. “Wait. Would you please tell Nellie—Mrs. Mueller—Reverend Mueller’s wife at Mr. Weiss’s store that I need her?”

“Of course, dear. You rest until I get back.” And she left Emily alone.

Ten minutes later, Nellie was with Emily, who told her about Abel’s arrest.

“That scoundrel! I’ve never trusted him! And to think he’s a murderer!” Nellie said vehemently. “That doesn’t surprise me, Emily. There was always something sinister about him. Where is he now?”

“He’s in the cell in the government building. The marshal is going to take him to Kentucky to stand trial. They say he’ll hang, Nellie.” Emily shivered.

Nellie glanced at her sharply. “You don’t have any feelings for him, do you Emily?”

Emily looked horrified. “No! I have never in my life been as miserable as I have been in this marriage, Nellie. You have no idea what I have had to endure. And now to find out that he’s killed someone! I hope I never lay eyes on him again!”

Nellie watched Emily carefully. A year ago she would have dissolved into tears. Now she was matter-of-fact and resolute.

“Good. That’s the spirit. What are your plans, Emily?”

“I don’t know, Nellie. I can’t think about that now. I know Abel paid our room and board here until the end of the year. Beyond that I don’t know what I’ll do.”

“You always have a home with us, Emily.”

The two women hugged each other, and Buster jumped up and down happily.

Discovery

Chapter Thirty-Nine

The next morning, Marshal Thompson visited Emily briefly. “Your husband has asked to see you. You can visit him if you’d like, but we’ll be leaving shortly for California.”

“I have nothing to say to him, Marshal. I’m glad that you found him. It’s time he pays the consequences for his foul deeds.”

“He’ll get a fair trial in Kentucky, Ma’am.”

The marshal left, and Emily felt like she could breathe again. In the afternoon, she had a surge of energy. She cleaned the room from top to bottom. She was determined to get rid of all traces of Abel Brown. After she finished, she went to the wardrobe, took out his clothes, and laid them on the bed. These she would give to Reverend Mueller to pass on to someone needy. As she was folding Abel’s long black coat, she felt something stiff in the lining.

“What is this?” she wondered as she opened the coat to the inside. A little searching revealed a secret pocket. She reached inside and pulled out a handful of bills—hundreds of dollars and more inside!

“Just like Abel not to trust a bank!” she muttered. “This must be his gambling winnings.” She had a momentary urge to throw it all out the window. She shook her head and pulled the rest of the cash from the coat. Then she carefully went through the rest of his clothing, but found nothing else. She counted up the bills.

“Seventeen hundred dollars!” She knew he had money, but he never told her how much he had or where it was. She fanned it out in her hands. This was more money than she had ever seen before. What would she do with it? That would take careful consideration.