Mail Order Devastation (Montana Mail Order Brides, Book 4) (19 page)

Caldwell nodded, wiping his eyes on the back of his sleeve.

Clay turned and faced the few people who were close enough to have heard the man’s rambling.  “And the rest of you—those who saw it—that’s what you’re going to say, too.  Because that’s the truth.  I’m not asking anyone to lie.  Just leave the other stuff, about his daughter, out.”

“
I saw the whole thing,” a man piped up, nodding.  “Caldwell told Croft to let the woman go.  Croft laughed, and drew on him.  Any one of us would have done the same thing.”

The men in the crowd nodded, murmuring to each other.

Over the heads of the gathered townspeople, Noah saw the jail wagon pull up, preceded by three officers on horseback, who leapt down from their horses and ordered the crowd to disperse.

After relating the events that took place to the police, relinquishing Croft
’s firearm, and seeing the jail wagon drive off to take Croft to the hospital, Noah and Clay left Caldwell in the custody of the officers and walked back to the butcher shop.

“
That man,” Noah began, “he admitted to planning Croft’s murder.”

“
Yeah,” Clay agreed.  “But he also admitted to changing his mind.  He only went back because Sadie was in trouble.  There’s no doubt in my mind that he was defending her.  And whatever was going through Caldwell’s mind at the time, Croft pulled the trigger first.  Caldwell’s shot was justified, in the defense of himself and others.  Plain and simple.”

Noah said nothing.

“Loo
k…
that ma
n…
he’s done some terrible things.  Probably a
lot
of terrible thing
s—
the kind of things that most folks couldn’t even imagine.  The police have been after him for years.  The sheriff would like nothing more than to put him away.  But nothing ever stuck.  No one would press charges.  Everyone is afraid of Croft.  I’d like to have put a bullet between his eyes, myself, more than once—I never
would
, but I admit, I’ve entertained that fantasy more than once, before getting ahold of my thoughts.  The man is pure evil, and it was only a matter of time before someone took the law into their own hands.”

“
You know that man?  Caldwell?”

They stepped up onto the sidewalk in front of the butcher shop. 

“Yeah.”  Clay sighed, running his hands through his hair.  “His daughter went missing a year ago.  She was only eighteen.  She was last seen heading to Croft’s ranch, to be his new cook and housekeeper.  Caldwell said he had a bad feeling about it, but Missy, his daughter, talked him into it.  She wanted to go to college, but Caldwell couldn’t afford to send her.  He never saw her again.  And he’s blamed himself every day since.”

“
That’s…awful.  What do you think happened to her?”

A cloud passed over Clay
’s eyes, darkening his expression, and he didn’t say anything for a moment.  “Nothing good.”

“
Sounds like you know more about Croft than you’re telling.”

Clay looked away, back toward the saloon. 
“I do.  More than I’d like to know.  The man is vermin.  I’m a forgiving man, but I’m ashamed to say, I still haven’t managed to work up forgiveness for Croft. It’s hard to forgive a person who shows no compunction for his crimes.”

“
But we have to keep trying,” Noah said.

“
Yeah.  We do.”

As Clay pulled out his keys to unlock the butcher shop door, Noah heard his mother
’s voice behind him.

“
Noah!  There you are!  Oh, thank the dear Lord, you’re alright.”  She was out of breath, rushing up to him and clutching his arm. 

“
Mother, what are you—”

“
When I heard from Eva Meyer that Vera Deming, had been shot, I—”

“
What?” Noah felt the bottom drop out of his stomach.

“
Haven’t you heard?  Didn’t you hear the shots?  It was right over there.”  His mother pointed—not at the saloon where the crowd had thinned out, but farther down the block, where another little knot of people still stood.  “There was some kind of shoot-out, and Mrs. Deming got caught in the crossfire.”

“
No!”  He was shocked at the news.  There had been so many people and so much chaos in front of the saloon, he’d had no idea Croft’s stray shot had hit someone.  Then he thought of Nell—she could have been with Vera Deming.   “What about the baby?  Did she have the baby with her?  Is Nell alright?”

“
I don’t know!  Eva only heard that Mrs. Deming was shot.  I knew you’d have come down this way to shop for Mollie’s present.  I was worried that you might have been on the street when it happened!  I had to come find you.”

“
I’m fine, Mother, don’t worry.  But I need to get to Mollie.  She’ll want to find out if Nell is alright.”

“
You go.  I’ll go back and re-open the store, and stay all day if need be.  Just don’t forget to tell me whether the baby is safe or not.”

Chapter 27

“
Is Nell alright?” Mollie’s voice was strident the moment she heard the news.

Noah reached out to steady her. 
“I don’t know.  Mrs. Meyer didn’t know anything about the baby, only that it was Vera Deming who was shot by the stray bullet.  Apparently there was already a crowd by the time Mrs. Meyer got there, and she never got close enough to see what had happened.”

Mollie was already grabbing her coat and slipping it on.

“I’ve got the buggy waiting outside—I knew you’d want to go straight to the hospital to find out what’s going on.”

“
But which hospital?”  She yanked open the door and rushed outside.  “It seems like I remember hearing you say once that there was more than one in Helena.”

He pulled the door shut behind them and followed her down the walk. 
“I didn’t think about that.  He held the gate open for her, shutting it behind them, then helping her up into the carriage.  “But I think I heard an officer saying they were bringing Croft to St. Joseph’s Hospital—so maybe that’s where Mrs. Deming was taken.  It’s probably the closest, anyway.”

“
Wait—no.  What if Mr. Deming was with her?  He’d demand the best hospital, wouldn’t he?  The newest?  That would be the other one.”

“
St. Peter’s?  Not necessarily.  The newest, sure, but whether it’s the best would be a highly contested question.  It’s also smaller than St. Joseph’s.  Then again, it seems like I remember hearing that the Deming family donated money to support St. Peter’s.”

“
Then we should go there.”

Noah walked around and climbed into the buggy, turning the horse around and heading for St. Peter
’s Hospital. 

Mollie
’s hands turned white, she had them gripped so tightly together.  The hitch in her breath told him she was holding back tears.

He covered her ungloved hands with his. 
“I’m sure she’s alright.”

“
Mrs. Deming doesn’t go out all that often,” she said, her voice strained.  “But when I saw her go out…it was usually with the whole family, including the nanny and the wet nurse.”  She choked back a sob.  “What will I do if she’s gone, Noah?  How do I go on without her?  I knew that I might not see her again if the Demings move…but at least if I knew she was out there, somewhere, with a family that cares for her, I could go on, knowing she’s happy…”

“
I know.”  He patted her hand.  “If Nell was there today—and I’m sure she wasn’t—then most likely Mrs. Deming protected her.”

“
But a bullet can go clean through a person,” she whispered. 

***

When they walked into St. Peter’s Hospital, the nurse that greeted them was reluctant to answer their questions.  Mollie was sure that the woman was being cautious with questions about a patient of a prominent family whose name was probably on a plaque somewhere in the hospital. 

“
Just tell me if you’ve had any victims of a gunfight in here today!” Mollie begged. 

Then Noah tapped her on the arm, and she turned, and followed his gaze.

Down a long corridor, a tall man in a dark coat sagged against the wall, speaking with a doctor.

Mollie sped toward him, with Noah in tow, ignoring the nurse
’s protests.  As she came up behind the man—who was, indeed, Alexander Deming—she overheard the last of his conversation.

“—
I still don’t understand how this could happen.”

“
You’ve spent half your life here, Mr. Deming,” said the doctor.  “You know how Main Street can be.  We see this more often than I’d like.”

“
But…they’ve made so many improvements in the laws, and—”

“
Unfortunately, there’s always a seedy element, in every town, Mr. Deming.  It was just a matter of the wrong place at the wrong time.”

“
Excuse me…Mr. Deming?” Mollie approached him, her hands trembling.

He turned, his face a mask of disbelief and misery.  Then recognition sparked in his eyes. 
“You!” he snapped.  “You’re supposed to be in jail!  What are you doing here?”

“
I don’t want to disturb you—”

“
Too late for that!”

“—
I heard about Mrs. Deming, and I’m so very sorry.  But I…I was worried that…that Nell might have been with her…”

He drew himself up to his full height. 
“
Cordelia
was at home.  She’s fine, not that it’s your business any more.”

Noah stepped in. 
“Have some compassion, man!  I understand what you’re going through, but—”

“
You understand?  You
understand?
”
 
A ragged, humorless laugh escaped his throat.  “My wife is lying in a hospital bed, bleeding from a gunshot wound. 
Your
wife looks just fine to me!  How is it that you understand?”

“
What I meant was—”

“
Get out.  Both of you.  Get out!”  He waved his arm angrily, causing the nearby nuns and nurses to stop and stare in their direction.  “I’ve had enough of you!  It’s bad enough you hounded my wife until she was sick with worry.  Now you’re here to hound her into the grave?”  He leveled his finger at Mollie.  “I’ve been more than patient with you.  But enough is enough.  As soon as my wife recovers, I’m packing up my family and we’re leaving Helena.  And we’re not going back to Boston or anywhere else you can track us down.  You’ll never see your daughter again.  Do you hear me?  Never again!”

The doctor, who had remained silent and let Deming speak his piece, now stepped forward, laying a comforting hand on Mr. Deming
’s shoulder.  Then he nodded toward Mollie and Noah.  “I think he’s right.  You should go.  This isn’t a good time.”

Mollie stared, frozen in horror at Deming
’s words.  She scarcely felt Noah tugging at her arm.

“
Let’s go,” he murmured.  “At least we know she’s safe.”

Mollie nodded, shuffling along beside him.  Before she knew it, she was sitting beside Noah in the buggy, pulling up in front of their home.

Home.  Can anything ever really be a home, for me, without Nell in it?
  She was numb with shock.  She’d always known there was a likelihood of the Deming family moving away to evade her, but to hear it said with such finality…such deliberate malice…it shook her to her core.

Noah remained silent as he helped her down from the buggy and into the house.  What could he say to her?  What could anyone say?  She had lost Nell forever.  Once and for all.  She was a mother with no child.

She touched her flat belly, remembering how the swell of it felt beneath her hands when she carried Nell inside her.  She remembered the last two months of her confinement, seeing to the endless housework in her mother’s home and coping with her aching back, and how eager she had been for Nell to be born.

If she
’d known then what was to come of her child, she might have wished that her little Nell could stay inside of her, safe and protected, forever.

Noah said something soothing, but Mollie didn
’t hear it.  She was lost in a world of memories of Nell—the day she was born, the smell of her hair, her first smile.  Then the memories fell away like shattered glass, and she was faced with the four walls of her bedroom.  She was tucked in bed, and didn’t even remember how she’d gotten there.  Somewhere off in the house—the kitchen, perhaps?—she heard Noah bustling around.

She stared about her, at the empty bedroom
—with no bassinet, no crib, no baby quilt tossed casually across the bed.  No signs that she’d ever had a baby…that Nell had ever existed.

Mollie had nothing left to remember Nell by, except the pink sweater she
’d taken by accident from the Deming home.

She considered fetching it from the drawer. 
What’s the point?
she thought. 
It’s over.  Nell will be gone soon.  I might as well burn it. 
She only wished she could burn from her mind every memory of Nell, as well.  Maybe then she could go on with her life…think about future children, her life with Noah.  Maybe then she could be happy.  But as long as her arms were empty, her heart would be too.  She could find no solace in the future, or hope for happiness.

For Mollie, there was no future.