The Outrider (Redbourne Series #5 - Will's Story) (23 page)

“Sven?” he called, trying to rouse the man. He
put the Norwegian’s arm over his shoulder and lifted him into a standing
position. Will groaned. The weight was too much. He wouldn’t last long trying
to carry him like this.

The marshal removed the gun from Sven’s hand and retrieved
his own from the sick man’s belt, returning it to his empty holster.

“I’m going to need your help,” Will told the
lawman.

“Where are you taking him?” The marshal placed
his arms beneath Will’s to help support the man. “He’s officially in my
custody.”

“That may be so, Fenton, but he needs a doctor.”

Together they carried Sven over to the cart that
sat at the edge of the stable.

“It might be faster if you put him on a horse.”

The marshal had a point. He ran back to the
stable where Indy had been stalled and opened the gate.

“Come on, boy,” he coaxed, grabbing the bridle
from a nail on the side of the stall.

Within a few moments, they had Sven in a saddle
with Will right behind him to keep him upright. There were several doctors in
Kansas City. He just needed to find the closest one. He eased his heels into Indy’s
side and urged him out of the livery and into the street.

It had been a while since Will had visited, but
he seemed to remember one of the medical offices being on Fourth Street. He
headed that direction, followed by the marshal, and was relieved when he came
upon a little white house with a sign out front that read,
Office of Dr.
Vernon Hicks, Physician
.

He dismounted awkwardly, trying to keep Sven from
falling off, then gently pulled his friend from the horse. The man was getting
heavier and Will struggled under his bulky frame until Fenton was able to reach
them. With a joint effort, they carried the Norwegian up the front steps and to
the door.

Before Will could call out that they were there,
the door swung wide open and an older man in a white shirt, black vest, and
spectacles ushered them inside and directed the men through a long, white
curtain to a room with a large table. They laid Sven down as gently as they
could and took two steps back, allowing the doctor access, each sucking in a
lightened breath.

“What’s wrong with him?” the doc asked.

Will proceeded to tell him about everything that
had happened yesterday morning back at Redbourne Ranch, but he excluded the
details about him working with a band of outlaws.

“He a friend of yours?”

“No,” the marshal said.

“Yes,” Will said at the same time, pulling the
hat from his head and running a quick hand through his hair.

The doctor looked up at the marshal.

“He’s in my charge,” Fenton replied as he pulled
back his coat to show his shiny marshal’s badge.

“He do something wrong?” The doc asked, while he
proceeded to examine him.

“Seems so, Doc,” Will said, now fidgeting with
his hat.

He glanced up at the clock on the wall. A quarter
of twelve. They only had fifteen minutes before they were supposed to be at the
land office. He reached into his pocket, pulled out a few bills, and handed
them to the doc.

“I hope this will cover it, but if not, the
marshal here knows how to find me.” He turned to Fenton. “I’ve got to go,” he
said apologetically. “Will you look after him?”

The marshal nodded. “You know he’s going to jail,
right?” he whispered.

“I know, but at least he won’t be dead.” He
handed the marshal money the equivalent of what his share of the job would be,
but the lawman shook his head.

“Keep it,” he said, jutting his chin out toward
Sven. “I got what I came for.”

Will stared at the bills a moment before
returning them to his pocket. He looked up, nodded curtly, then hustled from
the office.

On his way back to the livery, he rode past
Ellis, the three women, Albert, and little Caspar. He exhaled heavily.
This
was just supposed to be an easy day trip. What a mess.

When he got back to the stables, Will rode around
to the back of the livery and dismounted. The doors were still wide open and Paulie
stood on top of the stage, the closed strong box already secured back in place.
He looked up at Will.

“Sven?”

“He’s with the doc now.” Will dismounted and
lashed his reins around the top rung of a stall gate just inside the doors. “We
only have a few minutes. I hope Ellis is on his way back with the ladies.”

“Oh, no,” Paulie said as he climbed down from the
top of the coach. He ran toward a door at the far end of the big open space.

“What is it?” Will asked, surprised by Paulie’s
sudden exclamation.

“I forgot about the liveryman,” he said as he
threw open the door to the tack room.

The poor livery owner jumped, squinting as the
light hit the dark room. He sat with his hands and feet tied to the legs of a chair,
his mouth also bound with a cloth gag. Paulie rushed inside and worked quickly
to free the man.

Once unrestricted, the stable owner, rubbed his
wrists.

“What took you boys so long?” he asked, annoyance
permeating his voice. “I heard gunshots, then everything went quiet. If you
weren’t dead, then why did it take you this long to come get me?”

“Yes, we are alive, thank you. And we caught the
bad guys. And we saved your life. You’d think a little gratitude might be in
order.”

“Yes, well…thank you,” he said. His face dropped,
his eyes grew wide, and he backed up toward the office. “Are they…,” he
swallowed, pointing to the two men lying on the floor, “dead?”

“Yes.” There was no use sugarcoating it.

“Oh, my. I’ll just go get the sheriff.” He ran
from the room, breathing heavily.

“Paulie, we’re going to be in a lot of trouble
here. Do you have any idea what happened to the money that was supposed to be
in that strong box?”

“I was just as surprised as you when he opened it
and nothing was there.” He moved to the stall where his horse was housed.

Will wasn’t sure what they were going to do, short
of asking for an investigation.

“Think, Paulie,” he said quietly, “was there ever
a time when you stepped away from the stage while you were guarding it?”

“No, Will. I swear. I walked the perimeter a few
times, just like you, but I never abandoned post. I wouldn’t.”

“Then, we have to ask ourselves the same question
Sven did. Where is the money?”

“I can answer that,” Ellis said, as he stepped
into the light.

They both turned to look at him.

“Follow me.”

Will’s eyes locked with Elizabeth’s as she
stepped out from behind the driver, her arm around Albert’s shoulders. She
smiled—a light, a beacon, in an ever darkening situation.

Ellis climbed up onto the driver’s box. “Well,
come on, we’ve got a bankroll to deliver.”

Will stepped over to the travelling compartment
and opened the door. “Ladies,” he said, removing his hat and bowing his head
lightly. “And, gentleman,” he said to Albert, who boarded just in front of
Elizabeth. He closed the door and reached through the window, ruffling the
boy’s longer, blond hair “Albert, how was your meal?”

“I had a stack of flapjacks this tall,” he said
with one hand around his belly and the other up to his chin.

“That’s a lot of flapjacks,” Will said with a
smile. “I’ll bet you’re ready for a nice long nap, then.”

“I ain’t no baby, Will,” Albert said, folding his
arms and scrunching his brows.

“Albert,” Elizabeth said as a gentle reminder.

“I,” the boy looked up at her, “
am not
a
baby, Will.”

Elizabeth nodded her approval.

Will laughed and winked at her and her smile
turned into a light giggle.

“I know, kiddo. You’re practically a man, but
even the strongest of men deserve a nap once in a while, don’t you think, Miss
Archer?” He turned to look at Elizabeth.

She shrugged. “Somehow, I cannot imagine that
you, Mr. Redbourne, are a nap taker.”

She had him there. He couldn’t remember the last
time he’d indulged.

With the passengers all loaded, Will had a matter
to discuss with Ellis. He’d been hired as an outrider to guard the stage as it
carried a bankroll deposit to Kansas City along with three mail-order-brides,
but now, the money was gone and there was no reasonable explanation that Will
could see. The driver seemed to have some answers.

“Ellis,” Will said as he climbed up into the box
next to the driver, “there’s been a little mishap.”

“Paulie told me all about your Norwegian friend.
That is exactly why my benefactors decided to take some extra precautions,” he
said with a sly smile.

“What
kind
of precautions?” Will raised a
brow, but narrowed his eyes.

“The kind that allows us to deliver our cargo on
time,” he said, raising an arm. “Head out!” he called out with a loud, booming
voice, then turned back to Will in quieter tones. “Everything will be all right,
son. Don’t you worry.”

Will narrowed his eyes at the man. He climbed
down off the stage and mounted his horse. He’d been left out of the loop on a
job he was responsible for and he didn’t like it one bit. How was he supposed
to protect the payload if he had no idea where it was being kept? When he
glanced inside the coach as he rode by, he met Elizabeth’s eyes. She smiled
briefly, then returned her attention to the boy and his dog. Caspar climbed up
and stuck her head out the window, her tongue out as she panted her excitement.

Will laughed as he rode to the front. “You heard
the man,” he called out to Paulie who awaited his cue. “Head out!”

He led the stagecoach across town to the land
office just east of the train depot.

When they pulled up in front, a man with a long,
silvery coat stepped out onto the porch to greet them, accompanied by two
rather large armed guards. He waved at Ellis, then tipped his hat to the
outriders.

Will pulled up next to the window of the stage
and leaned down to address the passengers.

“Please stay inside until our dealings here are
complete.”

Each of them responded with a nod.

“Thank you, kindly.” He tapped the window sill,
then rode up to the porch. Paulie stayed at the back to guard the coach. Ellis
pulled on the long, wooden brake and wrapped the reins for the team around it
before climbing down.

“Mr. Danvers,” he said, hopping up the wooden
steps and greeting the man in the silver coat. “It’s nice to see you again.”

They shook hands.

“Likewise, Mr. Glenn. I trust you have my
package,” he said, nodding toward the stagecoach.

“Yes, sir.”

“Any trouble find you along the way?”

“Nothing these outriders couldn’t handle, sir.”

The gentleman turned to Will. “You Jameson
Redbourne’s kid?” he asked, taking a step toward him.

The question surprised Will.

“Yes, sir.”

“Jameson’s a good man.”

“Thank you, sir.”

“Thank
you
. For all you’ve done here. I
know it wasn’t an easy task to get the stage here without incident. Although, I
must say, I was astounded to hear that a Redbourne was stepping in as an outrider.”
He crouched down on the platform, so he was eye-level with him on his horse. “You’re
the one who studied in England. William, right?”

“Yes, sir,” Will said slowly, narrowing his eyes
slightly, surprised by the man’s familiarity with his family. “May I ask how
you know so much about us, sir?”

The man laughed. “Jameson and I go way back. We
knew each other as children and we have done business together many times
throughout the years. You could say I owe him my life. And my wealth.” He
leaned in closer to Will and spoke more quietly than before. “He’s very proud
of you, you know?”

Will didn’t know what to say. Sometimes, in a
family as big as his, he’d felt alone, invisible almost. “What makes you say
that?”

“Last time he came to Denver, he couldn’t stop
bragging about his son studying at Oxford. He said the two of you are more
alike than you’d probably care to admit.” He laughed. “Said you’d taken up
pugilism while you were there. You still fight?”

Will was still trying to process everything he’d
just learned. He looked up at the man, realizing he’d been asked a question.
“Fight? Right. Not professionally. Not anymore.”

“That’s a shame. We’re getting ready for a big match
in Denver and we could really use a man like you.”

“In another lifetime maybe,” Will said with a tip
of his hat. There was no use recounting his whole story to this man. Besides,
he would be setting sail soon and heading for England. He didn’t have time for
another diversion in Denver.

“Well, you’re lucky to be a part of such a
wonderful family. And to think I’ve come across two in one day.”