Brave Beginnings (45 page)

The man came out and gave them a surprised
look. “What can I do for you?”

Conrad rested a hand on the counter. “We’re
looking for two people. A man and a woman. It’s possible they’re
wearing disguises and using fake names. The man is Ernest Freeman.
He’s wanted for robbing a bank, kidnapping, and murder. The woman
is Julia, and he kidnapped her last week. They would have come in
this morning.”

The owner scratched his head. “There was a
couple who came in close to noon. The man had blond hair and a
beard, but I never saw the woman’s face. Well, maybe except for her
eyes. She was all covered up with a scarf, and her hat was low.
They went by the names Mr. and Mrs. Richfield.”

“You mind telling me what room they’re in?”
Conrad pulled out his wallet and showed the man his identification.
“I’m a detective.”

The man studied the identification for a
moment and nodded. “They’re up there. Room 24. I’ll go with
you.”

“Thank you.” Conrad turned to the group and
added, “Let’s hope the rabbit trail ends here.”

“Where’s Chogan?” Gary asked Citlali, using
their Mandan language.

“He went to rest in front of the general
store,” Citlali answered in Mandan. “He’s recovering but still
isn’t his old self.”

The owner cleared his throat so they looked
in his direction. “I don’t mean to be rude, but when you’re in my
hotel, I prefer you to speak English.”

“We’re sorry,” Gary replied. “I was inquiring
about a family member.”

The owner seemed hesitant but nodded before
he led Conrad up the stairs.

Citlali bit his tongue.
He’d noted the owner’s wary look in his direction when he entered
the hotel. Under ordinary circumstances, it wouldn’t have bothered
him, but with the long and exhausting trip, it did. His nerves were
on edge, and the last thing he felt like doing was concentrating on
speaking English. It took more effort to do so. He hadn’t meant any
harm in reverting to Mandan, but he doubted the owner understood
that. Sighing, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
Hopefully, soon they would find Julia and Ernest and this whole
thing would be over.

Conrad ran back down the steps. “No one’s
there anymore. The window is open. Someone escaped and someone
followed.”

Erin sniffed. “You think Ernest is going
after her?”

“He has to be,” Conrad replied.

“Now that I think about it,” the owner began
as he walked down the steps, “there was a woman who came flying
down the stairs not too long ago. I didn’t recognize her at the
time, but she probably was the same one who came here with that
scarf covering her face.”

“Julia!” Erin hopefully exclaimed, clutching
the handkerchief to her heart.

“I bet that’s exactly who it was,” Conrad
said. “I found a bottle of laudanum in that room and an empty cup
of coffee, along with that scarf and hat. She didn’t use enough
laudanum to knock Ernest out for long, but she got away. Any idea
where she might have gone?”

The owner cleared his throat and pointed out
the window. “Actually, they did go to the general store down that
way before they came back to the room with something to eat.”

“Great!” Conrad clapped his hands. “Let’s go.
Erin, you stay here. It might get ugly.” As if to emphasize his
point, he pulled out his gun.

Gary took out his gun, and Gary and Noah
followed Conrad and Citlali out the door.

***

Chogan kissed Julia, trying to be careful so
he wouldn’t hurt her lower lip. It hurt him to see her this way,
bruised and scared. He wanted to take her away from there and just
hold her in his arms forever, never letting her go. The need for
vengeance and safety warred in his heart. He couldn’t let Ernest
get near her ever again.

Chogan had been stupid and had his back to
the teepee they were in when Ernest shot the gun, and when he
turned to face Ernest, he didn’t have his bow and arrow raised—a
nearly fatal mistake. Chogan was a hunter. He knew to check all of
his surroundings. His error could have caused Julia her life. Had
Chogan been careful, Ernest wouldn’t have run off with her.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered, holding her close
but not too tight so he wouldn’t hurt her where she suffered
bruising.

“You have nothing to be sorry for,” she
softly replied, caressing the side of his face.

“I should have paid better attention to my
surroundings at the teepee. If I had—”

She pressed her fingers over his lips. “You
didn’t know. No one could know Sarita would lead Ernest to us. The
important thing is you’re alive and with me.”

Swallowing the lump in his throat, he kissed
her. “I don’t know what I’d do without you. I’m just glad God gave
us a second chance to be together.”

“Me too. The worst mistake I made was saying
no the first time you asked me to marry you. The best thing I did
was make Gary take me to you, even if it was late at night.”

He laughed. “You were like an angel. For a
moment, I thought I was having a vision, but then you were real and
you made me complete.”

“You complete me too, Chogan. There could
never be anyone for me but you.”

Just as he was about to return the sentiment,
the bell above the door rang, signaling that someone had entered
the place.

“May I help you?” Mrs. Coley asked from the
front of the store.

“I’m looking for my wife,” the man said.

Chogan quickly set Julia’s feet on the
floor.

“Chogan?” Julia whispered, reaching for
him.

“No. He won’t hurt you again,” Chogan
replied, realizing his voice had turned cold in the sudden burst of
anger that heated his body. Ignoring the panic in Julia’s eyes, he
rushed to the front of the store where he saw Ernest standing in
front of the counter where Mrs. Coley stood. “Julia’s not your
wife.”

Ernest turned from Mrs. Coley and
blanched.

“You didn’t expect me to live, did you?”
Chogan demanded, his voice sharp.

Ernest stepped back. “It’s impossible. No one
was there to help you.”

“You can’t kill me.” Chogan stepped forward,
clenching his fists as he thought of everything Ernest did to
Julia. “You’ll never kill me, Ernest, and you’ll never lay a hand
on my wife again.”

Ernest bolted from the store, but Chogan
followed. All he could picture was Ernest hitting Julia. By the
time Ernest reached the street, Chogan had caught up to him and
shoved him into the ground. Chogan kicked Ernest in the back and
sides with all of his strength despite the pounding in his ears and
pain from his wounds.

“How does this feel?” Chogan yelled,
realizing he was speaking in Mandan but unable to form the English
words. “You think it’s good to do this to a woman?”

Ernest rolled from him and tried to scamper
away, but Chogan grabbed Ernest by the collar and lifted him to his
feet. He turned Ernest around and punched him in the nose which
bled.

“I’ll kill you for what you did to Julia!”
Chogan yelled, again in Mandan, before he punched Ernest, this time
aiming for his eye where Ernest had struck Julia.

Chogan was only briefly aware of the
commotion going on around him as Ernest crumpled to the ground,
whining for Chogan to stop. But Chogan couldn’t stop. All he could
see was Julia’s bruised face and arms and hear her telling him
everything Ernest had done to her. Chogan pounced on Ernest and got
ready to punch him again when someone grabbed his arm.

“Stop!” Citlali shouted in their native
tongue. “They’ll hang you if you kill a white man!”

Chogan pushed Citlali away from him. “No!
Look at what he did to her!”

Chogan glanced at Julia who stood close by,
crying with her aunt as they watched everything that was happening.
His breathing grew rough with the exertion of paying Ernest back
for what he did to Julia, and his vision began to blur, but he
couldn’t stop. Ernest didn’t stop in the barn. Chogan delivered
another punch to Ernest’s jaw.

When Chogan felt as if he might pass out,
Citlali dragged Chogan off of Ernest. “Stop it!” Citlali yelled.
“It doesn’t matter what Ernest did to Julia or what he did to you.
The white judge will only hear you killed a white man, and he’ll
hang you for it!”

Chogan tried to reach Ernest again, but
Ernest had scampered far enough from his reach, and Conrad and Gary
were quickly approaching. Gasping from the pain in his side, Chogan
clutched the bandages, aware he was bleeding. He’d pushed himself
too far. He looked over at Julia who was running over to him.
Conrad and Gary apprehended Ernest who coughed and spit out a
couple of teeth.

Julia put her arms around Chogan. “Please
stop! Citlali’s right. They’ll hang you. I don’t want to live
without you.”

Citlali motioned to her. “You see what you’re
doing to her? She loves you. You’ll be no use to her or your child
if you’re dead.”

As much as Chogan hated to admit it, Citlali
was right. Citlali and Julia helped him to his feet and he stumbled
forward, suddenly exhausted. He heard a scuffle behind him and
glanced over his shoulder.

Ernest managed to get away from Conrad and
Gary. Chogan saw Ernest pull out his gun and heard the gunfire
before Citlali pushed Chogan aside. The next series of gunshots
were directed at Ernest. Conrad and Gary stood with their guns
pointed at Ernest who remained standing for a long moment before
blood dribbled out of his mouth and he collapsed to the ground.

Conrad ran over to Ernest and checked his
pulse. “He’s dead.”

Julia cried out in relief and hugged
Chogan.

Remembering the gunshot Ernest fired, Chogan
turned to Citlali who inspected his arm. “Did he get you?” Chogan
asked him.

“Just grazed me,” Citlali replied. “I’m
fine.”

Chogan sighed with relief, glad Ernest was no
longer a threat to Julia.

Gary strode over to them. “We need to get you
to a doctor to check your wounds,” he told Chogan. “You’re
bleeding.”

This time Gary and Citlali brought Chogan to
his feet and helped him walk while Julia and her aunt followed
close behind. Noah led the marshal to Conrad who knelt beside
Ernest. Chogan glanced at Julia and Erin who were crying and
holding each other. It was good Erin was here. The two women needed
to be together for a while. Relieved Julia was finally safe and
back with him, Chogan turned his attention to finding the
doctor.

***

Everyone went to the jailhouse where Julia
told Conrad and the marshal about Ernest abducting her and finding
the skeleton in the shack. She didn’t tell them the full details of
her time with Ernest, but they could see her bruised face and come
to their own conclusions. “He planned to take me to Canada. We were
supposed to board the train here in Jamestown and head out,” she
said, taking a deep breath to steady her nerves.

Chogan, who was now freshly bandaged, pulled
her closer into his embrace. “I think she’s been through enough.
You have everything you need to know.”

Conrad nodded from where he sat. “I’m sorry
you two had to get involved in the case, but I appreciate your
cooperation. I’ve been trying to pin Ernest down for the murder of
his wife. Did he mention killing her?”

Julia shook her head. “I didn’t even know
he’d been married.”

Citlali cleared his throat. “The bones in the
shack… I saw a piece of jewelry on one of them. A woman’s piece of
jewelry. I did not think it meant something, but it is still
there.”

“Good,” Conrad said, looking excited by the
prospect. “Maybe I can prove it’s her, and if I can, we’ll know for
sure.”

Julia remembered that she held the hand of
that corpse. Could it really have been Ernest’s wife that she
touched? She gripped Chogan’s vest and shivered.

“May we go?” Chogan asked.

Conrad stood. “Yes, I have everything I need.
Thank you.” He approached Julia and patted her shoulder. “I hope
next time we see each other, it’ll be under better
circumstances.”

She nodded, grateful it was all over. All she
wanted to do was go home and stay in Chogan’s arms for the rest of
her life. Her aunt came up to her, so she turned around and gave
Erin a strong hug.

“Julia,” her aunt whispered, crying
softly.

Julia broke into a fresh wave of tears and
remained in her aunt’s arms for a few seconds. “I knew Chogan would
come for me,” she whispered back.

Her aunt laughed. “You’ve got a good man, my
dear.”

Julia looked up at Gary and Citlali and
smiled at them. “Thank you for taking care of Chogan.”

While Citlali nodded, Gary came forward and
hugged her and her aunt.

“I’m glad you’re alright,” Gary said in a
shaky voice. “I love you, Julia.”

Julia laughed. “I love you too, Gary.” When
she broke away from them, she returned to Chogan and wiped her
eyes. “Can we go home now?”

“Yes, go on,” the marshal replied. “You’ve
been through enough.”

Relieved, Julia leaned against Chogan and
left, the others not far behind.

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

Julia was glad to be back at the tribe, safe
in bed with Chogan’s arms wrapped around her. It’d been two months
since they returned, and they spent most of their time in their
room in the lodge, content to keep the rest of the world out so
they could regroup from everything that had happened.

There were times when she felt the familiar
flutter of their child moving in her womb, serving as a reminder
that life could thrive even in the worst of times. She didn’t know
if she’d ever stop seeing Chogan bleeding and lying helpless on the
ground or the fury in Ernest’s eyes as he struck her. The bruises
were healing faster than the emotional scars, which she supposed
was normal. And with both Sarita and Ernest gone, no one would try
to come between her and Chogan ever again.