Gunpowder Tea (The Brides Of Last Chance Ranch Series) (33 page)

The line dead in her ear, Annie dropped the receiver. A man’s form stood no less than ten feet away. Though it was dark, she knew immediately who it was. She reached into her false pocket for her gun.

“Hello, Able.”

He stepped forward into the circle of moonlight streaming through a narrow window.

“How did you know?”

Something in her voice must have told him it would do no good to act innocent. She pulled her derringer slowly out of her pocket, careful to keep it hidden behind the folds of her skirt. “That you’re the Phantom?”

“How did you know?” he repeated.

In retrospect, there had been so many clues, but she had failed to put them together.

“The night of the fire. Something always bothered me about that night, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. You and I reached the front door at the same time, but you went out first. I always turn the
lock before retiring, but the door wasn’t locked when you went out. That meant that someone had left the house prior to the fire, and that someone could only have been you.”

“Foiled by a lock,” he said.

“That wasn’t the only thing. You always go to town on Tuesday for supplies,” she said.

“So? What does that have to do with anything?”

“I arrived at the ranch on a Thursday and you were nowhere to be found. I rang the bell and called, but the house was empty. It turns out that was the same day the bank was robbed.”

“Go on.”

“Then there was the night Branch and I were at the cave. We heard someone leave, but when I checked the horses, none appeared to have been ridden. That bothered me, but I think I solved the puzzle. The day in the garden when you were digging for carrots, I noticed an old barn. That’s where I’ll find your horse. Am I right?”

“No one uses that barn anymore. Miz Walker said I could keep my horse there.”

“Then there was the dime novel. I first saw it in the kitchen but it never occurred to me that the one in the cave was the same copy.”

“How careless of me.”

“Yes, wasn’t it?” Her mouth dry, she forced herself to continue. “What I don’t understand is the significance of the book. It’s fiction.”

“That’s what I thought. But then one day I happened to come across the cave and what do you know? It was almost identical to the one in the book. So I started digging.”

Another piece of the puzzle fell into place and she nodded. “And you found something.”

“I found gold, just like it said in the book.”

“Then why bother with robberies?” she asked. “If you found gold, you’re already rich.”

“Not me. Miss Walker. The gold belongs to the boss lady.”

Ah, more pieces of the puzzle. “So you decided to buy the ranch,” she said. “And you needed money. But why rob? Why not just mine the gold?”

“To mine that much gold I’d need proper equipment, and that would have drawn attention to the cave.”

“You had to have known Miss Walker would never sell.”

“Everyone’s got a price, and I figured Miz Walker couldn’t hold out forever. Once the ranch was mine, I could start mining.”

“But you couldn’t do it on your current salary,” she said. “So you hired others to do the dirty work.”

“Yeah, but it took too long. That’s ’cause they were cheating me out of money. So I got rid of them.”

“By getting rid of them, you mean you called the marshal.” How the marshal knew to greet the train always puzzled her. “That’s why he was waiting for them when the train pulled into the station.”

“They got what was coming to them.” He shrugged. “Besides, it was quicker and more lucrative to rob the bank. Didn’t need anyone for that. What I needed was the ranch.”

“But Miss Walker refused to sell, so you decided to scare her off by poisoning her cattle and burning down the barn and stables.” When he didn’t deny it, she continued, “What about the Wells Fargo agent? Why did you kill him?”

“I didn’t know who he was. All’s I know, he was following me.”

His matter-of-fact tone filled her with contempt. Sometimes criminals were found in the most unlikely places. In the last year alone, the agency had uncovered a pickpocket priest, a counterfeiting doctor, and an arsonist fireman. Still, it was hard to believe that the
same hands that created such delectably light pastry could kill a man in cold blood.

“What about Branch? Why did you knock him out?”

“He’s been nosing around and I figured he wasn’t who he said he was. I don’t know where he was heading, but I sure didn’t want him going back to the cave.”

“And Mr. Stackman? How does he fit into the picture?”

“Everyone knows he wants the old lady to sell the ranch and marry him. I figured if she thought she was gonna lose him, it might scare her into taking him up on his offer.”

“You thought of everything, didn’t you?” she asked. “Except for this.” She raised her arm and pointed her gun straight at him.

At that moment, the light came on in the big room, revealing the gun in Able’s hand.

Undaunted, she said, “Drop it!”

He gave her gun a cursory glance. “My barking iron’s bigger than yours.”

Just then Miss Walker hobbled into the entry on crutches, her gaze darting from gun to gun. It was obvious she’d been sleeping on the sofa in the big room. Less obvious was how much she’d heard.

“What in the name of Betsy—”

In one quick movement Able wrapped his arm around the old lady’s neck and pressed the muzzle of his gun against her temple. Miss Walker’s crutches fell to the floor with a clatter.

He glared at Annie. “Now will you drop that can opener you call a gun?”

Annie lowered her weapon to the floor.

Miss Walker’s face grew red from the pressure of his arm and her eyes bulged. “What is wrong with you, Able? What’s going on? Answer me!”

His laughter held no mirth. “I have the gun, so that means for once I give the orders, not you. Once again I’m the king of the range. Me!”

His manic voice made Annie’s flesh prickle with cold shivers but she willed herself to remain calm. The freckles she once thought gave him a boyish look now stood out like angry ink blots. How had she previously missed the cruel, tight mouth and cold, fish-stare eyes?

He backed into the living room, dragging Miss Walker with him, and motioned Annie to follow with a toss of his head. He glanced around, face grim, a wild look in his eyes. He made no effort at deception now, although he’d certainly managed to dupe everyone in the past with his easygoing manner and fine cookery.

“Pull the cords off the draperies,” he ordered, and Annie did as she was told. She could hardly do anything else, not with a gun pointed at Miss Walker’s head.

He forced the ranch owner down onto a ladder-back chair. “Now tie her hands and feet,” he ordered.

Miss Walker glared at him. “You can’t do this. You’re the cook.”

His eyes glittered. “And you’re the goose.”

Annie kneeled in front of Miss Walker. “Sorry,” she mouthed.

Able kept his gun pointed at her while she wound the cord around Miss Walker’s one good leg and cast. Just as Annie tied the last knot, someone pounded on the door.

“Annie!”

It was Taggert. Relief escaped in one long breath. Never did she think to hear a more welcome sound.

Able momentarily froze. With a shake of his head he motioned her with his gun. “Make him go away.”

Wiping damp hands on her skirt, Annie rose and walked out
of the big room, through the entryway, and to the door. The lock designed to keep intruders out now seemed like a coffin nail keeping them in.

She leaned her forehead against the wood. “It’s late . . . What . . .” She glanced over her shoulder and Able motioned her to continue with a wave of his gun.

She faced the door. “What do you want?”

“Annie, are you all right?” Taggert called, his husky voice failing to mute his concern. “Mrs. Adams asked me to check. She said you tried to reach the bunkhouse and it sounded urgent.”

When she didn’t respond, Able moved so close she could feel his breath in her hair.

“Get rid of him.” He slammed the muzzle of his gun into her back. Startled, she gasped and squeezed her eyes shut.

Swallowing hard to clear her voice, she called, “Everything’s all right. I thought I heard something, but it was just . . . nothing.”
Keep
talking, got to keep talking.
“I couldn’t sleep and—”

“Annie, we need to talk about what happened earlier—”

“Make him go away,” Able growled. “Now!”

Her heart pounded and she was shaking so hard her knees threatened to buckle. She placed her hand on the door for support. For some reason the action reminded her of the day Taggert held her palm to her desk.

“GTF? Give to Phantom?”
he’d asked.

“You really ought to work on your spelling,”
she’d said.

The memory gave her an idea. “You’ve . . . Got . . . To . . . Forget.” She emphasized each word, spacing them out evenly. Such an unnatural speech rhythm would alert a Pinkerton operative, but would a Wells Fargo agent detect her plea for help?

She held her breath and waited. The silence that followed
seemed to stretch on forever, sapping her of all but the slightest hope.

Apparently satisfied that the immediate threat had been resolved, Able gestured her back to the big room. Reluctantly she pulled away from the door.

Chapter 28

Every cattle rustler, horse thief, and crooked politician
deserves a fair trial, followed by a respectful hanging.

T
aggert pressed his hand hard against the door. It was as if some magnetic force held his palm in place. Even with a thick wood plank between them, he could feel her presence, and when he closed his eyes he could visualize her.
You’ve got
to forget.

Forget? What exactly did she want him to forget? That he was responsible for her father’s death? But how would she know that? No, it couldn’t be that. It had to be something else. His friend’s death? Work related, perhaps?

Maybe it was their kisses she wanted him to forget. Or the way she felt in his arms. No matter; he could no sooner forget the few precious moments he’d held her than he could forget his own name.

The truth was, he had fallen head over heels in love with her and nothing would make him forget that.

He pulled away from the door and headed back to the bunkhouse.
God, why did You do this to me? All the women in the world I could
have loved—why did it have to be the one woman who would never forgive
me enough to love me back?

The drapery cords cut into Annie’s flesh. Able had tied her to a chair, the rope so tight around her chest she couldn’t breathe. It took every bit of strength she possessed to wiggle her body; the chair moved but the cords remained intact.

Hands damp from gripping the palm nippers, she continued working. Confiscated from the New Orleans Society Thief, the tool was designed to cut through delicate chains. The tiny wire clippers were a boon to pickpockets, but they weren’t much help in cutting through thick cord. She finally resorted to moving the blade back and forth in a sawing motion.

“He’s crazier than a sheepherder,” Miss Walker hissed. Able was in her office, and by the sound of the slamming drawers, he was searching for something. This seemed to annoy her more than being bound hand and foot. “What is he looking for?”

“I don’t know.” Annie held the palm nippers still. The cord cut into her flesh with each sawing motion. The pain shot up her arms and brought tears to her eyes. She gripped the clippers tighter and again attacked the cord. The woven cloth cable was thin, yet strong enough to swing a locomotive.

“I was good to that man,” Miss Walker muttered. “I hired him and gave him a home. I never thought—”

Annie grimaced. She couldn’t blame Miss Walker. If two trained detectives couldn’t see past the ruse, how could anyone else?

“Gold”—gritting her teeth, she worked the palm nippers harder—“does strange things to a person’s mind.”

Miss Walker’s head spun in her direction. “What are you talking about? Gold?”

Annie quickly filled her in the best she could without going into details. She kept her voice low and spoke quickly. “That’s why he’s been trying to buy your ranch.” She stopped sawing to catch her breath.

Miss Walker’s eyes widened. “There’s gold on my property? But this is a cattle ranch.”

“Shh.” Annie glanced at the office door. “I don’t think the cattle care one way or another.”

“But I don’t understand. How could Able afford to buy my ranch? None of this makes sense.” Miss Walker’s voice was low but didn’t waver. Did she not understand the dire predicament they were in?

Annie pressed the tiny clippers harder. “Mostly by robbing banks and hiring others to rob trains and stages.”

“Are you saying that
he’s
the Phantom?”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying.”

“Well, he sure fooled me.” Miss Walker snapped her mouth shut.

“He fooled all of us.” Annie pressed harder still and the clippers cut into her hand. Thank God Papa couldn’t see her now. The thought gave her pause; she was no longer a little girl needing her father’s approval. Come to think of it, she hadn’t been for a very long time.