Sharon Poppen (24 page)

*****

The sheriff was right. Sadie had a room available. The woman reminded Hannah of Ruby, who ran a bordello over in Nacogdoches. The orange of the woman’s hair, the pale face powdered face, the red, red lips and the large bosom hinted at a wilder past than being the proprietress of a boarding house. And, the woman had a natural knack for making people feel relaxed.

“Come right in,” she’d called as Liam held the door open for Hannah. “You looking for food, bed or both?”

Liam smiled. “Both.”

“Well you’ve come to the right place. Got a room right upstairs with a window view of Main Street. Fifty cents a night and that includes meals.”

“Sounds like just what we’re looking for.”

“Liam, could we talk for a moment?”

“Talk all you want. I need to check on something in the kitchen. Ring this bell when you’re ready.”

As soon as Sadie was gone, Hannah made a suggestion. “I think two rooms would be better.” Her cheeks flushed slightly.

“I don’t agree. You’ve decided to take off on your own too many times for me to be able to sleep with you so far away.”

“But,” Hannah whispered, “you know what seems to happen when we get into the same bed. I can see, and feel, how it …, …”

He took her face between his hands. “Yes, it does. But it’s a good feeling and,” he leaned close to her ear, “you could fix that with two little words.”

“Someday.”

“That’s only one word.” He touched his lips to hers and rang the bell.

*****

Early the next morning, Hannah, Liam and the sheriff walked around the house, barn, sheds and yard of the murdered family. Eventually, they gathered in the kitchen in an attempt to find something, anything that would bring Drake into the massacre. Blood stains dotted every room, but the kitchen was the worst.

“Probably have to burn all the furniture.” The sheriff ran his fingers over the dried blood one of the pinewood chairs. “Heck, probably have to burn down the house, barn and sheds. Nobody’ll want to live where folks was killed. Very sad.”

“Sheriff, did this family have any known enemies? Like a rivalry of some sort?”

“Not that I’m aware of, ma’am.”

“You said the Texas Rangers have been here. Did they talk to folks, both cattle and sheep folks?”

“They talked to everyone. I was with them for most of the questioning. The general reaction was surprise and shock. These folks were real likable people.”

“What about the daughters? There were three, right?”

“Yes, three. Ages seventeen, fifteen and fourteen. Pretty little gals, but strong. Helped their pa just like they was sons.”

“So they stayed close to home mostly.”

“Mostly. Except the oldest, Rachel. She’d been coming into town couple days a week to study with the school marm. Elsie’s getting on in years and Rachel was interested in teaching when Elsie decided to quit.”

“She came by herself?”

“That’s right. The rest of the family was kept busy with their chores. She’d arrive by horse just as school started. Then she and Elsie took lunch at Sadie’s and soon as school was out for the day, she’d ride on home.”

“Did Drake stay at Sadie’s?”

“He did. But I’m pretty sure he never bothered Rachel. Sadie and Elsie were very protective of the girl. When they were questioned, they said the gambler never spoke to them. He read the paper while he ate.”

Hannah turned to Liam. “It’s a connection,” she said.

Liam nodded. “But, it’s a weak connection.” He turned to the sheriff. “Was anything stolen?”

“Didn’t look like it. Course they was sheep poor. Owned the place, ate from their garden and the sheep and the missus made all their clothes. Nothing to steal. Was odd though when we found a gold wedding band. No one recollected seeing it on the missus, nor any of the girls. Creepy, the way we found it.”

“Creepy?” asked Hannah. “Please? Explain?”

“It was slipped over a fillet knife and left on the stove next to the pot where we found human bones floating in water.”

“Can I see it?”

“When we get back to town. I had the few valuables we found packed up and they’re in one of my jail cells until we find some family to send them to.”

“Why are you so interested in the ring, Hannah?” asked Liam.

“When I woke up after …, ah …” Hannah took a deep breath. “My wedding ring was gone. It was a plain gold band.”

A board squeaked under the weight of someone who had arrived without the sound of a horse or a carriage to announce their arrival.

Chapter 32

Cassie’s Story

Liam motioned for silence as he made his way to the kitchen door. The board squeaked again as someone hurried across the porch. A couple of quick steps and Liam was out the door. His hand grasped a slender, obviously female, arm.

“Wait a minute. Who are you? Why are you here?”

“Let me go!” The fright in the voice brought Hannah and the sheriff out of the house.

“Dang,” said the sheriff at seeing a slim, young girl held fast in Liam’s grip. “Cassie, what’re you skulking around here for?”

The girl was trying to wrench her arm free from Liam grasp, but at the sound of the sheriff’s voice, her body went limp. She gave up the fight.

“Girl! I asked you a question.”

With her head cowered, her long, blond hair hung loosely, creating a curtain around her face. She mumbled something, but kept her face hidden.

“What’d you say? Speak up, girl. Look at me.” The sheriff reached for her hair.

Hannah hurried between them and touched the girl’s shoulder just above Liam’s grasp. At Hannah’s nod, Liam released the girl.

“Cassie, is that your name?” Hannah asked.

The girl remained frozen in place, as if Liam still held her.

“Please. We’re here to see if we can help, in any way, to find out who killed this family. Do you know something that would help us?”

“These folks was sheep people,” explained the sheriff. “Cassie here comes from cattle people. There’s no way she knows anything that could help us.”

Hannah took the girl’s hand and led her to a porch bench. As they sat down, she nodded toward the house. Liam took the hint and motioned for the sheriff to join him in the kitchen.

Once they were alone, Hannah tried again. “Cassie, you’re here for a reason. You don’t strike me as someone who would come around thieving, so I have to believe you’re here out of concern for the family. Maybe Rachel and you were friends?”

Behind the curtain of hair Hannah thought she detected a sniffle. Gently touching Cassie’s blond strands, Hannah eased the left side of Cassie’s hair behind her ear. One tear filled blue eye became visible.

Hannah smiled and did the same with the other half of Cassie’s hair. The girl’s cheeks were damp as the occasional tear made its way down her face. Hannah felt like crying, too, at the hurt Drake had inflicted on yet another innocent victim.

“It’s all right. Go ahead and cry. I didn’t even know the family and I’ve been fighting tears too.” Hannah put her arm around Cassie’s shoulder and pulled her close. “We’ll both cry and then maybe we can talk.”

Cassie chanced a furtive glance at Hannah. Hannah smiled through blurry eyes and felt Cassie’s body firm up with renewed strength. The girl rubbed her eyes and blew her nose with the small piece of cloth she held wadded up in her hand. After a final trio of hiccup sounding sobs, Cassie’s shoulders rose and she pulled away from Hannah.

“I need to go,” she said, but made no effort to rise.

“All right. But please, can’t you tell me why you came here in the first place?”

“I don’t really know. I just felt like I needed to see …, ah …” Cassie turned to face Hannah. “I told her not to trust him. I told her a good man wouldn’t ask her to sneak off to meet him. He’d come and ask her father’s permission.”

The words rolled out so fast that Hannah wasn’t sure she’d heard Cassie correctly. “Rachel was seeing a man her family didn’t know.”

Cassie nodded.

“But the sheriff said that Rachel was either at home or at school with Elsie all the time. Did you know the man?”

“No, not really. He just showed up in town. Everyone said he was a gambler.”

More like killer or animal
, thought Hannah. She managed to stay calm. “How did Rachel meet him?”

Cassie looked away.

“Cassie?”

She turned back to Hannah. “We’ll …,” she glanced toward the graves, “I’ll get in trouble if I tell.”

“No, you won’t. I promise. Please tell me.”

After a few moments that Hannah recognized as some sort of internal struggle, Cassie began to talk. “Years ago, Rachel and I became friends. It was on the playground at school. But when we wanted to visit each other’s house, our folks said no. See we raise cattle and Rachel’s folks were sheep people. Mixing wasn’t allowed. But Rachel and I really wanted to be friends, so we dawdled after school. When we got older, we’d stop at a pond, just off the main road for an hour or so each day. There were lots of bushes and nobody could see us from the road.” Cassie’s voice lowered. “We lied and told our folks that the older grades stayed in school longer.”

“I understand.” Hannah nodded. “I don’t think you did anything bad. In fact, I think your parents were wrong.”

“That’s the way we felt.” Cassie almost smiled at Hannah’s words of encouragement.

Hannah risked a return smile. “You’re a good girl, Cassie. Rachel was lucky to have you for a friend. Now, can you tell me how she met the gambler?”

“Well, since we graduated, it was harder for us to get together, so I managed to get my folks to let me go to town one day a week for supplies and Rachel would lie and tell her folks that she was going to study with Miss Elsie. Then we’d meet and spend some time at the pond. One day, I couldn’t get away and couldn’t get word to Rachel. The next time I met her, she was all dreamy about this man she’d met. Said he showed up at the pond. Told her he needed the fresh air away from town. She said he was handsome and didn’t treat her like a child. He told her about all the places he’d seen in his travels. Told her that a pretty girl like her could have all her dreams come true if she didn’t stay cooped up in one place. When I met her the following week, all she would talk about was Drake.”

At the sound of his name, Hannah winced as if in pain.

“Are you all right?” Cassie asked.

“Yes,” Hannah nodded. “Go on. Please.”

“Well, she was meeting him daily out at the pond.” Cassie hesitated and added, “She even snuck out some nights to meet with him.”

“Did you meet him?”

“Once. I showed up at the pond hoping Rachel would be there and … well … I … ah, you see Rachel wasn’t expecting anyone and her clothes were …”

Hannah touched Cassie’s hand. “It’s all right. Rachel would want you to tell me, if it will bring the killer of her family to justice.”

“Do you think Drake did it?”

“I don’t know. That’s why I need to know everything you can tell me.”

“Well, while Rachel got all her clothes back on, Drake stayed on the blanket. His chest was bare and he was barefooted. He smiled up at me and asked Rachel to introduce me to her friend. Then he flirted with me to the point where I could see Rachel getting angry.”

“What did you do?”

“I left. Then the next time I saw Rachel, she said he was flirting with me to see if she really loved him. Rachel said he wanted her to leave with him when he left town.”

“Something must have happened that she didn’t leave with him. Did she say anything to you?”

“The day before …” Cassie paused and bit at her bottom lip. “Rachel came over to my place. My mother was napping and the rest of the family was busy with chores. She was really upset. I got a horse and we rode off until we found some trees that would give us some privacy. She said Drake was leaving town. He wasn’t taking her. She said he laughed and told her she was one of the easiest girls he’d ever talked into …, uh …, to letting him…” Hannah nodded with understanding. “He said she was stupid to believe he loved her. She said he roughly grabbed her when she said she was going to tell her father. He said she’d be sorry if she did. Then she said he bit her lip as he kissed her and threw her to the ground.”

“Did she tell her father?”

“No. She asked me what she should do? I told her not to tell anyone. I tried to talk her into forgetting that evil man and just go on with her life.”

“Do you think she did?”

“I’ll never know. Maybe I should have gone with her and helped her to tell her parents. Or maybe we should have just run off together.” Cassie’s voice broke and another tear made its way down her cheek. She stood up. “I’ve got to go.”

Hannah walked her to the edge of the porch. “Cassie, don’t be too hard on Rachel or yourself. I know this Drake and he has a terrible charm about him. Young girls like you would be easy prey for him.”

Cassie nodded. “Thank you.” She looked over at the graves. “I hope whoever did this gets caught so this won’t happen to anyone else. I loved Rachel like a sister and I’m going to miss her so much.” Cassie turned away from Hannah and hurried over to her horse. She left for home without a wave goodbye.

Hannah considered the things Cassie had said as she watched the girl ride off.
How many lives will he ruined before he is stopped?
Think
, she told herself.
Think. Where would he go? Dear God, is Cassie on his list?
So deep in thought was Hannah that she jumped at Liam’s voice.

“We heard everything. It was Drake. He did this terrible thing.”

“I know he did.” Hannah turned to the sheriff. “Can you get the Texas Rangers to get some posters out. I can describe him if they’ve got someone who can sketch him.”

“I reckon they can, but I don’t rightly see that we can prove it was this Drake fellow. Nobody saw them together, except for what Cassie says, and nobody saw this actual killin’.”

“But you heard what Cassie said.”

“Yeah, but you heard her say she lied to her folks. Maybe she’s just lying about this Drake fellow, too. I’m tellin’ ya, he didn’t draw the Rangers attention, at all.”

“Sheriff, after listening to Cassie, I have no doubts.” She looked up at Liam.

He nodded. “It was Drake. We need to –

A shot rang out.

Hannah rushed to the edge of the porch. “That shot came from over there.” She pointed in the direction Cassie had taken. They hurried to their horses and with Liam in the lead; they raced off to be sure Cassie was all right.

Reaching the top of a small rise, the trio looked down in horror.

“Cassie!” Hannah screamed and reached for her gun.

Chapter 33

A Snake in the Grass

Cassie’s long, blond hair flailed wildly as a man twice her size shook her like a ragdoll. At Hannah’s scream, the man turned to see Hannah as she reached for her gun. Without releasing Cassie, the abductor managed to draw his own weapon and aim it at Hannah.

“Hold it there, girl!” Sheriff Beechum grabbed Hannah’s arm. “That’s Cassie’s father.”

While maintaining her aim, Hannah asked, “Cassie’s father? You sure?”

“Yes, Ma’am.”

“Then why is he shaking her and who fired the shot?”

“Let’s go find out.” Liam spurred his horse toward the girl and her father.

The man re-aimed his gun at Liam.

“Cassie!” yelled Hannah. “We’re coming down. Ask your father to lower his gun.”

After words were exchanged between father and daughter, the man lowered his weapon, but held tightly to Cassie’s arm.

“Sir. Cassie.” Liam nodded when he was within a few feet of them.

“What you been doing with my daughter?” the man demanded.

“Just talking.” Hannah dismounted and walked toward them.

“About what?” he asked.

“Cassie,” Hannah looked at the frightened girl, “may I tell him?”

Despite her father’s furrowed brows of concern and warning, Cassie nodded.

“Sir, Cassie had some information that might prove helpful in finding out who killed Rachel and her family.”

“Tain’t possible. We don’t mix with them sheep folks. Now tell me what’s really goin’ on here.”

Something in Hannah’s eyes and the memory of her words of comfort bolstered Cassie’s courage. She looked up at her father. “Papa, I do know things.”

“Things?”

“Please let go of my arm and put your gun away. I’ll tell you everything.”

His grip tightened slightly, then he let go and slipped his gun back into his holster. “All right, girl, now you tell me what you know and how you come to know it.”

“Hold on a minute, Cooper,” the sheriff broke in. “What the hell was that gunshot we heard?”

Cooper nodded his head toward some deep grass. “Snake. Just as I come upon Carrie, she was backing up from a rattler. Damn thing was coiling up. Scared me to death. My hand was shaking so bad, I’m surprised I got him.”

Liam walked his horse over toward where Cooper had nodded. “Here it is. Big one!”

“Come away, Liam,” Hannah called.

Liam took a moment to relish the concern he detected in Hannah’s tone and dismounted. “Make a great belt.”

“Liam!”

“Go on with Cassie. I’ll be fine. I’m going to skin this snake.”

Hannah shook her head and turned her attention back to Cassie. “Tell your father what you told me.” She hoped her smile brought some comfort to the girl.

“Papa, Rachel and I met in primary school and we’ve been friends ever since.” She paused for an expected explosion. When it didn’t happen, she glanced at Hannah and then went on to repeat to her father everything she’d shared with Hannah. “So, Papa, I had to come over to …, well I needed to see Rachel …” her voice broke as tears began to fall.

Cooper reached out and pulled his daughter against his chest. His face was twisted with indecision and compassion. “Girl, I hate to see you hurtin’ like this, but you go ahead and cry. Your mama says a good cry always makes her feel better.”