Sins of Summer (41 page)

“—Ashes to ashes and dust to dust—”

Dory’s mind absorbed some of the minister’s words; then she watched as Ben and James filled the grave. Dear Ben. What would
they have done without him? She was sure James was grateful for his help even though his heart was breaking over Odette. Now
they would never know if it was Louis who had fathered her.

It was over. The minister shook hands with Dory and James and went back to the church. Dory had seen Chip looking at her face
and had avoided his eyes. There was no avoiding him now. After tipping his hat to Odette, he stood in front of Dory and stared.
She met his eyes unflinchingly. She saw a muscle jumping in his jaw as his teeth clenched. If it had not been for his treatment
of Mick, she could have liked him.

“Milo did this to you.” A breath hissed through his teeth.

“How do you know?”

“It’s why James wants to bust his head.”

“You’re wrong. Ben already did that.”

He turned on James. “How did you let that happen?”

“Don’t you dare blame James,” Dory stormed. “James wasn’t there. Neither was Ben. It’s a family matter and no business of
yours.”

“Seems like I heard that once already today. Are you going to marry Waller?”

“Yes, but it’s none of—”

“—my business. James, Dave and I would like to have a private word with you and Ben after you take the ladies back to the
hotel.”

“Say your piece. Anything you have to say can be said in front of Dory and Wiley and Odette.”

Chip saw James looking at the young deaf girl when he spoke and saw her watching his lips. Adoration was in her eyes when
she looked at him; love and concern in his.
He loves her. He’s all swagger and brag on the outside, but inside he’s soft as a down pillow just like Jean.

“This will take a little time.”

“We’re in no hurry,” James replied.

The group gathered at the end of the wagon. Ben lifted Dory up to sit on the tailgate. He turned to lift Odette, but James
was there and lifted Odette to sit beside Dory.

“Dave is a federal marshal,” Chip said. “He was sent up here by Judge Kenton to look into a matter—a couple of matters.”

“We’ve already got one marshal here,” James said.

“Kraus is not a marshal. He’s a bounty hunter.” Marshal Theiss’s voice had the sound of the south in it. “Norm Kraus was a
marshal for a short time. Now he hunts men for money.”

“There’s nothing wrong in that,” Ben said. “Why did he pretend to be a marshal?”

“People open up more to a marshal than a bounty hunter. Judge Kenton sent for me yesterday morning. One of McHenry’s boys
had brought him a packet of papers from Steven Marz, the bookkeeper at Callahan mill. Someone put three bullets in Marz but
he made it to McHenry’s. He asked McHenry to tell no one he was there and to get the papers to the judge.”

James and Dory exchanged glances. “So you know that Steven is at McHenry’s?”

“Yes. The boy told the judge. I take it he’s still alive?”

“Mrs. McHenry thinks he’ll recover. How do you fit in with Malone?” James sent a glance at the tall, red-haired man before
looking straight at the marshal.

“I’ve known Malone a long time and thought a stranger in town wouldn’t be so noticeable with him.”

“James, don’t let your dislike for me cloud what Dave is trying to tell you.” Chip spoke irritably.

“McHenry sent the judge every scrap of paper he found in Marz’s belongings to make sure he was carrying out the man’s wishes.
In the papers the judge discovered that Steven Marz is Maxwell Lilly, who for years was a wanted man. Five years ago it was
discovered that he was not guilty of taking money from his father’s business and thereby stealing from the stockholders. His
brother had taken the money, and his father made restitution. Later that year his father, mother and brother went down in
one of Lilly’s ships.”

Dory let out a breath she had been holding. “Well, land-sakes. No one ever knew that.”

“George did,” Wiley said. “Steven told George. George told me a’fore he died, so I could keep a eye out fer one of them fellers.
Steve didn’t know I knowed.”

“The judge knew that a Maxwell Lilly had inherited the shipbuilding business from his father. It’s being run now by Forest
Lilly, a cousin, who stands to gain a fortune if Maxwell turns up dead. When the boy told the judge there was a marshal here
by the name of Kraus, the judge put two and two together and came up with three. Kraus is known for bringing his men back
slung across a saddle. The judge thinks Forest Lilly sent Kraus out here to find Maxwell and make sure he doesn’t come back
to spoil things.”

“That dirty son of a bitch shot Steven!” James looked over at Ben. “No wonder he was interested in that horse.”

“What horse?” Theiss asked.

“Steven’s horse is in McHenry’s barn. It has a bullet crease.”

“How did Kraus know to look here for Marz?” Ben asked.

“He has probably scouted every company in the territory that could use a man with Marz’s skill at keeping books. Somehow or
other he discovered that Marz fit the description of Lilly.”

“If that’s the case, we’d better get on back to town and guard Steven before Kraus finds him at McHenry’s.” Ben reached for
Dory and lifted her down from the wagon.

“There’s no way we can prove he shot Steven,” James said.

“There’s a chance if we could find one of the bullets. Like I said, Kraus brings in dead men, and in order to prove he killed
them, he marks his bullets. I heard this from a marshal down around Idaho City. You say the horse was only creased?”

“Along the flank,” James said.

“Mag, Mrs. McHenry, dug a bullet out of Steven. She told me this morning.” Dory was holding tightly to Ben’s hand.

“If it’s got a K scratched on it, it came from Kraus’s gun, but it’s not proof Kraus fired the gun.”

“Hell,” James said. “It was three days ago anyhow. She’d not find it now.”

“There’s a big payoff in this one for Kraus,” Marshal Theiss said. “If he went back and looked along that trail for a body
and didn’t find one, he’s reasonably sure Marz is in Spencer.”

“If he finds him, he’ll kill him?” Dory asked.

The marshal shrugged. “The longer he stays around here the more likely it is that someone will turn up who knows he’s not
a marshal. I can’t see him waiting for two or three weeks for Marz to be well enough to ride. If he did that, he would have
to make the pretense of arresting him, then shoot him with one of his marked bullets when he got him out of town. It would
be quicker for him to kill him here and shoot into his body later.”

“Poor Steven!” Dory exclaimed.

“Judge Kenton should be here before noon tomorrow. McHenry’s boy is driving him in the judge’s buggy.” Marshal Theiss untied
his horse and prepared to mount.

“The judge is coming here?” James asked.

“Tomorrow.”

“We’ll meet with him, Sis, and ask him—” James broke off in mid-sentence. “Ask him about what we talked about.” He lifted
Odette from the wagon and stood close to her, his hand on her back in a proprietary way that was noticed by both Ben and Chip
Malone. “We’d better get on back. I’ll stay in with Steven tonight.”

“I’ve got an idea, but I need to talk to you and McHenry about it,” the marshal said to James. Then, “Chip, do you suppose
you and Ben could find Kraus and keep him occupied for an hour while McHenry, James and I set something up?”

“That should be easy enough, huh, Chip?” Ben said.

Chip nodded.

“We’ll need your help too, Wiley.”

“Ya got it.” Wiley climbed up onto the wagon seat.

“The ladies are welcome to go out to the house for the night,” Chip said before he mounted his horse.

“That’s kind of you, Mr. Malone. But Ben made arrangements for us at the hotel,” Dory said coolly, then turned her back on
him and went to the buggy.

James helped Odette up to sit beside his sister.

“James? Is it something bad?” Odette spoke for the first time.

Yes, honey, it’s something bad.
James spoke to her silently, his lips moving with the words. She watched his mouth as he explained slowly and patiently about
the man who had come to the house pretending to be a marshal, and about Steven. He asked her if she understood what Louis
had done and she nodded. He then told her that he loved her and that she was the prettiest girl in Spencer. He smiled when
her cheeks became rosy as apples.

Sitting beside Dory, Ben waited for James to finish talking to Odette. He was torn by the love James obviously had for her
and her for him.
If only he could forget the suspicion he had in his mind about who had sired her.
Dory’s hand wiggled under his arm, letting him know that she shared the pain he was feeling.

When James finished, Odette spoke, “Be careful, James.”

He nodded, pressed her hand and went to his horse.

It was dark by the time they finished eating at Bessie’s. Jeanmarie fell asleep at the table and leaned her head against her
mother’s side. The excitement of being in town and eating at the restaurant had taken its toll on the child halfway through
her meal. It was a treat for Dory to have Ben sitting beside her. His eyes twinkled at her when he caught people looking first
at the bruises on his face and then at hers.

He leaned down to whisper. “They think we’ve been fighting each other.”

“If we had, you’d look worse than you do,” she whispered back, smiling into his eyes.

Chip and the marshal ate their meal at a table across the room. Wearing down-at-the-heel boots, ragged pants and a faded shirt,
Dave Theiss looked like a drifter or a timber bum. Dory thought that he would never be taken for a marshal. She was still
trying to absorb all the news he had imparted today: about Steven, the bounty hunter, and the fact that Steven would be a
very rich man if he lived to return to San Francisco.

Dory was relieved that Judge Kenton was coming to Spencer. Perhaps he could head off the trouble, the serious trouble, they
were sure to have with Milo now that Louis was gone. She feared James would kill him for what he had done to Odette. Should
that happen James could be sent to prison. Her heart ached for her brother and Odette. They would never know such happiness
as she would with Ben.

Ben insisted on paying for Wiley’s meal as well as for himself and the women, and afterward he hoisted Jeanmarie up in his
arms to carry her to the hotel. Ben had booked a room for the women, one for himself, and one for James before he knew that
James would be staying with Steven. Wiley would spend the night with a friend of his, an old-timer who had come to the Bitterroot
even before Wiley.

Leaving the restaurant, they walked down the boardwalk to the hotel. One of Dory’s hands was in the crook of Ben’s arm, and
the other held tightly to Odette’s hand. She was proud to be with this man and his daughter. With him she could face anything,
even leaving her home and James if it was what Ben wanted. Her place would be with her husband, but oh, it would be hard to
leave the brother she loved.

When they entered the hotel, the first person Dory saw was Norm Kraus sitting in one of the two leather-covered chairs in
the lobby. He stood politely when Ben paused to speak.

“Evening, Kraus. Yours is one of the few familiar faces I’ve seen in this town.”

“Howdy, ladies.” Kraus spoke to both Odette and Dory. “This your first visit, Waller?”

“I was here once before—a long time ago. Would you like to walk down to the saloon later? I’ll be down as soon as I get the
women settled.”

“Why sure, Waller. People kind of avoid being seen with a marshal.” The man’s face wore a bland smile.

“Good night.” Dory almost choked on the words.

“Good night, ladies.”

Dory waited until they were in the room and the door was closed before she spoke. “Oh… that man!”

With his finger to his lips, Ben pointed at the wall. He laid Jeanmarie on the cot that had been provided for her. Dory took
off her new red shoes.

Ben turned to Odette. “Are you all right? You’ve been awfully quiet.”

“I worry for James.”

“If Milo shows up, James won’t have to face him alone. I’ll be here. Chip Malone and Marshal Theiss will be here.”

“James says he will kill him.”

“He said that, but he won’t just shoot him. If he kills him it will be to protect himself or you.”

“I love him, Papa.”

He pulled her to him and pressed her head to his shoulder.
I’ve made a hell of a mess bringing her here.
Over her head he saw Dory watching him. Lord help him, he couldn’t give up this woman who had come to mean the world to him.
Yet this poor girl’s heart would break if he told her he doubted that he was her father. Whichever road he took would mean
heartbreak for her.

Ben dropped his arms and went to the door. Dory followed. He checked the lock and handed her the key.

“When will you be back?”

“In a couple of hours. My room is across the hall.” “Knock on the door so I’ll know you’re back.”

“I will.” He dropped a kiss on her lips and went out.

The Idaho Palace was doing a thriving business. Clara was the star attraction. She told her story over and over. In the early
morning hours, Louis Callahan had come up the stairs on the side of the building and begged to be let in. He had offered her
double her usual rate if she would spend some time with him. After she had let him in, he had thrown her on the bed, ripped
off her nightdress and raped her. Some of the men commented behind their hands about that.
How can you rape a whore?
When he had begun to choke her, she had managed to get the derringer from beneath her pillow and shoot him.

If Clara was the heroine of the night, Mel was the hero. He told how he had taken Clara out into the woods and taught her
to use the gun after the second and third women had been found dead. The news that Louis had bragged about killing the women
rippled through the town like wildfire. It was the topic of conversation when Ben and Norm Kraus entered the saloon.

Ben spotted Wiley and his friend sitting against the wall and led the way to a table nearby. A stout barmaid brought them
each a mug of foaming beer and Ben tossed her a coin. She poked it down the front of her dress and winked at him. Kraus eyed
her, but she ignored him.