Truth Be Told (30 page)

She nodded and leaned her forehead against his shirt, wondering if she would ever forget the sight and sounds of Eddie Franklin's fall.

The deputy returned leading the sorrel and helped shove Merrick up into the saddle. The businessman sat with his head drooping low, his former confidence depleted.

While Sheriff Lowry checked the gelding's cinch, the other two deputies scrambled back down the path.

“We found him,” the taller one said. “But there's no way to get him back up right now.”

His companion nodded. “We can use that
A
-frame to raise him, but we'll need to bring a couple of hundred feet of rope back from town. No need to rush, though. He isn't going anywhere.”

Lowry hooked his thumbs in his gun belt and regarded the two men. “You're sure he's dead?”

The taller deputy nodded. “Not a flicker of movement. He's splayed out like a rag doll.” He caught Amelia staring at him, and his face reddened. Clearing his throat, he added, “I don't see how anyone could survive a fall like that.”

That was supposed
to be me.
Amelia's legs began to tremble, and her knees gave way. Ben scooped her up and set her gently on the buckboard seat, then climbed up beside her. She collapsed against his arm, drawing strength from his presence.

The lawmen stepped into their saddles, and Wilbur took up the sorrel's reins. With a tip of his hat to Ben and Amelia, the sheriff took the lead, and the small procession set off down the road toward town.

A
melia clung to the wagon seat while Ben guided the horses over the rough, rutted road. In the distance, she caught the glitter of light on the reservoir.
I
never
thought
I
'
d
see
that
again
.
With tears stinging her eyes, she lifted her face to the sky.
Thank
you
for
delivering
me
.
For
getting
Ben
there
in
time
.
For
a
second
chance
at
life
.

The road smoothed out when they reached the lower level, and the constant rocking finally ceased. Sheriff Lowry rode back to come alongside the buckboard. “I wanted to make sure you got over that rough patch without any problem. Will you be all right now if the rest of us ride on ahead? I want to get back to town in time to send two of my deputies along to Prescott with Merrick and make sure that sorry excuse for a human being is locked away. I'll stay here with Wilbur and pack up every file in that office. I want to make sure we don't miss a thing.”

Ben shot a questioning gaze at Amelia, then nodded at the lawman. “We'll be fine.”

Amelia watched them ride away. Then she let out a long sigh and looked up at Ben. “Jimmy told me you left on the train. I didn't know if I'd see you again.”

Ben shifted the reins to his left hand and slid his right arm around her shoulders. “I only went to Prescott. I needed to check on a few things there, and it took longer than I expected.”

Amelia straightened on the seat and studied his face. “Prescott? What were you looking for there?”

“When I saw the way you laid everything out in that map you sketched, it all started falling into place. Acquiring all those different properties didn't make sense until I started looking at it as part of one grand scheme. The mining profits would set the stage for the company to clear-cut miles and miles of forest—millions of dollars' worth of lumber.”

Amelia gasped. “I hadn't thought of the connection, but when you piece it together that way, it begins to add up.”

“That isn't all, though. Remember the land out near the railroad line? Merrick managed to get himself appointed as a director of the Peavine. Grayson already has influence with the Denver & Rio Grande. Once they had those railroads in their pocket, there would be no limit to the control they could exert over this part of the country.”

Amelia frowned. “But if you were able to work all that out based on the sketch I made, why did you have to go to Prescott?”

A quick smile crossed Ben's face. “I had a feeling there was something even more to all this, and I was right. Southwest Land Development—remember, I started to tell you about them when . . .” His gaze shifted to the side, and his voice trailed off.

“When I blew up at you and threw you out of the office,” Amelia finished, regretting for the hundredth time her loss of temper that night.

He looked back at her with an expression that made her heart skip a beat, then begin to race. “Let's put all that behind
us. The important thing is what I learned about the company. I told you I had an altercation with Merrick the morning I quit my job, but I didn't tell you I discovered more than those forgeries. I also came across documents showing ownership of those properties had been transferred from Great Western to a company called Southwest Land Development.”

Amelia wrinkled her nose. “I've never heard of them.”

“Neither had I. That's why I wanted to visit the county recorder's office. I had a feeling it might be helpful to find out what else Southwest owns and who is in charge of it. As it turns out, Southwest Land Development owns several other properties in the area, all transferred to the company by Great Western, and all done without any money changing hands.”

Amelia's jaw dropped. “But that doesn't make sense at all. Who are the people behind the company?”

“That's what I wanted to know, but the recorder's office didn't have any names listed, only an address in Washington, D.C. I sent a wire to my father and asked if he could check into the company for me.” He looked down at her and traced her jawline with his thumb.

His touch made it hard for her to concentrate on what he was saying, but she didn't want him to stop. “And he was able to get the information you needed?”

Ben nodded. “It took him until this afternoon to get back to me—which is pretty quick work, considering. Still, it seemed like the longest wait of my life. All I could do was sit there in the hotel, drinking coffee and reading my Bible.”

Amelia closed her eyes and laid her head against his shoulder. “I'm glad you had it with you.”

His chin ruffled her curls when he nodded. “Like I told you
and Homer, I had a lot to get straightened out between me and the Lord. I'm glad I had the time to do it, even though it was hard waiting to hear back from my father.”

She stirred enough to raise her head so she could watch his face. “What did he tell you?”

Ben pulled the team to a halt and wrapped the reins around the brake handle. When he turned to face her, excitement sparked in his eyes. “You and your father were right all along about Great Western—even if you didn't know just what you were looking for.”

A current of electricity seemed to shoot through her at his words. “What are you saying?”

“Your instinct about something shady going on was right on the money. Do you have any idea who the owners of Southwest Land Development are?”

She shook her head, mystified. “How could I know anything about the ownership of a company based in Washington? Who are they?”

Excitement glimmered in Ben's eyes as he leaned toward her. “None other than Owen Merrick and Thaddeus Grayson. Do you see what that means? They used Great Western as a cover to acquire those properties, then transferred the ownership to themselves. The two of them stood to gain millions through the scheme. When the sheriff heard about Merrick picking up those properties from men who had already left the area, using forged documents—”

Amelia caught her breath and held up her hand to stop him. “It's more than that, Ben. Those men didn't just move away. Merrick killed them—or had Eddie Franklin do it for him. Merrick told me so himself.”

Ben gaped at her, then stared off into the distance. “He never dreamed a confession like that would ever be made public. That should give Lowry more than enough to make sure Merrick never sees the light of day again.”

After a long moment, he turned to her again and spoke in a solemn tone. “You need to prepare yourself for the possibility that your stepfather will be held responsible for those murders, along with all the other crimes Merrick committed.”

She nodded slowly, trying to grasp the implications. “He's an evil man. I've known that for a long time. I can't say I'm sorry at the prospect of him having to pay for what he's done, but it's going to be a terrible blow for my mother.”

Letting out a long sigh, she pulled her thoughts back to the moment. “With so much at stake, it's no wonder Merrick was willing to go to the lengths he did to protect himself.” Her throat tightened. “Ben, if you hadn't come when you did . . .”

He touched his finger to her lips. “Don't think about that. It's over now, and it belongs to the past. From this point on, we can look ahead to the future.” A smile curved his lips. “This never would have come to light without your passion for the truth. Your father started the ball rolling, but you're the one who took hold of what little information you had and wouldn't let go.”

His eyes darkened, and she stared up at him as he cupped her face with his hands. He lowered his head toward hers, and she felt his breath fan her cheek when he whispered her name. A tremulous sigh escaped her lips, and she raised her face to meet his kiss.

“Hallooo!”

Ben jerked his head back at the loud cry and stared down the road. Following his gaze, Amelia looked up to see a group of five riders approaching. As they drew nearer, she recognized
Homer, Emmett Kingston, Carl Olsen, and Martin Gilbreth . . . with Clara in the lead.

Within moments, the group reached the buckboard. Homer swung down from his horse and hurried over to her, his face lined with worry. “Can you forgive me for not coming out to look for you right away? I should have known something was wrong when you were gone so long.”

She reached down to give him a hug and clasped his hands. “I should have let you know where I was going. It would have saved us all a lot of grief.” She looked around at the circle of friends that surrounded them. “What are you all doing here?”

Clara nudged her horse closer, looking far more comfortable in the saddle than did Emmett Kingston. “Ben said he was worried about you, so I started trying to track you down. I was coming out of the bank when I ran into Homer. He'd just finished talking to the sheriff. When he told me what was going on, I decided we all needed to pitch in. Between the two of us, we rounded up the rest and put this posse together.”

Carl Olsen shook his head and laughed. “I never saddled a bunch of horses so fast in all my life. Martin, that sister of yours can be one persuasive woman.”

“Don't I know it!” Martin replied with a grin.

“That's for sure.” To Amelia's astonishment, Homer gazed up at Clara with an expression of pure admiration . . . and maybe something more. “She took charge of everything and got us organized without a hitch.”

Clara's cheeks turned a dusky red as she shrugged off the compliment. “We didn't know how much help Ben might need, and we wanted to make sure that skunk Merrick was brought to justice.”

Amelia wrapped her arms across her chest. “He's already in custody. The sheriff says he'll be on his way to the Prescott jail this evening.”

Martin nodded. “We met Lowry and his deputies on the road. We knew they had that part under control, but we had to come along and see for ourselves that you were safe.”

Tears stung Amelia's eyes. “I am,” she whispered. “Thanks to Ben.”

“And we're going to make sure you stay that way.” Clara turned her mount around. “We're not going to let you out of our sight until we see you safely home.”

“That's for sure.” Homer swung back into his saddle. “I'm not taking my eyes off you until I know that scoundrel is behind bars.”

Ben shifted on the wagon seat and cleared his throat. “Say, Homer, what's that quote about mice and men?”

Homer frowned a moment, then his face cleared. “That's from Robert Burns—‘The best laid schemes o' mice an' men gang aft agley.'” He pursed his lips. “It means our plans can go awry, no matter how well we think we have things worked out.”

Emmett Kingston pulled up beside Homer and nodded. “I'll have to remember that one. It pretty well sums up what happened to Merrick's plans.”

Ben smiled agreement, then murmured low enough that only Amelia could hear, “Merrick isn't the only one who just had his plans foiled.”

She smothered a laugh as he unwound the reins and released the brake. Then the little band of rescuers surrounded the wagon and escorted them back to town.

A
melia sat behind her desk, trying to concentrate on putting her story on paper while her mind insisted on drifting off to the events of the past few days. After the rescue party delivered them back to town, she and Ben met Sheriff Lowry at the Great Western building, where she gave a detailed statement of what had happened to her and showed him the storeroom where she'd been held prisoner.

Lowry's stony expression spoke his disgust more eloquently than any words could. “Franklin got off easy,” he growled. “Hanging's too good for the likes of him and Merrick.”

The lawman asked Ben to help him pack up the office files while his deputy rounded up Ben's former co-workers for questioning. Ben got to work, giving her a regretful glance that told her he was as sorry as she was about their second interrupted kiss.

Homer led her back to the
Gazette
, where she started for her office, intent on writing up her experiences while the details were still fresh in her mind. But Homer blocked her way, insisting the only place she ought to be going was straight up to bed for a good night's sleep.

Apparently, he recognized the signs of exhaustion better than she did, for as soon as she laid her head on the pillow, she fell into a dreamless slumber that lasted all that night and through most of the following day. Ben, according to Homer, had stopped by earlier to check on her before taking the train back to Prescott to help the sheriff go through the files and talk to the county attorney. How she wished she had been awake when he'd come! His absence left her with a lingering ache.

True to his word, Homer kept her in sight while he puttered around the printing office. As far as Amelia knew, he hadn't left the building since the night of her rescue from Merrick.

She turned back to the sheet of paper she'd been working on, perusing the possibilities she had scribbled down as headlines for the biggest story in the
Gazette
's history. Which would be better—
Murder and Mayhem
?
Murder
in Our Midst
? Or
Local Businessman Arrested: Great Western'
s Evil Plot Exposed
?

She lingered over the last entry. Word of Merrick's arrest had already made its way to Denver. Homer had shown her the telegram that arrived that morning from Clayton Sloan at the
Denver Journal
, who informed them local law enforcement was looking into Thaddeus Grayson's activities, as well.

Tired as she was, she couldn't summon up the energy to worry over what that would mean for her mother. All she wanted to do was finish the story and focus her mind on more pleasant things.

Like being with Ben. How much more time would she be able to spend with him? When he talked about getting things straightened out with the Lord during his earlier stay in Prescott, she'd been too caught up in the aftermath of her abduction and rescue to give it much thought. Now she wondered what it might
mean for the future. He had talked about feeling like Jonah, running away from God's call in the East. A lump thickened her throat, and she swallowed hard. Would Ben feel compelled to go back east and pick up where he'd left off?

As if her thoughts had summoned him, the street door swung open, and Ben walked into the printing office. Amelia shoved her chair back and hurried to greet him. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close . . . until he noticed Homer's presence and took a step back.

Homer cleared his throat. “We may need a bit more for the back page. I think I'll mosey along and see what news I can scare up.” He gave Ben a wink and a nod of his head as he ambled out the door.

Amelia laughed and stepped back into the circle of Ben's arms. “That was a surprise.”

“And a welcome one.” He held her at arm's length for a moment and peered into her face. “Are you feeling better today?”

“Still a little stiff and sore, but nothing more permanent. Thank God. What about you? Were you and the sheriff able to find more evidence against Merrick?”

He nodded, seeming a bit distracted. “Even more than I expected.” Taking her hands, he led her over to a stool beside one of the type cabinets. “I need to tell you something. Just before I left the sheriff's office, word came in from Denver. Grayson has been arrested.”

Amelia sagged onto the stool. After hearing from Clayton Sloan, she thought she'd been braced for the possibility, but hearing the news still came as a shock. “My mother is going to be devastated.”

Ben pressed her hands in his and eyed her closely. “Are you thinking of going back to Denver to be with her?”

She paused for a moment. “I'll offer to go back and spend a week or so with her, but I'm not sure she'll want me there. My presence would only remind her of the reason she's facing this kind of disgrace in the first place. I'll suggest she join me here, although I don't expect her to take me up on that, either.” She searched Ben's face. “What about you? You told me you spent a lot of time praying. Did God give you direction on what you're supposed to be doing?”

He nodded, his expression somber.

Amelia knotted her hands into fists under the folds of her skirt. “Does that mean you'll be going back east?”

To her surprise, he broke into a smile. “That's exactly what I thought would happen. I fully expected to be led back to pastor one of those stuffy churches I was so set against. But as it turns out, it seems He has a job for me to do right here.”

Her heart started beating double time. “Here? You mean, helping Pastor Edmonds?”

Ben chuckled and shook his head. “I was apparently a little presumptuous about the direction my calling would take. While I waited to hear from my father, I had plenty of time to dig into God's Word, and I was amazed at what I discovered in the stories of the people who served Him best. They were shepherds, fishermen, tentmakers, doctors—the list goes on and on.” Excitement shone in his eyes. “God's call on a man's life doesn't always mean that man is called to stand behind a pulpit. God wants us to be ambassadors for Him in whatever circumstance He places us.”

Tears sprang to Amelia's eyes, and she gave a shaky laugh.
“So what circumstance does He have for you here in Granite Springs?”

Cupping her chin in one hand, he ran his thumb across her cheek. “In recent days, I've been greatly influenced by a person who was willing to stand for the truth, no matter what the cost. I've been giving some serious thought to getting involved in the newspaper business. Do you happen to know if any openings are available?”

Her breath caught in her throat, and her heart seemed to stop abruptly. Then it picked up its pace again, pounding in her ears. “I believe a position might be open . . . for the right man.”

Ben raised his other hand to push a wayward curl back from her face. A quiver shook Amelia from head to toe as she gazed into his eyes, feeling as though their souls connected. Her breath quickened when he raised her to her feet and slipped his hands behind her shoulders.

She pressed her hands against his shirtfront and felt his heart beating against her outstretched fingers. Once again, he breathed her name and leaned toward her.

The door crashed open, followed by a shrill cry of, “Hey, Miss Amel—”

Amelia froze, then turned to see Jimmy framed in the doorway, with Clara and Homer close behind him. She felt her face flame when she saw their startled expressions, and she didn't dare look at Ben.

Clara planted her hands on her hips. “Homer said you were up and around again.” A grin stretched her mouth wide. “Appears to me you're feeling pretty spry.”

Homer only chuckled, while Jimmy remained rooted to the spot, his eyes and mouth open wide.

Amelia floundered for something to say. “We . . . we were just . . .”

“No need to explain.” Clara's lips spread in a wide grin. “It's pretty clear what was going on . . . and I must say, it's about time.” She stepped closer to Homer and tucked her hand into the crook of his arm.

Ben blinked and turned to Amelia. “Did I miss something while I was in Prescott?” he murmured.

Laughter gurgled from Amelia's throat, and she spoke just loudly enough for him to hear. “It looks to me like God has been working in more lives than just yours and mine. After being a confirmed bachelor for so many years, it's a miracle Homer isn't running for the door.”

Ben's chuckle vibrated beneath her fingertips, still pressed against his chest. “I'm beginning to think it'll take a miracle for us to finally get that kiss without someone interrupting.”

Amelia stared up into his face, only a breath away. “Or maybe we just need to step out and take matters into our own hands.” She slid her arms around his neck and pressed her lips to his. After an instant's hesitation, Ben tightened his arms around her and returned the kiss with gusto.

Several delicious moments later, they drew apart, and he stared down at her with laughter in his eyes. “So does that mean you can find a place for me at the
Gazette
?”

Amelia nodded and raised her lips to his again. Just before they met, she whispered, “It does indeed. And to tell the truth, right at this moment, I don't care who's watching.”