Jimmy sat by Violet's side until her parents came in. The poor girl was barely awake after the ordeal but she held onto Jimmy's hand tight enough to leave marks. Mr. and Mrs. Markham came in after being notified that their daughter had been found. Mrs. Markham rushed to Violet's side and dropped to her knees next to the bed. She looked up at Jimmy who had worked free of Violet's death grip on his hand.
"Thank you for finding her," she said through her tears.
"I didn't find her, Ma'am," Jimmy replied, "Buck Cross was the one who tracked where she was. I just helped bring her back is all."
Jimmy wasn't sure what he was reading in her expression but she recovered and forced a sort of smile.
"Please convey our thanks to Mr. Cross then."
Well, it was hardly the level of gratitude that would have been showered on Jimmy or Kid or even Cody but it was something. Jimmy nodded to her and then stood. He patted the top of Violet's head before heading out into the bright midday sun. It was a quick walk to Teaspoon's office where Buck was leaning against the wall by Teaspoon's desk. The old man looked up at Jimmy looking far older than his actual years.
"How's she doing?" Teaspoon asked Jimmy.
"I don't really know," Jimmy answered, "Doc's taking a look at her now. She's shook up something awful."
He just shook his head unable to add anything more.
"Can she say who did it?"
"A shadow," Jimmy replied, "It was dark and she was scared. I think she really didn't see him good enough."
"I want the two of you to go back where you found her and see what you can see," Teaspoon said, "Buck, see if you can get a bead on this monster."
The two riders nodded at Teaspoon and went to do as they'd been told. Outside of town, Jimmy allowed himself a deep breath. He'd seen a good many things in his life he'd just as soon forget but this might be the worst.
"You alright?" Buck asked. He knew that carrying Violet back had to have been hard on Jimmy. He was the one talking to her and listening most closely to her tears.
"We catch this guy and string him up and I might just be," Jimmy replied and Buck nodded. He understood the sentiment as he'd not be getting the image of that poor girl curled up half naked and bloodied from his mind anytime soon if he ever managed it at all.
"Who even thinks to do that?" Buck asked.
"I can't understand it either," Jimmy answered.
They arrived at the spot where they had found Violet and dismounted in order to near the place on foot. Buck crouched down and looked at the disturbed ground near where they had first spotted the girl. From the blood on the ground he was able to reconstruct a good deal of what had happened even though it was hardly something he wanted to know the details of.
"Violet wanted me to thank you," Jimmy said out of nowhere, "You know, for finding her."
Buck looked at Jimmy with a smile even though it was marred somehow by the reason they were there.
"Her folks said thanks too but it wasn't as grateful has her thanks was."
"I didn't figure it would be," Buck replied, "Violet never looked away when I passed her in town. She always smiled and nodded to me. Fascinating sometimes, isn't it how someone so nice can come from people with such closed ideas?"
"Can you tell what all happened here?" Jimmy asked changing the subject since he had no answer to the question.
Buck walked through the scene gesturing as he went.
"She was grabbed here," he began, "Her attacker approached from here which would be behind her given the direction she was walking. He's a big guy judging from this snapped branch. She was forced down here and it looks like she put up a fight but she didn't have much hope of fending him off. He obviously punched her while she was struggling against him. I can see two distinct places where there is blood. The drops of blood around here say that he punched her more than once."
"Can you tell where he went?" Jimmy asked but he already knew the answer as he could see Buck walking away from the scene looking closely at the ground.
"I can follow to this point but then he got to this very mossy ground and it springs back after being stepped on. There's just no trail past this point."
Jimmy's shoulders slumped mirroring Buck's expression. Neither man wanted to go back to that girl in town and tell her they couldn't find this man.
"Well, maybe he just ran off," Jimmy said more to himself than to Buck. "He probably just saw an opportunity and he's long gone and won't come back here. There's always a chance he thought she saw him. He won't stick around."
Buck didn't look so sure but then he didn't think Jimmy was entirely convinced either. In fact, he was sure Jimmy was trying to sell himself on the theory more so than anything else.
The two men returned to their horses and ultimately to town. Teaspoon was waiting for them and could tell by the looks on their faces that they hadn't found the man. When the two reached Teaspoon Jimmy reiterated his thoughts that the man may have moved on. Teaspoon had the same uneasy feeling his riders did but then Jimmy's theory made sense.
"How's Violet?" Jimmy asked Teaspoon.
"Doc says she'll be okay in time," he said, "Well, what he said was her injuries would heal. We can hope she'll be alright eventually. She's home with her parents."
Jimmy and Buck turned to head back to the station knowing there wasn't much else for them to do. They paused when they heard their names being called and turned to see who was calling to them. They saw Carrie Dudley headed their way. She held out a pie to Buck.
"This is for both of you," she said, "For finding Vi. She's my best friend."
Carrie was nervous to talk to these men she'd only admired from afar but they had to know how grateful she was they had brought her dearest friend in the world back to her. Once Buck had taken the pie from her hands she threw her arms around his middle and hugged him tight.
On the surface Buck looked taken aback by the gesture and offered a light pat on the back in return but to Jimmy who'd gotten to know Buck's moods over their time working together, it was evident that the other man was greatly moved as was Jimmy himself when the girl turned and hugged him as well.
Carrie didn't know what had possessed her to hug the men and she hated the circumstances that even gave her the courage to talk to them but she would never, as long as she lived forget the way they felt in her arms. The sweet and almost shy way that Buck patted her. She understood he didn't want others to think he was being improper in how he treated her. Jimmy had hugged her back tightly and that was enough to make her disregard the pat he gave her head when they separated. It was a gesture that spoke of their age differences but she paid it no mind. She was too proud of herself to have talked to them and hugged them.
She didn't know what to say after letting go of Jimmy so she just ran off. The two men watched her a bit and then looked to the pie and to each other. Jimmy broke into a smile.
"Hungry?" he asked, "Because you know I haven't eaten at all today."
"You know I haven't either," answered Buck, "Think we ought to just split that pie?"
"Well, we could share it with the others but then it was given to us."
"And I'm pretty sure she made it just for us," agreed Buck.
They both went back to the station and found that the mulberry pie went a long way to getting them past the sight of Violet Markham as they had found her in the woods.
No one spoke openly of the incident in the woods although there was plenty of talk and speculation around the town. Two days passed and Jimmy and Buck had gone about their work like usual although the looks they shared spoke volumes.
Then Jesse came home one day from school with questions and a visitor for them. It was Carrie Dudley. He found Jimmy first and then went in search of Buck as well. The four of them all sat at the table in the bunkhouse and the two riders stared at the table as looking into Carrie's eyes which were filling with tears was just too hard to do.
"What happened to Violet?" Jesse asked.
Buck and Jimmy looked at each other uneasily. The talk among the town usually stopped immediately at the awareness of children but still somehow they thought that Carrie would have known what had happened to her friend.
"Her parents won't let me see her," she answered their unasked questions.
The two men sighed and wondered for a moment if it was their place to tell but then they knew that the two young people in front of them would be kinder than the people in town had been. Jimmy had overheard a couple of women talking just the day before and if they'd been men he would have punched them both.
"She was attacked," Jimmy said at last, "She was hurt pretty bad from what I saw."
"Who would hurt Violet?" Jesse asked. Violet was a nice girl and really pretty. He couldn't figure why anyone would want to hurt her.
"We don't know who did it other than it was a man," answered Buck.
"How do you know that?" Carrie asked.
"It had to be someone big judging by the way the undergrowth was disturbed," Buck said, "And the nature of the injuries."
Carrie and Jesse both looked puzzled at that comment so Jimmy tried to explain better.
"She was," he began not knowing exactly how to say it. "Well, he, this man I mean, he forced himself on her."
The young people both recoiled at that and then Carrie started to cry and Jesse put an arm around her. It was a gesture that might have brought a smile from the men across the table at the knowledge of their young friend growing up but the reason for his comforting of her kept those thoughts at bay.
It was about that time when Ike leaned into the bunkhouse and signed that Teaspoon wanted them in town right away.
"What is it, Ike?" Jimmy asked, "Did he say?"
Ike shook his head and signed, 'It must be bad though, he wants all of us.'
Buck looked over at the kids at the table, "Jesse, can you see to it that Carrie gets home safe?"
Jesse nodded.
"I mean it," Buck said, "See her right to her door."
Jimmy picked up on Buck's unease and unbuckled one of his gun belts.
"Get this back to me once she's home safe," he said and couldn't even take any pleasure in the wide eyes of the young man.
Buck and Jimmy headed toward Teaspoon's office.
"Why'd you give him a gun, Jimmy?" Buck asked though he was fairly certain he knew.
"I guess I came to the same conclusion you did," Jimmy answered, "I must've been wrong when I thought this guy just ran off never to be heard from again. Jesse's not that big of a kid and the size we figure this man to be, well, he could overpower Jesse right quick if he wanted at Carrie."
"That's what I figured," Buck said nodding. They reached the marshal's office to find all their fellow riders save Lou who was out on a run. Kid was pacing and was beside himself with worry.
"Now don't you worry, Kid," Teaspoon was assuring the man, "For starters, no one outside of us knows Lou ain't what she seems and she's on horseback and not on foot which makes her harder to catch. She's the lightest of you and Lightning ain't no slow poke. Plus," he added, "She's armed."
"What happened?" Jimmy asked unnerved that anyone was even considering that Lou might be in danger.
"A couple of kids playing hooky just found Amy McAlister's body at the edge of the woods," Teaspoon told them somberly, "Her dress was torn the same way as the Markham girl's and it looks like she was hurt in the same way right down to the split lip and black eyes."
"How did she die?" Buck asked.
"Strangled," Teaspoon answered, "I didn't let this information out before 'cause I was trying to salvage a little of the poor girl's privacy but she had handprints on her neck too."
"So was killing Amy an accident?" asked Cody who had been admiring the new assistant to the town's seamstress for a few weeks. "Or did he mean to kill Violet?"
"I don't know, son," Teaspoon said with a far away and thinking tone of voice, "I just don't know."
Jimmy and Buck looked at each other and shared a thought that they did know and it made them sick to think it.
Teaspoon sighed thinking he might just be getting too old for this job, "You boys need to head on out to where they found Amy. Look for any sign you can think of that might say who this would be. Buck, see if you can tell if she was really killed that close to the edge of the woods or if maybe she was moved."
The young men all headed for the door.
"Jimmy," Teaspoon called, "I need you to come with me."
"Sure," Jimmy said with a shrug, "Where are we going?"
"I need to question Violet Markham," the older man said, "She might have remembered something else."
Jimmy was usually alright with anything Teaspoon asked even though he did grumble a good deal from time to time but he really didn't want to face poor Violet again. He was only just getting to a point where he could sleep without the sight of how they'd found her and her tiny little whimpers pulling him from his slumber.
"Why me?"
"She likes you," Teaspoon said.
"I don't think she likes much of anyone at all right now," Jimmy argued.
"Probably not," Teaspoon agreed, "But you took care of her and brought her to safety. She feels safer around you."
There was no arguing the point as Jimmy remembered how the girl had clung to his hand. The two men rode to the Markham place in silence.
Meanwhile the rest of the riders were at the place where Amy McAlister's body had been found.
Cody looked down at the places where the blood was heaviest on the ground. His suspicions that Amy was a nice and virtuous girl were confirmed by the placement of these pools of blood. It made him sick that she'd never known a man's touch until the night before and that brutal violence was all she would ever know of how things could be between a man and woman. He walked away and bent over emptying the contents of his stomach onto the ground.
Noah walked over and put a hand on Cody's back.
"Are you going to be alright?" Noah asked him.
"She was so shy when I danced with her," Cody said, "She blushed to take my hand when I asked her. She should have known some gentleness. She shouldn't have ever been used so and then left out in the open like that."
"I know," Noah said tenderly. He too remembered the dance where Cody had asked the young lady to dance. They had figured Amy to be maybe all of eighteen and she did look very innocent. It was true that no woman should be so used and then just thrown away as if she did not matter but it seemed especially wrong when it was a girl like Amy or Violet.
Jimmy trudged up the steps to the Markham porch behind Teaspoon like a child about to receive punishment. He really was wishing that it had been Kid who'd found her and carried her home. Kid would be so much better at this than Jimmy felt he would be. Teaspoon knocked on the door and waited. Mr. Markham opened the door a little and peered out then opened it fully when he saw who was standing there.
"What can I do for you Marshal?"
"I hate to ask it of you Tom but I need to talk to Violet," Teaspoon replied.
"She doesn't remember anything," Mr. Markham said.
"There's been another attack," Teaspoon informed him, "Amy McAlister the seamstress's assistant. I really need to see Violet. Even something she doesn't think means much could be a great help."
"Why don't you just ask Miss McAlister?"
"She's dead, Tom," Teaspoon informed him.
Mr. Markham looked upset but still was reluctant to let the men inside to talk to his daughter. Then Mrs. Markham appeared behind her husband.
"Mr. Hickok," she said and forced a smile. "I was just about to come see you. Violet has been asking for you and that Mr. Cross."
Her expression soured some when she mentioned Buck but she tried to hide it.
"Well," Jimmy told her, "We actually came to see Violet. We wanted to check in on her and ask her a couple of questions."
"What kind of questions?" she asked suddenly defensive.
"What she might have heard or seen before or after what happened to her," he said knowing that asking her about the actual attack was not going to result in anything but upsetting the girl unnecessarily.
Mrs. Markham placed a hand on her husband's shoulder and pulled him gently out of the way of Teaspoon and Jimmy. The two men were led to a room down the hall where Violet was resting on a bed. Some of the swelling had gone down around her eyes but they were still angry looking and her nose had swollen worse. Jimmy sighed and went into the room ahead of Teaspoon.
Violet heard someone enter her room and was bracing herself to deal with more of her mother's hovering. She was grateful her parents hadn't mentioned what was done to her but still her mother was always right there and she couldn't even go stay in her dream world where those handsome riders took care of her and protected her, where nothing like this ever could happen because at least one of them was always close by. When her mother did leave her for a while Violet dreamed of spending time with Buck and Jimmy and those dreams ended with her marrying one or the other of them. He would profess to her that what happened didn't change a thing and she was still beautiful and perfect in his eyes. She knew she was silly and neither one of them would ever want to see her again much less think about courting her when she came of a proper age. They had been kind to her but it was because she was hurt and only that.
Nothing could have surprised her more than looking up and seeing Jimmy Hickok enter the room with Marshal Hunter trailing behind him. She tried to smile but her lips were still to split and swollen to accomplish the feat.
Jimmy sat in the chair by her side and helped her prop up to sitting with the pillows on her bed. She winced a little before readjusting her sitting position. Jimmy took note and thought of what he could do to this monster if he ever caught him.
"How are you feeling?" Jimmy asked concerned.
"Better," she answered but he could tell it wasn't better by very much.
"Are you better enough to answer some questions the marshal has?"
"I can try but I don't remember very much," she said wishing she knew more if only to keep him by her side for just a little longer. She didn't understand why she wanted him so close or even why she dreamt of marrying one of them. She knew what came with marriage and the very thought of ever doing that again made her sick to her stomach. Still, she thought being loved and cared for and protected also came with marriage and even with courting if the man courting you was honorable and good.
Jimmy rose and allowed Teaspoon the chair at the bedside but wanted to pull the older man away when he saw Violet trying so hard not to recoil. Teaspoon saw her reaction too and scooted the chair a little farther from the bed to allow her some space. He knew right then that he was getting to old for this job when this was what the world was coming to. Hell, maybe he was even too old for the world at all if there were men going around hurting little girls and young women like this. He just didn't know what to think of anything anymore. He tried to think of the task at hand and sort his thoughts which were in a jumble. Finally he took a deep breath and said the girl's name gently to draw her attention to him and then he began his questions.
I forgot how taxing these kinds of stories can be...I know Jimmy didn't typically hand over one of his guns but Jesse didn't carry a weapon and I couldn't let anything happen to Carrie. Violet will need her friend if she's to get any kind of better and the bad guy seems to have gotten right what he meant to do all along. Oh grusome crime scenes...please stop haunting me!
On a completely unrelated matter, pina colada Starburst candies are ever so lovely. So yeah...guess we'll have to see what comes of an old west version of a cognitive interview and what the boys turn up where Amy was found.-J
