Swift grilled the two injured men. "How long were you unconscious?" Matthew was tending to William's head wound. His own head was injured, and blood had stained his prized possession, his white suit jacket.

"No idea. Five minutes, maybe ten."

"Idiot!" raged Swift. "Worthless, incompetent piece of shit!"

William spoke up. "It was really my fault sir. I was supposed to be watching her. Somebody came up behind me. I never even heard a thing. It was just as though someone knew we were going to be there."

A butler entered with a note on a silver tray. "This was just delivered, sir." Swift was silent as he read the note, pacing the room. He handed it off to Frank, who filled the others in. "They want a ransom. Fifty thousand, cash. To be delivered by the bodyguard. No guns." Frank looked at Matthew. "That means you."

"What? Why me?"

Frank leaned in and said quietly, "Maybe that suggestion came from her. She really doesn't like you, you know. Can't imagine why."

"I'll do it." Everyone looked at William. "I was her bodyguard too."

Matthew and Frank exchanged a glance. Matthew put his hand on William's shoulder. "No, kid. It's all right. You'll get 'em next time."

Swift, in a rage, tears in his eyes, swung Matthew's chair around, and leaned in close. "Now you listen here, Judge. I hold you personally responsible for this mess. You bring her back to me. Unharmed. Or you are dead. Understand?"

He understood.

The exchange was to take place at midnight at the municipal waterworks, an electric turbine that used the power of the Chicago River to power the city. They arrived an hour early, to familiarize themselves with the area. Frank and Matthew climbed up a steep incline, to check out the bridge where Matthew was to wait with the money. He crossed to the other side to look around the dark, forested area beyond while Frank checked the perimeter of the building on the near side. They met back up and joined the others at the bottom of the hill where they had a good view of the bridge.

"No one is to fire his weapon, unless I give the word," Frank said to the gathered men. "We can't take a chance that the girl could be shot. Meanwhile, keep the chatter to a minimum. Eyes and ears." The atmosphere was tense, but everyone tried to relax, listening for sounds of the presence of other human beings.

When the time came, Frank handed a leather case with a shoulder strap to Matthew, and held out his hand for Matthew's gun.

"Oh right. No guns."

The two men shook hands. Then Matthew took his position on the bridge. He felt rather conspicuous wearing his white coat in the moonlight, just right for anyone interested in target practice. In an attempt to appear calm, he lit up a cigar, and threw away the match on the bridge. He walked a few paces back and forth, then changed his mind and dropped the cigar as well. Moments passed without any other sounds.

A shot rang out, Matthew's body spun around, and he tumbled over the railing, head first into the river. William jumped up, "Matt!"

Frank pulled him to the ground, and carefully climbed up the hill. Another shot split the silence, and he lay flat against the grass. After a few anxious moments, he motioned for his men to follow. They stood now, but there was neither sight nor sound of the kidnappers. Frank spit. "We lost them. Bastards!"

At an eddy, a quarter of a mile downriver, where the current slowed and circled, a white clad body swam toward the bank on the far side of the river. Caitlin held out her hand, to help Matthew out of the water. She was still wearing the red and black gown from the clothing shop.

He lay on his back in the reedy grass and laughed. When he recovered his breath, he opened the leather case and poured out the bundles of cash. He picked up one bundle, pulled out half of the bills and threw them into the river. "What are you doing?" He put the remaining bundle back into the case, and threw the leather bag as far as he could to the opposite bank. "I want them to think it's gone." He took off his blood-stained jacket and vest and threw them in the river as well.

Caitlin gathered the cash and put it in her bag. As they walked to the waiting horses, Caitlin tried to calm her breathing. "I heard two shots."

"That was me. I decided to set up two fuses. That way, if the first one didn't explode, the second one would still get me over the side. If they both went off, one after the other, they might think they were under fire and keep their heads down a few minutes more."

"If I didn't know better, I would swear you have done this before."

He laughed. "The kidnapping was your idea." He rubbed the back of his head. "And may I say, for a little filly, you sure know how to swing a club."

"Why, thank you."

"The hogtie was a nice touch."

"I thought so."

They mounted the horses and headed west. They kept a steady pace, not too fast. They needed these horses to last. They spoke very little while they rode on through the night, and by morning, arrived in Elgin. Elgin was a railroad town of moderate size where they planned to take a westward train, but first they needed to find a hotel to rest and get cleaned up.

Before they entered the hotel, Caitlin looked Matthew over. "You are not quite appropriately dressed." It was true. His clothes were dry, but without his collar, tie and jacket, he did look rather disheveled.

"I have an idea. Laugh."

"What?"

Matthew grabbed her hand and opened the door. He stumbled into the lobby, humming, "The Wedding March." Caitlin caught on and when he started to sway she put his arm around her shoulder and, giggling, they made their way to the counter and the bemused innkeeper.

"Greetings, my good man. I require a room for me. Oh… and my bride."

"Certainly, certainly. May I offer my congratulations?"

Matthew burped. "You may."

"Name?" Pause. "Jackson. Captain. AND missus."

"Very good sir. The room is $2.00 a night. Will you sign the register?"

While Caitlin paid the innkeeper, Matthew leaned over the counter, and with his nose 6 inches from the page, wrote his name. Handing him the key, the innkeeper told them their room was upstairs, to the left. Matthew stopped Caitlin at the bottom of the stairs, out of earshot. "I don't know about you, but I could sure use a drink."

"Really? You need to try harder to appear drunk?"

"Ha ha."

"Well, take your time. I need to get cleaned up. I'll come down when I'm ready."

Matthew held up the room key. "Yes, dear."

He returned to the innkeeper, demanding a bottle of his finest bourbon and a cigar. There was no one else in the parlor, so he took a seat near the door, where he could keep an eye on the street. He put up his feet, and lit the cigar. He opened the bottle, and curled up to his new best friend.

When Caitlin opened the door to her room, she heard shuffling and subdued voices further down the hall. She went toward the sound, and discovered a couple having sex on the back stairway. They panicked when they saw her, but she took control of the situation quickly. "Shh. Shh. Not a sound."

She waited while they adjusted their clothing. The girl was obviously a scullery maid. Her hair was pulled back in a kerchief, and now that her skirts were down, Caitlin could see that she wore a full apron. The boy was tall and skinny, in a greasy green leather jacket, blue shirt and red plaid trousers.

She addressed him first. "Young man, you do realize that if I were to call out, the landlord downstairs would have your hide." He nodded. To the girl, "Is there a laundry in this hotel?"

"Yes ma'am. Down the cellar."

"Good." Back to the boy. "You will go down to the laundry, and await my instructions. And rest assured, young man, if you try to run, I will see to it that you suffer to the full extent of the law. Do you understand?" He nodded. "Off you go."

The girl started to cry, "Ma'am, please…"

Caitlin put a comforting arm around her shoulder. "Hush. Come with me." She took the maid into her room, sat her down and locked the door.

"Oh ma'am, please don't tell on me. If my daddy finds out he'll kill me."

Caitlin pulled up a chair to face the frightened girl. She smiled. "What is your name?"

"Molly."

"Molly, I promise you, you have nothing to fear from me. As a matter of fact, I asked you in here because I need your help." She opened her purse and took out a twenty dollar bill, and laid it on the table. The girl stopped whimpering. "I think perhaps you and I have something in common. Parents who are less than understanding? You see, I have run away from my home, and I do not wish to be found. I need to change out of these clothes, and then I'm going to ask you to cut my hair. So Molly, will you help me?"

Molly had never met anyone like her in her life. Caitlin seemed to her to be some kind of a glamorous fairytale princess. The money on the table represented just about one year's wages for the girl, after the landlord squeezed her for room and board. "Oh yes, ma'am. Yes I will."

Caitlin buttoned up the vest on a three-piece man's suit.

"Ma'am, where in creation did you get an outfit like that?"

"I ordered it back in—my home town. I told the tailor that I wanted to buy a suit for my brother who was going away to school. He happened to be just about my size." They both laughed. Caitlin held up a pair of scissors. "There's no use putting it off."

Molly was a bit clumsy at first, cutting one long blond curly lock after another. When they were off though, she deftly trimmed the hair into a suitable man's cut. "Molly, I believe you have a real talent. Where did you learn to cut hair like that?"

"I like to watch the barber. I've been cuttin' my brother's hair since- well, since he had hair. And my daddy's too, of course."

"Tell me about your young man. What was his name?"

"Dan." She smiled. "But he ain't my young man."

"Oh, I see."

Molly started to gently fold the dress. Caitlin noticed she lingered, stroking the red satin and black lace. "You like it, don't you?"

"I ain't never seen anything so pretty."

"Would you like to keep it?"

Molly gave a whoop and laughed. "Can you just see me sashay about in such a thing?"

"It's worth a lot of money. You could sell it. Maybe start up a barber shop of your own someday?"

Molly sat down on the bed. "Why? Why would you do that?"

"Because you helped me. Thanks to you, I now have a chance to start a new life. I'd like you to have it, but on one condition. You'd have to keep it hidden for at least a year. No one can know that you have it until a year has passed. Do you have a safe place where you can keep it, where no one will be able to find it?"

"I loosened the floorboards under my bed, that's where I keep mementos and such."

"Does anyone else know about this place?"

Molly shook her head.

Caitlin had originally planned to bury the dress, but she couldn't be sure it would not be discovered. If she could persuade Molly to keep it safely out of sight for a time, it could be worth a fortune to the girl.

Caitlin spoke carefully now. "The men who will come looking for me are dangerous. If they were to find out about the dress, they might start asking questions, and I would not want you to get into any trouble. After a year, you could take it out, and if anyone asks where you got it, you could say you bought it from a traveling salesman who trades in 'clothes of the dead.' Just remember, Molly, it's only a dress. It's not worth risking your—safety. Think of it as an investment. In a year's time it will pay you a big dividend. There, it's settled."

Caitlin took a ten dollar bill out of her purse and laid it on the twenty. "Now Molly, I have one more request."