Chapter Nine

Nick and Jarrod were sure the wind couldn't blow any harder if it wanted to. The storm that was starting to brew had appeared out of the clear blue sky. Having talked it over between themselves, the two Barkley brothers now sat on their horses not a hundred yards from Sydney Glover's house. As much as they wanted to head straight for the mines, they had to convince Mr. Glover of few things. The last thing the law, or they, wanted was to alert Glover to their plan and the true facts about Heath. So, as Frank had suggested, they came up with a story to get the man to go along with what they'd been asked to do.

"Now, Nick, remember; behave yourself." Jarrod gave his brother a stern look only to have Nick give him a look that said; 'I'm not that stupid!'

"For Heath's sake and the sake of bringing Chad's killer to justice, I will." Nick scowled, and then added silently, "But, the moment this is over, I'm going to have a bit of a conversation with Mister Glover!" He didn't care if he did land in jail. Having assault charges put on him for hitting the 'over pompous windbag' would be worth it. The two men pushed their horses forward, praying like mad the wealthy miner owner would fall for the lines they would soon be feeding him.

~oOo~

Sydney Glover stood in his living room and watched as Jarrod and Nick Barkley approached his two story home, the only red brick home in the area. Since he'd been told the brothers were simply coming to take their deceased brother home, it made him uneasy seeing them approach his house. Had they, somehow, found out all his secrets? No, he reasoned with himself, if that was the case, they'd have had the law with them. Still, he remained on guard as the two brothers dismounted, and then allowed Glover's hired help to lead their horse to a small stable that had built for any of his guests to use. Turning away from the window, Mr. Glover headed for his study.

Nick and Jarrod, who had seen Mr. Glover turn away from the window, took a deep breath as Jarrod knocked on the door. As upset as he was, Nick told Jarrod he'd better handle the majority of the talking. Jarrod wasn't about to argue and prepared to do just that as the Glover's butler answered the door.

"Hello, Mr. Barkley," Glover's wiry butler named Erin, who stood five feet eight inches, smiled at Jarrod and glanced at Nick. "Been some time since we've seen you, come on in," the man stepped aside letting the two brothers' in. "May I help you?"

Jarrod smiled politely. "My brother, Nick, and I would like to talk to Sydney." It was all he could do to get Mr. Glover's first name out of his mouth. If it weren't for the need to fool the man, he'd have simply referred to him as Mr. Glover.

"I'll let him know you are here." Erin smiled and hurried towards his boss' study.

Jarrod wasn't surprised when Nick looked at him and said in a surprisingly low tone, "It's a good thing you're doing the talking. I wouldn't be able to say that man's name without getting sick."

"What makes you think it's not having the same effect on me?" Jarrod whispered back.

Moments later Erin appeared in the hallway. "Mr. Glover will see you." Erin gestured towards the study and then disappeared into the kitchen.

Jarrod and Nick exchanged glances that said 'for better or for worse' and then headed for the study. It took less than a minute for them to enter the study. Mr. Glover was sitting at his desk going through one paper after another; he looked up when he heard his guests enter. Smiling to cover up his nerves, Mr. Glover stood up and stepped around the desk, extending his hand. Again, for the sake of keeping up appearances, Jarrod extended his also and shook the man's hand.

"I didn't expect to see you here. At least, not so soon, thought you'd get your brother and headed back to Stockton. What may I do for you?" Mr. Glover asked as he rested his hip against his desk.

Jarrod took a deep breath, sent a silent prayer upwards and then began explaining. "We would have simply retrieved Heath's casket and done just that; head on home only," he paused and acted as if it was difficult for him to go on, something that had Nick biting his tongue hard. "We got talking about it and, well….ever since joining the family Heath has been concerned that any mines the family had an interest in be kept safe for the workers and the working conditions good. We figured that, as a long as we were down here, we might as well inspect the mine here…sort of a way to show our respects to Heath." Jarrod wasn't about to say it was an excuse to meet with Heath and see what, if anything, he'd been able to find in the office or the silver mine. The fact that both places might just be using for a hiding place was something that was cemented into the brothers' minds as Mr. Glover stiffened ever so slightly.

Nick, who was anxious to get down to the mine and to his blonde haired brother, backed Jarrod up. "Heath worked in the mines at a very young age if you're wondering why he had such an interest. Like Jarrod said, the trouble up at the Sierra Mines only made his commitment to any miners he could help grow. We can't bring Heath back, but we sure can do what we can for the people that meant so much to him." Nick wasn't surprised when Jarrod shot him an extra fast glance, one that told him just how impressed Jarrod was at the act he was performing. Nick wondered if Jarrod would still be impressed if he knew what Nick had planned after everything was brought out into the light.

Sydney didn't want anyone poking around "that" area only he didn't know how to turn the request down either. After all, how would it make him look if word got around he'd denied Jarrod and Nick the right to honor their late brother's request. He soothed his anxious nerves, telling himself that they were only inspecting the area, not out on a treasure hunt. "Talk to my manager, Nathan Pryer or to the gentleman he hired to help him last week. One of them should be there." Sydney sat back down, having no desire to have to continue smiling at the men.

"Thank you." Jarrod said as he and Nick left the room, their smiles spread across one side of the face to the other only after they'd retrieved their horses and ridden away from Glover's home.