Chapter 10
As promised, Jennifer lay down after lunch. She had had nothing but tea. She had been complaining of not being able to quench her thirst and had actually had two pots of the brew. Now she was asleep on her bed with Kid sitting in the same chair he had occupied the night before. He had promised to wake her in time for the concert, but for the life of him, he couldn't understand what they were doing in Lincolnville. Jennifer had tried to explain, she had to do this. The orphanage really needed the money the concert would bring in. She had to put her personal feelings aside for the children.
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Swallowing down his reservations, Heyes squared his shoulders and entered the Sheriff's office. A fair-haired young man, with steady gray eyes, looked up from his desk.
"Can I help?"
"Sheriff Randall Matthews?" checked Heyes.
"Uh huh."
"Were you Sheriff here, four years ago?"
"Nope." A beat. "Why are you askin'?"
Heyes took a breath. "I was hoping to speak to whoever was Sheriff here, during the smallpox outbreak."
The steady gray eyes continued to look at the ex-outlaw. Heyes realized he would have to offer a little more. "I was hoping to speak to someone who remembers the fire, at the Quarantine house."
Randall Matthews scanned the face of the dark-eyed man. "That'd be George Watkins," he said. A beat. "Retired."
"Where could I find him?"
"Who's asking?"
Heyes took another breath. He was still not entirely reconciled to announcing this to fellas wearing a silver star. "Hannibal Heyes."
The fair eyebrows rose. Once again, the young Sheriff studied the man before him. Whatever he saw in the reformed outlaw, he clearly approved of.
"George Watkins happens to be my uncle," he smiled. "If'n you'd wait ten minutes for my deputy to get here, I'll walk round with you, introduce you!" The smile turned into a grin. "Hannibal Heyes, huh? Guess we don't have to ask why you never called before! If'n you'd like to take a seat in a cell for old times sake…just ask!"
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Kid moved over to the bed and looked down at Jennifer. She looked like a little girl with her hair spread out on the pillow and her face flushed from sleep. He found himself thinking how beautiful her daughter must have been. He kissed her softly on the forehead, "Jennifer," he said quietly. "Honey, time to wake up."
She moaned and opened her eyes.
"Hey there sleepy head," he smiled at her.
She tried to smile back but it was a bit lopsided.
"Feeling any better?"
She looked into his concerned blue eyes and couldn't find the strength to lie. "Jed, truth be told, I feel as tired now as when I laid down."
He felt her forehead. "I think you have a fever. You should probably stay in bed. The Doctor said 48 hours."
She groaned, "You know I can't."
"Cancel the performance."
She looked at him as if he had two heads. "You can't just cancel a performance. All the time and effort people have put into it. The orphanage is counting on us. The money they receive tonight is desperately needed. I can't let them down."
"I think you're putting too much on yourself. Sweetheart, you're sick. You need to stay in bed and rest."
"Don't you think I know that? I know I'm sick! I can't stop just because I'm a little tired! I have to go on for the children!"
Kid really didn't want to argue with her again. "Alright, I'll go in the other room so you can change. Just sing like before."
She nodded and started in on her scales. She didn't feel well. Her head hurt, her back hurt, her stomach hurt, in fact she couldn't think of a spot on her that didn't hurt. She was worn out, but she had a concert to do tonight. She was glad the tour was almost over.
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"I had my suspicions about that fire at the time," said ex-Sheriff George Watkins, "It went up just too fast. As if it had broken out in several places at once. And…broken out always with oil or tinder to feed it. Know what I mean, Mr. Heyes?"
"You mean, as if it hadn't 'broken out' at all," replied Heyes.
The grizzled head nodded. "There was something else, something about the debris in the dispensary area. It just wasn't right. I reckon there'd been a fight. Though," he made a helpless gesture, "there wasn't much left to examine an', I suppose lawmen are prone to suspect foul play, when maybe there ain't none."
"You found out nothing?" Heyes checked.
"Nope. To tell the truth, Mr. Heyes, the town was so shook up by the epidemic an' I was so caught up in enforcing quarantine rules …"he sighed, "I never reckoned it was Moran who set the fire, though he did disappear. He'd never been anything worse'n a petty thief. The mess Lincolnville was in, he coulda walked outta the bank carrying the safe! No need to set a fire to divert us!" He shifted in his seat. "And…that poor singer, Miss Landis. Nothing could bring her husband or child back. Nor her friends. What good could be done by…" He shook his head slowly. "It woulda been an act of cruelty to drag her through an investigation that'd most likely lead nowhere, Mr. Heyes. An' that's a fact!"
Heyes appreciated the sincerity behind the man's words. "I believe you could only identify some of the bodies through their…rings?" he asked. "It must have been hard!"
The wrinkled gray eyes squeezed shut at the memory. George Watkins gulped as he nodded.
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By the time Heyes got back to the hall, the performance had started.
"How's it going?" he whispered to his partner, in the wings.
"It's not the same," breathed Kid. "I mean…she's not the same. The voice is performing fine…but if you watch, she keeps wiping away tears." He shook his head, "She should never have gone on."
"Kid," said Heyes, "I don't think she is the same." He took a breath, "I think she's being drugged. That's why she's not thinking straight."
Kid's eyes widened in shock and flew to the woman on the stage.
"I mean, look at tonight. It was clear to everyone she wasn't fit to perform, and let's face it, Jennifer could hand over the money this concert will raise, as easily as you or I would drop a coin in a collection plate. All this stuff about 'havin' to do it for the children' … That kind of, well… posing…just isn't the Jennifer we know."
Kid blinked. He supposed that was true, though he had not put it quite that way in his own head.
"I've been watching her eyes too," breathed Heyes. "Her pupils are dilated when she's not herself."
"What are we gonna do?" asked Kid.
"We check everything she eats and drinks till we work out what it is!"
"She's had nothin' except that dang tea, today!" puzzled Kid. "The tea!"
"Indeed," agreed Heyes. "Kid, I think you just earned your share of our fee." He hesitated, "There's something else Kid. You aren't going to like it…"
"I already don't like any of it!" his partner shot back.
At that moment, the curtain fell on Jennifer's final bow. They saw her leave the stage, push Scott aside and slip out of the back door.
"Follow her!" ordered Heyes. "Don't let her out of your sight. I'm going to go find that tea, see if you're right!"
Kid caught up to Jennifer as she reached the edge of a wooded area and sat on a log.
"Why didn't you wait for me?" Kid asked.
She gasped and turned, startled. Her eyes were red, her face streaked with tears.
"Hey, hey, what is it?" Kid pulled her into his arms.
Her body was shaking, tears still spilling down her face. "It hurts so badly!" she cried out. She collapsed into him.
He held her tight. "What hurts?" he asked gently. She couldn't answer, just placed her hand over her heart. Kid's throat closed up, he did not want to tell her someone hated her enough to poison her. She looked up at him with eyes full of grief and confusion. He wanted to show her that he loved her, was there for her. He bent his head and kissed her lips. Her response stunned him; it was so fervent, abandoned.
Suddenly she pulled back, guilt written on her face. "No! No! I can't!"
"Can't what, Jennifer?"
She pushed away from him and ran into the woods. Kid bolted after her. "Jennifer, wait!"
She was in front of him, tripping over the roots of trees, branches tearing at her clothes. He managed to get hold of her waist and stop her progress. She beat on him with her fists, "Let me go! I can't! Nathan!"
Kid grabbed her wrists. "Jennifer!" he shouted, "Look at me. Nathan is dead!"
She stood stock-still. He released her and then felt a resounding smack across his face. "HOW DARE YOU! JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!" she turned to run again.
Kid grabbed her pinning her arms to her side. She struggled frantically in his grasp. Kid was amazed at the strength she exhibited. She sank her teeth deep into his arm tearing and drawing blood, the narrow heels of her evening shoes, stamped and ground mercilessly into the fragile bones of his instep.
"JENNIFER! STOP IT! DO YOU HEAR ME? STOP IT."
The shovel connected with his head and he crumpled to the ground. Jennifer screamed as a hand came around and covered her face with a cloth. She felt herself slipping into unconsciousness.
"Just us three," a voice said, "Together again!"
Jennifer was flung over a shoulder and hauled away.
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Kid slowly came to. He was tempted to return to sleep. He was warm and comfortable, but something was teasing his memory. It was there, just at the back of his brain, begging to be remembered. He tried to roll over onto his side and felt his head explode. He groaned and then heard a familiar voice.
"Hey, take it easy. You've got quite a lump on the back of your head."
He opened his eyes and saw Heyes bending over him with a cloth. "Heyes?"
"Yeah Kid, I 'm here."
"Why do I have a lump?" he asked touching the sensitive spot.
"I was hoping you could tell me. What do you remember?"
Kid looked at his friend and tried to focus his eyes. As he lay there getting his bearings, the memory that had been tickling his mind suddenly jumped at him. "Jennifer," he cried. He tried to get up and collapsed back onto the pillows as his head once again exploded.
"Hey, hey. Take it easy. The doc says you shouldn't try to move too much just yet."
"Heyes, we have to go find her."
"We will, first you have to tell me what happened."
Kid looked up into Heyes' concerned eyes, "She was running in the woods, the branches ripping at her clothes. I caught her. She was biting and kicking me, she was out of control. I yelled at her to stop and then…I," he struggled with his memory, "I don't know what happened." He frowned, still holding his partner's gaze. "Heyes…she kept saying she couldn't be with me because of Nathan. She thought he was still alive."
Heyes took a deep breath. "Kid," he began, "you'd better get ready for a shock."
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They had ridden out to the place where Jennifer had disappeared. The doc had advised Kid to stay in bed. That didn't go over well. He had determinedly, if not slowly, got out of bed, put on his boots and gun and unsteadily navigated the stairs down to the lobby. Once there he grabbed a support column and caught his breath while he willed the nausea away. Heyes knew it was pointless to try to stop his cousin so he just made sure he didn't fall down.
"I'll go get the horses," he said.
Kid just nodded his thanks and then immediately regretted the action.
Now they were in the woods looking for any sign of what might have happened. The spot was only the beginning of a forest that stretched on for miles. Heyes dismounted and checked the ground where he had found Kid. He saw the signs of the struggle, what looked like a pair of heavily indented footprints, and then a horse going in an easterly direction.
Without a word, the cold blue eyes of Kid Curry looked east and then he nudged his horse forward. Heyes mounted and followed. The tracks were easy to follow at first but as they moved deeper into the dense forest, it became harder and harder.
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She opened her eyes to darkness. Her head pounding. She was lying on her back. She tried to move, but could only manage a couple of inches either way. Feeling around, her fingertips touched wood to her right and wood to her left. Rough…unfinished. She was unable to raise her arms more than a few inches over her body, not enough to stretch them out entirely or to reach her face with her hands. So the wood could only be inches from her face. She was trapped!
The surrounding air was stagnant and still. It smelled of old timber and…fear. Hers!
She was in a box of some sort, but where, and why? Who was doing this to her? She felt a surge of panic and swallowed, trying to remain calm. Think, she told herself, concentrate on escaping. She pushed up on the top to lift it. Nothing! It did not budge. She tried again, with all her strength. A slight groan, but still, it didn't give.
Perhaps she was still asleep and this was a nightmare. She touched the wood again. It felt real. It felt solid. She must be awake. No! Do not let this be real!
A rustling sound, and then…pounding. The pounding in her head. Only, it was not in her head, it was against the box. It shuddered with the blows. Hammering!
"No, please! Don't leave me in here!" She knew that sound; they were hammering nails in the box, sealing her in. This 'box' was a coffin. Her coffin! She banged on the inside, screaming to be let out.
"Dark isn't it?" came a muffled response. "Hard to breathe? Frightening? Now you know how SHE felt, you cruel …"
She could not believe this was happening. Was she mad? She KNEW that voice! "Nathan? It can't be?" she gasped. Then, louder, "Nathan!"
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I am glad that … that… believes herself mad! I have been mad for four years! SHE…she drove me mad. It is only justice I return the favor. The madness was all I had for company, until my beautiful one…my darling returned.
I pause in shoveling earth. It will take her a long time to die. Perhaps…a qualm shakes me…perhaps, it is too cruel?
My darling one …I can SEE her now, as well as hear her… tugs at my sleeve.
"Don't stopDaddyDon't stop!"
Her eyes beseech me; her lip…her tiny precious lip…wobbles.
"It hurts when you stopDaddyIt hurtsAn'…an' it's so darkI won't be outta the darkuntil you finish!"
Another shovel full of earth. Again I hesitate. Can this be right?
"Please Daddyplease!" A tear runs over that roseleaf cheek. The small fingers touch my hand, delicate as a butterfly's wing. "Please!" A whimper. "She's still hurting me!"
I set my jaw…and dig.
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Jennifer felt the box drag forward a few feet, her feet tilted downwards. What was happening? With agonizing slowness the coffin crawled forwards and downwards until it dropped, with a sickening thud. Unable to contain herself, Jennifer shrieked as she fell.
She was in a coffin and Nathan…if it WAS him…was going to bury her alive. She screamed and scratched at the lid. She could hear dirt being shoveled on top. This could not be happening.
"Please…Nathan! Please…no!"
"I have to!" came a voice from overhead. "I have to! It's the only way to help Rachel!" Earth thudded onto the lid. "You deserve it! This is what you did to her, you heartless …" Was that…sobbing…she heard. "You buried her…buried her ALIVE!"
Steady thuds of earth.
"Don't try and deny it!" Thud. Thud. Thud. "I heard her. I HEARD her pleading to be let out! She…she told me!" Thud. Thud. "How does it feel?" Thud. Thud. "You did this to HER!
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I throw down the shovel. Finished! Done! I let 'Edgar Moran' go. For most of the last four years I have BEEN him. Forgotten I was ever anyone else. But, now…
It is so peaceful in the woods. I feel…I feel…I try to remember. Yes. I feel …happy. No pain. Not for me. Not for her.
A small, trusting, hand slips in mine. "Thank youDaddy."
"Feel better, darling?"
She nods. "All better now!" she lisps. Then, "Daddycan we go find mama now?"
I squat down, smile into those beguiling hazel eyes. "Of course, darling! Shall we go now?"
"Uh huh!"
Together, hand in hand, we walk away. Jen! Darling, beloved Jen! Now that that Landis woman is punished, we can all three be together again.
"I love mama!" comes the precious voice.
"So do I, darling! Very much! I adore you both!"
I lift her onto my shoulders and she squeals with happiness.
"CanterDaddyCanter!"
I do! Once I find Jen, we will ALL be so happy!
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They had ridden for a day; following tracks they hoped were right, getting side tracked by tracks leading nowhere. Kid was becoming increasingly impatient with the dead ends. They were wasting time. Jennifer could be dead by the time they found her. He had no doubt they would; he was not ever going to give up. He would find her dead or alive.
As night fell, Heyes started looking for a place to camp. There was no moon to speak of and what little there was, was hidden behind clouds. He broached the subject carefully to his silent partner.
"Kid, we need to stop for the night. We can't see the tracks."
The clouds drifted from the moon's glow and illuminated deadly, cold eyes, turned on him. Kid Curry had stared at many a man with that look on his face, but it had never been directed at Heyes. A shiver ran down Heyes' spine, and then the eyes softened, and he breathed a sigh of relief.
"Guess you're right," was the only reply.
They made camp, and tried to get some rest. They lay down but neither found any sleep.
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Jennifer had screamed out to Nathan, until her throat felt hoarse and she was choked by sobs. Now…all was quiet. She had to calm herself or she would use all the air and die sooner. She almost laughed at the thought. Die sooner? Would that matter? Jed did not know where she was. How could he? How could he find her? She sobbed again.
She had read about people buried alive. They were discovered, fingers raw from scratching on their wooden prisons, arms contorted from agony, faces almost unrecognizable, distorted with pain and fright.
She remembered…their skin chewed from rats. Bodies riddled with maggots. The horror of it. Would the rats and maggots attack her while she was still alive? Her heart pounded.
Please let her heart slow. Please help her be calm. Please help her to die with some dignity. Please, she whimpered. "Please"
A scratching sound. There…and again! A rat? Or was she hearing things? Was she going mad? She HAD heard Nathan. Or had she? Was she already insane?
Something crawled on her forehead. Tiny insect legs…tickling. Instinctively her hands moved to brush it off, only to hit the wooden lid of the coffin. She sobbed in frustration. She had to stop, stop using up her air. Try to think. Jed would find her. He had saved her before, he and Hannibal would again.
Something on her forehead scuttled, and she shook her head in a vain attempt to fling it off.
Jennifer's mind drifted in and out of a strange, dreamy wakefulness. She was on the train. She was dreaming on the train. No, she was here, imprisoned in a coffin, and she could hear Nathan, sobbing with regret as he buried her. He was right. She did deserve this.
Air! She needed air! She scratched at the wooden lid. She had to get through it. Scratching, scrabbling! Harder and harder until her fingers were raw and bleeding.
She was through! She could feel the dirt beneath her fingernails. She clawed her way towards the surface. She was getting closer. She MUST be getting closer. She heard Jed, "Come on Jen! Come on!"
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The two men broke camp as soon as they could see their hands in front of their faces. They picked up the tracks they had followed yesterday. It was slow going but they were making progress. They were close, Kid could feel it. He knew that time was running out if they wanted to find her alive.
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Jennifer woke with a start. It was stifling in her small prison. Sweat ran down her face and neck. She felt cold and clammy. She shivered. So…so hard to breathe. She swallowed and her throat ached from thirst. She was light-headed. Nathan smiled down at her. He was so…so beautiful.
"I love you, Nathan. I love you. I will ALWAYS love you."
She took a final breath.
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Kid stopped abruptly, making Heyes almost run into the back of his horse. "What is it?" asked the dark- haired ex-outlaw.
"Does something look different?"
Heyes looked around, "No, all I see are trees."
Kid looked around. He knew something wasn't right, he just couldn't put his finger on it. He dismounted and looked around. The ground up ahead was a little darker than where he was standing.
The forest floor looked the same, twigs, brambles, berry bushes, but the ground under this looked…new. It hit him then. "No, oh no!" He fell to his knees and quickly scrambled the brush away. He was right. The earth here had been dug up… recently. Heyes jumped off his horse and joined Kid on the ground. He looked over at his partner thinking the same thing.
Kid was already scooping earth away from the spot with his hands. Heyes looked around hoping for something to facilitate their efforts. He noticed a shovel just a few yards from the grave. It must have been accidentally left behind. He ran, picked it up and drove it into the ground next to Kid. Kid never stopped his digging; he was like a man possessed. His hands started to bleed through his torn gloves but he took no notice. After about fifteen minutes of Kid digging with his hands and Heyes using the shovel they heard it hit something solid. The two men looked at each other and with new fervor cleared the earth away from the coffin.
Kid climbed down into the shallow grave. His hands were shaking and his voice quivered as he pounded on the top of the wooden tomb and called out her name. "Jennifer, Jennifer, can you hear me?"
There was no sound except for the singing of the birds. There was no room to get the shovel under the lid so they hauled the box out of the earth. As Heyes slipped the shovel into the narrow slit, he thought he heard Kid praying.
It took him several attempts to prise the lid off. When the lid finally gave way with a sickening creak, Heyes stepped back to give Kid access.
Jennifer lay still. Her skin was ashen, her hands raw and blood stained. Heyes saw this and looked at the lid he had just levered off. He noticed what looked like claw marks on the underside of the lid. With horror he realized that she had been trying to claw her way out.
Kid dropped to his knees in front of the still form. He was too late. They hadn't been able to save her. At that moment all the pain and suffering of his past broke in upon him. It had happened again, and he couldn't stop it this time either. He gathered Jennifer into his arms and just sat rocking her.
Heyes backed off and let him grieve. He stood with his back to the heartbreaking scene, head down, eyes closed, fists clenched.
Why did this have to happen to Kid, hadn't he seen enough death, experienced enough heartache in his life? It was his fault of course. The great Hannibal Heyes hadn't figured out soon enough what was going on. He should have insisted Jennifer cancel the tour. He should have done something, anything.
Kid's tears were flowing freely, as he held Jennifer close to his heart.
Heyes came over to him and placed a hand on Kid's shoulder. He looked at the woman his partner loved…he had grown to love. Tears welled up in his eyes.
Kid placed her gently on the ground and moved away.
Jennifer's dress was torn so Heyes slowly took off his coat and placed it over her.
"Thank you."
It was just a whisper, but they both heard. She wasn't dead, she was alive, barely maybe, but alive never the less. Heyes hugged her to himself.Kid stood by in silence, just watching. Part of him wanted to whoop and holler for sheer joy. But he didn't. He just stood and looked at the woman he loved, loved more than he thought he could ever love. He stood and let the wonderful, miraculous, truth sink in. 'Jennifer is…alive. She's alive!'
Hours later, they sat around the fire, Jennifer, still wearing Heyes' coat and her hands bandaged, telling them everything she could remember about her abduction. Her voice was very monotone, her story straight to the point. Kid worried about this. It wasn't a good sign that she showed no emotion at all about her experience. She responded to their questions but that was it. Her eyes void and lifeless. They made a bed for her from the tree branches and encouraged her to lie down and sleep. She didn't resist. Kid sat at the fire, just watching her. Heyes knew that Kid would take first watch and pulled his blanket about himself. He doubted Kid would sleep at all this night.
Around midnight Kid went behind a tree to relieve himself, when he returned he found that Jennifer had kicked her blanket off. He was about to cover her up when he noticed that she wasn't shivering. It was a cold night and he himself wasn't keen to leave the fire. He placed the blanket back over her and then felt her forehead. She was burning up. She opened her eyes when she felt his cool hand, but there was no recognition in them.
"Heyes," Kid said.
The dark-haired man started awake and then came over to see what was wrong.
"She's burning up; we have to get her to a Doctor."
Heyes felt her forehead and was instantly concerned. "We'll have to wait for dawn, we can't see well enough to get her to town safely. I'll get some water from the canteen and a cloth. It's all we can do for now."
Kid nodded his head knowing that Heyes was right, but he didn't like it.
They bathed the sick woman all night, washing her face, neck and arms in an effort to keep the fever down. When the first streak of dawn pierced the darkness, they broke camp. They managed to get Jennifer on Kid's horse and then he climbed up behind her. He was going to have to hold her up, as she was too weak to be of much help.
"Just hang on Jennifer, we'll get you to town and then you can rest."
She didn't respond but Kid felt her body stiffen. She was trying. It had taken them two days to find her. They were hoping to make the return journey in under half that time without the false trails.
It was only six hours later that the forest opened up and they saw Lincolnville in the valley below. Kid let out the breath he had been holding. They had made it.
Heyes rode ahead, to the Doctor's surgery.
By the time Kid pulled up, Heyes and the Doctor were waiting outside. The Doctor helped Jennifer down and Heyes carried her inside. He placed her gently down on the table, in the middle of an examination room.
"What happened?" asked the Doctor. He was tall, with straight black hair and a dark complexion. His eyes were intelligent and his hands gentle as he poked and prodded.
"I think she might have been drugged, Doctor," said Heyes, "Some kind of hallucinogenic, taken over a long period. But, I could be wrong."
The Doctor felt her forehead, he pinched her skin, looked in her eyes with a candle, felt her body for anything out of the ordinary. "If you gentlemen will excuse me, I need to examine her more thoroughly."
Heyes and Kid backed out of the room. Kid sat with his head in his hands while Heyes did his usual pacing routine, and they waited for word from the Doctor.