Apart 11
Out on the prairie, Chester followed his boss glumly through one swath of land through another. He was beginning to be concerned about the lawman's silence and dogged determination to not rest or stop until he found what he was looking for.
"Uh, Mr. Dillon? Ya think we oughta give these horses a rest. We keep goin' like this and they're gonna just drop."
Closing his eyes in frustration, Matt nodded and pulled his horse to a stop then dismounted. "Guess you're right, Chester. Let's loosen their cinches and walk em for a while."
"How much further ya think we oughta go, Mr. Dillon?" Chester asked with a sideways glance at his boss as he got down and began working on the cinches. "I mean, it's gettin' late and we ain't found nothing to go on so far."
Matt snapped. "I know we've not found anything and I know it's a long shot that we should but I'm not going back." Looking over at Chester, he could tell it wasn't what he wanted to hear and he regretted his tone.
"Look," he sighed. "Why don't you go on back to town and see if you can find someone else to escort Cynthia St. John to her father. She'll likely be chomping at the bit if she has to stay there much longer. I'll stay out and keep looking. There's a couple of places I want to check out. If I don't find anything by tomorrow morning, I'll come back."
"Ya sure?" Chester didn't want to leave him out there alone should he need help, but he wasn't much inclined to keep endlessly riding around and finding nothing.
"I'm sure." Matt answered. "Now, go on. Head on back. I'll be fine."
After Chester left, Matt re-cinched his saddle, mounted again and set back out on the trail. He was no stranger to hunting people down and more often than not found whoever it was he was looking for. He expected this time to be no different, even if it was more personal. As he rode, his mind went back three years to the time the Gunter brothers had taken Kitty as a hostage. They'd left a fairly clear trail and weren't concerned that he would follow. They had Kitty and even without knowing him, they'd noticed his connection to the pretty red head. He'd killed both men in order to free her.
"I should've let her go after that." He told himself, knowing even as he said it, he couldn't have.
Turning his horse slightly north, Matt headed to a small farm he knew of in the area. It had been abandoned for a couple of years now and could easily be used by someone as a hideout. If he found nothing there, he'd head to another farm just to the east of that one. And if that was a bust he head to the next one and so on until he found her. Somehow, he would find her.
Once back in Dodge, Cynthia made a beeline for her room, changed out of riding clothes and dressed appropriately for a young woman in distress at not being able to reach her father.
Of course the truth was; she didn't want to reach her father. She'd had enough of the staid existence that had been her life up to now. One boring social function after another and always under someone's watchful eye to make sure she didn't get into any trouble. Or as she saw it, to make sure she didn't have any fun. Perhaps that was why she'd been so taken with Daniel when she'd first met him back home in Topeka. Though older, and definitely not in as good a physical shape as the young men who constantly flocked to her side, he was still so much better in her eyes.
He had a certain maturity about him, lacking in the youths she knew. And he had a charismatic charm that drew her in, smothering any doubts that may have been in existence before he pulled her to him and laid claim to her soul and body with his kisses and caresses. Rapidly, she found herself addicted to him and was willing to do anything to appease him and be with him.
Anything. Even Kidnapping.
She had arranged for him to escort her to a grand ball to be held at the Governor's mansion the night he came up with the scheme. They'd been sharing weak cups of punch and laughing privately at the other guests when they overheard a conversation between a young man and his companion about a trip to Dodge.
It seemed the young man, Guy Payne by name and one Cynthia had met but couldn't really say she knew, was going home to Dodge to visit his wealthy father during his school break. When one of his two companions asked about the dangers inherent in such a wild place as that, especially for one as wealthy as he, he'd laughed and insisted he'd be perfectly fine as long as Matt Dillon was around.
"Dillon?" His friend had mulled the name around before nodding. "Oh, yes, I've heard of him. Supposed to be the best lawman in Kansas. I guess you're right. If he's there, than you've no worries."
"Well, unless he's visiting with the red head at the Long Branch." The other, sallow youth laughed. "My father says she's Dillon's weakness."
"Red head?" Guy questioned. "You mean Kitty Russell? Well, she and the Marshal are friends, that's true, probably more if the rumors are true. But she has nothing to do with him keeping me and everyone else there safe. No, I'm not worried one bit."
Thinking back on it, Cynthia remembered a peculiar look that had come into Daniel's eyes and it was only a day later that he approached her with his ideas of kidnapping Guy Payne and holding him for a sizeable ransom.
Cynthia at first was appalled by the idea, as befitting her rearing. But the more she thought about it, the more fascinating the idea became. She was the one that suggested she lure Dillon from town and it was she that persuaded her god father to arrange it.
She'd been less than thrilled when she learned that Daniel planned on taking the red head, though. She'd insisted it was not necessary as she would have Dillon out of the way. But Daniel convinced her it would be best to have her as leverage in case Dillon didn't stay out of town and as it turned out, he was right.
Carefully examining herself in the mirror, Cynthia smiled just thinking about it all. Dillon was out of the way, looking for a woman he'd never find. Once Guy's father paid his ransom and Guy was returned, she and Daniel would pay off the men he'd hired and then they would disappear to Mexico or somewhere to enjoy themselves.
Of course they'd have to take care of the woman, but Cynthia wasn't too concerned with that. Daniel had mentioned something once about men down in Mexico willing to pay a lot of money for a pretty woman. Though she'd not seen her, Cynthia had heard the red head was pretty, so perhaps that was what they'd do. She and Daniel would sell Kitty Russell to the highest bidder and then go on their way.
Smiling at that, she grabbed her reticule and left her room. She suddenly felt like celebrating with a fine meal at the café followed by anything else this town had to offer.
TBC
