Chapter 8
Hehehehehehe... A big story twist is coming in this chapter that you wont see coming... Hehehe, and i might add too that i quite like the twist i came up with... You'll be rather surprised...
A few days after New Year's, Josie went out to do the horses by herself. It had taken a bit of convincing to Abigail that she was fine, but she felt that it would be okay for her to just go out to the barn unassisted. As she poured oats into the horse's buckets, she had the most peculiar feeling that she was being watched, and she didn't like it at all. She looked up and placed the bucket down, then walked out of the stall, only to find an unfamiliar man in the hallway of the barn. She didn't stop to ask questions, she turned tail and fled out of the barn, the man following her. She came to the corral fence and sprung over it, twisting as she jumped so that her skirt wouldn't snag on it. She could hear the man fall as he tried to go over it, and he began to swear and cuss at her as she ran faster, trying to get to the safety of someone who could defend her. This would have been fun, leading him on a merry chase, if it wasn't a run for her life. She hadn't worn her pistol that morning, as her hands were still getting over the frostbite, but as she heard him getting closer, she wished she had. She bolted around the corner of the jail, and as she looked back to see how far behind he was, she slammed into Bill as he can out the door of the Jail and nearly knocked him off his feet. "Sorry." She panted as she caught her breath, Bill holding her as he wondered what on earth was going on. "There's a guy chasing me."
Bill looked up as a man ran around the side of the jail, as he held Josie, who was shaking from fear. "What is going on here?" He roared as the man came to a stop in front of them, then he recognized him. The man standing in front of him was Ben Olsen.
Ben walked forward closer as Josie cowered in Bills arms. He pulled out his lawman badge, and showed it to Bill, not realizing that he already knew who he was. "Ben Olsen." He looked down at the girl who was pressing against Bill. "As marshal of Cheyenne, it is my duty to arrest this child on three accounts of murder, to take her back to stand trial." He stared at Bill in the eyes as he tried to grab Josie's arm. "Step aside. Sir."
Bill's eyes flashed with anger as Josie trembled behind him, she'd tried to move away from the man when he attempted to wrestle her from Bill's grasp. He could feel her fear, and as he looked at the man standing like a tower in front of him, he realised this was worse than he had thought. He quickly wrangled his emotions under control, then returned the man's gaze with his own stare. When he spoke, his voice was barely about a whisper. "If she has to be arrested, I will not let you do it. She is not in your town, and she's not in America. She's in my town, and if she has to be arrested, I will do it myself."
"And who are you to stop me?"
"Bill Avery. Sheriff of Hope Valley."
Ben recognized the name. This was the man who had been on his tail nearly thirty years ago, but he couldn't be sure that Bill knew who he was. He began to get angry as Bill looked away from him and went to speak to Josie, then he snapped. "It is necessary! Hurry up and arrest her before I lose my temper, or I'll do it myself! I have no problem in adding you to my list of people I've disposed of"
Bill turned and looked at Josie. He wanted to tell this man that he was no longer sheriff, if it meant he had to arrest his adopted daughter, but if he did that, he couldn't protect Josie from this skunk of a man. And this man was threatening to kill him. If he did, how on earth could he protect her then? It was either arrest her himself, or possibly deal with much worse. He could see the fear and utter terror in Josie's eyes as she returned his gaze. "Josie." He spoke her name, trying not to let his voice break, not wanting this man to see his emotions. "Honey.."
Josie looked up at him, tears running down her face, but she made no sound as she cried. "Do what you have to do." She whispered as she held out her arms for Bill to cuff them, then she looked up into his eyes. "You can't stop what's going to happen."
Bill had to look away from Josie as he clicked the cuffs shut. He didn't say another word as he let her put her arms down. Her wrists were so small that the big cuffs nearly slid off. He gently put his hand on her shoulder and motioned for her to go in the jail, noticing how happy the Marshal seemed to be as he opened the door.
Bill ignored Henry's curious gaze as he opened the other jail cell, then he took the handcuffs off Josie, ignoring the stare the Marshal gave him; then he pulled the door shut, with Josie inside. His heart was broken as he looked at her tear stained face, fresh tears running rivers through the dust on her cheeks. "Honey." His voice finally broke as he gently tried to reassure her. "I'm sorry." He saw Josie look away, then turned back to the Marshal. "Its best you leave now. You've seen me lock her up."
Ben looked at Bill suspiciously. "I want to make sure that you don't let her go. I'll be staying right here."
Bill wanted the man gone, even if it meant he had to say something he didn't want to. "You have my word. She will still be here. Now get." His eyes shot daggers as the Marshal walked out of the jail, then he walked back to Josie. As he looked at her, he brushed the tears off her cheeks through the bars with his hand, both of them ignoring the questioning looks from Henry. "I'm so sorry honey."
"You did what you had to do." Josie replied as she pulled herself together. "I'm not blaming you for anything."
Bill glanced into her eyes for a few moments, then he had to look away. He couldn't stand to see the understanding and sympathy she was showing him when she was on death row. It only made it harder for him, her trying to ease his pain. "I'm going to get Abigail, okay?"
Josie nodded as she placed her hand on top of his. "Please? And tell Montana too. She needs to hear it from you, and not from the town when the word gets around."
"Alright." Bill promised, then gave her a kiss on the forehead through the bars. "Its going to be alright, I'll do everything I can to get you out of this mess." He saw her nod, then she walked over and sat down on the bed, her back turned to him so he couldn't see her crying. Bill looked over at Henry and walked over to the mans cell, pulling himself together as he unlocked his door. "You'll be going back in a few days." He said without emotion as he let him leave his ceil. "But for today, you're going to finish painting the Lee's office."
For once Henry didn't come out with something sarcastic as Bill escorted him out of the jail. "Bill, what's happened with Josie?"
Bill stopped walking, the two of the standing in the deserted street. "She has a warrant on her head for three murders. She killed three men in self-defence, but this man is the brother of one she killed. He wants to take her back to face trial, and hang."
"What are you going to do?"
"I don't know." He admitted, then he looked at the café, knowing that the next job would be even harder. "You go off to work, I'm trusting you Henry. I need to go tell Abigail."
"Alright." He turned at walked in the direction of Lee's office, saying a silent prayer for both Josie and Abigail.
As Bill walked to the café, he was glad that there was no one in the street to see what had happened. Knowing this town, the news would be spread quickly. He walked into the café and saw Clara setting the tables for the breakfast rush. "Where's Abigail?"
Clara looked up from the table, wondering what the meaning was behind his tone of voice. "You just missed her, she wanted to get an early start at the office."
"Thanks." Bill walked out of the café as quickly as he had walked in, not saying another word to Clara, who was wondering what on earth had gotten him in a pickle. "Abigail?" He called as he opened the door to the Mayor's office. "We need to talk."
"Yes?" Abigail looked up from her bookwork, then when she saw the expression on his face she got up and walked over to him. "What's wrong?"
"I um…" he paused, wondering what the best way was to tell Abigail what had taken place. "I had to arrest Josie."
"Oh no." Abigail knew instantly why, he didn't have to say it. She quickly grabbed her coat and gloves and without another word, left the office and went to the jail, Bill by her side.
As Bill opened the front door for her, Abigail walked in and saw Josie curled up in a ball on the bed, crying. She glanced at Bill. "Can I go in, please?" Bill nodded as he unlocked and opened the door, then she walked in and sat down beside Josie. She gently pulled Josie onto her lap and began to hold her tight, trying to somewhat ease her daughters fear and pain.
Josie held on to Abigail. "Ma." She whimpered like a five year old child. "I'm scared."
"Ssssh, ssssh." Abigail replied as she hugged her daughter tighter. "I know you are." She looked up at Bill, and he could see that it was breaking her.
He walked over and sat down beside them, trying to comfort both of them, but not accomplishing it much. He didn't know how long they sat there, till the marshal came back in and saw them in the ceil with Josie.
"How cosy." He snarled as he walked in. "Comforting a murderer, how touching."
Abigail stood up and marched out towards the man before Bill could stop her. "How dare you!" Her eyes flashed like an angry cat. Only a few people had ever seen her this angry, and it wasn't pretty. "That is my daughter your talking about!"
"Oh, I know she's your daughter." He glared back at her as Bill walked up, standing beside Abigail.
Abigail's shock didn't dampen her anger. "How?"
"Georgette! Get in here!" He yelled, then gave them a mean smile. "Oh, I have my spies." He chuckled as Snow Maiden walked in the room. "Meet my daughter, Georgette Olsen."
Abigail looked dumfounded as she looked at Snow Maiden. "Snow Maiden?"
Georgette chuckled ghastly. "Its Georgette to you, you pie of a mayor. Your all as dumb as that useless daughter of yours." She laughed as she saw Josie in the ceil. "She had that coming all along."
Bill started to get angry himself. "What? How on earth-?" He couldn't understand it, then it began to come to him. "You've been working together, planning this for ages, haven't you?"
The Marshal chuckled. "You could say that. We've been waiting a long time for this."
Bill looked at Abigail, her temper and protectiveness over Josie reminding him of a bear robbed of her cubs. "Oh really? How about you explain yourself." He walked closer to both Georgette and Ben. "Now."
"Oh, its easy." Georgette talking in perfect English, her fake Indian accent no longer needed. "My father was hired by a Thomas McCallister to keep an eye on that girl." She spat the words out like they were poison. "I got assigned the horrendous job of watching her every move, then when she got hurt and I looked after her, I began to earn her trust. I couldn't let her know who I was, could I? She smiled meanly as she looked at the look on Abigail's face. "My instructions were to kill her when I had a chance, but I couldn't with that stupid Amelia around could I?"
"I don't understand, we all thought you were an Indian girl who helped Josie." Abigail stammered as she couldn't figure it out.
"Georgette's mother was an Indian. I had planned on getting Josie before, but it was easier to let her do all the work." He glanced over at Josie. "Took me awhile, but when your hung, I'll be getting a very nice pay check from McCallister."
"Wait, so McCallister is paying you to have my daughter hung?" Abigail's eyes snapped with anger. "And you would stoop that low to do that?"
"Yes, I would. McCallister had friends in high places, and let's say, they're not happy that a small-town sheriff was able to get him in prison, and getting her hung is the perfect revenge, she just made it easier for us, killing those men."
"It was self-defence." Abigail exploded. "She killed them when they tried to hurt her, and your daughter."
"They'll never believe that in a court of law." He chuckled, then looked at his daughter dressed in English clothes. "Let's go get the second part of our plan into action."
"And what's that?" Bill growled as the two people turned to leave.
"By lunch time, the entire town will know about this. You know how little towns love to talk." He shot his parting remark. "Enjoy the little time you have left with your pathetic excuse of a daughter."
Bill glared after them as he left, then he looked at Abigail as he placed his hand on hers. "I need to stop him, somehow."
"Yes, but how?"
"I'm going to contact the circuit judge, see if we can have a hearing. If he says that there is not enough evidence against her, the charges can be dropped."
"And if?"
"Well, we would have done the best we could have. I'm going to get that telegram sent out right now." He went to go to the door. "You can stay here with Josie, if you like."
"I would, thank you Bill."
Montana and Amelia were on a stroll through the town, when they saw Bill hurriedly walking from the jail to the General Store. "Wonder what the go is with him." Montana remarked to Amelia.
"I don't know." Amelia replied, then Montana quickly pulled her to the side of a building. "What's wrong?"
Montana peered around the corner of the building cautiously, then motioned for Amelia to look. "Snow Maiden is with a man, and she's being very friendly to him, I think." She took a closer look at the man, than gasped. "It's him!"
"Who?"
"The man I shot, back in Colorado."
Amelia looked at the marshal, and back at Montana. "What do you think he's here for?"
"I don't know." She thought for a second, then it came to her. "He's here for Josie!" She made sure that the man didn't see her. "We need to tell Bill. Its best if we wait in the jail, he'll be back soon."
"Right." Amelia agreed as she slunk beside Montana to the jail.
Montana opened the door to the jail, and as she walked in, she was surprised to see Abigail sitting on the bunk in the ceil, and more surprised to see Josie crying on her lap. She looked at Amelia, then walked over to them quickly. "Abigail? Josie?"
Abigail looked up at Montana. "So, Bill told you?"
"Told me what?"
"Josie's been arrested."
Montana looked at Josie and saw her nod. "What? Why?"
"That man that's been after her came into town today, he threatened to kill him if he didn't arrest her." Abigail explained. "Bill's gone to telegram the circuit judge, hoping to get a trial here so that we can stop them from hanging her."
"Then what on earth is Snow Maiden doing with him?" Amelia asked, not understanding what was going on.
Josie suddenly snapped at the mention of her name. "That witch is a traitor! She's his daughter! He had her with me all that time with the intent of her killing me."
"What?" Amelia exploded. "That, that-" She didn't say out loud the word she was thinking of. "And to think that we trusted her."
"She fooled us all." Bill agreed as he walked back in. "I've sent the telegram, now its just a waiting game. Hopefully he gets it in time."
Montana turned to Bill. "I know that man."
"Really? How?"
"He's the one I shot back in Colorado. He was on my trail for ages. If he knows I'm here, he could try to get revenge on me too."
"How much does Georgette know?" He asked Amelia.
"Georgette?"
"Snow Maiden. Georgette is her real name." He pulled up a chair and sat down in the ceil with them. "Tell me what she would know, we need to figure out how much Ben knows."
"Basically everything." Amelia sighed. "But I'm sure that she doesn't know that Montana shot her father, or that she's here."
"And I'd like to keep it that way." He looked at Montana. "Now I know you'd want to stay with your sister, but its best if you leave town for a while. Elizabeth is taking a trip to Hamilton tomorrow. I want you on the stage with her."
"But Bill."
"No buts Montana." Bill said strongly. "If he knows you're here, he could try and get you in trouble, or put a bullet in you back when you're not watching. You need to go, it's safer."
"Montana, you need to go." Josie hissed. "Don't worry about me, you need to stay safe. As far as we know, he doesn't know you're here. Get out while you can."
"I could take you with me."
"No." Josie replied with force. "No, you will not get yourself in trouble over me. I won't allow it. You better go before he comes back."
"She's right." Abigail agreed. "You don't need to get in trouble with the law again, and you better hurry, I'm sure he'll be coming back."
"Alright." Montana gave in. "I'll go."
"Good." Josie replied, satisfied, then she pulled a little package out of her pocket. "I want you to have this. I fixed it up the other day."
"What is it?"
"Open it."
Montana opened up the little envelop, and pulled out a beautiful silver locket and necklace, with the inscription Your In My Heart. It was the necklace she had given Josie when she was in jail, but this time the clasp wasn't broken "Oh, Josie, I can't."
"You have to." Josie said as she took the necklace and placed it around her neck, exactly the same thing Montana had done three years earlier to her, in the same ceil. "It belongs to both of us."
Montana's eyes began to glisten a little. "Oh, my sweetie." She gave Josie a hug, savouring the moment. It might be their last. "I'll be praying this gets sorted out."
"I know you will." Josie replied, then jumped as the door opened and Henry rushed in.
"Montana, you have to get out, that Marshal is coming." He panted as he closed the door, hoping that his warning gave her enough time to get out.
"Oh God." Montana gave Josie a quick hug. "Love you, sweetie."
"Go, Montana, go." Josie said as she released her hold on her sister. "Go!"
Bill quickly took control of the situation. "Amelia, distract them, Montana, follow me." He grabbed Montana's hand and dragged her out the back door, just as the Marshal and Georgette walked in the front.
"Well, looks like there's a party going on in here." Georgette remarked as she walked in, then she saw Amelia. "I thought you'd be here."
Amelia stood up and marched over to Georgette and her father. "Yes, you thought right, and might I add that I am disgusted with you. You betrayed our trust."
"More fool you." She laughed. "It's worth it, with the pay check that I'm getting. It will give me enough to get me started with my own ranch, and those horses I helped you move can start my business."
"Those are Josie's horses."
"Well, they'll be a lot of use to her when she's dead." She sneered. "We're taking her back to Wyoming tomorrow. To hang."
This made Abigail get up and take a stand next to Amelia. Time for round two. "You're not moving her, you understand?"
"And who's to stop us?" Ben sneered as he leant closer to her, trying to intimidate Abigail to make her stand down. "A pig-headed woman, who thinks she owns the town."
Abigail's hand went to her concealed gun, but she was saved by Jay walking in. "Thank God you here."
Jay took a quick survey of who was in the room. "What's going on?"
"Apparently, they won't let me take that murderer back to stand trial." Ben snarled as he looked at Jay. "And who the heck are you?"
"Jay McGregor. The Gunsmith." He stared at Ben. "And I think its best you get your filthy butt out of here." He pulled back his coat and showed him his Marshal and Mountie badge. "Now get." He watched Ben and Snow Maiden leave, wondering why she left. "What's her problem?"
Abigail sighed as she looked at Jay, then walked back to Josie. "She's his daughter." She replied, rather strained. "They're getting paid by McCallister to get rid of Josie." She saw Henry standing awkwardly to the side. "You can go, Henry, you've done all you can."
Henry nodded. "Alright." He left the jail and went back to Lee's office, and Jay turned back to Abigail.
"What?" Jay didn't believe it. "And I thought she was such a nice girl." He said it in a joking way. "I should have taken the warning Wolf and Kinchie gave me."
"Warning?" Josie asked. "What did they do?"
"I had to pull Wolf off from attacking her the first night he saw her. He plum hates her."
"Wolf has never been wrong before, he's always been right around a person's character." Josie looked at Jay, then got an idea. "Can you bring Wolf and Cougar here? They should stay away if they know their here."
"Why, certainly." He smirked. "Good idea." He looked around, and noticed that Bill wasn't in the room. "Where's Bill?"
Abigail motioned for him to lean down and she whispered in his ear. "That was the Marshal Montana shot, Bill's getting her out of town, before he finds she's here." She looked at the time. "You best get going, I can stay here."
"Are you sure?"
"I'm sure, you need to get out and try to find a way to get Josie out of this mess."
Bill pulled the horse to a stop outside Elizabeth's rowhouse and let Montana get off before he dismounted himself, then he quickly leapt up the stairs and knocked on the door. "Elizabeth?"
Elizabeth left her book, went to the door and opened it. "Bill?"
Bill pushed Montana into the rowhouse, then closed the door behind him. "Sorry to barge in like this Elizabeth, but I need your help."
"Certainly." She replied, a bit surprised. "What can I do?"
"You need to take Montana with you to Hamilton. She can't stay here." He pulled down the blind that opened over the window looking out onto the street. "There's a man here, the one that Montana shot. He's here for Josie, but he doesn't know that Montana's here. I want to keep it this way." He handed her Jack's spare pistol. "I don't want to scare you, but you might have to use this. Do you know how?"
"I've shot a pistol before." Elizabeth replied as she took the gun. "But how are we going to get Montana on the stage without this man or anyone else seeing her and spilling the beans."
"Leave it to me, I have an idea." He opened the door to go out but stopped long enough to look back. "I'll feel better once you two are halfway to Hamilton, you need to be careful. I'm going to send Rob over to stay the night, and he can escort you both to Hamilton. I'll be back to check on you two later, alright?"
"Yes." Elizabeth replied, then she turned to Montana after he had left. "So, what's all this about?"
"Josie killed three people in Cheyenne."
"Oh no."
"And now this Marshal, Ben Olsen has come here for her. Bill had to arrest her this morning, and it turns out that Snow Maiden is no Indian hero, she's the man's daughter, and they're both working for McCallister."
Elizabeth gasped. "How's Abigail and Josie taking it?"
"As best as they can, it's a hanging offense."
"I need to go and see her. Are you okay here, I won't be long."
"Yes." Montana got her gun out and made sure it was loaded. "And I have no problem shooting that man if he comes for me."
"Alright, I won't be long." Elizabeth walked out of the rowhouse and locked the door behind her, then started the walk to town. As she walked into the town, she saw little groups of people everywhere, obviously talking about what had happened. She turned around as she heard footsteps coming up behind her. "Rosemary!"
"Have you heard the news about Josie?"
"Yes." Elizabeth sighed. "I have."
"I would never have thought she was a murderer. Its funny that people we trust can be totally someone else when your back is turned."
Elizabeth hushed Rosemary. "What have you heard?"
"Apparently, she shot three men in cold blood."
"That's not true!" Elizabeth almost shouted. "She did it in self-defence. Where did you hear that?"
"Florence came in the shop and told me not five minutes ago."
"Well, you can go back and tell Florence that whoever told her that is spreading a lie. Josie doesn't want her business all over town, but it seems like that's going to happen. And don't you go spreading any. Abigail and Josie have more things to worry over, like stopping her from getting hung."
"I'm sorry Elizabeth." Rosemary said her apology with sincerity. "I won't spread it."
"Good." Elizabeth gave her friend a hug. "I'm going to go check on Abigail. Bye Rosemary."
"Bye Elizabeth."
Elizabeth continued her stroll through town to the jail, and when she got inside, she was surprised to see that the only people inside were Bill and Josie, in her ceil. "Where's Abigail, Bill?"
"She went to go and get Josie some breakfast. She'll be back soon."
"Alright." Bill looked at Elizabeth, and noticed that she hadn't spoken everything. "What else is there?"
"Rosemary told me that someone is spreading rumours about Josie. They're saying that she killed three men in cold blood."
"She didn't."
"I know that, and you know that, but who else will believe that?"
"A lot of them."
"Exactly."
Bill looked at the clock. "I'm going to go see if a telegram's come in for me." He motioned to Josie sitting on her bed, reading a book. "You can go see her if you like."
"Alright." Elizabeth walked over to Josie and sat down beside her, talking to her gently.
Bill folded his papers and placed them back in his desk, then stood up and left the office, heading to the General Store. As he opened the door, the people inside the store stopped talking suddenly and tried to ignore his presence. "Did I interrupt anything?"
Ned glanced over at him, then motioned for him to come over. "That Marshal and his pathetic excuse of a daughter have been spreading things around Josie all over town. People are now saying that you should be fired, because you won't let them take a murderer back to hang."
"Buts she's not a murderer." Bill banged his fist on the glass desk. "Have I got any replies from the telegrams?"
"No, sorry Bill. Nothing."
Bill gave a frustrated sigh. "Alright, thanks Ned." He walked back out, running his fingers through his hair. Clearing Josie's name was going to be harder than he thought.
Bill was going through his law books late that night when he heard sobbing coming from Josie's direction. He looked at the time and to his surprise he saw it was almost midnight, he'd gotten so involved with his books that he'd forgotten the time. Quietly so that he didn't wake Henry he got up, unlocked Josie's ceil and walked in, taking his chair with him. He placed the chair beside Josie's bed and sat down. "Josie?"
"I'm fine." Josie replied, not convincingly. "I'm fine."
"No, you're not." Bill placed his hand on her shoulder. "Do you want me to stay with you?"
"Please?"
"Sure honey." He stroked her hair gently, trying to get her back to sleep. "You grab some sleep now, alright?"
"Alright." Josie repeated, then closed her eyes as Bill wrapped his arm around her.
Bill sat watching Josie sleep, the office gently lit by the light from the fire. This child was no murderer. How could he let them just take her back and kill her? Just to make McCallister happy. There was no way he was going to let that happen, no way.
Abigail was working late in the café that night, trying to keep busy to ease her mind, but even with the amount of pies she had been making, it still hadn't helped. She had sent Cody to bed early, he had been really upset when he'd heard the news, but she didn't know how to help him, or Josie.
As she took another pie out of the oven, she heard footsteps walking on her porch, and it sounded like they were coming to her door. She jumped a little as the door opened, but she expected to see either Bill or Elizabeth there, and she really didn't expect to see Ben walk in. She turned away from him, trying to ignore his presence, hoping that if she did that, he would leave, but it didn't work.
"Well, well, well." Ben said, and by the way his words slurred, Abigail could tell that he had been drinking something stronger than milk. "Looks like its just you and me, all alone, in here."
"Get your hands off me." Abigail snapped as she felt him grabbing her arms. "Get out of my café!"
"Oh, a feisty one, hey?" He asked as he tried to kiss her, but Abigail got an arm free and slapped him. "I wouldn't try that again if I were you." He grabbed her again, more roughly this time. "Now you and I are going to get acquainted."
"Oh, no we're not." Abigail used a trick that Josie had taught her and got her arm free again, this time getting out her gun and shoved the barrel full in the man's chest. "Now, I have no problem blowing you to kingdom come if you don't remove yourself from my kitchen this instant. Now get out!"
Ben looked at her. "You wouldn't dare shoot an officer of the law."
Abigail returned her gaze. "Stand here any longer and you'll find out." She cocked back the hammer, then she heard the door open and Jay walked in. "Looks like I'll have a witness too."
Ben snorted. "Your just everywhere, aren't you?"
Jay ignored his comment as he saw Abigail holding the Marshal at gunpoint, and when he smelt the alcohol on Ben, he knew what had happened. "It might be best for you to listen to the little lady about this one."
"Oh really, why?"
"Well, considering she has a gun pointed in your chest right now, you might what to oblige to her request to leave."
"And how would you know she asked me to leave?"
"I have very good hearing." He sassed back, then looked at Abigail. "What do you want me to do with him?"
Abigail placed her gun back in its holster as she saw Jay take over the situation. "Lock this trash up in the jail, I'm pressing charges for assault."
"Certainly Madam." He grabbed Ben roughly by the arm, his tone changing. "You want to be thankful that I got here before she shot you, because she would have if I didn't turn up. Now move."
The next morning, Bill walked into the café. Jay had taken Ben into the office and he'd stayed their overnight, but he had to release him on the fact that there was no witnesses to the actual attempted assault. Bill hated it, but it was the law. He hated that the man had actually thought that he could have Abigail, and hated him for trying, but he was impressed with how Abigail had handled the situation. As he opened the café door, Cody ran downstairs to meet him.
"Sheriff Avery, why did you arrest my sister?"
Bill put his arm on Cody's shoulder. "Because, I had to."
"Why?"
"It's complicated."
"Are they really going to take her away again?"
"Yes, if I can't stop it."
"Then why did you arrest her?"
"Cody, like I said, its complicated."
"I don't care if its complicated." Cody started to get mad at Bill. "I thought you loved her."
Cody's words hit Bill in the heart. "I do Cody, I do."
"Then why arrest her? Why not just get rid of them?"
"Because I can't."
"Why?"
Bill looked at Cody. "Cody, I'm trying my best alright?"
"Its not alright!" Cody yelled. "Your letting them take her!"
"Cody!" Bill shouted as the boy ran out the door, slamming it shut behind him. He sighed, and when he looked up, he saw Abigail standing there. "Sorry Abigail."
"I'm sorry, Bill." Abigail apologized. "Cody's been upset since he found out. And it doesn't make it any easier that Georgette betrayed her. He's mad at her, and he's mad at you. He's just mad at everyone."
"I understand." He motioned for Abigail to sit down. "It would be hard for him, Josie's always been there for him."
"Yes, and he thinks your letting them take her."
Bill nodded. "I'll go talk to him later, but first." He sighed. "I had to release Ben Olsen. There was not enough evidence to keep him in."
"I know." Abigail growled. "I hate the law sometimes." She rolled up her dress sleeves and showed Bill the bruises on her arms from the man. "Got a couple nice shiners for my trouble."
"You're lucky it wasn't worse."
"I know." Abigail feel silent, thinking about that could have taken place. "I'm glad it wasn't though."
"Your right." He looked at the clock. Normally at this time of day the café would be bustling, but there was no one in there, except them. "Where did the breakfast rush go?"
"Ben Olsen isn't only just spreading rumours about Josie, he's spreading them around you and I too. He's trying to convince people to get you fired and to ship Josie out of town. And apparently he's succeeding."
"I thought that they couldn't be that gullible."
"Well, they are." Abigail poured herself a cup of tea from the pot, then took a sip. "Any news from the people you contacted?"
Abigail's question reminded Bill of what he'd come for. "Yes."
Abigail saw the look on his face. "And its not good, is it?"
"Not really." He pulled out a few telegrams from his pocket. "It seems that this man has connections. High connections. So, no one is willing to be on our side for Josie." He handed her one of them. "Only good news is that the Judge is Judge Parker."
"Judge Parker." Abigail spoke his name, trying to remember who he was. "Isn't he the one that did the mining trial?"
"The same."
"When will he be here?"
"In two days, he's coming in on the stage from Oak Flat."
"Two days?"
"Two days."
Abigail sighed. "And we still don't have a lawyer for Josie. Do you know who the prosecutor is?"
"Some person that Olsen's brought in." Bill took the telegram back after she finished reading it. "And I can bet that he's paying him to not ask certain questions, especially about how Georgette is involved."
"Your probably right there."
Bill stood up. "I have to go Abigail, I need to go and check on Josie. You've got it handled here?"
"Yes." She replied, then remembered. "Is Montana safe?"
"She is." Bill whispered back, in case anyone was listening. "She's on here way with Elizabeth to Hamilton as we speak."
"That's a relief, now all we have to worry about it Josie."
"Your right there." Bill agreed, then he had an idea. "I think I know where I can get a lawyer from."
"Where?"
"You remember that girl, Lucy Benson I helped a few years back?"
"Yes." Abigail couldn't figure what he was getting at. "What can she do?"
"She studied to be a lawyer, I got a letter from her a couple months back, letting me know that she had finished." He stood up, suddenly feeling better than he had been. This might be part of the answer. "How long will it take for you to get me a couple sandwiches done?"
"A few minutes." Abigail walked into the kitchen, Bill following and began to quickly throw some food together. "You're riding out now, I'm guessing."
"Yes, I can be there and back by tomorrow, if I start now." He took the sandwiches she held out to him. "Tell Jay he'll need to stay at the Jail, I don't want Ben harassing Josie while I'm gone, if you get what I mean."
"Understood." She gave him a quick hug. "Be careful."
"I will." He quickly opened the door and went out to the livery stable, tacked up Jerry and rode off, in the direction of Lucy's house.
Jay saw him leave, and wondered where he was going in such a hurry, so he decided to ask Abigail what Bill was up to. As he walked to the café, he saw Cody throwing his baseball against the side of the fence, and he looked very angry. "Cody?"
Cody pelted the ball at the fence again, not looking up at Jay. "Marshal McGregor."
Jay could see he was upset about something, and he guessed that that something was the fact that Josie had been arrested, but he wanted to hear it from the boy. "What's eating at you, Cody?"
"I'm mad." The boy replied, still throwing the ball against the fence.
"Who are you mad at, Cody?"
"Sheriff Avery, for arresting Josie." He caught the ball as is bounced back, then threw it again. "Its not fair, she didn't do anything, she doesn't need to be in jail. And I though that Sheriff Avery cared about my sister. I don't understand why he would arrest her."
Jay knelt down to Cody's level, and patted the ground next to him, encouraging Cody to sit down so they could talk. "Cody, Bill was trying to protect Josie from a man who's come to town after her. He had to arrest her, or the other man was going to. Would you have preferred a total stranger arrest your sister and take her away before he could do anything about it?"
"No."
"Well, now you see Cody. Bill was only trying to help her." Jay handed Cody back his ball. "Don't be mad at Bill, Cody. He's already having a hard time, and it wont help anyone if you make it worse."
Cody nodded. "I need to go apologize to him."
"Well, it will have to wait." Jay said as he stood up. "Bill went out of town not ten minuets ago." He looked at the boy. "Are you alright now?"
"I am." He picked up his baseball glove. "Thank you Marshal McGregor."
"Anytime, Cody. Now you go run along, and don't worry, we'll sort it out."
"Alright."
Jay watched as Cody ran off to tend to his horse and he continued on his way to the café. As he opened the door, he almost ran into Abigail as she was trying to go out it. "Abigail!"
"Jay!" Abigail jumped back in surprise. "You scared me. I was just on my way to find you. Bill had to go out of town."
"I saw that, and he was in a hurry to. Where's he off too?"
"Albert Falls, to see Lucy Benson. He's hoping she'll agree to be Josie's lawyer, she finished college a few months back."
"I see."
"Anyway, the reason I wanted to see you was Bill asked me to get you to stay at the jail, he doesn't want the man around Josie."
"I can totally understand why." He moved aside so Abigail could get through and the two of them walked together to the jail. "I'm happy to do that."
"Thanks Jay, that eases my mind a little." She saw Ben and Georgette watching them from the saloon, and nudged Jay with her elbow. "Looks like they're settling in quite nicely." She spoke the words venomously. "After all the trouble they caused."
Ben saw Abigail and Jay walking to the jail and he couldn't resist the chance to tease them. "Oh, look who goes there! It's the murderer's protector." He yelled across the street. "Don't get any ideas about busting her out, you cow."
Abigail went to go give the man another piece of her mind, but Jay grabbed her arm and stopped her.
"Don't throw more wood on the fire." He hastily pulled her along. "Just ignore him, I'll deal with him later."
"I know." Abigail sighed. "That man is a word a lady shouldn't say."
"I agree."
"What's she got for breakfast?" Georgette yelled, egging her father on. "Tell her to enjoy it, cause her breakfasts are numbered." She said a few other words that made Abigail wish she could wash the girls mouth with soap. "Tell her to say hi to the devil for me when she goes to hell!"
Jay leant down close to Abigail's ear. "She can tell him herself when she lands a bunk in his apartment."
Abigail chuckled at Jay's sarcasm, ignoring the other insults and unkind comments they shouted across the street. "The quicker they get chucked out of town, the better."
Jay opened the door to the office for Abigail. "I'm working on that Abigail, I'm working on it." He closed the door, it blocking out the cuss words that Georgette was shouting to them. "Gosh, that one swears like a genuine trooper."
"I wish I could wash her mouth out with soap." Abigail chuffed, not impressed with the language they had heard. "And to think that she-" She couldn't think of the words to say, she was too angry.
"I wish I could shower them with lead from my colt, but that wouldn't help the problem much."
"It would shut them up though." She walked over to Josie. "Breakfast sweetie."
Josie yawned as Jay unlocked the door and Abigail walked in, then Jay went and unlocked Henry's ceil and invited him to join them for breakfast. "What have we got?"
"Blueberry muffins." Abigail replied as she pulled out some packages, then she looked at Wolf and Cougar, who eyeing off them their selves. "Paw's off you too."
Josie chuckled as she threw her two appointed guardians a piece of toast each. "I've missed these two a bunch while I was away."
"I bet you have." Abigail handed Henry his share of the breakfast. "Those two would do anything for you."
"They would." Josie patted Cougar affectionately. "They would."
"Where's Bill this morning?" Henry asked as he began to eat his breakfast on the bed beside Josie. "He was out of here before I woke up."
"He's left town on business. He's hoping that an old friend of his will be able to help with Josie's case."
"Who?" Josie asked.
"Lucy Benson, she finished her course at the college, and she's a lawyer now." Abigail cucked the pets some more bread. "He's hoping to be back tomorrow, so Jay is going to stay here while he's gone."
"I hope you don't snore." Josie tried to get some humour in the air. "Mr. Gowan didn't let me have a wink of sleep last night."
"Very funny, Josie." He didn't let on that she had woken him with her crying, it was something that no one needed to know, except Bill. It even surprised Henry that Bill had sat with her the entire night, just so that she felt safe. Underneath his hard exterior, Bill had a soft heart, and Henry knew that he loved that girl. He had been thinking after watching them last night for some time that if he had a father like Bill, things might have turned out differently, for the better. He handed back Abigail his empty plate. "I have to get back to work, so excuse me." He apologized as he rose to leave.
"Alright Henry." Abigail replied as she took back his plate. "Have a good day."
"I'll walk you out." Jay offered. He wanted to have a chance to talk to Henry out of earshot of the ladies. "I need you to do me a favour, Henry."
"Oh?"
"I need an extra pair of eyes and ears. I need to find out as much information about Ben Olsen and his daughter as I can. Think you can do it?"
"You can count on me." He looked at Jay, glad that he was able to help Josie in some way. "Thankyou for trusting me enough to do that."
Jay nodded. "I know that you know people in high places, and I need those connections, we have to stop him from getting away with Josie. He even nearly beat Abigail last night. He can't be trusted, and I don't want him anywhere near that child."
Henry couldn't believe his ears. "That low down skunk dared to try hurt Abigail?"
"When I got there, Abigail had the situation under control, she had her gun on him."
"I can see her doing that."
"She wasn't mucking around either, she would have shot him of I hadn't turned up."
"Might have been better if she had."
"Yeh, but that wouldn't be getting us any brownie points." He stopped at the stairs of Lee's office. "If you find out anything, no matter how small, you let me know, right?"
"Right." Henry opened the door and walked into the office. He knew just the person he would contact in his lunch break.
Jay turned and walked back to the jail, feeling rather relieved that Henry was happy to help them. When he got back in the office, he saw that Abigail had packed up the last of their breakfast. "You going back to the café, now Abigail?"
"Yes." Abigail replied as she stood up. "I'm need to wash these dishes, but I'll be back shortly Josie."
"Alright." Josie began to pat her mountain lion again. "Can you bring over a bone for wolf and a carrot for cougar.
"I sure can." Abigail replied as Jay locked the door, Wolf staying with Josie, but Cougar decided she wanted to sit by the fire. "I wont be long."
"I'll walk you over Abigail." Jay offered as he locked the front door of the office. He saw Abigail's inquisitive look. "Just extra protection."
"For Josie, or Ben?"
"Both." Jay replied as they walked to the café. "Wolf and Cougar would tear him to shreds."