"Well, Adele, I'm surprised to see you here. What can I do for you today?" Sherman Caulfield was more than surprised; he was stunned to see the woman sitting in his office. Especially after the last meeting they'd had, when she'd been so dismissive of his presence.
"I want out, Sherman," came her reply. "I want out now."
"What do you mean you want out?" He was afraid he knew all too well what she meant, but he wanted an explanation from her. Now was not the time to be jumping to conclusions.
"I don't want anything to do with this formula stealing any longer."
Something drastic had happened; he could see it in her eyes. Whenever they'd discussed the plan before there was anger and determination there; now there was only pain and regret. "I'm afraid it's a little late to back out now, Adele. We're right on the verge of getting everything we've been after."
The look changed to one of sadness, and she shook her head. "I can't be part of it anymore, I was wrong."
"What does that mean, you were wrong? Wrong about what?"
"I was wrong about everything, Sherman, but mostly about Adolph Busch. Most certainly about him."
"Wrong about Adolph? How?"
The woman lowered her head and stared at her hands. There was a mournful tone to her voice when she finally answered. "I blamed Adolph for everything that was wrong in my life. It wasn't his fault at all, and I just found that out. There's no sense in punishing a man for something he isn't responsible for."
"I see." What else could Caulfield say? He needed time to think, time to figure out just what he was going to do about Adele Mueller.
"I think you should stop the whole scheme, Sherman. There's no reason to pursue the matter."
Caulfield cleared his throat. "That's your opinion, Adele. You're not the only one involved here. What if no one else agrees with you?"
"I've thought about that. I don't believe that you should go on, but it's not my decision to make. I'm done with it, though. I don't want anything, no matter what happens. You can keep my share of whatever you make; it wouldn't be right for me to take it. I won't give you any more help, Sherman, but I won't do anything to get in your way, either."
Should he believe her? Could he believe her? Would she keep her mouth shut when all hell broke loose and his whole empire began crashing down around August Busch? Just exactly what had happened to change Adele Muller's mind about her participation in their plan of revenge and financial reward? Had he overstepped his bounds when he became convinced that Temperance Mueller would betray them, and dealt with the problem before it became one?
"You won't reveal the arrangement, or your part in it, to anyone? Is that what you want me to believe, Adele?" He watched her carefully to see how she reacted to his questions, but there was no change in her demeanor. Could she actually intend to keep her mouth shut?
She raised her head and met his gaze. "That's right, I'll not speak to anyone about it. No matter what."
Sherman Caulfield was a practical man. If there was one less participant in the scheme, it meant a bigger payoff for everyone. He'd waited almost thirty years to take his revenge on Adolph Busch, and nothing was going to get in his way now. So for this moment he chose to believe her when she declared she had no intention of doing anything to stop the plan from being fully executed.
"Alright, Adele, I see no reason you should have to remain part of the association if you don't want to. As long as you understand, there's no going back. Once you're out, you're out. You can't change your mind later. Are we in agreement? You're no longer involved with the organization, and you'll say nothing to anyone about it, no matter what happens?"
"You have my word, Sherman. I want to know nothing further about what's taking place." She breathed an immense sigh of relief and stood up. "And thank you. I'll never divulge a word of this to anyone." Adele attempted a smile and settled for a look of resignation. She left the way she'd come in, through the main door to the office, and had only been gone a few moments when Dusty Jackson entered the room through the back side hallway door.
"Sherman?"
Caulfield sat at his desk, watching the exit Adele had used, for another two or three minutes. Finally he turned his head towards Dusty, who had walked across the room and taken the seat she had just vacated. "Yes, Mr. Jackson?"
"Were you serious? You're just gonna let her go like that?"
A slight, sad chuckle issued forth from the board member. "What do you think?"
Dusty phrased his answer carefully. "I think you're much smarter than that."
"A sensibly worded answer, Mr. Jackson. I presume you will take care of the matter for me."
"If that's what you want, Mr. Caulfield."
"It may not be what I want, Mr. Jackson, but it's what's required."
XXXXXXXX
"So you think Adele's got something to do with this whole mess, or just the elusive business that no one seems to know anything about?"
Ginny gave Bart's question some serious thought before answering. "I don't know about involvement with the formulas, but I've always though she knew more than she was telling about the business Temperance was involved with. Those two were close, like sisters, and it just never made sense that Adele didn't know what had Temperance so excited. Maybe we can get her to tell us what she knows now."
"Because of the note?"
"That, and something Helena told me."
They drove on in silence for a while, each lost in their own thoughts. Bart finally asked, "Ginny, what about Bret?"
The question wasn't completely unexpected, but Ginny had to wonder what convinced Bart to ask it now. "What about him?"
"You know he's fallin' for you, don't you?"
She chuckled before asking, "Why do you say that?"
He slowed the horse pulling the buggy down to a walk so it would be easier to have a conversation. This was the first chance he'd had in several days to question the Pinkerton agent, and he was anxious to find out what her feelings were for his brother. It was evident, at least to him, that Bret had definitely fallen under the redhead's spell.
"I know Bret. Somethin's changed. The way he looks at you, the things he says. I'm worried that he's thinkin' more about protectin' you than he is about watchin' out for himself."
"I can take care of myself, Bart."
"I know that, Beauty. Bret knows it, too. That doesn't mean he always remembers it. But that doesn't answer my question. When we've found out who's behind this scheme to steal the formula's, what happens then? Have you thought about that?"
"I . . . well . . . no, I haven't really. I just assumed we'd all go back to doing what we do best. My life's in Denver, or wherever Arthur sends me. Yours is . . . wherever you decide to go next. I can't imagine Bret would want anything different."
"I don't know what he wants anymore, Ginny. He's changed. This job's been a lot harder on him than either of us expected it to be."
Ginny nodded. "I know it has."
"What do you want?"
"I . . . haven't given it much thought. I didn't figure there was any reason to think about it. I'll just go back to Pinkerton and Denver, like always."
Bart didn't say anything else, but he urged the horse back into a canter, and in just a few minutes they arrived at the Mueller ranch. "One more thing, before we go in. Don't make any final decisions just yet, Ginny. Things can change overnight."
She wasn't quite sure what he meant, but it seemed reasonable. "Alright, I won't. Let's go see Adele."
Bart helped Ginny down from the buggy and knocked on the front door. It was opened by Adele, who seemed startled to see Ginny and Bart standing there. "Adele, we have some questions we need to ask you. May we come in?"
She didn't say anything, just opened the door wide and stepped aside. Ginny entered, followed by Bart, who took his hat off to their hostess. Adele closed the door and led the way into the sitting room. "What kind of questions?"
Bart remained silent and let Ginny conduct the interview. "Remember when I asked you about a new business Temperance was involved in? And you told me you didn't know of one?"
"Yes. Have you come with the same question again?"
Malone pulled out the note she'd gotten from Helena and handed it to Adele. "What do you know about this?"
Nothing was said as one minute stretched into two, then three. Finally, "Where did you get this?"
"Helena found it in one of her mother's sweaters. Want to explain it, Adele?"
"I . . . I can't."
"Can't or won't?"
Adele turned her back to Ginny and answered in a barely audible voice. "I can't. I don't know what she meant, or why she wrote it. I told you once before, I don't know anything about a business venture. Temperance was my friend, but she didn't share everything with me."
The Pinkerton agent crossed the room and laid her hand on Adele's arm, turning her back around. "Did you know that she'd started seeing more of Sherman Caulfield?"
"What? What do you mean, seeing him? Sherman's married!" There was a look on Adele's face that hadn't been there before, but it was almost impossible to determine if it was fear or disgust. As quickly as it had appeared the look was gone, replaced by a blank stare.
"You didn't know? Helena knew, and she wasn't happy about it."
"There must . . . there must have been another reason. Temperance was still in love with Holden."
Ginny wore a puzzled expression. "Maybe she was going into business with Sherman."
"No, she . . . " Adele blurted out, then caught herself. "I can't imagine that."
"And there was no business meeting between the two of you?"
"No. None at all."
Malone shrugged her shoulders and sighed. Whatever Adele was hiding, there appeared to be no shaking it out of her. "So you're telling me this note is wrong."
"That's exactly what I'm telling you."
Ginny turned her attention to Bart. "Maybe we should go talk to Mr. Caulfield. Perhaps he knows something about Temperance's business venture, whatever it was."
"That's not a bad idea," Bart commented, finally breaking his silence. "Maybe he knows something that Mrs. Mueller doesn't."
Adele almost spoke but thought better of it. Then, eventually, "Maybe he does." Ginny and Bart headed back towards the front door, and Adele followed them. Once outside, Ginny couldn't resist one more question.
"You're sure there's nothing else you can tell us?"
"I'm sure, Mrs. Maverick."
Bart helped Ginny into the buggy, then climbed in behind her. As they pulled away he asked, "Do you want to go see Sherman Caulfield?"
"What have we got to lose?" she replied.
Dusty Jackson leaned against a tree at the top of the hill and watched the buggy drive away, headed towards the Caulfield spread. He reached down and pulled out his Colt, checking to make sure it was loaded. When the buggy was out of sight he mounted his horse and headed, slowly and carefully, down the hill towards the Mueller house. Bart and Ginny were several miles away by the time Dusty reached his destination, too far to hear the muffled gunshot when it came.