LOST AND FOUND - PART 6
DEPARTURES
Chapter 56
The next morning Adam was up as early as usual and arrived at the regional building at the same time he always did. Dylan was waiting in front of his office door with the bag he had packed last night for his trip sitting on the floor at his feet. The young man remained leaning against the wall until his boss unlocked the door and then the two went into Adam's office.
Dylan sat down in one of the chairs in front of the desk while Adam went around to stand in front of the painting that hung in between the two bookcases. He quickly released the latch, swung the painting to the side, opened the safe and removed the document case he had prepared a few days before.
After closing the safe, he spun the dial then swung the painting back, making sure the latch caught. He handed the document case to Dylan before sitting down in his desk chair.
"Everything you need is in there and I don't anticipate any trouble with your testimony. Since you've been called as an expert witness your part of the trial should only take a day or two. But if that should change, send me a telegram as soon as you know."
The handsome young man smiled and nodded, but Adam could tell he was still feeling a little nervous. This would be his first time testifying at trial as an expert.
Adam smiled, "This case could not possibly be more cut and dried Dylan. I'm not saying that the defense won't try to trip you up, but I think you can handle this. Just be sure to be as clear and concise as possible. The less you say, the better - just relate the facts as you know them then give your opinion. That's all you'll need to do."
Dylan had been listening and nodding, his eyes never leaving Adam's and the older man could tell he had relaxed some. He bit back a smile at the sight of his usually confident deputy being nervous about anything. The only other time he had seen the young man nervous was when Dora slipped into his room by accident. Of course then Dylan had been terrified Hoss was going to kill him. Adam just had to smile at that memory then firmly turned his attention back to the man sitting in front of him.
"Considering his size and age most would think that your prisoner wouldn't be any trouble transporting, but let me warn you Morty can be very tricky. You'll need to keep a close eye on him at all times. And make sure he doesn't set anything on fire before you hand him over."
"How long do you think he's been an arsonist?"
"Probably since he was a young man. Unfortunately, he's been so good at not leaving a trail it would be hard to say just how many fires he has set. Especially since he's close to seventy now. And I want you to know the work you did on this investigation was the best I've seen. I know it was difficult and time consuming to follow his trail across five states, but the overwhelming circumstantial evidence you gathered was the only way to bring him down."
Dylan was actually turning slightly red. He wasn't used to his demanding boss giving anyone unstinting praise. "But the idea was yours, I just did the leg work."
"You did much more than that and you know it." Adam paused to note his deputy's pleased expression. "I think you've found your niche, Dylan. You seem to enjoy this work much more than infiltrating groups. Even though you were one of the best at that, too." He stopped to glance at the clock hanging on a sidewall.
"Well, it's time to get Mr. Morton Wheeler out of his cage and on his way to prison," he said with a smile and stood. The younger man quickly got to his feet.
"I guess it's to the little guy's credit that no one was ever injured or killed during his long career," the deputy said while shaking his head.
"But we only can be sure that is true about the fires we are aware of. I have a feeling if we went far enough back we'd find injuries and more than a few deaths."
"No doubt you're right," Dylan's expression had become somber.
"No doubt," Adam agreed as the two men left the office and headed down the long front hallway to the cells in the back.
After seeing Dylan and the gnome-like arsonist off on the train Adam went home, hoping to catch Marie alone for a few minutes.
He went in the front door quietly, not wanting anyone to know he was there and possibly distract him. After quickly climbing the stairs to the second floor he hurried over into the far hallway to Marie's door. When he knocked he was pleased to hear her voice calling out, "Come in!"
Adam opened the door and paused in the doorway to think again about how pleasant Marie's small sitting room was with the mid-morning sun shining through the sheer curtains hanging in the tall windows. The room was tastefully furnished, not cluttered and overwhelming as was the current fashion, something Adam disliked intensely.
Marie turned to give him her usual sweet smile then motioned for him to come over as she sat down on a brocade-upholstered love seat. Adam hurried across the room to sit next to her. He opened his mouth to try and talk her out of making this trip, but realized there was nothing he could say that he hadn't already said. Drumming the fingers of his right hand on his knee he searched desperately for one solid reason he could give her for staying. Marie smiled at the familiar gesture and knew it meant he was frustrated and at the point of becoming irritated. So she spoke first.
"I know you don't want me to go on this trip," she said quietly. "But my brother needs me and you know I have to go."
Adam nodded then sighed. "If I can't talk you out of going and you won't let anyone go with you, at least promise me one thing - if there is any sign of trouble, you send for me right away."
She looked up at his concerned expression and smiled again. "You really are worried, aren't you? But it's been almost six months since any blacks in that area have been harassed."
"I know," he sighed again.
"And the reports all say that the group responsible has been broken up."
"Yes they do," he acknowledged unhappily.
Marie put a hand on his left arm and he placed his right hand over hers. "Promise that you will send for me at the first sign of any kind of trouble. Any kind of trouble and no matter how small - promise me."
"I promise," she said low and he lifted his arm over her head and she leaned into him as he gave her a one-armed hug. They stayed that way for a while until they heard Thea's quick footsteps coming down the hall.
They both sighed then laughed together as they stood.
"Don't you forget," Adam said giving her a stern look, "no matter how small," he finished then went to open the door for his wife.
Thea rushed in, seemingly not noticing who had opened the door, and hurried across the room to throw her arms around Marie. "I'm going to miss you soooo much!" she said and Marie chuckled as she hugged her friend back.
"You people are acting as though I'm going to be gone for years instead of just two months! I'll be back home before you know it."
"It'll seem like years," Thea said with a sniff then stepped back as she shifted her thoughts into 'practical' gear. "Are you finished packing?"
Marie nodded.
"Good. Lunch will be ready in a half hour. You'll have just enough time to eat and get to the train," she said as she hurried through the door. Adam could just see the quick sheen of tears in his wife's eyes as she rushed past.
"Why don't you go down to the kitchen and keep her company while I take your bags down to the front hall," he said. "I'm sure she would appreciate it - you know how much Thea hates 'good-byes', even temporary ones."
The petite black woman gathered up her hat and the light cashmere shawl she had been given for Christmas. "I'm not terribly fond of 'good-byes' of any kind myself," she said softly as she walked toward the door. She stopped in front of Adam and looked up at him earnestly.
"You DO understand I have to go, don't you?"
He nodded and quickly bent down to kiss her on the cheek then turned away and started gathering her bags up.
Marie smiled, quietly said, "I'll miss you too," then went out the door and started down the hallway toward the back stairs.
The next two hours flew by and Marie felt touched when the three deputies showed up at the door to carry her luggage to the train. Adam offered her his arm while they were standing on the front porch and they went down the steps together followed by the deputies, each man carrying one bag.
When they reached the train the three carried the luggage into the private car, then came trailing back out to gather around Marie. Ignoring the stares of the other people boarding the train, each man stepped forward to give her a hug in turn. Then Adam helped her up the steps and into the car.
He gave her another quick hug then said, "Remember!" and was gone. She walked over to the window to watch as he hurried toward his three deputies. The whistle blew and she waved at the four men who began waving back. Then she had to laugh when she saw Stu's long, lean form running down the board sidewalk for all he was worth, one bag in his hand.
He stopped to say a brief word to Adam then galloped to the car steps and bounded up, two at a time. The train started to move when he came in the door so he hurried over to the window to wave good-bye too. Just as the train lurched one more time Adam saw Stu reach out to take hold of Marie's arm to steady her. He smiled; glad that the young man would be with her until they reached San Francisco.
The two moved to the end window and continued to watch until they couldn't see the four men anymore. Then Stu stepped back and held his arms out to Marie. She gladly stepped into his embrace with a broad smile then they both started laughing.
"See?" he said as he hugged her tightly. "I told you there wouldn't be time for questions if I showed up at the last minute."
Later that afternoon Adam was in the barn giving Onyx an unnecessary grooming, something that usually seemed to help take his mind off nagging problems and give him a little peace. However, this time it wasn't working. His thoughts kept jumping from Marie, to Dylan, then to Bentwood Junction, then to the coming birth of their sixth child. He was so preoccupied he didn't notice Onyx nibbling at his shirt pocket at first, looking for sugar. But when he did he stepped back and put his hands on his hips to give the horse a stern look.
"Now, what makes you so sure I brought you any?" he asked the horse seriously. Onyx just nodded his head vigorously and stretched his neck out so he could nudge Adam in the chest with his nose. He shook his head and the horse responded by nodding his own again then reached out to nibble on the pocket.
Adam held it open. "See? Nothing in there," he said and laughed when Onyx nodded his head again, nudged him in the chest harder this time, and then began to sniff and pull at his other pockets.
"Alright, alright! If you tear any more of my clothes Thea will come out here and beat you with a wooden spoon," he said and reached into a back pocket to pull out four cubes of sugar.
He offered them to the horse on a flat palm and Onyx carefully picked up one with his front teeth and began to munch. Adam rubbed in between the Morab's mis-matched eyes with his free hand as he said; "You have a better sense of smell than a blood-hound." The horse just nudged him the chest one more time then picked up another sugar cube. He laughed.
When the sugar was gone Onyx shook out his mane then stood quietly, waiting for his master to continue brushing down his gleaming black coat. Adam bent down over a pile of brushes and combs then quickly stood and turned in one fluid motion to point the barrel of his gun right in the face of the man who had been trying to sneak up on him. The man's pale blue eyes opened wide in shock, then he began to grin as Adam smiled and shook his head.
"That was absolutely pathetic, Blake. You've been sitting behind a desk too long." He ran his eyes over the man, noting the addition of a few pounds, a paler than usual complexion, and deepened worry lines around his eyes and mouth.
"I never should have taken this damn job," the other man said as he ran his hands through his thinning brown hair that was now liberally sprinkled with gray.
Adam laughed as he tucked his gun back in the holster of his gun belt that had been lying next to the pile of grooming tools. Then he turned back to the shorter man. "I take it you're here to fill me in on Bentwood Junction." Blake nodded and began to speak quietly as Adam leaned against the stall wall, intently listening.
"Well, everything seems to be on track at this point, so you won't be needing us to come down and lend a hand."
"No, I don't think so, but you never know with this group. I still can't believe that just about every merchant in that town is in on the deal. When we bring them in the town will be almost crippled commercially."
"Probably," Adam shook his head. "So have you decided when to take them?"
"Either tomorrow night or the following night."
"Good, it's about time that merry little band of thieves was brought in."
The two men began to move toward the back barn door where Blake's horse was tethered. "I'll certainly be glad when this is over," Blake sighed tiredly.
"I will too," Adam responded, "but for a different reason." The other man chuckled.
"Revenge for what they did to your cousin?"
"In a way. I just want the criminal element around here to know that no one gets away with doing anything to my family."
"And if this operation hadn't been approved by the division office...?" Blake asked with a grin.
Adam's now dark eyes flared briefly with cold anger. "Then I would have taken care of it myself."
Blake mounted his horse and looked down, "Something tells me those idiots don't know how lucky they are that we'll be taking them down and not you."
When Adam didn't respond beyond smiling his wolfish smile, Blake laughed heartily, spurred his horse into motion, and took off across the fields heading east.
Laughing, he watched Blake speeding away for a while then went back into the barn. But as soon as he stepped through the door and closed it behind him he sensed another presence - a hostile presence.
Adam began to move slowly and silently in the dim light, keeping close to the walls as he headed for his gun belt that was still lying on the floor in Onyx's stall. He was just about to enter that stall when someone grabbed him from behind. Quickly latching onto the man's forearm he bent down and forward to flip him over his shoulder. The man hit the ground hard and rolled into the stall, bumping into the Morab's back legs. He instinctively curled up into a ball.
The nervous horse automatically lashed out and Adam couldn't stop his headlong rush toward the smaller man in time. One metal shod hoof glanced off his head, just behind his right ear, and he slid bonelessly to the stone floor.
The sun had gone down hours before, but lights were still shining brightly in most of the downstairs windows of the cream colored house. Thea was sitting at the table in the kitchen with her head in her hands, her eyes bright red from the countless tears she had cried ever since it became clear that Adam was missing.
When she had realized that her husband had been in the barn for hours she had trotted across the yard and gone in. Her sharp eyes had immediately zeroed in on a few details that made her feel decidedly uneasy.
Adam would never have left his gun belt in Onyx's stall, or left the combs and brushes in a pile. He also never would have left his horse only partially groomed and the stall door open. Fear rose in her throat and she hurried to give the barn a thorough search and found nothing else. Not knowing what to think she wandered toward Onyx's stall then nearly fell when her foot slipped on a wet patch. She was about to turn around and go back to the house to look for him there when she noticed a streak of bright red on the hem of her skirt. Trembling and with wide eyes she crouched down to touch the dark patch on the stone. When her fingertips came away covered with blood a scream stayed frozen in her throat as she closed her eyes and gasped until she could breathe again. Then she stood to race across the street to the regional office and Adam's deputies.
Midnight came and went and she still sat at the table with her head in her hands. The room was full of people and she was only dimly aware of what they were saying. But every time someone would enter the room she would look up, hoping it would be him. But it never was.
The sun had just started to rise when she became aware of the silence. She was so stiff it seemed to take a monumental effort just to raise her head. Everyone, all their family and friends were standing around the table, watching her with pain-filled eyes and grief-stricken faces.
"No," she managed to choke out as an anguished moan while more tears began to flow silently down her cheeks. Ben came pushing through the crowd to go down on one knee next to her chair. When he reached up with one hand to turn her face toward him she resisted at first then suddenly slid out of the chair and into his arms as she passed out. He slipped one arm under her knees and stood. The crowd parted to let him through and he held her closely as he crossed the kitchen and carried her up the stairs.
Adam had disappeared - without a trace.