Chapter 33

Cody, Kid, and Lou immediately started ripping the house apart. Buck and Teaspoon started scouring the yard. Cody flipped over beds and tossed things out of drawers. Kid felt along the floor and the wall for any hidden places. Lou dumped out the kitchen cabinets. She stood up and stretched her back.

"This is pointless. It ain't in here."

"It has to be. She would have put it somewhere that it would be safe." Said Kid.

"Why would you even say that? She didn't care about it. Look at what she did." Grumbled Lou.

"Lou, you heard her yourself. She tried to make it right. She may have made bad decisions, but she did try to fix things and she really meant it. She thought that she was helping him. I believed her when she said that she tried to save him."

"You really think that she would go out of her way to keep it safe?"

"What did you say?" Asked Cody walking in.

"I asked Kid if he really thought that she would do that." Lou replied.

"No, the other part?"

"What?"

"About keeping it safe." Cody said deep in thought.

"What are you thinking?" Asked Kid coming to stand beside him.

"If you want to keep something safe, what would you do with it?" Cody asked smiling.

Kid and Lou exchanged glances.

"I don't know about y'all, but I would put it in a safe deposit box." Cody said.

"In the bank." Lou and Kid said in unison.

"Yep."

"How will we know?" Asked Lou.

"Be right back. I need to talk to Teaspoon." Cody said walking out.

Teaspoon and Buck looked up as the others ran out the house. They met them outside the barn.

"You find it?" Teaspoon asked.

"No, but if you wanted to put something somewhere safe, where would you put it?" Asked Cody smiling.

"My God. The bank."

"How will we know if she did? She would be the only one able to get it." Asked Lou.

"Louise, feel like dressing up?"

"I don't look like her Teaspoon. That won't work."

"Sure, it will. We have to try at least."

"Guess, I'll go dig through a dead girl's things." Mumbled Lou as she walked off with Kid following behind.

Jimmy sat against the bars in his cell. He rocked back and forth. He kept looking at the door waiting for Claire to come see him but so far, she had not. He felt angry. She had left. Kid had taken her away from him and they had helped them. He grabbed the steel bars and shook them in fury. He shook them again, but they didn't budge. He did it again when he saw a slight movement. He took his finger and ran it along the edge of the bars down to the wooden floor of the wagon. He felt a loose nail.

Louise finally found a dress that somewhat fit her. She felt odd standing in that room wearing the dress of someone that she had once called her friend. Someone that as she looked at her own reflection in the mirror, was now dead. For the first time since they had found out what she had done, Lou thought of the girl before they knew. The girl who was her friend. The girl that could have remained that, if only things hadn't been the way that they were. She wiped her eyes as Kid and Teaspoon walked in the room.

"You ok, Lou?" Asked Kid quietly.

"Fine."

"Let's get this over with. We need to take care of her when we get back." Teaspoon said.

Lou took a deep breath and nodded. It was now or never. She walked outside to the waiting buckboard. Teaspoon helped her up then got in the wagon beside her. He looked down at Buck and the others.

"We will have a place ready for her when you return." Buck said.

Teaspoon nodded as Lou looked down at her hands. He snapped the reins and the horses started off toward town. Buck turned to Kid and Cody.

"I picked a spot out on the edge of the prairie." He said.

"I'll go find the shovel." Cody said.

"Don't get close to the cell." Kid reminded.

Jimmy heard footsteps coming toward the barn. He saw the shadow on the other side. He pushed the nails that he had managed to break free from the wood underneath him. He put his bloody fingers behind his back. He looked up hopefully but looked down in anger as Cody walked in.

"Jimmy." Cody said looking for the shovel along the walls of the barn.

"Where is she?"

"In the house." Cody mumbled not looking at him.

"All of y'all are lying! She is with him, ain't she?!"

"No, Jimmy, she is in the house. I am telling ya the truth." Cody said finally turning to look at his friend.

"If she is in the house, why won't she come see me? I need to see her. I have to. I can't take it any longer. I miss her." Jimmy said as he started rocking.

Cody sighed. He walked over next to the cell.

"Jimmy, there ain't nothing that I can say that will make things better right now. All I can say is just hold on. We are working on it."

"Working on taking her from me. I know it. I knew you didn't approve of this. You made it known the first time that you found out. You wanted me to lose her. She is my life. My everything and you hate me for it."

Cody shook his head and leaned forward. He put his hand on the top of the cell.

"Jimmy, that ain't true and deep down you know that. We love you. We would never cause you any harm."

"You came here to help them get away. You and Buck."

"You know that ain't true. We came to help you."

"Then let me out of here."

"Can't do that. Not until we fix this."

"You mean not until you take her away from me."

"Just hold tight."

"She is mine and mine alone."

"She ain't yours Jimmy. She ain't like something that you own. Listen to how crazy you sound."

"I am not crazy."

"I beg to differ right now."

"You helped him, didn't you?"

"Helped who?"

"You helped him take her away from me. I am telling you that she is mine!"

Jimmy jumped forward before Cody could react. Cody screamed as Jimmy stabbed an old nail through his hand. Buck and Kid ran in the barn hearing the scream.

"Jimmy!" Kid yelled as he ran over.

Cody was yelling trying to get his hand free as Jimmy growled while holding the nail in place.

"She is mine! I will kill you for helping her get away!" He yelled.

Kid rushed over to Cody. Buck went around and grabbed Jimmy's ankle through the bars. He managed to pull him back just enough that he lost his grip. Kid snatched Cody's hand away. Cody staggered back holding his wrist looking wide eyed at Jimmy. Buck ran over and stood between him and the cell.

"Jimmy? Look at what you did. Why?" Buck asked.

"She belongs to me. Tell her to get her fuckin ass out here! Now!" Jimmy yelled shaking with anger.

Buck shook his head and helped Kid get Cody in the house. Cody stumbled along holding his wrist. The nail was still stuck through his hand. Jimmy watched as they walked up the steps and into the house. He yelled out in anger and laid on his back. He kicked the bars where he had been taking out loose nails. He yelled as he kicked and kicked. The wood splintered. He kicked again. The bars busted loose just enough that he thought he could squeeze through. He crawled through the opening. He was still shaking with so much anger that he didn't even feel the remaining nails as they sliced his skin and tore at his clothes. He fell onto the dirt of the barn floor. He quickly got to his feet and started toward the house.