Chapter 2
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Colleen rode into town on her horse Juliet. Since the birth of her baby sister Katie a few weeks ago, she usually spent the entire morning at the homestead, helping out with breakfast and cleaning chores to let her mother get a few hours rest after being repeatedly woken up during the night. Afternoons, however, Colleen came into town to help out at the clinic and spend time with a certain young doctor.
She had been drawn to Andrew Cook from the beginning. He was smart, modest, handsome, from Boston – and older. Not immature like boys her own age. And best of all, he didn't think it odd that she was interested in becoming a doctor herself. Difficult? Yes. But odd? No.
Colleen entered the clinic and prepared to greet him. "And-" she broke off when she realized he wasn't there. His medical bag was on the desk, however, so maybe he was upstairs with Mr. Bailey. The man had suffered a concussion from being kicked by a horse and Andrew had insisted he stay in the clinic until the dizziness and headaches subsided.
Colleen went upstairs into Mr. Bailey's recovery room. When she entered, however, Andrew wasn't there either.
"Colleen. Glad to see you. Have you brought lunch?"
"I, uh, no, Mr. Bailey. I came to see how you were doing first."
"Never better. Dr. Cook said he would take me home after his morning appointments. He hasn't come back upstairs, so I guessed he decided to wait until after lunch."
"He was here?"
"Of course, he was here. Where else would he be?"
Good question, Colleen thought. The outhouse, maybe? If so, he'd be back at any moment.
She smiled. "I'll make sure to get your lunch. Be right back."
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On the train, Andrew was cursing his bad luck. Not only did he look like this Cummings fellow, whom these bounty hunters had mistaken him for, but Horace had been busy at the telegraph when Andrew and the two men had boarded the train. Andrew didn't know what he could have said to the tall postmaster other than pleasantries, but there had been the hope that Horace might have found it so unusual for the doctor to be boarding a train with two strange men that he would have reported it to someone – Matthew, or someone else in town. Now, his only hope was that when Colleen came in this afternoon, she would realize he had gone missing and quickly spread the word. And that was presuming that she hadn't been delayed at the homestead for some reason or had decided to visit with her friend Becky instead. The way his luck was going today, he couldn't count on a prompt response to his disappearance.
And, to top everything off, he hadn't had time to eat lunch before the bounty hunters had forced him onto the train.
"I don't suppose you brought anything to eat with you," said Andrew, just as his stomach rumbled. The locomotive was only a single passenger car and a freight car, the route to Denver too short to necessitate a dining car.
"Hey, Joe," said Gun man, as Andrew still didn't know his name, "you got another stick of jerky on ya?"
"Right here," said Joe, handing a piece over to Andrew. "Dig in," he said with a smirk.
Andrew took the piece gratefully. It wasn't one of Grace's culinary delights, but it would do until they got to Denver. He had briefly wondered why the men hadn't turned him into Matthew and wire the authorities in the larger city. Perhaps they thought they wouldn't get credit for the capture if they turned him in to the local lawman – another stroke of bad luck.
With a sigh, Andrew bit into the jerky.
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Colleen had brought a lunch tray back to Mr. Bailey and there was still no sign of Andrew. She was beginning to worry at his mysterious disappearance. As she had left the clinic for the café she had noticed his hat and coat were missing. He wouldn't need those for a simple trip to the outhouse. It was as if he had left the clinic in a hurry to go somewhere, but why would he leave without his medical bag? It wasn't something a doctor would easily forget. And surely, he would have brought his bag with him to tend to a medical emergency. While in the café Colleen had asked Grace if she had seen him, and the older woman verified he'd been there that morning for breakfast with Matthew, but she hadn't seen him since.
So, after dropping off Mr. Bailey's lunch, Colleen headed out again. Maybe someone else in town had seen him leave. She wasn't comfortable going into the saloon by herself, so she headed for the mercantile.
Loren greeted her entrance to the store. "Hey, Colleen. How's Dr. Mike and that new baby sister of yours doing?"
"They're fine. Mr. Bray, have you seen Andrew?"
"Sure, saw him open up the clinic this morning."
"Do you know where he is now?"
"Can't says I do. Aint he at the clinic?"
"No." Colleen wrung her hands.
Dorothy happened to be in the store and saw the young girl's distress. "Colleen, is something wrong?"
"Miss Dorothy, I can't find Andrew anywhere, and no one seems to have seen him since this early this morning."
"Maybe he needed to send a telegram or pick up some supplies," the Gazette editor suggested. "Have you checked with Horace? You know how busy things can get sometimes at the station."
Colleen brightened. "Thanks, Miss Dorothy!" She hurried out of the store and walked as fast as she could towards the train station.
When she got to the station, the CLOSED sign was up in the ticket window. Horace must be at the café eating a late lunch. Andrew himself might be there now, Colleen having just missed him before. She certainly was getting her exercise today, running around town looking for him! She walked to the café at a normal pace, passing by the livery.
"Hey, Robert E."
"Hey, Colleen."
"Have you seen Andrew today?" she asked, hoping he'd seen him on the way to lunch.
"Sorry, been kinda busy all morning. Barely had enough time to stop to pick up my lunch. You headed toward the café?"
"Yeah."
He handed her an empty plate and fork. "Would you mind taking this back to Grace for me?"
"Sure."
"Thanks." And with that, the blacksmith got back to work.
Plate in hand, Colleen passed between the livery and the back of the clinic to reach the café. She searched the crowd, finding Horace… but no Andrew.
"Hey, Horace."
"Oh, hey, Colleen."
Holding onto a sliver of hope, Colleen repeated her inquiry. "Have you seen Andrew today?"
"Sorry, Colleen, I haven't. You mean he didn't show up for work?" Horace asked.
"No, he did. But no one's seen him since this morning."
"Maybe someone called him away to their homestead."
"I thought of that, but his bag is still in the clinic. He wouldn't have left without it."
Horace wiped his mouth, finished with his lunch, and deposited coins on the table. "Let's stop by the sheriff's office. Matthew will know what to do."
Colleen set the empty plate on the table, which jogged her memory. "I almost forgot! Horace, I need to get back to Mr. Bailey. Could you send Matthew to the clinic?"
"Sure thing."
Colleen returned to the clinic, to find it the same as she had before - Andrew's medical bag on the desk, but no Andrew.
She plastered a smile on for Mr. Bailey's sake. "Not much of an appetite, I see," she said in jest, seeing he'd finished his soup.
"Grace's cookin' is the best. Can I get dressed now?" The man was clearly antsy to leave, having been cooped up much of the week.
"Let's just make sure you don't get dizzy when you stand," Colleen said, relocating the tray to the dresser. "Swing your legs over the edge of the bed first, then wait a moment." He did as requested. "Now slowly stand up. That's it." He stood and swayed slightly but remained upright. "Any dizziness?"
"No."
"Good. Take your time getting dressed, then wait for me to bring you downstairs."
Colleen returned downstairs where she found Matthew waiting. "Colleen. What's this about Andrew being missing? I had breakfast with him just this morning."
"Matthew, nobody's seen him since this morning. He had breakfast with you, then he came here and checked on Mr. Bailey. After that, he just disappeared. His coat and hat are gone, but his medical bag is still here. He wouldn't have just left without his bag. Please, Matthew, you gotta find him." There was real urgency now in her voice.
"We'll find him, Colleen. Did he have any appointments this morning?"
Colleen checked the appointment book. "Yes. Carmen at ten and Widow Farnsworth at eleven. Then he was supposed to take Mr. Bailey home. But he didn't."
"All right. We need to figure out who was the last person to have seen him, and where. I'll check with Carmen, make sure he kept that appointment, then ride out to the Farnsworth farm. Maybe Andrew mentioned something to one of them that would give us an idea of where he's gone. Meantime, can you take Mr. Bailey home?" Colleen nodded. "Don't worry, Colleen. We'll find him."
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