Though Nathan gave Newton his head, he did not push the horse. Union City to Buxton was still a bit of a distance. As it was, Nathan had a feeling he might need to leave Newton in Buxton and use another means of transportation if the jewelry Elizabeth had, were some of the reported stolen pieces.
After informing Bill of the call he had gotten from Elizabeth, the judge had assured Nathan that he would meet Elizabeth and the Coulters when they arrived as well as alert the local Mounties to the situation. Nathan had then called Anne O'Reilly to ask the woman to pick Ally up from school and watch her until his return. Having Anne O'Reilly to look after Ally when he was busy for work took a lot of weight from his shoulders. Nathan's third and last call had been to the Union City Train Station about where the crates bound for the Queen of Hearts that he had seen earlier that day, currently were. He had been informed that they had been loaded on a wagon with other crates going out of Union City. The railroad worker asked if Nathan wanted the delivery wagon to be held at the sation. Nathan told him no, but asked to talk to the delivery driver if possible. The delivery driver was brought to the office, and provided Nathan with his planned list of stops, Hope Valley being his last stop with this load. Nathan thanked him and with that information had quickly informed one of his fellow Mounties helping with the case in on recent developments and then left Union City for Buxton.
Reaching the Grand Hotel, Nathan was greeted by a Buxton Constable. His fellow Mountie informed him that a second constable was in the hotel keeping an eye on things and that Bill had taken the Coulters, Mrs. Thornton and her son upstairs to room 112. Turning Newton over to the Constable, Nathan headed inside.
Reaching room 112, Nathan knocked on the door.
"Who is it?" came Bill's gruff response from inside.
"It's Nathan," he replied, knowing that Bill would not be expecting him to use his formal title.
The hotel door opened a crack. Nathan saw Bill peering cautiously through the crack and then the older man was opening the door further and motioning Nathan into the room. No sooner had Nathan heard the door shut behind him then someone was throwing their arms around him. Instinctively, Nathan put his arms around the person even as he looked down to find Elizabeth clinging to him.
"I checked the necklace and the ring against the description of stolen jewelry in the Buxton Mountie office," Bill informed him, wasting no time in getting to the point. "Both pieces are listed."
"I am such a fool," Elizabeth lamented. She lifted her head from Nathan's chest though she did not let go of him. "Bill, Nathan, I am so sorry for the harsh things I have said to you because you were suspicious of Lucas and I felt you were not giving him a fair chance. Apparently he didn't deserve one."
Bill waved a hand dismissively. "It was hardly the harshest thing that anyone has said to me. Think no more of it, Elizabeth," he assured her.
Instinctively, Nathan pressed a soft kiss to the top of Elizabeth's head. "You wanting to see the good in everyone, is one of the things I love about you," he told her softly, the surprise in her expression registering with him. It was the most demonstrative of his feelings for her that he had ever been.
Looking up from Elizabeth's face, Nathan looked at Bill, all business once more. "I talked to the driver delivering crates marked for the Queen of Hearts. If I hurry, I can still intercept him before he reaches Hope Valley," Nathan said, shifting Elizabeth in his arms to that he could get to the search warrant form he had filled out before leaving Union City. It was for both the crates in delivery and the Queen of Hearts. "I filled out paperwork for the search warrant before leaving Union City in case the jewelry was stolen. All I need is a judge's signature."
Bill took the paper Nathan held out to him. The judge looked it over quickly before signing it and handing it back to Nathan.
Nathan took the paper and then look down at Elizabeth. "You will be safe here with Lee and Rosemary," Nathan told her. As he hadn't seen either of them, Nathan assumed they were in the suite's bedroom. "Stay here until Bill or I come for you," he told her. Looking up he found Lee's gaze. "That goes for you and Rosemary as well. It would be better if you are out of harm's way given your relationship with Elizabeth."
Lee nodded. "Rosemary would not leave Elizabeth alone under the circumstances and I would rather be with my wife right now. Mike can run things with the business."
Nathan nodded his acknowledgment.
"Be safe," Elizabeth told him even as she finally let him go and stepped back. She looked to Bill. "Both of you."
"We will have each other's backs," Bill assured her.
"I am going to need to borrow a horse. Newton ran quite a bit to get here already," Nathan said, the words directed to Bill. It was Lee that replied.
"The two of you could use my car if you want," Lee told them. "I put gas in it as we came into Buxton."
"I do know how to drive the confounded contraptions," Bill muttered, clearly leaving the choice up to him.
"Let's use the car," Nathan conceded.
The delivery wagon was intercepted by Nathan and Bill about a half mile out of Hope Valley. The crates for the Queen of Hearts were easily accessible and after showing the delivery driver the search warrant, a quick check of the crates located the three small bags containing stolen jewelry laying on top of the packing material. They had clearly been quickly added to the contents.
Closing the crates back up, Nathan and Bill left them on the wagon. They instructed the delivery driver to make the delivery as normal. Right now, Lucas could claim he knew nothing about the stolen jewels in his crate as he'd had not contact with the crates yet. However, if they could arrest the man while retrieving those bags, then they would have a much strong case.
Bill headed for Hope Valley first. He planned on getting to the Queen of Hearts ahead of time and hide in the store room. Wanting to keep an eye on the crates, Nathan rode in the wagon until they reached the little town he had left a few months ago. Swinging down from the wagon, Nathan pulled his hat down low, and walked calmly into town behind the wagon. He hoped that people would simply notice the uniform and not him.
While the delivery wagon stopped at the Queen of Hearts, Nathan continued casually onto the Mounted Police Office. Stepping inside, he watched what he could from inside. Only when the delivery wagon had pulled away and Lucas was no longer in sight, did Nathan make his way to the Queen of Hearts, specifically the entry leading to the back room.
Nathan was just stepping into the building, when he heard Bill's voice.
"Lucas Bouchard, stay right where you are."
Nathan had no doubt that Bill had his gun pointed at the saloon owner. Quickening his strides, Nathan moved to the storage room where the voices were coming from.
"You are just a judge, Bill," came Lucas' smug voice. "You can't arrest me. I have friends who will help me make your death look like an accident."
Nathan stepped into the doorway to see that Lucas had one of the bags of stolen jewelry in his left hand and was pointing a pistol in Bill's direction. Having already drawn his own gun, Nathan made sure he had Bouchard in his sights before he spoke.
"Lucas Bouchard you are under arrest for jewelry smuggling," Nathan announced.
At the sound of his voice, a surprised Lucas turned in his direction. The saloon owner soon had his gun pointed at Nathan.
"You were supposed to be out of the way," Lucas hissed, clearly not happy to see Nathan.
"Someone decided to smuggle jewelry through my city. I never expected it to lead me right back here to Hope Valley. I knew you were not a good fit for this town."
Getting a smug look, Lucas tossed his gun aside. "I have a good lawyer. I will claim that I was set up. I simply found the jewelry when I opened my delivery. I also have Elizabeth charmed. I will make sure I tell her how unfair you have been treating me. I will make sure she hates you. So, go ahead and arrest me, but you won't win."
As Bill still had his gun trained on Lucas, Nathan put his away and approached the now unarmed criminal. Nathan took his handcuffs out as he approached.
"Lucas Bouchard, you are under arrest for jewelry smuggling and possession of stolen goods," Nathan said again. He took the bag from Lucas' hand, slipped it in a pocket and put Lucas Bouchard in handcuffs. Nathan had to admit, after all that had happened in the short time he had known Lucas, it felt good to have the upper hand for a change. "As for Elizabeth, how do you think I figured out you were involved," he told the man.
Lucas looked back at him.
"She was scared, Lucas. She came to me and told me about the necklace that you couldn't return and the engagement ring. Both are now in our possession. Unless you can produce a bill of sale for those, the I didn't know they were stolen line, is going to be hard to prove given other circumstances. Until her phone call, I had nothing to link you to my jewelry smuggling case."
Lucas eyes were stormy as he glared at Nathan. "I knew you were trouble from the moment I learned you were a Mountie," he declared. "I should have followed my instincts, sold the saloon, and set up elsewhere."
Nathan smiled. "I am glad you did not, because being the one to put you behind bars is satisfying. I have a feeling that you have been doing this for quite awhile. To think, a dropped box and a schoolteacher could make years of scheming finally unravel."
Lucas tried to pull away, and Nathan tightened his grip on the man. The Mountie felt no remorse when he saw the man wince in response to the tightened hold.
Nathan turned to Bill. "Do you have the other bags?"
Bill, his own gun back in the holster, nodded as he held up the confiscated stolen goods. "I'll collect his gun. Larray should have the customers and employees cleared out of the building by now. I told him to wait until Lucas came inside."
Nathan nodded. "Let's go, Bouchard," he told the man, tugging him along.
Lucas soon gave up trying to resist and went along with Nathan. Instead of taking him out the back, Nathan led him right out the main entrance of the Queen of Hearts. As he expected, the customers and employees that Larray had vacated were gathered out front along with some other curious bystanders. Nathan had no problem with letting this little town see Lucas' true colors as he was led across and up the street to the jail in cuffs.
"I told you before, Lucas. You are not a good fit for Hope Valley," Nathan told the man.
Having been caught, and his last chips lost, Lucas started singing like a song bird as soon as he was in the cell. Though one of the masterminds of the smuggling operations that had been going on for almost five years in the United States and Canada, now cornered, Lucas happily gave up names of others involved. Bill left Nathan and Larray to witness statements as he drove to Buxton to return Lee's car. By the time the entire group returned to Hope Valley the following day, Bill leading Newton, Super Intendant O'Reilly had arrived with Ally. Giving Nathan and Bill's personal involvement with Lucas, the case would now be turned over to another Inspector and tried by a judge other than Bill.
Nathan had just finished briefing Inspect Gage Denton on the case and was leaving when once again, a certain school teacher flung herself at him before he could get out of the doorway. Nathan could not deny that he rather liked the feel of Elizabeth in his arms. The fact that Lucas was witnessing the display this time did stroke Nathan's male pride a bit.
"Thank you for helping me, Nathan," Elizabeth told him.
Nathan wrapped his arms around her. "I will always be willing to help you, Elizabeth. All you have to do is ask."
"I know I have no right to ask, but I wish you would come back to Hope Valley. We all miss you," Elizabeth said. Shifting her head, she gazed up at him. "I miss you."
Nathan felt his breath catch. He did not miss the love in her eyes. Back before Christmas, he had thought about kissing her after helping her hand the cardinal on the tree. He would never know now how she would have reacted if he had kissed her then. Would she have asked him not to take the promotion because she wanted him to stay or would he have scared her off?
There was no way to know the answer to that question. That was in the past. However, Nathan fully intended not to miss another opportunity to kiss her now.
Tilting his head down, he gently captured her lips with his own. They were soft with a hint of sweetness on them from something she had eaten or drank earlier. His heart quickened when Elizabeth pressed her lips harder against his. Before either of them got carried away, Nathan broke the kiss.
"I'll stay in touch," Nathan promised her. "Right now, I need to get Ally back to Union City. She already missed one day of school."
Elizabeth nodded and stepped back from him. More than anything, Nathan simply wanted to promise to stay right there with her. He couldn't though. It was not that easy. It was not just his choice that mattered.