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Chapter 18

One Step Forward: Two Steps Back

Charlotte Thornton had immediately sent telegrams to her contacts. Nothing was sent back in return, however, which simultaneously upset her and Bill. She had taken to being part of the guard shift with Boyce. Boyce was so frightened of her by shift three, that he had requested not to leave him alone with her again. Bill, Gabe, and Nathan were all smirking by the end of that conversation.

"I don't know know what you don't seem to like, Mrs. Thornton is nothing but polite and warm," Bill said with sarcasm.

"If you don't find someone to take the shift with her, I won't cooperate," Boyce threatened.

Bill, Gabe, and Nathan all looked at him, but they ended up agreeing to Boyce's terms.

So, it was Charlotte and Rosemary who were on Charlotte's shifts, and Boyce learned that he didn't want to mess with either woman, as they caught up and kept their pistols pointed in his direction.

While Charlotte and Rosemary were standing guard, Nathan, Gabe, and Bill were trying to convince the people of Hope Valley that they needed to leave on a Christmas holiday somewhere. Many of the families refused knowing they couldn't afford it. Nathan had offered at that argument that he would give them money to travel and stay from the money that had been donated for him to use for his injuries and recovery. Money they knew he was still using. Every time he tried, he got a

"You need it more, Nathan." from whomever he was talking to.

Then each would argue that they weren't going to let Hargraves and the cowards involved stop them from being at their homes in Hope Valley.

Nathan's last stop was with the Montgomeries.

"Cat, you have to realize how much it would hurt Allie, if you or Emily get hurt because of this," Nathan said softly as Cat was watching Emily and Miles play outside.

"Nathan, we're not going. No one is going to go. Your heart is in the right place. But this is our home. Who would we visit? Our family is all here. I am not taking money from you when you need it still!" Cat protested vehemently.

"What about going to see your eldest?" Nathan said as he pointed to the one picture that was left behind of the one Montgomery child he hadn't met yet.

"Gabe doesn't have the space. Besides he is coming here," Cat said.

Nathan raised an eyebrow.

"He knows how dangerous it has become. You should go to him," Nathan whispered.

Cat just gave him a firm look back.

"Nathan, you let Allie choose where she decided to stay. Until you feel like it is too unsafe here for HER to be here-despite her wishes-that is the only time any of us would consider leaving," Cat admitted. "Why do you let her stay?"

Nathan sighed, "because everyone I trust with her safety is here."

Cat nodded.

"We know you better than you think we do, Nathan Grant, and until you can't protect Allie here, we aren't going," Cat said as her children came back inside.

Nathan sighed in defeat, before nodding once and continued on his rounds. Once he was back in town and walking main street again, Gabe caught up with him from the outlier community.

"So, apparently Boyce doesn't like Rosemary's chatter," Gabe said with a smirk as they walked past the Mountie Office.

Nathan smiled briefly.

"I'm thinking, if he asks for another person again, I can recruit Tess Stewart," Gabe said.

Nathan started laughing hard at the image of Tess Stewart meeting Charlotte Thornton, and then standing guard over Boyce.

"I would pay good money to see that," Nathan admitted.

"Me too," Gabe flashed a smile. "I'm kind of hoping he asks."

Nathan nodded.

"Any luck with the Hope Valley families?" Nathan asked in a low voice.

Gabe shook his head.

"They don't want to go anywhere. I don't blame them," Gabe admitted.

Nathan nodded in agreement again.

"Still, we can't know who Hargraves will attack next," Nathan said.

"Which just means we need to get this resolved faster," Gabe whispered.

Nathan nodded again.

Two days later, Constable Monroe was back in Hope Valley with a lot of paperwork and another Mountie. They all reconvened in Bill's office.

"Well, what's the update?" Bill asked gruffly.

"We know how Nathan was undressed, and it wasn't Croaker. Olsen was telling the truth about just leaving Nathan behind without touching him. Apparently, Hargraves and Constable Nelson here, came upon Croaker and Olsen, when Olsen was asleep and before they met anyone else," Monroe said. "Tell them what you told me."

"Croaker was freaking out about what had happened with Grant. Hargraves was also giving Croaker a look of reprimand and a lecture. But he said that he would fix the problem so that no one had to know. Hargraves and I rode to where Constable Grant was down, and he ordered me to get rid of every piece of Mountie gear on him," Constable Nelson said with horror and regret.

"And you did?" Bill asked in astonishment.

"It was a direct order from a superior officer, and he's known to be unrealistic with people who disobey him," Nelson argued.

Everyone glanced at Nathan first as they realized that this was a true statement.

Bill shook his head, but let the man continue.

"While I was doing that, he was checking the paths and what was where. Hargraves absolutely believed that Constable Grant would die of his injuries soon enough, and when someone found him dead, they could make the official investigation look like some of the thieves in the area mugged him," Nelson added.

"Why didn't you say anything back then?" Bill asked.

"Because Hargraves gave a direct order to anyone involved that we would be punished if we spoke out against the official story," Nelson said.

"Why are you speaking out now?" Bill asked as he gave Nelson a distrustful eye.

"Because, because, staying silent is the wrong thing to do. Constable Grant's story in the Valley Voice has caused a lot of stirring up within the Mounties," Nelson said. "I'm sorry that it's taken me so long to come forward, but there are quite a few of us who were too afraid, or too reliant on the pay, to say anything before now."

Gabe, Bill, Nathan, and Monroe all looked at each other as the guilt of the young Mountie was palpable.

"Do you know how long Hargraves has been putting pressure on his underlings?" Bill asked.

Nelson shook his head.

"I don't know for certain, but I do know that there are rumors floating about that Jack Thornton saw Hargraves take bribes from criminals in the Northern Territories, and they fought about it, but the fighting sent them in different directions before Jack could form an official complaint," Nelson said.

"Anyone who can confirm these rumors?" Bill asked.

"No one I know," Nelson said.

The men then went about taking Nelson's official statements, then discussed what to do with this information.

"We need to know how far Jack would have gotten into an official investigation before he died," Bill said tiredly.

"Do you know anyone who can verify that?" Gabe asked.

Bill nodded.

"Every time we make forward progress, it feels like we find acres of ground to cover," Bill grumbled.

They all nodded, but they all separated with their own tasks to complete.

Bill had also sent telegrams and phone calls to his contacts, but no one was saying much.

Nathan and Gabe had gone through every document in the Mountie Office trying to find a trail left by Thornton, but he hadn't left that behind.

"Would he have had it at Fort Clay?" Nathan asked Gabe and Bill.

"Probably," Bill admitted.

"What are the odds that it is still there?" Nathan asked.

"Not high," Gabe said with frustration.

"Jack's things were sent back to Elizabeth," Bill said softly.

Nathan, Gabe, and Bill all balked at this idea.

"Are we seriously asking her to look through her late husband's things?" Nathan choked out.

"I don't see that we have much of a choice. It's either here, or there is a very small chance it is at Fort Clay. The chances of it being here are higher, and we don't have to travel to check," Gabe said.

"But it's Elizabeth," Nathan protested.

"She married a Mountie," Gabe added.

Bill nodded.

"I can't do that to her. It's an invasion of their privacy," Nathan said firmly.

"We will do it, then," Bill pointed to himself and Gabe.

This is how Gabe and Bill found themselves outside of Elizabeth's door to the saloon. When she opened it, she took one look at their somber faces and knew immediately something was wrong.

"Just tell me it's not Nathan?" Elizabeth said emotionally and pleading in her eyes.

"It's not Nathan," Bill reassured her.

Elizabeth sighed in relief.

"But it is about Jack. We think he was starting an official investigation into Hargraves when he died, and we think the file may be with his things," Gabe explained.

Elizabeth looked at them in confusion.

"We need to go through Jack's things to see if it's there, but we need your permission to do so," Bill added.

Elizabeth looked as if she were truly processing the request.

"Of course, I would. But Jack's things are all with my parents in Calgary," Elizabeth said softly.

Bill and Gabe both looked at each other in frustration before leaving Elizabeth alone once more.

When they reconvened in Bill's office to speak about this hurdle, with Nathan and Monroe present, they all debated about how to get to Calgary and back and who was going.

"Train would be the fastest."

"But not the safest."

"Car?"

"But then who would go?"

They knew that Hargraves and Croaker were planning something big during the Christmas Festival. The on duty Mounties couldn't really rationalize being away from Hope Valley. Monroe didn't know Elizabeth's family. Bill needed to be around to be another set of trained eyes and ears.

"Who would be able to find a Mountie document easily enough?" Gabe asked.

"People around the life," Bill added.

"Who do we know who can identify it without opening it?" Gabe added.

"Rosemary, Charlotte, and Allie," Nathan added with a frustrated sigh.

"Who can drive?" Gabe asked.

"Rosemary, Lee, Henry, Lucas, Bill, Fiona, and me," Nathan said.

"Do we trust Henry or Lucas with driving them to Calgary and back?" Gabe asked, knowing that the Coulters wouldn't be able to take time from their work.

"Henry, definitely not on something as important as this," Bill shook his head.

"Lucas, or Fiona?" Gabe added.

"Fiona is busy with the barber shop," Nathan added.

"Lucas has two businesses," Gabe also pointed out.

"But he's in charge of the festival. He has the best excuse to travel to a city for supplies," Bill said begrudgingly.

"Are we really asking Lucas to drive people to Calgary to get Thornton's supposed file?" Nathan asked as he looked around the men.

"The man can surprise us," Bill said.

Gabe nodded.

Nathan sighed.

This is how Lucas Bouchard found himself driving Nathan Grant's new car to Calgary with Charlotte, Elizabeth, Jack, and Allie to the Thatchers new home in Calgary to go "Christmas shopping."

"You ever think you would see that sight in your life?" Bill asked as they waved good-bye to the people in the car.

Nathan shook his head.

"The universe is weird," was Nathan's only reply.