Chapter 4

"Dr. Mike! Sully!"

Sully heard the voices loud and clear but he wished that he didn't. His head was pounding. He brought his hand to massage his temples, hoping that he wasn't having migrums like he had before he and Michaela had become engaged. Sully opened his eyes, shielding them from the light that was streaming in the windows of the cabin. He looked around, trying to remember where he was. He finally remembered that he was lying on the floor of Warren's home. He must have slept through the night, even though he didn't quite remember falling asleep in the first place. He remembered talking with Warren after they all were supposed to have gone to bed but then everything just blacked out.

"Dr. Mike!" The voice sounded closer and Sully finally recognized it as Matthew's.

"Sully!" Another voice yelled. Sully was sure that it belonged to Robert E.

Sully stood on shaky legs, his head still pounding. He headed for the door and opened it. Matthew and Robert E were only a few yards away, sitting atop their horses.

"Sully!" Matthew shouted, dismounting and walking over to Sully. Robert E got off his horse, as well and tied them to a nearby tree. Sully saw Flash and his own horse tied to Robert E and Matthew's.

"What are y'all doin' out here?" Sully asked as the men walked to meet him at the door.

"We got worried," Matthew answered. We figured y'all found shelter during the storm but when ya didn't come back this morning, we decided to come out and find ya," Matthew answered.

"We found ya horses 'bout a mile from here," Robert E informed him.

"We had to leave 'em. The storm scared 'em too much. Ya said we didn't come back in the mornin'. What time is it?"

"I reckon it's near two in the afternoon. We left around noon," Matthew said.

"Two?" Sully questioned, wondering how he could have slept that late. He never slept that late. And why hadn't Michaela waken him?

"Where's Dr. Mike?" Matthew wondered.

Sully looked back into the cabin, panic striking him. He stormed into the room to the left, where Michaela had been sleeping. Matthew and Robert E followed him into the small room. When Sully did not see her, he ran into the room to the right where Warren was supposed to be staying. Warren wasn't there, either.

"Maybe she went out to find the horses," Robert E suggested.

"She wouldn't go without me," Sully replied, quietly. His head was hurting more than it had before and suddenly, his heart began to hurt, as well.

"What's goin' on, Sully?" Matthew asked.

Sully shook his head, knowing that he did not have an answer. He slumped into one of the rocking chairs that he had occupied only hours early.

"I'll go look around outside," Robert E announced as he made his way out of the homestead.

"Isn't this Widow Henry's place?" Matthew questioned, facing Sully.

"There was a man." Sully buried his head in his hands.

"What man?"

"Said his name was Warren Clark. He let us stay here durin' the storm because it was too dangerous to try and ride home. Said he just moved here from Nebraska…his cattle's outback."

"There ain't no cattle around here," Matthew informed him.

Sully was finally beginning to make sense of everything. He began to remember bits and pieces of the conversation that he had with Warren before he had fallen asleep.

"She'll be happier with me, anyway," Sully whispered.

"What?"

"That's what he said?"

"That's what who said? This guy, Clark? Sully, you're not makin' any sense. If there was this Clark guy, where is he now and where's the cattle he said he had and where's Dr. Mike?"

Sully opened his mouth to speak but was caught off when he heard Robert E yelling both of their names. They both bolted towards the door and found Robert E standing behind the homestead next to a small shack. Sully peered inside of the shack.

"That's widow Henry," Matthew announced.

"She's dead," Robert E replied. "Probably just died of old age, poor lady."

"She didn't die of old age," Sully realized. "She was murdered."

"How do ya know?" Matthew asked.

Sully reached inside the small shack and slowly turned the body of the old woman. The hay below her was soaked with blood.

"Looks like she was shot," Sully responded.

"If she'd been shot there'd be more blood," Matthew said.

"Then she wasn't shot here but her body was moved here," Sully explained.

"Who shot her?" Robert E questioned.

"Warren Clark," Sully answered. Robert E did not recognize the name but he did not probe for answers. Sully stormed off back to the house.

"What're you doin', Sully?" Matthew asked, trying to keep up with him.

Sully went to where his and Michaela's clothes had been hung to dry but they were no longer there. There was just a puddle on the floor below them where the water had collected as they dripped.

"He took her!" Sully shouted.

"Dr. Mike? This Clark guy took Dr. Mike?" Matthew asked, unsure of what to make of the whole predicament. Sully wasn't exactly acting like himself and Matthew had to wonder if there really was a guy named Warren Clark. Regardless of whether or not there was, it still did not explain where Dr. Mike was. Sully noticed the pot of tea beside the fire. He walked over to it and lifted the lid.

"What's that?" Matthew asked as Robert E appeared in the doorway, even more confused than Matthew. Sully picked the pot up and held it to Matthew's nose.

"What does it smell like?"

"Don't smell like anything," Matthew replied, wondering if Sully had seriously gone crazy.

"Exactly."

"Sully…"

"What kind 'a tea do you know that don't smell like nothing?"

Matthew had to think about it. Most teas did have some kind of odor. "I don't know, Sully, but I don't know much about teas."

"It's poisoned."

"Poisoned?" Robert E said, finding Sully's story as difficult to believe as Matthew was finding it.

"What makes ya think it was poisoned?"

"Warren made me drink some last night 'fore I went to sleep. He said that it helped make ya tired so that ya could sleep better. When I drank it, things started gettin'…strange."

"Strange? Strange how?" Matthew inquired.

"I got real tired real fast and I couldn't keep my eyes open and, after a while, I couldn't hear what he was sayin' anymore even though I knew he's was talkin'. I can't explain it, Matthew but somethin' was in that tea."

"Doesn't poison usually kill ya?" Robert E questioned.

"Dr. Mike told Colleen and me about some kinds of poison that can just…knock ya out for a while. She said if ya give too much, it can kill ya but, if ya only take a while, it can just make ya tired," Matthew explained.

"Like the chloroform Dr. Mike uses when she's doin' procedures," Sully said.

"Somethin' like that," Matthew replied. "But couldn't Dr. Mike just be out lookin' for the horses like Robert E said or bathin' in some stream somewhere?"

"She wouldn't have just left without tellin' me, Matthew. Besides, it don't explain where Warren is or why Widow Henry's lying dead in the shack outside."

Sully walked back into the room where Michaela had supposedly been sleeping. He stood in the doorway and looked around the room more carefully. The room had a small bed in one corner and a set of drawers in another. The bed was unmade, the blankets strewn about. One of them had landed on the floor. Sully noticed a stream of light coming from a corner of the room. He walked to it and pushed on the wall. A small door, one that only came to Sully's shoulders, swung open. He stepped out of the door, ducking to clear his head. As he stepped onto the still damp ground below, he saw strands of long, brown hair stuck to a branch that stuck out, blocking the door. He knew that they belonged to Michaela. He looked at the frame of the door and saw claw marks that Michaela must have left. As he looked at where he stood, he saw the small drops of blood that were soaking the green grass. Sully fell to his knees. Immediately Robert E and Matthew were at his side. They both saw the same signs that he did and they knew that everything Sully had said was the truth.

"Why would he take her?" Matthew asked, trying to figure out what they had seen and what Sully had told him. They had moved back into the front room, standing in front of the fireplace.

"He wants her to work for him," Sully answered.

"Work for him?" Matthew gasped, fearing the worse. He couldn't imagine Dr. Mike working for a man like Hank's girls did for him.

"Workin' for him in the fields and as his wife," Sully continued, knowing what Matthew was thinking.

"Where would he take her?" Robert E inquired. Sully shook his head. He didn't know. What was worse is that he could imagine Warren carrying her off. Had she screamed for Sully to rescue her while he slept by the fire? Had she called out his name? Had she hated him when he did not come to her rescue? Was she disappointed in him? Would she ever be able to forgive him? Would he ever be able to forgive himself?

"Did he say anythin', Sully as to where he would take her?" Matthew pushed. Sully didn't respond. "Where was he from?"

"All over," Sully answered.

"Did he mention anywhere in particular?" Robert E questioned.

"Just said he came from Nebraska and Wyomin' 'fore that and…"

"And what?" Matthew said.

"Kansas City. He took her ta Kansas City."

"Ya sure?" Matthew asked.

"It was the one place he said was home. He was born there, lived there 'til he was twelve. Said he wanted to go back there and see how the folk were doin'."

"That's over a day's ride from here," Robert E announced.

"Why don't we track 'em?" Matthew suggested.

"Rain woulda washed everythin' away," Sully responded. "Won't be nothin' left to track. We just gotta hope that he decided to go back ta Kansas City."

"And if he didn't?" Matthew wondered, fearing the answer.

"Maybe somebody there will know where else he's gone."

"We gotta get back inta town and get a posse goin'," Matthew instructed, heading for the door.

"We can't get a posse together!" Sully shouted, blocking Matthew from exiting the room.

"We have to, Sully. We have to wire the marshal in Kansas City and get some boys to ride out there with us to find Dr. Mike."

"We can't."

"Why not?"

Sully tried to come up with a reason. Warren had said something about posse's hadn't he? He'd said that he didn't like them. Sully was torn. He knew that a posse was probably the best thing. The more men the better but, if what Sully thought Warren said was true, Warren didn't care much for posse's or for the marshal. Hadn't he threatened to kill Michaela if he caught wind that either one was on his tail?

"Because we just can't," Sully sighed.

"I think that poison messed with your brain a little, Sully. This ain't about you lookin' like a hero, savin' her life. This is about findin' Dr. Mike and bringin' her home 'fore somethin' happens to her."

"I'm not tryin' to be a hero, Matthew! I want Dr. Mike home more than anythin' but you gotta listen to me. A posse'll just scare him off and he's not afraid of killin' her."

"How do you know he hasn't already killed her? If he killed Widow Henry, what makes you think he wouldn't kill Dr. Mike?"

And that was the one thing that Sully did not want to admit. Matthew was right, Warren could have killed Michaela already and none of them would know it.

"Because I know that he wants her as his wife," Sully finally answered, not sure if he really believed it himself. Even if it was true, what was stopping him from killing her?

Matthew sighed. "Alright, if we don't wire the marshal and we don't get a posse, what do you suggest?"

"I ride out to Kansas City and see if I can find 'em."

"And what do you plan on doin' when you get there? Just takin' her back?"

"I haven't thought much about it, Matthew, but I'll figure it out."

"We'll go with ya, Sully," Robert E insisted.

"No thanks, Robert E. If he finds out…"

"Three men ain't a posse," Matthew retorted. "Ya can't go out there by yourself, Sully. Ya don't know what kind of man he is or what he's capable of."

"Someone's gotta look after the children," Sully reminded them both.

"They can stay in town at the clinic with Dorothy lookin' after 'em or…" Matthew suggested.

"We can't tell no one in town what's going on," Sully instructed.

"Why not?" Matthew asked.

"'Cause they'll just get a posse together and ride off after her. Don't need folks in an uproar. We gotta keep this as quiet as possible."

"Grace and I'll watch 'em, Sully," Robert E offered. We'll have 'em stay in the clinic and we'll watch 'em. They can even come stay with us in the homestead if they hafta. We can make room."

"Thank you, Robert E but Matthew's gonna be goin' back and stayin' with 'em."

"I'm goin' with you," Matthew insisted. He knew that Sully thought that he was doing what was best for Dr. Mike but he could not let him go off alone this time. This wasn't like when Dr. Mike had been abducted by the dog soldiers and Sully knew about Indian territory. This was different and Matthew was determined to help.

"Matthew…"

"If this man claims that he's a rancher, maybe he does have some cattle back in Kansas City. I know you think you know somethin' about cattle since you helped me with the cattle drive but the truth is, you know the land and I know cattle. 'Sides, this man doesn't know me. Maybe I can talk to him about cattle, get information. Or, if not him, other people who might know him. They might feel more comfortable talkin' to me than they would with you."

Sully sighed. Matthew was making sense even though Sully knew that there was another reason why Matthew was volunteering to help and it wasn't just because he would do anything to save Michaela. Whatever Matthew's reasoning was, Sully couldn't put his finger on it.

"Fine, you can come but, if at any point, I ask you to leave, you hafta leave, Matthew."

Matthew didn't quite like the conditions but he knew that they would be negotiable if the time ever arose. He and Sully shook hands.

"Deal," Matthew agreed. "Are you gonna tell Brian and Colleen what happened?"

"Don't think that's such a good idea. They'll just be worried and go off tellin' folks. Ya know that Brian can't go a day without tellin' Mr. Bray somethin'."

"What are we gonna tell 'em then?" Matthew asked.

The men were silent for a moment. They didn't want to lie to the children but they did want to protect them, and Dr. Mike.

"I'll tell 'em that Dr. Mike found some sick folk while y'all were out on your picnic and that y'all are stayin' with 'em until they're better and I'll tell 'em that Matthew had to tend to some of their cattle while they were all sick," Robert E said.

"Thank you, Robert E," Sully replied.

"We'll need some supplies," Matthew reminded him. "We're gonna hafta go back to the homestead 'fore we head out."

"We'll have to make sure the children aren't there," Sully replied.

"They'll be at school 'til three," Matthew explained.

"That doesn't give us much time. It's almost three now."

"I'll ride back into town and head 'em off. Keep 'em at Grace's," Robert E suggested.

"Alright, that settles it. Let's go," Matthew announced. Matthew and Robert E walked out of the room and headed towards their horses. Sully couldn't help but look around once more, hoping that he was wrong. Maybe Michaela was out bathing in a stream somewhere. Inside his heart, though, he knew that it was not as simple as that. Something was wrong with her and he had let her down. He couldn't get that thought out of his head.

Although he did not know if he believed in God, he put his hands together and he begged God to keep her safe.