The Next Morning

Matt stood by the window of Kitty's hotel room and looked down onto the beautiful garden below. An early riser by habit, he wanted Kitty to sleep undisturbed for as long as she needed. A tray with some rolls, a coffee pot and 2 cups sat on the end table. He'd already been to the hotel coffee shop. The concierge had looked at him oddly when he walked by, no doubt wondering if he'd spent the night in Miss Russell's room, but he'd merely said, "Nice to see you again, Marshal Dillon."

"Matt." Kitty sleepily turned onto her side. She was stiff and sore, but spending the night in Matt's warm arms had her done a world of good.

"Good morning." He poured a cup of coffee, stirred in a spoon of sugar and added a touch of cream. "Here you go."

"Thank you, Cowboy." She gratefully wrapped her hands around the steaming cup. "You were looking down at the hotel garden. It is beautiful. The other day, when I was sitting down there, I thought about making a garden like that in Dodge." She took a sip of coffee. "When I think about it, I realize that as nice as it would be to have a garden like that, I don't want to make one. Truth is, I was never much for digging in the ground or pulling up weeds." She shrugged, "Guess I'm not cut out to be a gardener, or a farmer, or a farmer's wife." She tilted her head coyly, "You're not thinking of taking up farming when you take off that badge, are you?"

"Nope, I've thought about ranching or trying to find work training lawmen." He smiled crookedly. "Maybe I'll just write a book about my adventures as a US Marshal. I could call it: The Wild Wild West, or maybe, Gunsmoke."

She grinned, "I could fancy myself the wife of a best selling author."

They both laughed. He handed her a buttered roll and refilled her coffee cup. She quickly finished both and slowly got out of bed. "Time to get on with some serious business, opening that safe. I wish Rosie was – I wish she – it's supposed to be hers, Matt."

"I know Kitty, but if Rosie couldn't have it, Max wanted it to go to you." Matt saw she was moving stiffly. "Let me give you a hand. What do you need from the closet?" She gratefully pointed to a dress. He got it down and helped her into her clothes. "Matt, I've been thinking about that safe. Max Le Croix was a seafaring man with lots of stories. That safe could be filled with amazing riches or worthless trinkets or some combination of both. If I recall, he used to say that Rosie would inherit a magic key, so she could have the treasures of his life. I guess we'll find out just what those treasures are."

"All set?" She took his arm and nodded. "Matt, I'm sorry you never met Rosie. She was the kindest, sweetest soul in the world. I know I already told you this, but she became a teacher in a really poor neighborhood. Her letters were full of stories about her students. She was beautiful inside and out."

"When you have time to go through Max's notebook, you'll see his sketches of two girls who were beautiful inside and out. Let's get to that safe. It's time this mystery is solved."

They walked side be side, with Matt setting a slow pace so as not to tax Kitty. When they got to the building, Kitty hesitated. Matt squeezed her hand. "Kitty, a lot happened to you in there. Are you sure you're ready to go back inside?"

She pressed her lips together. "With you with me, yes. Let's go."

They went in; he opened the trap door and they went downstairs. The basement was empty and sterile. The police had done a good job. Kitty walked straight to the wall safe. She was right. It wasn't apparent to the casual eye. Matt handed her the key. She shook her head nervously, "You open it." He slid the key in, turned it and pulled the door open. The first thing he spotted was a piece of paper, yellowed with age. He picked it up and cleared his throat.

Dear Rosie, if you are opening this, it means that I've left this earth and her 7 seas. My travels gave me treasures that most people never see, but you gave me the magic of a child's laugh. I hope my treasures bring magic to you.

Matt handed the note to Kitty and reached inside the safe. The first thing he found was a small elephant made of bronze. He reached in again and pulled out a box. It was filled with unpolished pearls. Next came a bag of gold coins. He reached in again, the safe was deeper than he expected. When it was empty he and Kitty looked at the line up on the floor. Next to the elephant, box of pearls and gold coins was a silk kimono, a pair of white kid gloves, a small bag of uncut diamonds, a very large ruby ring, 10 gold hoop earrings, two ornate boxes – one ivory and one jade, several Japanese coins, a gold bracelet studded with emeralds, a rolled up wall tapestry and a silver lamp that looked liked something out of the story of Aladdin.

Matt scratched the back of his neck, "Kitty, I'm no expert in a lot of this stuff, but I know for sure that you are a very rich woman. The gold, diamonds and pearls alone are worth a fortune. Of course we'll have to figure out how to deal with all of it."

Kitty was stunned. She knew Matt was right. Some items were worth more than others but taken as a whole, she was looking at more wealth then she ever imagined having. She walked back and forth, and examined every item. Finally she reached into the box of unpolished pearls and took one. "I'll keep this in memory of Max. Like him it's unpolished but valuable, and it holds the wisdom of the sea. The rest goes to Rosie."

Matt looked confused, "Kitty, what do you mean?"

"Max wanted Rosie to have his treasure because he believed in her goodness. After she died, he wanted me to have it. I think that's because he believed I'd know the right thing to do. I'll need your help, Matt."

Mystified, he nodded, "Of course. What's that plan?"

TBC