Chapter Four

Nick, who been waiting on the south end of town, had about given up waiting for the Shaws when he saw Jeremiah and his wife riding towards him. "'bout time," Nick muttered under his breath just before Jeremiah and La'akea reached him. "Now do you mind telling me what's going on? Why did you claim a different last name back there?"

"Not here," Jeremiah shook his head as he continued pushing his horse forward.

La'akea gave Nick an apologetic look before joining her husband. For Nick's part, he would have stopped the gentleman and demanded answers only, for the woman's sake, he did not. "Come on Coco, looks like we're going to have some traveling companions." He tapped the side of his horse gently with the side of the stirrup, moving the animal forward.

The dusty road seemed to go on forever while the sun shone brightly. The heat from the sun would have been close to unbearable if it wasn't for a soft, gentle breeze that was blowing through the air. It was close to noon before Nick, Jeremiah and La'akea stopped under some tall, majestic trees to cook and eat their lunch…which consisted of beans and some jerky.

Leaning against one of the trees, Nick took a bite of his jerky and once again asked Jeremiah what was going on. "I don't mind giving a man who is looking for work a job. However, I don't like knowing something is not right, and not knowing what the problem is."

Jeremiah, who had also sat under a tree, stood up, turned around and walked to the edge of a nearby tree. For a split second he thought about doing as La'akea had suggested…tell Nick every little detail. 'No' his logical mind told him it was not good idea. If he was to fulfill this mission, he had to keep the focus on the matter at hand…not a past that could not be changed. He turned around, walked back to the small fire that had almost died out and looked Nick straight in the eye. "I said I had not worn any man's uniform during the war; I never said I was not a part of the war."

Nick's eyes filled with confusion. "What do you mean?"

Jeremiah sat back down next to his wife, still keeping his eyes on Nick. "I worked as Northern spy." He wasn't surprised when Nick's eyes widened and his mouth dropped slightly open. However, that quickly changed when Jeremiah asked, "You served under General Alderson; you were with him the night Maysville was destroyed and innocent people were killed?" He didn't really have to ask the question, but he did anyway.

Nick's eyes grew cold and he snapped. "We didn't go there intending for that to happen. Fighting broke out in small groups…the General, myself and others tried to stop it, but the trouble only grew worse."

Jeremiah flipped his hands over, making it so his palms were facing up. "What if I told you the men who started the fight had orders to do it…and the orders came from the general himself?" Again, he wasn't surprised when Nick jumped to his feet and swore.

"I was a first Lieutenant and his aide! I was the one to give General Alderson's orders to the men. He gave no such orders!" Nick didn't try to hide the anger inside of him.

"Of course he didn't, you are too honorable of a man." Jeremiah said after a minute of pure silence. "He went through someone else, someone who would give his orders to the men if you were busy elsewhere...a soldier by the name of James Barrett."

Nick's eyes slowly widened in disbelief. "Barrett!" The longtime employee had served in his unit during the war. That's where he'd first met the man. After the war, Nick had talked to his father about hiring his former comrade due to the man's experience with horses.

"Yes, James Barrett."

"If that's the case, why weren't they arrested?" Nick asked, very much unsettled by the revelation-which he doubted since no action had been taken against the men.

"The United States Federal Government only recently learned of it," Jeremiah paused again and then added, "along with other information even more important." He went onto say that the general retired, but no one had been able to find out where he was living. He told Nick the government had recently learned that there's a high chance Barrett knew. "But, he is denying that fact."

Nick didn't know what to think. Why on earth would such a good general order such an attack? "What else is there?"

Jeremiah sighed. "They-the government-knows General Alderson had a hand in planning President Lincoln's death. They know it, but they can't prove it. It's one of the reasons I'm telling you this now."

Nick's eyes widened, and he quickly sat back down. "They want you to get a job on the ranch so you can get Barrett to talk."

When Jeremiah hesitated to answer, La'akea spoke up. "No, it is what he," she nodded towards her husband. "They wanted something completely different." When she gave her husband a look that said 'are you going to tell him or do I', Jeremiah shook his head.

"They wanted me to use force." Jeremiah was disgusted and didn't hesitate to show it. He also admitted he wasn't supposed to be saying anything to Nick or any member of his family. "But I told them no. The thing is, I don't agree. I told my superiors I'd be on your land and, who knows, something negative could happen. If it does, your family would be involved." He paused and then asked, "Does all your family live on the ranch?"

Nick, still feeling unsettled, replied. "Everyone but my youngest brother, he lives on campus- at Berkley."

Nothing more was said for a few minutes. Nick was still struggling with the fact that Jeremiah had told him while Jeremiah was wondering if he'd done the right thing in telling Nick everything. "So, is the job offer still open? Will you help me if I need it?"

Slowly, Nick nodded. "Yes, to both questions." If the general was indeed guilty of what Jeremiah said, he needed to be found. "We'll talk with my family as soon as we get to the ranch." He stood up and put out what little fire was still burning, a fire he and Jeremiah had built for La'akea to cook their beans with.