Chapter 7

Nathan responded instinctively at the sound of the gunshot, his arms wrapping around Cecilia and Allie as he protected them with his body, while shouting out to Lee who was already running in through the station building.

"Go with Lee" he told them, "He will take you to Bill's house where you will be safe and I will come later." They nodded, not questioning his instruction, Cecilia squeezing his hand before she reluctantly let go.

The scene along the platform was one of panic with fearful people trying to get away as quickly as they could, while some were helping others to reach a safe place.

At the other end of the carriage Lucas Bouchard was on the ground crawling towards the safety of the building. Despite his dislike for the man Nathan rushed across to help him, thinking maybe it was he who had been shot at. As he reached a hand down to take his arm Lucas spat out. "Get away from me, I don't want to be anywhere near a Mountie if they start shooting again."

Was that fear he saw on the other man's face? It wouldn't surprise him that Bouchard was a coward, a man whose only concern was for himself. A recreant who liked to act tough when bullying someone weaker or when there were others to protect him, to do his dirty work. As Nathan turned away he knew he had the measure of the man and that could well be the essence of how to beat him.

Towards the rear of the train he could see the Mounties gathered, Bill giving instructions for them to move out in different directions around the edge of the woods, working in pairs to give cover to one another. He looked up as Nathan arrived. "The fact that you are here obviously means that no-one on the platform was involved. Did your girls get to safety ok?"

Nathan nodded. "Lee was quick to get them away to the car, followed I noticed by Bruce and Antoine still playing their parts but remaining alert to what was going on at that end of the station."

Bill smiled, he'd met the young Australian and the Québécois on one of his visits to see The Grants in Cape Fullerton. Better trained Mounties you would be hard pressed to meet so he knew that they would find a way to do their duty without giving the game away.

"We saw Ed and Jim both go into the woodland earlier" he continued, "but we have heard nothing from them since the gunshot, which means they are either in a stakeout position staying quiet or something is wrong. A perimeter is being secured by our new arrivals. It's your call how we take it from here Nathan."

The area ahead of them was familiar to Nathan as part of daily rounds during his time in Hope Valley. There was a small gully that ran along behind the woodland, a river on one side and the railway track on the other. A scree slope on the steep side of the gully made it impossible to escape that way without assistance from above, and the two sides being covered by his men gave no way out there.

"I will go in alone from here Bill. I want you to stay hidden and wait for them to come out. You're the only one of us not in uniform so it will be easier for you to follow them. We need to know where they go."

Nathan suddenly put his fingers to his lips and indicated for Bill to get down, sensing movement a little distance in front of them. Crouching low in the underbrush they waited as a figure appeared about twenty feet away, one of Shue Moy's men. He glanced around, checking that no-one had followed him, before making his way to the side of the station building and out onto the street. Bill was quick to shadow him, picking up one of the bags abandoned by the new Mounties as he walked along. The man trod cautiously, stopping at times to look behind but seeing nothing. Bill was good, able to track him from a distance while keeping out of sight.

Nathan stayed in his position until he could no longer hear the sound of their footsteps then he stepped into a gap in the trees, where branches had already been broken creating a narrow pathway. As his eyes adjusted to the lack of light under the canopy he crept slowly forward, looking for signs where someone had deviated from the path.

A brighter spot ahead indicated a clearing, a muffled noise audible as he drew closer, then silence. He moved slowly around the open space on a wider arc. Between the trees, a glimpse of red on the ground made him pause, listening for any sound that would tell him where others were. Creeping forward his hand reached out to touch the red serge covering the prone figure, hurriedly feeling for a sign of life.

Finally, with fingers pressed against the neck he felt a pulse, the man letting out a groan at the feel of a hand on his skin. "Jim, its Nathan. Stay quiet. Can you tell me what happened?" Another groan escaped the Mountie on the ground before he managed to stumble out a few words. "Ambush. Someone else, not the Chinese. Ed went after." The effort of speaking became too much and the Mountie fell back into unconsciousness.

Making sure he remained unseen Nathan crept closer to the clearing, picking his way carefully around roots and stumps. A man lay on his back, blood pooled underneath him and eyes staring up to the sky. This must be Shue Moy's other man, he thought. So who was the shooter? Who did he work for? It was obviously not Bouchard so there must be another player in the game. Whomever it was he must have escaped across the railway during the panic, with Ed in pursuit. One of the best trackers he had ever trained, Nathan knew that he would stick with the stranger to his end destination.

Word of the shooting at the train station quickly spread to the town, people coming out onto the street to stop whoever arrived from there to find out what had happened.

When the two doctors, Faith Carter and Matthew Walters heard the news they immediately put into action the procedures they had worked out for this type of incident. Grabbing his medical bag Matthew headed out to his car, turning it in the direction of the station and narrowly missing Lee's car as it raced onto the main street. Her pregnancy meant that Faith did not accompany him. Instead she would prepare their small hospital for any potential victims, always hopeful that their efforts would not be needed but wanting to be ready for any eventuality.

Rosemary rushed out of the Valley Voice office as Lee pulled his car up outside. "Oh Lee, what happened? I just heard that someone has been shot. Please tell me it's not Nathan." Leaning forward she spotted Allie sitting in the back of the car "Allie, my dear. What a way for you to return! Are you hurt? Is everyone alright?"

Before Allie could answer Cecilia held out her hand, her voice warm despite her worried countenance. "Hello, you must be Rosemary Coulter. I'm Nathan's wife, Cecilia. I have heard so much about you from Allie and him. My father was a big fan of yours so it is nice to meet you."

"Oh my, really!" Rosemary was delighted but before she could launch into a long dialogue about her time on the stage Lee interrupted. "I promised Nathan that I would get his family to the safety of Bill's house, so there is no time for talking right now. I just wanted to let you know that I was ok, in case you were worried."

"Of course I was worried Lee! It's just not every day that I meet someone who has an appreciation of my work, even if it is once removed".

Lee nodded, knowing how much his wife loved recounting her time as an actress. Sometimes he wondered if she had doubts about giving that up to stay here in Hope Valley with him, his proposal coming at a time when she'd passed up an opportunity to follow her dreams. Then he would watch her with their two boys and know that if ever a woman was meant for motherhood it was his Rosie.

"Now listen to me Rosemary Coulter. You are not to go to the station. You will wait here until Nathan returns and get the story from him. Promise me, please." Looking into her husband's pleading eyes Rosemary nodded. "I promise, my love."

Lucas Bouchard drove his car around the back of the saloon, not wanting to draw attention to his return until he had decided what his next course of action should be. The incident at the station had him scared for his life. He'd seen what these men could do. He had tried to warn Mike not to stand against him as mayor but it was as though he saw himself as a champion of justice and Lucas as the enemy. If only he'd listened and realised that there was a much greater danger out there.

Elizabeth knew. Not everything but certainly how much he was beholden to outside forces that posed a far greater threat than he would ever be. Without any more money from her trust he had been forced to get deeper involved in the criminal endeavours of some very dangerous people, while his unsuccessful attempts at gambling his way out of his problems meant that his debts were traded between the different enterprises until finally ending up with the King of the Gamblers himself.

Now he had to find a way out once and for all. He needed William Thatcher's money and he needed some leverage to get it. He just had to work out when and how.

It was a long night for Nathan. His mind was restless with so many thoughts turning over in his head as he lay in bed, his eyes closed but much needed sleep not something that had visited him. Beside him Cecilia was snuggled into his side, her hand resting gently on her stomach as she made a soft whistling sound in her sleep, a stray blonde curl falling across her face. He resisted the temptation to turn and take her in his arms, feel the sweetness of her lips on his and the roundness of her baby belly pressed against him. How comforting it was to have both her and Allie here with him and yet so worrying at the same time.

He had so many pieces of the jigsaw puzzle to put together and his mind was constantly adding to what was already there.

Thankfully Jim Buchanan's injury wasn't serious. Matthew said that he would have a headache for a few days and probably mild concussion but they were monitoring him overnight to make sure that nothing worse developed. He had been hit from behind by someone creeping up silently, which told Nathan that the people they were dealing with were professional.

Once he had been transported back to the hospital Nathan and the rest of the team carried out a full search of the area, including the body of the Chinese man. Other than his train ticket everything else they found was written in Chinese, which they would have to send to headquarters in Ottawa for translation. Bill arranged for it to be given to the conductor of tomorrow morning's train to hand over to a Mountie waiting at the other end.

His worry about losing the evidence should something happen along the way was solved when Allie offered to spend the evening copying everything for him "It won't be perfect Dad, and it will be kind of funny not knowing what I am writing, but at least it will be a close copy." She had promised she would wait until he said it was okay the next day before venturing out to see her friends, so this gave her something to fill the time.

The body of the dead man had been brought into the infirmary so that Matthew and Faith could sign the death certificate. Gregory Aldritt, the Mountie with the most experience with forensic investigation then examined him further, looking for more evidence in the hope that there may be something to help them identify where the killer had come from.

Bill had tracked the other of Moy's men back to town, moving around the rear of the main street buildings until he finally knocked on the back door of The Tipperary, the Irish bar. When it was opened he was ushered in quickly by a woman speaking sharply to him in Chinese. He returned to the Mountie office just as the men came back from the station after scouring the area all around the woodland for clues as to the direction their colleague had gone in pursuit of the stranger.

Then finally, after a few hours, a weary Ed had returned, having travelled a great distance on foot tracking the unknown man on a path around Hope Valley before he saw him get into a car that had been hidden behind an old tumbledown building about half a mile out at the other end of town. As he made his way back towards the Mountie office he noticed the same vehicle parked in the alley at the side of The Little Gem Saloon, the man being greeted by Lucas Bouchard. The two spoke in low voices, Bouchard becoming agitated at times as he seemed to be arguing with the man. Although it appeared he was not a stranger to him.

Having two opposing factions in town, with Bouchard in the middle, was an added complication that Nathan had not anticipated. It made it more pressing for him to find out what was happening at the warehouses and for his two men to inveigle their way into the confidence of the saloon patrons and staff to see what information could be gathered there. Nathan had seen them this evening on the benches outside the establishment, Antoine talking and laughing with the ladies while Bruce drew some of the men into betting on a few shots of Three Card Monte, something at which all his fellow Mounties had lost money to him over time.

With all his men safe he had called it a day for them, some food and rest required before they began the big task of sorting through the little information they had and planning how they would move forward. He and Bill then walked back home together, the fresh night air exactly what they needed to clear their heads.

Molly was in full flow as they entered the house, her cheerful voice booming out as she and Allie were entertaining Cecilia with stories of past times in Hope Valley. "….and Bill didn't even comment on my dress that evening. I was livid, telling Florence that I was done with him. It was a lot of money spent for nothing. Then, do you know what? The next day in passing, he threw me a line about it being some dress that I was wearing the night before!" All three burst back into laughter, not realising that the men were standing there in the doorway.

Allie was the first to notice, the weary look on her father's face a sobering reminder of what had been happening that day. "Dad, Uncle Bill, you both look so tired. Come and sit down here." Molly rose and crossed to Bill "Have you eaten, I have kept something hot for both of you."

Bill kissed her cheek, grateful to have her to come home to on days like this. "That would be wonderful darling, I think we could both definitely do with eating something although I'm not sure we have much appetite. Then we need to get over to the row house to meet Abigail and Henry."

"I've sorted that", Molly quickly replied. "Florence has put a note on the door for them to let themselves in. The fire is lit and there's a pie on the side if they are hungry and coffee ready to warm. So you can just sit down here and eat something first and then we will go over."

Gabe telephoned a while later, giving them the information that he had found out about Shue Moy and his empire. Although little could be tied to him, his reach stretched far beyond just the few gambling dens that were known interests of his. Prostitution, gun running and bootlegging were all attributed to him or his associates in British Colombia and beyond. It was thought he had high powered people in Vancouver in his pocket and without doubt others at equal levels elsewhere. But he had hit trouble lately, with tip offs leading to raids on some of his shipments which meant he was constantly looking for new ways to move his merchandise and having to spread further afield to do that.

Gabe's final words were a warning, "Be careful who you trust Nathan, money and fear are very powerful motivators to even the meekest of men." Nathan wondered if he was including a certain woman in that.

And now, he thought, there was someone else involved. The stranger Ed had followed. Someone who had obviously driven in from somewhere else. The clues had to be in the warehouses and what they contained or in Bouchard's office. Tomorrow they would have to work out a plan to access both.

Bringing his mind back to the present, he reached out to push Cecilia's hair back from her face, his lips brushing against her forehead before he gently slipped out of bed, leaving her to sleep longer. He knew that whatever was thrown at him here he would always find strength in the love of this beautiful woman, his daughter and the child they would be blessed with in a few months' time. He was a lucky man.

In Molly's rowhouse, Abigail Gowen was also awake. Once it was known that she and Henry were on their way, it was decided that they would stay there with Molly and Bill, placing them close to Elizabeth. They had arrived late and after a short time with their friends had retired for the night, the journey having wearied both of them.

Abigail had mixed emotions and memories about returning to Hope Valley, both good and bad. Her first husband and son had been killed in the big mine accident that devastated the town, so many men lost in one day, so many women becoming widows. But the strength and resilience of these people, the community spirit that had shown itself wonderfully, had helped them to move forward to new lives and opportunities.

She knew there were people who were surprised at the announcement of her marriage to Henry Gowan. For many years he had been on the wrong side of everything, seemingly always at the centre of the latest hardship to befall the town. But she always felt that God had a plan for Henry and in time, through the understanding of others, and with Abigail's love, he had sought and found redemption as he learnt to believe there was good in himself and, by so doing, made it his mission to help others. Abigail knew that beneath his tough exterior there had always been a loving and caring man, he just needed someone to show him the right path.

When Gabe arrived at the hotel yesterday morning with the news of Elizabeth they had wasted no time organising their departure. The young school teacher who arrived in Hope Valley all those years ago had been a blessing to Abigail, giving a purpose to her life when everything she loved had been so cruelly snatched away. To think of her struggling in recent times had been difficult for both of them but she had rebuffed every attempt they had made to contact her, pushing them away as she had everyone else.

And now she had to face this. Surely it was too much for her to bear alone. Jack's words must have cut right through her yet Abigail knew he would never have intentionally hurt her in this way. That was not in his nature. But after his friend Doug was killed he became a troubled man, the inner demons that he kept under control before then finally rising to the surface. In many conversations he had poured his heart out to her, his doubts and duty weighing heavy against his love, until finally he knew he had to go and fight. It seemed that the struggle never really left him after all.

She just hoped that Elizabeth would let them help her find a way out of the despair that engulfed her. "If not now, then when?" she whispered.

These days Elizabeth was also an early riser, finding peace in the stillness and the soft light just before the sun rose above the trees. Most mornings she took her coffee outside, sitting on the back steps as she tried to work out how to face another day alone.

She knew that Lucas had arrived back yesterday and that worried her. She also knew there had been some trouble in the town, something related to the train arriving, so undoubtedly connected to him. Closing her eyes she let herself drift back to the times when life in Hope Valley was good, when Jack loved her. To the joy she got from teaching her wonderful pupils in the little school he had built, when Abigail was here to offer guidance, then Nathan and Allie arriving to give her hope again. As she did so often she hung her head and let the tears flow, as she wondered why she had let it all go so wrong.

A voice from the rear of Molly's house brought her back from her moment of self pity, a familiar voice followed by another. Abigail? Henry? Why were they here? It had been so hard to keep them out of her life, to push them away when she needed them so much. But she couldn't let anyone else interfere or become a victim of Lucas's greed. She couldn't risk anyone knowing about her deceit, the downfall of her own self to keep her son safe. To keep everyone she loved safe. And she couldn't face their pity, seeing the rebuke in their eyes at what she had allowed to happen through her own fear and hatred. No, it had been better this way.

As she opened the back door, still talking to Henry about what to have for breakfast, Abigail could hear someone in the garden of the end row house. That was good, she thought, at least Elizabeth hadn't cocooned herself inside, wallowing in pain at the contents of Jack's notebook. She continued talking, indicating in that direction so that Henry understood what was happening. She chatted about the people they hoped to see while here, maybe dinner with Ned and Florence, taking a gift for Faith's baby to the infirmary, seeing if Fiona could cut Henry's hair as the man in Brookfield was nowhere near as good.

Although the movement had stopped, she knew that Elizabeth was still there listening. "Of course, one of the first things we must do is go to Lee and Rosemary's house. I can't wait to see how much their life has changed now that they have two active boys underfoot."

Molly stepped out at that moment, cheerfully replying "For the better, they would say. I have never met a couple who were so ready to embrace parenthood as those two and their boys love them so much. Rosemary is a wonderful mother and Lee the father every boy wishes he had!"

Elizabeth let out a small cry. She'd had no choice but to give Little Jack over to their guardianship but it was still hard to hear someone else referred to as his mother. Aware of what she must be thinking Abigail replied, "Well, I always knew they would be. Of course, we would love the day to come when Little Jack could be back with Elizabeth. Henry and I pray for that each night. We pray for her and hope that she can find peace. I miss her, Molly, more than I think she could possibly realise."

With that she moved back inside, closing the door behind her and fervently hoping that her words may have struck some chord with her troubled friend.