FLAME SERIES #20 SO SWEET THE SMILE
CHAPTER 19
Ahh Sweet Revenge
Newly took a seat in his mentors chair and absently began to sort through the posters. No more attention than he was paying to the pictures; the outlaw could have been standing right here in the office and gone unnoticed. Matt had told him he was going to be in the office all day which meant he was probably somewhere close by. It was better this way because the young deputy still needed time to put his thoughts in order.
He was so deep in thought it took a few minutes before he realized someone had come into the office. The old desk chair squeaked in retaliation when he jerked it back. With all he had been through today Newly couldn't offer more than a weak smile to the lady. "Sorry ma'am. Can I help you?"
"Are you the marshal?" There was a frail quality not only to her voice but to her slender frame as well.
Newly stepped out from behind the desk. "No. I'm his deputy can I be of any help?"
She looked around the small quarters. "Thank you, no. Will he be back soon?"
"I'm expecting him anytime. Would you like to have a seat?" The longer he studied the pretty young brunette the more he felt her frailty was born of a sadness.
"No thank you." Her smile confirmed his suspicions as it held no happiness. "Is there a hotel close by? I've been traveling quite a ways and would really like to clean up."
Newly took another step toward the door and pointed in the direction of the hotel. "The Dodge House is right over there. Why don't you rest up and I'll ask the marshal to stop by when he gets back."
"Oh don't bother. I'll be back after I freshen up."
Newly watched her walk down the boardwalk. "She looks as sad as I feel, he thought.
0O0O0O0O
Cicely had reached Front Street and was on her way to Newly's Gun shop when she saw his horse tied up outside the jail. Her heart began to pound as she spurred her horse to go faster. There could be no rational or even sane explanation for her excitement. The fire as well as Calleigh's murder, at least she thought it had been a murder, were already forgotten. They were both insignificant tasks that had to be completed in order for her to get what she wanted.
She slipped off her horse and took a few minutes to straighten her dress and smooth back her hair. All while watching Newly through the window. Cicely was nearly salivating at the thought of having him all to herself. They would marry and travel all around the world. She would wear fancy gowns and he would be mesmerized by her beauty.
She stepped onto the boardwalk in front of the open door. Newly was standing at the end of the desk with his back to her. "Newly." The voice was as sweet as the face but both were wickedly deceiving.
His body stiffened. Newly suddenly felt afraid but it wasn't from the woman standing behind him. He feared himself. That he wouldn't be able to control the rage she evoked. Newly felt cold as if the blood had stopped its flow and the tips of his fingers grew numb. The warm pools of molasses that Calleigh loved were now cold and black as ink. He desperately searched for a distraction to suppress his rage when he settled on the brick wall behind the desk. Funny he had never noticed the empty gaps where the mortar had chipped away. And so many of the bricks had lost their perfect shapes. Sharp smooth lines had been worn down to soft rounded edges.
"Newly I-"
"Get out Cicely!" He looked away from the wall of bricks. There was no distraction strong enough. "Go back to the Dodge House and wait for the next stage out of town."
"But I don't have to go now." Cicely maintained her place in the doorway. "If you will just turn around we can talk about this."
Newly steeled himself with a deep breath as he forced himself around. "You must be insane! I thought I made it clear. You are not welcome here. Calleigh might ride in any time and I don't want you anywhere near her. DO YOU UNDERSTAND?"
Cicely laughed softly as if to dismiss his words. "Did you know your eyes shine when you're angry?" She raised her hand as if to stroke his face when Newly slapped it away. A playful pout pulled at her lips. "I knew you would be upset at first but you'll get over it and then we can start a life together. I think we should go to Euro-"
"Stop it!" Newly grabbed her wrists and jerked her towards him. "You truly are mad. I'm not going to go anywhere with you. I just want you out of our lives. I'm going to walk you down to the depot and put you on the train myself."
Newly released her and turned to retrieve his hat from the desk. Cicely felt her dream vanishing before her eyes. Not again, she would not be abandoned again. Without warning, she pulled the derringer from her reticule and fired a bullet into Newly's leg.
She watched as his leg gave way and he slumped to the floor. Newly peered up at her more angry than surprised. "Now I still have one more bullet but I really don't want to use it. If you will just listen to me you'll understand why we can be together."
Newly could tell she hadn't hit more than the flesh of his thigh but it was enough to make the leg temporarily useless. He pulled himself up enough to lean against the leg of the desk. Obviously, this woman was even crazier than he had suspected. She professed to love him but he could tell by the bizarre gleam in her eyes that she would kill him.
Cicely took his silence as a sign that he was ready to listen. While she didn't relinquish her hold on the pistol she did revert back to a calm albeit delusional state. "That's better. You don't have to worry about Calleigh because she won't be coming in to town."
The pain in his leg caused him to wince when he shifted his weight. "What are you saying? How do you know she won't?" The insanity of the moment rushed at him like a tidal wave and he found himself trapped in a pair of beautiful but deranged eyes. "Did you hurt her?"
"No, I just tied her up." She basked in the innocence of knowing it was the fire that would kill her. "Newly, it's time to close the chapter on that part of our lives." Cicely paused, staring off into a world of own making. "I thought killing them would free me but that ranch was nothing more than an extension of those pathetic frightened little creatures."
This wasn't just the harmless babbling of a lunatic. Newly knew in that instant that she had murdered her family and wouldn't think twice about killing Calleigh. He had to keep her calm if he wanted to find his wife. The frightened deputy prayed that the slight quiver in his voice wouldn't be detected. "Cicely, I'm sorry I yelled at you earlier. Like you said with Calleigh around I couldn't be free to love you. I hope you left her somewhere that she can't get loose and bother us."
Cicely's head bobbed up and down with certainty. "Oh I did."
"Is she…is she at the ranch. Did you tie her up and leave her there?" He nervously licked his lips trying to muster enough spit to swallow.
"You are so smart. I knew you would figure it out." Cicely uttered a flirty little giggle. "By now that whole wretched place has been reduced to nothing but ash."
"What?" Newly could feel his heart pounding in his ears. "My God, you left her in a burning house." He frantically grabbed for the edge of the desk to pull himself up. "Woman or not, I swear if she's dead I will kill you."
Cicely recoiled as if she had been struck. "You lied! You're just like the others." Before he could get to his feet she quickly stepped forward kicking his good leg out from under him. "I told you I had one bullet left. You want to be with her so bad – fine." The spurned woman put the small gun to Newly's head and the sound of gunfire echoed in the small office.
0O0O0O0O
Festus heard the shot and knew it had come from the jail. He spurred Ruth to move faster and quickly jumped down when they reached the marshal's office. Jangling spurs stopped suddenly when he reached the doorway. He finally pulled his gaze from the dead body sprawled on the floor to the woman standing over it still holding a gun.
It was Newly's panicked screams that brought him out of his stupor. "Festus hurry. We have to get out to the Ragger place. Calleigh is…"
'Jest ease yurself." Festus threw up his hands in an effort to calm his friend. "Everthing's all rite. We done got her out of there and Doc took her home." The hill man stepped past the dazed young woman to help his friend.
Newly gripped Festus' forearm, desperately wanting to believe. "Are you sure she's all right?"
"I seed her my own self. She's gots a few piddly little bruises but that's all." Festus helped settle Newly in the chair beside the desk. His gaze bounced rapidly from the stranger to the deputy, his expression clearly asking the question.
Newly could only offer a clueless shrug. "Ma'am are you all right?" His question was answered with a silent nod. "You saved my life. I don't know how to thank you."
At last she spoke, her voice surprisingly soft and calm. "I'm glad I was here."
The two men exchanged a look of curiosity. "I didn't get your name when you were here earlier."
"My name is Aggie Brumfield." She peered down at the lifeless body. "Cicely murdered my fiancé Tyler Fletcher. Tyler's father sent me a telegram that he hadn't found her yet but he knew she was here in Dodge. I was told by the family lawyer that an attorney from Boston was trying to track down the family of the late Douglas Fletcher – I knew then that she had killed him too." She had no further use for the gun and handed it over to the deputy.
Festus pushed the extra chair closer to the stranger. "Ya lookin a little peakid. Why don't cha sit for a spell?"
"Thank you but I'm fine. "I was just about to go into the Dodge House when I saw her riding down the street." She seemed fixated on Cicely's body. "How could such a beautiful face conceal so much evil?" Having completed her mission, Aggie Brumfield quietly left the jail.