Chapter 6

The judge returned and decided that there should be a trial as soon as possible. Mr. Coswell was not too happy in that Jeremy was still very ill. The effects of the drugs seemed to be taking a toll on him, he was often sleepy and also his speech was quite slurred. Jason and Joshua had asked the men to find all those who were at Greys that night. They had to find out what happened and why.

"I was there!" said Olaf to his new employer. Jason asked him then:

"So, can you tell me what happened?"

"Yes, I can. At least until I left!" said Olaf. Mr. Coswell, Jason, and Joshua were listening.

"Well, it all started while I was having a beer at the bar. Your guy, Willy here, came up to me and said that I should move so he could get some beer himself! Well, I said no! Willy said why and I said because and showed him my fist. Willy then punched me in the jaw, I punched him back and soon we were having a good time fighting!" Olaf said with a smile.

"Okay, so you were fighting, where were Jeremy and Frank?" asked Joshua.

"Those two were sitting at a table by the wall, watching us and laughing. We almost smashed into them, but they picked up their drinks and moved over a table or two and then kept laughing. Then the sheriff cam and sent us out to finish the fight. But were too drunk so I figured I would finish in the morning when we woke up!" Bob stepped in and said,
"I watched the fight from behind the bar and I saw Jeremy and Frank leave out the back door. I figured Frank had found a girl for Jeremy, so I didn't think anything of it!"

Mr. Coswell said: " That is not much to go on. Did anyone else see them leave?" Willy shook his head; he had been thrown out of the bar, so he waited for Bob to come out and then they went to the hotel.

"What about the ladies? I know they are working girls but generally there is talk if someone were doing something suspicious, they would know. Which of the ladies did you talk to?" Asked Mr. Coswell looking at Olaf, Willy and Bob.

They looked at each other and then Bob said:

"Well, Sally was kind of cute and if the fight had not been sent out of the bar, I was going to make my move!"

" Spent some time with a girl called Tillie upstairs before the fight." Olaf said.

Willy kind of looked around and then said quietly:

"I had a little fun with Shelly, she is the one who served Jeremy and Frank their drinks!" Jason looked at Mr. Coswell and Joshua and then he said:

"I think I will pay a little visit to Miss Shelly!"

"I don't think that would be wise to do alone sir. I think I should go with you!" said Mr. Coswell. Jason looked at him with a question on his face:

"Because I can identify the lady, she has been here some time and knows who I am. She may talk easier to me than to a stranger!" Mr. Coswell said as he picked up his hat. Jeremy made some noises just then and everyone turned to see if he was waking up.

"Jeremy, Jeremy, its Jason!"

"O-oh, my h-h-he-head hurts! What happened? Why-why am I here? Wh-wh-where am I?" Jeremy said as he sat up in the bed.

"Well, we are glad to see you awake!' said Josh and Jason together. Jeremy put his hand to his head and still had a little pain in the right side of his head.

"I f-f-feel like I-I- have been gone for a long time!" said Jeremy.

"Do you remember anything?" asked Jason.

"Where's Frank?" Jeremy all of a sudden realized that he did not see Frank. Both Jason and Joshua looked at each other. Mr. Coswell was looking at them and shaking his head 'no,' but Jason told him anyway.

"He is dead Jeremy!" Jeremy looked at Jason and the others and then without hesitation he suddenly remembered what happened.

"Jason, someone tried to kill us. Frank and I fought them! I knocked one of them out and then went to help Frank, but he said to get to the hotel and get the others to help. As I was heading to the hotel, someone hit me on the head and then, I don't remember anything else!" Jeremy looked at Jason with worry in his eyes.

"Jason, you don't think he wanted to protect me, do you?"

"I believe he did. From what I have heard, I think he wanted you to get away before you got killed. But do you remember why you were out of the saloon?" Jason asked. Mr. Coswell suddenly looked at the time and said:

"We need to go now Mr. Bolt if we are going to meet with Shelly, he shifts starts in an hour!" Jason looked at him and then looked at Joshua, grabbed his coat, and left. Joshua took over and started to ask about why they were not in the saloon.

"Well, Frank said he had a girl lined up for me and I really wasn't sure if I wanted to do that or not, but I went with him. We were to meet her in an alley."

"What alley? Do you remember? What was her name?" Joshua asked Jeremy.

Willy was sitting nearby and listening. Olaf as well, but both suddenly remembered something just as Jeremy was about to tell them the name of the girl.

"I think her name was Shell…y?" Suddenly all three realized that Jason was heading into a trap.

"Josh, you and Willy and Bob have to get to Jason before he gets to Shelly, she is dangerous! I think that Our lawyer is working with her!" Said Jeremy.

"What do you mean working with her?" said a woman who came in the door just at that moment! I want all of you to stay right where you are! No one is going anywhere!"

Jeremy, Willy, Joshua, Bob, and Olaf stood very still. She had a gun and a very serious look on her face.

"Now boys, I don't want to get your hopes up that any of you will ever see each other again. I am sorry that the brothers will not have their mountain but that will be a good base to set up our business!" As she said this to Mr. Coswell, the sheriff and the Judge showed up with Jason tied up.

Oh, I see that you are very surprised! Well, don't worry. I have a better surprise for you soon. All of you will be drugged and sent on different ships to 'cruise' around the world. If you should happen to survive, and find each other, there will be no place for you to come back to! I intend to take over the logging company and you will never be heard from again!" Mr. Coswell said as several men showed up with clubs and ropes.

"These men will escort you to your new quarters. You can either go with them quietly or they can carry you. The young one will stay with Miss Shelly and the sheriff and the judge since we do need a hanging!" Mr. Coswell said.

With several guns pointed at them and now way to get out, they all walked out leaving Jeremy and Miss Shelly alone in the room for a short while.

"Why do you want to do such a thing, Miss Shelly?" Jeremy asked.

"I want the money and a place to move away from this kind of life and this is how it will work for me!"

"You know, we can get out of here if you want to escape, you could come to Seattle with us, and we wouldn't tell anyone who or what you did? You could start a new life in Seattle." Jeremy said. He looked at her, she was kind of cute, a blonde girl with blue eyes that matched his. The Sheriff just snorted, and the judge looked on.

"Sheriff Brown, I think we need to take our prisoner back to jail until we are ready for the hanging. Don't you agree?" asked Judge Cooper.

"Yes, I guess we can do this easy if he doesn't resist!" Sheriff Brown said.

Jeremy looked at the two of them. He thought he could take the gun away from Shelly and try to get out on his own. So, he made his move, grabbing the gun from Shelly and holding it onto them. Both the men laughed, and Judge Cooper said to Jeremy as Sheriff Brown grabbed onto Miss Shelly and held her with a knife at her throat!

"Young man, I was hoping you would not do that. Now, we have to kill the young lady so that we can say you killed her as well, then we have a new reason for hanging you!" Judge Cooper, who with one look knew Miss Shelly would be dead.

"I-I-I w-w-wi-will g-g-go with you. P-p-p-please d-d-don't hurt h-h-her?" Jeremy pleaded.

The Judge looked at the sheriff who put the knife not all the way down but on her side.

"Okay, you will come with us. Sheriff, you have two cells over there dot you?" Judge Cooper said. The sheriff nodded yes, and they all walked out quietly without any more incident.