Chapter 22 – Big Problem

Just as Abigail and Elizabeth were finishing up cleaning the kitchen, there was a knock at the side door of the cafe. Before Abigail could answer, Jack walked in.

"It is getting late." Jack said. "Ready to go. I have what I need done for the evening."

"Go." Abigail said. "I can finish up. You have school in the morning."

"Actually." Elizabeth said. "Since I didn't know when we were coming home. I left plans for the entire week plus the beginning of next week. I think I will at least take the morning off. It has been a long trip back. I had planned on stopping by Florence's and asking her to at least take the morning."

"Cat took over her." Abigail said. "I don't know what happened, but as of Monday afternoon, Cat has been at the schoolhouse."

"Good to know." Elizabeth said. "Guess I will have to talk to Cat. I am sure that the boys did something. Don't get me wrong, but Florence was just not cut out to handle multiple children at once, even her own. She is okay if they sit and listen to her, but I am sure that they did something and she lost her patience with them. I am actually not surprised that Cat took over. I had planned on asking her from the start, but Florence offered."

"I am sure that she did." Abigail said.

Jack loaded their things, he knew that he could have probably carried them, but it was easier with the wagon. Elizabeth hugged Abigail good night. She promised that they would have to sit down and really have a good talk sometime soon. Jack and Elizabeth quickly made the short trip to their house from the cafe. Jack carried in their luggage and checked on Price before he took the wagon back. While Jack took the wagon back, Cat talked to Elizabeth for a few minutes and agreed that she would take the children as long as Elizabeth needed. She also filled Elizabeth in on how Miles and Albert had found another snake and brought it to school. That was all it took for Florence to call it quits. Cat also assured Elizabeth that both boys were properly punished, both at school and home. Elizabeth was not surprised, since she knew that Albert was not a fan of Mrs Blakely. Cat excused herself to go take care of her children. Elizabeth wished her a good night and said that she would try to come at lunch or at least let her know the plan.. Cat left and Elizabeth started taking the luggage upstairs. Jack came back and finished taking the luggage upstairs. He let Elizabeth know that he really wanted to talk to Price if he was up to talking.

Elizabeth wanted to write in her journal, so they both headed back downstairs. Jack checked the stove and added some wood before going to talk to Price. Elizabeth went to her writing desk to start writing about their trip home and the emotions that were still running in her head. Jack headed to the guest room and wanted to talk to Price. Jack sat down in the chair that Cat had brought in. Jack knew that he had to tread lightly since he had no proof of what he thought. He was also a superior officer and was really good at telling when people were lying. He knew what had been said in the official report, he just wanted to see if Price said the same thing.

"How are you doing?" Jack asked.

"Been better." Price said. "Have you talked to Bill?"

That told Jack a lot right there, since he called him by his first name and he figured that Bill had not given him permission. Especially to someone like Price. Bill would have insisted on Sheriff or Mr Avery.

"Briefly." Jack said. "All he told me was that you were shot, which I knew from the wire message. I had supper with Elizabeth before coming home. We got here late due to delays while traveling. Tell me what happened."

"I don't know." Price said. "I was out on patrol. I didn't hear a gunshot, but I felt the pain in my leg. I knew that if I got off my horse, I probably wouldn't be able to get back on so I used my knife to cut open my pants. I then was able to get the bullet out. I wrapped my leg and I turned my horse to head back to town and that is all I remember. I wish that I could remember more, but I must have lost too much blood or something."

"Do you know where you were?" Jack asked.

"North of town." Price said. "That is all I know."

"Tell me more about what you had done before this happened." Jack said.

"I left for early rounds." Price said. "I headed north out of town. I hadn't ridden that far, I don't think. I saw a couple of kids heading into town. I am just not that familiar with the area to tell you more."

"That is okay." Jack said. "Do you remember anything about the children?"

"Boy and a girl walking together." Price said. "Sorry, I don't know their names."

"Fine." Jack said. "If you remember anything else, please let me know. I hope that you feel better and we will talk more in the morning."

Jack stood up and left the room, pulling the door almost closed in the process. He knew that Price was hiding something, but he didn't know what it was. He knew that he had to talk to Bill. Jack sat down at the kitchen table and pulled out his small leather bound book that he kept in his pocket. He then pulled out a pencil and made some notes. He then took a chair over to Elizabeth. He wanted to talk to her about something, but he didn't want to talk too loud. Elizabeth was aware that Jack was close to her. She finished her sentence then looked at Jack.

"Is there something that you need?" Elizabeth asked.

"Can you tell me which of your students would come in by the north road?" Jack asked.

"You know where people live." Elizabeth said.

"I just want help to confirm what I think I know." Jack said. "Please humor me."

"Okay." Elizabeth said. "Well Laura is the closest. Then it would be both James Roberts and James Fremont. I think most of the other kids would cut through the trail in the woods and not come by the road."

"Would Laura walk with the boys?" Jack asked.

"No." Elizabeth said with a laugh. "Laura is always early. The boys don't walk together either. They don't get along most of the time. They all walk alone if they can."

"Thank you." Jack said. "Are you okay here?"

"Yes." Elizabeth said. "Why?"

"I need to head back into town." Jack said. "I need to talk to Bill and check something. I also want to check in with Sam at the saloon since he has been having trouble."

"How late will you be?" Elizabeth asked.

"I am not sure." Jack said. "You don't have to wait for me. But please just leave the back door unlocked for me. I want you to bolt the front when I leave."

"Jack." Elizabeth said. "What is going on? You are worrying me."

"Nothing that I can share." Jack said. "You are not in danger. I just have to take care of things. Please trust me. Lee is next door if you need anything. Please."

"I trust you." Elizabeth said. "Please be safe."

"Always." Jack said.

Jack leaned over and gave Elizabeth a kiss. He stood and put the chair back at the table. Elizabeth stood and met him at the door before she pulled him in for a hug and another kiss. She wished that she knew what was going on, but trusted Jack. As soon as Jack left, she locked and bolted the door. Jack waited on the porch to hear the lock click. Then he headed back into town. He really wanted to be with his wife, but he knew that he had a duty to fulfill. Elizabeth went and sat back down. She opened her journal and continued writing. Elizabeth was worried about Jack, but she also knew that he was good at his job. She wanted to work on her stories, but she didn't want to use the typewriter and disturb Constable Price. She knew that he was supposed to be resting. She put the cover on the typewriter and moved it off the desk. She then pulled out some paper and started writing.

Jack quickly made his way back to town. He went to the saloon and saw that Bill was there. Bill spotted Jack and wondered what was going on. Jack came in, talked to Sam for a few minutes, then let Bill know that he would be at the jail and if he could come that would be great. Bill let him know that McGinty was there and he would be there soon. Jack thanked Sam and let him know that he would be at the jail if needed. Jack left the saloon and headed to the jail. Bill finished his coffee and then left to follow Jack. Jack walked into the jail and McGinty quickly stood and saluted Jack.

"Relax." Jack said. "I need to talk to you."

Jack went to take his seat behind his desk. McGinty took a seat on the other side.

"I noticed that your stuff was not at the house." Jack said.

"I figured that since Price needed his rest." McGinty said. "So I will stay here."

"Is that the only reason?" Jack asked.

"Can I be honest with you?" McGinty said.

"Please." Jack said. "I would hope that you could trust me and be honest with me, just because I am a higher rank doesn't mean that we still aren't friends. I mean we used to share everything and again I am sorry I didn't share when I was getting married. We didn't share because we didn't want things getting back to Elizabeth's family. They just found out when we went to Hamilton and they, well her father is not happy. He has never liked me. My Ma was here and Elizabeth's aunt and uncle since they don't have much to do with her parents. When no one else is around, treat me like you would if I didn't have the stripes on my shoulders."

"Okay. Price makes me uncomfortable." McGinty said. "And I don't like what he said about you and I especially don't like what he said about Elizabeth. I am not mad about the wedding. I heard that you didn't even tell the town until it was needed, so it is fine."

"What do you mean?" Jack asked. "I want to know what he said. I promise that I won't get mad, but I would like to know what he said. Wouldn't you want to know if people were talking behind your back?"

McGinty was quiet for a few moments and during that time Bill walked in. McGinty nodded to Bill and then looked at Jack.

"Whatever you have to say, you can say in front of Bill." Jack said. "He is one of my closest friends, besides you and Lee and I trust him with my life. Besides, you know that he was an Inspector before he left the Mounties."

"Fine." McGinty said. "Price was whining about how you got the cushy job of escorting your wife to Hamilton while we were here chasing outlaws. He also said that the only reason that you get the easy jobs was because of who you married. He also said that you only got into the academy because of who your father was."

Jack took a deep breath, looked up and he saw Bill's face. He knew that Bill was mad, but he wanted to try and not make things worse. Jack shot Bill a look and he understood that he needed to keep his mouth shut right now.

"First of all." Jack said. "Yes, I may have gotten into the academy because I was the son of a late Mountie, but that didn't help me in class. I had to earn the top spot in our class. I worked my ass off to be the best. As far as escorting my wife to Hamilton. Well I was summoned there by headquarters. It just so happened that Elizabeth needed to go deal with a family matter, as did I. It only made sense that we travel together. As far as getting cushy jobs because of who I married, well that is flat out wrong and you know it. Like I said, Elizabeth's family, especially her father, doesn't approve of our marriage and her family didn't even know we were married until this past weekend when we told them.

Another thing, I was working for most of the time that I was in Hamilton. I was actually gathering information on the Garrisons as well as helping with the investigation that involved my brother. It was not a vacation. I was assigned here and I have done very well. It is not easy coming into a town that didn't trust law enforcement and was still trying to recover from a devastating mining accident that killed forty-seven men. Many of the women were widowed and children left fatherless in minutes. Coming into a town that had been run by the mining company and the Pinkertons was not easy. It took a while to gain the trust of the people, but I have worked hard to show people that they can trust me."

"I know, I was there every step of the way, remember." McGinty said. "I was just telling you what Price said. Price implied that there was more than just Elizabeth's father that had an influence on your career. I didn't catch all that he said, but he made a comment about 'it must be nice to be tight with command'."

Jack and Bill exchanged looks.

"Joe." Jack said. "This stays between the three of us, understand."

Joe nodded.

"Elizabeth's uncle is Deputy Commissioner Delaney." Jack said. "I didn't know until after we were engaged. I met him for the first time just before the wedding. Besides Elizabeth's father, her uncle was another reason that we kept the wedding quiet."

"Got it." McGinty said. "I won't say anything. I told you when you were in Hamilton that Delaney was a good man. Too bad about what happened to his son."

Jack nodded and that was when Jack was sure he knew exactly where he knew Dee from.

"McGinty." Bill said. "Just so you know. I knew Jack's father and he was a wonderful Mountie and Jack would have gotten into the academy even if he hadn't been the son of a late Mountie. I have known Jack's family for a long time and they are nothing if not honorable."

"Is there anything else?" Jack asked.

"I think that he is lying about how he got injured." McGinty said.

"Why do you think that?" Bill asked.

"He can't give details about where he was, but he was able to remove the bullet." McGinty said. "I may have rode with you on rounds before, but I know exactly where I have been each and every time I go out. Not only the direction, but how many people I talk to or see and how long I rode before I saw or talked to each of them. Something is not right about his story."

"I agree." Jack said. "Now what is said here, stays between us for the time being. I know there is something else going on, but I can't figure it out. I don't want anyone else to get hurt, but I need more information."

McGinty and Bill both nodded and then looked at Jack.

"I don't know Price well." Jack said. "I have composed a telegram to have a contact at Headquarters to have him look into Price, but it only took me a couple of minutes of talking to him to know that he was lying. He said that he passed a boy and girl walking together. I checked with Elizabeth and the only children that come from the north don't walk together and most of them know about the trail in the woods that comes out by the school and avoid coming all the way into town to come to school. Also after reading the report from Dr Stone and talking to you, Bill, I don't believe that he was ever shot. I don't know what he did, but he didn't want to have to be on patrol. In the morning, I will be sending a wire to Captain Taylor to arrange a wagon to come get him. If he can't help, I don't want him here. I will also be sending a wire to headquarters requesting additional unit patrols in the area and more manpower. Now if there is nothing else, it has been a very long day and I would like to head home."

"I will take morning rounds." Bill said. "I will see you when you get here. If you have those wires ready, I will send them for you in the morning."