Chapter 97 – What to do? (long)

Before Wynn, Bill and Jacobs could continue, there was a knock at the door and Dee entered.

"Sorry." Dee said. "I can come back."

"No need." Wynn said. "Constable Jeremiah Jacobs, my son, Constable Wynn Delaney, Jr otherwise known as Dee."

"Thank you for protecting Mrs Thornton." Dee said.

"Is she alright?" Jacobs asked.

Dee took a step closer to Jacobs and spoke so only he could hear.

"She is a little shaken and she will have bruises on her arms." Dee said. "But she is with her husband and will be fine. Both of them were quite upset when I left, but they will calm each other as they always do. I am just worried about the baby."

"Baby?" Jacobs asked.

"Yes." Dee said. "Elizabeth is expecting. They just found out and haven't really shared the news. We know as well as Jack's mother, but I don't know who else they have told. I know that they were holding off telling her family."

Jacobs nodded, then turned back to Wynn. He knew that the information that he had been told was not to be shared, especially with Monclair.

"I would like to speak to both of them if possible?" Jacobs asked.

"In due time." Wynn said. "Let's deal with these other matters first."

Dee came further into the office and sat down. He picked up the pictures on the table and put them back in the file. He then took the file from his father. Dee noticed something else in the stack of papers his father had been holding. He scanned it over and realized that there was more trouble than he thought.

"Sir." Jacobs said. "Can I speak freely?"

"Yes." Wynn said. "What is this about?"

"Sir," Jacobs said. "You know my background. You know that I would never do anything to dishonor the trust that was placed in me when I became a Mountie, but Sir, if you continue to allow Monclair to go unpunished, you are sending a bad message to other young Mounties. It also makes you look bad with seasoned Mounties. Those of us who work hard and take our jobs seriously, don't like the way that these spoiled brats give all of us a bad name. I have heard from several well respected Mounties that they are thinking of leaving if this type of behavior continues. Some are younger, some are older, but if I were to tell you their names, you would know who they are. It would be a disservice to the entire force to lose these highly respected Mounties because there are some that act like spoiled children and have never been punished. Before you ask, no I will not name the Mounties that I have mentioned at this time. I will not betray the confidence to prove a point.

With all due respect, Superintendents Anderson and Collins were too scared to do anything because of who Monclair's father is. I have seen other young Mounties mimic the behavior that has been allowed by Monclair and other spoiled brats whose father's bought them a Mountie position. Then when these spoiled brats do something and get caught, they threaten people with their family's money or influence to avoid punishment. That is not something that I want to be a part of. I have heard from others that because the behavior has been allowed to continue it has made it hard to trust Mounties at times."

"Thank you for being honest with me." Wynn said. "Do you care to name names as to other Mounties you are referring to in regards to the bad behavior?"

"Not at the moment." Jacobs said. "But from what I have learned over the last few days as I have traveled here, one is no longer with the Mountie and another has been otherwise punished. I don't know if you know this, Sir. But when I stopped in Calgary on my way here, there was a lot of talk about things that have happened in this region over the last several months. I don't know how much is true and how much is talk, but it is out there and not all of it is good. We have work to do to rebuild trust in areas that these spoiled entitled brats have been."

"How do you suggest that this be remedied?" Wynn asked.

"You want my honest opinion?" Jacobs asked.

"Yes, please." Wynn said.

"I think it would go along way if you made a public example of Monclair." Jacobs said. "It will show that you won't tolerate behavior unbecoming of a Mountie, no matter who their father is. I think that would be a huge step in the right direction."

"I couldn't agree more." Wynn said.

Monclair's eyes got huge.

"So what do we have for charges?" Bill asked.

"As far as I can tell." Dee said. "Conspiracy to commit kidnapping, insubordination, disobeying direct orders and conduct unbecoming of a Mountie. If you want I think that the case can be made for public lewdness and endangering the welfare of a minor."

"Okay." Wynn said. "Write it up and notify Union City that we may need assistance to move high profile prisoners."

"Yes, Sir." Dee said.

"Bill, please search him very well." Wynn said. "Then secure him, put him in a cell and leave him there."

Bill pulled Monclair out of the office and took him to jail.

"What about the other two?" Jacobs asked.

"I want your honest opinion." Wynn said.

"At a minimum." Jacobs said. "I believe I could make the case for attempted kidnapping, conspiracy to commit kidnapping, assault, creating a public disturbance and assault on a Mountie."

"Fine." Wynn said. "Write it up and bring it to me."

"Yes, Sir." Jacobs said. "Can I assume I will be staying here tonight? Most of my stuff is in Benson Hills, but I did bring a couple changes of clothes."

"Yes." Wynn said. "I will need you here until at least tomorrow."

"Your horse is at the livery." Dee said. "I put your stuff in the back room of the jail, just inside the back door."

"Thank you." Jacobs said. "Where will I be staying?"

"We will let you know." Wynn said. "If you are hungry, head over to the cafe and get something. Tell the ladies that I sent you and to put it on my account. If you have a problem please use my name with them. I will let them know as well."

"Yes, Sir." Jacobs said. "Thank you, Sir."

"We should be here or at the jail." Wynn said. "If we are not, feel free to check out the town a bit. There is a dry order in effect, at least yet for tonight. I think there may still be people staying in the saloon and schoolhouse. We also have additional men in town working, so if you talk to people and they can't point something out to you, they are not being rude. We have people from two different settlements here. I will fill you in on everything else later, right now, I need to see to a few other things."

"Thank you." Jacobs said. "I will get my paperwork done and then I might grab something to eat. I will find you later."

"Please do." Wynn said. "We are using the mayor's office here, just because it is bigger."

Jacobs nodded and left the office. Dee looked at his father.

"Are you really going to charge Mr Thatcher and Mr Kensington?" Dee asked.

"I am not sure yet." Wynn said. "I was hoping to use the charges as leverage. Right now, I just want them to cool their heels. I need to talk to Beth and see what she wants."

"If you are going to the house." Dee said. "Use the back door. I told Jack not to open the door to anyone he didn't know and he said he was going to lock the front door but leave the back open for us."

"Thank you." Wynn said. "What do you think of all of this?"

"I don't know." Dee said. "Beth was pretty upset and there are definitely marks on her arms from one or both of them. Also scanning the report, it looks like Charles was getting ready to hit Beth when Jacobs grabbed him. As far as Monclair, well Jacobs is correct. It is behavior like that that gives all of us a bad name. I have also heard Monclair in the past say that he can do whatever he wants because of who his father is. He has been given chance after chance. I think making an example of him is exactly what needs to happen."

"I understand." Wynn said.

"What about everything else?" Wynn asked.

"I think things are going well." Dee said. "The men who will be heading out tomorrow know. The four men who are widowed and have children will be staying until arrangements can be made for the children. As far as I know all the women and children will be staying in Hope Valley. The women have organized groups to clean the schoolhouse and saloon tomorrow. All those who are staying will either be in their new homes or settled into tents for now. Um …."

"Spit it out." Wynn said.

"I know that there are a ton of other things that you need to deal with." Dee said. "But you need to know that I sent a coded message to headquarters and posted a more detailed letter. I let them know about Hiram Roberts. An H. Roberts came up on several documents in relation to Pacific Northwest Mining. I don't know if it is the same person, but after what we heard and what we know, I believe it is."

"I can't believe that he would be involved with something illegal." Wynn said.

"I thought so as well." Dee said. "But after what Mrs Ramsey said, I am not so sure. I told the task force to look into him and his connection to Gowen. For Mrs Ramsey's sake, I hope I am wrong, but I don't think I am. From the documents that I saw, H. Roberts was a huge donor to Pacific Northwest and was paid dividends on a regular basis. I also asked them to look into the Ramsey marriage certificate."

"Good." Wynn said. "How are you doing?"

"I am okay." Dee said. "I like it here and before you ask, no I haven't had any symptoms. I had one minor headache, but aspirin took care of it. I do have my tea along in case I need it, but I haven't yet. I will let you know if I need a break. I could ask the same of you. This can't be easy for you."

"You're right." Wynn said. "But I am dealing."

Wynn wanted to talk to Dee more about how he was feeling, but also didn't want to push him as he knew that he would get defensive. Wynn just hoped that Dee was being honest with him. He wasn't just worried about him physically, but also emotionally how he was handling all of this, but decided to just keep an eye on him and not push him at the moment.

Jack and Elizabeth worked together to get supper prepared. Jack was able to chop vegetables while he was sitting down. Elizabeth worked on other things. Jack tried to get her to talk to him, but she said she needed to focus on what she was doing. Jack knew that she was avoiding talking about things. He was going to give her a bit of time, but he wasn't going to drop it all together. They made two shepherd's pies, then one cherry and one apple cobbler. When everything was ready and in the oven, Jack took Elizabeth's hand and pulled her to his lap.

"Bella." Jack said. "Please talk to me."

"I don't know what to say." Elizabeth said.

"How do you feel?" Jack asked.

Elizabeth took a deep breath.

"Upset, hurt, scared." Elizabeth said.

"Okay." Jack said. "What are you scared of?"

"That we will never be able to live in peace." Elizabeth said. "Father will not quit. Look what he has already done. I am scared that he will try to take this little one or worse, try and make me get rid of it."

"Elizabeth." Jack said. "No one is going to take our child. I will not allow it. I am sorry that I wasn't there to protect you in town, but you have an entire brotherhood of Mounties that will always protect you."

"Thank you." Elizabeth said. "But right now, that doesn't make me feel better."

"What can I do to make you feel better?" Jack asked.

"I don't know right now." Elizabeth said. "I just wanted some peace and for us to be able to enjoy our news."

Elizabeth stood up, but Jack refused to let go of her hand. She turned to look at him.

"Bella." Jack said. "No matter what happens, this (placing his hand on her stomach) will always be a blessing."

Jack pulled Elizabeth to stand between his legs. He removed his hand and replaced it with his check. He then turned and kissed her stomach.

"Will you sit on the couch and hold me?" Elizabeth asked.

"Anytime you want." Jack said.

Jack and Elizabeth headed over to the couch. Jack sat down and Elizabeth sat between his legs and Jack pulled her back to him. They hadn't been there long, when there was a knock on the door. Jack carefully moved from behind Elizabeth. He grabbed his gun and went to the door. He opened it a crack and saw that it was Abigail. He opened the door and stepped back to let Abigail pass. When she had went by him, he put his weapon back in its holster.

"I wanted to check on you." Abigail said.

"We are doing okay." Elizabeth said.

"Really." Abigail said. "I know what happened."

"I don't want to talk about it." Elizabeth said.

Jack walked back to sit by Elizabeth.

"Again." Jack said. "I am sorry I wasn't able to protect you."

"Jack." Abigail said. "You know that it wasn't your fault. Just be grateful that Constable Jacobs and Joe were there."

"You meet Constable Jacobs?" Jack asked.

"Yes." Abigail said. "Well, I saw him. I haven't been formally introduced."

"What is he like?" Jack asked.

"He seems nice." Abigail said. "I think once you get past his appearance."

Jack and Elizabeth both looked at Abigail. It hadn't even registered with Elizabeth who the other Mountie was. She barely looked at him at the time. As she thought back, she saw his form standing there over her father and realized that was a rather large man.

"Apparently you have never met him." Abigail said. "He is huge. My Noah was six two and Jacobs has to be a couple inches taller than that. He looks like a wall standing there with broad shoulders and a broad chest. Some of the ladies were saying that his arms are as big as trees. I will hold any further opinion until I actually meet him and not just see him from a distance."

"Wow." Jack said.

"Maybe he can get through to Father." Elizabeth said. "Because apparently nothing I say means anything."

"Elizabeth." Abigail said. "You are an adult. He can't force you to do anything. There are a lot of people that support you and will be there to help you. We won't allow anything to happen to you. I am sorry that you had to experience what you have. Just know that the people of this town love you, both of you. We will always do our best to protect you."

Elizabeth had leaned back into Jack and put her hand on her stomach. Jack covered her hand with his.

"Thank you." Elizabeth said. "I just want to be able to live my life and not have to be looking over my shoulder or wondering when my father will show up. I want to be close to my family but I want to live my own life."

"Which you are entitled to." Abigail said. "Please trust that Wynn, Bill and Jacobs will handle things."

"I should be there." Jack said. "I should be handling it. It is my job to protect my family."

"And you will." Abigail said. "But you need to get well. Faith hasn't released you to work and I don't want you to have a setback again. Please let the others handle it. You have more to get well for. I know that you haven't really shared the news, but when you do people are going to be overjoyed for you. You know that there will be no shortage of help when that little one comes."

"I will." Jack said. "I may not like it, but I will do it."

"That is all I am asking." Abigail said.

"Thank you." Elizabeth said. "We haven't shared it yet, but I want you to know that I want Jack there when the time comes."

Abigail looked between the two of them.

"I know that it is not what happens." Jack said. "But I am trained and I have also delivered a child before. I want to be there to support Elizabeth during that time. I am going to try and go to appointments as well. I want to be as actively involved as I can."

"Alright." Abigail said. "If it was anyone else, I would argue with you, but since it is you, I will do everything I can to make sure that you are allowed to be there. I will let you guys rest. I will talk to you later. I just needed to make sure that you were okay."

"Thank you for coming out." Jack said.

Jack walked Abigail to the door, whispered something to her, watched her leave and then locked it again. Jack then went back to Elizabeth. He wanted her to talk to him, but he still wasn't going to push her. He sat back down and Elizabeth immediately snuggled into his side. Jack wrapped his arms around her and gave her a kiss.