Chapter 184 – Frustration Sets In

As Dee hurried back to town, he was thinking more about the code. He loved that Jack and McGinty had come up with it. He knew that Jack had been the top academic cadet when he had been at the academy, but he was smarter than most people gave him credit for. Dee wondered if that was due to his background and not having attended larger schools like most of the others. It wasn't that he didn't receive a great education, but Dee knew that there were many people that looked down on the rural schools as not as good as those in the larger cities.

Before he could ponder it much longer, he was back in town and needed to focus on what he was doing. Dee immediately went to the office to share the message with his father. Dee wasn't all that surprised when he handed the message to his father and all he did was point to the other stack of messages.

"Headquarters confirmed that Campbell was safe." Wynn said. "They also agreed that arresting Bernardi was appropriate in the situation. The only thing I didn't know was that transport was already on the way. I wired Union City, but didn't get a response back."

"Why Union City and not Buxton?" Dee asked.

"I wired Buxton." Wynn said. "They replied back they were dealing with another situation and to ask Union City."

"I wonder what is going on in Buxton?" Dee said.

"Don't know, didn't ask." Wynn said. "I figured if I needed to know that I would be informed. Also the messages that you left earlier let me know that both Christopher Mullins and Charles Kensington have been sent back to Hamilton. Both are being held pending further investigation. Monclair has been sentenced to ten months in jail and stripped of anything related to the Mounties. His father is not happy. Before you ask, nothing more about William."

"Anything else?" Dee asked. "And wasn't going to ask. Good to hear about Monclair. He overstepped one too many times."

"See for yourself." Wynn said, handing the stack of messages to Dee.

Dee sat down and read through them. He made notes as he did. There were a couple saying that information should be arriving today or tomorrow by special messenger. There was also one letting them know that the auditors had arrived in Union City and were headed this way. Dee looked over at what his father was doing and saw that he was working on a new list of questions. Dee had his own questions, so he started on them. He was going to ask if his father had eaten, but he saw the basket and figured that either his mother or Abigail had brought something over.

By the time that Jacobs got back, Dee had been back and forth to the mercantile three times and over to the cafe to get more scones. He also reminded his mother and Abigail that there was stuff coming on the supply wagon for him in care of Abigail. Dee handed the latest stack of messages to his father and went back to work as Jacobs caught up on the other messages. They worked on the information they had, got through all the ledgers and created several lists of questions that they needed answers for regarding Henry Gowen and Pacific Northwest. Wynn was getting frustrated again since he had more questions than answers. He was also anxious to see what McGinty had found in Buxton. Wynn knew that one key piece of information would unlock the mess they seemed to be in, but to this point they hadn't found that key piece. Wynn hoped that whatever McGinty found answered more questions then it would create.

It was about eleven thirty when Wynn pushed back from the table in frustration.

"I need a break." Wynn said.

"Go have lunch with Mom before she heads to the school." Dee said.

"Yes." Jacobs said. "Go. I need to go check on Bill and the cadets. Then I will come over for lunch."

"I will head over with you if you want." Dee said. "It sounds like we all could use a break."

The three of them picked up the office and then left. Dee and Wynn headed to the cafe and Jacobs headed to the jail.

Elizabeth had had a good day at school, but she was also looking forward to going home and resting for a bit. She loved teaching, but thirty plus students and being pregnant was a lot. Elizabeth never realized how hard it was to be pregnant and do things. She was glad that she wouldn't be teaching further into her pregnancy. She was also thinking that she was going to have to talk to Abigail and if they continued to grow, they would need a second teacher and probably a second classroom. She put that thought aside and tried to focus on the students in front of her. She had them reading out loud for a bit before she released them for lunch and recess. She was glad that the days were nice enough that she could send them out and not worry about it.

When the group was done with reading, she made sure that they understood what homework was assigned and reminded them of the vocabulary test right away the next day. She also said that she would have the rest of their essays in the morning. She also reminded them that they had the afternoon to work on their homework as well as their science projects. With ten minutes before she normally let the students out, Elizabeth decided that they had been inside long enough. She assigned Cassandra and Gem as monitors and let the kids go.

Once the kids were outside, Elizabeth sat down and wrote a quick note to her aunt. She then started working on more grading. While she was grading, Pastor Frank came in the side door.

"I heard you let the kids out." Frank said. "I was going to grab a few books from the storage area."

"Go ahead." Elizabeth said. "What were you looking for?"

"I was hoping to borrow one of your history books." Frank said. "I was hoping to find some quotes for something."

"Go ahead, but I think you might have better luck with some of the English books." Elizabeth said. "I have several poetry books and a collection of quotes I have gathered in there."

"Mind if I grab those as well?" Frank asked.

"Take what you need." Elizabeth said. "Just write them down on one of the slips of paper and tack it to the wall, so I know who has them if I go looking for them."

"I will." Frank said.

Frank went to the storeroom and found the history book that he was thinking about and then he also grabbed one of the poetry books and the book of quotes. He wrote all the titles down and signed his name and put it where Elizabeth had left a space for the children to borrow books.

"Thank you." Frank said. "I can't wait until we have a library one day."

"Me too." Elizabeth said. "Just remember, if you ever need something, I have many more books at home."

"I will keep that in mind." Frank said. "How is Jack doing?"

"Getting better everyday." Elizabeth said. "He has really been struggling with the pain the last couple of days."

"Maybe I should pay him a visit." Frank said.

"I think he would like that." Elizabeth said. "Morning seems to be better for him. Not right away, but more like mid morning. When I get home, I make sure he eats and then he is exhausted again. Faith said it is just going to take time, but I am worried."

"I will say an extra prayer and try to get out to see him in the morning." Frank said.

Frank then went back to his office. Elizabeth went back to her grading and munched on a few of the crackers that she kept in her drawer since she learned she was pregnant. About fifteen minutes after Elizabeth sat down, Aunt Elizabeth came in.

"Afternoon." Aunt Elizabeth said.

"Afternoon." Elizabeth said. "I let the children go about ten minutes early if you want to call them back a little early. They have math, reading, history and a writing assignment this afternoon. Nothing is due until Monday. They do have a vocabulary test tomorrow morning. Then I will be giving them more homework in math and reading for the weekend."

"That is fine." Aunt Elizabeth said. "We have been working on science projects and if they need to wait for a book, they can work on other things."

"Good." Elizabeth said. "I am going to leave you be. I want to get home and check on Jack and take a nap."

"There is a lot going on." Aunt Elizabeth said. "We probably will stay in town this evening. Not sure what time Dee will be home. You and Jack eat if you are hungry."

"What is going on?" Elizabeth asked.

"Bill and Captain Cook arrested someone this morning." Aunt Elizabeth said. "Dee got several messages from headquarters. McGinty is due back. Transport for the two prisoners is coming. The auditors for Abigail are supposed to be here this afternoon and the supply wagon is also supposed to come."

"Okay." Elizabeth said. "I need some things at the mercantile, but I think that they can wait until tomorrow."

"Enjoy your evening." Aunt Elizabeth said. "If I don't see you, I will talk tomorrow."

"Take care." Elizabeth said. "If Dee is not back before seven, tell him to use the back door. I might keep the front door locked if we are both laying down."

"I will let him know." Aunt Elizabeth said.

Elizabeth picked up her stuff, put the papers to grade in her basket and left the schoolhouse. Her two guards followed her back to the house and then went back as assigned.

Wynn and Dee had a nice lunch with Elizabeth Rose and Patty. They both left to head over to the schoolhouse and Charlotte wasn't far behind. As far as Wynn could tell, she wasn't upset yet she wasn't the Charlotte that he had seen before either. He wondered if she took the time to deal with everything that she had seen or just pushed it away again. There were several people that Wynn was worried about, but for the most part, it appeared that people were moving past what had happened and trying to find a new normal.

Wynn lingered at the cafe after his wife had left. He was frustrated with the paperwork and not finding answers. Since Wynn was still sitting there, Jacobs had stayed as well. Dee finished and went back to the office to work more on what he was doing as he had paperwork from Bill as well as his father that he was working on. Since the two cadets were doing dishes and all the customers were fine, Ann encouraged Abigail to sit for a moment. Abigail grabbed a cup of tea and sat with Wynn and Jacobs.

"How are you doing?" Abigail asked.

"Been better." Wynn said. "I am sick of not having the answers we need and looking at the same paperwork over and over only to have more questions."

"Then take a break." Abigail said. "Go for a ride. Go visit with Jack. If you are getting frustrated, do something else."

"Actually, Sir." Jacobs said. "A ride might be nice. We could go out by the mine or even the sawmill. Maybe a ride is exactly what is needed to clear your head."

"I should be here to meet the stagecoach." Wynn said. "The auditors are coming and there is transport coming for the prisoners."

"A short ride." Jacobs said. "I will even go tack the horses."

"A short ride and I will tack Balder myself." Wynn said.

"I will keep an eye out for the stagecoach and the transport." Abigail said. "I will let them know that you will be back shortly."

Wynn and Jacobs left to go tack their horses up. They headed toward the sawmill first. They didn't stop, but headed toward the road to Buxton to loop back to town. As they approached the road, they heard several horses. Thinking it was the supply wagon that was due, they waited a moment. Both Wynn and Jacobs were surprised to see over a dozen Mounties and two transport wagons come around the corner. It was followed by two supply wagons and a stagecoach. Wynn looked when was in the stagecoach, but the curtains were drawn to help keep the dust out. When the man leading the group saw Wynn and Jacobs, he motioned for the group to stop.

"Can I help you Corporal?" Jacobs asked.

After exchanging salutes, the Corporal looked between the two men, since Jacobs was in uniform.

"What is your business Corporal?" Wynn asked.

"I am to report to DC Delaney in Hope Valley." The Corporal responded.

"Well you found him." Wynn said. "Hope Valley is only a few miles up the road."

The Corporal immediately snapped to another salute and sat up straighter in his saddle. Just then McGinty rode forward to see why they had stopped. He saw Wynn and Jacobs, so he came to a stop and saluted. After returning the salute, Wynn looked at McGinty.

"Good to see you." Wynn said.

"Thank you, Sir." McGinty said.

Behind McGinty, was another rider that Wynn recognized as Inspector Williams. Again salutes were exchanged.

"McGinty." Wynn said. "Why don't you ride ahead, get the cadets and ALL other Mounties into full parade formation outside the jail. They have about twenty minutes. Leave Thornton and the two cadets guarding him alone. I want everyone else outside the jail when I arrive back."

"Yes, Sir." McGinty said.

With a final salute, McGinty took off and the Corporal looked between the other men.

"You better get a move on." Inspector Williams said. "We will escort the other wagons and stagecoach in."

The Corporal motioned to move and took off at a faster pace. The other Mounties quickly followed. Once the Mounties had left, the wagons followed. The Mounties on the wagon, saluted as they went by. After the stagecoach went by and they were far enough to not eat dust, Wynn, Jacobs and Inspector Williams turned to ride back into Hope Valley.

"I am surprised to see you." Wynn said.

"I brought you the information that you need." Williams said. "And I have been personally ordered to escort Bernardi and Amto back to Ottawa."

"Amto confessed." Wynn said. "He asked for protection."

"That will be taken into consideration." Williams said. "But Amto is wanted in the murder of Inspector Russell."

Wynn stopped his horse and looked at Williams. Williams turned around to come back to Wynn. Williams looked at Wynn and then Jacobs. Wynn knew what he was getting at.