Chapter 43- A Break In The Case
It was a miserable day.
A week of almost continuous thunderstorms and rain had turned every road in the region to nothing but a washed-out muck. It had been a long, slow trip out to inspect the land that the railroad was finishing surveying this week. His boots were covered in slimy mud and his clothes soaked through.
He rode past the little church at the edge of town, noting the broken window in the southwest corner and the plaque that now hung crooked across the front. It surprised him that it had taken this long for the building's neglect to begin to show, seeing as Pastor Richards had left almost a year ago, not to be replaced.
The pastor had just been the second of many to leave town unexpectedly over the past few months. Which made his boss worried. Railroads only came through communities that were growing and thriving, not shrinking, and withering away with a mass exodus of townsfolk.
Boss needed the railroad. It played an important part in his business plans and distributions. That's why boss had been so adamant that even with the rain, he go out to the site and to make sure things were coming along.
His horse's hooves slopped through the mud at a steady pace past the wood planked one-room schoolhouse. The town council had scrambled to find a replacement teacher last fall. Finally hiring an old maid from Regina to fill the position. She had long scraggly grey hair, pinned into a harsh, high bun that pulled back the crinkled skin along her face. The style serving to accentuate her already pinched features.
He had only met the new teacher a few times. Not enough to even remember her name. All he noted was she had a pungent smell of sardine tins and chalk. A very odd combination. How any child could learn from a woman like that was beyond his comprehension.
As he rode down main street, Old man Bartlett was coming out of the general store, arms laden with supplies for his ranch. Bartlett gave a curt nod of his head and then continued down the boardwalk towards his wagon.
If she had been here, Bartlett would have stopped and animatedly chatted for what could be hours. They would talk about the calves on his ranch, or how well the grass was growing this year, or if Bartlett would have enough feed saved up for the winter.
But she wasn't here. And responses like Bartlett's had become an all-too-common occurrence. People had always been drawn to her. Which in turn made people drawn to him. When she was in town, folks made it a point to stop and talk. They would ask how the wedding plans were coming along or what they were bringing to the church potluck.
He didn't get asked anymore where she had gone or when she was coming back. It seemed as though the rest of the town didn't think she was coming back. He knew better. He knew she would come back. It was only a matter of time.
But that didn't stop the townsfolk from talking behind his back. He knew what they said. That she had left him.
Even after he told them she had just been called away in an emergency. That her friend back east had called her needing help as she was sick and couldn't take care of herself. So she had packed up in the middle of the night and left on the first stagecoach out of town. But not before telling him how much she loved him and would miss him.
His heart ached because she wasn't here and if suddenly, she showed up at the door, he knew he'd apologize for hitting her and they'd work things out. He would tell her that every day she had been away he wanted to hold her and whisper how much he adored her. And even though he loved her, she made him so angry sometimes. A fiancé didn't just leave. She couldn't just run away from him.
He knew she had loved when he acted like one of the heroes in those novels she was always reading. When he would take her out on fancy candlelight dates. Or buy her pretty, new clothes from the city or gifts like that expensive soap he had ordered all the way from Paris the Christmas before she left.
And what about the engagement ring? The stunning diamond that now always rested inside his shirt pocket instead of on her finger.
Even with all of that, she had still left. And for what? Because she didn't approve of his job? Didn't want him to be a lawman and protect this town? Had she been scared something would happen to him being in this line of business? She should have known better. The people he worked with would make sure nothing bad happened to him.
He wanted to hit and kick and slap her and pull her hair for being so stupid. For being so selfish. He needed to show her it was pointless to run away.
He had told her that night. That he had connections. And that wherever she would go. Whoever she was with. He would find her.
He had followed her that next day. Nursing the biggest hangover of his life. He had rode hard following the stagecoach path town to town, until he lost her trail somewhere around Strathmore a few days later.
For a year now he had tried to find clues. Tried to track where she had gone. He had even made a trip east to where her only friends lived, but after watching their comings and goings for over ten days he determined she was not there. It would have been too easy. Too obvious.
She was smart. That was one of the reasons he loved her. But he was getting tired of playing this schoolyard game of hide and seek.
He knew it was only a matter of time until she tripped up. That there would be a break in the case, and he would find where she was and who she had been spending this past year with.
And he would make them pay.
A horse was tied on the post outside his office. He immediately recognized it and wondered what brought its rider to town. Usually, the other rider stayed in the city, closer to the action there, then making visits to these smaller hamlets.
The rain was coming down again in heavy sheets as he dismounted and tied his own horse to the post. He knew she would have scolded him. Told him he should have taken his horse straight to the livery. Untacked him and washed the mud from his legs. Give the horse a good brushing and plenty of oats and hay for the long hard journey he had today.
But he wasn't her. And right now, he could care less about the comfort of a measly beast. He wanted to get out of the driving rain himself. To be dry and warm.
Plus, he needed a drink. Badly.
He opened the door to his office, noting the other rider had already made himself comfortable. Choosing to start a small fire in the wood burning stove and put a kettle of water on to boil.
He hung his hat and jacket on their usual hooks along the wall. Watching as the remaining rain droplets cascaded to the floor creating small puddles of mud on the wood.
"Your weather down here makes me miss the streets in the city," the other rider broke the silence.
"Then why are you here?" he asked sharply.
"That's the welcome I get? Can't I come visit a friend?"
"You don't usually," his voice was cold and short as he took a seat at his desk. Instinctively looking over at her picture in the frame. He always liked her hair up like it was in the photo. Fresh and well maintained. Exposing her elegant neck. He became angry when she wouldn't have it styled by the time he came to pick her up for church or a date. Her unmanageable curls hanging loose, unkempt, and wild. It embarrassed him.
"Here. Have a cup of tea."
The dark amber liquid was expertly poured into a fine china cup, before the offering was pushed across the oak desk in his direction.
It sat there untouched as the other rider took gentle sips from his own cup.
"So how soon are they starting on the tracks? I'm sure you will be busy with the security detail."
"Later this fall and I've hired someone to head up the security there so I can focus on town matters and other things."
"Hmmmm." The other rider took another sip of his drink, staring at him over the edge of the teacup. "You look different since I last saw you."
"Well, that was a while ago."
"Still, you've changed. Put on a few extra pounds of muscle. Grown out your hair a little maybe."
"We don't have a barber anymore."
"That explains the wooly beard then too?"
He just shot a warning glance at the other rider as the man took his final sip of tea before placing the empty cup back onto the saucer.
"Pretty fine china and tea kettle for a sheriff's office."
"They are…" but he stopped himself. Swallowing her name.
The other man nodded his head as he reached inside his uniform jacket and pulled out a weathered newspaper. Unfolding the pages before sliding it across the desk. "That's why I thought you may be interested in this."
He was.
Instantly wrenching the paper into his grasp for closer inspection.
This was it. This was the break in the case he had been waiting over a year for.
This hide and seek game was over.
"I found that article at my cousin's house a couple weeks ago and thought I would bring a copy down here personally. My cousin's friend has been trying to convince him to come work at his oil company. So, he sends the local town paper to him occasionally in the hopes it would entice him to join forces." The other man stood to leave. "The paper is from this spring, so it's a few months old, but I still figured you would find it to be an interesting read."
"Wait!" He called across the room, stopping the other rider from opening the door. "What do you know about him?"
A sinister smile spread across the other man's face. "He's not everyone's favorite at Mountie headquarters, but he does walk the straight and narrow."
"But what about him… personally?"
"I don't know much. Other than I hear he has a thing for teachers."
Thank you all for the lovely comments from last chapter with Charlie and Nate's first "official" date.
I felt the need to give a little romance and happiness in Chapter 42, because well… this chapter is not that. But don't jump ship. We will get back to our regular love and fluff with Charlotte and Nathan… ASAP!
This chapter is a new writing style for me. Not only is it a bit darker and full of "mystery", but it is also told from a different point of view.
Even though it is not my normal, I did enjoy how the chapter came together. It may seem almost "clunky" in places, but I wanted that feeling. "Thou who shall not be named" is a bit of an unstable character (obviously) and slightly delusional. His thoughts flow from one thing to another and then back again.
Like I've stated from the beginning of this story, I look at each arc in terms of a tv season. My WCTH- So This Is Love Season 9 (Chapters 1-24) was the conflict of Charlotte's past/wildfire with the resolution in the form of her letting Allie and Nathan into her life.
In my "Season 10" I think you see where the conflict is going to be coming from. But I also believe many of you know what sort of "resolution" will be waiting for these two in the season finale. I hope you stick with me and follow the vision I have for Allie, Nathan, and Charlotte.