FOURTEEN

Caleb dug his heels into the sides of his horse, spurring him on. He'd made sure Jonas had seen him leaving out the north end of town and then doubled back around. It would buy them some time. Harley and Ben weren't too far from the south side of Dodge – he'd meet up with them and they would wait until closer to nightfall before moving on to the next part of the plan.

While he stayed alert, his head on a swivel, Caleb's mind wandered. Their luck only had to hold out for a mite longer, but Ben would be the wild card, as always. Growing up, before everything changed, he had been the sweetest kid. So smart, helpful, a ready laugh. But something happened to him when their pa was murdered. Ben watched it happen, and something nappe. He could still be sweet – although more docile – but he had a dark side to him now. Manic, aggressive, unpredictable. And their poor ma…. She'd done the best she could, ad it had killed Caleb to watch her struggle with a life she had never deserved.

Caleb ground his teeth together, and kicked his horse again.

"Hiyah!"

It was almost over.

It was nearing seven thirty in the evening, and Jonas' store had already closed for the day. As Matt rounded the corner to the storefront, though, he caught Jonas locking up.

"Evenin', Marshal."

"Jonas." Matt nodded, impatient for answers. "Do you happen to know where I can find Caleb?"

"Oh, he's gone, Marshal. Left town a couple hours ago."

"Left town?" He might be headed to meet up with his brothers. Events were moving very quickly all of a sudden, and Matt was afraid their conversation that afternoon might have had something to do with it.

"He said he received an urgent telegram from his uncle and had to leave immediately." Jonas seemed completely unaware of any possible mischief on Caleb's part and continued on, apparently glad to have someone to gossip with. "Although, it did strike me as a bit strange…."

"Oh?" Matt shifted his weight back and forth from one foot to the other, impatient.

"Well, you see, his uncle lives in New Orleans, but when I saw him ride out of town he was headed in the complete opposite direction. What do you make of that, Marshal?"

"I think, Mr. Jonas, that you've been taken for a fool."

Matt turned to go back to Doc's, leaving Jonas spluttering behind him. He'd let Kitty and Doc know where he was going, and then he'd track Caleb down. Hopefully he could catch up to him before he got to wherever his brothers were hiding out. Three against one were not odds he wanted to take.

This ghoulish game had to end.