Chapter 5 - The Smile She Remembered
The front door opened before either of them moved.
Jedodiah stepped inside carrying a burlap sack over one shoulder.
Snow covered his hair and coat.
He saw Alandre first.
Then Clayton.
Then the revolver in Clayton’s hand.
The sack dropped.
For several seconds, the cabin became unnaturally quiet.
Clayton smiled.
“Been a while, Jed.”
Jedodiah’s expression revealed no surprise.
Only dread.
That told Alandre everything she needed to know.
“You expected him,” she whispered.
Jed’s eyes shifted toward her.
“No.”
“But you knew he might come.”
“Yes.”
Clayton chuckled.
“Careful. She’s begun asking good questions.”
Alandre looked at Jed.
“Did you know Thomas?”
Jed did not answer quickly enough.
Her heart broke before he spoke.
“Yes.”
The skillet slipped slightly in her hand.
“You lied.”
“Yes.”
Clayton leaned against the table as if enjoying a performance.
Alandre ignored him.
“Did you know who I was when you found me?”
Jed’s jaw tightened.
“Yes.”
Her eyes filled.
“From the moment I came here?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Alandre—”
“Why?”
“Because Thomas wrote to me.”
The answer stunned her.
“What?”
Jed slowly removed his coat.
He held both hands visible.
Clayton still had the gun.
“Thomas contacted me six months ago.”
Alandre shook her head.
“He never mentioned you.”
“He had reasons.”
“Everybody seems to have reasons for lying to me.”
Clayton laughed softly.
Jed’s gaze snapped toward him.
“Shut your mouth.”
“Touchy.”
Alandre lifted the skillet again.
“Both of you stop.”
The men looked at her.
“Thomas wrote to you about what?”
Jed looked at the open floorboard.
“The lockbox.”
Alandre’s breathing slowed.
“What was inside?”
“Records.”
“What records?”
“Land deeds. Survey maps. Payment ledgers. Names of families forced off claims that had gold, timber or water rights.”
Clayton’s smile vanished.
Jed continued.
“Thomas discovered someone had been altering territorial records. Homesteads were being transferred to shell companies. People who protested were threatened.”
“By Clayton?”
“By men working for him.”
Clayton shrugged.
“The frontier is full of misunderstandings.”
Alandre took one step toward him.
“Thomas wasn’t a misunderstanding.”
Jed moved slightly.
Not toward Clayton.
Toward her.
Protective.
Clayton noticed.
“Careful, Jed. She may start thinking you care.”
Alandre looked at Jed.
He did.
She saw it plainly.
That made everything harder.
“Why did Thomas write to you?”
Jed hesitated.
“Because I knew Clayton.”
Clayton raised the revolver slightly.
“Knew?”
Jed ignored him.
“We rode together years ago.”
“So he was telling the truth.”
“About that.”
Alandre swallowed.
“And the poster?”
“Mostly true.”
Her face changed.
Jed continued before she could speak.
“I robbed stages. I helped seize claims. I carried money that wasn’t mine. I rode with men who frightened families off land.”
“Did you murder people?”
Jed looked directly at her.
“I killed men.”
“Were they innocent?”
“One may have been.”
The answer was not designed to save him.
That made it worse.
“Why would Thomas trust you?”
“Because I left Clayton.”
Clayton rolled his eyes.
“Here comes the redemption sermon.”
Jed’s voice hardened.
“I left after Silver Creek.”
Alandre waited.
Jed stared at the floor.
“We were sent to frighten a rancher who refused to sell. Clayton said the house would be empty.”
“It should’ve been,” Clayton said.
“There was a family inside.”
Alandre saw something old and terrible in Jed’s face.
“I never rode with him again.”
Clayton sighed.
“You became tedious after that.”
Jed reached inside his shirt slowly.
Clayton aimed the revolver.
“Careful.”
Jed removed Thomas’s letter.
He held it toward Alandre.
“Read it.”
She took it.
Her hands shook as she unfolded the paper.
She knew Thomas’s handwriting instantly.
The first words blurred through tears.
Boone—if anything happens to me, find Alandre. Clayton Reynolds knows I copied the land records.
Alandre covered her mouth.
She kept reading.
Thomas had discovered twelve stolen homesteads.
Three falsified deaths.
Payments to territorial clerks.
And evidence connecting Clayton to the scheme.
At the bottom:
You owe me nothing. But if there is any part of the man you say you want to become still alive, protect her.
Alandre looked at Jed.
“You knew.”
“I knew Clayton wanted the documents.”
“You knew Thomas was in danger.”
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t you save him?”
The question hurt Jed more than anger could.
“I tried.”
Clayton’s amusement disappeared.
Jed continued.
“Thomas and I were supposed to meet at Miller’s Crossing.”
Alandre remembered the road.
“We passed there the morning he died.”
“I arrived late.”
“Why?”
Clayton spoke.
“Because I made sure he did.”
Jed’s eyes flashed toward him.
Clayton smiled again.
“I sent two men to block the north trail.”
Alandre stared.
Jed said quietly, “When I reached the crossing, your wagon was gone. I followed the tracks. Found Thomas.”
Her face drained.
“You found him?”
“Yes.”
“Was he—”
Jed swallowed.
“He was already gone.”
Alandre closed her eyes.
For months she had imagined Thomas alone after she lost consciousness.
Now she knew someone had been there.
“You saw me?”
“No. You were gone.”
Alandre opened her eyes.
“What?”
Clayton tilted his head.
“That part interests me too.”
“I woke beside Thomas.”
Jed shook his head.
“When I found the wagon, you weren’t there.”
Alandre turned toward Clayton.
His smile returned.
Memory moved inside her.
A wagon.
Different voices.
Snow beneath her hands.
She had always assumed those images were part of the nightmare.
Clayton said, “You weren’t supposed to remember.”
Alandre gripped the table.
“What did you do?”
“You had seen my face. We moved you.”
“Why leave me alive?”
Clayton shrugged.
“Thomas convinced us he’d hidden copies somewhere only you knew about.”
“I knew nothing.”
“We discovered that.”
Jed’s expression darkened.
“Where did you leave her?”
“Back near the wagon. Eventually.”
Alandre felt sick.
Clayton turned the silver revolver casually.
“The bigger problem was Jed.”
He looked at Alandre.
“Your mountain man arrived before I could retrieve this.”
He raised the gun.
Alandre frowned.
“You said Jed gave it to you.”
“I said many things.”
Jed almost smiled without humor.
“There’s your first lesson.”
Clayton’s eyes narrowed.
Jed continued.
“He stole the gun years ago.”
Alandre looked between them.
“And used it at Thomas’s murder.”
“To frame me,” Jed said.
Clayton gave a small bow.
“The wanted man with the distinctive weapon. Convenient.”
Alandre felt the world reorder itself again.
But one question remained.
“The gold.”
Neither man answered.
Alandre looked toward the floor.
“What is it?”
Clayton’s smile vanished completely.
Jed spoke quietly.
“The reason this isn’t over.”
Clayton aimed the revolver at him.
“No, Jed.”
His voice became cold.
“The reason it ends tonight.”
And outside, far beyond the cabin, another horse moved through the trees.
May you like
Someone else was coming.
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