would have if the vampire had killed him before capturing her. The image of Ben must have been a trick, some black magic used to catch her off guard and make her easy prey. He had to be with Mart Duggan, setting up defenses for the town.
Her boots pounded down the stairway and out into the cold afternoon. The street bustled with the citizens of Leadville, miners and bankers and whores. Several passersby gave her odd looks as she darted between carts and around slow-moving horses, but she paid them no heed. She needed to see her husband with her own eyes, to touch his face and assure herself that it had all been a cruel trick.
The door to the marshal's station barely withstood her entrance. A deputy she didn't recognize sat at the desk, looking as though he had just soiled himself. He pointed a pistol at her, but the barrel wavered in his hand.
"Where's Duggan?" Cora demanded. The deputy just blinked at her. She stormed past him and threw open the door to the marshal's office.
Duggan was seated behind his desk cleaning his big Colt. "Something I can do for you, Mrs Oglesby?"
"Where's Ben?" she asked.
"Ben?"
"My husband," Cora said, panic and irritation welling up inside her. "Ben Oglesby. A few inches taller than you, blue eyes, neat mustache. He was supposed to drop by and let you know that there's a swarm of vampires that might come calling tonight."
The marshal put his gun on the desk. "Vampires in my town? How many?"
"That ain't important," Cora said. "Have you seen Ben?"
"Can't say I have," Duggan said. He looked back down at his gun. "Come to think of it, I don't think I ever met your husband. You should bring him around some time so we can get acquainted proper."
Cora stood in silence, her mind racing. Had Ben ever met Marshal Duggan? Now that she thought on it, she wasn't sure he ever had. She'd been the one dealing with the marshal most of the time, so maybe Duggan had never actually seen Ben.
"Sir?" a shaky voice said behind her. "Should I arrest her?"
Duggan looked behind her. "Don't fret, Kelley. She ain't no criminal."
Cora turned to see the strange deputy holster his gun. "Ain't seen him before," she said.
The marshal nodded. "Pat Kelley. He's new. Got him to replace George Murray."
"Swell," Cora said. "Hope he can fight vampires." She fixed Duggan with an intense glare. "You've got some visitors coming, so best make ready. They don't take to crosses or garlic, so keep some handy."
She turned to leave, but the marshal's voice stopped her. "That's it? You ain't helping us?"
"I got to find my husband first," Cora said, struggling to keep her voice calm. "He's gone missing. We can't help nobody like that."
Cora left the office without waiting for Duggan's reply. Ignoring the new deputy, she stepped out onto the street and folded her arms, trying to swallow her increasing panic. Where might Ben have gone? He hadn't made it to the marshal's station, and he wasn't given to wandering about. Maybe he hadn't made it out of the hotel yet. She thought she saw him leave, but maybe he forgot something and had to turn back, or maybe he'd run into one of James Townsend's men and gone off to help them at Harcourt's retreat. The situation must have been serious if he'd joined them before checking in with Duggan.
Her spurs sang her alarm as she ran toward the Northern Hotel. If Ben wasn't there, she would fetch Our Lady from the stable and head out to the retreat. James must need help to hold back the vampires if he was desperate enough to spare a man to look for her and Ben. She hoped she wouldn't be too late.
Cora threw open the hotel's front door and took the stairs two at a time. Their room was empty. She checked to make sure that their wards were still in place, then knelt down by the trunk, set the crucifix aside, and raised the lid. It didn't look as though Ben had taken anything out of it, though there wasn't much left that he could have used. His rusty revolver lay at the bottom of the trunk amid spare rounds and vials of holy water. She tucked a few more rounds into her belt pouch and prepared to close the trunk when something caught her eye.
There, half-covered by silver bullets, lay the silver dagger Ben had carried that morning. The