The Whippoorwill Trilogy - Sharon Sala Page 0,278

ground was still soft enough that whoever had been hiding out there would have had to leave tracks. She felt no fear as she rode, confident that, whoever had fired the shots could have stormed the house at any time. Since they had not, she took it to mean they were gone. But it didn’t matter. They could run, but there was nowhere to hide from her rage.

Robert Lee had ridden shotgun into town with a wagon-load of ore, but they’d gotten stuck twice before pulling out of the valley. He’d made the decision that they’d begun mining too soon, so after delivering the wagon to the smelter, he’d told the men not to come back for a couple of days until the ground had time to dry out some more.

He had signed off on the wagon, and was on his way outside to find Eulis and give him the news, when a man he knew only as Cecil walked into the smelter office.

Cecil saw Robert Lee and quickly took off his hat.

“Hello there, Robert Lee. Sorry to hear about your boss. He was a right good man.”

Robert Lee froze, staring at the man as if he’d lost his mind.

“What the hell are you talking about?”

Cecil stared back in shock and then looked away.

“Say, I’m sorry. I reckoned that you already knew.”

Robert Lee grabbed him by the shoulders.

“I said… what the hell are you talking about?”

Cecil pulled out of Robert Lee’s grasp and took a quick step backward.

“Eulis Potter was gunned down in his own yard this morning. The woman who works for them came into town to get the sheriff.”

Robert Lee felt his blood run cold. He tried to form the words, but it seemed they just wouldn’t come. It wasn’t until Cecil started to walk away that he finally asked.

“What about Letty? What about Mrs. Potter?”

Cecil shrugged.

“Can’t say what happened to her.”

Robert Lee’s mind went blank. He walked out of the smelter office, got on his horse, and rode down Main Street, then headed up the road to their house. The road was too steep for his horse to run, but he wouldn’t let himself panic. Surely, if Letty had been a victim, Alice would have mentioned that, as well.

When he finally got to the house and dismounted, his legs were shaking so hard he could barely stand up. He moved up the steps, took a deep breath and then walked in the front door without knocking, calling out Letty’s name as he went.

Alice came running from the back of the house with her hand to her heart, fearing that the killer had returned. When she realized it was Robert Lee, she began to cry with relief.

“Thank God that it’s you,” she said, and sobbed anew.

“Is it true? Is Eulis dead?”

“Yes, dear God, it was awful,” she said, and covered her face with her apron.

Robert Lee grabbed her by the shoulders—his voice so tight with fear he could barely make himself heard.

“Letty… did they shoot Letty, too?”

Alice dropped her apron as she shook her head.

“Lord no, but I thought they might. She threw herself on top of Eulis. I could tell he was gone, but I couldn’t get her off. She kept screaming and screaming and—”

The thought of her anguish was like a knife to his heart.

“Where is she?” he asked, looking up to the second floor. “Is she in her room?”

Alice started crying again.

“If only she was!” Alice said.

Robert Lee frowned.

“Then where is she?”

“She went after him,” Alice said. “Made me pack up some food for her while she went to get the rifle. I tried to stop her, but she rode off like a madwoman.”

Fear struck Robert Lee anew.

“Sweet Jesus! Which way did she go?”

Alice pointed into the trees at the back of the house.

“The shots came from back there. She rode into the trees with T-Bone. I haven’t seen her since.”

Robert Lee felt sick.

“How long ago?”

“Three or four hours, maybe more. I’ve lost track of time.”

He swore softly, then strode out of the house, untied his horse, and mounted on the run. He saw the dark stain of blood in the earth as he circled the house, then looked past it to the sight of Letty’s tracks. He couldn’t allow himself to consider the dead when there was still a life that might be saved.

George Mellin had been staking out the Potter house ever since his release from jail. The first time he’d seen his wife come out of the back door of the house,