Chapter 6
Determination seemed to radiate off Lucy, and Robert quickly realized that any attempt to tell her no was going to fall on very deaf ears.
Maybe when she was cleared of all charges in Boston, he would ask if she wanted to work in the sheriff’s office.
He had no problem making her his deputy, but he needed her exonerated before he could consider it.
The rain was still falling, but it had eased up some since the morning, and the walk to the gate wasn’t too bad. It also wasn’t that far. They had placed this side’s gate close to the farm to allow Kevin to drive the cattle out into the pasture outside the wall too.
Another gate was on the other side, near the mine.
“Okay,” Robert said as they approached the overhang that acted as a shelter for those on gate duty.
There was a man standing there, holding his horse by the reins. They were both wet and looked quite dejected. George and Felix stood beside him.
Robert nodded to them. “Thanks, fellows. I’ll take it from here.”
“Right you are, Sheriff,” Felix said with a grin. For an older man, gray-haired and wiry, he was surprisingly sharp. Robert didn’t really trust Felix all that much. He was a card sharp and had taken Robert for a lot of money. That was the one and only time Robert had played poker with the man.
He turned his attention to the newcomer. It was difficult to see much about the man, who was dressed in an oilskin coat and hood. He was short and carried a few extra pounds on his frame. He looked up at Robert with dark brown eyes.
“Ah, you must be the sheriff,” he said. His New York accent was heavy.
“I’m Vincent Rossi. Mr. MacGregor sent me to do some evaluations for him.
I have a letter to that effect right here in my breast pocket.
” He reached up to his coat and unbuttoned it.
Then, holding the coat and his jacket open so that Robert could see there were no weapons, Mr. Rossi pulled out an envelope, which he handed to the sheriff.
Robert read the letter. It said it came from Mac, but how would he know for sure?
He put the letter back in the envelope and handed it to Troy. “Can you take that to Michael?”
Troy nodded and hurried off.
Robert turned back to Mr. Rossi. “Well, Mr. Rossi, you have really caught us by surprise.”
“Didn’t you know I was coming?” he asked, pushing his hood back and looking confused. His cheeks were puffy, as though he were a bullfrog about to croak.
“We knew you were coming; what we’re not so sure about is how you got here,” Robert said.
“I rented this buckboard and horse and drove,” he said. “It was a little tricky. You could put some signposts up …”
“They didn’t put them up on purpose,” Lucy said, speaking for the first time.
Robert shot her a look, but she ignored him. So that’s how it was. She was going to do whatever she wanted, regardless of what he said. They would have to have words about this later. Especially if he was ever to consider her for a deputy position, she had to learn to take orders.
“Hi, I’m Lucy. I’m also new, and I had to get a ride with some of the folks already living here. So, how did you know which way to go?”
Robert couldn’t fault her; that was a good question.
Mr. Rossi shrugged. “I asked some of the men at the coach yard. None of them knew exactly. They had a general idea. Anyway, that wall of yours is easy to see from that hill. What, are you afraid of wolves or bears?”
“No,” Robert said. “It’s just a deterrent to ne’er-do-wells.”
Mr. Rossi nodded. “So, can we move out of the rain? I know I’m from New York, but … This is crazy, standing here in the cold, talking while we get rained on.”
Robert thought furiously. He wanted to take the man to the station and interrogate him a little, but that might not be the best way to handle this.
“Are you hungry?” Lucy asked. “We were about to have some lunch.”
“Ah, that sounds like a marvelous plan,” Mr. Rossi said.
Lucy turned to Robert and smiled. She raised her brows at him. “Maybe talking to him over a meal will get more out of him than being confrontational.”
How did she know what he was thinking? It was like she had read his thoughts as they filed into his mind.
“Okay, we’ll take your buckboard. There’s food and water for the horse there too,” Robert said.
A moment later, all three of them were in the driver’s seat, and Robert turned the horse’s head toward Anita and Kevin’s restaurant.
This time they had a table near the door. Robert, Lucy, and Mr. Rossi sat at the four-seater and studied the menus. Not that he needed to look at it. Robert knew what he wanted, but he didn’t know how to start this conversation.
That was just it; it was a conversation, not an interrogation. Robert was good at the latter. Less good at the former.
Anita arrived at the table and took their order.
“How do you know Mac?” Robert asked when the restaurant owner left the table.
“Mac?” Mr. Rossi asked.
“Mr. MacGregor.”
“Oh, I don’t know him. I know one of his business partners, Mr. Alessandro Bernini. He’s my cousin.” He looked around the restaurant. “Do you bring all new arrivals here to lunch? If so, then this is a very nice town.”
“No,” Robert said. “We were about to have lunch when you arrived. This seemed the civilized thing to do.”
“Ah, so it is,” Mr. Rossi agreed. “I understand that as the lawman in this town, you want to check that I am who I say I am before letting me loose. So, what do you want to know? What can I tell you or show you that will set your mind at ease?”
That was really straightforward, and it sent a jolt through Robert.
This man seemed to have knowledge of how lawmen worked.
Why would that be? Most folks didn’t have a clue that when you were asking them how their day was, you were really getting a feel for them, understanding them, learning about their views and who they were.
The simplest conversation could yield great results when a professional was conducting it.
So how did this number cruncher know what Robert was listening for?
“Look, this isn’t an interrogation or an interview,” Robert said, holding his hands up. “I just like to talk to folks who come here for work. That’s all.” It sounded insincere the moment the words slid off his tongue.
“What Robert means,” Lucy began, “is that this is a close community. People are going to notice that you’re new here. They will inevitably come and ask Robert about you, and if he can’t say anything, then…” She shrugged. “Then they’ll think he’s not doing his job.”
Mr. Rossi laughed at that, and the tension that had been in the air dissipated.
Lucy was so good at speaking to people. She could effortlessly jump into a conversation, asking questions and immediately making them feel comfortable. It was a skill Robert lacked.
Through her conversation with the newcomer, Robert learned that Mr. Rossi had a wife and two children back in New York and had worked for Mr. Bernini for years but had never met Mac in person.
When Mac had asked for someone trustworthy and good with numbers, Mr. Bernini hadn’t hesitated to suggest his cousin.
“I am happy to be here,” Mr. Rossi said. “So long as I can get back for Christmas. My wife will never forgive me if I miss that holiday.” He chuckled.
“That’s only three weeks away,” Robert pointed out. “The railway might be snowed shut by then in some places.”
Mr. Rossi shrugged. “Well, then I have a good excuse.”
“You don’t want to be home for the festive season?” Lucy asked.
“Oh, I do, but I don’t want to be there with my mother-in-law,” Mr. Rossi said.
“She’s a piece of work, that one.” He held his hands up and used them as a puppeteer might to make the mouths of his dolls work.
“Vincent, do this. Vincent, do that. Vincent, Vincent, Vincent! A man can’t think in his own house! ”
Lucy laughed.
Robert smiled. It wasn’t Rossi’s story that had him smiling so; it was Lucy’s laugh. It was musical, delightful, and a sound he could get used to.
By the time they were done with their sandwiches and Mr. Rossi had finished his pot pie, Robert thought he had a good idea of who the newcomer was. He seemed like an honest fellow.
He even gave Lucy and Robert a ride to the sheriff’s station in his cart. Robert gave him directions to find Michael and Andrew, and that was it.
“Well, that was a fun lunch,” Lucy said brightly as they watched Mr. Rossi drive up the street to the bridge. “I thought we were in trouble there for a bit.”
“Me too,” Robert admitted. “You’re good at talking to people. They seem to relax around you.”
Lucy did a playful little curtsy. “I was trained by my parents to go into places and get information casually out of people. What do you think of Vincent?”
Robert didn’t like making snap judgments or speaking in absolutes until he was sure. “I think he’s probably not a spy.”
Lucy smiled. “I think you’re right, but the really good ones are hard to spot.
It’s a bit like that embezzler in that firm in Boston.
He was good at hiding in plain sight. It took me ages to come up with any really feasible suspects at all.
The obvious ones can’t be the real ones.
Not if the theft has been going on for ages.
Then you’re dealing with someone who fits in, belongs, has standing, and might even be seen as part of the furniture.
I think Mr. Rossi is good at turning himself into some of the furniture very quickly.
Which is both impressive and a little suspicious. ”
“That’s an interesting theory.”
“Yes, it is.” She grinned. “I think it’s good to always keep an open mind and not to convict anyone unless the evidence is overwhelming.”
“But also, not to trust someone just because they’re friendly,” Robert added.
She nodded.
The rain had stopped, and the clouds were starting to break apart, allowing little shafts of sun to filter through. Robert didn’t want to miss out on some time with Lucy. He had really enjoyed lunch despite its difficult start.
“Would you like to go for a walk?”
“A walk? Sure,” Lucy said.
Robert led her to the wall, and they climbed to the top, to the platform. From there, they began a stroll around town.
“Well, this is different,” Lucy said, looking out over Unity. “I’ve never had the opportunity to look down on so many people.”
Robert caught the joke and laughed. As a petite woman, Lucy hardly looked down on anyone.
“This must have taken ages to build,” she said.
“Some parts did; others went quickly,” Robert said. “Luckily, we have skilled builders. And it’s not going to be permanent. As soon as we’ve dealt with El Aguila, we will be taking this barrier down.”
She nodded. She understood that this was just a necessary thing for the moment and once the danger passed, the town would be open to all again.
“And it was really necessary?”
“Oh yes, the bandits were coming at us from all sides at one point. They nearly overwhelmed us. We had to do something to make people feel safe. But also … Where else would you get a view of the sunset like this?” They turned to see the golden sunlight breaking through the low clouds in several intense shafts, turning all it touched to gold.
“Oh my!” Lucy said, her expression filled with wonder and awe.
Robert smiled. A beam of golden light shone on her, and she looked something like an angel. Once again, he thanked God for sending her his way.
“I’ll be starting interviews for gunmen soon,” Robert said. “Would you like to join me for that?”
Lucy turned with an expression of excitement and surprise on her face. “Are you sure? I thought I was supposed to keep my head down and pretend I’m just a seamstress.”
That was the plan, hastily constructed as it was, but now Robert could see that it was a waste of her talents.
“I think I was wrong about that,” Robert admitted.
“There’s no one here who would ever turn you into the Boston police.
Never. They know you now and wouldn’t believe you capable of such a thing, especially if we explain who Simon was to you.
” He touched her arm gently, sliding his fingers down to her hand.
While reading her letters for all those months, Robert had hardly dared to dream that one day he would be standing on his wall and looking out over Unity with Lucy. It was a dream come true.
She smiled at him. It was so sweet, innocent, and lovely that Robert felt himself being drawn even closer to her.
When she gave his hand a squeeze and leaned her head on his shoulder, he knew he was right. Lucy also felt this connection between them, and that made Robert’s heart sing with joy.