Chapter Sixteen
Deborah had never realized how wonderful ordinary could feel.
Ordinary was eating breakfast with Nolan.
Ordinary was listening to the bustle of the small town outside the inn’s window now that the rain had stopped.
Ordinary was watching Nolan attempt to hide a grimace every time he moved. Though he wasn’t fooling her at all.
“You’re hurting. You should be in bed.”
Nolan looked up from his coffee. “The bed will only make me want to sleep. I need to gain my strength. We’ve been here two days now, and I hate feeling this weak.”
She folded her arms. “I swear, I wish I could understand a man’s mind sometimes.”
He threw back his head and laughed. “You’d be surprised how many men think the same thing about a woman.”
She rolled her eyes but laughed with him, loving how ordinary this was becoming with Nolan, as well. She couldn’t wait to start married life with him in Willowhaven. But other things came first.
The knock on the door startled them. Nolan’s expression immediately sobered.
“Come in,” he called out.
Sheriff Hawkins entered first. Behind him came a tall, broad-shouldered man with a simple streak of white threading through his black hair, even if his mustache was dark as midnight. The stranger wore a long coat and carried himself with the quiet confidence of someone accustomed to authority.
Nolan straightened. Recognition flashed across his face. “Marshal Dawson.”
The lawman’s eyes widened. “As I live and breathe... Nolan Avery.”
The two men shook hands. Deborah noticed the sheriff quietly close the door behind them. A knot formed in her stomach. She had the feeling this wasn’t a social visit.
Marshal Dawson removed his hat. “I received your telegram.”
Nolan's gaze sharpened. “And?”
The marshal looked toward Deborah. “You must be Mrs. Avery.”
The title still made warmth bloom in her chest, and her heart flutter. “Yes, I am.”
His expression softened slightly. “Then allow me to say you’ve caused quite a stir.”
Deborah blinked. “I have?”
The marshal nodded. “Your husband didn’t give much detail in his telegram, but I have heard of the Sapphire widow, and I’ll admit, she doesn’t have a respectable reputation.”
She snorted a laugh. “That is a nice way to say it.”
“Do you have some documents that prove her crooked business?”
Deborah switched her gaze between Nolan and the marshal. Dare she trust this man? Anymore, she wasn’t sure who to trust. Then again, Nolan knew him, and if Nolan trusted the marshal, so should she.
Nolan moved closer to her without seeming to realize he’d done so. “It’s all right,” he told her. “Give him the documents.”
“We’ve spent weeks,” the marshal continued, “trying to gather all the information we could on this woman and those who work for her.”
“I can assure you, Marshal Dawson, that the documents I have will be enough to put many people in jail.”
“Or hanged,” Nolan added.
Something flickered across the marshal’s face. Approval, perhaps?
Deborah pushed her chair away from the table, still with their breakfast, and stood. “If you’ll excuse me for a moment, I’ll retrieve the documents.”
She stepped behind the dressing screen, lifted her skirt high, and pulled out the documents secured around her waist. Once she had shaken the skirt back into place, she moved toward the marshal and handed him the documents.
Nolan started stacking plates on the table and making space to show the marshal the documents. Deborah quickly stepped beside him to help.
When the marshal spread out the documents, Nolan limped up beside him, talking in hushed tones with the lawman.
Could this really be how things ended? She prayed the Sapphire widow would leave Deborah alone now that she had turned over the documents.
“These documents don’t just expose one criminal operation," the marshal stated.
Deborah's pulse quickened, but she already knew that.
The marshal ran his fingers through this thick black hair, shaking his head. “They expose seven.”
Nolan exhaled a whoosh of air from his mouth. “Do you think the widow is only one piece of a much larger organization?”
The marshal nodded grimly. “She has connections to businessmen in Chicago, and most of the major cities in Illinois, but not only that, according to this map, she has people working for her in other states, as well."
Another page appeared. “And from what I understand about these, she has railroad executives in her pocket.” Another page. “Judges.” Another. “And bankers.”
Deborah couldn’t take her eyes off the documents on the table. The room seemed to tilt slightly. All this time, she’d believed she was running from one dangerous woman. One criminal mastermind. Only one villain.
The truth was worse. So much worse.
The marshal folded the papers together. “The widow sits near the center of the web.”
A chill slid down Deborah’s spine. God help us all!
“What happens now?” Nolan’s voice was too calm.
The marshal looked at him. “Now?” His jaw hardened. “Now we start arresting people... and hope we can find enough jails to lock them in.”
For the first time that morning, Deborah felt hope. From the day she snatched the documents, knowing they might bring her danger, she had prayed for the time that this matter would be settled.
The marshal sighed heavily, opening his leather case and stuffing the documents inside. “These records will help us dismantle a great deal of corruption.” His gaze shifted toward her. “You did the right thing by taking these and wanting to get them in a lawman’s hands.”
Emotion tightened her throat. For the longest time, she’d wondered if any of it had been worth it. The fear, running, and feeling uncertain had been worth it. Especially, accidentally being sent to Nolan Avery.
The marshal turned toward the door, then paused. His expression grew serious once more. “One more thing.”
The knot returned to Deborah’s stomach. She wasn’t sure if she could take one more.
“The widow is in hiding. I’ve had men looking for her, but ever since these documents were taken, she has completely vanished with no trace at all.”
Silence. The sheriff, who still stood by the door, cursed under his breath. Nolan’s hand found Deborah’s. The marshal’s face remained grim.
“We raided three locations connected to her network a week ago.” The marshal shook his head. “She was gone before we arrived.”
Of course she was. A woman with the Sapphire widow’s reputation wouldn’t sit around and crochet all day, waiting for anyone to come snatch her.
The marshal settled his hat back onto his head. “But she’s running now, and she has good reason. We are after her, and we won’t give up.”
The words brought unexpected comfort, because the widow was no longer hunting Deborah. The widow was the one being hunted.
After the marshal and sheriff left, the room fell quiet. Deborah moved to the window. Outside, townspeople walked the boardwalk. Children laughed. A wagon rolled past. Life continued as if everything was normal. She wasn’t sure she remembered what that felt like.
Strong arms wrapped around her waist. Nolan rested his chin on her shoulder.
“Do you think it’s really over?” she whispered.
His embrace tightened. “No.”
She sighed. That wasn’t the answer she’d hoped for. But at least he was being honest with her.
Nolan turned her gently toward him. “But I think it’s finally beginning.”
She frowned. “What is?”
A smile touched his lips. “Our future.”
And for the first time since a mysterious letter had arrived in Bloomington and changed everything, Deborah found herself believing they might actually have one.