Chapter 15
Chapter Fifteen
Rafe posted the letter to Jack Donahue, along with another to the police chief for good measure, first thing the next morning. With any luck, both of those letters would do exactly as he wanted, and they’d never need hear the man’s name again.
Hawk hadn’t yet arrived at the office when Rafe unlocked the door.
The worst mornings were those he found one of the other men still in the office from the night before.
Whether it was because of a rowdy prisoner or a rowdy night that required someone on watch until the morning hours, it meant the day ahead would be a rough one.
Rafe peeked into the hallway where the jail cells lined each side.
He counted three men—the same three from the diner steps—all fast asleep.
No one else had joined their ranks, and if all went as it should, the two who weren’t expected back in Fremont County would be released later that morning with a warning to behave or risk being expelled from town entirely.
Trying to keep out men they’d forced out wasn’t an easy task.
It was dangerous, and it required rounding up a group large enough to deter anyone attempting to re-enter to think again.
Rafe still bore scars from two bullets that had narrowly missed causing him permanent damage from two such attempts.
He sat down heavily at one of the desks and dropped his head into his hands.
It had been a long night. After returning the escaped horse to the livery, he and Hannah had finally sat down to their supper.
She’d gone to bed soon after, and Rafe lay awake on the settee for hours, relieved Hannah felt safe enough to sleep, and still cursing the horse for interrupting them earlier.
As a result, he’d barely gotten any sleep. He was half tempted to go find an empty cell and lay down himself for a few hours.
He must have actually fallen asleep sitting up, because he jumped when the door opened. Rafe blinked at Hawk, who carried a stack of plates piled with toast and eggs.
“Morning,” the sheriff said as he crossed to the door leading to the cells.
Rafe grunted a response and stood up in an attempt to rouse himself while he waited for Hawk to deliver breakfast to their prisoners.
Lina had taken on the duty of cooking for them.
Rafe had told her more than once that she ought to make them plain gruel for all three meals.
Maybe then they’d think twice about causing a ruckus in town.
But she’d shaken her head each time, said something about her father, and continued making eggs, hotcakes, and whatever else struck her fancy.
“Long night?” Hawk asked as he locked the door that lead to the cells.
Rafe yawned in response before sharing what their mail had contained the night before.
“Let me know if you need my assistance,” Hawk said. He kicked a crate next to the door that Rafe hadn’t noticed before. “This is what was delivered here last night.”
Rafe rubbed the back of his neck, not looking forward to the hours’ worth of correspondence in that crate. Of course Jackson wouldn’t have opened it. The man wasn’t adept at reading, much less writing.
Which meant the work fell to Rafe, Hawk, and Will—if they could get the young man to sit still long enough to help.
“You want first rounds?” Hawk said, eying the stack of mail.
Rafe couldn’t grab his hat fast enough. Hawk made a pained expression before bending over to pick up the crate.
“Maybe I’ll find a good disturbance that requires your help,” Rafe said with a sideways grin at Hawk.
“Please.” Hawk reached in for the first envelope. “Denver. Fifty cents says it’s Ulysses Travis, asking after the Flagstone Gang again.”
Rafe laughed as he stepped outside. He took his time walking the town.
There wasn’t much to Perseverance—and there wasn’t much going on at all this early in the morning—but Rafe made it last as long as he could.
He stood and listened to an older fellow he’d seen here and there talk about the war that had ended nine years ago, peered into the windows of all the saloons to ensure no one had snuck inside, helped a man catch his dog, and declined an offer from Miss Danforth to accompany him on his rounds.
He’d just finished up chatting with Mrs. Garner at the diner about the new hat her grown son had sent her from Philadelphia when he figured it was time he headed back.
He stepped into the office to find everyone there, Jackson and Will included. The latter two looked just as exhausted as he was, and he knew it was serious if Hawk had dragged them out of bed.
“What happened?” Rafe asked, not sure he wanted to hear the answer. Especially since he was certain it didn’t include him going home to catch up on his sleep.
“It’s the strangest coincidence,” Will said.
Rafe looked to Hawk to explain.
“Remember that letter on the top of the stack?” Hawk said.
Rafe nodded. “From Travis up in Denver.”
“Right. Wouldn’t you know he’s pestering me again about those Flagstone boys, and an hour later a man rides into town claiming they robbed him and left his companion for dead up at the pass?” Hawk shoved the scattered envelopes back into the crate.
The dull headache at the back of Rafe’s head seemed to clear in an instant at this news. “We headed up there?”
“You, me, Jackson, and I need to round up a couple other men. Will’s going to stay here,” Hawk said.
Will folded his arms, his irritation plastered across his face. “I can’t be gone that long. And I can’t miss my shift at Mrs. Garner’s.”
“That long?” Rafe repeated, turned a questioning look toward Hawk. It wasn’t hard to get up to the pass and back within a day. “How long are you thinking?”
“I hope not more than a day or two. But if we can’t find them, we’ll need to go searching to make sure they’ve left the county.
I can’t leave men like that up there, not with the stage due to come through and men trying to scratch out a living from the rocks.
” Hawk shoved his arms through the sleeves of his jacket.
“Will you two go see who you can find? We leave in an hour.”
Rafe followed Jackson and Hawk out the door. “Better go tell the wife first,” Jackson said, more morose than Rafe would have expected. It seemed the man had taken to married life.
“All right. I’ll go by Cabot’s boardinghouse after. See if I can find anyone,” Rafe said.
He dreaded telling Hannah, not after she’d been so affected by Donahue’s letters. But it had to be done.
And so he headed home first.