Chapter 6 #2
“That’s simple,” Warren said immediately.
“Two of us stay here and keep an eye on the farm and its inhabitants. We’ll make notes of comings and goings and individual bandits along with their weapons.
Then two others will go to town and discreetly obtain information from the locals and the sheriff.
It will be best if the two who go to Cherryville return here before dark so that we can decide on the best plan from there. ”
“So, then it should be me and Mike heading to town,” Kyle said.
Michael nodded. “Yes, you definitely have to go.”
“Why?” Alice asked.
“Kyle has a way of finding things out without raising suspicion,” Michael said. “Folks feel at home with him. They tell him their life stories before they even know what they’re doing.”
Kyle shrugged. “It’s a gift. Good with horses and people.” And there was that smile again.
Alice knew exactly what it was that made people trust him.
Kyle had an open face. He looked as though he couldn’t lie if his life depended on it.
And then it was topped off with that friendly smile that made a person feel not only seen, but also understood and liked.
He had managed to get her to trust him without even trying, and she had come west with a definite chip on her shoulder, not ready to trust anyone until she found her sister safe and sound.
“And you? Why are you going?” she asked.
“Because I have my own methods for finding things out,” Michael said. “And I assumed you would want to stay here and keep an eye on your sister.”
Alice nodded. She did want that. Then again, she also wanted to go to town and do something that felt like it might be helpful. Just sitting on a log and watching her sister do chores felt wrong. Alice had to once again fight the urge to rush down there and try to save her.
“I could use your help,” Warren commented. “The more data you can help me gather, the better we’ll know how to tackle the problem.”
She didn’t really understand what that meant but nodded. “Okay.”
“We’ll bring back food,” Kyle said.
As though that was a major concern. Alice didn’t care. She wanted a plan in place to save Chrissie fast, and this was apparently the best way to get one.
Kyle and Michael climbed on the cart and soon left.
Warren sat on a fallen log, watching the farm intently. He didn’t speak much but made notes in his notebook from time to time when another person came into view.
Alice sat beside him and together they made a list of bandits. They added another two to Warren’s list. That made ten. That was a lot of armed, hostile men.
After a while they had given all the bandits names. The one watching Chrissie was called the Nose because his nose was large and oddly flat, as though it had been broken. The one watching Jason was dubbed Lodgepole because he was so tall and thin.
Soon, Chrissie was done with the laundry and she moved to the kitchen garden.
It was close to where the fields began and was in the afternoon sun.
The Nose went to sit on a bench under a tree.
Since the afternoon air was muggy and Alice was even sweating in the shade, she thought it unlikely that the Nose would venture too far from the shade. That opened up a possibility.
“I’m going down there,” she said, getting up off the log. “I’m going to speak to my sister.”
Before he could protest, she set off down the hill, pushing her way through the tall stalks of sugarcane. They were planted in rows like corn, and she could move through them with ease. Warren called softly behind her and then she heard him following on her heels.
“Alice!” he hissed.
“She’s right by this field. The stalks will hide me. Please, let me do this!”
He seemed to think about it. “Okay,” he agreed with obvious reluctance at last. “But I’ll hang back a bit and make sure that no one causes trouble.”
What he meant by that was a mystery, but Alice didn’t much care.
She headed down and soon came to the edge of the field. Kneeling in the dirt, she waited for Chrissie to come close in her work in the garden. The Nose hadn’t moved. He looked drowsy, slouching on the bench under his large, shady tree.
Turning her attention to her sister, Alice was shocked at what she saw.
Close up, Chrissie looked terrible. Her hair was hanging limp and had lost its glossy shine.
There were dark rings under her eyes, and her cheeks were hollow.
She was also stick thin, as though she was being slowly consumed from the inside.
But the worst part was the emptiness in her eyes, as though all hope had left her.
“Chrissie!” Alice called softly, too low for the Nose to hear.
Chrissie, on her hands and knees while pulling weeds, looked around. Not seeing Alice, who was too well hidden, it seemed, she went back to work.
“Chris, it’s me, Alice,” Alice whispered desperately.
“Alice?” Chrissie gasped, raising her head in shock. “What are you doing here?”
“Keep your head down so they don’t realize you’re talking to someone,” Alice hissed.
“Obviously, I’m here to save you.” It occurred to her that she could just grab Chrissie now and run, but she also knew Chrissie wouldn’t willingly leave her new husband.
“Don’t worry, I have some friends who are coming up with a plan. ”
“Is that right?” Chrissie asked.
“Yes, so anything you can tell me will be a big help to get you out of here.”
Chrissie was silent for a moment. Then, her voice soundly oddly distant and detached, she said, “There are twelve of them at the house all the time and more in town. I don’t know that your friends will be able to do a thing.
Anyway, they said they were leaving in a week.
So, Jason and I just have to stick it out until then. ”
“They’re leaving in a week? Just like that?” Alice asked. That didn’t make sense. “Why?”
Chrissie shrugged. “They have some big job or other to do around here, and then they’re leaving. At least that’s what Jason’s cousin said.”
“His cousin?” Alice asked.
“Look, just don’t get involved,” Chrissie whispered. “Please, Alice. If we don’t cause trouble and keep our heads down, Joel and his men will go, and we’ll never see them again. They promised Jason they would go.”
This was too much. Chrissie believed the word of men who obviously couldn’t be trusted. What was she thinking?
“Chrissie!”
Chrissie dug into the ground with force.
“Just go!” she hissed. “I don’t need you.
They’re going to leave, and Jason and I will be fine.
If you interfere, you’ll upset Joel, and then they’ll kill us.
Jason will probably be first because of his relationship to Joel.
I won’t risk my husband’s life. Just go, Alice! ”
“Chrissie,” Alice tried again, shocked at the coldness in her sister’s voice.
But one look at Chrissie’s face told her that her sister was beyond her reach.
“Hey, what are you doing? Who are you talking to?” The Nose demanded abruptly.
“No one,” Chrissie said. “Just a bug wanting to eat my vegetables.”
“Well, shut up and get back to work,” the Nose snapped, slouching back on his bench.
Chrissie went back to aggressively weeding, and Alice slowly inched away. She didn’t understand what had just happened. As she made her way back up the hill, she found that her hands were shaking, and she wanted to cry.