Chapter 14 #2
“Okay, so how do we catch them without endangering my sister?” Alice asked, her heart thumping hard in her chest. She was so afraid that they would tell her there was no way to save Chrissie. She could never accept that, and if she had to come up with a plan on her own, she would.
Kyle rested his hand over her lightly. “We haven’t forgotten Chrissie,” he said softly. “I know it seems like it because so much else has been going on. But we’re going to save her, Alice. I promise.”
Her heart grew several sizes at the sincerity in his tone, and tears filled her eyes.
“We’ll go to the sheriff and get as many men as possible and then wait for them to come to us,” Kyle said, wiping a tear from the corner of Alice’s eyes with his thumb and smiling at her. Her heart skipped a beat, and she smiled at him through the haze of tears.
“Hold on, they might wait for the new train to arrive and then hold it up,” Michael pointed out.
“No,” Warren said. “Not if they plan to slip away like Kyle said.”
“Well, you’ve got something,” Mr. Benson said. “I’m not sure if it’s entirely feasible, but you can take it to Sheriff Butler in the morning.”
Kyle nodded. “That is the plan. We’ll see what he says. Maybe there’s a component we don’t know about that will help us to get this right and catch these fiends. And save Chrissie.”
Alice finished cleaning up the bar in a daze and dragged herself to bed. She was exhausted and fell asleep in no time.
“Wish me luck,” Kyle said, coming up behind Alice the next morning and giving her a fright.
She was sweeping, lost in her own world, and jumped a little.
“Why?” she asked.
He grinned. “Because we’re heading over to see the sheriff.”
Alice sighed. “Then I wish you all the luck a million falling stars would bring you,” she said, and on a whim, stood on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek.
Kyle’s hand went to the place where her lips had touched his skin, and he smiled. “Now everything will turn out perfectly.”
Alice held back from giving him another kiss, however much she wanted to. “I wish I could go too.”
“I know,” he said kindly. “But the sheriff has refused to help you every time you’ve gone to him. I just don’t want to?—”
“Jinx it, I know,” she said. “Go make him see sense.”
“Oh, I will,” Kyle said. He caught her hand and lifted it to his lips for a long, lingering moment before he departed.
Alice was left to her chores. Her mind was on Kyle and the others talking to Sheriff Butler at his office, and she found it hard to resist the urge to run over there so she could hear what was happening.
She wanted to be there so badly, but Kyle was right. Her being there wouldn’t help matters. The sheriff thought she was being a silly, hysterical woman. No amount of her standing there and insisting that her sister was in trouble would help.
Michael and Warren’s rational way of approaching matters would definitely make old Butler listen. And there was always Kyle’s open, innocent charm to reckon with. Actually, if she thought about it, the sheriff didn’t stand a chance. She smiled a little at the thought.
“Alice, would you be a darling and do me a huge favor?” Mrs. Benson asked.
Alice, who had been sweeping the kitchen floor, stopped and looked around. “Of course,” she said. “What can I do?”
“I need to run the cash box to the bank,” Mrs. Benson said. “I would send my husband, but he’s out dealing with a delivery, and if I don’t start cooking, no one will be getting anything to eat here.”
“No problem. I’ll hurry over there for you,” Alice promised.
“You are the best,” Mrs. Benson said with a large smile. “Thank you.”
Alice undid the ties of her apron and, taking the cashbox and the saloon’s bank book, she headed out into the street.
It was one of those undecided days where it might rain, or the gray clouds might break up and blow away. The wind was blowing, which was a blessing as it made it cooler. Despite being October, it was still warm.
There were a lot of carts parked up and down the street, and some had tarpaulins over the back. It seemed she wasn’t the only one who thought it might rain today.
At least it wasn’t far to the bank, and if it started raining, she wouldn’t have too much opportunity to get wet. It would mean folks would track all kinds of mud into the saloon though. She’d have to get this done and hurry back.
A very nice gentleman at the door to the bank held it open for her. She smiled warmly and went in.
It was busy. There were another fourteen people in the bank waiting in line to speak to a teller. Luckily, there were four tellers working that morning.
Heading to the counter where the deposit slips were, Alice took one and slipped in between an older lady with a straw hat pinned on her head and a man in work clothes.
She smiled at them both and began to fill in her form.
After a moment or two, she noticed that the man in work clothes seemed to be having trouble filling in his deposit slip.
His pen hovered over the page, but he wasn’t writing anything.
“Sir, do you need help?” she asked. “I know these forms can be a little daunting.”
“No, I’m fine,” the man said. “I’ve just forgotten a few numbers.” He began to dig in his pockets. “I think I wrote them down somewhere. Thank you kindly though, miss.”
“Oh, all right then,” she said and turned back to her own slip.
All the information for the saloon was in the bank book, so she had no trouble filling her form in and joining the line.
How were things going with Kyle and the others? Were they getting Sheriff Butler to pay attention to them?
Let it go well for them, Lord. I can’t take any more disappointment, and neither can this town or Chrissie!
It was a desperate little prayer, but one that needed saying.
The line in the bank was moving along slowly. Alice began to pay attention to the other folks in the bank. There were a lot of men in jackets. It wasn’t that cold. In fact, out of the wind, she was feeling quite warm. Even a mother with her baby in her arms wasn’t wearing a jacket.
And then one of them moved, and she saw that he was wearing a holster on his hip. Maybe he was in town from the farms. Most folks in town didn’t wear firearms, but the men who worked out in the fields, with cattle or on remote ranches, all seemed to carry guns.
She spotted another man with a gun stuffed into his belt. And then another.
Gee, had they all come to town together? Was it payday or something?
And suddenly Kyle’s voice was in her inner ear. Looks mighty suspicious now, doesn’t it?
She thought back to the day when Kyle had come to the bank and had pointed out the men he was suspicious of. She’d scolded him for it, saying he was being judgmental! Now that she knew Kyle and was aware he was the least judgmental of any person she’d ever met, she cringed at the memory.
Watching the men around her, while trying not to look like she was, Alice noticed where they were standing.
Two were by the door, one by the tellers, one by the table with the deposit slips, and another two or three were in the line, including the man she’d tried to help.
From those places, they could point their guns at everyone in the room, her included.
What should she do? She knew she should alert someone, but she was still three folks from the front of the line.
A man came through a door at the back of the teller’s booth and walked up to the counter. From his attire, Alice guessed he was the bank manager. He engaged in a quiet conversation with the man at the front.
Then, something changed.
It moved like a ripple through the room. One of the men at the door locked it, and the man at the counter pulled his gun and pointed it right in the bank manager’s face. The manager went white as a sheet, and everyone began to scream.
Alice clutched the cashbox to her chest and wondered what to do.
“Okay! Everyone shut up!” the man pointing the gun at the bank manager said harshly. “This is a stick-up!”