Chapter Twenty-Two
“I was robbed!” Ellen called out, even before she came running into the dining room the next morning. “My whole house has been ransacked!”
They had just finished breakfast. The tutor had taken Ruby to the sitting room for her lessons today, but the atmosphere in the house was already very tense, and Ellen’s shocked and angry face made matters even worse.
“They stole all of my gold!” she exclaimed breathlessly. Her eyes were wide with shock as she sank utterly perplexed onto one of the chairs at the table.
“When did that happen?” Sam asked her. His mind immediately wanted to investigate.
“Last night, I think,” Ellen said, looking deflated. “I must have been asleep, because I didn’t hear anything.” Sadie came to sit next to her and pulled her friend into a tight hug.
“Oh, that’s terrible, El!” she said to her. “Did they hurt you?” Ellen shook her head and they both released a relieved sigh.
“Everything is broken and torn,” Ellen said with tears in her eyes. “How did I not hear anything?” She winced and pushed her fingertips against her temple.
Sadie and Sam exchanged a knowing glance.
Had the robbers sedated Ellen with something?
Sam knew that it was all too easy to knock out a sleeping person.
All they had to do was wave a cloth with a few drops of chloroform over her face, and Ellen wouldn’t wake up for hours.
Her sudden headache could be an indication.
“Can you tell me everything you know?” Sam asked her as gently as he could, though he was already pulling out a small notebook and pencil.
“I had some gold stored away,” Ellen said quietly. “It was in a really safe spot, and I’ve never told anybody about it.” Sadie rushed to pour her a cup of tea. “But last night, someone broke into my house and stole all of it.”
“How did they get in?” Sam asked, writing everything down as she spoke.
“The window next to the back door in the kitchen has been broken,” she replied.
“I found a large rock on the floor with all the glass shards. And then they tore the whole house apart. Everything is on the floor and destroyed. How on Earth did I sleep to all of that? That makes no sense!” She hugged herself and started crying.
“Did you have any visitors lately?” Sam asked carefully. “Anybody who might have found the gold accidentally? Somebody must have known about it. Are you sure you didn’t tell anybody?”
Ellen shook her head, wincing again.
“I’ve got such a terrible headache,” she complained, suddenly looking very pale. Sadie got up and turned as if she was about to leave the room.
“I’m going to get some medicine,” she explained. “Hang tight, El.”
As soon as Sadie disappeared through the servant’s door that led straight into the kitchen, Daniel burst into the room through the front entrance. He immediately rushed to Ellen’s side, examining her for any injuries. Then he pulled her into a tight hug.
“Oh, Ellen! Are you all right? What happened?” he asked worriedly. “I heard your screaming…” Ellen and Sam relayed the situation to him and he was shocked.
“Who would do such a thing?” Daniel exclaimed, once again hugging Ellen. She rested her head on his shoulder and he gently rocked her back and forth. “I’m so sorry you had to go through that.”
Sadie returned with a small ceramic container and a wet cloth. She dabbed a minty-smelling salve onto Ellen’s temples and then applied the wet cloth over her forehead.
“This cool compress will hopefully draw out your headache,” Sadie told her friend. Ellen smiled at her, then she closed her eyes and sighed, relieved.
“It does feel better,” she said quietly, leaning her head back a little.
“Oh! I forgot to tell you!” Ellen exclaimed then, but her sudden movement made her wince again.
“What is it?” Daniel and Sam asked in unison.
“Sheriff Clayton Briggs came by a few days ago,” Ellen stated, which surprised Sam. Daniel groaned.
“What did he want?” he asked with a frown. Sam realized that he wasn’t the only one with a profound dislike for that man.
“He told me that he was doing a survey of his district,” Ellen explained, “asking about everybody living in each dwelling and homestead. He also wanted to have a list of everybody’s assets, so he can better protect every one of us.”
Sam snorted loudly at that.
“And you gave it to him?” Daniel asked with wide eyes before Sam could. “You told him about your assets?” Ellen pulled her lips into a thin line.
“He is a man of the law, of course I did,” she said meekly.
“He explained to me that the crime in the area has increased. And that he wanted to make sure that he can protect all of us the right way. He said that he was especially interested in keeping all of our assets safe as well and that he was asking everybody. He was talking about setting up patrols and guards during the night to ensure no further theft or arson could be committed…”
Daniel groaned again.
“Didn’t he come here, too?” Ellen asked. “I thought I saw him here just yesterday.” Sadie released an angry grunt, turning away from her friend.
“He was here, all right,” Sadie said furiously, clearly still shaken from their encounter.
She tried to steady her hands in her lap, but Sam still saw them shaking.
“Briggs was just doing my uncle’s bidding and threatened to take me to prison!
He demanded that we go to the sheriff’s office today to provide proof of when we got married, claiming that it could count as fraud if we got married after my parents’ deaths. ”
Ellen’s face twisted into a deep scowl of utter disbelief.
“What? Why can’t your uncle just leave you alone?” Ellen called out, exasperated. “He has no testament! You are the sole child. What is so difficult to understand that you are the rightful heiress?”
“And now Walter gets the sheriff involved, too?” Daniel exclaimed in disbelief.
“This is clearly getting out of hand,” Sam said with a deep sigh. “All of it! The unlawful threats during his visit yesterday, then the break-in last night… It’s all too convenient and way too close to home.”
“I agree!” Daniel said with a confirming nod. “We’ve never had problems around here, but all of a sudden Sampson’s Cove was attacked and now your house too, within weeks? I just don’t believe that it’s random thieves anymore.”
“It’s very suspicious indeed,” Sam agreed. “And the relentless harassment, now even by a man of authority? That is more than suspicious. Sheriffs have more important things to do than asking around doing surveys. All of it sounds so… wrong.”
“What are we going to do?” Sadie asked, as she sat back down next to Ellen, protectively putting her arm around her friend.
“If you don’t mind, then I’d like to go to your house and have a look around?” Sam asked Ellen, who immediately nodded.
“Yes! Yes, please do! I don’t trust Briggs and he’d be the one who’d come snooping around, since it’s his district,” Ellen said with a snort. “Even though you are not a sheriff anymore, can I still file a report with you?” she asked then.
Sam tilted his head to the side.
“Officially, no. Unofficially, yes, because I’d relay the information to the higher-ups. I am still in contact with a lot of them, including Sheriff John Sampson, who has done more investigating at his father’s ranch than Briggs.”
“Are you riding out there right now?” Daniel asked Sam. “Because I’d like to go with you.”
“Can’t you stay here with me?” Ellen asked with pleading eyes. “I really don’t want to be alone right now.”
“I’m here,” Sadie said to her. Sam shook his head.
“With the way things are right now, I’d prefer you to stay here and watch over our girls,” Sam said to Daniel. “Ruby is in the sitting room with the teacher, correct?”
Sadie nodded. Daniel looked over to Ellen and Sadie.
“You are right,” he said to Sam.
“Get one of the ranch hands to watch the back and one to watch the front,” Sam continued.
“Lock all doors and let me go see what I can find in your house,” he said with a nod toward Ellen.
“If there’s anything to be found. I have a suspicion that they might have done a pretty clean job, because they probably knew what they were doing.
And if that’s the case, Briggs will be on top of my list of suspects after what you just told us. ”
Daniel walked over to Ellen, while Sadie vacated her seat next to her for him. She walked over to Sam, took his hand and pressed his palm against her cheek.
“Please be careful out there. I’m so worried about you going alone,” she said quietly. Sam stepped closer to her and let his thumb brush over her cheekbone.
“I’m worried about you too, so please stay in the house until I come back,” he said softly, feeling a little nervous about leaving them. “Make sure to keep an eye on Ruby too, while I’m gone. I promise I’ll be quick.”
The way she looked at him right then with her warm caramel eyes melted his heart. She kissed the palm of his hand and gifted him a worried smile.
“I’ll hold you to that promise,” she whispered.
Sam gave her a soft kiss on her forehead, then he turned to leave. He didn’t want to waste any more time and get it over with.
Leaving Sadie and Ruby behind reminded him too much of that night, when he’d done the same thing. At least Ellen and Daniel were there to keep an eye on them too.
He ran out of the house and jogged up to the barn to get his horse.
His head was spinning. If his suspicion about Briggs was correct and he was involved somehow, then he’d need to prove it.
That was the part he struggled with. It was never easy to take down a corrupt sheriff.
They knew too much about how to get out of it, and more often than not, they had a judge or two in their pocket as well.
Sam decided that he wanted to involve those he could trust. There had been plenty of men whom he’d been working with over the years, and who had helped him with his investigations regarding Elizabeth.
He hoped that they would help him in this situation, too.