Chapter Twenty-Four
Sam had finished his investigation at Ellen’s house. It was early afternoon and a brisk breeze reminded him to get back to his wife and child and his warm home.
Just as he’d suspected, he didn’t find any clues or evidence of the possible perpetrators, which only confirmed what he’d been thinking all along. After what Ellen had told him, Sam suspected that Briggs was involved, but he had no idea how he could prove it.
John Sampson, who was visiting his father’s ranch, had heard about the break-in and immediately came over to help.
Surprisingly, several neighbors had also shown up.
By the time Sam was done with his search around the house, a small group of men was standing outside on the porch having a livid discussion about the recent crimes that were happening around here.
“I never liked that sheriff,” one of the neighbors, a middle-aged rancher with fiery red hair and a stocky build, said with a deep frown on his freckled face. “The one before him was such a nice old man, but this one…” He shook his head.
“I agree!” an ancient-looking man with short gray hair exclaimed. “This used to be such a respectful neighborhood. But since that man took over the sheriff’s position, things have changed around here, and I don’t like it!”
Sam listened to all of their concerns, though they all pretty much said the same thing. Nobody around here trusted Briggs.
“So, how do we tackle this obvious problem?” a young man with a thick mop of brown curls which constantly fell into his face asked. “We all have some kind of story to tell, but what do we do about it?”
John and Sam exchanged a glance. They both knew that they needed solid evidence of Briggs’ involvement.
“We could set a trap,” the redhead suggested. “Let him know that one of us has a load of money in the house and wait for that scumbag to come and get it!”
John chuckled at that.
“That might actually work,” he said, when suddenly loud yelling could be heard.
They all turned around and saw a single rider racing toward them, waving his hands and calling out for… help? Sam grew instantly anxious. Then he froze when he recognized the man as one of Sadie’s ranch hands.
Breaking free of the group, Sam ran toward his stallion. He didn’t need to wait for an explanation. He mounted his saddle the second the man came close enough to relay the horrifying message.
“Something happened at the ranch!” he yelled, clearly worked up. “You have to come now!”
Sam saw out of the corner of his eyes that John and the two younger neighbors also rushed to their horses.
“What happened?” Sam yelled after the rider, who had already turned and was on his way back. The man shouted something back to him, but Sam only heard one thing and it made the blood in his veins run cold.
“Sadie is gone!”
Sam pushed Black Shadow harder than he ever had before. His mind was reeling. This couldn’t be happening. There was no way that this would happen to him again and the exact same way!
When he made it back to the house, he noticed the front door was wide open even before he jumped off his horse. Running up to it, he saw that the locks had been broken open. Some were lying on the floor among the wooden splinters.
“Ruby! Sadie!” he yelled into the empty foyer, his terrified voice hauntingly echoing back at him.
“Papa!” Ruby’s small voice came from one of the main rooms. Seconds later, his precious little daughter came running toward him. She was crying as she ran straight into his arms.
“What happened, Sweetheart?” he asked her with a shaky voice, scared of what she might tell him. “Tell me everything!”
“I was playing,” Ruby told him too quickly in between heart-wrenching sobs. “There was a crash. It was so loud! Ellen and I had to hide…”
“Slow down, darlin’,” Sam said to her, wiping her face. “I can’t understand what you are saying. Where is Sadie?”
“She’s gone!” Ruby cried out, loudly sobbing into his chest. Her little fingers clamped onto his shirt. Sam could feel his heart stuttering.
“What do you mean?” he asked carefully. “Gone away?” he asked hopeful. Ruby was inconsolable, so he started to walk toward the sitting room because he thought he’d heard voices in there. Preparing for the worst, he stepped into the open doorway.
Daniel was laying on the sofa, his head on Ellen’s lap, while a maid brought her fresh towels, as Ellen was dabbing Daniel’s forehead. He looked to be in pain and one of the cloths had blood stains on it.
Then Louise came rushing into the room with a steaming cup on a small tray. She placed it onto the small table next to the water bowl Ellen dunked the cloths in.
“What happened here?” Sam asked, bewildered. “Where is Sadie?”
Ellen’s eyes shot up to his and instantly filled with tears. The shock and horror on her face spoke volumes.
“Sam!” Ellen called out to him. “They took her! They took Sadie!”
Sam forgot to breathe. That meant that she wasn’t dead. The relief almost made him drop to his knees.
Louise rushed to him and opened her arms to Ruby, silently offering to take her. Sam couldn’t bear to pry the little girl off of him, but he knew that he had to.
“Would you like to get a cookie?” Louise tried with a soft voice. Ruby nodded, but her face was so very sad and meek. Sam reluctantly let her go.
“Who do you mean by they?” he asked Ellen.
“Walter! And Sheriff Briggs!” Ellen exclaimed as tears rolled down her face. “They knocked Daniel and the other ranch hand watching the house unconscious. Then they came in here and just took her!”
“Do you know where they took her?” Sam enquired. His initial shock and fear was rapidly replaced by raw rage. Ellen shook her head.
“Though I did overhear them talking about bringing her back to the office, but I don’t know if that’s true or even where it is,” Ellen supplied helpfully.
“We can split up,” John suggested behind Sam. He and the other two men entered the room.
“We will all help!” the younger neighbor exclaimed.
“We won’t let you look for her on your own!” John declared. “I’ll mobilize riders to widen the search for her and have the authorities involved.”
“The authorities seem to be involved already,” Sam said angrily. “Briggs took her.” John’s eyebrows shot up.
“Then let’s go! Let’s go find Sadie!” the redhead urged, punching his fist at the air.
“Get my friend back safe, Sam! We need her!” Ellen cried.
“I’m not losing her, too!” Sam told her. He needed Sadie more than he could say.
He turned on his heels and stormed past the others out of the room. They all followed him.