Chapter Twenty-Seven
Sadie and Ruby were hiding in her bedroom. Ellen stood by the locked door with a revolver in her hand, waiting.
They’d even brought Buster into the room, as a measure of extra protection. The dog was lying on the floor, sleeping as if nothing was amiss. Sadie felt jealous.
“How did everything turn so bad so quickly?” Ellen said quietly, staring at the door. “I can’t believe that we have to live in fear like this. In our own homes.”
Sadie pulled Ruby closer to her and wrapped her arms even tighter around the girl. Sadie was shaking like a leaf, and couldn’t stop it. Ellen’s words hit hard because they were true. What Sadie had once called her safe haven had now turned into a prison.
“Why are you scared?” Ruby asked innocently. She was holding her wooden horse, its legs painfully poking Sadie’s chest.
Ellen looked back at her with a sad smile, but didn’t say anything. Sadie could see that she was struggling to come up with something soothing to say, so as not to worry the child.
“Oh, we are not scared,” Sadie said with a forced smile. “It’s a game we play with my uncle.” Ellen nodded at her and turned back toward the door. Sadie watched how hard her friend’s hands were shaking while she pointed the gun at it.
“I don’t like him,” Ruby said quietly. Sadie was surprised to hear her say that. After all, they’d tried to keep Walter away from her as much as possible. Unfortunately, it hadn’t always worked.
“Why do you say that?” Sadie asked curiously.
“He’s mean,” Ruby said. “He whips his horse a lot. I don’t like that.” Sadie tensed when she was reminded of that. Walter’s abuse had taken on a whole new meaning now, even though it had been Briggs who’d inflicted Sadie’s pain.
“And he yells a lot,” Ruby continued. “And he wants me to call him uncle. I don’t want to.” Sadie hugged her again.
“You don’t have to,” she told the girl. “And you are right. He does yell sometimes.” Sadie didn’t mention the poor gelding on purpose. She didn’t want to reinforce that particular image in Ruby’s mind. Or her own.
“Then why do we play with him?” Ruby asked with a frown on her cute little face. Sadie looked at Ellen, who shrugged helplessly. For a moment they were silent.
“I hope Papa comes home and finds him first,” Ruby said then with a warm smile. “When Papa is home, we don’t have to play anymore. And we don’t have to be scared.” Sadie nodded, as she tried to swallow past that lump forming in her throat.
“You are so right, Ruby!” Ellen said to her from the door. “Let’s hope he comes home quickly. I don’t want to play this game anymore.”
Sadie’s heart hurt when she heard Ellen say that. She couldn’t help but feel guilty for some of the things that were happening. Walter was her problem, yet she’d dragged everybody she loved into her feud with him.
“Let’s pray,” Sadie suggested, not really knowing what else to do. “The one thing we can all turn to is God. He’ll listen and He’ll help us do what’s right.”
Ruby put her horse gently on the pillow, stroking it like a pet before she put her little hands together. Ellen lowered her head ever so slightly, keeping one eye open on the door.
“Dear Heavenly Father,” Ruby said first. “Please protect all the people we love so much. Especially Sadie, and Ellen, and Buster.”
“And Daniel,” Ellen quickly added.
“And Daniel, and Papa. And my Grammy. And also Mister Snickers and Black Shadow!” Ruby continued, shooting a quick glance at her toy horse. “And Louise, and Magda, and Miss Higgins. And Alvarez, and Juan, and Thomas…”
Sadie was speechless as she listened to Ruby’s long list, naming most of the staff and ranch hands working on this ranch. Tears welled up in her eyes.
Sadie suddenly realized how big her life truly was, because she considered every single one of these people her family. She couldn’t just give up now because things got a little difficult. Her father had taught her differently.
“…and especially my mommy in heaven and my mommy here on Earth,” Ruby said confidently, her eyes still tightly squeezed shut.
Ellen shot a glance to Sadie. She was clearly moved. So was Sadie. The lump in her throat was back again, making it difficult to swallow.
“Make sure that nobody gets hurt,” Ruby continued, “and that we can all be happy and play nice games together. Amen.” Ruby opened her eyes and smiled at Sadie. Her innocence was so heart-warming, Sadie lost her fight against the tears when she reciprocated the girl’s smile.
“Oh, no! Don’t cry!” Ruby said with a worried face. “Was my prayer bad?”
Ellen released a small sob, immediately turning her head the other way. Sadie could only pull Ruby into a tight hug.
“Your prayer was perfect, Sweetheart,” she said into her soft curls, quickly wiping her face.
A loud commotion outside made Sadie and Ellen freeze. Buster was immediately on all four paws, releasing a deep growl before he started barking at whatever was going on behind the door.
Then they heard Sam’s voice coming through.
“Sadie? Ruby? Are you in there?” he asked, his voice full of worry.
Ellen dropped the gun and rushed to unlock the door, ripping it wide open. She quickly stepped aside when Buster darted into the hallway, not paying attention to anybody.
Sam’s deep frown vanished and his face showed his absolute relief. He walked inside with long, purposeful strides and pulled Sadie and Ruby into his arms. Sadie saw Ellen quietly slip out of the room with a nod.
After Sam had held onto them for almost a minute, he gently pulled away and looked them over.
“Are you all right?” he asked worriedly. Sadie and Ruby both nodded.
“Are you all right?” Sadie asked. Sam looked defeated, somehow. He nodded reassuringly, as he smiled at Ruby, but the glance he shot her said otherwise. Sadie knew that she’d have to wait for the right moment to hear the full story.
“Is he gone?” she asked, hopeful.
“Yes,” Sam replied with a heavy sigh. “At least for now.”
“Can I go outside and play with Buster now?” Ruby whined. Sam didn’t seem all that happy about it, but he knew just as well as Sadie did that they couldn’t stay cooped up indoors for the rest of their lives.
“Yes, but you can’t run away very far!” Sam told her. Ruby squealed excitedly, grabbed her toy horse, and ran out of the room.
“We better follow her,” Sadie said as she slid out of the bed. “Your daughter is fast!” Sadie was about to run after the girl, but Sam grabbed her by the waist and pulled her close to his body.
There was no forewarning or gesture that would indicate his intention. He just kissed her, quickly and urgently.
“I’m glad you are both all right,” he said, briefly resting his forehead against hers. Then he grabbed her hand and they both ran after Ruby.
***
Late that night, as they were sitting in front of the large fireplace in the sitting room, Ruby was finally asleep in Sam’s lap.
The house was quiet and Sadie relished letting the calmness and warmth seep into every bone of her body, even though Sam didn’t seem to be able to relax just yet.
His knee hadn’t stopped bobbing up and down at a rapid speed.
Meanwhile, he seemed to stare into an abyss as he was looking into the fire.
“I think it’s safe to talk now,” Sadie said, which finally caught his attention.
“Let me bring Ruby to bed first,” Sam said, as he slowly got up to take his daughter upstairs.
Sadie waited patiently, listening into the quiet of the night, praying that it would stay that way at least until morning. It didn’t take long before Sam returned.
“She’s a deep sleeper,” he said as he sat back down. Sadie wondered if he was trying to distract her. She wouldn’t have it, because she’d been waiting all day.
“Tell me what happened today?” she prompted.
Sam released a deep sigh.
Apparently, he needed a couple of minutes to gather his thoughts.
Then he told her everything that happened, from the court room disaster to the yelling argument with Walter before and then again after his meeting with the sheriffs when he got home.
“I just can’t wrap my head around it all,” Sam told her, shaking his head.
“The fact that that man is free right now. I’m not alone in my suspicion that Briggs is involved in some kind of crime.
Abducting you with the help of your own uncle and then torturing you like that should have been enough to prove that he’s dirty.
Even the robbery at Ellen’s house is another example where it’s glaringly obvious.
But that man is as slick as oil. For him to get away with it so far just blows my mind.
Especially that stint in the court room today. ”
Sadie’s eyebrows shot up. That wasn’t great news and now she finally understood why Sam had been agitated all evening.
“But there is something else which greatly disturbs me,” he added. Sadie could see his inner struggle with it—it was written all over his face.
“What is it?” she asked, slightly alarmed by the way he was acting.
“Walter threatened to…” Sam stopped himself, which only worried Sadie more.
“Tell me already! What happened?” she pressured him. “If it’s about my uncle, then I definitely need to know!”
Sam closed his eyes. Whatever it was, Sadie realized that it was too difficult for Sam to say out loud. Dread sank like a heavy pit inside her stomach.
“Walter… threatened to have my daughter killed,” he said quietly. Sadie’s eyes flew open and her jaw dropped. She recoiled and leaned back in her chair.
“He did what?” she asked, utterly shocked. It was too hard to believe. Too crazy.
“We went back and forth arguing,” Sam told her. “I called him a criminal. That’s when he threatened her...” Sadie had a sour taste in her mouth.
“What an awful thing to say!” she said, bewildered. “How terrible!”
“That’s not it,” Sam continued. Sadie’s eyes widened again.
“What else could there be?” she asked, full of disbelief. Sam hesitated.
“He said something that makes me believe that he could have had something to do with Elizabeth’s murder,” he finally said. Sadie stared at him, bewildered.
Her initial thought was that this notion was absurd. Elizabeth’s murder had happened years ago. Sam and Walter hadn’t known each other then.
However, the fact that it was Sam saying this, and the fact that he was looking straight into her eyes as he did so, made Sadie question her own reasoning.
“How is that possible?” she asked breathlessly.
Sam didn’t speak for a moment.
“I have no idea,” he finally replied. “None of what’s happening makes sense to me anymore. Everything is ridiculous, yet it keeps happening.”
“What are we going to do?” Sadie asked as she stared into the fire. “He can’t ever come back here if he’s saying things like that! All of this seems so hopeless. How are we going to keep Walter away?”
Sam leaned over and took her hand in his, pulling her attention back to him.
“We’ll figure it out,” he said reassuringly. “I’ve got a whole army working for us trying to find out more information about Briggs and also your uncle. The fact that they kidnapped and tortured you was enough to get the higher-ups involved. Unfortunately, things will take a bit of time.”
“But we don’t have time!” Sadie exclaimed. As soon as she was reminded of her ordeal, her body began to tremble. “If Walter keeps coming back, and now he is threatening Ruby as well…? This can’t be happening! We need to do something ourselves. We can’t just sit here and wait around and do nothing!”
Sadie couldn’t help the sudden panic washing over her. She’d tried so hard to stay strong for everybody, not to show her fear too much, but it was in moments like these that she couldn’t hold it back any longer.
“I am so scared that something worse will happen to any of us!” she said with a shaky voice. “I can’t lose any of you! I love Ruby and I love you!”
Sam visibly held his breath when he heard that. His eyes softened and when he finally inhaled a deep breath, he managed a small smile.
“I love you too, Sadie.”