there, and, God willing, she saw all of them.
'They'll try to kill me, won't they? ' she whispered.
'We'll protect you, ' Cole fervently promised.
'You'll try, but they'll find a way to silence me.'
'We aren't going to let anyone hurt you, ' Daniel vowed.
She wiped the tears away from her face before speaking again. 'I know
I should have come forward sooner, but I was very frightened. I just
wanted to pretend it didn't happen, and I kept hoping that you would
catch them . . . eventually. I'm so sorry I lied. It isn't like me
to act so cowardly.'
'You were scared, ' Cole said.
'Yes, ' she whispered. 'And now poor Jessica and Grace have both been
dragged into this nightmare. Neither one of them was in the bank at
closing time. I know because I was there, and if I had had the courage
to speak up sooner, they wouldn't be living in fear now.'
'You were seen inside the bank earlier that afternoon, ' Cole said.
'Yes, I was there, but I went back. I needed to finish some
business.
I thought I could just run into the bank and . . . ' A defeated look
crossed her face. 'I'll go to Blackwater with you and look at the man
they've captured, ' she whispered. 'If he's one of the Blackwater
gang, I'll point him out and testify in court.' She wiped another tear
from her cheek before continuing. 'I'm begging you. Let Jessica and
Grace get on with their lives. They want to leave town this afternoon,
as soon as they can, and I think they should be allowed to, ' she
added. 'They shouldn't be hounded or punished any longer because of my
cowardice. You don't have to worry that the gang will come after
them.
I've thought about this long and hard, and I think I've come up with
the perfect solution to ensure they'll be left alone.'
'And what's that? ' Daniel asked.
'I'm going to tell the reporter for the newspaper that I'm the
witness.
I'm certain he'll put the announcement on the front page of tomorrow's
edition. I'll go over to his office as soon as I leave here.' Daniel
was shaking his head. Cole put his coffee cup down and took a step
