She pulled out her Bible and opened it to the Twenty-third Psalm. A well-worn page, but all the women seemed to come nearer when she read it. Just like Emma Jane, they were all probably in their own private valleys of the shadow of death. Everything in their lives had changed overnight, and many of them had no idea what would happen next. Only the solace of the Lord would get them through. One of the kittens mewed, and she looked to see it had fallen and was stuck in the hay. Just as she reached for it, one of the barn doors banged open.
“I saw you talking to the law, Nancy.”
“I didn’t tell them nothin’, Ray. You know better than that. Haven’t I kept all of your secrets? I’ve given you an alibi plenty of times, so you needn’t fear me.”
“What about that wife of his? You two seem awfully cozy to me. Betty said you’ve been spending a lot of time with that woman.”
Emma Jane shrank against the walls of the stall. Nancy had warned her that their friendship might cause trouble for her. Had looked fearful when Jasper had tried speaking to her. A shiver coursed down Emma Jane’s spine. Had she needlessly put her friend in danger in hopes of winning over her husband?
“So I listen to some do-gooder read me Bible stories. What’s it to you? I’m just biding my time until a place at the Silver King Saloon opens up. If that means letting some poor woman think she’s doing a charitable deed, it doesn’t hurt a soul.”
Some do-gooder? Poor woman? Emma Jane’s heart sank as Nancy so callously denied their friendship.
But Nancy had been the one to ask Emma Jane to read from her Bible, and as Emma Jane recalled, she’d told her that she’d turned down the opportunity to work at the Silver King Saloon.
What was going on?
The voices came closer.
Emma Jane could see Nancy clearly now, as the young woman was nearly even with the stall door. Nancy glanced over, barely looking at Emma Jane, but she understood as Nancy closed the door. She was trying to protect Emma Jane.
“Well, I don’t like it.” Ray stepped in toward Nancy, so close their faces were almost touching. “That posse last night got a little too close for my liking, and I’m thinking we have a traitor in our midst.”
“It’s not me.” Nancy started to move away from the stall, but Ray grabbed her arm.
“Betty says...”
“Maybe you ought to be asking Betty what she’s saying to that deputy she’s had as a customer all these months,” Nancy said.
Ray snorted. “Who do you think our inside man is?”
Jasper had told Emma Jane he suspected the bandits had someone in the sheriff’s office working for them. Now she could confirm his suspicions. It felt good to know that she’d be able to help him and keep her promise to stay out of the case. After all, she would be doing exactly as he’d asked—reporting back to him on what she heard.
As much as she wanted to jump in and tell Ray that Nancy was telling the truth, that she hadn’t told Emma Jane or Jasper anything, she remembered Nancy’s warning about how dangerous these people were.
Nancy, though, didn’t appear to be afraid. She lifted her chin and looked Ray in the eye. “Well, maybe he’s working both sides. Wouldn’t be the first time, you and I both know that.”
Emma Jane heard a strange clicking sound.
“I know it all too well. Which is why I’m getting rid of any leaks.”
“You can’t think...” Nancy’s face crumpled as she took a step back. “I would never...”
“I don’t think. I know.”
A gunshot rang out, and then a thud. Emma Jane squeezed her eyes shut. The image of what had happened burned against her eyelids. Even if she scrubbed with the strongest lye, nothing could ever remove the memory of Nancy’s last moments.
The kitten she held in her arms mewed.
“Who’s there?”
Emma Jane let the kitten go, encouraging it to scamper in the direction of the man who’d just killed Nancy. He wouldn’t harm a kitten, but if he looked in the stall, she knew he wouldn’t hesitate in killing her.
The kitten cooperated, but the man didn’t seem to notice. Instead, he kicked open the door to the stall next to her.
Emma Jane’s heart thudded against her chest.
He would search her stall next.
Maybe if he thought she slept through the whole thing, and hadn’t heard anything, he’d leave her alone. But if he knew she’d been conscious, he’d kill her for sure.
She curled up in a ball, arranging the straw around her, like she’d been using it as a makeshift bed, closed her eyes and prayed.
The stall door, which had been slightly ajar, banged as he opened it all the way. Even with her eyes closed, she could feel his gaze on her.
“What are you doing? We’ve got to get out of here.” An unfamiliar male voice broke through the silence.
“Seems we’ve got a witness.”
“Looks like she’s asleep. We’ve got to get out of here. Folks in the street heard the gunshot and are trying to figure out where it came from.”
“There’s gunshots around these parts all the time. We’ve got to take care of her.”
Emma Jane heard the strange click again. Now she knew. It was the sound a gun made just before someone shot it. She swallowed, saying one last prayer.
Please, don’t let this be my final prayer.
“Then they’ll be on to us
