“I have an idea,” Rosalie declared, tugging him down the boardwalk.
Chapter 8
“May I ask why you called this meeting, Mrs. Brooks?” Sheriff Walton asked, his voice dripping in annoyance.
Ignoring his tone, Rosalie flashed him a smile. “I have a plan to trap Bill Garrett.”
“Already?” Deputy Charlie glanced up from the papers on his desk. “You haven’t even been in Shelbrook for twenty-four hours.”
The sheriff sat back in his seat and turned his attention toward Paden. “Do you consider it to be a good plan?”
Paden shrugged. “I haven’t heard it yet, but I must assume it is a decent plan.”
“Blast it,” Sheriff Walton huffed, tossing his fountain pen onto the desk. “You two are going to get killed, and then this whole town will be swarming with Pinks to investigate the murders.”
“What makes you think we would be reckless?” Rosalie asked, walking toward the window in the back corner.
Deputy Charlie lifted his brow. “This is coming from the woman who shot at robbers from the roof of a stagecoach.”
“Fair enough.” She shrugged and stopped at the open window. “Ryan, I need you to go tell Mr. Murray that his presence is required at the sheriff’s office. Inform him that he is not in any kind of trouble.”
A pause. “Yes, ma’am.” His words were followed by the noise of boots thumping on the ground.
Shooting up from his seat, Deputy Charlie walked over to the window and looked out. “What the dickens? How did you know he was listening in on our conversation?”
Rosalie smirked. “A lucky guess.” She walked back over to Paden, who was leaning against the wall, watching her with amusement. “My plan is simple. Mr. Murray will inform Mr. Tuttle that a wire came in from the staging company, informing him that a gold shipment will be sent to Shelbrook in two days.”
Sheriff Walton gave her a stern glare. “You would be putting all those passengers at risk for this ploy.”
“Just the opposite, in fact,” she confirmed. “The wire will explain that the stagecoach will be a decoy and the real shipment will be sent via a wagon on an alternate path with guarded messengers.”
Paden straightened from the wall. “How many alternate paths are there to Shelbrook?”
“Far too many,” Deputy Charlie admitted. “The stagecoach takes the least treacherous path, but a wagon would have no issues with some of those winding roads through the woodlands.”
Rosalie’s confidence grew. “Bill Garrett already lost his opportunity on the last shipment of gold. Any good bank would buckle down their resources to ensure they wouldn’t lose another dime.” She started pacing in the small office. “Paden and I will watch Mr. Tuttle and Mr. Holmes around the clock to see if Garrett or any of his gang approaches them.”
Sheriff Walton stared at her with a combination of disbelief and irritation. “That is your plan. To lie about a fake delivery of gold, put the bank employees under surveillance, and just wait for the bad guys to slip up.”
Rosalie stopped pacing. “Do you have a better idea, sheriff?” she challenged, meeting his stare, determined to win this battle.
Letting out a grunt, the sheriff took off his hat and ran his hand through his hair. “I don’t. But this plan,” he drawled, “and I use that term generously, has too many variables. What if Mr. Tuttle or Mr. Holmes are not involved? Or Bill Garrett doesn’t bite? Then we just wasted two days.”
“No, you wouldn’t. We would,” Paden declared.
“Careful, Pink,” Sheriff Walton stated with narrowed eyes. “You need to remember your place. We are the law, and we are allowing you to work in our town.”
Rosalie walked closer to the sheriff’s desk. Her manner was confident, her voice steady. “I may be a Pinkerton agent, but I am also a bounty hunter. I have every right to run this investigation and arrest Bill Garrett.”
No one spoke as Sheriff Walton and Deputy Charlie exchanged worried glances. It was clear that they thought her plan was not up to snuff, but they needed to trust her.
The door was opened, and James Murray walked through the door, his eyes landing on the sheriff. “Ryan told me that you wanted to see me, sir.”
“Tell Ryan we better not catch him snooping around our office again, or we will lock him up overnight,” Deputy Charlie stated.
“Understood,” James acknowledged.
“Agent Brooks has come up with an absurd plan to lure Garrett out of hiding,” Sheriff Walton sighed as he pointed to her. “I give it a ten percent chance of working.”
James frowned. “Ten percent. Those are some low odds.”
“I say five percent,” Deputy Charlie piped in.
Stepping up next to her, Paden placed his hand on the small of her back. “I have full confidence in my wife’s plan. If she says it will work, then I believe her.”
Rosalie gave him a grateful smile before filling James in on what his role would be in the plan. The sheriff and deputy continued grumbling their complaints, but that didn’t bother her in the least. All that mattered was that Paden believed in her. And that was a wonderful feeling.
“Your plan won’t work,” Paden informed her the moment he closed the door to their hotel room.
Rosalie spun back around. “I beg your pardon?”
“There are too many variables that could go wrong.” He went and dropped down on the settee.
“What about supporting me back in the sheriff’s office?” she asked, as she removed a glove.
Paden looked up at her. “We are a partnership, and we need to appear united. I couldn’t very well tell Sheriff Walton
