Rosalie sat back onto the top of his desk. “Why didn’t you go to Sheriff Walton?”
“I wanted to,” Mr. Holmes confessed. “One morning I collected the notes and started walking toward the main part of town. My sister was already working the morning shift at the restaurant so I had incorrectly assumed she would be safe. I had just stepped into the sheriff’s office when someone shot out the windows of Sally’s.”
“Was Emeline or anyone else harmed?” Paden asked.
He shook his head. “No. But it made me realize that I was always being watched.”
“Regardless, your actions caused the death of a whole stagecoach company,” Rosalie shared.
“I know,” Mr. Holmes replied, hanging his head low, “and I am prepared to pay for my crimes. I did what I had to do to save my sister’s life. I never wanted anyone to get hurt.”
Paden exchanged a look with Rosie. It was clear that Holmes had been forced to share the information, but what he did was still illegal.
“Why would Garrett abduct your sister now?” he asked.
“I don’t know. I left the letter in the alleyway yesterday about the upcoming shipment,” Mr. Holmes answered.
“That note was never delivered,” Rosalie revealed. “I saw you depositing it behind the brick in the alleyway, and it led to a confrontation with one of Garrett’s gang.”
“You shot that man?”
“No,” she said with a shake of her head. “I was attempting to arrest him, and he was shot in the back by a member of his own gang.”
Holmes’ eyes went frantic. “You gotta save Emeline. Please! She is innocent in all of this.”
Paden looked out the darkened window and pursed his lips. “We will go search for her at first light, but we can’t go out now. We’d be sitting ducks if Garrett anticipated that move.”
“You are going to leave her with those men all night?” Holmes shouted. “Are you insane?”
Walking closer to Holmes, Paden leaned closer. “You were the one that made a deal with the devil.” He went over to the door. “We will inform Sheriff Walton that you’re ready to be arrested.”
“Please! You have to go after Emeline!” Holmes pleaded.
Paden opened the door and waited for Rosalie to exit the room. As soon as he closed the door, she swiveled around and asked, “You were bluffing, weren’t you?”
“About what?”
Her eyes grew guarded. “We aren’t truly waiting till morning to search for Emeline. Are we?”
Placing his hands on her shoulders, he explained, “Garrett is a ruthless man. Everything he does is intentional. If we tried to follow the tracks tonight, we would easily be picked off as we rode in the saddle. It is too dangerous. We will get up at first light and ask for Sheriff Walton to join us.”
Rosalie shook off his hands. “We can’t leave Emeline out there all night.”
“They will keep her alive…”
She spoke over him. “Yes, but what will they do to her in the process?”
“You are letting your emotions get in the way, Rosie,” Paden sighed. “Be rational.”
Squaring her shoulders, Rosalie declared, “If you won’t go, then I will go alone.”
“No, you won’t,” he ordered. “I am the lead Pinkerton agent, and I have made my decision.”
“Then I won’t go as an agent. I will go as a bounty hunter,” she asserted, turning to leave.
In a quick motion, he ducked down and tossed his disobedient wife over his left shoulder like a sack of potatoes. She started pounding her fists against his back. “Put me down, Paden!”
“I will not. You are not thinking clearly, and you are going to get yourself killed,” he answered, walking down the stairs and ignoring the gawking stares of all the patrons now assembled in the drawing room.
Paden opened the front door and saw Sheriff Walton’s steps falter as he walked up the stairs.
“May I ask what you are doing with your wife, Agent Brooks?” he asked in a disapproving tone.
Rosalie started kicking her legs against his chest, so he repositioned his hands to hold her legs together. “Emeline Holmes was abducted by members of Bill Garrett’s gang. My wife is anxious to begin looking for her and was not pleased when I said we would wait till morning to begin our search.”
“I must admit that I agree with your husband, Mrs. Brooks,” the sheriff said, attempting to keep the smile off his face. “Although, I don’t agree with his tactics. There are plenty of places for a sharpshooter to hide in those foothills.”
Rosalie stopped struggling, but Paden could still feel the tension radiating off her person.
The sheriff continued, “Come by my office at first light, and Deputy Charlie and I will help in the search for Miss Holmes.”
“Thank you,” Paden acknowledged.
Rosalie spoke up in a strained voice. “Sheriff, can you please ask my dolt of a husband to put me down?”
Sheriff Walton chuckled. “No ma’am. I try to avoid meddling in marital disputes.” He tipped his hat to them. “See you tomorrow.”
“Holmes is tied up in his room, waiting to be transported to jail, but go easy on him,” Paden said, earning a disbelieving look from Sheriff Walton. “Bill Garrett made repeated threats against Emeline and was responsible for firing shots into the restaurant where she worked."
Tucking his thumbs into his gun belt, Sheriff Walton asked, “Do you think he profited off these robberies?”
“No, sir. I believe he was just a pawn in Garrett’s game and would have been disposed of when he was no longer useful,” Paden responded honestly.
“Fair enough,” Sheriff Walton said, tipping his hat toward Rosalie.
Neither one of them spoke as he carried Rosalie toward the hotel. Once inside the building, a few people
