Joseph pulled back angrily. “I think you’re lying. If she were leaving, she’d have told Charity and not you. What are you up to, Lydia?”
Tears spilled from Lydia’s eyes and ran down her cheeks. “How can you be so cruel. I haven’t done anything.”
Joseph grunted. “You’re always doing something, Lydia. The question is what have you done now? Did you have anything to do with Holly leaving?”
Lydia shook her head and sat back down on her chair. She bit her tongue to keep from saying anything that might anger Joseph further. She was supposed to be consoling him.
Joseph yanked his coat from the hook and stormed out of the café stopping outside to pull on his coat when the cold hit him. He stood next to Lydia’s wagon fastening his coat when something in the bed of the wagon caught his eyes. It was just a bit of a carpet bag peeking out from under a canvas cover, but it looked familiar. He pulled off the canvas and saw the carpet bag and knew at once it belonged to Holly. It had a small tear that she stitched together perfectly, and he knew that Lydia had lied.
Sheriff Knight was walking down the opposite side of the road, and Joseph called to him, “David, I need your help here.”
David ran across the street and asked, “What’s wrong?”
Joseph quickly explained about Holly and what he suspected. “Lydia knows more than what she’s saying. This is Holly’s bag and Lydia’s wagon. Either she forced Holly to leave or threatened to disclose her whereabouts to that monster in Chicago that insisted Holly leave the city. I’d bet money on it, David.”
“Where is Lydia? Do you know?” David inquired.
Joseph motioned with his head toward the café. “She’s inside having tea and pie.”
“Let’s have a talk with her,” David suggested.
Lydia watched as Joseph and the sheriff stood by her wagon speaking. She convinced herself that Joseph was telling the sheriff his concerns and the sheriff would soon leave to look for Holly. He could look all he wanted. They’d never imagine she was in Lydia’s root cellar. Lydia’s eyes opened wide when Joseph and the sheriff entered the café and strode straight for her table.
Joseph spoke first, “Lydia, please explain to the sheriff how you went to your ranch with Holly and at the same time visited with Missus Winslow and why Holly’s carpet bag was hidden in the back of your wagon.”
Lydia paled when Sheriff Knight said, “Yes, Lydia, I would like to understand this situation. Did you or did you not go to your ranch with Holly? I can walk across the street and ask Ruth Winslow if you visited her, but I’d prefer to hear it from you.”
Lydia shook her head. “No, we didn’t go to the ranch. Holly said she had a headache and wanted to go home.”
Sheriff Knight continued asking questions. “Did you accompany her to the boarding house with the muffins you shared with Ruth Winslow or did Miss Martin go alone?”
Lydia threw her hands over her face. “Leave me alone. I don’t know anything. Why are you so cruel? I care about you Joseph, and you should allow me to comfort you now that Holly is running from her past and hiding.”
Joseph leaned closer to the table. “How do you know what Holly said in her letter?”
“I don’t,” Lydia stammered. If she left town, she must be running away. You’re my friend. I want to help you.”
“One last question,” Sheriff Knight said. “Why is Miss Martin’s carpet bag in the back of your wagon?”
Lydia saw her plan crumble in front of her and desperately tried to come up with an answer.
“What did you do with Holly?” Joseph shouted.
Lydia cringed.
“Let me handle this,” Sheriff Knight insisted. “Tell us the truth, Lydia, or I’ll take you to the jail, and you can sit in a cell until you answer the questions.”
Lydia gathering strength from her fear and anger rose to her feet and planted her fists on her hips. “You have no cause to arrest me, Sheriff. I will report you, and you will lose your job.”
Sheriff Knight shrugged, “I’m not arresting you. I’m going to hold you as a witness in Miss Martin’s disappearance and keep you until the judge returns from Cheyenne. Maybe you’ll talk to him since you won’t talk to us.”
“All right,” Lydia answered the dejection in her voice evident. “She’s hiding out at my ranch. I was going to take her clothes to her. I’ll go now and bring her back. I was just trying to help her. Honestly, Joseph.”
“No, I’ll go get her. You stay here,” Joseph insisted.
Lydia knew her plan was ruined and decided to try and help herself. “She’s hiding in the root cellar.”
“What?” Sheriff Knight asked. “Why the root cellar?”
Joseph responded. “The root cellar locks. Is that what you did, Lydia? Did you lock her in your root cellar?”
Lydia bust into tears and nodded. “But she has food and water, and I left her two wool blankets. She won’t freeze or die, and I was going to help her leave town once the snow cleared a bit.”
The sheriff could just stand and shake his head. Lydia was always scheming, but this was an all-time low.
Joseph looked at the sheriff, “David, I’m going to take Lydia’s wagon. It’s already harnessed. Don’t let her accuse me of theft and please keep an eye on her.”
“I think we’ll stroll down to the jail and Lydia can explain all of this to me in detail while you’re gone.” He reached for Lydia’s arm, and she stood and walked with him without any complaints.
Charity, who had been listening at the kitchen doorway wringing her hands. “Bring her home, Joseph.
