He thought he might be able to eliminate Sara Smith, but that would mean going into town. When she suddenly arrived on the ranch that Sunday, Jake never left her side. Even though he’d murdered Rose, that had been in self-defense and once he met Sara, he knew he couldn’t kill her. He had to kill Jake. All the hands knew that he and Jake were close friends, so he could still be in line to own the Elk.
Before he even had a semblance of a plan, Jake was gone. He thought about leaving Tuesday night to follow him, but then decided to wait until he was on his way back. Then two things made him change his mind once again. Jake had given him the seven hundred dollars and he had almost eight hundred more that he’d taken from the safe. Friday was payday, so if he stayed to wait for Jake’s telegram telling them he was returning, then he’d have to part with a good chunk of it. He had to leave and try to catch up with Jake. The letter was an inspiration and an insurance policy. He wrote it just in case he wasn’t able to find Jake on the road. If he didn’t, then Jake wouldn’t be worried about his absence.
Dave didn’t think that Jake would notify the law about the seven hundred dollars even if he hadn’t left the letter. But he believed that its confession would almost guarantee that Jake wouldn’t bother Sheriff Zendt. He’d grabbed the Martini-Henry and its ammunition because it would enable him to set up for a longer shot when he did spot Jake. He’d be able to identify him at long range because of Mars. He’d have time for some target practice on the road.
When Dave left the Elk, it was well after midnight, so he had to stop and set up camp just twenty miles from the ranch. When he saddled his horse that morning, Jake was closer to Helena than he was to Fort Shaw.
Then it was just a series of coincidences that kept each of them from seeing the other. As Jake arrived in Helena, Dave reached Fort Shaw. He got a room at their small, unnamed hotel, then boarded his horses at the Stoker brothers’ livery. He knew that if they’d even seen Mars and Vulcan, they’d remember. So, when he asked about Jake, they gushed about the two big geldings and surprised Dave when they told him that Jake had gone north to Woman’s Breast but hadn’t returned. While Dave understood that Jake could have ridden past Fort Shaw after inspecting the ghost town, the temptation of finding him alone either in the empty settlement or on the road was too great to ignore.
The next day, Jake was riding north out of Helena, anxious to see Sara again while Dave also rode north, but to Woman’s Breast. Dave’s route was along more level ground, but Jake was making better time as he had better horses and a greater incentive.
Dave didn’t find anyone at Woman’s Breast, not even old Joe Packard. He spent about an hour inspecting the town looking for anything of value, but early that afternoon, he headed back to Fort Shaw where he’d spend another night.
As Dave slept in his hotel room, Jake was camped out just a few miles south. By the time Dave awakened to make the ride to Helena, Jake had already turned east on the road back to Fort Benton. He would soon meet Jack Parker and Joe Hatcher who would break the news of Dave’s disappearance.
When Dave arrived in Helena, he checked in at the Flanagan Arms Hotel. As he registered, he noticed Jake’s signature just four lines above his and asked the desk clerk if his friend was still in town. When he was told that Jake had checked out the next day. Because he hadn’t met him on the road from Fort Shaw, Dave assumed that he probably had continued his search by riding south. But he didn’t discount the possibility that he might have taken the wider route through Deer Lodge City before looping back to the ranch.
Not finding Jake finally put an end to his dream of owning the Elk, despite the letter. Even if he returned with a sad cover story about how the love of his life had already found a new husband, he knew it was over. He had murdered two people and couldn’t live with the constant worry that someone might find Chet Elliott’s body. While it was possible that Jake or someone else might discover the grave, he knew it wasn’t likely to happen for a while. Dave thought he could enjoy himself in Helena for a while before deciding where to go.
So, as Jake was standing in his office, wondering about his ex-foreman’s location, Dave was sipping a cup of good coffee and admiring a young waitress.
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Sara had trotted down the hallway and made use of the bricked walkway to the privy while Jake was in the office. He heard her hurried footsteps and smiled as he left the room and headed to the kitchen.
Despite yesterday’s stunning and disturbing revelations, Sara’s light, barefoot race to the privy was enough to counterbalance all of it. He reached the kitchen and after pumping water into the coffeepot, he set it on a hotplate before taking down a large skillet. He set it on the largest hotplate then put a smaller skillet on another.
Jake entered the cold room, took the basket of eggs, laid four large pork sausages on top then picked up the tub of butter before returning to the cookstove. After closing the cold room door, he added a dollop
