By Kirsten Page
Copyright 1999
Teaspoon carefully unfolded the paper, as if it held the key to life or death, and he wasn’t sure if he wanted to see it. Slowly he began reading it from top to bottom, the piercing eyes of the sketch seemed so real and frightening.
The words “WANTED Dead or Alive”, snapped him into the reality of who they were truly dealing with. The man that they knew as Stetson Cole was a murderer.
Fury seethed through his veins as he thought about how they had taken this man in, housed him, fed him, and then given him a job. He, who was now beyond a shadow of a doubt the woman that killed Lou.
“Buck, get that man in my office now. I don’t care if you have to hog-tie him to 6 horses,” he said sternly.
Buck complied without a moment’s hesitation. When Teaspoon got that look in his eye, there wasn’t anyone who would to dare defy him in any manner whatsoever.
Teaspoon watched Buck rush from the office, nearly knocking over a chair as he fled. Now, they would all have the opportunity to avenge Louise’s death. Better still, the key answer to a sorrowful question would finally be answered by the man who had taken her life...why her?
The words seemed to be surrounding him, and he could hear her voice so clearly. Kid had to bring him back to reality several times during his ride. There had been so much behind the words that she’d written, and most of them were things that he had no idea she felt; bitterness, remorse, sorrow...love. It all floated gracefully from one sentence to the next in her writings.
Sure, I’m confused sometimes. I just know that as long as he and I are together, I’ll always have someone to protect me. I remember momma telling me that if I just waited...the right man might come along. And you know, I could go from now on and live the rest of my life without a man and be content...because if nothing else, I will always have the memories of being loved by the most wonderful man I know.
He found himself smiling as he leaned down closer to Katy’s neck. If only he could have just one minute, nothing more, to tell her how much he returned those precious feelings. That’s all it would have taken him. But, that was impossible, and there was nothing that he could ever to do bring her back. At least being contented in the treasuring and remembrance of those valuable memories that he had would be enough to last a lifetime.
Trevor showed up promptly at 7 as he said that he would. Of course Lou had been dreading the moment since earlier when she knew that this horrid event was destined to take place. There wasn’t one part of her aching body that she didn’t feel, and the situation only seemed to be growing worse.
Wayne had given her the worst ultimatum of her life. She could just see his ear up against the wall as he was carefully monitoring every sound. And to top it off, he had placed one of his hired ‘henchmen’ to stand outside her window and watch her every move.
Taking off his hat, Trevor took a timid step forward into Lou’s room and grinned nervously. It took all of her inward strength not to slap him across the face and push him back through the door. Not only was this the most horrid week of her life, it was also going to become the longest night she’d ever experienced.
“I...I thank you for letting me have the honor of dinner, Miss Louise,” he stammered.
She did her best to act as if she were flattered...not an easy task to be sure, “Won’t you come in and make yourself comfortable?”
Trevor found a seat at the table. It was covered with a simple tablecloth and two plates of rather unappetizing food were set on each side.
Lou walked over and took a seat opposite him. He was still grinning madly and she wished that she could take her napkin to his face and wipe the expression off. It was beginning to grate on her nerves.
He raised his wine glass and held it up. Reluctantly she did the same and they each took a drink. Her drink was bitter and she quickly set it back on the table. “I just hope the food is better than this stuff,” she commented wrinkling her nose in disgust.
Unfortunately the prospect of murder was still on her mind, but how would she warn Trevor when she wasn’t even sure what was going on? Wayne had confused her up one side and down the other.
Fear was closing in on her, an she just had a gut feeling that something was about to happen. I have to warn him! Her mind raced and she casually looked around the room. There must be some way that she could write him a note. Anything to tell him that he had to get out of there before it was too late.
“Are you alright?” Trevor asked as she suddenly turned a ghostly white and sat motionless.
Then, something completely unexpected struck her. Her stomach was unsettled, and it rapidly became hard to focus or concentrate on anything. “I don’t know,” she said burying her face in her hands, “I feel sick all of the sudden.”
The room was seemed to spin at an uncontrollable speed, “Where’s Kid?” She whispered as she stood up to walk over to her bed. Something was seriously wrong. Why was she feeling like this all of the sudden?
“Kid?” He asked as he rose to his feet and helped the staggering woman across the room. “Let me go get the doctor!”
“No, wait, don’t...you, don’t...murder,” not more than a moment later Lou collapsed to the floor. And then almost magically, she realized what had happened...Wayne had obviously come up with a way to drug her.
It was a horrible sensation as that all too familiar feeling of unconsciousness passed over her once again. She was completed oblivious to the world when a shot rang out through her room and Trevor fell to the ground...not even a foot away from her.
“Quick, get her over there more,” Wayne ordered his accomplice who was climbing through the window. He did as instructed and dragged Lou across the floor.
Wayne took the gun that he held in his hands and put it in her’s. By the time that he made his way down to the marshal’s office, and the people in the saloon responded to the shot, she’d be waking up. It was going to work out beautifully. But what thrilled him even more was the irrevocable power that he had over a woman when he slipped a little opiate in her drink.
“Get out of here, you didn’t see anything that just happened,” Wayne ordered, realizing that he had better stop basking in his glory and start getting to work.
Obeying instructions, the man took off back out through the window. Wayne could hear some stirring from around the hall and downstairs. He figured that he had better prepare to make his acting job good and believable.
Casually he wiped the blood from his hands, and calmly walked out the door in time to be met up with a large crowd of people. “I saw it all,” he announced as the marshal lept up the stairs two at a time. “That girl in there killed him.”
On to Chapter Nineteen
