“Conn?” she said, stopping a few feet away. “It’s really you?”
Conn removed his hat and nodded and stood there awkwardly. Never in a million years would he have anticipated such a meeting.
“They killed him, Mary.”
She nodded and closed her eyes and seemed to sag a little, but she didn’t sob or faint, like he would have expected.
“I know,” she said, her voice a hoarse whisper. “I know what they did. I know they hung him. He was already gone when I escaped from the house.”
“I’m sorry,” he said.
She stared at him for a second then glanced toward the twinkling embers where her house had stood earlier that evening. “Will you make them pay?”
“Yes, ma’am. I will make them pay. I will make every last one of them pay. I made that promise to Cole, and I make it again to you. I will kill them all.”
Some women would have balked at such plain talk, but to her credit, Mary merely nodded. “Good, Conn. That’s good. Thank you.”
He led her back to the valley floor, where she stared into the embers for several silent minutes.
Conn waited, giving her time.
Finally, she spoke. “Take me to him?”
Conn nodded and took her out to the tree, where she finally fell apart.
Mary gave a heartbreaking scream and fell forward and lay atop Cole, holding him and sobbing his name over and over.
Feeling awkward, Conn stepped forward and patted her back.
He gave her a moment then helped her to her feet and led her away from the body and toward the gelding.
“We have to bury him,” she said.
“I will,” Conn said, “but first, I gotta get you someplace safe. Is there a neighbor you could stay with?”
She shook her head. “Don’t ask me to leave him, Conn. I won’t leave him.”
That brought back the lump in Conn’s throat. His brother had married a good woman.
“You can’t stay here, Mary.”
“I must. I won’t let animals get after him.”
“Well, I can’t bury him. Not yet. I gotta get after these men. Any idea who they were?”
She nodded. “I know one of them. A short man.”
“Do you know his name?”
She shook her head. “I’m sorry. I don’t. But he’s my height. I remember that. I remember looking him in the eyes and thinking we were the same height. Back at the store, I mean. I never got close to him here. Cole sent me down into the cellar.”
Conn nodded. “Smart of him. And how tall are you, Mary?”
“Five-four. A little under five-four. I’d say that man is, too.”
“Can you tell me anything else about him?”
“He had scars. Lots of scars on his face. It’s a hard face. The nose is crumpled. And his ears looked strange, like melted wax.”
