“You’d make a better case for yourself if you were to let Mrs. Shepard go.”
“I only want to make certain I can leave Frost Falls. Everything you have said and done makes that a very large question in my mind.”
“Why do you think I should question Hitch?”
“He had motive.”
“Really? He only knew Miss Headley to see her.”
“He knew she disliked the China girl, had a vicious temper, and unleashed it on her.”
“You probably should explain yourself since this is nothing you shared earlier.”
“Miss Headley is responsible for Miss Chen’s bruised face.”
“I thought you said Miss Chen fell.”
“I said that shetoldme she fell. Miss Headley told me that she slapped Miss Chen. For insolence the first time, and simply because she wanted to the second. I told you I kept an eye on Miss Headley. I followed her to the Shepard home. Afterward I observed she was upset in that cold, contemptuous manner of hers. I asked her what happened when she went inside. She told me.”
“Hitch didn’t know about it.”
“Is that what he said? Of course you’d believe him. This is what I meant about a stranger having none of the advantages of a resident, especially when that resident is a lawman and the son of one of the pillars of the community. Is it any wonder I want to leave town?”
“Wouldn’t you agree that purchasing your ticket before you claim you knew Miss Headley was dead is suspicious?”
“When you read my contract, the one that we agreed to abide by, you will see that I had the right to terminate my employment in the event Miss Headley engaged in—or expected me to engage in—behavior which I determined was morally repugnant. When Miss Headley struck Miss Chen in such a spiteful manner, she effectively ended our contract. Ihad no reason to kill her. I knew last night I would be leaving this morning and I told her so.”
Ben features remained expressionless as he listened to Cabot’s facile explanation. “Allow Mrs. Shepard to step aside. You don’t need her. If you are innocent as you say, then you are complicating your defense by using her as a shield.”
Cabot shook his head. His gaze shifted to the car where Roen had disappeared. “Mr. Shepard is taking an inordinately long time.”
Ben shrugged. “He’s probably reading the agreement.” Although his eyes did not stray from Cabot’s, he could see past the man’s shoulder and through the station’s large front window to where there was movement near the counter. He recognized that it was Roen and not Solomon Winslow that he was seeing. Ben doubted Roen had even looked for the valises. Instead, he had used the opportunity to leave the train on the far side and circle around to enter the station through the rear door.
The porter appeared again at the car entrance and gestured to the trio on the platform. “Better come aboard who’s ever comin’ aboard. Our girl here doesn’t wait for stragglers.” Having said his piece, he stepped back inside. A moment later his announcement was punctuated by the long ear-piercing whistle signaling the imminent departure of No. 462.
The sudden and deeply disruptive notes of the whistle made the very air shudder and had a similar but not identical effect on those standing nearby. Ben gave a start. Lily winced. Martin Cabot recoiled.
As soon as Lily felt the barrel of Cabot’s gun shift away from her back, she threw herself to the ground. There was no benefit to Cabot in shooting her. She had only ever served as a shield and a threat. Now she was neither. The private investigator had an advantage over Ben. His gun was drawn, while Ben’s was only now coming out of its holster. Ben, though, had an advantage over Cabot that the investigator could not imagine: Roen Shepard had the sheriff’s back. The train’s signal had covered the sound of the station door opening and the vibration concealed Roen’s long stride toward Cabot.
Ben was only surprised that Roen did not fire his weapon.Instead, he used Victorine Headley’s palm pistol to clobber Martin Cabot hard at the base of his skull. Cabot was felled like a tree. “Timber,” Ben said under his breath. He settled his gun back in its holster and rushed forward to drag Cabot off Lily so Roen could help her to her feet.
Roen slipped his weapon inside his jacket pocket and took Lily in his arms. He held on tight. She held on tighter.
Ben gave them a measure of privacy by examining Cabot’s injury and determining the man would live. The irony of Victorine’s pistol being Roen’s weapon of choice was not lost on Ben. The size of the pistol was likely the reason Cabot was still alive. Roen’s blow had been pitiless. Ben’s attention was drawn back to the train when the porter appeared on the steps of the car yet again. This time he was holding one of Cabot’s valises in each hand and looking at Roen for direction. Roen loosed one hand from Lily’s back and pointed to the platform. The porter tossed both valises. They thumped in quick succession at Ben’s feet. When Ben looked up, the porter had disappeared and No. 462 was beginning to roll on wheels of steel.
Shaking his head at the mystery of it all, Ben announced he was going to look in on Solomon.
“He has an egg-sized lump on his skull,” said Roen, “but I’ll wager the one I gave Cabot is half again that size.”
“Well done.” Ben squeezed Lily’s shoulder as he passed her on his way. “Quick thinking, Lily, you dropping like that. What happened that you seized the chance?”
Lily turned her head so she could see Ben but kept it solidly against Roen’s shoulder. “He recoiled when the engineer blew the whistle. I felt the gun move so I went down.”
Ben nodded. “Bet you gave Roen a few gray hairs.”
“More than a few,” said Roen.
“Silver,” Lily corrected. “Angel’s wings.”
