“It’s very nice, and I’m glad to be back. Alex Berry wasn’t a terrible companion, but he wasn’t you.”
Call had been gone six days, putting the investigation to rest, and arrived at Morrison Station only to have Rooster remind him it was Sunday and Laurel was at services. He gave Artemis to Rooster to care for and began walking toward town. It was never his intention to join Laurel in the tent. He found a comfortable spot to lie in wait at the footpath that led to the falls. He hadn’t counted on falling asleep, but he did, so it was Laurel who found him. It was not a bad way to wake up, he remembered. He would be happily contented the rest of his life if she woke him with kisses.
“Tell me what happened,” she said, flicking water at Call when she saw his thoughts drifting. “You must have recovered the money or you wouldn’t be here.”
“We did. Most of it. If you’re serious about making up the difference, you owe Mr. Stonechurch fifty dollars.”
She blew out a short breath. “I was afraid it might be more. Evidently the Hammersmiths saved what Sheriff Carter gave them for their bribe.”
“You know Stonechurch isn’t going to accept your money.”
“We’ll see,” she said, preferring not to argue. “So Mr. Berry is returning the payroll to him? I thought you’d want to do that.”
“The payroll is safely in the Denver bank. Berry and I took it with us when we were escorting Ephraim Hammersmith to jail. He wouldn’t give up his brothers, although we suspect they were very much part of the scheme. Ezekiel, in particular, seemed to want to confess.”
“Ezekiel? Ephraim’s brother is named Ezekiel?”
“Mm-hmm. And there’s Enoch, too. We learned that Enoch briefly worked for Sam Henderson. That’s how he met Digger Leary. The way Berry and I figure it is that Ephraim planned the robbery but Enoch was either too scared or too smart to have any real part of it. He approached Digger after Ephraim had Carter in his pocket.”
“How does Mr. Pye come into it?”
“Hard to know with certainty. Ephraim says it was Carter who arranged details with Pye, but it could have been Enoch working with Digger who came up with the idea. What we know for sure is that Pye didn’t come to the station with robbery in mind. He didn’t take a job at your station for that purpose.” Call watched relief wash over Laurel’s features.
“Thank you. You knew I was wondering.”
“I suspected. How could you not? Anyway, Berry will be spending more time with Digger and Ephraim in Dave Cook’s jail. I think he’ll get to the truth. It won’t be astonishing if Enoch and Ezekiel eventually join their older brother.” Call tilted his head as he regarded Laurel warmly, wonderingly. “Berry told me you asked him straight out if he was open to a bribe. He said no one had ever put the question to him so baldly before.”
“He told me the same thing.”
Call nodded. “If only one of the Hammersmiths had thought to ask, they could have spared themselves a great deal of grief. Money doesn’t tempt Berry.”
“Neither do I.”
“Uh-huh. He told me about that. I didn’t like it. The only reason I didn’t knock him out of his saddle was because I knew you’d have already stepped on him hard.” He paused. “You did, didn’t you?”
Laurel got a mouthful of water when she laughed. She spit it out in a spout that nearly reached him. “Yes, I stepped on him. Perhaps not hard enough at first because I was still wary of riding out with him alone.”
“Good thinking to take Jelly with you.”
“I could depend on him to champion me without laying a hand on Alex Berry. I didn’t trust any of the rest of you. We all know now that Berry is entirely honorable so we can put that behind us.”
“Hmm. Wouldn’t have minded pushing him out of his saddle, though.”
“I’m sure.” Laurel offered up her most patronizing smile and dropped underwater, laughing, as he reached out to dunk her. When she came up, she was right in front of him and she was no longer laughing or even smiling. “Has Berry decided what he’s going to do about Desiree? I don’t think he was persuaded by my she-did-it-for-love argument.”
Straight-faced, Call said, “Perhaps not, but I was moved.”
“To laughter. I saw you trying to suck it in.” Her deeply brown eyes dared him to deny it. He wisely remained silent. “So what did he decide?”
“He didn’t. He wired Mr. Stonechurch, gave him the information, and left it up to him. Stonechurch telegraphed back and told Berry to let her be. Desiree assisted Pye in only a minor way, and she didn’t profit from the robbery. She met Pye above the falls as planned to take possession of her share of the money, but Carter found out about the meeting, shot Pye, and took his saddlebag from her. There was nowhere for her to go to turn him in and she was afraid for herself. Can you imagine how it galled her when he paid for her services with money from the robbery?”
Laurel could imagine it. “Will she leave town, do you think?”
“I believe she will once she comes into a little of the reward.”
“Reward money? Isn’t that yours?”
“I was paid fairly in advance for my work. I figure Desiree deserves something for trapping Carter in her bedroom with Rooster and me. Carter wanted her inside and she most definitely wanted to be on the other side. It was a good plan.”
