“Don’t blame Abby,” Charles said. “She was very nervous about bringing you up here without being seen.”
“As for your question,” Abigail continued, “they pulled their scam as soon as Dr. Cantry left town and the miners’ doctor took over for him as he usually does. A few of Mr. Sullivan’s men sneaked Charles out of the doctor’s house and carried him here at night. And they had him buried, supposedly, the very next morning, and merely informed Dr. Cantry about it when he got back to town. Your father has been a prisoner here ever since.”
Violet shook her head, finding it hard to grasp all of this. “Wilson seemed like a real doctor.”
“He is,” Abigail said scornfully. “But he’s in the mine owners’ pockets, will do whatever they tell him to do and probably asks no questions.”
“But why is Father a prisoner?”
“The better question is, how did you come to be in Sullivan’s house?” Charles asked.
Violet hesitated for a moment, seeking an explanation that was truthful but held no whiff of scandal. “Once Morgan agreed to pay off your loan, I had to get back to civilization and didn’t want to wait until next week for him to escort me back. I sort of sneaked off without telling him—don’t say it! I know that was unwise. But I was almost to Butte when I ran into Sullivan’s men and fainted, and they brought me here.”
“No, dear,” Abigail said. “I overheard the men talking to Mr. Sullivan. They knew they’d met up with Violet Mitchell when they heard your British accent. They put chloroform on the bandanna they gave you so they could knock you out and bring you here.”
Violet shivered, saw the anger on her father’s face. “So that’s why the bandanna smelled funny. I have no memory of what happened after that until I woke up in this house.”
“Despicable!” Charles said, shaking his head. “Well, I’ve been in this attic for close to six weeks. I’m actually grateful I was unconscious for most of that time. I only woke up a few days ago. Sullivan doesn’t know that yet, and we’re keeping it that way.” He gave Abigail an adoring smile before he added, “This woman has been my guardian angel. She’s the only person in this mansion with a strong and unerring moral compass.”
Abigail blushed. “I refuse to be a party to the Sullivans’ wickedness, even though Kayleigh threatened to put me in prison for supposedly stealing from them if I told anyone they were hiding Charles up here. It’s unconscionable what they’re doing to this fine man!”
“Thank you for taking such good care of him,” Violet said sincerely. Glancing at her father again, she reminded him, “You still haven’t said why you’re a prisoner here.”
“Abigail overheard Sullivan giving orders to his men. He’s waiting for me to regain consciousness so I can tell him where my mine is located.” Charles suddenly looked fierce. “But I’m not telling him no matter what happens. I’m not selling out my partner. And the money made from my mine is for my children!”
Violet was horrified, imagining what Sullivan and his men would do to him to gain that information, and glanced frantically at the housekeeper. “Why is Sullivan going to such lengths to take over Morgan’s and Papa’s mines when he already has one? Is his here in Butte running out of silver?”
“Not yet, but it’s only a matter of time. He’s greedy for money and power, no amount of either of those things will ever be enough, and he doesn’t want anyone challenging his position as the last of the silver kings. He was furious when he found out that Callahan was taking that title away from him. As rich and powerful as he is, no one ever tells him no, except Morgan Callahan. All that did was make Mr. Sullivan mad and more determined than ever. He’s one of those men who just don’t care who they step on to get what they want.”
Violet had told Sullivan no, which made her distinctly uneasy now. “Can’t you bring the sheriff here?”
Abigail sighed. “If only it were that simple. Sheriff Gibson is a good man, but he would never believe me, a nobody-housekeeper, if I told him my employer, one of the richest and most powerful mine owners in the territory, was holding your father prisoner in his attic. It’s an incredible accusation. The sheriff would never insult Mr. Sullivan by asking to search his house without good cause. And who knows what Mr. Sullivan would do to me if he found out I’d gone to the sheriff? I fear, though, that he would kill Charles rather than let him be found here to incriminate him.”
“What about the empty grave? That would be proof, wouldn’t it?”
“But it’s not empty. They actually had a body, a miner who’d just died and hadn’t been buried yet. But Charles shouldn’t have been here this long. Mr. Sullivan had intended to deal with him when he regained consciousness, instead of with Callahan. Exchanging him for Callahan’s mine was his alternate plan, but the boy never picked up the messages Mr. Sullivan left for him at his hotel.”
“Ransom notes? There’s our proof.”
Abigail shook her head. “I saw one of them on his desk before he had it delivered. It didn’t mention ransom. He’s too smart to implicate himself like that. His demands will be made in person, without witnesses.”
“But it won’t work. There’s nothing that could make Morgan give up his mine.”
“Have you misjudged him?” Charles asked in concern. “He’s been nothing but good to me, Violet, when he didn’t have to help me. And he pretty much gave me all that silver when he didn’t have to do that either.”
“But his mine for ransom? He’s obsessed with the bloody thing.”
“Even if he didn’t just hand it over to Sullivan, he would have gotten me out of this if he knew about it. I have no doubt of that.”
She blushed, because she didn’t doubt it either, not really. Morgan had rescued her, hadn’t he? Risked his life to do so. And he’d been right about Shawn Sullivan after all. The man really would resort to any means to get what he wanted, including abduction and murder. She was just so afraid of what would happen to her father if Morgan didn’t agree immediately to Sullivan’s demands.
She was beginning to feel—trapped. “We should leave now while they’re all asleep.”
“We can’t,” Abigail said. “As long as Sullivan is in the house, his guards surround it. We can’t even sneak out a window without one of them noticing—not that your father is up to something like that. He’s still very weak.”
“I can’t leave without him,” Violet insisted.
“You aren’t listening, dear. You’re as much a prisoner as he is. They just haven’t made that clear yet because you haven’t tried to leave.”
