Summary:  A sequel to A Twisted Affair, this story shows how Adam faces a complex plot against him that gets more dangerous as each step fails to achieve its objective.
Rating: T   Word count:  12,184

The Affair series:
A Twisted Affair (by BettyHT)
A Devious Affair (by BettyHT)
A Monetary Affair (by BettyHT)

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A Devious Affair

Chapter 1

So much had happened to stir things up that it didn’t take much to make Ben Cartwright agitated. On this morning, agitated though was a mild way to describe him after he had realized the previous evening that Juliette Anderson was in Adam’s bedroom and not her own. He did not disturb them but did not sleep well either. To him, it seemed his son was flaunting his behavior and outright rebellion against his father’s sense of morality in his own home.

“Adam, I have made it clear that in my house, none of my sons will have a woman in their room unless they are married.”

“Yes, your house, your ranch, your rules, your decisions on everything except when you need something from me. Then it’s our house, our ranch.”

“That’s not true. You’re exaggerating.”

“Well, regardless, it won’t be true soon enough. We’ve got a spot picked out so our house is being built as soon as the lumber arrives.”

“You’re trying to distract me from the point I was trying to make when I asked to talk to you.”

“No, I’m trying diligently to avoid losing my temper that you would spy on us and think you can treat me like a wayward boy. If you want to make an issue of this, I’ll pack up our things, and we will head to town. We can use a suite at the hotel which would be more convenient than being here anyway.”

In poker, they would likely consider the situation a high stakes pot, and now Ben had to decide if he wanted to call Adam’s raise or fold and concede to his son’s point-of-view. He couldn’t afford to lose and didn’t have the will to find out if there was any bluff in what Adam had said.

“Could you at least be discreet in your behavior then?”

“We were being discreet.”

Caught out then, Ben turned and walked away. That slight upturn of Adam’s eyebrows had been enough sarcasm for him. That son of his could be more disagreeable without saying a word than anyone he ever knew. Of course Adam was correct in his assumption too and knew it. Ben had gone to get some warm milk to settle his stomach and had noted that Juliette’s door was slightly ajar. He had paused outside Adam’s door and heard unmistakable sounds. Had he simply gone on his way and back to his room without pause, he would not have known anything. He would have suspected only. That term of spying though was like a burr under a saddle. It was time for his son to have his own home.

The next weeks and then months went quickly with the wedding and construction starting on Adam’s house. Adam and his family started spending a couple of days in town to conduct business so there were times when the house seemed quiet giving the whole family a time to get used to how it would be when the family divided into two households.

In town, Hiram offered a spare office for Adam and Juliette to use for their business work. It was secure, and as Hiram began handling much of their legal work, convenient too. Adam had a large safe installed in the office for any papers that they needed to keep completely secure. They worked out arrangements with the banks in town to transfer funds as needed and to make secure communications about investments that Juliette had which were far more substantial than the ones Adam had because he was rebuilding his portfolio after sinking much of his money into saving the Ponderosa.

“Now that we’re married, why don’t you use some of my money to start your design and construction business? It will all be ours, won’t it?”

“This may be difficult for you to understand, but I have to do it first. Once it’s going, you can invest in it as much as you want. We can make it a partnership, but at the start, it has to be mine.”

“You’re right. I don’t understand, but if you’re willing to wait for your dream, I have no objection. It’s your dream. I am happy to be in love with you, and I have found I enjoy living here more than I thought I could. I can relax more. It seems so much safer than the city did.”

“Oh, there are dangers. You have to be careful.”

“Not like what we had in the east. I never felt safe there. Oh, I got another letter from Tobias’ father. It sounds almost threatening. I opened it earlier when you were meeting with some men from the fire station. What was that about anyway?”

“We’re going to map the city to see if the number of fire stations adequately cover the city. And don’t try to get me to forget that letter. Tell me about it.”

“Well, he must be thinking about Michael a lot. He said he wants us to come live there with him, but mostly he talked about Michael. He refers to you now as the cowboy as if all that I told him about you was nothing.”

“You told him about me?”

“I thought out of respect for Tobias, I should tell his father that I was marrying another and that Michael would have a new father. It was a short message out of courtesy mostly, but no matter what I think of him, he is Michael’s grandfather.”

“You have never said much of your parents other than they have passed.”

“It’s difficult because it was so recent. I hadn’t seen them since we went west and now I never will. They died in that cholera epidemic that happened in Philadelphia right after the War. 1866 was not a good year for me and for Michael. Philadelphia seems to have a history of epidemics.”

“I’m sorry. You’re here now, and mostly, we don’t have that kind of worry.”

During the same time period but in Philadelphia

“Damn, how do I convince her to leave that godforsaken country and come live in civilization. I cannot abide my only heir living out there where who knows what kind of mayhem awaits him.”

“Sir, there are dangers in the city too.”

“Not like there, because I’m in the city and I can protect him here.”

Frederick’s aide didn’t react nor of course say anything about the fact that Frederick had been unable to protect his own son and his son’s family from dying from measles. No one had seen that coming, and there was nothing anyone could do for them. Apparently the family had been unusually susceptible to the effects of the disease for some reason or had contracted an unusually nasty form of the disease, but none had survived. Frederick’s son had lasted longest lingering for weeks but eventually he had succumbed too. It was possible that the loss of his family aggravated his condition, but the aide doubted that. These men treated family like possessions not treasured relationships. It had been more likely that the damage to his internal organs had simply taken its toll until the man had no more strength to fight the effects of the disease.

At the elaborate funeral meant to impress friends and associates rather than to show any deep sorrow, Frederick immediately began talking of bringing his daughter-in-law and grandson ‘home’ as he called it now that he had no other family to inherit his estate and his power. He had lost his eldest son and namesake in the War when he was supposed to be safe with a colonel’s commission and safe duty behind the line. It showed the family was patriotic and did their part giving Frederick many chances to curry favor with politicians and secure lucrative government contracts. Then a stray artillery shell had landed in the tent where his son was laying out plans on a map.

The third son, William, became the new favorite because the second son had gone west to escape the War, and Frederick suspected, to escape his father’s control too. He was married and had a son but that meant little to Frederick. William was set to take his place and was well-suited to the kinds of deals that had to be made. Then William died and Frederick that year-old news that Tobias too was deceased was so much more significant. His only heir was Michael. He had his aide draft a letter summoning Juliette to come ‘home’ as he saw it to bring Michael to receive his birthright.

So the letter was sent, but he didn’t like the reply. Juliette declined saying she was doing well and was getting married again. Her intended husband was a rancher in Nevada. Frederick had some investigation done and had his aide draft another letter when he found the marriage had already occurred.

“I’ll even accept that husband of hers and his damnable honesty if forced to do so. I suppose there’s a place for that in business somewhere although I don’t know what I can do with a cowboy. Regardless, I want all three of them here. Make sure that in the letter it is clear I will accept nothing less.”

“What if she says no again?”

“Three, two, or one, Michael is my heir and will be coming here. What happens to that cowboy and to that woman are of little concern to me other than Michael would probably prefer to have them with him.”

The reply was as polite as the first and just as firm. They were staying where they were. Frederick looked at his aide, raised an eyebrow, and waited. His aide got the message.

“We’ll get something underway immediately to see about the cowboy. Perhaps breaking up that marriage or if necessary removing him will be enough. If not, we will have plans ready to move against her.”

“Whatever you think is best.”

“Send her a noted indicating my displeasure with her decision, but telling her if circumstances should change for her, she and Michael are always welcome here.”

Anticipating those instructions, the aide had already set into motion some preparations so that it would only take a telegram to begin the first steps of the plan. His men were resourceful so he expected that Adam Cartwright was soon going to be having some difficulties of a most unpleasant nature. First target was the marriage. If that didn’t work well enough, the second target was the man. They preferred not to do that as it might trigger an investigation and too apparently Michael was quite fond of him.

Months later in Virginia City, Nevada

As Hoss and Joe rode home, Hoss counseled Joe not to say anything about what they had heard while in the saloon. The talk had been nasty about Adam and activities outside of marriage. The stories were old, but now that he was married, the impact could be much worse than their brother losing his temper.

“He’s going to hear, Hoss. You know things like that are going to be thrown in his face. Some jealous woman or man is going to say something and quite possibly when he is with Juliette.”

“I suppose, but I just hate this.”

“I know but better we tell him than for him to get caught with his pants down.”

“That’s a right poor way to put that, you know.”

Joe had to smile at that as did Hoss, but there was no real humor in it. Arriving home, they stayed in the barn long enough that their father came out to see them knowing there must be some kind of problem. When they turned away and tried to look busy when he got there only confirmed his suspicions.

“What happened? What’s the trouble and how much will it cost?”

“Aw, Pa, weren’t nothing like that. It’s something else entirely.”

“What something else is it then?”

“There’s some ugly talk in town that me and Joe heard.”

“Ugly talk?”

“Yeah, me and Hoss went to the saloon after we did our errands. We planned a quick beer and then a ride home.”

“A quick beer, huh?”

“It was real quick, Pa. Hoss never even finished his, and I don’t think I even tasted mine. Men in the saloon started laughing when we came in and started in on the nasty talk before we could even enjoy one beer.”

“Well, come on, what’s the nasty talk. I must have heard it all before.”

“You probably have. Me and Joe did, but I never thought to hear it again. They’re spreading stories on how Adam has been keeping company with married women all around here, and they say you can tell by all the dark-haired children you see especially the ones with curls in their hair.”

“That’s old gossip, and there are lots of men and women here who have dark hair and plenty have curls.”

“We know, but you know how that gossip went around back years ago, Pa. Me and Hoss came home with bloody knuckles a bunch of times and maybe even as often as Adam did. It didn’t all die down until he was stuck in that wheelchair for the longest time and some of those women up and got themselves with child. Everybody knew it wasn’t him because, well, you know, he couldn’t. The whole gossip thing kind of died away then, but somebody done stirred it all up with a stick now and it’s worse than it ever was.”

“How could it be worse than it was?”

“That’s because Joe ain’t told you the worst of it, Pa. Joe ain’t said it all. They’re saying it’s happening again. They’re saying Adam is stepping out on Juliette. It’s not only gonna hurt him this time and make him mad, but he’s gonna be hopping mad because it’s gonna hurt her.”

“I suppose the only thing to do is warn them before they go to town again. They’re strong people. They can handle this.”

“That still ain’t all of it. We saw Barney and he couldn’t hardly stop grinning about all of this happening again.”

The mention of Barney make Ben more concerned because in his mind, anything involving Barney especially Barney smiling had to be bad for them.

“Now why would Barney care about mean-spirited gossip about Adam?”

“Seems the railroad is under something. What was that word, Joe?”

“Scrutiny.”

“Yeah, scrutiny over some things they done that wasn’t exactly on the right side of the law. So they really got to watch what they do and with whom they do it. Barney figures this could sour them on wanting to negotiate with Adam or any of us cause we’re in the same family.”

“We shouldn’t tell this part to Adam or he’ll feel duty bound to do something to change things.”

“So, you gonna tell him about the stories being told?”

“No, I didn’t hear the stories. I’m afraid you two are going to have to tell your brother.”

So Hoss and Joe told Adam all the information they had except the part about Barney. He knew he would have to turn around and explain the whole sorry mess to Juliette to prepare her for comments likely to be thrown her way when they went to town. There were always those who couldn’t wait to throw things like this in their faces.

Meanwhile, the success of the gossip campaign including the reluctance of the railroad companies to deal with the Cartwrights was sent in the first report to Frederick Anderson. He was pleased that so much had been accomplished with so little effort. He waited for the next report and hoped for an even better result with perhaps the marriage foundering. Once that happened, he planned to swoop in as the guardian angel to rescue her and his grandson and bring them back to Philadelphia. He never considered failure for he never had failed in any of the devious plots he had employed in the past, and there had been many successes and he expected one more.

 

Chapter 2

For Adam, it was a painful time in conversation with his wife too. Many things he had kept buried and hoped never to revisit had to be explained. It started as soon as he had told the story of the gossip to Juliette.

“But why would anyone say something like that about you and why would others repeat the lies?”

“I can’t be sure, but I think it started when I broke off a relationship with a woman when I realized we had no future. She didn’t take it well. It wasn’t long after that we heard the first rumors of my supposed indiscretions. From there, people took what they assumed was evidence and built more of a case against me.”

“What do you mean that they assumed was evidence? It either would be or wouldn’t be. You can’t alter facts, can you?”

“No, but I was older and not married. There had been many women I had been with and none ended up married to me. That alone was cause for speculation. At socials, I danced with some married women because their husbands didn’t dance. People made outlandish assumptions. Every time a woman I knew had a baby with dark hair, a new rumor would start. Husbands would get upset with me, and there were many potential fights I had to work to avoid. It’s extremely difficult to talk with a man who thinks he’s a cuckold and has to endure the derision of those who spread the gossip about me. As a result, I had to end friendships that had existed for many years.”

“So there were many victims of this mean plan.”

“I don’t know that it was a plan.”

“Of course it was, Adam. Someone set out to hurt you and did. Something like what you described doesn’t keep living unless someone is nurturing it. Now it’s happening again. So the big question is to find out who it is this time. I wouldn’t think it would be the same person.” She paused in thought. “Except it seems to have started again with you marrying me so if the motive was jealousy, it could be the same person.”

Staring at his wife for at least a minute, Adam couldn’t entirely refute her statements. Realizing he had been too emotional at the time because of the nature of the gossip with the damage to his reputation in two things he valued most highly had dulled his edge. Logic had always been a weapon he could use but he had not thought to use it against the problem of the nasty gossip.

“You are not a nut. I know your husband said you were a walnut, sweet and strong, but still a walnut. You are not. You are sweet. You are strong. But you are not a nut. All those years and I was so emotionally involved, I never saw what you have so clearly seen. Of course, someone was behind it fanning it and keeping it spreading. Without that, it would have died down instead of increasing.”

“Could it be the same person?”

“Not if it was the woman with whom I broke off the contact all those years ago. She died in the cholera epidemic here.”

“Adam, I have a second theory, and you may think it more extreme than the first one.”

“I didn’t think the first one was extreme. What’s your idea?”

Instead of an answer, Juliette reached into her purse and pulled out some paper extending her hand to Adam as if the papers were so awful she didn’t want them near her. He took them and then read as she asked.

“If circumstances change?”

“I didn’t take it as ominous when I first read it. I took it as a concession. In light of what has begun, it seems more ominous, doesn’t it?”

“Yes, especially as the first two letters included me, and this specifically does not.”

“Like the other wording, I didn’t take it the same way when I first read it as I do now. Initially I thought it was a snub, but now it too sounds like a threat, like you won’t be there to travel with us.”

“But what would be the point of the gossip?”

“I think perhaps to try to break up our marriage. That is not going to happen.”

“Thank you. I love you.”

“I love you. I like to hear it too. Now, I’m glad we didn’t put Michael in school.”

“He’s having a great time with his uncles.”

“There is one thing though. Could you ask Hoss to work on using a little better language around him?”

“Hoss used bad language?”

“No, not bad language, but today Michael came in the house to tell me all about the ‘critters’ his Uncle Hoss had shown him.”

“That is funny. But I will talk to him about using more proper language around our son. I’m going to miss these stories when we move into our house.”

“Is the move still going to happen next week?”

“Or even on Saturday if I can get a few more items completed by then.”

“I would so love that. There are so many prying eyes around here.”

“We’ll have a cook and housekeeper combination with the couple I hired. Israel worked in a restaurant and will do most of the cooking. Rebecca will do the cleaning, laundry, and serve the meals. Their son, Lincoln, will be our stable boy. Their daughter, Amelia, will be with them, but she’s too young to work.”

“And I’m to tutor all three of the children? I’m looking forward to that, but remember that I agreed only so long as they are cooperative learners.”

“Israel and Rebecca are so thrilled their children can get some education that they will make sure of that. It’s hard for Negro children to get an education especially a family like this who have been on the move now for several years. I’m assuming you will have them at the dining table for most lessons so their father and mother will be near. That would be enough to keep almost any child behaving well.”

“That’s true enough. So what do we tell your family?”

“That we’ll probably be moving on Saturday.”

“No, what do we say about the gossip.”

“We tell them the theory, and I stay out of town for a few weeks to see what happens. With the new house and work I have to do, I’ll be busy enough. I’ll tell Pa to talk to Roy about it to see what he can dig up.”

“Adam, I’m worried. I never thought Frederick could reach this far. Neither did Tobias. It’s why we moved across the country. Tobias wanted to escape his father and his family. We thought San Francisco would work, but then he ran into Denton Bentoncourt.”

“We’re not sure Frederick is behind this.”

“No, we’re not, but I’m worried that he is. If you can’t think of anyone here who would want to do such a nasty thing, he becomes the most likely suspect.”

“You think he could reach this far?”

“I would guess he’s hired people to do it. Just like those letters. He didn’t write them. Someone else wrote them on his behalf. He doesn’t do illegal things or awful things. He has other people do them for him.”

“So he’s the devious type, and if he’s ever charged with anything, he can lay all the blame on others. But wouldn’t they turn on him to save their necks?”

“Once you know what he is capable of doing, you wouldn’t. You wouldn’t live long enough to enjoy your freedom.”

“I had no idea he was that bad. You made some references to him that were negative when you didn’t let him know you were getting married. But you should have told me more.”

“Adam, I did let him know. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you I changed my mind. I sent him a small note before the wedding. It was only a courtesy. I didn’t think he was going to be a factor in our lives. Have you told me everything about the less than savory people in your past?” She knew by his look that he had not. “I’m not completely devoid of common sense. I would have told you if I thought there was even a remote chance that he could be a problem. Even when he sent the letters, it didn’t dawn on me that he would be a threat, but now I understand why.”

“So, he’s had a long time to plan this. Tell me more about him.”

“The oldest, his namesake, was killed in the War. He had what was supposed to be a glamor job, but an artillery shell went astray and landed on his tent. Then as it turned out, the youngest son was susceptible to measles as was the rest of his family and they all died. Despite knowing all that, I never understood the consequences. Michael is his only heir.”

“And someone with as grandiose an idea of himself would want to bestow that empire on someone. He’s not getting our son.”

Smiling at the vehemence Adam showed in wanting to protect his adopted son, Juliette suggested it was time to start talking with his family. When they got downstairs, they found them all there except Michael was there too playing with his favorite toys, the wooden soldiers Joe had given to him.

“Can you do this if I take Michael outside to play and enjoy the sunshine?”

“Yes, I can do it. Thank you for trusting me.”

Gathering up the toy soldiers, Michael was all smiles. He liked having his new father all to himself which didn’t happen often on the ranch. Once they were on the porch, he guessed there would be a lot more than wooden soldiers on the table, and there were as pieces of kindling and even a few twigs with leaves attached were brought in to stand in for trees until they had a complete battlefield. Then the battle was on as they moved troops and Adam explained flanking attacks and frontal attacks. All thoughts of why his mother had to talk to his uncles and grandfather disappeared.

Inside, Juliette had everyone’s interest as she pulled out the letters from Frederick and began to explain how the letters had become a bit more ominous as she had refused his invitations to move back east and bring Michael with her.

“You should note in the last letter that he specifically mentions only me and Michael as if Adam is no longer available to come with us.”

“Do you think he’s threatening Adam?” Ben stated the question they all had.

“It’s more than that. I believe he has already started making his moves against Adam. We’ve talked about this at length. I would like you to let me lay it all out from the beginning before you respond please. It will make more sense that way. First of all, we discussed that gossip about Adam and why even all those years ago, that gossip continued unabated. My contention was that someone was pushing that line of thought to keep it going or it would have died out. Most gossip does die down even if some remember it. But to have it stay strong and continue is odd. Now years later we have the same gossip once more circulating points to someone again manipulating the situation. Adam believes the person who may have done it the first time perished in a cholera epidemic. She cannot be doing it again, but we have another likely suspect. My former father-in-law, Frederick Anderson. He is well known as someone who will do anything to get what he wants. It’s why Tobias moved across the country. He wanted to get away from his corrupt father. We never expected his reach could be this long. Now though with his sons all gone and Michael as his only heir, he seems intent on getting him there to receive his grandfather’s empire. That is never going to happen. He seems to have understood my position on that so he’s going to pressure me into changing my mind, and he will do what he has to do to get me to bring Michael to him.”

Pausing to let that all sink in, Juliette saw Ben nodding even as Joe looked thoughtful and Hoss looked puzzled. Ben was the first to respond.

“The woman was the one with whom he looked about to court but broke it off instead, wasn’t it?” When Juliette nodded to him, he continued. “And you both agree that the likely person behind this latest round is your former father-in-law who is trying to break up your marriage.” After only a short pause, Ben added his greatest worry. “And when these tactics don’t work, he will try something more harmful.”

“Yes, I’m sure he will, but we can’t know what it will be.”

“Maybe you and Adam shouldn’t be thinking on moving to your new house. We could protect you better here.”

“Hoss, thank you for that, but at this point, I don’t think there’s a physical threat. That may come later, and we’ll need to decide what to do then. For now, it’s a social campaign, and next I would expect some kind of legal maneuver. I have no idea what that would be, but we will have to face it. After that, it could get scary.”

“You and Adam are sure of this?”

“Do you believe in multiple coincidences, Mister Cartwright?”

Ben knew she didn’t like being challenged on this. She always referred to him that way when she was slightly offended. Seeing the slight smiles that his younger sons had, he knew what he had to do.

“I’m sorry to question you. I only wanted to be sure. My next question is what do we do about the gossip?”

“I have no idea and neither does Adam. We don’t know why people are so willing to believe these terrible stories. We’ve decided all we can do is live our life as normally as possible and show them that the gossip isn’t working. Our marriage can easily withstand an annoying problem like that.”

“Which will soon let us know what his next step will be.”

“Exactly.”

As expected, Frederick began his next campaign as reports came back to him that the marriage was too strong for gossip alone to break it. However it was two steps, well actually four steps, but they didn’t know about two of the things he was doing until much later even though they were watching for a sneak attack because Juliette assured them he wouldn’t give up until he had Michael.

As the family sat at the fireplace that evening and talked about what might happen next, Adam positioned some of Michael’s toy soldiers to represent Frederick and his employees and what they might do. Then Adam set up others to represent himself and Juliette as well as the rest of the family. The two sides were facing off against each other. Michael asked his father the crucial question.

“Papa, what about a flank attack? Isn’t that how you said to win when the sides are even? Surprise them?”

There was silence from the group until Joe spoke. “Wow, we were all forgetting that, weren’t we? Whatever he does, we need to remember that he will be doing something else that we don’t know about like he did with the gossip.”

“Dadburnit, but if it’s a sneak attack, how do we know it’s happening?”

“That’s a good point, Hoss. It’s something Juliette and I had discussed but thought we wouldn’t need until much later. We need to enlist some of our friends to help out.”

“You mean like Roy and Hiram and perhaps a few others to watch for anything unusual occurring that might have an impact of your life?”

“Exactly, Pa. If we could get a judge on our side, that would help too or maybe the prosecutor would be a better bet. We need someone who has the authority to do things like watch for telegrams from Frederick. He must be communicating with these men here that way. We need to know who these men are and where they are too.”

“So we need Roy as well. Maybe some extra money to his budget to hire an extra deputy or two would help.”

“Yes, luckily we have the money to do that too.”

A week after their move into their new home, the couple received letters. One was to both of them and one was a legal notice to Juliette. To both was a letter expressing regret that steps had to be taken because Juliette and Adam refused to be cooperative. The legal notice was that Frederick was filing suit in court that Juliette was incompetent to handle her legal and financial affairs and that they were too large for her new husband to handle. As Michael’s grandfather, Frederick offered to be custodian for both Juliette and Michael. When they went to town, they found that the process had already started and Frederick had managed to freeze Juliette’s bank accounts.

“Now we need to call on our lawyers to get those accounts unfrozen so we can work against him. I never thought he would do that. Again, we have to remember he will use any means. So it’s going to be financial as well as legal. I better warn Pa because I have a feeling there could be a problem for the Ponderosa too.”

There was. A large loan was called. Normally that would not have been an issue, but when Ben went to another bank to roll over the loan, they said they would have to discuss it because of rumors about Adam. With his ties to the Ponderosa, there was concern on the bank’s board about doing business with the Ponderosa. Ben was furious.

“Pa, we need to have a meeting. Let’s all go meet with the prosecutor. Have Roy and Hiram come with us. Once we do that, we can have a bigger meeting with our bankers and our brokers. We’re going to lay this all out for them and find out if they want to take part in a criminal conspiracy by aiding and abetting it or help us stop it.”

“Sometimes, son, I think you should have been a lawyer.”

It took them a week to get the meetings scheduled and concluded successfully. Then it took another few days to get the court date set on the suit. When Adam and Juliette walked into the courtroom for the hearing, they were followed by their lawyers, brokers, and bankers. Ben was there too with Hiram and Sheriff Roy Coffee. The lawyers hired by Frederick took one look at the entourage and knew what the outcome was going to be. It took the judge only a short time to draw his conclusions especially when Sam Clemens walked in to take a seat in the back of the room. Looking out at the supporters of the defendant, the plaintiff’s lawyers, and witnesses as well as spectators, the judge addressed all those assembled.

“When I read over the material that was presented to me, I was inclined to accept the motion from Juliette Cartwright to dismiss this case. No disrespect to you, Mister Clemens, but I do not want to see myself and my courtroom featured in one of your humorous pieces.” Turning to the defense table, the judge continued. “May I assume that all of these distinguished gentlemen are here to testify on your behalf, Missus Cartwright?”

“They are, Your Honor, and on behalf of my husband.”

“I had guessed as much, and I do recognize a number of them. I cannot see the purpose of taking the time to have each of them testify when we know what the result would be. Now, this case at the outset seemed to lack merit. At best, I call it frivolous. At worst, it is harassment. I am accepting the defense motion and dismissing this suit. If any like it are brought before the court again, I will have the offenders charged with criminal mischief as these proceedings cost money. Now, Missus Cartwright, would you be entertaining a countersuit for damages? I assume there were expenses involved in getting all of these witnesses here today.”

“Yes, there were expenses Your Honor, but they were minor. I would as soon put this behind us.”

“Very well. However, I am charging the plaintiff the cost of this proceeding though. You can see the clerk for the accounting. Court is adjourned.”

Sam walked up to congratulate them and was surprised they weren’t happier at how it had turned out. Adam answered his unspoken question.

“Sam, we defeated him in his financial and legal attack. The gossip didn’t work. Now what will he do next?”

The group was sober then even though they had won the early rounds. There was no discussion because there were no ideas on how to proceed.

 

Chapter 3

Sheriff Coffee had been authorized to check for any unusual telegrams coming into Virginia City from the east especially Philadelphia. He found nothing out of the ordinary except that the telegrams seemed to be rather unremarkable. When he told the Cartwrights that news, both Adam and Joe looked at each other and nodded as if they knew something. The others wanted to know.

“It’s in code. They must have established a code probably by letter a while ago and now use it for all messages. We’re not going to have any idea what he’s telling them to do.”

“Joe’s right on that, but we still have one card to play. Roy, can you keep track of who gets the telegrams. It will take time, but we should be able eventually to identify who he’s working with here.”

“By golly, you’re right, Adam. I should have the two of you working with me. Sure would make my job a whole lot easier.”

At the time they were being discussed, the two men carrying out Frederick’s orders were working on part of the plan. They had cultivated the friendship of one of the men supposedly cuckolded by Adam. His wife had recently given birth to a boy with dark hair. Now even though his wife had dark curls, she at one time had spent some time with Adam. It was more than ten years earlier, but he remembered it. The gossip reinforced his insecurities about her love for him and commitment to him. That’s what the two men worked on. They got their man at a corner table and talked quietly so they couldn’t be overheard in the noisy saloon.

“Silas, how about another beer? You look like a man who has to drown some more sorrows today. What is it, my friend? Anything we can help you with?”

“You can’t help me. Nobody can help me. It’s that damn Cartwright, and it’s everybody knowing he laid with my wife. I ain’t a man because of him.”

“Well, what you going to do about that?”

“Do about it? What can I do? He’s pretty fast with that gun of his.”

“Silas, ain’t nobody fast enough with a scattergun pointed at them.”

“You think I should up and shoot him down.”

“No, make him draw on you when you have him at your mercy. Show him how it feels to be on the receiving end.”

“Yeah, he won’t be so high and mighty then, will he, Silas. You can take down a few notches, can’t you?”

“I sure can, but what if he won’t draw?”

“Tell him you’re going to shoot somebody innocent then like maybe his wife or son.”

“Nah, I could never shoot nobody else.”

“Silas, you see, you don’t have to. Just make him think you might and he’d draw. Then you shoot and it’s all over. You’re a man again, and nobody would dare lay with your wife ever.”

“Yeah, wonder what he says to his friends about her and being in her bed.”

“He talks about it?”

“Silas, what kind of man don’t talk about bedding a woman?”

Picking up on what seemed a good way to rile the man, the other one added more. “Yeah, he’s been bragging it up pretty good from what I’ve heard. Now, no one would tell you the stories seeing as how you’re the husband, but I bet you notice the smiles when folks say howdy to you.”

“That’s what they’re smiling about? I got lots of congratulations about the baby, and everybody was grinning when they said it.”

“Of course they were, Silas, because they must have heard the stories he told.”

“I’m gonna kill him. Sure as spring follows winter, I’m gonna shoot him down like a rabid dog first chance I get.”

“Now don’t tell anyone else what you’re going to do. You know how folks been protecting him all these years even knowing what he’s been doing.”

“I won’t tell. I’ll just do it.”

“And don’t you worry. We’ll be there to back you up if he tries to back out of it.”

“Back out of it?”

“Now, Silas, everyone in town says he’s quite a talker. They say he could talk a rattler out of its rattles. He’s likely to try that with you. He’ll think he can fool you twice, but he can’t, right?”

“Right. He starts into talking to me like that and I’ll shoot just to shut him up.”

“Now that’s a man talking.”

“Yeah. A real man.”

The two men were quite proud of their work. Next they planned to ramp up the gossip to keep Silas riled up and then find out when Adam was going to be in town. They would alert Silas and wait for him to do their work for them. It didn’t take long because Adam was getting restless on the ranch and needed some things to do.

“I’ve been putting off that meeting with Ben Simons about the house plans he would like me to draw. I’d like to go to town to meet with him to see what ideas he has for his new house.”

“Yes, nothing has happened so that sounds like a plan. Michael and I would like to go with you. I need some things at the general store and the dress shop, and Michael always has some ideas of things he would like.”

“I’ll stop in to see Roy too and find out if he knows anything more.”

“Maybe we should do that first before we move around town too much.”

“You are a smart woman. Yes, we should meet Roy first. Then we may be more cautious if his news tells us we should be.”

“And perhaps we should be cautious regardless. Wouldn’t it be a good idea to have another man ride in with us?”

Rebecca had been cleaning and decided it was time for her to put her opinion forward. “I hope you don’t mind me interrupting, but I couldn’t help overhearing with your talking so loud, and so I figured it wasn’t a private conversation. Israel served in the War. He knows a lot about shooting and he needs more supplies for the kitchen. Maybe he could drive you all in. He worked as a driver for a man too for a time until the man started treating him bad.”

“Thank you, Rebecca. I’ll go ask him.”

Rebecca smiled then hearing the way Adam said that. Not only did he pay them well and Juliette taught their children, but the two treated them with respect. Adam wasn’t going to tell Israel to drive the family to town, but he was going to ask him. If they had their own house to live in, this would be the perfect situation for them at least for a time.

There was room beside Israel on the front seat of the carriage so Adam asked Israel if he wanted his son to ride along. The boy was smiling so broadly at that his father couldn’t say no. Of course, Michael liked it too as he always had so many questions to ask the two and now had both of them captive. There was no quiet time on the ride to town. Focused on the conversation in the carriage, most of them never saw the men on the ridge. Israel did and looked back to see that Adam had as well.

“Keep driving and watch. If we need it, that grove of trees to the right is good cover.”

“Haven’t seen a flash on metal.”

“Someone wants to know when we’re going to be in town.”

“Looks like it, sir.”

“You have to stop calling me that. It’s Adam.”

“Yes, sir. It’s Adam. A habit from military service, I guess.”

“And maybe more?”

“Yes, ah, Adam. More. It’s a hard habit to break, but I like that you want me to try.”

“Gone now.”

“Yeah.”

“Papa, it’s funny.”

“What’s funny, Michael.”

“You and Israel talk like you and Uncle Hoss talk. You don’t use all the words and you still understand each other. It’s like you have a code or something.”

Looking at Juliette, Adam smiled. “I think your mother understood what we were saying.”

“Mama, did you know too?”

“Yes, I did.”

“Will you teach me?”

“It’s how grownups talk. You have to grow up first.”

“Hmm, well I guess I have to wait then. Lincoln, did you understand what they were saying?”

“Only a little.”

“That must be because you’re almost grown up. Good, it won’t be too long then for me. I only have to get as big as you.”

“Son, size isn’t age. Lincoln is more than twice as old as you. He’s twelve and you’re not quite six yet.”

Michael shrugged and went back to his questions until they got to the sheriff’s office. There Adam told him he had to stay quiet as the group would be listening to Sheriff Roy Coffee and only the adults would be asking questions. Roy had news, but none of it was useful yet.

“We think we know who the two are who are working for Frederick Anderson. Two men by the names of Murray and Davis. They get telegrams rather regular like from a Darwin Alberts.”

“That’s Frederick’s assistant.”

“It fits then. Well, about all they do is sit in the saloon drinking or they go for a ride and come back. I had a deputy follow ’em a few times. They pull of the road after an hour maybe and set for a spell. Then they mount up and ride back. We ain’t been able to find them doing anything else except sending telegrams back to this Darwin fellow. Certain words get repeated. They refer to business with Marcus. Adam, we’re assuming you must be Marcus. They say the business deals with Marcus are proceeding according to plan but are progressing slowly.”

“How did Darwin respond?”

“He asked if the penalty clause was going to be invoked.”

“They said they were trying to enforce it.”

“Roy, that sounds bad.”

“That’s what I thought. I was going to ride out to your place and warn you as soon as my deputy got here to take over. Now that you’re here, I’ll walk with you and ride back with you and maybe talk with the rest of your family about this.”

The group headed to the general store then, loaded up on supplies, stopped at the dressmaker shop for Juliette to get more items, and were about to leave when Adam was hailed by Ben Simons. He climbed from the carriage to walk across the street to talk to Ben but was halted halfway across the street when Silas called him out. With a shotgun cradled across his forearm, he made people scatter for cover.

“Cartwright, you coward, you been hiding from me after what you done. I’m a man, and no yellow-bellied sneak is going to take my wife and get away with it. This is it. I’m going to show everyone here that I’m a man, and they ain’t gonna be laughing at me no more.”

“Silas, no one is laughing at you. It was mean, petty gossip and nothing else.”

“Oh, no, you ain’t gonna use your pretty words and talk your way out of this. Draw or I’ll shoot you down where you stand.”

Sheriff Coffee stepped out. “Silas, now you put that gun down.”

“You interfere, and I’ll shoot this gun into that carriage. Now back away, Sheriff. Cartwright, you hear that? You draw or I’m going to shoot into that carriage.”

Caught in a no-win situation, Adam saw some hope in what Israel was doing. He had to keep Silas talking a little longer.

“Silas, does a real man threaten a woman and children? I don’t think you want to do that. Will you take back that threat? If you do, then I can face you man-to-man.”

Looking confused for a moment, Silas nodded. “All right, then you draw and I’ll shoot you down.”

Preparing to shoot, Silas suddenly had a hand on his upper arm and one on the shotgun even as a boot kicked into the back of his right knee. His finger on the trigger pulled in desperation but the shot went high even as Adam moved to get away. One large pellet grazed his shoulder but that was the extent of the damage. In the crowd, Murray and Davis swore under their breath at another opportunity lost. It was getting to be a problem reporting back their failures to Frederick. They worried what would happen if his patience ran out. They had one more plan left, but it meant working with a loose cannon. They did not look forward to it at all.

As Sheriff Coffee got to Silas, Israel still had him immobilized face-down on the ground with a knee to his back and his right arm twisted up behind him. Silas was yelling almost incoherently. Roy asked for Israel’s help to get him to the jail. Juliette was with Adam who held a handkerchief to his shoulder.

“It really is just a scratch. It could have been so much worse without Israel. That man is a hero. No matter how bad a shot Silas is, I couldn’t have survived a blast from a scattergun at that distance.”

“Why this with all the other troubles we’re facing. They say the Lord doesn’t give you more than you can bear, but I wish He didn’t think we could bear so much.”

By then, Israel was back with news. “That man, Silas, is blabbering away to the Sheriff. He says he’s sorry now, but two men been pushing him to do it and even told him how and told him you were on your way into town.”

“The men we saw on the ridge.”

“Now we know what they were doing. Of course you know the names.”

“Murray and Davis. This isn’t something I expected. I guess we’re going to have to be prepared for anything.”

“Sheriff Roy wonders if he ought to run them out of town.”

“We’ll stop by and tell him not to do that. I want all the telegrams too. I think maybe by now we might be able to figure out some of their code. If we can’t, maybe we need to try something else.”

Because Juliette and the boys were shaken by all that had happened, the two men hurried to get things done and head for home. Roy agreed to their request and by the next morning showed up at Adam’s house with an envelope of papers.

“These are the transcripts of all the telegrams we know they got, and the boys at the office wrote down as best they remember some of the earlier messages they sent and received before they knew to keep exact copies.”

“Thank you, and please thank them for us. Good, there are dates too. Now if we can match these to some of the events, maybe we can start figuring out the code. As you said, I must be Marcus, but who are these other people?”

“I was wondering about that too. There’s this Dave Broad who shows up just a few days ago. Now, it made me curious so I asked around town to see about any new arrivals and if any had that name or initials. Dan over at the Territorial Enterprise said he didn’t know about that but that someone had pushed for Denton Bentoncourt to get an early parole and it was granted only a couple of days ago.”

“Parole? But he’s wanted in California too. Wasn’t he supposed to go there for trial when he was released here?”

“Seems the charges were dropped in California. Someone made restitution for what he took from the family.”

“We know who’s behind this then. Money and a few corrupt officeholders, and he has another criminal to do his bidding. This one is unpredictable though. What will he do?”

“He’s in Carson City right now.”

“So he could be getting instructions by telegram, and we wouldn’t know.”

With a shrug and silence, Roy agreed. They guessed that Frederick had aimed Denton straight at Adam. What they didn’t know was that as devious as Frederick was and as vindictive, he had aimed him at others too.

 

Chapter 4

The next morning was a shocking one for Murray and Davis. They went to the bank to get money from their account to find that it was frozen. They stopped at the telegraph office and the terse message was that their services were no longer required.

“Davis, you know what this means, don’t you?”

“Yeah, we’re dead. How do you think he’ll have it done?”

“Probably shot as we’re leaving town and our bodies left where no one will find them except the buzzards.”

“Listen up, I’m thinking. We ain’t broken any laws or any that are serious. Maybe we switch sides and hope they keep us alive. It can’t hurt to try. This Cartwright seems like maybe he’s smarter than this Anderson.”

“You got a point there. If I was Anderson, I never would have done this to us because now we know what he plans for us.”

“He wanted us to cut and run. He must have somebody waiting for us to do that.”

“So we can’t go out to Cartwright. We’d never make it.”

“Listen, that jail has a back door, don’t it?”

“I think so.”

“Let’s go sneak around so nobody could possibly know where we’re going and knock on that door. I think that sheriff might be interested enough in what we got to say that he would make sure we stay alive. He seems to be a friend of that Cartwright.”

“Now that’s a plan I like.”

When Roy heard knocking on the back door of the jail, he was curious but cautious. When he heard what the two men had to say, he was pleased. There was enough in their statements to indict Frederick Anderson for crimes in Nevada including conspiracy. He would never get custody of Michael. However Roy had to keep these two men alive for that to happen.

“All right, we’re going to take you out to the Ponderosa. But we’ll have two dummies for our assassin to shoot. Don’t look so worried. He’ll think he killed you and you’ll be safe as can be. You’ll see.”

About two hours later, Roy drove a wagon with Murray and Davis seated behind him. Soon after leaving town, the two ducked down and covered themselves with blankets as straw dummies wearing similar clothing took their spots. Roy reminded them to pull the dummies down when shots hit them and then not to move. All of them expected an ambush. Deputies followed at a discreet distance hoping to catch the would-be assassin but knowing it would be difficult to do.

As anticipated, the attack came about a mile out of town as they passed a ridge. Shots were fired and Roy sped up the wagon but the dummies were hit and fell or were pulled down into the bed of the wagon. There was no movement. Once at Adam’s house, Roy pulled up to his small stable and quickly briefed Adam and Israel on the whole story. Adam got two large blankets and they bundled up the dummies and carried them as if they were heavy out and took them behind the corral where Israel dug two graves. Up on a hill near there, Denton watched and knew he had completed half of his jobs. However deputies rode near him making him realize how close he had come to being caught. He knew they must have known he was out there and had hoped to apprehend him. The whole situation was dangerous. He had no intention of going back to that prison. He would watch to see what precautions were in place at Adam’s home, and if too much, would wire such to Anderson and ask for the payment for what he had already done.

Meanwhile Lincoln pulled the wagon into the stable. Finally Murray and Davis were able to get out from under the blankets in the back when Roy told them it was safe to do so. When they stepped from the wagon, Adam hit each of them knocking them to the ground.

“You deserve so much more than that, but for now, it’s all you get. If you cooperate, Roy and I have talked. I’ll pay for you to go to Mexico or Canada. You know it’s the only way you’ll be safe from your boss. I’ll give you enough money to live for a while. You can get jobs. I hope you find some real work.”

“I think me and Davis found out we aren’t very good at this. Anyway, we’ll do whatever you say. We know it’s the only way to stay alive.”

“I want your full statements on everything including the code you used for your telegrams.”

The two men looked surprised.

“You are smarter than he is.”

“You’ll have to live here in the stable for a short time because there is probably someone watching. Once we have enough, we’ll make sure you get out of here safely.”

“We heard you keep your word.”

“I do. You better keep yours because otherwise I will kill you myself.”

After what he had said about keeping his word, Murray and Davis simply nodded. They weren’t in the class of men who were in this kind of contest. It was time to fold.

“We’ll do whatever you want.”

Roy stayed until the statements were completed and signed. Then the two men told him that the code sheet was in their room. They couldn’t remember all of it, but Roy would have to clean out their room anyway if they were ‘killed’ so no one would think it odd if he went there. With the extra supplies that Israel had gotten on the trip to town, they were able to feed two extra for a few days at least. Adam had a request of Roy before he left.

“Could you send a deputy to the house to tell my family what has happened and to send a few extra men here for guard duty. I want to be ready for what comes next.”

“I’ll leave the other deputy here too until your family and men get here.”

“Thank you, Roy. Now I need to get inside as I’m sure there are two ladies and a son who want to know what’s going on.”

By the time Adam finished explaining what had happened to Juliette and Rebecca, Ben, Hoss, and Joe arrived, and the story had to be told again. There was some talk of tearing the men in the stable apart limb-by-limb, but cooler heads prevailed.

“You can’t do that, or we lose the two witnesses we need against Frederick. You can’t prove conspiracy without two witnesses. Besides, I promised them safe passage to Canada or Mexico when this is done. You know I keep my promises so I would have to fight to defend them.”

“All right, but they better know that their lives ain’t worth a whole lot if they decide not to help.”

“I already made that clear to them.”

Looking at how serious Adam looked, Hoss had a grin. “I bet you did, older brother. I bet you did.”

“Son, how many men do you want here tonight?”

“I want at least one with the two men we have in the stable. I don’t trust them. This could still be part of a bigger plot to get them close to us. Then I would like two here at the house to help if needed. One can sleep while the other guards. Same can work in the stable if there are two. I’ll set some warning signals and put out a couple of lanterns too.”

“Adam, Lincoln could sleep in Michael’s room tonight. We don’t want him in his place at the stable with those men there.”

“Rebecca, that’s a good plan. I don’t like having him have to sleep out there anyway. I’ve been thinking I should add a cottage here for your family. It wouldn’t need a kitchen, but a sitting room and three bedrooms should do, don’t you think?”

“Yes, sir, that would be wonderful.”

“Now stop with that sir. Like Israel, you have to remember to call me Adam. Right?”

“Yes, Adam. Thank you.”

There was a room off the kitchen for Israel and Rebecca to use, and Amy slept on a cot in the kitchen. Adam had converted the tack room into quarters for Lincoln, but he had known for some time that those accommodations were inadequate. After all that Israel had done for him, new accommodations had become a priority.

Everything stayed calm. Denton saw the guards and saw Adam putting bells and cans on tripwires in the long grass around the house. Two lanterns were set out too. He would have no chance to carry out his instructions to kidnap the boy. So he did what he had anticipated and returned to Carson City to send his telegram to Anderson. He did not like the reply he got.

Although Roy was unable to get the code sheet because Denton had ransacked the room and taken anything incriminating, Adam and Joe figured out the code using the telegrams and matching them to events and had the help of Murray and Davis who remembered some of it. Within the week, with the code, the telegrams, and the statements from Murray and Davis, Frederick Anderson was indicted in Nevada for conspiracy among other charges. The conspiracy to commit murder and mayhem was the most serious. With a man that powerful, they knew they would not be able to extradite him. However, there was no chance that he would be able to get custody of Michael under any circumstances either. When news of the indictment was in the newspapers, Anderson would have a difficult time explaining any activities related to Michael. He had to give up. Furious, he saw no alternative.

About a week later, Frederick woke to a knife at his throat. Forced to walk to his study and open the wall safe, he paid Denton Bentoncourt what he had promised him and then a generous tip as well as expenses. Denton didn’t take all the money in the safe.

“I’m not a thief. I work for what I get. Now, I’m going to leave. If you so much as mention my name to anyone, the next time this knife is at your throat, it won’t come away so easily.”

Denton left a small trail of blood on Frederick’s neck, but then he was gone. Scared, Frederick did nothing, but the next day in his office, he was even more furious complaining to Darwin about his security guards. They were lax once more though as Denton was still in his house and talking to his staff. He asked what they needed to quit their jobs. They said money.

“Well, the wall safe in the study is open. There’s enough money in there to satisfy your needs, I believe. If you would be so kind as to wait an hour or two, and then please stuff the fireplace in there with lots of paper and such and perhaps trail some of that into the room and push some of that plush furniture up close there, I would like that too.”

Then Denton smiled that evil smile he had which let the staff know it was a demand and they better do it. They all nodded, and Denton walked out with his messenger suit and a valise stuffed with important papers implicating Frederick in all sorts of unsavory activities. He had never left the house the night before. His pockets had the money from the safe that he had been given as well as all sorts of jeweled doodads such as tie tacks and such from Frederick’s bedroom. He stashed those in his carriage along with the valise of papers. Waiting until he saw the smoke rising from the house, he drove away and took a second valise with him when he got to Frederick’s office. Rushing in, he was breathless as he said he had an important message for Mister Anderson. At Frederick’s office, he barged in and told an angry Anderson that he had an important message.

“Your house is on fire and the police have gone inside to see if they can find anyone overcome by smoke.”

“Damn, we have to get them out of there before they snoop around. Come on, Darwin, what are you waiting for.”

As the two men rushed out, Denton quietly closed the door as all attention was on the two men exiting. He took his time going through the office collecting more papers. When the second valise was full, he eyed the wall safe he had found. He had memorized the combination to open the man’s home safe and wondered if he used the same combination at the office. He did. There was a huge stack of money in there. Looking around, Denton found another valise and stuffed it. Then he closed the safe and made sure the fireplace had lots of paper in it to burn as well as some furniture near it that could catch fire easily. Trailing more paper from the fireplace to the furniture, he had it all set up to burn quickly. Opening the window so the fire would have plenty of air and not be snuffed out, his preparations were done. He tossed a match and watched the small flame begin to grow. Stepping out and pulling the door closed, he was sure the staff had some questions. Knowing they would never remember what he had when he got there, he was bold.

“I guess he’s not coming back right away. I’ll have to deliver these papers another time.”

In order to get away clean, Denton had to get rid of Frederick. He dropped off the two valises of papers with an official of the opposition party to the one Frederick generously supported in order to get his way with the government. They were delighted as they read through the papers that day.

Denton booked passage for England and said goodbye forever to North America. It was much too dangerous for him to be there. Now Europe was a big place with many opportunities, and he had a small fortune to use. He sent a brief telegram message to Nevada apologizing for running out on his parole but saying he was going to Brazil and would never be back.

Arriving for church services a week later, Adam was surprised when Dan DeQuille handed him a copy of a San Francisco newspaper opened to the second page.

“I thought you might be interested in the article at the top of the page.”

After reading, Adam had a smirk that made Juliette and the rest of his family wonder what it was that he had read. He handed the paper to her deciding she had a right to know it all next. When she finished, she handed it to Ben, but the others clamored for the story.

“Frederick Anderson’s house burned and as he rushed there, his office burned. He claimed to authorities that a disgruntled former employee had threatened to kill him and forced him to open his safe and give him money. That is the man suspected of starting the fire at his offices too if Anderson is to be believed. To top it off, apparently this former employee stole papers and gave them to the authorities. Anderson has been arrested on multiple charges and faces a long time in prison. His defense is that the documents were stolen and later he claimed they were forged.”

“But, Adam, that’s crazy because if they were stolen, they can’t be forged.”

“Exactly, Hoss, so any jury would know he’s lying.”

“So he’s likely going to prison?”

“Yes, he was so devious, he got caught in his own plot.”

“What do you mean, son?”

“Listen, we heard about that telegram Bentoncourt sent to Nevada authorities. If he was going anywhere from the east coast, he had to have money. He was probably working for Anderson here. He didn’t kill me, but he must have thought he killed Murray and Davis. He wanted to be paid, and my theory is that Anderson refused to pay him for half a job.”

“So he’s the disgruntled former employee.”

“Has to be.”

Juliette was relieved. “So it’s over?”

The family began to walk to the church as the bell signaled that the service was about to begin. Michael was already inside.

“Yes, now I can work on the Simons house plans to get my business off the ground, get that cottage built for Israel and his family, and still have time to add that nursery.”

She grinned as Ben stopped in his tracks.

“What?”

“Yes, Pa, I’ve been busy. Tomorrow I have a few telegrams to send too.”

Juliette was concerned. “What kind of telegrams?”

“Bentoncourt may have helped us by what he did, but he will continue to harm others until he is stopped. I think there are those who would like to know where he is. He did break the law in Canada and is wanted there.”

“So, my clever husband, you think he’s going to England.”

“Yes, I do. He would never tell the truth, and where would he fit in best? Certainly not in Brazil.”

It took quite some time for Adam to get answers to his telegrams. Months later, a letter came from friends in England. Denton Bentoncourt had been in prison. His money and the jewelry found in his possession had been confiscated as stolen property and returned to the United States where the city of Philadelphia claimed it all as part of the restitution Frederick Anderson owed for his crimes. As a pauper, Denton accepted trial in England and imprisonment there. Depressed and nearly suicidal, he died soon after his imprisonment because he had refused most meals, did not take care of himself, and got into fights with other prisoners.

That night after hearing the news, with Juliette pressed against him in spoon position, Adam caressed her growing tummy as they talked over all that had happened.

“I like how you used all your resources to defeat Frederick and bring justice to all.”

“Thank you.”

Then they were quiet and Adam’s hands began to roam further. She leaned back to give him better access.

“No matter what, you always want this.”

“Of course I do. I love you.”

“I love you too. I did think there might be a surprise for me in here tonight. You spent a lot of time in the bedroom today.”

“You know how sounds in the house make it difficult for Michael to sleep?”

“Yes.” And then she guessed. “He heard us?”

“Not us so much as our new bed squeaking. He told me he hears it sometimes and can’t sleep wondering if it’s a monster.”

“I’m only glad he was too scared to come investigate.”

“I think we should try it out though to make sure I took care of all of them.”

So they did and afterwards pronounced that there were no squeaks except Adam said Juliette did squeak a few times. They laughed about that. In his room, the only sounds Michael heard was laughter from his parents. He had missed hearing laughter and that was when he knew this whole nasty chapter in their lives was over. Looking forward to his upcoming birthday and a cake, he fell asleep quite happy with life.

 

 

Tags:  Adam Cartwright, Family