Ruby's Song (Love in the Sierras Book 3) (24 page)

Emily sniffled again and Marlena laughed as she put an arm around the woman’s shoulders and led her to the back of the wagon. “Pull yourself together and take a load in.”

They laughed and carried in the last of the blankets. Once every occupant was wrapped in wool, they huddled around Marlena who spent the day working with each child, assessing each individually, and teaching exercises to strengthen tone and proper breathing techniques. Of course, some children had more natural ability than others, but the point was to make them each believe they were as worthy of the education as any other. By the time the sun began to fade, she successfully led the entire group in a simple rendition of Amazing Grace.

She and Emily clapped when the song had finished. “Well done!” Marlena called. “Very soon, the sisters at St. Mary’s will be taking instruction from you.”

“But how do we make it prettier?” the little girl asked.

“Well, you add harmonies. That’s where each person is singing a different layer of the song, higher or lower, and when they blend together, they are beautiful.”

“Can we do that?” a young boy asked.

Emily laughed. “Miss Ruby has to be getting home, children. She’s spent the entire day here.”

“Can she come back tomorrow? Teach us some more?”

An older boy stood and dropped his blanket. “What difference would it make?” he said with a look of disgust on his face. “Singing isn’t going to buy us clothes or food or blankets. Music is pointless.”

The six-year-old girl shot to her feet to challenge the older boy. “Music is not pointless, Thomas. And it can make you money if you make yourself good enough with it. Look at Ruby. Music makes her money.”

“Yeah,” Thomas drawled. “And when she leaves Virginia City, who will be here to teach you how to be great, Hazel? Nobody. So, get the stupid stars out of your stupid eyes.”

“Thomas!” Emily called. “Apologize this instant or you can go without your supper tonight.”

Thomas mumbled something of an apology but Marlena didn’t hear it. She was too flummoxed by the girl’s name. Hazel. Surely, it couldn’t be...could it? She sucked on her bottom lip, studying the girl’s face when she sat back down. Blond hair, slanted hazel eyes holding a fierce confidence. A sharp breath expanded in Marlena’s lungs. Before she could carry on her thoughts, another child spoke.

“Thomas
does
have a point, though,” the child said. “How can music help us?”

Marlena scanned the faces peering up at her, desperate for warmth in a cold world. How many of these young girls would end up like Rosa? The thought brought tears to her eyes. Did she have the power to prevent it? Did music have the power to prevent it? It would certainly fill their lives with something beautiful, something circumstances couldn’t steal. As to putting food in their bellies? Well, perhaps it could do that, too.

She leaned forward and placed her elbows on her knees. “I have an idea.”

Chapter 25

Dalton bit on the inside of his cheek hard enough to bleed, but the flow of blood did little to stem the flow of tears. Guilt. Grief. He didn’t know which was strongest in his heart, but the burden was almost too heavy. He imagined Rosa’s face, the very instant all hope had been well and truly snuffed. Had he known she’d run from his room and straight into purgatory, he might have handled everything differently. Why she’d gone to the Gold Hill Hotel, and in the dead of night, continued to baffle him. It was a mile away from Virginia City. Her parting note to him burned in his breast pocket. He’d yet to read it.

He went to the Gold Hill Hotel, but instead of entering that part of the establishment, he ducked through the bar entrance and asked for a shot of whisky as Indigo sat on the floor beside him. The bartender complied with a sad shake of his head.

“Nasty business, that suicide, isn’t it?” he said and Dalton’s swallow hitched a bit. He only nodded, so the bartender continued. “Poor girl. I’d hate to have a daughter in this town. All sorts of wayward fellows for them to pin their hearts on.”

The man had no way of knowing how cutting his words were. Dalton ordered another drink and took the note from his pocket. It singed his fingertips until he opened it.  

Woe, destruction, ruin, and decay; The worst is death, and death will have his day.

His brow wrinkled and he turned the note back over to see his name scrawled across the front. Why would Rosa write this? His eyes scanned the line over and over again, recognizing it as Shakespeare. A creeping dread tingled through him. Rosa didn’t know Shakespeare. He’d tried to get her to read it, but the language barrier had been too difficult for her. He studied the handwriting, recognizing it instantly, but not as Rosa’s.

The whisky soured in his gut. She hadn’t committed suicide. She’d been murdered, and by a man who wanted Dalton to know his identity. The bartender walked by and Dalton reached out to grab the man’s shirt.

“The wayward fellow comment, did you make that for a reason?”

The bartender shoved Dalton away, but Dalton pulled his gun, settling the barrel beneath the man’s chin.

“Answer my question. Did Rosa come here with a man last night?”

“Yes! She was crying when they came in. I thought it was some lover’s quarrel. They seemed pretty far on the path to making up, though, so I thought no more of it until this morning when I saw her swinging.”

Dalton shoved the man away from him, rage and hate surging through him. The small flicker of relief he felt knowing Rosa hadn’t taken her own life, went out in the face of his thirst for vengeance.

He bolted from the bar and ran straight into Valentine Kelly.

“Whoa, now!” Val exclaimed. “Where are you rushing off to? I was just coming to share a drink with you.”

“Not now, Val. I have to go.”

He rushed past Val, who followed swiftly on his heels. “Why? Where do you have to go? Is this about Rosa? Look, I’m sorry for your loss, but-”

“She didn’t kill herself,” Dalton shot. “Someone killed her, and that someone wanted me to know exactly who he was. He left this in her dress for me to find.”

He threw the note down to Val who read it with a confused look on his face. “What does this mean?”

“It means the one man I let get away has come back, and he wants me to know it. Well, if he wants me, he’s got me because I’m not letting the bastard get away again.”

Dalton turned his horse with a pull of the reins, but Val grabbed a rein and held him in place. “Hold on, Dalton. Where are you going?”

“Shakespeare has a few hideouts around the area I know about. I doubt he’ll use the same ones, especially since he knows I know about them, but I’ve got to start somewhere.”

Val pressed his lips together and shook his head. “And you’re determined to ride after him this very night? That’s not smart, Dalton. You’re emotional and upset and that leaves you vulnerable.”

“I’m going, Val. I’ve already got Rosa’s death on my hands. I don’t want anyone else’s.”

Val’s face fell in sympathy for a brief moment before hardening with resolve. “Then I’m coming with you.”

“No.” Dalton shook his head. “Didn’t you hear what I just said? I don’t want anyone else’s death on my hands. You’ve got a wife and kids, another one on the way. If you don’t come back, your whole family will be devastated. If I don’t come back…”

“My whole family will be devastated,” Val finished. “So, shut up. You’ve watched my back plenty of times. Now, I’ve got yours. Let me run and tell Jess what’s up.”

“I don’t know when I’ll be back, Val.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know. Hang on.”

Dusk had fallen when they rode out into the desert, Indigo loping on their heels.

“I told Morgan,” Val said. “Figured he could keep a watchful eye over everyone while we’re gone.”

Dalton nodded. They rode most of the night to the first hideout and found it void of any use for quite some time. Not even a footprint disturbed the ground. There, they snatched several hours of needed sleep before pushing on to the next site, which yielded mixed results. It had been visited and recently, but there was nothing to indicate Shakespeare had been there.

By the time they approached the final hideout, dawn was an hour off. The air was crisp and dry, leaving their limbs to feel brittle and numb. Exhaustion weighed them down and Dalton almost considered catching a few hours of sleep before making the final approach, but adrenaline moved him along.

The hilly desert features flattened out into a field of rocks and boulders, many of which hid caves. Several smatterings of rocks produced a faint blue light, throbbing against the dying darkness.

Val’s features twisted, his jaw dropped and he rubbed his eyes. “Tell me you see this, too, and that my eyes aren’t playing tricks on me. Are these rocks
glowing
?”

“That’s right.” Dalton laughed and nodded. “There’s a natural phosphorous in them and they glow slightly in the dark of night.”

“I’ll be damned.”

“Shakespeare used to use one of these caves a few years back. Let’s hope he’s there now so we can be rid of him. I’ll lead the way.”

Val followed him to the boulder pile obscuring the mouth of a cave. They dismounted, drew their weapons, and inched quietly toward the opening. Pitch black darkness greeted them. Dalton strained to hear any signs of life inside, but found none. He fired a shot into the blackness and watched sparks fly off of the walls as the bullet bounced between them. The tomb was empty. He ripped a piece of his shirt, bundled it into a long wad and struck a match.

They went inside, walking among remnants of previous occupiers, including a fire ring.

“Go and grab some dry brush,” he told Val. “We’ll get a fire going and have a look around before grabbing some sleep.”

Within moments the cave’s interior was in full golden glow, revealing a trove of discarded goods. Empty tin cans, cigar butts, horseshoes, shell casings, a broken spur and half-eaten rabbit carcasses strewn about the cave floor. But what drew Dalton’s attention was a poster of Marlena with red hair dressed as Ruby, the American Songbird. It looked like the one outside of Piper’s and it had been stuck to the wall by a nail wedged into a crack. Greasy fingerprints dotted the edges of the paper, proving it had been held often, and a single line smudged across her lips. But still, he saw no sign of Shakespeare. He sighed and pulled the poster free.

As he studied the image, a sad smile played on his lips as he could see, even in ink, Marlena’s discomfort sitting for the portrait. Her eyes had a far-off look, a sad look, and he could tell the smile was forced. Emotions crowded his throat as he remembered her words to him at the gravesite. In the quiet space, Dalton flinched when Val threw a rock at the cave wall and swore heatedly.

“Dammit, Dalton. Why didn’t you tell me Marlena was the woman you loved?”

Dalton peered over his shoulder at Val. “What does it matter?”

Val huffed an incredulous cough. “What does it matter?” He leaned down to bring his face inches from Dalton’s. “
What does it matter?!
If my wife finds out there was unfinished business and love between you and
her
sister and that
I
sent you into town to seek out some tail…” He paced back and forth shaking his head. “Ah man, she’ll serve my balls to the cattle.”

Dalton shrugged. “Won’t have to worry about knocking her up anymore then, I reckon.”

Val swiped Dalton in the back of the head. “I’m serious, man. Jess can
never
know about the conversation you and I had.”

“Relax,” Dalton reassured. “I didn’t seek out any tail in Virginia City. To be honest, I laid in bed at my mom’s for a couple of days. That’s about as exciting as it was for me.”

Val chewed on the inside of his cheek before taking a seat. “So, what the hell happened between you two?”

Dalton took a deep breath before unloading the entire tale up to Rosa’s funeral. It felt liberating to unburden himself to someone he trusted. Val made no comments and asked no questions, only nodded every so often until the story was finished.

“So, the only thing keeping you apart now is...?” Val asked.

“Her engagement to Harrison. But she told me there was a future for us. ”

“I hate to say it, friend, but I didn’t hear the part in your story where she ever said she loved you.”

“She didn’t have to,” he said. “Marlena rarely communicates with words. But I can’t worry about our relationship right now. I have to focus on catching Shakespeare first.”

“What makes you think you can get him this time?” Val asked.

“I don’t have a choice,” he answered. “Besides, I’ve got something I didn’t have before.”   

“What’s that?”

He looked at his dog sprawled before the fire. “Indigo.” He stroked the dog’s ears. “I just wish I knew where the bastard was.”

Dalton sighed. He was tired, could barely keep his eyes open. They hadn’t slept more than four hours since they’d left almost two days ago. His eyelids screamed to close, so he knuckled them as he yawned, but he nearly fell off of his rock when the realization knocked him in the chest. Rosa in
Marlena’s
dress.
Marlena
receiving Shakespeare quotes. The poster of
Marlena
in the cave.

“Oh, my God,” he muttered as he looked at the poster again. “He’s going after Marlena.”

“Look!” Val said, pointing to the back of the poster.

A shudder rippled through Dalton as he turned the page over and read the words.

Dalton,

Thou know'st 'tis common; all that lives must die, Passing through nature to eternity.

His heart seized in his chest. “No.” He ran out to his horse, leapt on the saddle and kicked the beast as hard as he could, cursing himself the entire way. Shakespeare knew Dalton. Knew he would go out looking for him at the cave, far away from Marlena. And Dalton knew Shakespeare. Knew he would stride with Dalton gone. What made it all worse? He was a day’s ride from Virginia City.

By the time his and Val’s horses limped into Gold Hill, night was falling and the boarding house near empty. Dalton left his horse on the road and ran inside, calling Marlena’s name. When no one answered he called her family member’s names. Val was behind him, shouting for his wife. Soon, Ellie and Sandy emerged from the kitchen.

“What’s the matter?” she asked. “They’ve all gone.”

“Gone where?” Val asked.

“Up to Piper’s for the show tonight. Ruby wanted everyone present.”

“Even the children?”

“No, the children are upstairs getting ready for bed.”

Val turned to Sandy. ”There’s a killer on the loose. We’ve got to get up to Virginia City. Guard my babies.”

Sandy grabbed a shotgun from the gun rack and cocked it. “With my life.”

“Our horses are shot,” Dalton said and Ellie nodded toward the back stables.

“Take two of ours. Go!”

They made it to Piper’s Opera House in mid-concert. His heart thundered behind his ears and his breathing was labored enough to draw attention from members of the audience near the back where he stood. He heaved a sigh of relief when he saw Marlena on stage. His eyes swept along the box seats and he saw the Kellys in a box. Val went to them, whispering to Morgan, who left his seat to conference with Val and Dalton.

“We need to make sure we all leave together,” Dalton said. “I don’t want Marlena out of our sight until this guy is caught.”

They nodded.

“We ought to check the perimeter,” Morgan added.

“Good idea. You and Val go. I’ll do a sweep of the interior.”

The Kelly brothers left and Dalton scanned the inside of the opera house. He saw his mother in another box with a man he’d never seen before and frowned only a fraction until Marlena began to speak to the crowd, drawing his attention.