Chapter 15

“It seems a great deal of sour grapes to me.” Gideon had listened to Hawk relay the information he’d received from the Western Women’s Bureau. He didn’t like what he’d heard. “They’ve been caught being deceitful and are trying to lay the blame at someone else’s feet.” Namely, Miriam’s.

Hawk was unmoved by the argument. “They’re likely panicked. A certain Mr. Ian MacNamara, lawyer and up-and-coming star in Washington’s political circles, has been making his own inquiries.”

Gideon’s brother had gladly agreed to investigate the agency, but Ian had never been one to do things quietly. He’d likely made quite a ruckus in St. Louis.

“Knowing the bureau was possibly covering their tracks, I did a little more digging,” Hawk said.

Gideon stepped over to the windows of the marshal’s office and looked out over the town. The window, directly above the jail, provided a view of one end of the L-shaped Main Street. The wall to the right had a window that did the same for the other leg of Main. It was little wonder Hawk had claimed it for the marshals. He could monitor all of Savage Wells from this one room. And, judging by the amount of information he’d gathered, half the country.

Gideon wasn’t certain he was ready to hear what else Hawk had uncovered; what he’d heard so far was discouraging. The bureau insisted that Miriam had been let go from five of her last six positions for being unfit to perform her duties as a nurse, something she’d kept from them, and that only an investigation on their part had revealed it. She’d known of the marriage arrangement, the bureau added, and that with her history no doctor would hire her so marrying one was her only option.

He wanted to believe that the bureau was being untruthful. He needed to believe it. Miriam had admitted she’d been less than forthright about Nebraska. She’d even apologized, expressing regret. He’d thought that had cleared up the lies between them. But what if she was hiding so much more?

Hawk remained at his desk. “If you’d rather I not tell you the rest, I’ll understand. Sometimes a drop or two of ignorance is better than a full measure of truth.”

It was tempting, more so than Gideon would have guessed only a few short weeks earlier. But his doctor’s conscience would not allow him to leave potentially crucial information unrevealed. “What else did you discover?”

“That she was, indeed, dismissed from five of her last six positions, though only the doctor she worked for five years ago expounded upon the reasons for her dismissal.”

The confirmation didn’t sit well at all. He needed to know, though.

Rupert Fletcher walked by on the street below, a limp to his gait. I’ll have to look into that; he shouldn’t still be limping. Weariness settled heavily on him. “What did this doctor give as his reason for letting Miriam go?”

“He said she was ill in a way that interfered with her work.”

Gideon paced away. An illness could be dismissed as a temporary impediment, not one that would last for years. Five of her last six positions ending in dismissal was a pattern he could not, as a doctor responsible for the well-being of half a territory, overlook.

“The doctor in New York, the one from five years ago, said he’d rather not give details of her illness,” Hawk said. “He and his wife had grown fond of her. They don’t want to impose on her privacy.”

That brought Gideon up short. “The doctor believes this illness is still afflicting her after nearly half a decade?”

Hawk leaned back in his chair. The man never seemed ruffled by anything. “Seems that way.”

Few things were that long-term without being obvious, especially to someone with medical training. But he hadn’t seen anything that would make him suspect even a minor illness, let alone something catastrophic.

“I’d wager at least some of the other doctors would be willing to answer our questions.” Hawk’s steely gaze stopped Gideon’s pacing. “It’s possible you’ll learn things you’d rather you didn’t know.”

Miriam did good, competent work. She cared for their patients. He was growing fond of her. What if he discovered she was hiding something truly devastating, that she’d been lying about something more than her past employment, perhaps had even deceived him about her ignorance of the arranged marriage? Could he ever trust her after that? What choice would he have but to fire her as the others had done?

“Something of a dilemma, ain’t it?” Hawk at least sounded empathetic. “Tell me how you want to move forward. I can either leave things as they are, or I can contact more of her former employers.”

Gideon resumed his pacing. “As a doctor, I need to know what this illness is, and as her employer, I need to know the reasons she has been fired so often, but I can’t help thinking that opening this particular Pandora’s box might be a grave mistake.”

She’d claimed a piece of his heart. Seeing her walk inside his home on Hawk’s arm discussing their intention to go to the social together had brought to light just how real his affection was for her. He’d been rendered instantly jealous, frustrated, dejected. He’d fallen the first, tiniest bit in love with her. But he’d been horribly wrong on matters of the heart before, and the degree of deception Hawk was hinting at would shatter him. He knew it would. But, as painful as it would potentially be, the truth was crucial.

“You need to make more inquiries.”

Hawk raised an eyebrow. “You’re prepared to be the sixth doctor to dismiss her if what you learn necessitates it?”

“I won’t put the well-being of my patients at risk.”

“What about her well-being?” Hawk asked.

“I know you’re not indifferent to her,” Gideon said. “I’m—I’m not entirely, either. But I have to know for certain that this town is safe in her hands.”

Hawk stood. “I’ll send some telegrams today. We should know more soon enough.”

Gideon left with that dire pronouncement echoing in his mind. Paisley was in the jailhouse, sitting at the sheriff’s desk, when he passed by a side window at the bottom of the outer staircase. Andrew sat across from Barney at their usual spot near the cells, a checkerboard between them.

Barney would need a great deal of care soon enough. Gideon had been impressed with how Miriam had interacted with him. She was not only kind and patient, but she also understood the best way to help him.

There was the rub. She was, in so many ways, exactly what this town needed—what he needed—and he’d just asked Hawk to open a proverbial can of worms.