| |
* * *
Lucille stood nervously outside the sheriff’s station wondering if she was making a mistake. She started to go in for the third time then paused and turned around again, her legs wanting to carry her home even though her mind told her to press forward. She had only taken a few steps when her mind caught up with her feet, which planted themselves firmly into the ground and forced her to stop.
She drew in a deep breath and turned around to face the station once again. This time, she got all the way to the door before the desire to sprint away came racing back to her. She fought it off and went inside.
She was relieved to find that Effie was still in the jail cell and had not been carted off in the middle of the night. She really had been worried that Marshal Decker might change his mind and tried to steal away with her in middle the night, dragging her to Jefferson City despite Dr. Harcourt’s orders. The only thing that had stilled her fears was Leonard’s touch.
Each pad of his fingers was like a soft massage on her skin. When he’d touched her last night, she’d been unable to resist him. It was impossible to pull herself away from a lure such as his. His love for her showed itself through every single movement he offered her, from the wiggle of his toes to his lips pressing softly against her.
She had not fallen asleep, she’d only pretended to. With her fears eased, at least to an extent, she’d been able to pass the night in bed next to him waiting for the sun to rise. She’d finally decided that if Decker still meant to move Effie to Jefferson City, he would wait until morning as planned. There was no real reason for him to move her under the cover of night. In fact, it would only make his job harder.
But now that the morning light was here, she could not wait a moment longer. Decker still might intend to move her, and Lucille had no intention of letting that happen. If she were to let Effie go with him to Jefferson City, she might be a free woman, but she would never be free of her guilt.
She drew in a deep breath and stepped into the station. Amos was already there, as were Curt and Marshal Decker. The only person missing was Leonard, which was just what she’d wanted. She hoped he was still at home sleeping, and by the time he woke this would all be over.
Amos looked up as she came in. “You beat your husband here this morning,” he chuckled. “Come to take over his job?”
Lucille forced a smile but it felt unnatural on her face. “No, actually I came here to talk to you.”
For some reason, her simple statement got Decker’s attention He stopped what he was doing and looked at her, his brows drawing together.
“You’re feeling all right, aren’t you?” Decker asked looking her up and down. “Not getting a runny nose or tightness in your chest or any of those other things Dr. Harcourt mentioned yesterday?” He squinted at her as if trying to make out red spots along her nose.
“I feel fine,” she said.
Inside her cell, Effie was lying on her cot but her eyes were open. She was staring at the ceiling. “I feel fine too,” she said.
Lucille wondered what kind of silly girl this was. If Decker really believed her to feel fine, he might just move her to Jefferson City where she would not stand a prayer of getting out of jail. Not with all of Marshal Decker’s connections. It would be better for her to just play along and act as though she were dying rather than trying to convince anyone otherwise. Well, whatever. None of that mattered now anyway.
Curt was sitting at his desk, which Decker appeared to have given back to him, at least for now, paying only mild attention to her. His eyes lolled in his head as his hands dug into a large bag and pulled out a piece of penny candy. He stuffed it into his mouth and chewed but grimaced as he did so.
“If I eat one more piece of penny candy,” Curt said, “I think I’m going to be sick.”
Decker stared hard at him. “Fine, then stop eating it and catch whatever Miss Bates has.” He glared at Lucille. “As for you, you know perfectly well you shouldn’t be here. You’ll get sick before any of us.”
Lucille opened her mouth with the intention of telling them they had nothing to worry about then stopped when she realized it would only get Dr. Harcourt in trouble were she to say that. So instead she said, “I think I’ll take my chances.”
Amos was watching her. “What can I do for you, Lucille?” he asked. “And where is that husband of yours?”
“He’ll be along any minute now, I imagine,” Lucille told him. “We had a late night of things.” She drew in a deep breath and let it out. “In fact, what I’ve got to say I wanted to tell you before Leonard arrived.”
Her throat ran suddenly dry and she wasn’t sure she could go through with it. Her heart was beating like a drum and all she wanted was to go home and climb back into bed with Leonard beside her.
“Whatever it is,” said Marshal Decker, “spit it out and get out of here before you get ill and give it to Deputy Overton, who will almost certainly give it to us. I like my intestines just where they are, thank you, and I have no intention of expelling them through any of my orifices.”
Under normal circumstances, Lucille would have been laughing at the marshal’s statement. As it was, she could not even crack a smile.
“I wanted to tell you,” she said biting her lower lip. “I wanted to tell you... that Effie has done nothing wrong. At least not as it regards the Beauty Bandits. She is no train robber. Of that, I can guarantee you.”
Decker dismissed her with a wave of his hand. “Oh come now. We found that ring and all that money. There’s no question in my mind that she’s the one I’ve been after. I did just never realized before how young she was, but greater men than I have made mistakes.”
Effie was sitting up on her cot looking at her with interest. Lucille shook her head. “No, you don’t understand. I know for a fact that Effie is not the woman you’ve been looking for... because I am.”
Everyone in the room froze and looked at her. Curt’s eyes widened. Amos’ jaw dropped open. Decker just looked at her with the eyes of a dead fish.
“What did you say?” Decker asked.
“I’m the woman you want,” she said. “I’m the Beauty Bandit.”
The door to the sheriff’s station burst open just then and Leonard came running in out of breath. His face was sweating and his eyes were wild.
“It’s too late,” she said. “I just told them the truth.”
Amos turned his eyes to Leonard. “Is it true?” Amos asked. “Is your wife a Beauty Bandit?”
“No,” said Leonard at once.
Frustration flashed through Lucille. “Yes, I am.”
“No,” Leonard said. “You are not.”
“I am.”
“You are not.”
Leonard and Lucille both glared at each other from across the room. Amos clapped his hands together to get their attention. “All right now, I don’t know what’s going on, but I do know that you’re both going to sit down and no one is leaving here until I get some answers.”
* * *
