“...and J.D. be careful in there.” The new day was arriving, though it was impossible to see the sun. While the murkiness was becoming lighter, the rain wasn’t. It was only about 5:50 am, but J.D. had been up early. He had been aghast that Josiah had kept the discovery of the old livery to himself. Josiah had barely got the words, ‘Chris and I found the old livery. It’s out the back of the church,‘ out of his mouth, when J.D. bolted for the door. “J.D., Buck, Tom and I had a good look around last night. We couldn’t find any other traps, but keep your eyes peeled.”

The youth nodded as he disappeared into the old livery. The two preachers shook their heads with amusement as they settled on the back steps of the church sheltered from the rain by the overhang. Here they could keep an eye on the youth.

“What does he think he’s going to find in there?”

“James’ body.”

“Huh?”

“J.D. has this theory that Elsa’s James was murdered and buried in the old livery.”

Tom burst out laughing. “He’s persistent, I’ll give him that. I heard he was digging in the new livery the other day.”

“Yep.

J.D. paused in the doorway, allowing the atmosphere to permeate his being. He was on the threshold. His nerve endings were tingling. This was it. Today, he would find James and solve the mystery!

High on adrenaline, J.D. stepped into the dark barn. Very little light was able to get in due to the boarded up windows. The youth waited for his eyes to adjust to the gloom and then scanned the room. The air was stale, which the sleuth felt that was appropriate for the scene of a murder. “I know you’re in here somewhere.”

**********

As Vin exited the privy, he was surrounded, covered and led back to the house. “Aww, hell. Leave me be! This is ridiculous.”

“Pneumonia isn’t ridiculous!”

When the men returned to the examination room, they found Ezra dressed. “Good morning all. I am feeling much better and have decided to take a stroll around town to see if I can spy any of the men who attacked Nathan and I. Would one of you care to join me?”

“Yeah, me,” Nathan growled.

“Looking forward to a friendly chat with them, my friend?”

“No, I’m looking forward to beating them to a pulp!”

Ezra smiled. “What a colourful description, but I’ll admit, I share the sentiment.”

“Are you two up to this?” Buck asked.

Nathan nodded. “We’ll take it easy,” the healer proclaimed as he dressed.

Vin snorted as he climbed back into bed. Everyone was being released from this prison except him. The tracker glanced up at Chris as the older man pulled the covers up over him.

“No.”

“Buck, go with them.”

“You and Vin be okay here on your own?”

“I’ll shoot anyone who comes through that door,” Chris growled.

“Ooookaaayyyy.”

**********

J.D. had been searching the old livery for twenty minutes. Every now and then he could pick up Josiah’s voice from the steps of the church. The youth felt very grateful. Josiah could have come in and stood peering over his shoulder. After all, it was important for the men to stay together. Instead, the preacher had given the boy some privacy while still keeping an eye on him. Somehow, Josiah understood that this was much more than simply a ghost hunt for J.D. At first it had been, but now... J.D. needed to know. He had learned so much about Elsa and James in the past few days that he felt like he knew them... and therefore he owed them the truth.

It was obvious that no one had been in the building for years. The dust was thick. Creatures of all descriptions had found refuge in the structure. The old livery was everything J.D. had hoped for. There was something mysterious about it. The boy ran his hand along a corral post. This was where James would have stabled his horse. Over there, he would have hung his saddle and rug. In the corner would have been a feed bin. It was still there now, but tipped on its side.

J.D wandered over to a wooden frame on the ground. At first, he had simply thought that it had been discarded there. Closer inspection revealed that the frame was part of a well. “A well?“ the youth murmured. It was unusual to have a well in a livery, but then, it didn’t matter where they were dug, just so long as they reached the underground water supply.

All of the sudden, J.D.‘s eyes enlarged. That was where James was! The boy could see it all happening in his mind’s eye. James had come in the back entrance. He had walked over there to the corral and then he had been attacked from behind. The attacker had dragged his body over to the well and...

A shadow fell over the boy. J.D. spun around abruptly, his heart leaping into his throat. Standing behind him was Wilhelm Von Otter with a heavy shovel in his hands.

“What are you doing in here?” the storeowner asked curiously.

J.D. swallowed. The image in his mind changed to one of Wilhelm Von Otter running at him with that shovel! “Just taking a look around. They found a fella hanging in here yesterday.”

Von Otter continued to stare at the boy.

“I was just curious. Not about the fella who was hung, but about seeing the old livery. When did they stop using it?”

“Years ago.” Von Otter chuckled, scanning the building. “I’ve got a lot of memories of playing in here. See that hay loft, I spent many a day frolicking up there.”

“So why did they stop using it?”

“It was too small when the rains came and the town grew. Also, the water went sour so we dug a new well and put the livery around it.”

“A well in the livery?”

“When the rains come, it’s more comfortable to be able to get water from a well that’s sheltered.”

“Makes sense I guess. One of my friends said the livery looked new.”

“That one‘s our third livery. The second one we built burnt down four years ago, so we erected that new one. Huge isn‘t it? We needed to cater for when the rains came and the all the people come and stay here.”

“And the well?”

“Didn’t seem any reason to shift it. The second one was still producing good water. It’s out behind the Grain Exchange. We just built a large roof over it.”

J.D. nodded and glanced at the shovel. Wilhelm smiled. “Ma’s got a vegetable garden out back. Her garden, but somehow it’s become my responsibly to look after it,” the old man laughed.

J.D. smiled and relaxed. His overactive imagination had been running away with him. “Mr. Von Otter, can I ask you a question?”

“Depends what it is.”

“I was told that you were the one who threatened to kill James.”

Von Otter’s face clouded with memories. “Yes, I did,” the old man whispered.

“Because you were in love with Elsa?”

Von Otter sighed. “She was the most beautiful girl... and I’m not just talking about surface beauty. Elsa had beauty on the inside as well. Have you ever met someone who makes you feel good about yourself no matter how bad life is?”

“No, I don’t think I have.”

“That was Elsa. She was so gentle. So caring. Yes, I loved Elsa Schmidt with all my heart and all my soul.”

“Seeing her with James must have made you powerful angry.

“It did. There were times when it was almost unbearable.” Von Otter sighed. “But then, I guess I was far from the only one feeling that way. Every boy over fifteen and man under fifty was in love with her. She was an angel.”

“You want to know what I think happened to James?”

Von Otter’s brow furrowed. “He was run out of town.”

“Yeah, initially. But I think James came back for his horse.”

“I guess the horse did disappear. That makes sense,” Von Otter agreed, strolling back toward the entrance and picking up the chain that had secured the door. “It was all so long ago. Better forgotten.”

“I think that James came back for his horse, but he never left again.“

“What?“

“James came here to the livery. Probably snuck in through the back entrance,“ the boy explained pointing to the barred door. “When he was here collecting his horse, someone killed him and disposed of the body somewhere close to town. Maybe even in here.”

Wilhelm Von Otter’s eyes flicked to right and then settled back on J.D. “That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard.“

J.D. had caught the split second glance. The well! He knew it! Von Otter had glanced at the well! But that meant that Wilhelm Von Otter had murdered James! The youth’s eyes enlarged.

“Look, I came out here to re-chain the door. Would you mind leaving now? This old building is unstable. It isn‘t safe being in here.”

“It’s looks pretty sturdy to...”

“I’m asking you to leave.” The retort was snapped curtly.

“Why do you want to chain it? You don’t own this property.”

“I do, as a matter of fact. Mother keeps some things stored in here. I have other chores I need to be doing. Please leave.” Von Otter made a point of jostling the shovel. J.D. lowered his hand to his revolver.

“J.D.?” Josiah called, entering the livery. “Good morning, Mr. Von Otter.”

The elderly man nodded to Josiah. “I was just asking your friend to leave. I wish to chain the door so no one else comes in here and steals anything.

“Not much to steal,“ Josiah laughed.

“Perhaps not. Please.“ The storeowner stood resolutely.

Josiah frowned, glanced at J.D. and inclined his head. Right now, the boys didn’t want any trouble with the locals. “Come on, J.D.”

“But, Josiah! He only wants to...”

“Now, J.D.” The youth picked up a silent signal from his friend and so trudged out of the building without further comment.

“You should talk to your young friend,” Von Otter suggested. “Is he often taken to flights of fancy?”

“No. J.D.’s young and eager, but he has his feet firmly placed on the ground. Good day to you, Sir.” With that, Josiah exited the livery and dragged J.D. into the church.

**********

Vin watched his three friends leave.

“Watch your backs,” Chris called after them.

“Still no word from Tentafield?” Vin asked.

“No.”

“It’s her, Chris.”

“I know,” Larabee conceded, sitting down on the edge of the bed Nathan had vacated.

Tanner glanced at his friend. “What do the others think?“

Chris thought about the question carefully. “They’re still not sure. She is supposed to have hung.” Chris paused. “They’ll support whatever we decide to do.“

Vin nodded, considering the statement. He and Chris usually did the strategic planning. “So what are we gonna do?”

“We’ve taken out all of her players.”

“Until the rain stops.”

Larabee nodded.

“Then we go after her?”

“Yeah.”

Vin stared up at the roof and kicked off the two blankets that were covering him. His fever was on the rise again. “Reckon we should stop and catch our breath. She’s had us reacting without thinking. We need to stop and plan how we’re gonna do it. Turn the tables on her. Badden’s careful. She‘ll have backup plans. She did last time.”

“If the men who lit the fire are still in town, the others will find them.”

“They aren’t important.”

Larabee shrugged. “They may be able to tell us something.“

“I thought O’Brien hired them? Only one who may have seen Badden is that Barwick fella and he’s dead.“ Vin began to cough.

“Enough talking.” Chris got to his feet and pulled the blankets up around his friend.

“I’m hot.”

“It’s cool in here.”

“How come I’ve got to have blankets on because you’re cold?”

“Because I’m bigger than you are,” Chris chuckled.

“Hah!” Vin snorted, shedding the blanket again.

“Vin, you heard Nathan. You’ve got to stay warm.” The blanket was once again drawn up over the ill man.

“Larabee, I’m hot.”

“You’re impossible!”

“Yep.”

Chris began to shake his head, watching as Vin tossed the blankets onto the ground with an element of triumph. The two men stared at each other smiling. Gradually the smiles softened. Chris placed his hand on Vin’s arm.

“We’ll find her, Chris. The boys and I aren’t gonna let her get near you.”

Chris released his breath slowly. “I’ve never been the one she’s come after. The rest of you are the ones in danger.”

“She changed her tactics, Chris,” Vin disagreed. “That gunfighter wasn’t shooting meatballs at you. He was meant to kill you.”

“No, he wasn’t.”

“Huh?”

Chris picked the blankets up and covered his friend. Leave them! “I don’t think she ever expected him to kill me. He wasn’t fast enough. He was just there to throw us off the trail.”

“That doesn’t make sense.”

“It would to her. She knew he’d come after me and fail. She also believed that O’Brien and the other assassin would kill the rest of you - one by one. And I wouldn’t be able to stop it. It’s the same plan as last time, Vin. She wants me to see each of you die.”

Chris’ mind danced back. When they had exposed Badden in Tentafield, she had begun to rant. Her reasoning was so cold and callous that at first, Chris couldn’t comprehend it. In order to seek her revenge against him, she had targeted Vin. “And I’d do it all again. In a heartbeat, just to see you suffer, Larabee. You fired the bullet that killed my brother. But Peter took five long months to die. I want you know my pain. I want to watch as you watch ‘your’ brother die!” Clearly, she had decided to widen her aim to include the other five.

“She paid Barwick to hire the others to attack us one at a time.”

“To draw it out,” Vin murmured, kicking the blankets down. “Bitch! We need to settle the score. I’d like to talk to O’Brien.”

Chris nodded. “I intend to later on today.”

“Why not now?”

“Because now,” Larabee growled, dragging the blankets back up and tucking them tightly around his friend, “I have to stop a stubborn, bastard of a tracker from getting pneumonia!”

**********

“BUT JOSIAH...!

“Shhhh!” the preacher ordered, briskly moving to the window. J.D. joined him. “He went back inside.”

“Josiah, he killed James! He’s probably going in there to fill in the well!”

“Huh?” Josiah’s thoughts had been with the drunk who had been hung and how Von Otter may have been involved. J.D.’s ghost hunt hadn’t entered his mind.

“He threw the body in the well. I know he did! Josiah, he’s trying to destroy the evidence! We’ve got to stop him!”

“Whooh, there, son.”

“Josiah, there isn’t time. Please!” J.D. bolted back to the door, leapt down the steps and crept up to the livery. Von Otter had pulled the door to, but hadn’t been able to bolt it because the latch was on the outside. J.D. pushed the door open two inches. He peered into the gloom. Wilhelm Von Otter was frantically shovelling dirt into the well. J.D. heard Josiah approach behind him. The youth inclined his head. Sanchez pressed his face to the opening. “See!” J.D. whispered.

Without warning, Josiah flung the door inward. Von Otter froze. He stared at the two men as they entered. There was terror written over his lined face.

“Mr. Von Otter?” Josiah asked.

“You’re trespassing!”

“J.D. here thinks that there may be some bones at the bottom of that well. Thought it might be best for him to have a look so we can put his mind at rest. What do you say?”

Von Otter licked his lips.

“James’ bones are down there,” J.D. insisted.

Von Otter opened his mouth to dispute the accusation, but he realized there wasn’t any point. For too long he had kept the secret, always fearing that someone would find out. The elderly man dropped his face. “You are right.”

J.D. and Josiah exchanged a glance. “You mean, James is down there?!” Josiah asked incredulously.

Von Otter nodded.

“You killed him when he came back for his horse, didn‘t you?” Von Otter lifted his head and nodded.

“No, he didn’t.” J.D. and Josiah spun around. Standing in the doorway was Mrs. Von Otter. The elderly lady was leaning on her cane, but she was holding herself straight with determination.

“Mother, don’t.”

“Hush, Wilhelm. It is time for the truth to come out.”

“Mother, please! Don’t say anything!”

“I killed James,” the old woman stated quietly. Her son dropped the shovel and moved to his elderly mother’s side, wrapping his arm around her back. “Wilhelm had nothing to do with it. He just dumped the body in the well so no one would find out. I...” The elderly lady shuddered.

“Come on, mother. Let’s get you inside.” Wilhelm glanced at J.D. and Josiah. “If you come back to the house, I’ll explain how it happened.”

**********

Ezra, Nathan and Buck entered the Whisky Cask Saloon. The room was crowded. The noise was a roar and the stench, nauseating. The regulators separated with a brief nod and filtered among the patrons. The thugs who had set the fire had to be in town somewhere. The livery hand had been ordered by Sheriff Brewer not to allow any man leave the town until the arsonists had been located.

Ezra made his way toward the bar. It was lined with people, three deep. Standish examined each one carefully. He had seen three of his attackers quite clearly. They were not faces he was likely to forget.

Ezra ran his eyes along the row of men. About halfway down, he stopped. He couldn’t be sure, but those outlines were possibilities. Standish pushed his way forward, closing the gap between himself and the group of interest. One of the men turned to investigate a disturbance across the room. Ezra’s eyes narrowed and a smile of satisfaction lit his features.

The gambler whistled. Buck and Nathan made their way through the crowd.

“Mr. Jackson?” Ezra asked, inclining his head.

Nathan looked and then nodded. “I recognize the fella in the red shirt. He’s the one who rushed into my room. Should we send for the others?”

“We don’t need them,” Buck growled, itching to get his hands on the four men.

“What about Chris? I get the feeling he wants to question them personally.”

“I believe the best course of action is for us to escort the miscreants to the jail and question them thoroughly ourselves. We can use Mr. Larabee as effect later, if they aren’t forthcoming with what we wish to know. Ready?”

“Let’s get them!” Buck roared.

Wilmington, Jackson and Standish shouldered their way to bar and stopped directly behind the four arsonists.

Sensing the presence of someone behind them, the men turned. Their eyes enlarged. One dived to the right in a desperate bid to escape, but Buck tackled him, bringing him to the ground. Ezra and Nathan drew weapons.

“I hope the rest of you will not consider acting as foolishly.”

“What do you want?” one of the thugs asked, his voice trembling.

“We were not properly introduced the last time we met.” Ezra indicated for the men to begin walking. Buck dragged the fourth man to his feet and shoved him toward the others.

“Where are you taking us?”

“We’d like to have a little chat with you. If you tell us what we want to know, there will be no need for any unpleasantness.”

“If you don’t,” Buck growled. “I’m gonna be real unpleasant!”

**********

“I’ll put some coffee on. You sit down, Mother.” Josiah and J.D. followed the Von Otters through the curtain into their well-furnished parlor.

Wilhelm Von Otter disappeared into the kitchen, while Mrs. Von Otter lowered herself into her chair. She stared at her two visitors with sad eyes.

“I never meant for it to happen,” she whispered.

Wilhelm reappeared and indicated for Josiah and J.D. to take seats. J.D. couldn’t believe how calmly the Von Otters were taking this. He had just exposed them as murderers!

“The water won’t be long.”

A silence blanketed the room.

Wilhelm took a long deep breath. “I always knew it would come to this one day.” He reached out and covered his mother’s hand with his own. “We’ve kept this secret for so long.”

“It was an accident, you see,” Mrs. Von Otter explained. “When James returned, I was in the livery tending to our new foal. He came across to me and started yelling. I was so afraid. I reached for the shovel that I had been using to clean the stall. He thought I was going to attack him and so he lunged at me. I was terrified. I’d hit him before I realized.” The old lady began to tremble.

“It’s alright, Mother. Mother called me. I realized straight away that he was dead. I guess we both panicked. Everyone thought James had been run out of town so it was just a matter of hiding the body. I dragged him to the well and tossed him in. Then I covered it and raced around town telling everyone the water had turned sour. By the end of the day, a couple of us had dug a new well.”

“I never meant to kill him,” Mrs. Von Otter whispered.

“We know that, Mother.”

“What about James’ horse?” J.D. asked.

“I don’t know what I was thinking. I took it out a couple of miles and killed it. Later, I realized that was a stupid thing to do, but at the time, I wasn’t thinking very clearly.”

Again there was silence. J.D. was frowning. It couldn’t possibly be this easy.

“So Elsa killed herself because she had lost the man she loved,” Josiah mused.

Wilhelm Von Otter shook his head. “Elsa didn’t love James.” Von Otter rose to his feet and walked across to the bookcase. He picked up a photo and peered at it for a long time. “Elsa and I were in love. James was just someone we hired so her father would look more favourably on me.”

J.D. glanced at Josiah. “I don’t understand.”

Wilhelm turned back to the three people looking at him with wide eyes.

“I’m sorry, Mother. I should have told you, but...” Wilhelm glanced down at the photo. “Elsa and I had a plan.”

“Wilhelm?”

The elderly man moved back to his seat, still clutching the photograph. “Elsa and I were in love. We’d been in love since we were children, but I wasn’t good enough according to her father. He had ‘arranged’ for Elsa to marry John Schultz.” Wilhelm shook his head. “We were devastated when we found out. I did everything I could to endear myself to old Schmidt, but it was useless. When James came to town, Elsa said something like, ‘I could understand Papa being upset if I wanted to marry someone like that!’”

“So you asked James to make out that he and Elsa were in love?”

Wilhelm nodded. “I paid him five dollars. That was a lot of money in those days. All he had to do was be seen with Elsa, particularly in front of her father.”

“So in comparison, you wouldn’t seem so bad?”

“Exactly. We staged the fight where I told him I’d kill him. I paid him the money and I was going to run him out of town in front of everyone that night, but old Schmidt beat me to it.” Wilhelm glanced back down at the photo. “We came so close, Elsy. So close.”

“Wilhelm, why didn’t you tell me?” Mrs. Von Otter cried. He face was awash with astonishment.

“I don’t know, Mother. I wanted to handle it myself. It almost worked. After I had the fight with James, old Schmidt came over and shook my hand.” Wilhelm shook his head again.

J.D. sat trying to assimilate all that he had heard. There was just one thing that he didn’t understand. “So, if Elsa was in love with you and not James, why did she kill herself?”

Wilhelm Von Otter’s eyes filled with moisture. “I don’t know. I honestly don’t know.”

J.D.’s brow furrowed with thought as he sifted through all of the information he had collected. “Her father was very strict?” he asked.

Mrs. Von Otter nodded. “Oh, yes. Very strict.”

“How would he have reacted if he’d found out that Elsa was pregnant?”

“Pregnant?!

Wilhelm lifted his face. “Elsa wasn’t pregnant.”

“Apparently, she was.”

Von Otter rose to his feet shaking his head. “There is no way that Elsa was pregnant.”

“How do you know that?”

“Because Elsa... was my wife.”