his hands on her shoulders. It was a loving, protective gesture. Or was it? Perhaps it was possessiveness. Viola looked away. The sight of a man’s hands made her stomach queasy. She stared at the floor and tried not to think about Goldie being hungry or afraid or hurt, while the sheriff read the note.
“Those are not words my people would know to use.”
Ed Parker nodded. “That’s what Stone said.”
At last! Now perhaps Mack Tanner would get her the gold and she could go to the cemetery as instructed. Viola glanced up. Thomas Stone was looking at her, compassion in his eyes. But again, that hint of admiration lurked in their depths. In the world she’d come from, that meant only one thing. She straightened, refusing to reveal the twinge of fear that streaked through her. Fear revealed weakness, and the men she had known grew meaner and more demanding when they sensed fear.
“I agree with Teena and Thomas about the note. And the Tlingits I have met are not dishonest. Nor do I think they would threaten harm to a child. I suggest you look for a white man, Sheriff.” Dr. Calloway’s voice was strong with conviction.
Viola shifted her gaze, saw Teena look up at Jacob, her dark eyes wide and soft with pleasure. Oh, Teena, don’t trust him. Never trust a man.
“And I suggest you step outside and tell that to the crowd. It’s getting larger.” Thomas Stone jerked his thumb over his shoulder toward the window behind him.
“Confound it! I told those men to go home. I was afraid something like this was gonna happen.” Ed Parker jammed the note into his pocket and looked over at her. “You stay here with Teena, Viola. It might not be safe for you to be walking home alone now, with the crowd thinking about gold. And we men have got things to do.”
Viola stiffened. But before she could reiterate her intentions of taking the gold to the cemetery, the sheriff was barking out orders.
“Mack, the people in this town hold you in high regard. You come outside with me while I send this crowd packing once and for all, then go get the gold nuggets and take them to the cemetery at midnight, like the note says. Thomas, when the crowd clears, you get to the woods by the cemetery and find yourself a good hiding place. I want you there just in case there are some Tlingit involved. And if you see a good chance to grab the baby, do it. No telling what this guy is planning. I want you there, too, Doc. If there’s any shooting…”
Shooting! Viola didn’t wait to hear more, she slipped out of the room and hurried toward the back door. Soft footfalls whispered on the floor behind her.
“You are going home?”
“No. To the cemetery.” She turned. “Don’t tell them, Teena. Please. I cannot sit here and wait. Goldie may—” she swallowed back the fear pressing on her throat “—she may need me.”
Teena nodded, her gaze solemn. “I will not tell them you follow your heart.” She glanced over her shoulder, stepped closer. “Go to the back of the school, then beyond the cabins to Dunkle’s farm—where the goats are penned. Walk straight to the trees on the mountain. There is a path in the woods my people use to go to the waterfall. You will not be seen.”
“Thank you, Teena.” Viola gave her a quick hug, then opened the door and stepped outside.
“I will pray.” The door closed.
The soft words brought comfort, hope. She walked through the back lots toward the school, slipping in and out of the dusky light as the shadows of the buildings covered her. The sound of the sheriff’s voice, the mumblings of the crowd trailed after her. She shivered, wished for a jacket, though the night was not cold. The chill was inside her.
At the school she paused in the shadows, swept her gaze over the cabins, then stepped out into the fading luminance and crossed the open area toward the Johnson brothers’ cabin. There would be no eyes gazing out of windows there. Last week she had mended a rent in Uriah Johnson’s tent so he could take it with them on their trek up the Chilkoot Trail to the gold fields. She kept to the left side of the cabin, using it as a barrier to hide her from the Tucker cabin. If Frankie looked out a window and saw her, she would come to investigate. And she could abide no more delays. She moved on past the Monroe home, and once beyond the cluster of cabins, quickened her steps to the Dunkle farm.
The goats gamboled over to the fence to greet her. Tears clogged her throat. Goldie’s feeding bottle was at home. How would… She forced down her imaginings and ran to the edge of the woods at the foot of the mountain, then stepped into the welcome darkness. Silence pressed in on her. Help me find the way, Lord. She moved forward slowly, searching through the dim light for the Tlingit path. The feel of forest loam pressed firm beneath her feet, assuring her she had found it. She turned and followed in the direction of the waterfall.
She had to reach the cemetery before the sheriff and the others arrived. Before the kidnapper came.
Chapter Two
The water roared over the mountain ledge in a silver deluge that washed the face of the layered rock, foamed over and slithered through the piled boulders, then whispered its way into the creek flowing toward town.
Toward the cemetery.
Viola shivered, studied the deep shadows beneath the towering firs. She spotted no one lurking in the depths, and moved forward until the woods opened onto a small clearing and she could see the fence. And the gate.
She should have stayed and made the sheriff listen to her. What if the kidnapper was expecting a woman? What if he saw Mack coming and sensed a trap? Bile burned its way into her throat. She leaned back against the massive trunk of a tree, its branches laden with yellow leaves, and closed her eyes. Please, Lord. She’s a helpless little baby. Please protect her.
A violent shaking took her. Tears stung her eyes. She took a deep breath, blinked them away, and opened her eyes and stared at the gate. If there was one thing her past had taught her, it was that tears never helped. The light grew dimmer, slid toward deep purple. Twilight back home. Nearly midnight here.
A figure emerged out of the shadowed distance, strode across the cemetery and stopped by the gate. She watched Mack Tanner sweep the woods with a long, searching gaze, willed him to hurry and do what the kidnapper asked. He pulled a small bag from his pocket, held it aloft, then bent from the waist and placed it on the ground at the foot of one of the gate posts, turned and walked off the way he had come.
It was done. Now they had only to wait. Where were Thomas Stone and Dr. Calloway and the sheriff? She scanned left and right, saw nothing but trees and rocks and shadows. Where was the kidnapper? What if he didn’t come? What if he’d seen one of the men? Or her? What if he left with Goldie? The shaking took her again. She shouldn’t have come. She should have listened to the sheriff and stayed at home. Maybe…
Movement at the edge of the woods caught her eye. Her heart jolted. Was that him? She stared into the shadowy gloom formed by the thick growth of trees, made out the blanket-wrapped bundle the man carried, a gun in his other hand.
Lord, don’t let him see me. Keep Goldie safe.
She pressed back against the tree trunk, felt the rough bark bite into her palms and back, the pulse throbbing at her temples and the base of her throat. Footsteps neared, turned away, stopped. Where was he?
She strained against the silence, broken only by the sibilance of the creek flowing by. Her ears failed her. So did her lungs. They were as frozen as the glaciers
