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He placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. “I’ll send word ahead that we need a stagec
oach brought here for your return to Missouri,” he said. “That is where you want to go, isn’t it?”
She was taken aback by the question.
She had not thought ahead to what would be expected of her. “Yes,” she quickly said. “Yes, I would like to be taken to Missouri. I have a lot of friends there.”
“I knew you did,” the colonel said. He placed a soft kiss on her cheek. “Try to get some rest, Shoshana. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
He started to leave, but again stopped and turned to gaze at her. “Shoshana, I think you’d like to know that many things point to Mountain Jack’s death,” he said. “We found his horse . . . and the scalps he was carrying with him. The horse was badly injured. We believe it was a panther attack. Apparently, Mountain Jack was dragged away by the panther.”
“Lord,” Shoshana gulped out.
“Just thought you’d like to know that he won’t bother you ever again, or take any more scalps,” he said. “You see, we know you were taken prisoner by the man. We found your bandanna there.”
Shoshana gazed down at what she still held . . . the scalp . . . then looked quickly up at him again. “Yes, I was taken captive by that man. And . . . and . . . thank you for telling me that he is dead,” she murmured.
“I have to ask, Shoshana,” Colonel Hawkins said, an eyebrow lifting. “Did Mountain Jack harm you in any way?”
“No, he didn’t harm me,” she murmured.
“How did you get away?” Colonel Hawkins asked.
Shoshana was beginning to feel trapped. She was not a skilled liar. But neither would she want to tell of Storm’s role in all of this.
“He was careless,” she murmured. “After he left to deliver the scalps and pelts to the man who bought them from him, I was able to unlock the chain that held me prisoner.”
“The dress?” Colonel Hawkins asked, gazing at it. “He gave it to you to wear?”
“I found it among his things,” Shoshana said softly, her lies deepening. “My clothes were quite soiled. I was eager to exchange them for something cleaner.”
“You were gone for so long,” Colonel Hawkins said questioningly.
“I had trouble finding my way down the mountain,” she said. “I was lucky I finally arrived here, out of harm’s way.”
“Well, there isn’t anything to worry about now,” Colonel Hawkins said. “You’re safe. That’s all that matters.”
Shoshana smiled and nodded as she watched him leave.
Then she hurriedly gathered together her mementos and placed them, along with the velvet wrapping and its golden hair, in a small travel bag.
Then she sat on the couch in the living room before a fire that she had just lit and waited for everyone at the fort to retire for the night, and for the sentries to carelessly fall asleep.
Finally she was able to flee into the night. She hurried through the darkness, making sure no one saw her. She was glad when she reached the outer fringe of the aspen forest where Storm still waited for her.
She set the bag down on the ground and flung herself into his arms. “Oh, Storm, it’s so awful,” she cried, clinging.
“What is so awful?” he asked, holding her close. “Leaving him? Do you regret leaving him, after all?”
She stepped away from him. “No, it’s not that,” she murmured. She reached for the bag and opened it. Slowly she removed the velvet bundle. “No. This is what I find so awful,” she said, her voice breaking.
She unfolded the velvet wrapping.
She watched Storm’s reaction as the moon slid from behind the clouds, sending its bright light down onto the golden hair.
“Where . . . did . . . you get this?” he gasped out.
She explained about everything that had happened since her arrival back at the fort, about finding George Whaley dead, and then finding the scalp.
