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“Names are Billy Morris and Les Feldman,” he told them. “The bigger one has actually quite the reputation. It’s a good thing you got there when you did.”
Wade looked down at his mug and felt a coldness cross over his heart. He had not got there soon enough. “What are some of his crimes?”
“Rape, for starters,” the RCMP officer stated and then added, “as well as some minor offenses. However, there was a suspicious torture and subsequent death of a man in the Kootenays that he was suspected of but never found guilty.”
Wade’s brows drew together. “Do you think he was connected to the massacre in the village?”
The officer looked at him blankly. “Massacre?”
Both Wade and Prescott exchanged looks before Prescott stated, “The one last fall on the top of Mount Louis. Constable Stanford sent word of the incident.”
The man’s brows came together in a determined line. “This is the first I heard of it.”
Wade felt the first stirring of something questionable in regards to the constable. “Are you telling us that Stanford never informed you that an entire village had been murdered?”
“That’s what I’m telling you.” He looked even less pleased and raised his hands and folded them in front of himself on the table. “I think we best start at the beginning.”
Prescott relayed the circumstances regarding the forest fire that led them to their first encounter of the village. He had trouble relating the scene which they came upon, so Wade offered the details matter-of-fact while the officer sat and listened closely. Not sure why, he omitted the discovery of Anna in his barn looking terrified and covered in dirt and blood. Until he knew himself what exactly happened up there, he was willing to protect her till the end. He owed her that much.
“Sounds like Morris,” he nodded when they finished. “Not sure about the other though. Don’t have much on him.”
“What possible reason would they have had?” Wade asked.
“Unfortunately, Mr. Haddock, men like that don’t require a reason.” He finished off his coffee, then brushed back his chair as he got to his feet. “Should be on my way as it seems I need to have a talk with a certain constable.”
Both brothers got up as well.
“If you don’t mind, I think I best have a look at the girl.”
Wade hesitated, not sure why, other than he had grown to distrust the law where Anna was concerned. “The doctor is up there with her now.”
“It won’t take long.” He stated and obviously wasn’t leaving until he saw Anna.
Giving a short nod, he led the way to the back staircase. On the upper floor, he went over to the door to his room at the far side of the house. He gave it a light knock before the doctor granted them admission. A single candle flickered
in the now dim room. In the center of the room the doctor stood over the bed with his shirt sleeves rolled up and blood staining his otherwise white shirt. Wade had to swallow a painful lump forming in his throat, knowing it was Anna’s blood.
With forced effort, his eyes slid toward her still form sprawled out on his bed. Her naked body covered by a sheet, but her pale skin still stood out brightly in the dark room. Eyes that had once spoke volumes, were silent now as her lids covered them gently. She looked almost peaceful and Wade felt his insides wrench unexpectedly.
“Evening doctor,” the officer greeted the doctor. “Mind if I have a look at your patient?”
“Of course not.” He washed his hands in the bowl next to the bed. “I just finished up.”
“What’s the verdict?”
He looked over the officer’s shoulder to Wade and honestly said, “I’m afraid it’s too early to tell. She’s still very weak.”
The officer looked down at Anna then frowned. “Mr. Haddock, how did this girl come to work for you?”
Wade felt a sense of unease come over him. Refusing to glance in Prescott’s direction, he stated as matter-of-fact as he could, “I was in need of a servant.”
He straightened up and looked him directly in the eye. “Yes, I already understood that, however, my question really stems from the information you provided regarding the village.”
“What do you mean?” Prescott asked.
“This girl is Anna Nicholson. Oldest daughter of James and Marie.” He looked at them closely. “They were one of the families that happened to reside in that mountain.”
He didn’t need any confirmation of that fact, Wade was already fully aware of it. However, he found it odd to hear Anna be given an identity after so long, as well as a mother and father. A family of her own.
