Chapter Twenty-Eight
Full Circle Revenge
When Martin Cooper arrived in Redwood, he pulled his hat down low and wearing an old duster with a pack made him look like an evening traveler. He turned down the alley on the backside of the blacksmith shop and walked his horse past the abandoned building beside Victoria's shop before he dismounted.
He was going to burn the place down with Victoria in it. Cooper set to work building fires at the corner of the building behind the outhouse. Using the wood from the woodshed, he built one at the back door and carried more wood to lie against the wooden structure.
The last fire he built was under the stairs leading to the apartment. The door opened, and Hannah ran down the steps to the outhouse. Cooper froze in the shadows and the thought raced through his mind; she is going to see me when she opens the door.
When the door closed, he bolted down the alley to the street. He didn't know which way to go. He couldn't be seen. Cooper crossed through the porch and then ran to the end of the shop to the back door. After he caught his breath, he looked around and listened for the evening sounds. His hands were shaking when he lit his cigar. Cooper used the same match to light the kindling.
His plan was to start the fire and ride out. After lighting the corner of the building, he went to his horse to get the lantern to use the oil on the steps. His rifle was gone.
"Shit! I left it by the staircase," muttered Cooper.
He carried the lantern, crept down the alley to find his rifle. He stopped to listen for noise. One more fire and he could leave. When he ducked under the staircase, he located it on the ground where he had been crouching. He unscrew the cap on the lantern, and Cooper heard a door open.
* * *
Ever since the news of the escaped prisoners reached Redwood, the entire town had been unnerved. Victoria had been a nervous wreck at the thought of Cooper returning to Redwood. The wedding was on Saturday, and she couldn't shake the awful thought that he would find a way to ruin her wedding.
She was filled with dread at the thought of him. Victoria made Thomas teach her how to escape when a man grabs a woman. He didn't take her seriously until she told him flat out how it felt to be helpless when Wayne Stinson tried to rape her. Then Thomas understood it was in her best interest to build her confidence and skills to defend herself.
During the week, Victoria and Hannah had ridden out to the dump and practiced with their pistols and their derringers. Target shooting gave them both confidences. It was the nights that worried Victoria the most. On Sunday night, Victoria carried her pistol with her in her pocket of her robe, but it felt awkward when she went to the outhouse. The next two nights, she carried her derringer with her. Thomas liked when she waited to go to the outhouse until he returned from his nightly rounds of the town.
But Victoria had drank too much tea this evening, and she needed to use the outhouse. She opened the door and ran down the steps to the outhouse. Moments later, when she stepped out of the enclosure, a hand went over her mouth.
"Hello, Victoria."
She recognized the voice: Cooper. He smelled atrocious and was swearing a shabby duster. Victoria felt a surge of anger rise in her spine. With a swift movement, she smashed her boot heel into his instep. He yelped in pain and tightened his grip on her.
"You whore. Listen to me. We are going to get rid of you, your mother, and this damn building. You hear me?"
Then Cooper drug Victoria over to the steps and threw his cigar on the kindling with the lamp oil. The fire ignited in a poof of flames. He held her close and moved under the staircase, closer to the fire.
"Let her go, Cooper," said Ivan as he and Alice pointed rifles at him.
"It all over," said Red, as he appeared on the opposite side of the now engulfed staircase with his rifle pointed at Cooper.
Victoria felt in her pocket, and her fingers embraced the familiar weapon. She felt sweat run down her face from the heat of the growing flames. Desperation and anger took over as Victoria spun to the side and shot both barrels through her robe into Cooper's stomach at close range.
He stumbled back and fell against the wall. Cooper's hands clenched his stomach as blood ran from the open wound. Victoria grabbed his rifle and pointed the barrel at him.
"You killed my mother. Die, you son-of-bitch," hissed Victoria as she took aim with the rifle.
And like a wounded bear, Cooper let out a roar of anger as he rushed forward towards Victoria. Three rifle shots reverberated through the alley. Ivan and Red had hit Cooper in the leg, and Victoria shot him in the dead center of his coal-black heart.
* * *
Alice couldn't bring herself to pull the trigger. She dropped the weapon on the ground and rushed to his side.
"Cooper, don't leave me. I have nowhere to go."
"Alice," said Cooper as he gasped for air.
His eyes looked around above him, as he knew he was dying.
"I should - have - listened - to you."
The last two words came out of Cooper's mouth in a whisper. Then his head rolled slightly, and his eyes remained open. Alice sobbed in grief, and Victoria froze in place as Ivan and Red rushed past her.
"Alice, get out of here. Take Miss Spencer and get out to the street," yelled Red.
The two men carried Cooper's body away from the fire, and the girls picked up the rifles and ran to the street as the smoke filled the alley.
The rifle shots brought Sheriff Dauber and his deputies running toward the Redwood Boutique. Shouts of fire had spread through Main Street, and men filed out of the saloons, carrying buckets and spittoons. Men formed a water brigade using the troughs on Main Street and from the blacksmith's shop. The back of the building was on the fire. The blacksmith, Hans Overson, brought an ax and chopped away at the staircase, kicking the burning boards away from the building.
Red and Ivan carried Cooper's body out of the alley and across the street. When Sheriff Dauber arrived and saw the dead body of the escaped prisoner, he sent Deputy Cowan for the undertaker.
"What happened? Is everyone okay?" asked Sheriff Dauber as he surveyed the group.
Alice turned her eyes away and looked at the ground. She didn't want Sheriff Dauber to recognize her, but his eyes locked in on her, and he knew Clyde Turner was hiding the prisoners the day they stopped at their ranch.
Thomas Renshaw ran into the group and embraced Victoria, bringing her out of her shock. Alice stared at the most handsome man she had ever seen in her life. She saw the devotion and love in his eyes as he looked at Victoria. Her heart ached with wishes of being that love by someone.
"Oh Thomas. I killed him. I shot him. Then the fire. Oh my God! Hannah! Where's Hannah? Thomas,"
The words rushed out of Victoria's mouth as she felt hysterical. Thomas reassured her he would find her and ran toward the front door of the shop. He threw his shoulder against the big wooden door of the shop, breaking the door opened.
Smoke billowed out of the shop, and the flames in the back of the building surged higher into the night sky. Then Victoria saw Thomas and Hannah emerge from the shop carrying an armload of dresses. She rushed to her, and Hannah dropped everything and hugged her big sister for all she was worth. Alice watched the embrace and saw the love the two of them had for each other.
'I'm so glad you're safe."
"I saved your wedding dress and your jewelry box."
"Oh Hannah. I love you. Let me help you with these things."
The girls picked up the items from the middle of the street, and Thomas led them to the bench in front of Johanne's Hardware Store. Dauber strode over to them and said in a serious tone.
"Let's get the fire under control, and then we are going to my office to answer a few questions. You women stay right here. You men come with me."
Alice had a look of terror in her eyes as tears streamed down her face.
"Is the sheriff going to arrest me?" asked Alice as her voice trembled.
"No, he just wants to talk to us," said Victoria as she collapsed on the bench next to Hannah.
Her hands were shaking. She had killed a man, not just any man. The man who had murdered her mother. Cooper was dead. He could never hurt her or the people she loved ever again. Hannah felt Victoria's body trembling, and she put her arm around her to comfort her.
"I killed him," whispered Victoria. "I killed him. He's dead."
"That took a lot of courage. You are so brave."
"Do you think they will put me in jail?"
"No. It was self-defense."
"But I killed a man."
It didn't feel glorious or joyful killing someone you hated. Thou shall not kill ran through her mind as tears flowed from her eyes. Alice felt a deep empathy towards the beautiful shop owner. She knelt on the ground in front of her.
"Ma'am, you were defending yourself from him. We can all testify to that. He was going to kill you. You save yourself from him."
"Thank you. I'm sorry, but I don't know your name. I'm Victoria Spencer."
"My name is Alice Turner. Cooper talked so much about Redwood and all the awful people in it. It is nice to put a name to a face."
Her comment made them smile, breaking the tension between them. Alice sat down on the other side of Victoria on the bench as they waited.
"My name is Hannah, and Victoria is my guardian, my big sister. If I'm being too personal, may I ask what in the world were you doing with Cooper?" asked Hannah. "Did you know he was an escaped prisoner? Did he kidnap you as a hostage?"
"No. I left on my own. My father has a large ranch, and it is not unusual to have different riders show up at all times of the night. My father sells whiskey, and in the past, he has hidden outlaws on the run. Cooper and Baker showed up late one night and hid in our hunting cabin. Baker had spent two winters with us, hiding from the law. But this time, my father told them they couldn't stay more than one night this time.
The next day, Sheriff Dauber and Marshal Nunez came to the ranch, looking for the men. After lunch, the lawmen left riding west. The next night, Baker rode out in the middle of the night, leaving Cooper behind at the cabin.
Cooper and I spent the rest of the week preparing to travel. I left my father and three brothers on Saturday and rode out with Cooper. Ma'am, I tried to talk him out of seeking revenge. I tried, but he wouldn't listen and now look at the misery he has caused."
Hannah looked at the girl in the cowboy hat pulled down low on her face and assured she was safe for now. Alice stared at the wooden boardwalk. Tears formed in her eyes. As she blinked back the tears, her eyes focused in on the beautiful gowns and dresses laying on the sidewalk.
"These gowns are beautiful," said Alice as she knelt to feel the white velvet gown. "Ma'am, I can sew if you ever need any extra help."
"I may need help to clean my shop first before we can sew anything," said Victoria
"Where are you staying, Alice?" asked Hannah.
"My stuff is at the Walker farm, but I just met these men tonight, and it wouldn't look right for me to impose."
"That is my farm and the men rent from me. Red and Ivan are kind gentleman, but I understand your hesitancy," said Hannah.
"Well, we'll be staying at the hotel for the rest of the week. You might as well join us."
"Oh Ma'am, I don't have that kind of money. I can camp until I find work and a place to live."
"For tonight, we'll stay at the hotel, and then we can figure out something in the morning," said Victoria with assurance that relaxed Alice.
Thomas ran across the street to where Victoria was sitting.
"They have most of the fire out. The men are still chopping away the burning boards. The backdoor, the stairway and the kitchen are damaged, but they saved the building. It's not safe to stay in until the back of the building is rebuilt. Let's get you to the hotel for the night."
"Dauber wants us to remain here. Hannah, will you take our stuff to the hotel and tell Maude we will need three rooms this evening?" asked Victoria as she stood from the bench.
She grabbed Thomas's arm as she felt a weakness in her legs as she tried to stand still. Thomas felt her trembling and put his arm around her to hold her and left her know she was safe. Alice helped Hannah gather the gowns into her arms. Victoria held on to her mother's jewelry box and Hannah's portfolio.
The clop of a team of horses broke the silence of the night. Everyone turned their heads as they heard the wheels of the hearse arrive. Deputy Cowan and Otis Smith, the undertaker, climbed off the wagon seat and opened the doors to the back of the enclosed wagon.
Cooper's body was placed on a stretcher, and the men loaded the escaped prisoner's body into the hearse. Otis Smith climbed onto the seat of the wagon and drove the corpse away, leaving them silent as the sounds of the wagon wheels faded.