Ever since Duke had helped her get started, Anna had continued to train Buster on how to track. The dog still enjoyed his mainly undisciplined life, rolling among the pigs on hot days or sleeping in the chicken coop on cold ones. But he was enthusiastic about the game of tracking. After a few more days of practice, Buster was getting quite good at the scent tracking game. Duke had returned once for another round and then advised Anna to practice more with the girls. Jill and Sally also adored the game; it was just like playing hide and seek.
That Saturday, Sally and Lucy were in the garden doing the washing. They scrubbed and wrung the clothing delicately, and then Jill hung it on the drying line. Anna felt it was time to test Buster's capabilities. She just needed a reason to go upstairs, open the trunk Walter had left behind, and grab some of his clothes. Belle would certainly see her as she fanned herself out on the back porch, watching the day go by without lifting a finger to help.
Anna supposed that was her right as the owner of the ranch, but it still didn't seem right. She would certainly never do that if it were her own farm, let alone her own children. Sure, it was good for children to work and learn some values; she had done it herself when young, but this seemed like overkill. The girls worked more often than they attended the schoolhouse, which was just four hours a day, from eight to noon on weekdays. They worked on the farm after lunch for about five hours, feeding the animals, planting, or tending to the garden. It just didn't seem right, even if the work was mostly fun. It just seemed too controlled. At least they got Sundays off for church. She needed a reason to go inside and get her brother's clothing item without Belle suspecting anything. It would also be likely she would need a reason to return with some clothing. Since she didn't know which garments to choose for maximum scent, she might need to try a few, both Sebastian's and Walter's, in case the scent faded. Perhaps wash day could be useful...
"I think I saw some clothing of Sally's upstairs that was forgotten for today's wash. I'll go retrieve it," she said to Belle.
Belle nodded and sipped her tea, saying nothing. It was easier than she had thought.
Anna crept up the old wooden staircase, avoiding touching the banister and the creaky step she knew well. She turned and fled into the bedroom, shutting the door as quickly as she could without making noise, then leaned against the cold wooden door for an extended moment, catching her breath. Once her heart stopped racing, she locked the door and went over to the closet door to check out the bags.
They were still there. It was only at that moment, as she gingerly pulled out Walter's trunk to free it and place it onto the bed, that she discovered a third bag behind it. There was Sebastian Stan's, her brother's, and behind them, another bag with a tag reading J. Benning. That was Belle's surname, of course, but not her initials. That's when it struck Anna that perhaps it was not unrelated. How could Belle have afforded this large, lovely house and farm? This type of thing was expensive. She could have bought it with her late husband. But the thought that he wouldn't have even unpacked struck her. Or perhaps he had packed to leave her.
None of this speculation could be proven, but she knew some kind of funny business was up, whichever way it went. Belle had gotten rid of that man, become a widow. At least it was known, public knowledge in the town, that he was dead. Perhaps if she returned to the post office, she could check if his head had some kind of insurance reward out for him.
Her thoughts were running with possibilities and further suspicions. She was sure they were on the right track, but she also had to stay focused. She opened Walter's trunk and revealed several folded shirts and two pairs of trousers, socks, undergarments. A pile of mixed clothes behind the bags contained—dirty ones! She grabbed a handful of the dirty clothes and tucked them under her apron. Her heart sank as she thought of him, arriving here, to his probable death. Meeting Belle, going upstairs for a bath after the long day's ride. Changing into fresh clothing, stuffing the dirty ones in the satchel, and closing it for the last time. The trunk would have been here on this bed, and hauled back into the closet by Lucy, or perhaps Belle herself.
Then she stopped short, her mouth open in alarm as a tapping broke the silence. Someone was at the door. Her heart began to race, and she stuffed the trunk back into the closet and shut the door, a random selection of dirty clothes in her extra fingers, just as the door started to open.
"Miss Anna?" came Lucy's voice as she walked inside.
Anna took a deep breath and tried to keep cool. "Oh, yes, hi Lucy, you startled me," she said.
"What are you doing in the guest room? I thought you were going to grab some clothing that Sally forgot?" Lucy stared, blinking blankly.
"Uh, heh, yeah, I..." Anna trailed off. Her mind raced: Drat! What to do? Could she trust Lucy, come clean to her? What if Lucy was in on it? "I thought perhaps there was something in this linen closet," she said quickly.
Lucy gave her a puzzled look. "You don't have to worry about that closet. There's nothing in there of interest to us or to be washed," she said.
"Oh, okay, thanks."
Lucy smiled but continued to stare at her as she led her out of the room.
"Well, I did happen to find some clothes," said Anna, covering. "Nothing to worry about here!"
Lucy's eyes widened. They stared at each other for a moment before Lucy said, "Oh, silly me, I must have missed something. Perhaps a gentleman visitor, one of Belle's cousins, left something behind, you know? I can take those to the wash."
"It's alright, it's pretty sweaty, I don't mind carrying it. I'll toss it in the water bucket when we are downstairs," insisted Anna.
Lucy then agreed she could carry it, instructing her to drop it right in the water as soon as they got there. They didn't want to get in trouble with Belle, after all, for such negligent housekeeping.
Anna agreed... she'd just needed to get the clothes for Buster.
They returned to the garden, Anna holding the extra clothing. As she stepped out of the threshold of the house, she shouted, "Buster!!!" hoping dearly that the dog was somewhere nearby.
She walked as slowly as possible to the wash basin, holding the clothes, while Lucy put her hands on her hips. "What in blazes are you doing?"
"Buster! Come here!" she called again, more desperately this time. There was a rustle from the bushes at the edge of the woods, and Buster came racing out.
She called him over once more, and he came up to her wagging his sandy tail wildly.
"What are you doing?" called Lucy again.
Anna brought the ball of dirty clothing, including in her haste Sebastian's as well as Walter's, up to his nose. He sniffed excitedly through and through, as only a dog does, who has come to associate this task as the first step of his favorite game. Anna turned around quickly and tossed the clothing ball into the wash, smiling goofily at Lucy. "Whoops! Don't worry, they are in there!" Anna exclaimed.
Buster, nose to the ground, sniffed and bounded towards the woods. Anna gasped and took off after him, boots clunking as she went. Lucy shouted after her but was slow in following with her longer dress and indoor shoes. She was not dressed for the woods, certainly.
Anna chased Buster deeper, turning off the normal familiar area, off the pathway into denser shrubs, leaped over muddier spots, Anna trudging after him in her boots until they reached a spot where the forest sang with unknown insects, many flying in front of her face. She held up her head, swatting the medley of flies and mosquitoes that congregated there. The air was damp and smelled acrid. She'd never been this deep into the woods before. She didn't see Lucy anymore and suspected the girl had been slowed further by the rough terrain.
Buster stopped at a spot of looser dirt and started to whine and dig with his front paws, the loose dirt shuffling off behind his rear. Anna felt sick to her stomach. She bent to her knees and dug with him until something began revealing. It was... a human hand.
She stumbled backward in a daze and fell over a rock onto the hard ground. She was shaking all over, in shock. Buster came over to her and started licking her face. "Ah Buster..." Anna cried, her voice caught in her throat. Her chest heaved into sobs as she drew Buster closer. The sensitive dog crouched by her side, leaning in for cuddles. She sobbed and held his warm body. It was all she could do now.
As Buster continued to dig, he revealed blonde hair, and Anna tried to stop hyperventilating as the body of Sebastian Stan was revealed. Buster must have mixed up the scent when she gave him Walter and Sebastian's clothes together? Buster whimpered and continued digging, and when he came up with a sleeve of Walter's green and red checkered shirt, Anna realized why. Her brother must be buried in the same grave, but deeper, under this man.
Oh boy. This she was not ready for.
The dog pulled on something under, until he revealed the arm inside the shirt, unearthed by Buster previously.
"Buster, good boy," she choked out, but her heart sank further into her stomach. "That's enough—" she pulled him back by his collar and gave him a patting down to let him know he had succeeded. This would stop him from his digging. She knew it was her brother in there, and she wouldn't be able to face it directly. She didn't need to. She had done it. She had found proof of Belle's endeavors and uncovered the truth of her game. She just needed to calm down, breathe, and gather herself up, and then get the sheriff to come back here and exhume the bodies. Then Belle could be brought to justice for her crimes.
She stood slowly, patting Buster's head. "Good boy, Buster," she said softly in little more than a whisper. It was all she could manage.
First thing, she had to get Duke.
There was a rustling behind her. Lucy stepped out of the shadows.
"Lucy! Don't get too close," warned Anna. "There is something going on here. There are bodies there."
Lucy hung her head. "I'm sorry... I... I didn't kill them!" she cried.
Anna looked up at her, her eyes narrowing. "You knew, didn't you," she said softly.
Lucy hid her face in her hands. "I'm sorry! There was nothing I could do. If she told on me, I would have been in that hole, too. Nobody would have missed me or come looking."
"I have been looking for them. My—" she tried to stop her cracking voice from breaking off entirely. "That is my brother in there."
Lucy gasped and then broke into tears. "I'm so sorry," she cried.
They sat in sadness for a moment before Lucy said sullenly, "You have to understand, these men are terrible. They use women for their gains. They were attracted here at the prospect of taking her land. They use Belle, like a parasite onto what is hers."
Anger bubbled up in Anna; she resisted the urge to grab Lucy by the shoulders and throttle her. Instead, she shot her a hateful look. "Did Belle tell you that? That these men all use women? My brother was a good man. He was in love! He would never have cast her aside to take her things. Maybe Belle had some bad experiences, but not all men are that awful!"
She was surprised by her own words. That they had come from her.
"Well, I haven't experienced much better men!" cried Lucy. "When I was twelve, my mother died, and my father abandoned me. I became an orphan, until a man who I thought would be my savior, at sixteen, married me just long enough to run off with what was left of my inheritance. I was all alone, with nothing. The men I've known have all been monsters who take advantage of women. Belle showed me the only kindness I've known, took me in off the street, after my own husband left me. Pays me decently as her maid. I am happy here. So naturally I look the other way when she does a bit of... that kind of work."
"You mean luring men here, taking their money, collecting insurance money from their death?" Anna said pointedly.
Lucy looked away. "I know it's wrong. But men keep us down, so they can control us, hurt us. I'm sorry your brother got caught up in it. He must have been a decent man if you came all this way to find him. If you could find it in your heart to forgive me, maybe stay and support Belle's side, she will do what it takes to help us all thrive here."
"I won't," declared Anna. "Walter was sweet and never did anyone harm. Now, I have only a little time until she gets back; I have to get help. I need your shoes."
Lucy took them off and handed them over. She started to cry again, perhaps because her way of life was ending. The world out there, should she see elude a hanging, would be difficult again without this place of refuge. She would have trouble chasing Anna without shoes through the unshod underbrush.
Anna hurried back through the woods, running as best she could in Lucy's shoes, until she burst out of the ferns and into the garden. She passed the chicken run, then the field where Belle sat, and the girls played quietly.
"Hey, Anna!" they called out to her to join them, but this was no time to stop.
"Sorry, girls. In a rush!" she called back.
She needed to get the authorities. She jumped on her horse and flicked the reins, galloping at full speed towards Duke's bunkhouse.
She came bursting into Duke's place, nearly out of breath, her hand on her chest to stop its heaving. Her voice came out cracked between breaths, "We have to go to the sheriff about Belle! She's murdered Mr. Sebastian Stan and my brother, too. There are two bodies buried in the woods."
"Ah shoot, Anna. I would really love to help you," Duke started to say. He was saddling up his horse, rifle in its scabbard by the saddle. He pulled out his revolver and buckled it around his waist for insurance. "It's just... I was just gearing up... There's been a development in the cattle rustler's case. As we speak they are going after more cattle and likely getting ready to bushwhack us as well. They are getting more brazen. I need to get the sheriff, too, before they get too far. I don't know if he will want to hear about some crazy ideas about your brother. When we resolve this pressing issue, we can go to them about Belle. I promise."
Those damn cows, again! Her thoughts screamed out. "Who cares about cows at a time like this!" she said aloud.
"Anna, I understand your feelings," he said patiently. "But this is a right-now-sort of thing. The bodies are... well. Dead already and buried. They will keep. The rustlers are skulking around in the brush and after your shooting them I think they are after revenge. Let's deal with them first."
How could he? Anna's blood boiled as the anger crept in. "I know they're dead!" she cried. "But Lucy found me, and she certainly knows I am here! She will tell Belle and they will move the bodies!"
"Look, I'm sorry about your brother, but this is more urgent. Are you taking this seriously? And anyway, where is the proof that it was Belle who killed them? I know you are upset but the rustlers are real, not some girl's theory. This is wasting our time while we stand here and argue, both our perpetrators are getting away! Is that what you want?" he asked.
"How dare you!" Anna shouted, "Are you taking my brother's case seriously? When I'm done with this, I am leaving this town forever! Hmph."
She stormed out, her boots crunching on the pavement. She was determined to get on her horse before him. Maybe there was still time to beat him to the sheriff and get justice for Walter. "Where are you going?" he called back at her, running after her and leaving the barn door open behind them.
"Beating you to the sheriff!" she yelled back.
"Well, he's not at the station; he's with the other ranchers from the area, at the west edge of town. They're up on it this time."
Oh great! Now she really had no choice but to run after him. She was not going to let him go and sidetrack the sheriff. They raced on their horses over the hills towards the paddocks at the edge of town.