Her Cold Revenge

Chapter 14

"Are you sure?" Grace hurried to keep up with Emily.

"It's the man with little holes all over his face," she said, poking her cheeks with her fingers. "And he has those mean eyes and that funny-looking hair here." Emily stopped so abruptly Grace almost ran into her as the little girl rubbed her fingers on her chin. "Not a lot. Only a little."

"A scraggy beard?"

"Yes, yes."

And pockmarked skin. One of the Andersen twins, and Grace knew exactly which one. Wyatt "Iron Eyes." Bile rose in her throat as she thought of his part in her family's murder. She swallowed hard at the memory of her little sister's body lying on the ground.

"Grace? Grace?" Emily tugged hard at her hand. "What's wrong? Are you sick?"

Yes, she was sick. Nauseous with the gut-wrenching memory of Andersen's uncaring face.

"He'll get away if you don't hurry!"

Grace strode quickly after the girl, whose mousey-blonde braids bounced up and down as she rushed along. Emily's braids and features faded into Abby's, and waves of anger swamped Grace, almost making her choke. Abby would never again run and play. But Emily was alive and well, and Grace aimed to keep her that way. She'd see to it that the Andersen twins never harmed another innocent child.

She pushed away all thoughts but capturing the snake who'd killed her baby sister. As soon as she spotted Andersen, she'd send Emily back.

They reached the railway station, only to find it deserted.

Emily's face fell. "He's gone."

"You're sure it was him?" Grace asked, and the little girl nodded adamantly.

All the adrenalin shooting through Grace's body plummeted, leaving her drained. The rush to the station combined with all the tensions of the day — her aching muscles from fighting off Plimpton, her swirling emotions from being around Joe, and now coming so close to finding Andersen . . . She slumped against a wooden post, and sparks of pain radiated from her jaw where Plimpton had backhanded her. If Emily hadn't been with her, she would have been tempted to collapse.

"I'm sorry, Grace."

"We'll find him, Em," she said, though she had no idea how.

Had he been enquiring about train tickets? Did he plan to leave town? Or were his motives more sinister? The posters in the sheriff's office had said the Andersen twins were wanted for several train robberies. They could be planning a heist.

If only she could talk to the stationmaster to find out what Andersen had been asking about, but the cage over the ticket window was locked. No one was in sight.

Emily pulled away from Grace. "I tried so hard to be a good bounty hunter. I really did." She sighed. "I followed him and listened to him, but when I went to find you, he must have got away."

"You followed him? And listened in?" She put her hands on the girl's shoulders. "That was very, very dangerous."

"I know. I tried to be brave like you said."

Grace shook her head. She'd lecture Emily about that later. Right now she needed any information she could get. "Tell me everything he did and said. Whatever you remember."

Emily brightened. "I did a good job then, didn't I?"

Grace hesitated. "I'm sure you did, but next time you need to be more careful."

"I was careful. I hid over there so he couldn't see me." She pointed to a stack of crates a few feet away.

"I'm glad you hid." Grace tried to keep the impatience from her voice. "So tell me everything you saw."