In The Beginning by Gail Daley (top 100 books of all time checklist .TXT) 📕

"I wouldn't have put it beyond him. My father was an unscrupulous man. I'm not, and I told him I wouldn't have anything to do with hurting Jeanne's family. Jeanne and I have both signed documents renouncing any claim to her family's property. My father claimed it wasn't necessary because he had given up his takeover schemes."

"Do you think he had given up his plans?"

"I doubt it. I'm sure he just left to regroup and plan another strategy."

"Would you have killed him to stop him?"

Samuel shook his head. "No. Whatever else he was, he was still my father. His finding out where we moved to just meant he could attempt to convince me to go along with his plans. I told him no again last night."

The sheriff nodded. "Well, I don't think you killed him. From what our doctor says, whoever knifed him was a lot shorter than you."

"When can we bury him?"

"I'll let you know. Do you want him brought out here?"

"Chloe and the kids found an old graveyard at the foot of the hill," Jeanne said, softly. "I think it would make a nice resting place."

Samuel gave her a grateful smile. "You always know what to say, Darling. Thank you."

She nodded. "The kids and I will spend some time out there cleaning it up this afternoon."

The sheriff stood up. If you could give me the name of your father's man of affairs, I would appreciate it."

"It's in the house." Samuel went inside, followed by the sheriff.

Fred was looking at Chloe. "The sheriff thinks Johnson's death was a hit," he remarked. "I hope—"

"A hit?" Jeanne said. "You mean a paid killing? Why does he think so?"

Fred shrugged and gave Chloe a hard stare. "He was asking about a gruella tricorn. Last time he thought we had a paid killing it was seen around. He thinks it belongs to a guy called Blade. Its rumored Blade kills for hire."

Jeanne looked from one to the other of the young people, and studied Chloe thoughtfully. Chloe met her eyes blandly. The girl had been out of the house last night and hadn't returned until the wee hours of the morning. At the time, Jeanne had suspected she was meeting a man, but there might be another explanation. Was it possible Chloe had followed Johnson into town to kill him? The idea seemed fantastic, and Jeanne would have dismissed it, had it not been for the brief glimpse of satisfaction she had read on the girl's face when the sheriff announced Johnson was dead. What could Chloe's motive have been? Was Chloe Blade? Examining the girl's petite form and pretty face, the idea seemed even more incredible, but Fred hadn't just been gossiping; he had aimed a warning at the girl.

It was not an avenue Jeanne wanted to explore just now. She had no wish to tell her new husband she suspected a member of her family had ordered his father killed. If she was right, the only person who could have ordered and paid for a hit would have been her father or Gran. As badly as he wanted Johnson dead, she knew Michael wouldn't have paid to have him killed, so that left her grandmother.

Dinner was a subdued affair. After the children had gone to bed, Jeanne and Samuel sat on the porch, holding hands and listening to the music coming from the Traveler's wagons.

"We will need to go back to settle his estate, won't we?" Jeanne asked.

Samuel sighed. "Yes, I suppose so. I can't dump it all on his business manager George Rathbone."

"Do you want to stay there?"

He gave her a tired smile. "No, I meant what I told Pa about us building something here. I suppose we could sell the ranch, but he had shares in a mine and a railroad too. I didn't ask you while he was here, but do you want to go back to live in River Crossing?"

She smiled at him. "No, this is home now, but it would be nice to visit my sisters, and the children should meet their new family. I would like to bring some of my geese here too. I miss Lulubelle."

He nodded. "Let's plan on a trip back after the funeral. Martin can handle the work that needs to be done here for a few weeks. Maybe your father will know someone who can handle the ranch."

Three Strands of Rope

A MONTH LATER, JEANNE sat in her father's comfortable parlor with her sisters. She put an arm around Katrina who was leaning against her chair, noting her family had grown. In addition to Katrina, Chloe had come west with them, and the family had been joined by Bethany's friend Glenna, the granddaughter of Giselle's old friend from the camp in Gateway City. "It hardly seems like almost half a year is gone since Papa was shot," she said, "but so much has changed."

"I know," Iris agreed. "It seems like bad luck to say how fortunate we are things have worked out so well for us. All three of us are now happily married and Ira Johnson and Jacob Lutz are dead and can't hurt us anymore."

"Jacob Lutz?" Jeanne asked. "What happened to him?"

Bethany smiled wryly. "Well, we found all the fake loan papers to the ranch and the mine and destroyed them, so he wasn't a threat to us any longer, but it seems his name wasn't Lutz."

"What was it?"

"He was a member of the Smith family from Copper City," Iris explained. "He was hiding here under a fake name."

"If he was a Smith why didn't he just go back to Copper City after they beat the Jones family?" Glenna asked.

Bethany shrugged. "All of the Jones didn't die, and one of them had an old grudge against Lutz; someone told Caleb Jones where Lutz had been hiding out and he came for him."

"And the Sheriff just let this Jones take him?"

"Yes. After the fight with the Smiths, Caleb Jones joined the District Marshall Corp. He