Black Diamond.
This morning Natalie came over to tell me about what happened with the man who had been looking out for Sabi. I walked out of the office and found Aeryne and Alex talking near the gardens.
“Good morning Trin,” Aeryne greeted me.
“Hey there Aeryne. I hear you’ve had some fun.”
“Hey Trin!” Alex smiled.
“Yeah you could say that. Where is Sabi? Have you seen her?”
“Nat’s reading Sherlock in my office. Ever think I’d be taking care of a girl?” I chuckled.
“No, that’s a new one,” Alex shook his head at me.
“She’s at the hotel,” Alex told Aeryne.
“Mmhmm. I don’t like how Angi treated her last night,” I reflected on how Angi had told Nat that she shouldn’t be so afraid and that maybe this place wasn’t the right place for her. I shook my head, not wanting any child to be treated that way. I focused on Sabi and said, “I haven’t seen Sabi. Talked to Jimmy about what’s been goin’ on though.”
“Actually, I was hoping to talk to you a bit about Sabi,” Alex looked at Aeryne.
“We gotta keep her with adults. I went by the Grey Wolf house this morning but nobody answered the door,” Aeryne said.
“Me too... I wanted to talk about this guy as well.”
“She’s safely locked in one of the rooms,” Alex insisted.
“Has he showed up again?” Aeryne asked.
“No one knows his name?” I asked.
“She’s got a lot of people looking out for her,” Alex promised. “Do you know who this guy is who is looking for her?”
“Oh yeah we know his name.”
“Is he really her father?” Alex asked.
“What’s his name?”
Aeryne sighed and winced a bit then tried to relax. “I need to get a warrant out for him. Get him off the streets.”
“A warrant for what? Don’t we have to wait until he actually does something?” I asked.
“He shot Aeryne the other day. That’s reason,” Alex stated.
“He was the one who shot you?!”
“His name is Corgan... just Corgan, I don’t even know if he has a last name. And yes he MIGHT be her father..”
“Corgan...” I shook my head.
“He was, he knows who Autumn and I are,” Aeryne nodded.
“Do you know him at all Aeryne? Like from before Tombstone?” I asked. “All I know is that Sabi was afraid of her pa being a bad man. When I first met her she asked if that meant she was a bad person too.”
Aeryne sighed and Alex handed her over some willow bark. “Here, this might help you be a little more comfortable.”
“Yeah, he is bad alright. From back east he was a criminal with quite a reputation. Last I saw he was in federal prison,” she said and I cringed. “Thanks,” she smiled to Alex.
“Do you know why he would want to take Sabi? Even if she is his, he doesn’t seem to like kids so much,” Alex reflected.
“Nothing he does makes sense Alex. He is crazy, and very possessive. If she is his kid then he wants her just because he see’s her as his property,” Aeryne said. “I can’t imagine he could ever care for her as a human being.”
“I want to see papers to prove he’s her father. Bet he doesn’t even have them,” I said.
“He did seem to speak of her as property,” Alex noted.
“Nope, you are right. That would be the easy answer. Truth is with Sabi’s birth mother gone we cant know who her real father is. I can tell you though that he has been after us for quite some time,” Aeryne said.
“Well all we can do then is keep throwing warrants at him and getting him off the streets.”
“I figured maybe if we let another family adopt her it would throw him off the scent enough to give her a normal life. But seems I was mistaken.”
“It was a good try,” Alex told her.
“He doesn’t know about the other family does he?”
“I hope not. He is crazy but smart. If he finds out who they are all of them are in trouble.”
“He might now,” Alex cringed.
“What do you mean?” We both looked at Alex with worry.
“He was threatening her this morning at the hotel, and Paisley and I were standing there blocking his way,” Alex sighed. “Paisley told him he couldn’t possibly be her father because her last name is Grey Wolf. So he has a family name now.”
“So all he needs to do is find the family home... And he has her,” Aeryne winced.
I picked up a pebble and threw it across the street in frustration.
“Maybe she should stay somewhere else for a few days,” Alex suggested.
“Agreed, in the most inaccessible place we can manage,” Aeryne nodded.
“With you, Aeryne. Though he knows about you... Same with you, Alex.”
“Yeah he can find me easy enough,” Alex said. “That’s true, he knows me now too and I don’t think he’s too fond of me.”
“He’ll know me soon enough...” I growled.
“Truth is no child is safe while he is out,” Aeryne reflected. “He is not above doing anything to get his way. He wont care about hurting anyone.”
“That’s true, Aeryne,” Alex nodded.
“I’ll be keeping a close eye on Nat. I’d rather she stay with me than with Miss Angi who doesn’t seem to care about her,” I sighed.
“Angi needs to know about this too. She needs to keep extra tight reigns on the kids til we get this fixed,” Aeryne said.
“I wish Ger and Sugar were around,” I noted. “From what Nat’s told me this morning... Angi doesn’t care.”
“In fact we need warrants in every town for him if we can swing it...” Aeryne said.
“I agree,” Alex nodded. “How do we get warrants on him in other towns?”
“Nat told her about the man coming up to her and Jimmy and Angi just said that she couldn’t do anything, and that Nat can’t be scared all the time,” I told them.
“We find us a judge. Yeah Angi can be.... difficult.”
“I’d say talk to Jimmi but he’s not my favorite person right now,” I sighed.
“You can’t let personal feelings in on that, Trin,” Alex said.
“We can’t afford to wait. We need this to happen before he can act.”
“I know, Alex. Aeryne needs to talk to him though. She can show him the warrant.”
“Yes,” Alex nodded.
“Get him to sign it. Get this guy off the streets. That’s our only next move. That and keeping the kids safe.”
“I can only do that for Black Diamond though.”
“Then you need to find a marshal or a ranger.”
“Aly can help with Tombstone,” Alex suggested.
“That too,” I nodded. “Nat said they told her all about it.”
“I’ve been keeping her up to date too,’ Alex nodded.
“Okay have either of you seen Jimmi around?” Aeryne asked.
“No, I haven’t,” Alex shook his head.
“Just yesterday he and Starling were out walking around I believe. At least I think it was yesterday. My days have been confused.”
“Okay then as soon as we can find a judge we need to get together and get a signature,” Aeryne said. “A mayor can do it as well.”
“That’s very true.”
“There’s not much I can do besides keeping an eye out,” Alex said.
“Me neither. It’s all you, Aeryne, and Aly,” I said. “You already know his name and description, that’s the part I would have been helpful with.”
“At least you carry a gun, Trin,” Alex reminded me.
“Sure, that’s true.”
“What am I going to do, give him a poop sample?” Alex joked.
“I’m sure he wouldn’t like that so much,” I smirked.
“No, not likely,” Alex agreed and Aeryne laughed but then held her side.
“Easy hon,” I looked at her.
“I think I might be able to find the mayor. Can you two have a look around town for a judge?” Aryene asked.
“Sure, I can do that,” Alex nodded.
“Sure. Let’s go for a ride, Alex? Nat will be buried in her book for hours I’m sure,” I nodded.
“Sounds like a good idea,” Alex nodded. “We’ll get him somehow.”
“Thanks. I will stay in town here and see if I can find the mayor,” Aeryne said.
“Okay great. I’ll see you around,” Alex said and we got up on our horses and rode off.
We looked around the courthouse but there was no one there so we headed back to Diamond. I went to check on Nat and then came back to where Alex and Aeryne were standing in the street.
“Trin, I was just telling Alex I got the warrant signed by the Mayor, so thats one town down.”
“Oh great.”
“Can I give you my witness statement in case you tun into other sheriff’s?”
“Sure hon.”
“Just make sure you tell them why we need this in each town,” Aeryne said and handed it to me.
“Right,” I nodded, taking it.
“Might be a little shakey but its all we got for the rest of the area.”
“I’ll make sure Aly gets a copy of this,” I promised.
“I think I better get some rest... If you need anything I will be in the sheriffs office for a time,” she sighed.
“Alright then,” I nodded.
“That’s a good idea. You don’t want to split your stitches,” Alex advised.
“Alex I want to head home and write up a report. Want to join me in the tree?” I asked.
“Thank you both... I appreciate your protecting little Sabi,” Aeryne said and we rode off.
We rode to Pearce and relaxed in the tree by the river. I worked on an incident report to hand to the local lawmen and then did some other paperwork when Alex headed home.
Tombstone.
I was sitting at home when Nat came running to me and told me that Garth had protected her from Corgan in front of the hotel. Curious about this, since Garth was usually the bad guy, I headed for Allen Street to investigate.
“Howdy Trin,” Seth greeted me.
“Hey Seth. Little bird told me you needed me. I need to talk to you about Corgan.”
“Very informative bird,” he said and I handed him the incident report I was working on.
“When I got here I saw Garth draw his gun. That is all I know so far,” Seth told me.
“There you go Amos, talk with Trin, connect the dots and I think you will find that Garth was just helping the kids in this one,” Nim said to Seth.
“Corgan’s been violent with Aeryne and has said that he wants his daughter back, though Sabi’s obviously afraid of him. This report isn’t finished yet because I still need a few statements... But I wanted to let you know that this is a working case. Gerric has already signed a warrant in Black Diamond for his shooting of Aeryne. But this is a very dangerous man and we need to protect Sabi and the kids as much as we can.”
“My apologies then, but he did draw a gun and figured I heard some shots,” Seth said.
“Nat told me that he protected her,” I nodded.
“The other man had his gun out first and if he was threatening a child Amos?” Nim asked.
“Corgan is the one that we should be keeping an eye on in this case,” I explained.
“I only saw one.”
“I should thank Garth when I see him for protecting Nat,” I said.
“I can witness that the other man had a gun out,” Nim said.
“So you’re saying I was after the wrong one?”
“I don’t think you need to be after anyone this time,” I said. “I just want you to be aware of Corgan.”
“Isn’t good for my job,” he complained.
“What you do with this shooting incident is up to you. I’m just giving you some background as to why Garth may have done it. I’m going to keep looking for people to build a case against this guy. In case he does more. Granted I’ve got a list a mile long of people I need to find,” I muttered. “Good luck, Seth,” I nodded and headed down the street.
Garth, Kate and Sabi stood in the middle of the street and I heard Sabi say, “Why Mr Garth? You saved me!”
“No one is saying anything yet Gath and if Seth is a smart man he will turn his back on this one,” Kate said.
“Garth... glad I found you,” I greeted him.
“Why?” Garth looked at me with a confused look.
“Nat told me how you protected her by shooting down Corgan. I wanted to say thank you for that.”
“Garth, Trin is a friend and a Pinkerton detective,” Kate explained.
Garth looked at me, still confused. “The little girl? She pointed him out, she deserves a medal or something, she helped me put him down for his crimes.”
“No... the girl who was at the hotel when you shot down Corgan,” I said.
“Maybe you can help find out who this Corgan fella is Trin and why he is after Sabi,” Kate suggested.
“But this girl needs protection too,” I said about Sabi.
“Yes, that’s the one I’m talking about.”
I leaned down to hug Sabi. “You okay sweetheart?”
She nodded and hugged me back.
“I’ll beat him to a bloody pulp and rip his innards out if i even see him again..” Garth promised.
“I think so... if he aint comin back...” Sabi said.
“Well she has the family and many kind hearted people in this town looking out for her safety,” Kate said.
“Garth, perhaps you could write a statement... Of what you heard or saw before you shot him down? We’re trying to build a big enough case against him. For harassment perhaps. Unless he does something more serious.”
“IF he even thinks of it...” Garth pointed out.
“Well Mike went to the Clinic to see what he can find out as well,” Kat said.
“What’s this for?” Garth asked when I gave him a blank statement.
“Did I not tell it right?” I looked at Kate and looked back at Garth.
“It is a witness form from the looks of it,” Kate said.
“We’re trying to build a case against Corgan. With enough witnesses... We could have this man arrested in as many towns as possible. He’s already got a warrant signed against him in Diamond,” I explained.
“Um... right,” Garth scratched his head.
“Good. We can get one signed here as well,” Kate nodded.
“We could get him arrested here if he threatened Sabi here and you witnessed it. Exactly, Kate. The more he’s off the street, the safer these kids are.”
“More help we can get Garth the better for Sabi’s saftey,” Kate repeated.
“Or you can tell me what happened and I’ll write it out for you. You’ll just have to sign it,” I said.
“Let me gut the man and he won’t walk again,” Garth growled.
“What’s going on Sabi?” Poppy asked as she came over.
“And say if you’re willin’ to testify against him in court...” I started.
“Uncle Garth shot tha bad guy Poppy,” Sabi told her.
“Oh good,” Poppy smiled.
“Thing is, I only know what the girl’s told me,” Garth said and handed the paper back.
“Alright. Well, thank you anyway.”
“Mr Eryk knows stuff he saved me this morning,” Poppy said.
“You said something about the clinic, Kate?” I looked at her and nodded to Poppy. “I’ll find him.”
“Yes, he made mention about the man before I filled him with lead,” Garth said.
“Yes that Corgan man is there,” Kate nodded. “Jess is treating him and mike went there as well.”
“Alright. I’m going to head over there.”
Garth described Eryk to me and said, “Look for that man.”
“Thanks, Garth. I’ve met him before.”
“That bad man said he was going to kill me and mommy and daddy if I didn’t tell him where Sabi was,” Poppy said.
“I’ll kill him!” Garth turned to the clinic and grabbed his gun.
I put a hand on his shoulder and said, “Easy, Garth.” I told the girls not to go far and headed into the clinic. I walked over to Corgan, my blood boiling, but I tried to keep calm as I looked at him. “Corgan, I presume?”
“Interesting...” Mike was readding a piece of paper as I walked in.
“What’s that?” I looked over at him and he handed me the paper.
“Who are you now? The welcoming committee?” Corgan growled at me.
“You don’t want me to welcome you, Sir,” I assured him and took the paper from Mike, sitting down.
“It seems fishy to me, Trin,” Mike looked at me. “Not sure what or why, but it does.”
“Sabrina Jones.... born on 25th of July, 1892....” I read out loud. “Father - Corgan Smith... Mother - Annie Jones...”
“That’s me,” Corgan said. “So hand the kid over.”
“I don’t think so, Sir,” I shook my head, studying the note.
“Some fancy little piece of paper don’t give you no right to be snatchin’ kids of the street. Right after his attempted kidnapping trial,” Mike fumed.
“Mike...” I stood.
“Several counts of which he is guilty of,” Mike added. “Yes Trin?”
“Mike, let’s go talk to Aly. Right now.”
Mike nodded and led the way towards the sheriff’s office where Aly met us. We told her about the incidents happening and then all of a sudden Kris came to the cell with Corgan in cuffs. He claimed he was arresting Corgan for the crimes committed in Black Diamond and Aly told me to go get Diamond law to deal with it. As there were none there, I left the situation in Kris and Aly’s hands, not wanting to get into yet another jurisdiction battle.
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