Page 36 of Redeeming the Outlaw
The woman lowered her hand from her brow. “I don’t think so, but we can’t be sure. They’ll come looking for him soon.” She kicked at Big Joe’s lifeless body with her boot. “First, we need to get rid of him.”
Esther’s heart raced as she looked around for her horse. “Where’s my horse? I need to ride to the marshal.”
The woman grabbed Esther’s arm tightly. “You’re not going anywhere. You’ll do what I say.”
Feeling powerless, Esther nodded solemnly. “What do you need me to do?”
“The boys have hidden your horse,” the woman said, pointing toward a nearby pen. “We need to get rid of the body before anyone finds it.”
“How are you going to get rid of it?” Esther asked fearfully,trying not to look at Big Joe.
“Not just me,” the woman corrected. “We.”
She tied the reins of Big Joe’s horse to his boots and motioned for Esther to walk the horse.
The haunting squeals of hogs grew louder as they struggled to drag Big Joe’s lifeless body across the muddy yard. The stench of fear and death filled the air, and Esther tried not to retch as she imagined what this woman had in mind.
As they made their way toward the pen, Esther couldn’t help but ask about something she had noticed. “He called you Evangeline. Did you know Big Joe?”
The woman’s expression hardened. “He must have mistaken me for someone else,” she replied curtly. “Evangeline is not my name.”
“What should I call you then?”
“I don’t want you calling me anything.”
Esther looked over her shoulder. “I need to call you something. Whit said you were a widow.”
The widow said nothing for a moment. “My name is Sarah Brown.”
“Thank you for helping me, Mrs. Brown.”
Sighing heavily, Mrs. Brown tapped on the horse’s flank to encourage it to move along. “Call me Sarah. I’ve not helped you yet.” She signaled to a young boy, around ten years old, who emerged from the barn. “Get the shovel and clean up the blood,” she commanded.
The boy obediently disappeared into the barn and returned with a broom and another boy, slightly older, carrying a shovel. They positioned themselves behind the lifeless body. The older one scraped the blood-soaked dirt while the younger one swept away the evidence of what had transpired.
“Tell me everything you remember about this morning. How many people? Where you were? Do you know how far you are from Flat River? Any landmarks you may recognize?”
Esther swallowed hard, fighting the knot forming in her throat. Her hands trembled as she recounted everything she could remember from the morning. Brodie finding out about Whit’s betrayal, the men hurting him, the threats, and finally Big Joe’s lifeless form on the ground. She told Sarah as much as she could about the camp and surrounding area.
“There wasn’t anything of significance I remember,” Esther finally said.
“Of course there was. You just need to think. Were there special trees? Bushes?”
“Nothing really. Just these three large flat stones by the creek. I only remember them because I had to use one to climb on top of the horse.”
“That’s good.” As they dragged Big Joe’s lifeless body next to the large pen, Sarah leaned down and started tugging on Big Joe’s boots. She pulled them off and tossed them toward the boys. “Once you’re done, take those inside and see if they will fit you or your brothers.” Tugging Joe’s gun belt, she tossed it on top of the boots. “Put it under my bed. I’ll deal with it later.”
“Yes, Ma,” the older boy said, dumping his shovelful of stained dirt in the pen.
“I want you to go in the house, Charlie. Just leave the broom there. I’ll take it back to the barn.” Charlie leaned his broom against the pen, picked up the boots and gun belt, and ran toward the house.
“What do you need me to do, Ma?” the older boy asked.
“I need a piece of rope, Justin.”
“There’s one on his saddle,” Esther said, moving to the side tograb it. Tossing it to Sarah, she returned to the front of the horse and put her nose against the animal’s muzzle. “Can’t we hurry?”
Sarah began tugging at Big Joe’s pants. “I’m going as fast as I can.”
