Lindsay Buroker - Peacemaker

Cedar said something to his prisoner, andthey started walking, angling away from the ship and Kali as well.She waited, expecting him to circle about and join her, but hedidn’t. She was about to stand up and find him when a second piratewalked into the woods, a rifle propped against his shoulder. Hefaced her, his gaze skimming the forest. Kali sank lower so onlyher eyes poked above the log.

It was too soon for anyone to miss the manwho had gone to pee, so she guessed this was a guard the captainhad sent out. The pirates had to know that people would come afterthem in droves if word got out that their ship had gone down. Kalidoubted that old man on the river was the first miner they hadrobbed.

A falcon on the hunt screeched overhead. Thedampness of the moss beneath Kali’s knees was starting to seepthrough her overalls. She wondered where Cedar had taken the otherfellow. And why hadn’t he come to get her, so she could listen inand ask questions too?

The guard finally turned his gaze in anotherdirection, and Kali scooted backward, retracing their route to theridge.

A shadow stirred on the periphery of Kali’svision. She jerked the rifle in that direction, her finger ready onthe trigger.

Nobody was there.

A strip of moss dangling from a branchstirred slightly. Her eyes narrowed. She licked her finger andstuck it in the air. If there was a breeze, it was too faint to domuch. Maybe someone had bumped that moss. Cedar? No, he would havehad to cross through her field of vision to get to that side ofher.

Kali continued to back down the trail. Shewatched that piece of the woods for several slow steps, but nothingelse moved. In a nearby tree, a pair of squirrels chattered as theychased each other about. If there had been something dangerous,they would have been hiding.

When Kali reached the ridge, the sound ofvoices drifted to her ear. She picked her way through foliage andaround stumps to find Cedar standing over his captured pirate, thepistol pointed at the man’s head. Cedar looked at her when sheapproached, but his face was hard to read. Kali assumed a peevedexpression to let him know she expected to be involved withimportant things. He gave her a quick nod, but quickly focusedagain on his prisoner.

“Why’d you have this inyour loot room?” Cedar asked, displaying one of the bead-and-hidepatches.

“Never seen it before.”The pirate spat on the ground. “Told you I don’t knownothing.”

Cedar grabbed him by the front of the shirtand jammed the pistol against the man’s throat. “If you don’t knownothing, then there’s no point in me keeping you alive,” hegrowled, voice savage, eyes like ice from the bluest depths of aglacier. The prisoner’s surly demeanor vanished.

The fierce, cold mien chilled Kali, and shewondered if Cedar had known he would have to get tough and that waswhy he hadn’t invited her to the interrogation. Maybe he didn’twant her to see him questioning someone. Too bad. This was apirate, someone who had tried to capture her and would havereceived a share of the reward for turning her over to gangsters.And, if the pirates had killed that old man’s partner, they weremurderers as well as kidnappers.

“I don’t have anything todo with it, I swear,” the man whispered, his eyes crossing to stareat the pistol barrel.

Kali straightened, staring intently at theman. This might be the lead they’d hoped for.

“With what?” Cedardemanded, prodding the pistol against the man’s Adam’sapple.

The pirate gagged and sputtered. “Thegirls,” he managed. “That was all Sparwood. Nobody here’s intothat. We don’t murder, least not if we can help it, and nobody’sraping and torturing girls and then cutting them up. He was a sickbastard. That’s why the captain sent him walking.”

The admission of rape and torture made Kaligrip the nearest tree for support. She focused on the harsh, thickridges of its bark beneath her palm and tried not to picture thatgirl-Vixen-being tormented before finally being killed. And shetried not to think about the fact that that grisly killing hadhappened less than a mile from the cave where she was always outworking, all alone….

“This Sparwood actsalone?” Cedar was asking, and Kali realized she’d missed part ofthe conversation.

“No one would want tospend time with that monster.” The pirate did an admirable job ofshuddering for someone with a pistol jammed into his throat. “He’smean as a rabid badger, but worse’n an animal. Takes real pleasurein hurting folks, especially…” His eyeballs swiveled to lock ontoKali.

Though his significant stare made her squirminside, Kali lifted her chin and crossed her arms over her chest.She wasn’t about to let some scruffy pirate believe she wasworried.

“Where is he now if he’snot with your ship?” Cedar asked.

“Captain put him off justnorth of Dawson. Figure he’s in the city by now.”

“What’s he looklike?”

The pirate licked his lips and eyed thetrees. Did he think this Sparwood might be about and come takerevenge if he was betrayed? The pirate lowered his voice. “Big man,bigger’n you, with a chest like a whiskey barrel. Bushy black hairand beard. Beady dark eyes. I seen him get shot once and not evenfeel it.”

Cedar looked at Kali, his eyebrows lifted asif to ask if she had any questions of her own.

“Why does he leave thebeadwork?” Kali asked.

The pirate checked Cedar’s face, wonderingif he had to respond to some girl’s questions maybe. Cedar’s glowerdeepened, and the pirate shrank into himself. While Kali foundCedar handsome, she had to admit he could assume a fearsome mienwhen he wanted to. The scar, in particular, gave him a grim, deadlyserious visage when he wasn’t smiling.

“So the Injuns getblamed,” the pirate whispered with another glance atKali.

“I see,” Cedar said. Hehid his thoughts well, but Kali knew he was irked to have fallenfor the ruse.

“Why does he cut them up?”Kali asked, trying to imagine what manner of tool a man might useto leave those parallel gashes in a person’s flesh.

“So people will thinkanimals or angry spirits did it,” the pirate said. “And it’sworking for him, too, last I heard. Ain’t no lawmen pointing afinger at him.”

“Yet,” Kali said. “What’dyou say his full name is?”

“I don’t knowit.”

Cedar leaned closer to the pirate, and hiswords were so soft Kali almost missed them. “You sure that’s thetruth?”

The pirate nodded vigorously.

“It doesn’t matter,” Kalisaid. “There are plenty of wanted posters that don’t have fullnames on them. The Mounties can just stick up anotherone.”

“No,” Cedar said. “We’lltake care of this animal before they have time to print one up. Andbefore he has time to kill again.”

His grip had tightened on the pirate’sshirt, and the man swatted at the hands cutting off his air supply.Cedar didn’t even seem to see him. His eyes were hard but focusedinward, and he barely seemed to notice the pirate in his grip.After what Kali had heard, she couldn’t blame him.

“You killing that onetoo?” she asked, in case he would feel guilty over accidentallystrangling a pirate.

Cedar’s eyes came back into focus, and heloosened his grip. “Probably should. No telling how many honestworking folk these men have robbed, but I didn’t see any heads withbounties on them when I was skirmishing on the ship. We’ll just letthe Mounties know where to find these men. Maybe they can arrestthe pirates before they fix their ship.”

Though the prisoner was busy gasping forair, he still managed to pale at this statement. Kali chewed on herlip. If the Mounties took care of the pirates, she wasn’t going tohave much of a claim on the ship.

“Get some rope out of mypack, will you?” Cedar asked. “We don’t want this one scurryingback to warn the others.”