Lindsay Buroker - Peacemaker

“Why don’t you care moreabout this?” Cedar asked, facing her again.

“I don’t not care. I just don’tsee why you careso much. The city is full of Mounties. Why do you have to be thegreat savior for this problem?”

Cedar seemed taller than ever as he stareddown at her, his expression as dark and craggy as the bark of thetree that was his namesake. He turned on his heel and stalked away,heading back downhill toward the river.

Kali kicked at the root. What was wrong withhim?

She gazed toward the trees that hid theairship from view, tempted to stay up there and scheme something onher own. Twenty people, he’d said. At least. She might be able tocome up with something to get rid of the pirates, but she might getherself killed too. And even if she did triumph, what then? Fixingthat fan alone would take time, and even if it was a quick fix,could she get such a big airship off the ground and fly italone?

Grumbling and kicking more roots, and a fewrocks for good measure, Kali stomped back down the stump-filledslope toward the river. She reached the SAB without spotting Cedar.Where had he gone?

“Here,” came his voicefrom somewhere nearby.

With dusk’s approach, shadows filled thevalley, and it took Kali a moment to pick him out of the gloom. Hewas leaning against a tall boulder overlooking the river.

Kali joined him. It was a wide boulder, andshe started to lean against it beside him, but he stretched an armout, caught her, and pulled her into a hug. It was a stiff hug, andshe could feel tension in his muscles.

“I’m sorry,” Cedar said,resting his chin against the top of her head.

Kali leaned against him. “Why? I mean,you’re not wrong. You’re just a pain in the caboose.”

He grunted softly and wrapped both armsaround her. “For not explaining…things.”

“Oh. Well, yes, you’retruly being a pain about that.”

She waited, hoping an explanation wascoming, though she admitted she appreciated the warmth of hisembrace even if he was being a pain in the caboose.

“The girl in the paper,”Cedar finally said. “She wouldn’t be dead if it weren’t forme.”

“Oh?”

“Cudgel found out thatshe…meant something to me and killed her, not only to frame me, butto hurt me.” His voice dropped into a husky whisper. “And hesucceeded. He’s taken not just my brother from me, but a girl-awoman-that I…”

“Loved?” Kali askedhesitantly. It was unrealistic to think she was the first womanhe’d ever cared about, but a selfish part of her wanted the answerto be, ‘no.’

Cedar sighed, his breath stirring her hair.“Maybe. Yes, probably. It was going that way.”

“Oh. The paper said shewas married,” Kali said, careful to keep her tone neutral, notwanting to come across as accusing or judgmental, though somethinginside her broke a little. She wasn’t sure if it was because shehad thought Cedar a better man, someone who was too honorable toget involved with a married woman, or maybe because it hurt tothink of him loving someone else. Kali had thought…well, she’dthought she was special, that he appreciated her creativity andtinkering skills, and that was why he liked her. But, if he couldfall in love so easily, what did his affection reallymean?

“Yes,” Cedar finally said.“It was an arranged marriage, and he was older and barely paidattention to her. He just wanted an heir for his business empire,and…” He sighed again. “I don’t suppose having a bunch ofjustifications for something makes an ignoble choice a noble one.If, when I first met her, I’d just said she was married and walkedaway, she’d be alive today.”

“How…” Kali started.“How’d Cudgel arrange it?”

“There’d already been aseries of murders, all women, in town, so the police and the peoplewere on edge. I was busy tracking Cudgel and was barely aware ofthe killings. I was getting close to him, and I’d taken out two ofhis onerous henchmen just that morning. Cheryl’s husband was out oftown, so I went over to, uhm, visit, and…she was dead on the floorof their parlor, blood everywhere. It was…ugly. I later learnedshe’d been butchered in the same manner as the other murderedwomen. The husband returned home early. He walked in when I wasstanding over her, still in shock. Cudgel had arranged it all, senta message to let him know his wife was cheating on him. He wascharging home to catch us in the act, I reckon, and he was fixingto kill me. Well, I could have taken him, but I didn’t want to. I’dalready done enough wrong by him. I escaped with my life, thoughCudgel had some henchmen lying in wait, figuring to help thehusband out.” He touched the scar on his face. “That’s when I gotthis. I was too shaken to fight proper. I’m lucky I survived atall. After that, the husband contacted the Pinkertons, and word ishe’s financing everything.” Cedar let his head fall backward, andit thunked against the boulder. It sounded painful. Maybe he wantedit to be. “I wish I’d never gone to San Francisco and never beenthat stupid. But I can’t rewrite history, so now I just want to doright when I can. If I can protect these girls…” His shouldersdrooped. “It’s never going to be all right, but maybe it canbe…less wrong.”

Cedar fell silent. Kali didn’t know what tosay. He sounded like he needed…comfort. She knew how to be toughand sarcastic, but nurturing or comforting? Her tongue tangled atthe idea of even trying to say something along those lines. Womenwere supposed to be good at comforting people, but maybe she’d beenborn with some sort of deficiency.

“I suppose,” Kali said,“that you wouldn’t appreciate it if I told you the perfect thing toget your mind off of your problems would be planning to take overan airship.”

At least he chuckled, and his musclesloosened a little. “Come back to town with me tonight, and help mewith this murderer. We’ll talk to the Mounties right away-maybethey can get back out here and take care of these pirates beforedawn. I’ll remind them of favors they owe me when they’re decidingwhat to do with the airship. I doubt they’ll have a use for it, sogetting it for you shouldn’t be that tough, especially if it’sdamaged.”

Kali worried that the pirates would have theship fixed and be back in the air before the Mounties came, but shenodded and stepped back from Cedar. “Agreed.” As he said, it wouldbe selfish of her to choose her own interests over those of womenwho were being tortured and killed. She didn’t want to choose herinterests above Cedar’s either, not in this case. He needed thisredemption. “I don’t know all the Han girls in town, but I heardthere’s a show at the Aurora Saloon. Dancing girls, all tribal.” Hewasn’t going to like it when she admitted who had mentioned thatshow.

“Oh, I’d forgotten aboutthat,” Cedar said. “One of the Mounties mentioned it. Some fellowgot a bunch of unmarried girls from tribes from all around theYukon, and they travel about, going from town to town performing toentertain the menfolk.” He tilted his head. “I’m surprised you’dheard of it.”

“Your Pinkerton detectivetold me about it. Said he’s working at the Aurora Saloon and that Icould find him there in the evenings if I changed my mind abouttalking to him.”

“I see.” Cedar clenchedhis jaw. “We’ll do our best to avoid him.”

“Hm.” As Kali shoveledcoal into the SAB to fire its engine up anew, she asked, “Did theyever find out who was responsible for the other murders in SanFrancisco?”

“Not that I know of. Assoon as they indicted me, they stopped looking for the real killer.I had to flee town to avoid the firing squad, so I don’t know ifthe murders stopped after that or not.”

If the murders hadn’t stopped afterCedar left, that ought to show the law down there-and maybe thisAgent Lockhart-that Cedar wasn’t responsible for them. If Kalicould talk to the detective alone, maybe she could convince him todouble-check his facts.