"Did anyone come?"
"No."
She closed her eyes.
Elias watched her carefully.
"What is your name?"
Silence.
Then:
"Clara."
"Clara what?"
She hesitated.
"Clara Whitmore."
Elias knew the name.
Everyone in the county did.
Clara Whitmore was the daughter of Samuel Whitmore.
One of the wealthiest ranchers in the territory.
Elias frowned.
"You know my father?"
"Everybody knows your father."
Clara looked away.
"I don't want to go home."
Elias leaned back.
"Why?"
She didn't answer.
Then she whispered:
"Because if I go back, they'll finish what they started."
Elias felt the room become colder.
"Who?"
Clara looked directly at him.
"My husband."
The Widow Who Wasn't a Widow
Clara remained at the ranch for another week.
She recovered slowly.
Her arm was badly bruised.
Three ribs were cracked.
But nothing was broken.
Physically, she would heal.
Elias wasn't so sure about the rest.
She barely slept.
Every sound woke her.
Every horse approaching the ranch made her freeze.
She asked questions about the road.
Who passed?
How often?
Whether anyone had asked about her.
Elias answered honestly.
"No one."
That seemed to frighten her more.
One morning, Ruth entered the kitchen and found Clara staring at a cup of coffee.
"You aren't drinking."
"I'm thinking."
"That's dangerous before breakfast."
Clara almost smiled.
Ruth sat across from her.
"You know, you're allowed to be frightened."
Clara looked up.
"I am."
"You don't look it."
"I've had practice."
Ruth studied her.
"What happened to you?"
Clara stared at the window.
"My husband tried to kill me."
Ruth said nothing.
Clara continued.
"His name is Nathaniel Voss."
Elias entered the room.
He stopped when he heard the name.
Voss.
A landowner.
A cattle buyer.
A man rumored to have men working for him along the northern trail.
Elias had never trusted him.
Clara continued.
"We were married eight months ago."
"What happened?"
"He changed."
"How?"
"He wanted my father's land."
Elias understood.
Clara's father owned nearly ten thousand acres.
A marriage to Clara would give Nathaniel access to the family fortune.
"But my father refused to sell."
Clara's hands tightened around the cup.
"So Nathaniel decided there was another way."
"What way?"
"Make me disappear."
Elias looked at her.
"Why didn't your father help?"
Clara laughed bitterly.
"He doesn't know."
"You never told him?"
"I tried."
"What happened?"
"Nathaniel intercepted my letters."
Elias's expression hardened.
Clara continued.
"Last week, he told me we were going to visit my father's ranch."
"But?"
"We never got there."
The wagon had overturned.
Nathaniel had cut her loose.
Left her in the snow.
Then disappeared.
Clara stared at the floor.
"He thought I would freeze."
Elias's jaw tightened.
"Probably."
She looked at him.
"What?"
"If he thought you were dead, he'd have no reason to come looking."
Clara nodded.
"That's what I'm afraid of."
Elias stood.
"We need to tell the sheriff."