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Authors: Shirleen Davies
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brother, but Pierce now had an exact set to work from.
The younger man looked up from his desk where the documents were spread out in an order only he understood. “The books are not the same. Although each has the same dates, the second set contains additional information. Dates, dollar amounts, and what look to be locations that don’t appear in the first book. But there’s still the possibility that the second ledger is a copy of the original with additional information. Perhaps Walsh is just cautious and keeps a duplicate with more detail in case the original is destroyed or lost.”
“It’s possible,” his brother replied, “but unlikely.”
Pierce understood his brothers’ doubts after meeting Walsh the one time he’d stopped in at the Denver Rose for a whiskey. Walsh had introduced himself to Pierce before signaling for another man to join them. The other man, Connor, seemed to be in charge of running the saloon. Pierce had no issues with him. But Walsh set off red flags from the moment Pierce had shaken his hand.
“I won’t be able to come up with anything reliable until I decipher a significant amount of the writing, but I believe I’ve discovered the key which is required for decoding. I just need to test it to be certain. Whoever developed the code was good. Very good.” Pierce looked through his magnifying glass again to check his theory. He needed the correct key to overlay above the written symbols to decipher the documents.
“How long?”
“A few days, a week, but I will figure this out for you.”
******
Cold Creek, Colorado
“How have you been, Doctor Wheaton?” Drew asked as Jericho wheeled him into the examination room.
“Fine, Drew. Glad to see you back in Cold Creek. You planning to marry that pretty young woman, Tess Taylor?” The doctor helped Jericho position Drew on the table.
Drew’s eyes snapped to the doctor, his surprise obvious. “What did you say?”
“Well, it just seemed to me there was something special between the two of you. More than just friends, I mean.”
Drew laid his head back down on the table and stared at the ceiling. How he wished there was more to their friendship, and that he could act on it. But no, the doctor was mistaken. “No, there’s nothing more between us.” The regretful tone of his voice wasn’t lost on the doctor or Jericho.
“I see,” the doctor probed his patient’s legs, lower back, and abdomen. “You having any problems with doing your business?”
“My business?”
The doctor nodded to Drew’s private area. “You know, using the facilities when you need to?”
“Oh, yeah, that’s working just fine.”
“Does your body tell you it’s time?”
“Of course it does, Doctor, how else would I ….” but Drew’s words trailed off when he started to understand the doctor’s meaning. He’d had to have help every few hours during the first weeks, just in case it was needed, not because he felt any urge. But over the last five or six weeks those slight urges had begun and increased to where Drew knew what was needed. The feelings had been so gradual that he’d missed the signs. He’d never even thought to mention it to Doc Garland in Denver.
“You think…” Drew started before Dr. Wheaton raised a hand.
“Let’s not jump to0 far ahead. I think it’s one sign that something may be happening.” The doctor turned to a table and grabbed a sharp instrument. It appeared to be a very slim needle of some type. “Mr. Jericho, please roll Mr. MacLaren to his side.”
The doctor started at mid-back, inserting the needle less than a sixteenth of an inch every few inches. “Tell me if you feel anything at all.”
Drew acknowledged feeling the needle the first few times as the doctor worked his way down to the lower back and hips—the places where the doctor suspected the paralysis started. He probed several more times without any comment from Drew, but when he inserted the needle into the upper section
The younger man looked up from his desk where the documents were spread out in an order only he understood. “The books are not the same. Although each has the same dates, the second set contains additional information. Dates, dollar amounts, and what look to be locations that don’t appear in the first book. But there’s still the possibility that the second ledger is a copy of the original with additional information. Perhaps Walsh is just cautious and keeps a duplicate with more detail in case the original is destroyed or lost.”
“It’s possible,” his brother replied, “but unlikely.”
Pierce understood his brothers’ doubts after meeting Walsh the one time he’d stopped in at the Denver Rose for a whiskey. Walsh had introduced himself to Pierce before signaling for another man to join them. The other man, Connor, seemed to be in charge of running the saloon. Pierce had no issues with him. But Walsh set off red flags from the moment Pierce had shaken his hand.
“I won’t be able to come up with anything reliable until I decipher a significant amount of the writing, but I believe I’ve discovered the key which is required for decoding. I just need to test it to be certain. Whoever developed the code was good. Very good.” Pierce looked through his magnifying glass again to check his theory. He needed the correct key to overlay above the written symbols to decipher the documents.
“How long?”
“A few days, a week, but I will figure this out for you.”
******
Cold Creek, Colorado
“How have you been, Doctor Wheaton?” Drew asked as Jericho wheeled him into the examination room.
“Fine, Drew. Glad to see you back in Cold Creek. You planning to marry that pretty young woman, Tess Taylor?” The doctor helped Jericho position Drew on the table.
Drew’s eyes snapped to the doctor, his surprise obvious. “What did you say?”
“Well, it just seemed to me there was something special between the two of you. More than just friends, I mean.”
Drew laid his head back down on the table and stared at the ceiling. How he wished there was more to their friendship, and that he could act on it. But no, the doctor was mistaken. “No, there’s nothing more between us.” The regretful tone of his voice wasn’t lost on the doctor or Jericho.
“I see,” the doctor probed his patient’s legs, lower back, and abdomen. “You having any problems with doing your business?”
“My business?”
The doctor nodded to Drew’s private area. “You know, using the facilities when you need to?”
“Oh, yeah, that’s working just fine.”
“Does your body tell you it’s time?”
“Of course it does, Doctor, how else would I ….” but Drew’s words trailed off when he started to understand the doctor’s meaning. He’d had to have help every few hours during the first weeks, just in case it was needed, not because he felt any urge. But over the last five or six weeks those slight urges had begun and increased to where Drew knew what was needed. The feelings had been so gradual that he’d missed the signs. He’d never even thought to mention it to Doc Garland in Denver.
“You think…” Drew started before Dr. Wheaton raised a hand.
“Let’s not jump to0 far ahead. I think it’s one sign that something may be happening.” The doctor turned to a table and grabbed a sharp instrument. It appeared to be a very slim needle of some type. “Mr. Jericho, please roll Mr. MacLaren to his side.”
The doctor started at mid-back, inserting the needle less than a sixteenth of an inch every few inches. “Tell me if you feel anything at all.”
Drew acknowledged feeling the needle the first few times as the doctor worked his way down to the lower back and hips—the places where the doctor suspected the paralysis started. He probed several more times without any comment from Drew, but when he inserted the needle into the upper section
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