Snippet #2625373

Horatio gave Anna an even nod. "Makes sense. All right, then. Let's see what Brother Samuel has to say."

The two Dogs left the Mayor's office soon enough. A few townsfolk were still nearby, but scurried away rather quickly, upon seeing them. Word had spread quickly from Sheriff Thompson, it seemed, on what happened to the Mayor.

The two made their way to Doc Cottle's office soon enough, stepping inside fairly quickly. Brother Samuel was indeed awake, sitting on a chair as he took a sip of whiskey no doubt provided to him by Doc Cottle.

"Good to see you awake, Brother Samuel." Horatio greeted, nodding to the bruised man. "I'm Dog Horatio...and this is my partner, Dog Anna."

"You're the Dogs? You've arrived, then?" Brother Samuel gave the duo a relieved smile. "Thank the Prophet! It must be a sign that you're here, the same day I came back to town...surely the Prophet Himself is guiding our hands."

Sheriff Thompson arrived a few moments later, interrupting their conversation. He noticed the Dogs, though he didn't look all that surprised to see the Dogs had beaten him there. "I've spread word through the town what happened with the Mayor. No one particularly liked Chesterfield, so no one's gonna question you two too much about what happened. Some people might be eager to loot his office though...and his house too, no doubt. The Mayor was quite wealthy, after all. I laid the law clear though, and it didn't hurt to mention you two still might want to search through his things. Ain't nobody in this town about to do something as foolish as antagonize a Dog, so Chesterfield's office and home should be safe. I locked them up for good measure though, just in case."

"The Mayor's dead?" Brother Samuel spoke up, looking over at them in surprise. "Goodness. How much has changed since I've been away?"

"Quite a bit." Sheriff Thompson gave an uncomfortable little sigh, grimacing. "Lord, you left on your trip before....well, hate to break it to you, Brother, but I'm afraid Sheriff Cobbs is dead now. Got killed a few days ago...not sure who yet, but no doubt the culprit is involved in what's been happening lately."

Brother Samuel looked stricken at that, heaving a heavy sigh. "I see. May the Prophet have mercy on Jacob's soul...and show mercy and guidance to his poor widow. Well, if I have my way, Cobbs' death shall be the last in this town. The devils behind these tragedies will not go unpunished any longer!"

Horatio chimed up, wanting to get to the bottom of things post haste. "We all want that, Brother. Now...before you fainted, you said you knew where the children were. Do you still remember?"

"Yes, I do." Samuel gave a hurried nod. "Perhaps I should start at the beginning. A week ago, I left Red Road on personal business. Maybe halfway through my trip, I was ambushed by these bandits...they forced me off my horse at gunpoint, and tied me up, bringing me back over to their....base. They noticed the robes I wore....the vestments of the priesthood are quite memorable, after all. I believe they intended to get a ransom out of me....that's what they talked about when they brought me over to their base.

"I knew things were even worse than they seemed when they stowed me away, put me in a tent with the...the children. I think all of them were there...tied up, crying, frightened beyond belief. Quite obviously underfed....the poor souls....I tried to comfort them best I could, but when I saw them, I knew I had to get out of here...warn the Sheriff, warn the Dogs, if they had come to town by then. My own safety hardly compared to that of the childrens'. I knew where they were, and I had to get help to rescue them.

"I bid my time...waiting for an opportunity to present itself. Then, yesterday, the Lord blessed my prayers, for such an opportunity did come up. One of the bandits was drunk when they came to feed us, and quite foolishly dropped the knife he'd been using to cut up bread for us to eat. I grabbed it before he could find it...and the fool gave up when he couldn't immediately find it. When he left, I used the knife to cut through my ropes. I succeeded....and while I wished nothing more than to free the children as well, I couldn't risk it! Lord save me...I wanted to help them so much, but freeing them then and there might make things worse. I had no other weapon on me...and it was doubtful I could sneak out of camp with all the children, without one of them making a sound. And then, the trek through the desert! I had no earthly idea if the children could survive such a harsh pace, as weak as they were....God help me, I had to leave them behind. I promised them...I promised I'd come back for them, though!"

Samuel paused there, shuddering as he closed his eyes....quite clearly distraught at what he'd had to do. It weighed heavily on his mind, by all appearances. Still, he soldiered on, speaking again after a moment. "God knows how long I walked, after I snuck out...the hours bled into each other, becoming a blur. The last thing I remember was...arriving near Red Road, and someone...finding me, and bringing me into town."

"Where are the children, Brother? Do you remember where they took you? Where you were held?" Horatio inquired, once the man finished. He didn't envy him at all for the awful choice he'd faced...a part of him thought the Brother could have done better, but even he doubted that the stolen children, malnourished and weak as they no doubt were, would have survived a day's trek through the desert, with no food or water, and a raging sun beating down on them. Not to mention the bandits would have gone after them en masse, no doubt, making their chances even grimmer.

"Yes...I remember. It looked like....an old, abandoned army fort. The kind used by the government to keep watch on unfriendly Natives." Samuel declared, closing his eyes as he recalled the place.

"Are you talking about Fort Jefferson?" the Sheriff spoke up, clearly knowing what the priest was talking about. "It's abandoned, all right...got shut up by the government after the Southern War ended. Yes...makes sense that they might establish themselves there. No one's using it, after all. Perfect place to hide out, and stow away the children."

For the first time since coming to this forsaken town, Horatio smiled. He still wasn't sure what was going on here...why these children were being taken, or by who. But that hardly mattered. Not when the end was so close. They needed to go rescue the children...and now they knew where they were. "Well, then. Seems like we know where to go. All we need is a posse, and we can go kill those bastards, and get the children back."

Easier said then done, of course. They couldn't just go to the Fort, guns blazing. Unless the Fort was severely ruined, the place was no doubt sealed up tight. The bandits wouldn't let anyone in they didn't want to.

Still....the end to this whole mess was near, Horatio felt it in his bones. The tragedies of Red Road would soon be put to rest...and the children would be set free from their prison.