Chapter the Third

In which our heroine meets her villain, and all is in turmoil, then resolved.

The next day, the girl walked out of the local grocery store, only to be confronted by the lawyer.

"Have you been inside yet?" he demanded.

"Inside what?" the girl asked, confused.

"The house. Have you looked inside there yet?" the lawyer repeated.

"No, but I was just on my way there." she replied.

"Ah. May I accompany you, then? Nobody's been inside that house for years. Who knows what unpleasant surprises may await inside!"

The girl pondered on it a moment, then nodded. "I suppose two pairs of eyes are better than one in this case."

As they ambled past the town saloon, the lawyer bumped into the young sheriff's deputy, who had just been leaving. "My apologies, sir."

"No harm done." The deputy waved him off. As the lawyer passed by, though, the deputy spied a bulge under the his coat. A gun-shaped bulge. The deputy watched as the lawyer headed to the old house on Girney Road-with a young girl who didn't look more than sixteen.

"I smell a rat somewhere in this business," the deputy muttered, then veered off his course, towards the sheriff's office.

Meanwhile, the girl and the lawyer had just reached the door. The girl fumbled with an old, brass key. Creak! The door swung open. The girl started forward. "Wait." The lawyer put out an arm to block her way. "Let me." The girl scoffed, but let him go ahead of her.

It was pitch black inside. "Mr. Wedner?"

"Yes, dear?"

"Nothing, just checking."

They made their way through the dim shadows, stumbling awkwardly over bits of debris. The girl's vision had adjusted enough so that she could see the lawyer's faint outline in the darkness. "Miss Strader," the lawyer whispered. "I do believe I know of a place where there might be some light." The girl followed him to a small room where it was even darker than the rest of the house.

"Mr. Wedner, I really don't see how this is any better-" There was a thump! and a series of soft shuffling noises. The girl realized that there was someone else in the room besides she and the lawyer. "Mr. Wedner?" she asked the silence, her voice shaking. "Mr. Wedner!" Click! The only weak light bulb in the room flickered on to reveal the lawyer and another man. The lawyer was holding a gun. 

"Miss Stradner. How kind of you to join our little party." The lawyer smirked. "Now be a good girl and sign those papers. Or you will die."

The girl stood there, frozen in shock. "B-b-but why?" she finally said "Why would you even want this house? What's so important about it?"

The lawyer laughed. "That does not concern you, you silly girl. Now-" he said, his voice hardening. "I'm going to count to three. One-"

"No." the girl said, surprised at her own bravery. "You can't kill me. Otherwise you'll never get this house."

"Ah, but there are other ways of convincing, Miss Stradner. Mr. Harvey-" He looked at the other man. "You have free rein."

As the man started toward the girl, fists clenched, the girl looked frantically around for an exit. Stupid her, she'd gotten backed into a corner, and now she realized why it had been so dark at first. There were no windows. The girl squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for the first blow to fall. It never came. Blam! The man fell over backwards, clutching his shoulder in agony as blood spurted between his fingers. She opened her eyes and saw the sheriff, the sheriff's deputy and a dozen townspeople in the doorway of the room. As she watched, the deputy sprang forward, wrestled the gun from the lawyer's fingers, and handcuffed him. "But how?!" the lawyer howled.

"I saw that gun underneath your coat. And from there I just guessed," the deputy shrugged as he prodded the lawyer forward. Two of the townspeople came forward to carry the other man out.

"But there's something I don't understand." All eyes in the room went to the girl. "Why did he want this house? What was so important about it?"

"Well, let's see here." The sheriff surveyed the room. His eyes went to the desk. He moved it and gasped.

"Is that what I think it is?" a townsperson asked. It, in question, was a large crate with the words Fort Knox stamped on it. The sheriff pried the lid off. Rows of gleaming gold bars filled it to the brim.

The sheriff found his voice. "Yep, that's gold. And stolen by the looks of it. I'll have to take this into custody as well." Several townspeople made an effort to lift it, and with a mighty oomph!, they managed to lug it out.

One by one, the townspeople filed out of the room, until there was only the sheriff's deputy and the girl left. "So what will you do now?" the deputy asked the girl.

"Oh, probably proceed with my original plans for the house." the girl replied.

"Which are?" the deputy prodded.

"Fix it up and live in it."

He surveyed the room. "You're going to need a lot of help." He looked at her and smiled.

The girl widened her eyes. "Is that an offer?"

"Maybe, maybe not." His grin widened. The deputy offered her his arm. "Shall we?" The girl smiled, then took his arm, and they stepped out into the bright sunshine.

Author's Note

I apologize if this is a bit short. I was attempting to tie it all up. Would appreciate any reviews, thanks so much! :D