"I don't understand." He leaned forward and braced his hands on his knees. "The porter said the compartment Cooper and Rebecca shared looked as though it hadn't been occupied."

"Yes, I remember."

"So where are her clothes? " "Cooper's things were also missing, weren't they? " "No, " he answered. "His saddlebags were in the luggage compartment."

"Maybe Rebecca's satchels were thrown out the window."

"The sheriff assured me that he and his men searched the area. They were looking for Rebecca, and they would have found her bags. They didn't."

"Maybe the men who shot Marshal Cooper let her take herthings with her, " she said. "That would be a good sign, wouldn't it, that they plan to keep her alive? " "But they wouldn't want to do that, " he argued.

"They'd want to silence her as quickly as possible."

"Because they think she's the witness? " "Yes."

"How awful, " she whispered. "Poor Rebecca. She wasn't even there."

The matter-of-fact comment caught his attention.

"She told Cole and me she was."

"She what? " Grace asked, clearly flabbergasted.

"Rebecca said she witnessed the robbery. She gave us a detailed accounting of what happened and descriptions of the men she saw. "

"She couldn't have, " she argued, shaking her head.

"She could have and she did."

"If you'll remember, I told you I was in the bank too. Rebecca was probably just trying to protect Jessica and me and she lied to you."

"Why are you assuming she lied? " Before Grace could answer the question, he said, "Jessica also told us she was the witness. She didn't give us any real details, though, but Rebecca did. She told us everything." She shook her head again.

"No, that isn't possible."

"I'm telling you she gave us specific details, " he insisted. "What's wrong? " "It doesn't make any sense.

That's what's wrong . . . " She was exasperating. He held on to his patience and asked, "Why doesn't it? " "Because she couldn't have given you details. I promised I would keep silent. . . . I gave my word . . . but that was before . . . and now . . . " "Grace, what are you trying to tell me? " "Rebecca isn't the witness. Jessica is.

" Xaniel was white with anger. "Do you realize what you're saying? I swear to God, if you're lying now . . . " "I'm telling you the truth, " she insisted. "Jessica was in the bank during the robbery, not Rebecca." He was pacing about the room like a caged animal. He kept telling himself that shouting at Grace wouldn't accomplish anything, but the urge was nearly overwhelming. He took a deep breath and then asked in a chillingly soft voice, "Why didn't you tell me the truth before? Why in God's name did you wait so long? " "I promised Jessica I wouldn't tell anyone. I gave her my word."

"Dear God, " he muttered. He threaded his fingers through his hair and sat down.

"Try to understand, " she pleaded. "Jessica was terrified."

"Does Rebecca know that Jessica is the witness? " "No, she doesn't."

"Are you sure? " "Yes." She turned away then so that she wouldn't have to look at the fury etched on his face. She had never seen him this angry before, and it frightened her.

"Now do you understand why I was so bewildered when you told me Rebecca gave you specific details? " "Ah, Grace, " he whispered as he tried to control his anger.

"Daniel" He cut her off. "Tell me how you know Jessica was in the bank, " he demanded.

"I watched Caleb for her, " she explained. "She had taken him with her to the bank earlier that afternoon, and he was cranky and out of sorts.

She put him down for his nap and then went back."

"Why? " "She had tried to close her aunt's account, but she'd left one of the signed documents on Tilly's kitchen table. That's why she went back."

"Then what happened? " "It was awful, " she whispered. "She'd run all the way, and when she got to the back door, she started throwing up.

She was barely coherent, " she added. "I tried to get her to calm down, but she was out of her mind with terror. I put her to bed and stayed with her until Caleb woke up."

"Was Tilly there? " "No. She had gone out to do some errands. I told her that Jessica had come down with influenza and that she needed to stay in bed and rest." A tear slipped down her cheek, and she impatiently wiped it away. "I took care of Caleb the rest of that day, and when it was his bedtime, I took him upstairs and found Jessica frantically packing. She wanted to leave Rockford Falls that night, but I was finally able to convince her to stay."

"Did she tell you exactly what happened while she was in the bank? "

"Yes, she did. After Caleb fell asleep, we went out on the porch and she told me everything but their names." He erupted in rage. "Are you telling me she knows their names? " Grace gripped her hands together.

She knew how wrong it had been of her to keep silent and how she had magnified her culpability by adding the lie that she was the witness.

Daniel would never forgive her. He should arrest her and put her in jail, but she didn't think that would be half as horrible as the guilt she now felt.

"She heard the man in charge call the others by their names. She didn't see all of them . . . or hear all their names . . . just some.

" "Why in God's name didn't she tell Cole or me? " Desperate to make him understand, she stood up to plead with him. "She couldn't trust anyone."

"She trusted you."

"Yes, she did. I don't know if she would have told me what happened, though, if I hadn't been there in the kitchen when she came back. I saw the condition she was in. She couldn't control her panic, and all she could think about was keeping her son safe. Can you blame her? I would have done the same thing." Daniel nodded, for he did understand.

"What happened then? " "Jessica was sure that the authorities . . .

you . . . would apprehend the men and wouldn't need an eyewitness.

She desperately wanted to believe that would happen."

"When she wanted to run . . . is that when you suggested she go with you? " "Yes."

"When did she remember she'd left her bag behind? " "Not until we heard that one was found under the desk."

"Why was it empty? " "When the men came in, she stuffed the money in her dress. She was afraid they'd take it. She didn't realize they were going tN } "Massacre them? " "Yes." Daniel closed his eyes for a moment. "If Jessica hadn't left her bag behind, Cole and I would never have known she saw it happen."

"I don't know if she would have eventually come forward or not, " Grace said. "It wasn't her bag, though. It was mine. She borrowed it so she would have something to put the money in to carry it home."

"It was your bag? " He didn't know why that information infuriated him so, but it did.

"Honest to God, you and Jessica have obstructed this investigation from the very beginning. I ought to lock the two of you in a cell and let you grow old together."

"Will you please lower your voice? You're going to wake up Marshal Cooper."