It's simply too much." Her voice broke.
Daniel sat down on the edge of the desk to face her. "I know how
distressing this is, but . . . " "No, you don't know, " she cried
out.
"I'm. . scared." . so . . .
After whispering the admission, she burst into tears and buried her
face in her hands. "I've been such a coward, but I'm going to do the
right thing now. You don't need to bother Jessica or Grace any longer
because . . . " She didn't go on. Daniel leaned toward her and tried
to look sympathetic, while Cole shoved a glass of water into her
hand.
"Here, drink this, " he suggested.
She wiped her face with her handkerchief and looked up at him. "Try to
understand. I didn't want anyone to know . . . I'm engaged to the
most wonderful man. He's a respected businessman and very careful
about appearances. A scandal would ruin him. It's taken him five long
years to get up the courage to propose to me. I thought I could go
back home and pretend none of this happened. You would catch the men
eventually. My fiance runs with a very sophisticated, wealthy crowd.
Can you see why I would keep silent? " "Rebecca, what are you telling
us? " Cole asked.
"I'm your witness. I was hiding under the desk when the Blackwater
gang came inside. The purse you found belongs to me." Both marshals
tried to contain their reaction to the news. Relief flooded through
Cole, and he felt guilty about that. He was just so damned happy it
wasn't Jessica.
Daniel felt a burst of excitement rush through his veins. She was
there, and, God willing, she saw all of them.
"They'll try to kill me, won't they? " she whispered.
"We'll protect you, " Cole fervently promised.
"You'll try, but they'll find a way to silence me."
"We aren't going to let anyone hurt you, " Daniel vowed.
She wiped the tears away from her face before speaking again. "I know
I should have come forward sooner, but I was very frightened. I just
wanted to pretend it didn't happen, and I kept hoping that you would
catch them . . . eventually. I'm so sorry I lied. It isn't like me
to act so cowardly."
"You were scared, " Cole said.
"Yes, " she whispered. "And now poor Jessica and Grace have both been
dragged into this nightmare. Neither one of them was in the bank at
closing time. I know because I was there, and if I had had the courage
to speak up sooner, they wouldn't be living in fear now."
"You were seen inside the bank earlier that afternoon, " Cole said.
"Yes, I was there, but I went back. I needed to finish some
business.
I thought I could just run into the bank and . . . " A defeated look
crossed her face. "I'll go to Blackwater with you and look at the man
they've captured, " she whispered. "If he's one of the Blackwater
gang, I'll point him out and testify in court." She wiped another tear