A Grim Telling by Sabrina Flynn

Author:Sabrina Flynn [Flynn, Sabrina]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781955207287
Publisher: Ink & Sea Publishing

22

Hard Truths

1901

Tobias gawked at his brother. “But… Why?”

For the first time, Tobias heard his brother laugh—it bordered on madness and was so unnerving that Tobias took a step back, nearly tripping into the campfire before catching himself.

Grimm wiped his eyes. Then, feeling suddenly exhausted by the telling, he dropped his head in his hands and rubbed his neck.

“What happened to ma and…” Tobias hesitated. He’d never uttered the word ‘father’ in his life. No one ever mentioned the man. “My father?”

Grimm shook his head without looking up from the ground. He sat cross-legged and hunched over, resisting the urge to rock back and forth. “I didn’t understand it then, and I still don’t—Angel Davren, Gil Blake, and those other men were Negros and Indians. I’m not sure Eli was even their leader. He seemed to look to Angel for answers.”

Tobias considered something for a moment as he poked at the campfire. “I didn’t know we could be U.S. Marshals.”

Grimm raised his head enough to eye his little brother. Despite everything, Tobias had a cheerful bounce about him. “Deputy U.S. Marshals.”

Tobias scratched his head. “Isn’t that what Mrs. Pleasant did?”

“She wasn’t a U.S. Marshal.”

“I mean, you said that Angel fellow seemed like the leader… like a mastermind. Looking back and all, I was just thinking how useful it is having a white girl around. I use Sarah all the time when I got an idea for something I can’t do. And I heard ma talking with Mr. AJ… Mrs Pleasant used a white fellow to conduct business. That’s sort of the arrangement ma had with Mr. AJ. He has no mind for business, but ma does. Easier to do things in his name, since he’s white—or can pass for it, anyway.”

Grimm gave a grudging nod. “A U.S. Marshal can deputize anyone he likes. I think.”

“Can girls be marshals?”

“No.”

Tobias snapped his fingers. “Darn. I’d get Sarah to become one so she could deputize me.”

Grimm sighed at his brother’s heroic ideals. He saw too much of himself in his little brother. And he didn’t want him to experience the same pain he had. If only the path to wisdom wasn’t so brutal.

“Who the hell cares who was in charge,” Grimm said, staring into the flames. “They were all working together, and all of them had a hand in killing our father.”

“You said you killed our father,” Tobias shot back.

“I basically did. I was a loudmouth like you.”

“You didn’t kill him, Grimm. You made a mistake. I make plenty of those.”

“You can’t afford to make any more.”

Tobias looked guilty.

“What did you do?” Grimm demanded.

Tobias blinked a pair of all too innocent eyes. “Nothing.”

“Tobias White.”

“Not my name.”

Grimm growled.

“What happened next?” Tobias asked.

“What’d you do?”

Tobias huffed at him. “Nothing. I just… carved a message for Mr. AJ.”

“You did what?”

“No one’s gonna find it but Jin. It’s on a wall in my fort.”

“What’d you say?”

“I asked him to help us.”

Grimm muttered an oath.

“Why don’t you want his help?”

“It’s not that,” Grimm said. “It’s… I don’t want to mess up another person’s life.

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