Alexander’s Jarret (4)

Jarret and Lexington follow the raiders west and find Viley lying alongside the road. Viley tells Jarret to go back and calls him a “foolish boy.” Jarret reminds Viley that he is not a boy, and Viley admits the truth of that. Viley is badly injured but tells Jarret that Quantrill is likely going to Judge Sayers’s place. Jarret will take Viley to the Kirklands’ farm. Along the way, Viley apologizes for his role in taking Lexington from Harry.

After leaving Viley with the Kirklands, Jarret continues to follow the raiders. He creeps around the Sayers’ house, hiding Lexington in the process, and sees four men around a campfire. Scott is with them. Jarret waits until the men are drunk and overhears them talking about how Quantrill means to trade Scott for some of their captured men. Jarret kills two of the men and gets Scott to safety. Then they rescue the horses, roping them together, and return to get Lexington. They will go north.

Jess (10)

Jess is becoming both irritated and worried that Theo has not returned from his run. She looks at his bookshelves and thinks about how they might visit her parents next winter. She reads part of Theo’s thesis, a chapter on the Troye painting Richard Singleton with Viley’s Harry, Charles and Lew, and is impressed.

As the rain picks up and Theo does not return, Jess tries to call his cell phone. But it is not Theo who answers. The voice on the other end wonders who she is, and she identifies herself as Theo’s girlfriend as she begins to shake. She hears words about an assault and shooting, but she cannot register them. She tells the detective that Theo’s mother is in Nigeria and that his father is dead. The detective responds that Jess will need to identify the body then. Theo is the “assailant,” the detective says, and he will need Jess’s statement.

Two officers arrive shortly later, and Jess tells them exactly what has happened that day and how Theo went out for a run in his dark rain jacket. The officers ask offensive questions, and Jess orders them out. Then she yells after them, asking about Clancy.

Alexander’s Jarret (5)

Jarret and Lexington lead the other horses away from the Sayers place. Jarret is reeling from having to kill two men, and he tries to wash off the blood. He returns to the Kirkland home, where he receives supplies. Viley, he learns, has a high fever and is on the verge of death. Jarret writes a note to Alexander and also forges Alexander’s signature on two other notes that will allow him to pass either the Union or Confederate armies. Jarret knows the way north, and he is now glad that the Illinois farm is available. Belland is there when Jarret arrives. By the end of the war, most of the horses have been moved to safety, and Jarret goes to Canada as Alexander’s agent.

Jess (11)

Jess stays at Theo’s apartment overnight and goes to identify his body. The man in the photograph is indeed Theo. Jess then goes to the animal shelter to pick up Clancy. The dog runs into Jess’s arms. He is covered in blood, for he had been lying on Theo’s body and would not move until animal control dragged him away. Jess cuddles the dog, and they both sit on the floor weeping and whining, respectively.

When Jess returns to Theo’s apartment, Justine Treadwell of the Washington Post is waiting, hoping to talk to someone about Theo’s death. Jess reads...