Indignation filled Emily at the other woman’s words. “I’ll see that he pays for his wickedness,” she vowed, setting her jaw in grim determination. “But getting Mary Ann to help is the first priority. May I come in and see her?”
Mrs. Gonzales led Emily into the house, the boys and Angelina following close behind. Mary Ann lay on a pallet in a corner of the Gonzales’ living room. A black eye and a livid bruise on the opposite cheek marred her face. Her lips were swollen, one split as if by a blow, and there was a cut on her jaw, where perhaps a ring had torn the flesh.
The rest of the poor girl’s body, Emily felt sure, bore marks equal if not worse.
She could hardly contain her rage. Had Jake McEuen ridden up at that moment, she would have torn a fencepost out of the ground to beat him wi
