McCall studied her expression for a few seconds then, reluctantly, nodded. “The Hannah he mentions most likely refers to Hannah Monroe, a woman who worked as a housekeeper for your father right after he sent you off to school, Mrs. Hunt.”

“Please, call me Win. There are too many Mr. and Mrs. Hunts at this table.”

With a quick smile, McCall said, “That’s true. Everyone, actually, except Miss Garner.”

“Make it Molly,” Molly offered.

“Then it’s John.” John referred to his notes. “She worked there until she moved on, according to Rachel, but there was no record of her after her time there.”

“Then Lydia was employed there, too?” Win asked, her voice quiet but steady.

“Yes, Rachel found a record of a Lydia Trenear. She was known a bit around town. A faithful church attender, and she wrote steadily to an elderly uncle back east. When her letters stopped, the uncle was in failing health, and though he made some inquiries, he died before he could find out what became of her. He talked with the police. He was sure she’d come to a bad end somehow, or else she would have written. He made enough noise there was a record of her connection to Hawkins.

“Rachel has very thorough notes, including information from Amelia Bishop and from her own experience. Amelia most certainly believed she was in danger. Now we have your information, Molly, and the injury to your arm.”

“I’m mostly healed.” Molly heard herself trying to diminish how badly she’d been hurt. She still felt ashamed. Trying to study that strange truth, she remembered how her ma had tried to have the house and meals just so to keep Pa happy. As if his violent treatment were her fault. Ma had felt ashamed, too. Molly knew it wasn’t right. This was not her shame, so she squared her shoulders and refused to take any blame.

John looked as if he could read all that flashed through her mind. “If your bruises aren’t healed after a week, then that tells us a lot about how bad they were. And we have an eyewitness account from your family of how serious they were. Yes, I’ve got enough to ask the sheriff to arrest him, and if the sheriff hesitates, then I’ll take him into custody myself. Through the influence of Amelia’s father, we have the support of the Wyoming territorial governor in this, and I’ve been sworn in to work with the authority of the US Marshal’s office. So I can make an arrest myself. Then we’ll search that safe, see what other evidence we find. That will bolster our case.”

Molly’s spirits lifted. John McCall was going to handle this, and Hawkins would pay for his crimes.

She looked forward to the day.