Once the three of them were in his cabin, Brett produced a contract from Paradise, the one the missing laborer had given to Sergeant Fielding before disappearing. The captain recognized the paper at once and his ostentation disappeared.
‘How much do you earn for each of these contracted people that come aboard your ship?’ Bryles asked frankly. ‘We know you are allowing people to travel on credit, as long as they sign one of these.’
‘I . . . I. . . .’ He cleared his throat. ‘They arrive with a man in London. He vouches for the people and gives me their signed contracts. Upon arrival here, a representative from Paradise pays for their passage.’
‘How much do you earn on these contracts?’ Bryles remained stern. ‘Give me an exact amount.’
‘The fee charged is thirty-eight dollars each.’
‘So you make six dollars a head for each of these indentured servants?’ Brett said.
‘Only three,’ he muttered in self-defense. ‘The man on the other end gets the same. If the owner of this ship knew I was allowing people to ride without first having the fare in hand, I could end up fishing off of the pier instead of captaining a ship.’
‘Speaking of the man on the other end, when does he get his payment?’
The captain sighed in defeat. ‘I’m given a pouch when the group is picked up. I take my share, cover the cost of the fares, and return the balance to London. The man at that end gets his money upon my arrival and lines up passage for other contract employees at that time.’
‘He’ll get nothing but a severe warning this time!’ Bryles announced. ‘If you want to avoid a charge of promoting slavery, you will cooperate with us one hundred percent!’
‘Slavery?!’ he cried. ‘I only transport people on credit. I’ve no part in the handling of these contracts!’
‘The law against indentures is very clear,’ Bryles fired back. ‘You could end up in jail over this.’
The man paled at the notion. ‘Now, wait a minute,’ he said meekly. ‘I’m cooperating. Whatever you need, I’ll be glad to . . .’
Bryles announced: ‘We are relieving you of these passengers and there will be no payment made to you or the mangy scoundrel working over in London.’
‘But . . . how do I cover the fares of a dozen people?’
‘Out of your own pocket, Captain,’ Brett spoke up. ‘We will see to the contracted subjects and you will cease providing passage for any more contracted laborers.’
Preston glowered at him. ‘This is going to cost me a fortune!’
‘If you wish to contest our actions, we can settle this in front of a judge,’ Brett replied. ‘But be forewarned: it will end with you losing this ship and spending a few years behind bars.’
Totally intimidated now, the captain bobbed his head. ‘Whatever you need. I didn’t think there was anything wrong with contracted labor. It’s been going on for years.’
‘Not this kind of contract – this agreement allows no rights or privileges for the individuals. This is nothing more than a form of slavery.’
Captain Preston gulped at the word slavery. No way was he going to end up before a magistrate and face that charge!
‘What’s the name of your contact here – the man with your money?’
‘Name’s Van Stokes, and he usually has a couple of men with him. They take charge of the contracted people and escort them to the train. Once they have purchased tickets for the passengers, the two men accompany them westward. I don’t know where Van Stokes lives. He is always waiting on the dock.’
Brett looked at Bryles. ‘We need a complete list of your contracted people. Then we are going to meet with Van Stokes.’
The government man agreed. ‘Get to writing, Captain. One slip on your part and your next bunk won’t be in the captain’s quarters, it’ll be in a prison cell!’
Faro Valeron had never been much for the adventuresome and often rowdy games his cousins played. Wyatt would join in, but he and his brother, Martin, usually played by themselves or kept company with Nash. All three of them were more prone to using their heads rather than brawn. Martin had taken up accounting and a bit of law, while Nash had become a doctor. For Faro, he loved to dig and explore old ruins or caves. He often spent his spare time reading stories about archaeologists and the search and discovery of lost cities around the world. Thankfully, his father, Udal, recognized his and Martin’s ambitions. When the family found coal in the nearby hills, they put Faro in charge of the mining operations. Shortly thereafter, other ore deposits were discovered on their land. He hired a geologist to test the area and soon had both operations going. There was no huge bonanza of rich ore, but they mined enough to pay for their efforts and show a profit. As for coal, that was a necessity, being that it took too much timber to fill the needs of fuel for their ranch and the nearby town.
Conferring with Jared, Wyatt, and Sergeant Fielding, Faro felt completely out of place. It was like sitting in on one of the rowdy games of their youth. Jared had been involved in all manner of chaotic and deadly adventures, and Wyatt had settled several feuds and tamed more than one wild town. However, both of his cousins recognized Faro was a different breed of man. There was no more than the usual teasing and joking between them than if it had been Shane or Reese joining them.
‘Anyone see you?’ Fielding asked Wyatt, once Faro had been introduced.
‘I’ve still got a shadow. I believe there are two or three of them, but I lost the one watching me an hour or so ago. Got him to thinking I was going to take a ride, then slipped away when he went to round up his horse.’
‘Gaskell’s men?’ Fielding ventured a guess.
‘Gotta be,’ Jared was the one who answered. ‘I got a look at one of them and he could have been sired by a weasel.’
The four of them had met up at the police headquarters and were in a room to themselves, out of earshot or sight of any passers by. Fielding was in charge and invited a fifth man to join them. The fellow appeared to be in his mid-twenties, average in looks and size, but owned a serious brow and speculative brown eyes. He was lithesome, yet appeared coordinated and athletic.
‘You Valerons,’ Fielding said, presenting the young man, ‘this is Officer Munson. He is going to pose as Faro’s assistant. I chose him because he is new to our police force, having just moved here from St Louis. This being his first week with us, I very much doubt the spies for Gaskell have seen him.’
‘How-do,’ Munson greeted them. ‘I’ve heard a few stories about you boys from the Sarge here.’
‘What brings you this far west?’ Jared wanted to know. ‘Not enough action in St Louis?’
‘I had a conflict with a superior.’ He shrugged. ‘Put a wife-beater in the hospital during an arrest and he caught the blame from the mayor’s office. I knew that, so long as I was working under him, I’d never get a promotion to detective. My uncle settled in Golden, so I checked around to see if they or Denver needed an experienced officer.’
‘Know anything about mining?’ Faro asked. ‘I’m a little shy on experience in any mines other than our own.’
‘Sorry,’ Munson said. ‘You’ll have to tell anyone who asks that I’m new at the job.’ He gave a helpless gesture, then added: ‘But I do write pretty good and my spelling is better than average.’
‘Your purpose is diversionary,’ Fielding reminded him. ‘Brett and Jared will be the ones sticking their necks out. You will only need to find enough things wrong with the mine to keep Gaskell’s attention.’
‘When is Brett due back?’ Faro asked no one in particular.
‘He should be arriving by train tomorrow or the next day,’ Jared replied.
‘Then I’m to leave before you and him?’
‘You head out first thing in the morning, cuz,’ Jared advised him. ‘Brett will likely need a day to rest up from the long train ride.’ He laughed. ‘Sure glad I didn’t have to make that trip with him. I’m not a big fan of trains.’
‘Any questions about your job?’ Fielding q
uestioned Faro.
‘I do know much of the necessary lingo,’ Faro offered, ‘and a prison gang will likely have a few ex-miners. I can probably direct my questions so as to get a little information from them concerning mine safety.’
‘When their new arrivals don’t show up, it might put them on guard,’ Wyatt posited. ‘They have several of their enforcers watching the town day and night. You’ll have to be ready to talk quick and make them believe you have the power to do what you say.’
‘You’ve got all you need,’ Jared said. ‘The letter from the governor’s office states that you are a mine inspector. It gives you the authority to poke around and make a nuisance of yourself.’
After discussing the assignment for another hour, the group broke up. Faro and Munson left together. The two of them would get rooms at the hotel to cover the story that they were working in tandem.
Wyatt turned his room over to Jared and made sure his shadow saw him exit the hotel with his travel bag. With him leaving town, it was hoped it would lower the awareness of Gaskell’s watchdogs. Wyatt would head home for a visit with his family and stay available until called upon.
Cliff found himself hurrying to get home early each night. It warmed his heart that Nessy immediately took to Mikki. The two of them seemed more like sisters than a nanny and her charge. He often watched when neither of them knew he was around, filled with gratification that here was a young woman who served not only as a caregiver and friend, but took on the role of teacher and mother.
Cliff discovered something else, an awakening deep inside, a surreal yearning he’d never known before. Ever since he entered his teen years, he’d flirted with and lusted after girls and women, instilled with the desire to relish their favors. Reflecting on his past, he’d had numerous encounters or conquests. But there had been no real love, no intent to make a lifelong commitment with any of them. The feelings that surfaced when he looked at Mikki were different. He didn’t see her as a short-term prospect, a taste of wine to sip and discard. This girl evoked in him a desire to not only have and to hold . . . but to keep.
There came an opportunity to explore a more intimate relationship one night after Nessy had gone to bed. Locke and Wanetta were next door, playing cards with Temple and Gwen, Tish and Shane’s parents. With Jared away from the ranch, only the nanny, Nessy, and he remained in the house.
Mikki had gotten into the habit of drinking a cup of tea before she went to bed. Cliff didn’t care much for the drink himself, but he knew how it was made. He had it waiting when the girl came into the kitchen.
‘Ready for your nightly libation?’ he asked, pouring the tea into a small cup.
‘Yes, thank you,’ Mikki said, displaying appreciation for his consideration. She took a chair at the small kitchen table.
Cliff set a small container with cream next to the sugar bowl, so they were both within her reach, then took the chair opposite her.
‘You’ve had a few days to get used to the Valeron ranch and home,’ he opened the conversation. ‘Do you think you’re going to be happy with us here?’
‘Oh, yes,’ she said, her eyes shining brightly. ‘This is like a special haven or sanctuary, away from the rest of the world. You are fortunate to be a part of such a wonderful family. I’ve yet to meet anyone I didn’t like.’
‘My side of the family was not so large. I only had one brother growing up, and he was bigger and older than me. Rodney married a newspaper woman and has made a good life for himself.’
‘What about you?’ Mikki asked. ‘Darcy told me you have had a great many girlfriends, but never one that turned serious.’
Cliff felt his outlook plummet. ‘You’ve been talking to Darcy?’
‘She is often around tending her mother’s garden or visiting here with Mrs Valeron. She also watches over some of the children when Nessy is playing with them.’
She’s got a big mouth too! Cliff groaned inwardly.
Mikki paused and made eye contact. Confirming his fears, she ventured what Darcy had told her. ‘She warned me that you were quite . . .’ she searched for the term she wanted, then finished with, ‘comfortable around less-experienced girls.’
Cliff raised his hands in a sign of surrender. ‘I don’t deny it,’ he said. ‘I have spent much of my adult life chasing after girls. But,’ he hurried to clarify, ‘that all changed when I adopted Nessy.’
Mikki’s facial expression revealed her doubt.
‘I mean it,’ he reiterated. ‘I was a prime woman-chasing fool up until Nessy came into my life. I confess that I courted and played upon the affection of a number of girls. I didn’t respect womanhood nor motherhood – not until I became a father.’ Heaving a sigh, he shook his head. ‘But, like I said, Nessy changed my life, my outlook on life, and my opinion of women. I’ve not even looked at a pretty girl since meeting Nessy.’ He grunted with a mock humor. ‘I haven’t had time, not for much of anything since I adopted her.’
‘So I shouldn’t take Darcy’s warning to heart?’
He laughed. ‘Actually, she had every right to warn you – I admit to a terrible past history with women. However, next time you speak to her, you might ask her if she knows of any girls I’ve been chasing after recently. She won’t be able to point a finger at any of them, because I’ve stopped looking for a quick romp with a willing girl. I’m no longer interested in a simple conquest or a girl to spark just for the fun of it.’
‘So now you are interested in a serious, long-term relationship?’
‘First of all, when I look at you, I see a young woman, but not necessarily an experienced girl.’
He noticed how she lowered her eyes – a sign of admission or embarrassment. ‘I say that only because I don’t wish for you to see me as the man I used to be. And in answer to your question, I’ve become more interested in what kind of woman would be a good wife and mother – one who would accept Nessy as her own child. I realize that’s a lot to ask of any woman.’
‘Darcy mentioned there were several on this ranch who would jump at the chance to marry one of your family.’
Cliff shrugged. ‘I’ve kidded and flirted with two or three of those girls, but it was mostly in fun. Like I said, I’ve never really been serious about a woman.’
‘Why are you telling me this?’
‘Mikki,’ he said, instilling all of the honesty he could muster, ‘it’s because I don’t think of you in the same way I used to think of those girls.’ He again raised his hands, as if to stop her from replying or rebuking his words. ‘Don’t get the wrong idea. I’m not asking to court you. That would be totally unethical, what with you being a nanny to my daughter. Any, uh . . . romantic inclinations would have to be mutual and handled delicately. You don’t know me all that well yet, and I really don’t know much about you.’
‘Why mention it at all, if you’re not . . .’ again, she hesitated to select the right word, ‘interested in courting?’
‘Because I am interested in you,’ he admitted. ‘That’s the problem. I don’t want you thinking I’m the same guy I used to be. It isn’t about how I’ve changed; it’s more that I’ve grown up. Being a father has made me see how important a woman is, that it’s more than a flirtation or bit of fun. I want – I need,’ he corrected, ‘a woman who will be both a wife and mother. I’ve never looked for that in a girl before.’
Of all the reactions Cliff might have expected, tears filling the girl’s eyes was not on the list. She lowered her head and swallowed, as if she had been chewing and tried to swallow a much too big of bite to get down.
‘I. . . .’ Her voice cracked and she swallowed a second time. ‘You don’t know the truth about me,’ she barely murmured the words.
‘Truth? What are you talking about?’
But the girl rose up abruptly. ‘I . . . I can’t!’ was all she said. Then she ran from the room and down the hall to her bedroom.
Cliff stared after her and went over the last few words between them. What in the world had he said wron
g? He had always been the guy who had women all figured out. His wit and charm made winning a gal’s affection almost too easy. But Mikki? She was a conundrum, a riddle with no clues. That was something he had never faced before.
Drummer, as head of security for Paradise, led Faro and Munson into the main building at the center of town. The three men entered an office with a shingle reading: ‘Parker Sayles, Judicial Magistrate’. A man was seated at a desk, smoking an oversized cigar – made more conspicuous due to him being smaller than most men. He sported slicked-back hair and a narrow mustache, attired in a tattered, but once expensive, gray suit. He regarded Drummer with a scowl, obviously unhappy he had simply walked in without stopping to knock on the closed door.
‘What is it, Mr Bonheur?’ he asked, oozing with his own importance. ‘Who are these men?’
‘They’s from the state,’ Drummer replied. ‘They’s got a letter to show you.’
Parker’s pale-green eyes swept over the pair. ‘What kind of letter are we talking about?’
Faro stepped forward and stretched his hand out with the document. Parker impudently snatched it from his fingers and scanned the writing.
‘The governor’s office?’ His frown was offset by his puzzlement. ‘A state inspector?’
‘Mine safety,’ Faro announced. ‘The state has mandated all working mines be inspected for safety. It’s an attempt to cut down on the number of injuries caused by unsafe working conditions.’ Faro took on a more severe look. ‘The deaths reported from your mining operation far exceeds the norm, Mr Sayles. It is the governor’s intention that we correct whatever problems we can.’
‘And what gives you such insight to inspect our diggings?’
‘I’ve been working at or operating both ore and coal mines since I turned sixteen,’ Faro told him truthfully. ‘Once I became foreman, we suffered only minor injuries and haven’t had a death in the past three years. My safety record is the reason the governor chose me for this job.’
‘And this other man?’
Valerons--Beyond the Law! Page 6
