‘In training to also become an inspector. There are far too many mines for me to cover on my own. Once he has seen enough digging sites he will inspect mines on his own.’
Parker shook his head. ‘I’m not sure about the legality of . . .’
‘This falls under state jurisdiction, Mr Sayles,’ Faro cut him off sharply. ‘You have no say one way or the other. Either cooperate or I’ll shut down your mining operation.’
‘Uh. . . .’ His arrogance waned. ‘I’ll have to speak to Mr Gaskell. He’s the owner of . . .’
‘Speak to whomever you wish,’ Faro was again curt. ‘My assistant and I are going to rent a room at your hotel. Then we will have something to eat. Once we have finished the meal, we will begin our inspection. I suggest you inform the men in charge to be ready to accommodate our inspection. As I said, you have no say in the matter – it is the law!’
Without another word, Faro and Munson left the office. Once out to the walkway in front of the building, they started off towards the hotel.
‘I gotta say,’ Munson muttered under his breath. ‘You got more brass than the biggest band in Colorado.’
‘It’s something I learned from my brother Wyatt,’ Faro replied quietly. ‘Walk the walk, talk the talk, and never look back.’
‘And that works all the time?’
‘Except when he’s ended up having to kill or be killed to back up his stance,’ Faro joked morbidly. ‘That’s the single downside to Wyatt’s philosophy.’
Munson coughed his dismay. ‘That’s a very big downside, Faro.’
‘You wanted a little more excitement,’ Faro reminded him. ‘Here’s your chance.’
Gaskell was fuming, stomping about the room and cursing at the top of his lungs. ‘A state inspector?’ he howled. ‘Since when does the government care about a few miners?’
‘It’s probably due to using prisoners in our workforce,’ Parker said. ‘The five or six who have died were all listed as accidental deaths in the mines.’
‘Yes, I know,’ Gaskell snapped. ‘Can’t very well tell the truth that a couple were killed trying to escape, another man or two from the exhaustion of the hard work, and Decker and his men killed another two or three for getting out of line.’
‘We’re having one crisis after another, Ward. This is getting serious.’
‘Better have someone warn Janks.’
‘I told Drummer to talk to him about the inspection. Benny Janks knows about mining and safety. I’m sure he can deal with the inspector.’
‘How much do we trust him?’ Gaskell asked. ‘Janks has done some complaining in the past.’
Parker shrugged. ‘He knows the consequences of getting out of line. We pay him a good wage to run the mining crew.’
‘Tell him there will be a bonus for him if this goes away quietly,’ Gaskell said.
‘I’ll see to it, Ward.’ Then he frowned. ‘You think this might have something to do with Adams?’
Gaskell recalled the miner who had run off and tried to get help in Denver. Luckily, Ronnie had taken care of that little problem before charges could be made against anyone in Paradise.
‘He did stir things up, but it’s been several months. I think it’s more likely that Valeron reported what he’d seen while he was here.’
Parker wasn’t convinced. ‘The man spent more time in jail than he did snooping around. If not for the drink at the saloon, while waiting for Mackavoy to collect his kids and their belongings, he didn’t talk to hardly anyone.’
‘Yes, but Mackavoy’s two kids knew a lot about what was going on. They even witnessed a beating or two.’
‘What can they do?’ the judge asked. ‘Those kids are too young to testify in court, and Adams disappeared before he could do much more than throw around a few accusations. The law probably thinks he made up the story as a way to get out of fulfilling his contract.’
Gaskell thought over Parker’s theory. It fit the circumstances, and no one of authority had come nosing around about Adams. Of course, that was before a Valeron got involved in their operation.
‘Those blasted Valerons! A bunch of interfering, philanthropic snoops seeking sainthood! I wish we’d have strung up Wyatt Valeron before any of his family’s powerful friends had a chance to react.’
‘Too late for that now, Ward. Besides which, this might have nothing to do with them.’
‘I suppose you’re right. Nothing we can do at the moment but wait and see. Tell the others to keep their eyes open. Also make a point of telling Drummer that he and his men need to check every stranger who turns up. Find out what they want and why they’re here. Until this blows over, we don’t want any surprises.’
Chapter Six
Reese listened to Cliff’s story about Mikki’s odd reaction during the moving of a small herd of cattle.
‘I don’t care for the idea of you trying to woo Nessy’s new nanny,’ Reese said. ‘There is such a thing as proper behavior between a man and his hired help.’
Cliff shook his head. ‘No, it ain’t like before, Reese. I wasn’t trying to . . . to court her exactly. Besides, I . . . well, she’s different from all of the other girls I’ve met. I see her as something special.’
‘She’s still your employee and seems pretty young.’
‘Reese,’ Cliff sighed, ‘I’ve always been a total scoundrel when it comes to women – ever since I kissed my first girl. But this time it feels completely different. I don’t want a one-night good time with this girl. Mikki strikes me as too good for that sort of thing.’
Reese frowned in thought. ‘Come to think on it, you haven’t done much skirt chasing since Nessy entered your life.’
‘Entered?’ He laughed. ‘Dad-gum, she plum took it over! She’s been my all-consuming concern since the court granted me custody of her.’ He clicked his tongue. ‘And that wouldn’t have happened without Locke and Wanetta backing my petition. No judge would have given that sweet little girl to a guy like me . . . not with my history with women.’
‘Tell me what you want from me.’
‘Reese, you married Marie after she had been an Indian captive. I know the poor gal served as a wife to Big Nose, that small-time Indian chief over in Canada. Considering all of the obstacles she and you had to overcome, I figured you would be the one man to advise me about my situation.’
‘Be careful, boy,’ Reese warned. ‘I’m beginning to think you might actually have true feelings for this nanny of yours.’
Cliff heaved another deep sigh. ‘She’s all I can think about, night and day, without rest, even when I’m trying to concentrate on something else. I’ve never been affected like this before, not by any girl or woman I ever met.’
‘And her words were that you didn’t know the truth about her?’
‘Yeah,’ Cliff replied. ‘I mean, how bad could a girl’s history be when she’s never been out on her own and isn’t yet eighteen?’
Reese studied Cliff for a time. The man had never been sincere when it came to women. He was a skirt-chasing tomcat, without morals or conscience. But he appeared completely honest and truthful at the moment. He actually seemed as lost as Reese had always felt around the opposite sex. It was the reason he and Marie were so well suited – her suffering from feelings of disgrace, and him drowning in feelings of awkwardness and uncertainty. Their relationship was like a gift from the Lord, Him bringing the two of them together like two lost yet matching bookends.
‘Marie is supposed to get together with Mom to plan Wendy’s birthday gathering that’s coming up.’ He grunted. ‘Liable to be Wendy and July’s announcement of their engagement too.’ He went on. ‘I’ll ask her if she will speak to Mikki. Might be that a woman who had to overcome one of the most horrific existences a person can imagine would be able to get a troubled girl to confide in her.’
‘That would be . . .’
Reese raised his hand to stop him from continuing. ‘However,’ he said gravely, ‘if she tells Marie something in strict confidence,
it will be up to Marie as to how much we can tell you. This isn’t a mission to spy on the nanny.’
‘I understand,’ Cliff said. ‘All I want is to know how I can make the situation better, and I can’t do that until I know what her problem is.’
‘All right, I’ll do what I can, but this is all up to Marie. We’ve both been trying to put her past behind her. Her speaking of her own terrible memories – well, I hate to think of how many nightmares it will cause. She’s barely sleeping through the night now.’
‘I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t have such strong feelings about this girl.’
Reese bobbed his head. ‘One thing. . . .’ Once he had Cliff’s undivided attention, he said: ‘If you hurt this young lady, I’ll make sure Jared hears about it.’
Cliff swallowed hard. ‘Yeah . . . OK.’
‘You know what he’ll do to you?’
Cliff managed to nod. ‘He’ll kill me.’
‘Only if he takes pity on you,’ Reese said. Then he grinned. ‘So long as you’re clear on the possible consequences, do you still want me to have Marie talk to the nanny?’
Straightening himself more erect in the saddle, Cliff nodded a second time. ‘Yes, I do, Reese. I promise you, I won’t do this girl dirt.’
‘Congratulations, cousin!’ Reese laughed. ‘I think the love bug has bitten you big time.’
Jared met Brett when he arrived by train. The two of them shook hands and then got together with Sergeant Fielding for a meal. After Brett explained all he’d done concerning the ship captain and the contracted laborers, they filled him in about Faro and the undercover policeman.
‘I have to tell you,’ Brett said, as the meal progressed. ‘I never had so many people thanking me and claiming they would keep me in their prayers. It was like being a Christmas spirit and bringing joy and happiness to every one of them.’
‘I’ll bet,’ Fielding said. ‘You gave them back five years of their lives.’
Brett chuckled. ‘More than that, Bryles and me staked them each to the thirty-eight dollars the captain was to receive in payment for them. As nothing could really be proved against the captain, other than promoting questionable contracts, we figured it was a satisfactory fine. Take him a good many months to earn back the money he lost.’
‘Are you going home for a visit, or sticking around until Faro and Munson report on their findings?’
‘I’ve got to get back, Jer. This has been the longest job of my life, being away from Desiree, the baby, and home. The last time I helped out it was only a few days. With all of this travel . . .’
Jared stopped his explanation. ‘We are in complete agreement with you, Brett. You catch the next train to Cheyenne. Wyatt is standing by at the ranch. He can bring whatever help we might need.’
‘With my department being involved, our people will probably handle most of this,’ Fielding spoke up. ‘I mean we do occasionally function on our own without Valeron help or influence.’
The three of them laughed.
The man who stormed into the sheriff’s office was unknown to Desiree. The part-time deputy was asleep, having been called out during the night to settle a fight at the saloon. Leaving the baby with Wendy and July, Desiree occasionally filled in for Brett when needed. She felt perfectly safe in the town of Valeron, but she had also worked for the Pinkerton agency. It prompted her to maintain a certain caution when confronted by anyone she didn’t know. She slipped her small Remington Double Derringer from the desk drawer and placed it onto her lap, keeping it hidden from the stranger. Remaining seated, she studied the imposing, angry looking brute that marched up to her desk.
‘Can I help you with something?’ she asked him politely.
He was a large, hirsute man, with thick hair showing from his knuckles to where his rolled-up cotton shirt hid his upper arms, and the same coarse black hair was visible from his open collar right up to his trim beard. Dressed in an expensive suit and polished shoes, he looked to be a businessman of sorts. Despite his bulky frame, he had a hawkish face, with a pointed chin and beaked nose that nearly reached his upper lip. He squinted his frigid black eyes from the darker interior of being inside a building and quickly scanned the room.
‘Where’s the sheriff?’
It was more a demand than a question, but Desiree remained civil. ‘My husband is due back today or tomorrow; I’m watching the office at the moment.’
‘I’ve come to see Nessy Mason,’ he announced in an equally demanding voice.
Desiree did not hide her shock. ‘Nessy?’
He pulled out a copy of the Denver newspaper. ‘This here story about her hiring a nanny,’ he growled. ‘I’m durn-near certain the nanny mentioned belongs to me.’
Desiree immediately regretted the follow-up story that had appeared about how the eight-year-old had placed an ad in the local paper and hired herself a nanny. Somehow, it had made its way into the Denver paper… no doubt, a human interest story.
‘Who, may I ask, are you?’
He scowled at her. ‘I’m the one doing the asking here. My house girl ran off and I aim to get her back!’
‘Are you wanting the sheriff to look into your claim?’
With a menacing step forward, he thrust out his jaw and sneered: ‘I can find her on my own! Just tell me where this Nessy Mason lives.’
Unmoved by his belligerence, Desiree responded with a calm demeanor. ‘Before I provide you with any information, first tell me your name and how this nanny person might belong to you.’
Aggressively, he bent at the waist and banged both fists down on the desktop. ‘I don’t have to tell you nothing, woman! Answer the damn question!’
Desiree snapped the gun up and aligned it right between his eyes. He jerked upright, the rage immediately transformed into shock.
‘Now, now,’ she warned him in a very calm, yet icy tone of voice. ‘You don’t want to threaten a lawman’s wife. That would leave you either dead on the floor or sitting behind bars until my husband returns . . . at which time, he would beat you until you didn’t know your own name!’
Slowly, the man lifted his hands and stepped away from the desk. ‘I reckon I lost my temper, ma’am,’ he said without the slightest hostility. ‘This girl is real important to me. I’ve been worried sick that something bad might have happened to her.’
‘She ran away from you,’ Desiree voiced her own opinion. ‘That suggests she doesn’t wish to belong to you.’
The man swallowed his bile and took on a more sincere appeal. ‘We had a bit of a fight – more of a misunderstanding really – and she run off.’
‘Perhaps if you were to allow your… house girl,’ she added meaningfully, ‘a few days to come to her senses?’
‘It’s been a few days already,’ he countered. ‘I admit I’ve a bit of a temper, but I intend to make her my wife. I want her back.’
‘She seemed quite young.’
‘Fifteen,’ he said, ‘though I think she’s been lying about her age since I took her in.’
‘And you’re what . . . thirty-something?’
He was immediately rankled. ‘Like I said, the girl’s gonna be my wife. If I have to get a judge to back up my claim, I can do it.’
Desiree leaned back in her chair, still holding the gun on him. ‘What is your name?’
‘Elmer Baddon.’
‘Well, Mr Baddon, I am not going to tell you where to find this nanny. Unless you can produce a court order, you will have to wait until my husband returns. He will deal with your claim and take you to her if he so decides.’
‘Why’n hell . . .’ he corrected the profanity. ‘I mean why should I have to sit around and wait for your husband? All I want is to talk to the runaway!’
‘I’ve given you the choices available, Mr Baddon: court order, or wait for my husband. I received a wire this morning saying he was on his way home. That should be sometime tomorrow.’
‘Never mind,’ he said gruffly. ‘I’ll take care of this on my own.’
‘Mr Baddon,’ she warned him. ‘If you threaten anyone in town while trying to locate the nanny, I will lock you up.’
He snorted his disdain. ‘You and who else?’
She displayed a placid smile. ‘We have a deputy available. Plus, my married name is Valeron. I’m sure you noticed this town is named after my husband’s family. It would take but a single word or wave of my hand, and twenty armed men will be standing by, ready to do my bidding. Do you really want to get on my bad side?’
If the man had had false teeth, he might have swallowed them. ‘No,’ he muttered apologetically. ‘No, Mrs Valeron. I’ll be back with a court order.’
‘Fine,’ she said. ‘See you then.’
Faro and Munson began their mine inspection when the morning shift arrived. The general foreman, Benny Janks, took them on a tour. He was knowledgeable and drew a good wage. As for the quality of miners, he explained how only a few experienced men had actually been hired. Many of them were working off prison sentences, while the majority were contracted immigrant laborers. The difference between the class of workers was obvious. Faro spoke to and selected one or two men from each group and made an appointment to speak to them. Janks was worried that Gaskell would not be happy about it, but Faro insisted it was all part of the inspection process.
Once they were back at the surface, Munson handed the list of names to Janks.
‘These are the men and times for their short interviews,’ Faro informed him. ‘Have each of those men over at our hotel room at the appointed hour.’
‘Going to mess with my schedule all day,’ Janks complained. ‘I don’t agree with some of the rules here, but I am well paid to get the desired results.’
‘Meaning what?’ Faro asked.
‘We have a certain number of ore cars that must be filled each week,’ Janks outlined. ‘If it takes working sixteen hours a day, seven days a week, that’s what we do to meet the quota. I’ll tell you one thing, I don’t never not make the quota.’
‘Sounds like a slavery operation,’ Faro suggested.
Valerons--Beyond the Law! Page 7
