Land Sharks

by S. L. Stoner

  LAND SHARKS

  LAND SHARKS

  A Sage Adair Historical Mystery of the Pacific Northwest

  S. L. Stoner

  Yamhill Press

  P.O. Box 42348

  Portland, OR 97242

  Land Sharks - Smashwords Edition

  A Yamhill Press Book

  All rights reserved

  Copyright © 2011 by S. L. Stoner

  Cover Design by Alec Icky Dunn/Blackoutprint.com

  Interior Design by Josh MacPhee/Justseeds.org

  Printed in the United States. This book may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by any means, without permission. For information: Yamhill Press at yamhillpress@gmail.com

  Edition ISBNs

  ISBN 13: 978-0-9823184-4-7 (softcover)

  ISBN 10: 0-9823184-4-8 (softcover)

  ISBN 13: 978-0-9823184-5-4 (ebook)

  ISBN 10: 0-9823184-5-6 (ebook)

  Publisher’s Cataloging in Publication

  Stoner, S.L., 1949 –

  Land Sharks: A Sage Adair Historical Mystery of the Pacific NW/S.L. Stoner.

  p.cm. – (A Sage Adair historical mystery)

  1. Northwest, Pacific–History–20th century–Fiction. 2. Shanghai - ing–History–20th Century– Fiction. 3. Labor unions–Fiction. 4. Detective and mystery stories. 5. Martial arts–Fiction. 6. Historical fiction. 7. Adventure fiction. I. Title II. Series: Sage Adair historical mystery.

  12 11 10 09 08 07 06 05 04 03 02

  PS3619.T6857L362011 813’.6 QB110-600115

  This Book is Dedicated to

  Chad Michael Mather

  (April 2, 1970 – May 13, 2010)

  A kind, generous, thoughtful, and funny champion of working people who will be sorely missed.

  ONE

  August 15, 1902, The Columbia River opposite Astoria, Oregon

  SPLINTERS JABBED INTO HIS cheek so he rolled onto his back. Much better. His matted hair cushioned his head. Movement. Why were the wood planks shifting? They’d not done that before.

  He opened his eyes. For the first time, there was dim light. It showed beneath that door at the end of his feet. As he twisted his head sideways, the too familiar swoop of nausea forced his eyes shut–but not before he saw tiers of planked bunks attached to walls that angled inward. When he cautiously opened his eyes again, he saw men lying on the bunks, a few of them groaning, others as still as death.

  When he turned his head the other direction, he saw a metal crossbeam less than a foot above his face. Beneath him, the planks vibrated and bucked as if skittering atop an uneven surface. The air reeked of unwashed men and burning coal, same as when they’d crowded around the plant’s furnace to warm their hands last winter. A jolt of realization hit him, stiffening his body. A ship. He was below deck on a coal-burning ship.

  He slid off the bunk, his hand jabbing into an unconscious body as he fell to the deck. He struggled upright, pain knifing through his bare, swollen feet. His fumbling hand found, then turned, a cold metal knob. When he pulled the door open, he stood at the head of a narrow passageway lit by a string of dim electric bulbs. Still, it was more light than he’d seen for days.

  He lifted one foot across the threshold, then the other. His shoulders twitched, anticipating a clawing hand reaching to jerk him backward into the darkness. Nothing happened. So he staggered forward, the pain in his feet, the residue of drugs, the roll of the deck and weakness combined to spin his body first against the left wall and then the right.

  At the passageway’s end, yet another door opened at his touch. The air that hit his face was cold and so clean it smelled like snow. Clutching the door frame, he breathed its sweetness in through his mouth because dust still clogged his nose.

  He stepped out onto the jittering deck, its metal surface cool under his aching feet. One step from the door he froze at the sight of two men coiling a heavy rope onto the deck, their dark figures nearly invisible against the moonless night. Terror swept the confusion from his mind sending his eyes frantically searching for a hiding place. A few steps away a small boat hung next to the railing. A lifeboat. He hobbled around it, squeezing his body between it and a waist-high railing. He held his breath, listening. There was no cry of alarm, no feet running toward him.

  His back braced against the lifeboat, he took stock of his surroundings. Ropes swooped overhead like giant spider webs. Rigging and the coal smell meant he was on a steam sailing ship. He looked across the railing and water towards a dark mass that stood silhouetted against the star-studded sky. There faint points of light flickered. Kerosene lamps. Homes. Land.

  Leaning out over the railing, his eyes searched ahead of the ship. Farther along the shoreline, lights were clustered, some of them the brighter electric lights. A town. Beyond the town the black ridge of land sloped down until it flattened into nothing. Leaning further out over the water, he saw the faintest band of silver tracing the length of the horizon–day’s last light sinking beyond the ocean’s rim.

  “Noooo . . . ” The wail was soft, too low to reach the ears of the men coiling the rope. He collapsed against the lifeboat, his face lifted upward, his tears cold on his face in the breeze that blew from the west. There was no time to waste. Stepping to the rail, he stared down at the rolling swells of ink-black water against the ship’s hull.

  Climbing over the low railing, he felt the rushing air lift his matted hair. There he stood, hands clutching the solid metal rail, holding on until the ship drew abreast of the town lights. Gulping air, he used his aching feet to launch off and away from the ship.

  “Grace.” He breathed her name as a prayer as he plunged toward the water.

  The ship rode low, so the fall was shorter than he’d expected. Too soon he hit water so cold that he gasped and swallowed. Coughing and sputtering he broke the surface to see the lethal black hull close, too close. He flailed away toward the shore. After a moment of breathless panic he saw that he’d cleared the danger. He’d made it. Escaped.

  Downriver, the ship’s wake was a pale white froth. Treading water, he watched for a moment before he realized he was shivering. He twisted in the water until he faced the twinkling lights on the dark shore. They seemed farther off, probably because he was no longer high up on the ship’s deck. He started stroking toward the distant lights. At least his feet no longer burned from the infection. They were so cold he couldn’t feel them. If the water weren’t so icy, this swim might feel good. He’d always liked to swim. Back home, the water was brown and bathtub warm. Nothing like this.

  Time had seemed endless when he’d been so thirsty. They’d sometimes begged for a sip of the foul tasting water even though they knew it would send them back into the world of nightmares. Now, water surrounded him. His tongue lapped at it. Sweet, yet cold, so cold. Lifting his head, he again sighted on the shore lights. They weren’t any brighter or bigger. How could that be?

  His teeth began to chatter so hard that he was afraid they’d crack. God, his arms felt heavy. He relaxed, let his mind drift with his body. Grace liked to slide her hands down his arms, smiling, half admiration, half tease–her hands featherlike, her face moving closer.

  Was the water warmer? Had he reached the shallows? That made sense. The sun warmed shallow water during the day, and now he was floating in that warmer water. Yes, it was definitely warmer, just like the water in their Saturday-night hip bath, Grace so beautiful, glistening water drops on satin skin. How she blushed rosy whenever she caught him staring.

  He lifted his head. The shore lights remained tiny pinpoints. His arms ached, his legs moved like logs too heavy to lift. And he was so sleepy. Now that the water was warmer, maybe he could float on his back, rest a bit. No hurry, now that he was free.

  He rolled in the water until he faced the sky. He’d always
liked to float staring into the deep blue prairie sky. Still, he’d never lain back just to look at the stars. Look Grace, that group over there is the Big Dipper. And that low red one? That’s Mars, I think. Never seen the stars this bright. Could almost read by them, couldn’t we, Grace? Some folks claim the stars are suns, so maybe that’s why they’re so bright. Watch me reach my hand up and touch one of them. Funny, my arm is so weak it doesn’t want to move–maybe because they hardly ever fed us. No matter.

  Grace. Sometimes, I say your name softly, just to myself. I’ve never told you that. I should have. I can picture your face, bright just like a candle. Oh, how it’s going to light up when I walk in the door. I’m so tired. I’ll just sleep a bit in the warmth of all these suns. After that, I’ll come home. I promise.

  TWO

  August 16, 1902, Portland, Oregon

  LIKE DRAGGING A ROTTEN FISH across a bear trail. Sage smiled, watching as the Chinaman, two woven shoulder baskets draped across his hunched back, shuffled past the drunks leaning against the Tex saloon’s front wall. “Hey there ‘Mister Pig-tail,’ you scurrying back to the hive? It’ll be dark soon,” one of them shouted.

  The derisive whoops and hollers heaped upon the passing Chinese man were no surprise. It was a common enough occurrence on Portland’s streets. Especially outside saloons in the North End. The Tex, in particular, attracted disreputable layabouts, men who lacked anything better to do with their time. Despite the drunks’ noisy attention, the Chinese man kept his face averted, well-shadowed beneath the wide brim of his conical straw hat. What he couldn’t conceal, however, was the wide band of gold encircling each wrist. As he reached up to adjust the yoke, his loose cotton sleeves dropped to his elbows, exposing his wealth to the sunlight. The sight quelled the rowdiness and hissed speculation took over.

  One of the lounging men, who’d remained separate from the others and their antics, straightened to his full height of at least six four. Probably tipped the scales at two hundred and seventy pounds, Sage estimated. Not fat, though. Nothing in his physique suggested that. He looked like a man fond of spending his idle hours heaving boulders. The man snarled at the others. They stepped away from him, their merriment disappearing quick as water down a drain. With a laugh and dismissive wave of his huge hand, he strode off in the direction taken by the Chinese man. Murmuring broke out among the wastrels, a few shaking their heads in disgust, some sending hostile looks at the departing man’s back before turning away. Sage chose to assign a positive interpretation to their general reaction. While they might think it fine sport to verbally abuse a Chinaman, anything worse was more than they could stomach.

  From the other side of the street, Sage tracked the giant’s progress, turning aside to peer into dusty shop windows whenever he thought the big man might look behind. There was no need to bother. The man appeared oblivious to everything except the progress of his prey.

  Half a block ahead, the Chinese man slipped into a dark alley. The big man sped up by lengthening his stride. The man was so intent that he failed to notice Sage crossing the street and quickening his pace in an effort to catch up. Seconds later, the big man also disappeared into the alley’s dark mouth.

  When he reached the opening, Sage saw that there’d been no need to hurry. Fong was already in his fighting stance, the yoked baskets and straw hat tossed to one side. The lack of fear and readiness of the much smaller man seemed to give the big man pause. He hesitated. Then laughed, with all the contempt of a man twice the size of his victim.

  Sage shook his head and pulled a bandana from his pocket. Tying it across the lower part of his face, he made sure it fit snug. Although many a man roaming Portland’s North End streets sported a droopy mustache, there was no point in risking future recognition.

  In front of him, the brute spread his arms and waded forward, looking as if he intended to sweep the smaller man into a crushing bear hug. That was a mistake.

  With an audible snap, the slipper-clad foot flashed out, connecting with the big man’s midriff hard, knocking a resounding “oomph” out of him. That first blow was followed by a tornado of feet, legs, hands and maybe even a forehead slamming into the man’s chin. Sage wasn’t too sure about the forehead, it happened so fast. Fong’s final whirlwind blows, whether from fist, feet or other body parts, had left the big man lying on the ground, curled around his middle like a pill bug.

  Sage stepped forward and leaned down close to the big man’s ear. “My friend there can kill you with a single kick. Do you believe me?”

  A whimper was his answer.

  Sage kept his voice low and spoke slowly, “Listen carefully, Budnick. You have jackrolled your last old man in this town. I don’t know what manure pile you climbed out of, but you be aboard the southbound train that leaves in exactly one hour. Otherwise, my friend and I will shove you under the nearest rock with more broken bones than you gave those old men you like to hurt. You hear me?”

  The big man groaned. Sage nudged his work boot into the man’s kidney. Budnick shrieked, “Okay, one hour. I’ll be on that train in one hour.”

  “See that you are. We’ll be watching.”

  One hour later, Sage lounged on a polished wooden bench in the middle of the Union Station’s cavernous waiting room. He was watching Budnick hobble across the platform and gingerly mount the metal steps onto the San Francisco bound train. A stuffed valise dangled from one hand while his other hand pressed against his ribs.

  Minutes later, Sage and Fong met up in the alder woods at the southern end of the rail yard. The departing train’s chuff and toot drifted back to them through the summer twilight. The train wouldn’t stop until it hit Salem, fifty miles south. It was a ride much more comfortable than the jackroller Budnick deserved. But, at least he was gone.

  “He go?” asked the Chinese man.

  “He gone,” Sage responded with a smile.

  “Where now?” Fong asked, smiling back.

  “Need to head on down to Nelly June’s boarding house. Oscar took Timmy O’Shea there after Budnick beat him up. We’ll tell them what happened. That way, Oscar will stay at home and take care of Timmy.”

  Timmy had received a bad beating from Budnick. Yet, he was a tough old buzzard, already on the way to recovery. It was Oscar’s reaction, more than Timmy’s beating, that had spurred them into action. The fire in the frail old man’s eyes left no doubt, Oscar intended to revenge the hurt dealt to his lifelong companion. The two geezers were a matched pair, North End regulars who’d regale anyone willing to listen with colorful stories of bygone days. It wasn’t just Timmy and Oscar. Budnick had stepped way beyond his welcome in Portland town. He’d left a trail of penniless and hurt old men in his wake, always careful to pick on those too enfeebled or small, to hurt him back. Sage and Fong agreed the time had come to step in and take care of Budnick once and for all.

  “Nothing more than a sniveling coward running around in a Goliath body,” Sage observed.

  Beside him, Fong said nothing. No doubt reliving and critiquing his fight with Budnick. Correction. His split second “trouncing” of Budnick. That had been a one-sided demonstration of incredible skill. No “fight” to it.

  “Hurt side of hand. Should hold it like this, instead of this,” Fong explained as he slightly altered the angle of his hand.

  Sage wasn’t certain he saw a difference. To him, Fong’s every move looked like flowing perfection. “Mr. Fong, I thought you were magnificent. I hope someday to have your skill at the ‘snake and crane’,” Sage said.

  “Time and much practice decide such things. You are young enough. Maybe can still happen,” the other man responded before asking, “After we visit Miss Nelly June’s and tell old men Budnick gone what we do next? Weed roof top flower garden?” Fong’s voice lacked enthusiasm. Sage wasn’t the only one getting bored with the inactivity.

  “Darned if I know.” They’d used up a few days tracking Budnick down and deciding how to bushwhack him. That accomplished, they were at loose ends once
again.“I keep wishing for a letter from St. Alban. Cleaning out the town’s jackrollers isn’t my idea of how to effect serious political change.” Sage’s voice was glum.

  “All action political,” Fong intoned. Sage couldn’t tell from his companion’s blank face whether Fong was serious or employing deliberate parody.

  The heavy dirt pressing down on his chest forced him to gasp for air. A fallen boulder trapped his arm. Even though he strained to see, it remained blacker than coal tar. Unable to move, he was going die here.

  “Sage, Sage, wake up, son!” Her urgent voice pierced the blackness. It wasn’t a boulder on his arm, it was his mother’s hand. Strong, firm, and alive. She was shaking him.

  He opened his eyes, looking up into her worried face that was lit by the sputtering candle she held in her other hand. She placed the candle on the bedside table, kissed his forehead and smoothed back his black hair with its shock of white at the temple. “That’s what happens when you and Fong lark about stirring up trouble,” she said, without a hint of compassion. She straightened and headed toward the door.

  “You’re just jealous,” he mumbled to her departing back.

  “Humph,” she responded as the door closed behind her.

  Two hours later, they sat eating in silence at the small alcove table Sage kept in his third floor room. He held his Sunday Daily Journal upright although his sleepy thoughts meandered, like the dust motes in the breeze that poured through the alcove’s open window. Aside from those flitting bits of dust, his combination bedsitting room, with its red Turkish carpet, four-poster bed, walnut bureau, beveled mirror armoire, two easy chairs and lace curtains, was immaculate and even–here, his conscience twinged–luxurious. Still, if any stranger glanced into the room, nothing here would belie Sage’s public persona of wealthy and attractively shallow restaurant owner. Unless they looked under the bed.