by A. T. Butler
“You know, Jacob . . .” She placed her hand lightly against his arm again. “The sheriff told me to make sure you’re well taken care of. You sure I can’t offer you some company? Doesn’t have to be mine. I’ve got a real nice selection of girls for you to choose from.”
He put his big hand over her delicate one. He liked the feel of her warm touch on his arm, but not enough to take advantage of her. “No, ma’am. I appreciate the offer. I’m sure your . . . selection is mighty fine. But I didn’t come to Jasper to enjoy myself. It wouldn’t be right if I was too tired tomorrow to assist the marshal.”
“Why did y’all come to Jasper?” she asked after a beat. She withdrew her hand and made herself comfortable in the only chair in the room, apparently not offended by his gentle rejection of her offers.
Jacob hesitated. It didn’t seem proper to sit on the bed with a lady in the room, but neither did it seem proper to stand over her. He compromised by perching himself uncomfortably on the footboard, praying it would hold under his weight.
“I’m not sure how much I’m allowed to say, ma’am.”
“Abby.”
“Abby. I’m not really a deputy. This is just a temporary assignment, so I’m not too sure what the rules are.”
“I see.”
“But, I will say that Marshal Santos and me came down here because your sheriff asked for our help capturing an outlaw.”
Her expression hardened. For a fleeting moment, Jacob wondered if he had offended her somehow. And then, through clenched teeth, she said, “You wouldn’t be here after Floyd Daly, would you?”
Chapter Four
Jacob gaped at the woman. “How did you— That is, I’m not supposed to say, but why do you ask about Floyd Daly?”
“Oh!” Abby looked furious. “That man is rotten to the core. He should have been brought to justice long before now. I keep telling the sheriff, but that man couldn’t teach a hen to cluck. Nice enough, but nice don’t cut it when we’re dealing with a monster like Daly. I tell you what, Mr. Payne—if it is Floyd Daly you come down here to capture, I’ll help you in any way I can. And if it’s someone else, might I suggest you also look into Daly before you leave town?”
Jacob chuckled. “I might as well tell you it is Daly. I don’t think the marshal would like me to be starting up a list of folk that Alway should be taking care of on his own.”
“But he hasn’t been. Don’t you see?” She leaned forward excitedly. “Daly may have already been a wanted man when he arrived in Jasper, but that hasn’t stopped him from his despicable behavior here. He’s been stealing and cheating nearly every person in this town, and Sheriff should have locked him up long ago.”
“Why hasn’t he?”
“Scared.” She leaned back again. “Mr. Farnsworth at the mine has taken quite a shine to Daly, and Sheriff is petrified of upsetting him. The Rockville Mining Company owns this town—or most of it. Enough that Sheriff probably thinks pleasing Mr. Farnsworth is the way to get reelected.”
“It’s not?”
Abby shook her head. “I’m not sure, but I don’t think so. There are enough business owners besides Farnsworth who want the law working the way it should that any vote would be close.”
“Even if there’s not, that’s no reason for the sheriff to not arrest the criminal. How does Daly keep getting away with it?”
“Too many people in this town work for the mine and want to keep Mr. Farnsworth happy. I don’t know why he likes Daly so much, anyway. Any criminal like that is just waiting for a chance to take in another victim. It’s just a matter of time before he cheats the mining company the same way he’s cheated everyone else in this town.”
“I don’t doubt you’re right.”
“If you really can bring in Daly and stop him from taking advantage of every breathin’ man, woman, and child, you’ll be doing the town of Jasper an enormous service. We all deserve justice same as any other town. And Sheriff Alway will be reminded of that come the next election.”
A knock on Jacob’s open door startled them.
“You want to head down for supper?” Santos asked. “Everything okay here? Mrs. Courtland, is my deputy bothering you?”
“Oh no, not at all.” She stood and exited into the hallway. “I was just filling him in a little about Jasper and how grateful we are that you boys are here to help Sheriff Alway.”
Santos looked at Jacob questioningly.
“Let’s go eat. I’ll give you the details,” Payne muttered.
By the time they reached the saloon downstairs, Santos knew as much about what had been going on in Jasper as Jacob did. Abby found them a seat, then went to get their food.
Once she was out of earshot, Payne said, “I’m not sure an assault first thing tomorrow is the best plan, Marshal.”
Abby returned carrying two glasses of whiskey, followed just behind by a girl carrying three bowls of steaming stew.
“You don’t mind if I join you, do you, gentlemen?”
“Our pleasure, ma’am,” Jacob said as he stood to help Abby into her chair.
“Don’t let me interrupt,” Abby said as she sat.
Santos nodded. “What were you saying, Payne?”
“I think we should try talking to Mr. Farnsworth first, before we try anything forceful.”
“Talking?” Santos shook his head and took a bite of stew. “From what I hear, all that’s been done is talking.”
“That may be, but if what our host here says is true, I’m not sure we can trust Sheriff Alway’s version of events. Mrs. Courtland—”
“Abby.”
“—Abby. You say you know of more Jasper citizens who have been cheated by this Daly?”
She nodded vigorously. “I do. I can think of, oh, five or six right now. And I bet there’s more.”
“Does Mr. Farnsworth know about these other . . . indiscretions?”
Abby thought for a moment, staring into the space above Jacob’s shoulder before answering. “I don’t know. Could be he hasn’t. I don’t know anyone brave enough to tell him.”
“Not even you?” Jacob teased.
“Oh, you joke, Jacob Payne, but I would march over there right now in the pitch dark if I thought it would do any good.” Her dimples winked at him when she retorted.
“I do not doubt that at all. Won’t be necessary, though. Not yet.”
“What are you suggesting, Payne?” Santos said.
“From what we’ve been told, there’s been a lot of talk but maybe not by the right people. If Abby can get some of the other Jasper citizens to come with us, to establish a pattern of behavior, maybe Mr. Farnsworth will see that it’s in his best interest to turn over Daly to the law now, before he gets swindled himself.”
Jacob took a bite of his stew and let Santos think over his proposal without pushing any further. He didn’t know if his plan would work. Probably not, actually. But he hated the idea of bringing violence to the mine, of disturbing the other men’s place of work—especially if it could be avoided. There would be time for that if that’s what it came to, but maybe they could win over Mr. Farnsworth first.
“All right, Payne. We’ll try it your way first. It can’t hurt. Abby, can you gather a few of your friends, like you were saying? Meet us here right after breakfast?”
“I’ll write them all notes tonight and send them with a couple of my girls. I assure you, gentlemen, Jasper is full of folk who want to see Floyd Daly brought to justice.”
“I’m glad to hear it,” Santos said, and Payne nodded in agreement. “Tomorrow we’ll figure out how to deliver that justice.”
Chapter Five
The next morning, after breakfast, Jacob and Santos walked out of Abby’s hotel to find her speaking to a cluster of three men and another woman on the boardwalk. Abby seemed to be in the middle of an animated explanation when they interrupted.
“This them?” Santos asked.
“Yes, sir,” Abby said, grandly gesturing. “Each of these fine citizens you s
ee before you has been cheated, robbed, or double-crossed by Floyd Daly.”
“And y’all are willing to testify to that?”
They all nodded.
“Yes, sir,” the older man said. “I been waiting for a chance to say my piece.”
“And you know that we’re going to go talk to Mr. Farnsworth of the Rockville Mining Company before we do anything else, don’t you?”
The older man frowned, and then looked back at Abby. “Well now, Abby, you didn’t say nothing about going to the mine first.”
“Well . . .” She fiddled with the ruffle at the end of her sleeve. “I didn’t exactly know that’s what would be asked of them.”
“Hmm,” Santos said, frowning. “Gentlemen, ma’am. I appreciate you coming down here first thing this morning. I know you all must be very busy people. But if Mrs. Courtland here wasn’t clear, let me tell you that we are planning on taking your accusations to Mr. Farnsworth. We believe—we hope—that showing him that his treasured employee has demonstrated a pattern of untrustworthy behavior will help us capture Daly without too much interruption or bloodshed.”
“Oh no, I couldn’t,” the woman said in a whisper. “My Bill is a foreman at the mine. I couldn’t—he could lose his job, and then what would we do?”
“I understand, Missus . . . ?”
“Mrs. Lennox.”
“Of course. Mrs. Lennox.” Santos took her hand in both of his. “We don’t want to ask you to take on any risk you’re not comfortable taking. Why don’t you head on home today? We’ll let you know if we need you to testify for a judge.”
“Oh, thank you,” she said, still in a whisper. She darted down the street before anyone could ask anything else of her.
“I’m not sure about this either,” the older man said.
Santos waved him away without another word and turned his attention to the two remaining men, one holding a bowler hat in his hand and wearing a neat, gray jacket, the other glaring at Jacob as though he were to blame for the fact that the man was awake so early.
“And you two?” Jacob asked them.
Bowler Hat offered his hand to both lawmen to shake. “I’m Arthur Devlin. I run the general store just up the ways there.” He indicated with his thumb, pointing up the street. “I’m not afraid of the mine officials. They need me to keep the wives happy with their ribbons and other doodads. Daly has run up a hell of a bill with me, and now he just laughs it off when I press him about it.”
“Thank you, Mr. Devlin. I appreciate you being willing to share your experience.” Jacob turned to the final man, eyebrows raised.
The glaring man spat in the dirt next to him. “Daly cheats at cards,” he declared.
Santos and Jacob exchanged a look. That news seemed unsurprising.
“I’m sorry to hear that, Mister—” Jacob began.
“Sorry, nothin’.” He spat again. “They call me Gentle Jack. I’m the only Gentle Jack in Jasper, and Daly’ll know. He knows. He bilked me out of all of last month’s pay. The man cheats.”
“So this was recent?” Jacob clarified.
Gentle Jack nodded. “This last time, yeah.”
“He’s done this before?”
“Course he has. ’Bout every few weeks or so I fancy a game. This last time was the worst, though.”
“All right,” Santos said, clapping a hand on both men’s shoulders. “If you two can gather your horses, my deputy and I will lead the way. We’ll be able to meet with Mr. Farnsworth and bring our concerns to his attention.”
“Think we should wait for the sheriff?” Jacob asked.
Santos frowned. “I doubt it. He’s probably at home right now coming up with his excuses to stay in.”
“Abby, will you be joining us?” Jacob asked.
“I sure will. Wilbur knows he’s in charge till I get back. I can’t wait to get my hands on Daly.”
Jacob laughed. “How about you leave that to us?”
“We’ll see,” she replied darkly.
The road to the mining office was wide and well traveled. What it lacked in shade it made up for in direct, level traveling path, much different from the winding, hilly road they had entered town on.
After about a half an hour’s ride, Gentle Jack pointed out a low building in the distance that looked like it was being held together with chicken wire. Jacob was pleased to see the mining official at least had no vanity or pretension in his place of business.
“That there is the offices of Rockville Mining Company,” Jack said.
“And Mr. Farnsworth should be there?” Santos asked.
“As far as I’ve heard, he never leaves,” Abby quipped.
Jacob didn’t join in the conversation, keeping his attention fixed on the office building and the workers milling around it. As they got closer, he noticed that while most of the workers were going in and out of the office or working on construction nearby, there was one shadowy figure that stood around the corner of the building seemingly doing nothing. Jacob suspected that man was watching him as closely as he himself was being watched.
Jacob unhooked his hammer loop. He sat up straighter in his saddle, letting his full height and breadth be seen. Not many men would tussle willingly with Jacob Payne.
Santos led the caravan of horses to the mining office, hitching his mount to the post outside. He moved to help Abby off hers, but she had already reached the ground and waved away his offered hand.
“Mr. Santos, the only thing I need help with will be keeping my temper.”
She smiled at him to show she was joking, but Jacob caught the look in her eye. He would try to stay between Abby and Daly if need be.
Jacob hung back, watching for signs of Daly as the others all filed into the office. The shadowy figure, a small man with a black, wide-brimmed hat pulled over his eyes, still lurked by the corner of the building. The bounty hunter wasn’t able to get a good look at him before he ducked back, but he had his suspicions. He didn’t like letting that man out of his sight, but Santos needed Jacob inside.
He opened the door and stepped into the cool, dark office.
Chapter Six
The Rockville Mining Company office at the Vernon Copper Mine in Jasper, Arizona, consisted of one single large room, divided in half by a partial wall, partitioning Mr. Farnsworth’s office from that of his secretary. Jacob hung back near the door to take it all in. The building had just the single door, with a window on either side. None of the other three walls offered any way in or out of the room—which could be good or bad, depending on the situation. Jacob eyed the secretary’s desk in front of him, trying to discern if it had any hidden compartments for weapons or other defensive mechanisms.
Mr. Farnsworth may trust Floyd Daly, but that didn’t mean Jacob shouldn’t be prepared for the day Daly might turn on him.
Santos had introduced himself and his party to the secretary, a serious young man who had already found a way to mention in conversation that he had attended Harvard University. Even though Mr. Farnsworth could clearly hear the entire conversation and was sitting only ten feet away, the secretary behaved as though his boss were in a high tower somewhere else.
“I’m afraid I can’t let you speak to Mr. Farnsworth without an appointment.”
Santos pulled out his U.S. Marshal badge. “I believe the law always has a standing appointment, young man.”
“Humphries, it’s fine,” Farnsworth grunted from the back of the room. “Send them back. I don’t want you to waste more time arguing about it.”
Humphries frowned and gestured for the group to cross into the older man’s office. Farnsworth stood behind his desk to greet them. He held his pocket watch in hand and glanced at it over and over in between watching the visitors enter.
“I’ll give you five minutes,” he said, still standing.
“I appreciate you taking the time, Mr. Farnsworth,” Santos began.
“Get on with it,” the mining official said.
“I understand you have a man in
your employment by the name of Floyd Daly.”
“This again?” Farnsworth plopped into his chair and put his feet on his desk. “I already told Sheriff Alway that he has the wrong man. Floyd Daly must be a very popular name. There’s no way my man is the thief and murderer Alway has described.”
“I think we can clear that up pretty easily, Mr. Farnsworth,” Jacob said. “As U.S. Marshal, Mr. Santos has the wanted poster asking for Floyd Daly’s arrest, which of course includes an illustration which might help clear up your confusion. I’m surprised Sheriff Alway didn’t show you his copy of it.”
“Oh, he tried to, at first. But I don’t believe it. Mr. Daly has increased production here by nearly three hundred percent.”
He paused to let that number sink in. Jacob didn’t want to think about what Daly had done or threatened to do in order to get that number.
“That may be, Mr. Farnsworth,” Jacob said. “But we have reason to believe your employee has a demonstrated pattern of behavior that indicates he will steal from the company or cheat you directly. We’d like to take him into custody before that happens—if it hasn’t already.”
“Oh, you say you’re looking out for me, do you? I don’t believe it. I don’t want to hear it.” Farnsworth looked up from his pocket watch and frowned at the crowd that had invaded his office. “I believe your five minutes is up.”
“Mr. Farnsworth.” Abby stepped out from the group of men and fluttered her eyelashes at the mining executive. Jacob noticed that she had banished all sounds of anger or frustration from her voice. “You must be a very smart man to have hired such a productive new employee. Especially seeing as he probably doesn’t even have mining experience.”
He eyed her warily. “Yes, I think so . . .”
“I am a business woman myself,” she said, placing a delicate hand to her bosom. “I try to make as smart of hires as I can, and I certainly am always careful to keep my best employees happy.”
“What kind of business do you run, miss?”
