‘I’ve got the money,’ Pegg said. ‘Of course, I’d have to find a good cook and housekeeper. I hate cooking or cleaning up after myself.’
‘You ought to find two housekeepers while you’re at it. Me and the boys could stand to have one of them around. It’s a long ride into town just to get an eatable meal.’
‘First, I’ll likely have to get one for my folks . . . leastwise if Ma don’t get past this ailment.’
‘You do owe the old man. You told me your pa showed you everything you know about running this business.’
‘When he started out, his work place was not much bigger than that shanty of yours,’ Pegg informed him. ‘Worked from daylight till dark six days every week, butchering beef, hogs, venison, and anything else the people brung in. I remember we plucked chickens, ducks and turkeys, along with dressing out rabbits, goats – you name it. I was sixteen by the time he had enough business to start up this place, an actual slaughterhouse.’
Mantee snorted. ‘My folks kicked me out when I was sixteen. It was either that or turn me over to the law.’ He shrugged. ‘I ran with a wild pack back then.’
Pegg grunted. ‘Then you decided to start a pack of your own.’
‘Near twenty years on my own and never spent more than a night in jail for drinking or brawling. Never held a real job in my life.’ He harrumphed. ‘Of course, trying to make that ranch look respectable has got me a handful of blisters and an aching back. When I joined up with you, I never wanted to settle down and actually work cattle!’
‘Soon as those pesky government people are done, we’ll butcher or sell the cattle on the ranch and you and me can both get back to business.’
‘That’s why I’m here early,’ Mantee told him. ‘Rocco followed the pair – the guy and girl who were doing the survey or whatever it was – and I wanted you to know what was going on.’
‘And?’ Pegg prompted him to continue.
‘They made a trip out to see your meat-cutter yesterday, then they went to the governor’s office. After that, they bought train tickets for tomorrow morning.’
‘Train tickets? Do you know where they are going?’
‘Heading back to Cheyenne. Guess that’s where they come from. Pitkin probably didn’t trust anyone local to gather the information. Could have figured they might have been bought off or something. Anyway, they are gone.’
‘Yes, but what . . .’
Pegg stopped speaking as a door closed down the hall. Before he could move over to look and see who it was, Don Larson entered his office. He stopped, seeing Mantee.
‘Oh,’ he excused his interruption. ‘I didn’t think you would have anyone here so early.’
‘What is it, Don?’
‘Just something I wanted to speak to you about. It can wait.’
‘Actually,’ Mantee broke in quickly. ‘I was on my way to town. I’ll stop back on my return trip and we can discuss when you might need some more beef.’
‘That’s fine,’ Pegg was agreeable, gesturing to Don. ‘Come inside and sit down.’
Don couldn’t help feeling nervous as he sat down on a wooden chair, but this was something he had to do. He waited until Pegg closed the door and took his place behind the desk. When the man folded his hands on the desktop, he began.
‘I don’t know if this is important or not, but I thought you ought to know.’
‘Go ahead,’ Pegg encouraged.
‘Well, a couple of people came to visit me at my house during my days off. They said they were from the governor’s office – showed me an official-looking paper.’
‘Yes, they stopped by here as well. It’s a survey that has something to do with future growth and new businesses coming to Denver.’
‘Told me the same thing,’ Don said. ‘But they began questioning me about cattle brands and if I had seen this one or that.’ He hurried to add, ‘Of course I told them I didn’t pay much attention to the holding pens around back. I enter by the side door and the rear of the building is for . . . well, for Everett to do his thing. I don’t mind cutting meat, but I’ve never been able to stand the smell out back.’
‘Yes, Ingram claims to have lost his sense of smell during the war. I’m certain it helps him to deal with the rendering process.’
‘Anyway, they kept trying to pin me down to the number of beef for these past coupla weeks. I told them we’d been busy, but I didn’t have any way to keep count. I filled the orders you gave me and that was it.’
‘That’s fine,’ his boss assured him. ‘Telling the truth is always best.’
‘The two let something else slip, something I thought you might want to know.’
‘And what’s that?’
Don leaned forward as if uncomfortable and kept his voice down. ‘They said they had talked to a couple range detectives, two guys who were trying to track down some cattle rustlers. They warned me that those investigators might show up here.’
Pegg’s eyes grew a bit colder but he waved a hand to dismiss the story. ‘If they do, there’s nothing to find. We have a record of all of the cattle sold and processed here. They will be wasting their time.’
Don relaxed in the chair. ‘Whew! I’m glad to get that out of the way. I know we deal with the Big M ranch for a good many of our beef, and Everett once told me those guys do a lot of buying and selling. I was afraid some of those cattle might not have the proper brands or paperwork.’
‘No, every beef we take in has the brand recorded. I verify every purchase personally.’
Don rose to his feet. ‘Good enough. I just thought you ought to know.’
‘And I thank you for coming forward. I’ll make sure all of my paperwork is in order, so it will be ready for inspection if those investigators show up.’
Don started for the door and stopped. ‘Oh, I wanted to thank you for the three days off and the twenty-five-dollar bonus. The wife spent most of it on the kids, but we had a nice three days.’
‘You earned every bit of it,’ Pegg replied. ‘I appreciate the hard work you do.’
Don went on out, heading for the change room to put on his work clothes and apron. It was a little early to start work, but he had done what he had come to do.
It was late when Mantee made the return trip and stopped at the slaughterhouse. He found a very anxious and pacing Singeon Pegg waiting for him.
‘The storm is heading our way,’ Pegg wasted no time telling him what was going on. ‘I got a tip this afternoon. There’s going to be a raid on this place tomorrow. Being Sunday, those two range detectives are gonna come here and go through all of my files and records. They intend to get some kind of order from the governor or judge to check my bank account too.’
‘Damn!’ Mantee exclaimed, whirling about for the door. ‘We best pack our gear and git.’
Pegg shot out a hand and caught hold of his arm. ‘Hold it!’ he barked the order. ‘We aren’t gonna run from them two snoops.’
‘But they will put us all behind bars!’
Pegg snorted his disdain. ‘We are not going anywhere!’ Then swearing vehemently, he vowed, ‘But those two interfering Valerons are. In fact, they are going to disappear from the face of the earth.’
‘How?’ Mantee cried, his brow suddenly beaded with the sweat of fear. ‘Tell me how!’
‘First, are Kidd and his pals still out at your place?’
‘I done like you said – they ain’t showed their faces in Denver.’
Pegg walked over and sat down behind his desk. As Mantee was no longer ready to bolt from the room, he took a chair and waited for the boss to sort out his plan. Pegg mulled a few ideas over before he finally began to speak.
‘Who is the most intimidating and ruthless man working for us?’
‘Intim . . . a what?’
‘The meanest-looking critter on the payroll. Preferably not real well recognized around these parts.’
‘Was I walking down a dark alleyway at night, that there Victor is a man I wouldn’t want to meet. He look
s like he’d eat a live snake and give the snake first bite.’
‘Victor? One of Kidd’s men?’
‘Dixon brought along him and a Frenchman name Ponce. They both have been dodging posses and wanted posters for the past few years. They latched onto Kidd when he got out of prison, ’cause Dix don’t usually get caught.’
‘I want Victor to throw a scare into someone, while we are dealing with the Valerons.’
‘Right.’
‘As for the rest of you, I’ve thought up a way to get rid of those two and put us in the clear. When we finish with the Valerons, there won’t be a shred of evidence against us . . . and not a trace that those two ever existed.’
‘Tell me what you want and I’ll get it done.’
Pegg gave a bob of his head, satisfied that this was the only way. He had never involved himself in murder, but this was his life. He had worked and slaved for years, finally to reach a degree of success. A couple of nosy cowboys weren’t going to ruin everything now.
Sunday morning arrived, along with the train going north. It had one more stop before crossing the empty expanse between Denver and Cheyenne. July and Wendy were certain they had been seen, so they were doing their part of the plan by leaving.
‘Are you ready to return to the boring daily grind of punching cattle?’ Wendy asked, after a few minutes of travel.
‘It’s interesting work, but I liked using my head and helping with adding up those figures and such. I always was good at doing my numbers. When it came to mining, T L let me handle all of the deciphering the worth of our ore from each ton we mined and everything to do with money or figures.’
‘Martin has taught me enough to assume the bookkeeping and accounting for some of the businesses in Valeron. His work load is simply too much, so I’m going to help.’
‘Sounds like a good job. You sure seem to know your bookkeeping and such.’
Wendy enjoyed the way July never questioned her ability or statements. A good many men would have guffawed at the thought of a woman managing the accounting end of one or more businesses on her own. But he accepted she could do whatever she claimed and was actually supportive.
‘With so much work – the handling of three or four of our stores – I would likely need to hire a bookkeeper to help.’ She took a deep breath, summoning her courage. ‘Would you be interested in that kind of work?’
‘You mean, sitting in a warm office in the cold of winter, making entries in a journal or ledger, then tallying the numbers and checking totals against inventory and the like?’
‘That’s about it.’ She lifted a careless shoulder in a shrug. ‘Of course, you would not be out in the fresh air, riding a horse, tending cattle, branding, feeding, mending fences, pulling night watch during bad weather or the like. Perhaps you would miss it.’
His winsome grin brightened his face. ‘If the job allowed me to work alongside you, I’d help with the laundry or cooking chores.’
Wendy laughed. ‘You do know there would be actual work involved – bookkeeping is tedious and causes eyestrain and headaches.’
‘Moving a herd is a lot of dust, wind and sun too – hard on the whole body.’
‘After this adventure is behind us, I’ll speak to Father and Martin. I’ll let them know we are . . . um, compatible.’
‘Compatible,’ he repeated. ‘That sounds like a word I could take to heart.’
‘You know its meaning?’
‘Reckon I’ve heard it used enough to know it has more than one meaning. Might get a man like me to thinking he has a shot at courting the most sought-after gal in the country.’
Wendy felt a tingle race along her spine while her heart beat faster. ‘After saving Jared and Shane from being murdered in cold blood, you have earned the gratitude of me and my father. I’d say that gives you a big step up on courting.’
‘I sure wouldn’t want you allowing me the privilege just because of that . . . my being at the right place at the right time.’
‘Don’t sell yourself short,’ she replied. ‘You have a lot to offer a girl.’
‘I only have myself and all that I’ll ever have or be, Miss Wendy. But I’d sure enough give it all to you.’
Wendy didn’t have an answer to that. She knew it would take only the slightest encouragement and they would wind up in an embrace. Choosing to let the subject lie, rather than possibly ending up being kissed in public, she gave a slight nod of her head and looked out the window at the passing scenery.
‘I don’t know,’ July spoke up after a few tense moments. ‘This seems a good plan, but I’m a little worried about the Larson family.’
Wendy looked back at him with a perplexed expression. From a declaration of affection to mentioning a meat-cutter’s personal safety? She gulped her romantic reverie down like swallowing too big of a bite of food and squeaked out, ‘What are you talking about?’
‘Suppose Pegg gets to thinking about good old Honest Don Larson? What if he decides Larson is a risk? I mean, this crook is looking at a rope or a good many years in prison. If he thinks Larson might go to the law or testify in court against him . . .’
He didn’t have to finish the statement. Wendy leapt on board with his notion. ‘We didn’t allow any contingency for that.’
‘I don’t know that word, but I reckon you know what I’m talking about.’
Wendy sat up straight and looked out the window. ‘We’re almost to the last stop before the open country. Grab our things; we’re getting off the train!’
Jared and Shane discovered Officer Fielding was not available, having been dispatched to look into a farmer’s complaint about a wild animal killing their chickens. Sergeant McEnroe volunteered to help with their plan and had already spoken to the judge on their behalf. He was there to meet them at the livery after breakfast.
‘You think we might have trouble?’ Jared asked the lawman.
‘Shouldn’t be any problem,’ McEnroe replied. ‘Being Sunday, Pegg will only have his usual watchman at the slaughterhouse. He is a crippled ex-Union soldier that I’ve known for some time. He spends more time sleeping than patrolling the grounds. He won’t give us any trouble.’ He put a hand up to his uniform and patted the pocket. ‘Besides, I’ve got the order from the judge right here. It states we have the right to remove all of the pertinent records for evidence.’
‘I’m glad the judge took our word about what we suspected,’ Jared said.
‘Turns out, the governor just completed an audit of the local businesses – done by a couple of out-of-town accountants – and they mentioned there were some irregularities concerning Pegg’s bookkeeping. On paper the man has purchased just over a hundred cattle this year, yet his production and sales show enough beef to more than double that.’
‘An audit you say. Are you talking about July Colby?’ Jared displayed innocence. ‘He said his job was something concerning the governor.’
‘Yes. He and a young lady collected the data and wrote up a report. I was the one responsible for checking their findings and then forwarding the document to the governor’s desk.’
Shane chipped in, ‘And that’s what allowed you to get the warrant from the judge so we could confiscate Pegg’s records?’
‘Exactly.’
Shane followed his reply with another query. ‘Then once we prove Pegg has been butchering stolen cattle, you will arrest him?’
‘Him and anyone tied to the rustling ring,’ McEnroe assured them. ‘We looked into it and there have been six other men shot or injured during raids to steal cattle this past year. Two of them were killed, which makes three with the young fellow from the Barrett ranch. Dodge was very fortunate.’
Jared rubbed his chin. ‘With them being guilty of several murders, they will likely put up a fight. I wonder if you ought to bring along a couple of men, in case we run into the rustlers.’
‘The tannery and slaughterhouse are both shut down tight on Sundays,’ McEnroe responded. ‘We won’t have any trouble today.’
‘And once we get the books?’ Shane asked.
‘The captain will provide me with the needed men the minute the judge issues the warrants.’ He waved a careless hand. ‘Trust me, boys, if those records pan out, we’ll have every guilty man-jack of them behind bars by tomorrow night.’
‘Let’s hit the saddles,’ Jared was eager to get started. ‘The sooner them fellows are behind bars, the sooner we can head for home.’
July and Wendy picked up a couple horses at a small stable and hurried back along the main trail. They went by the livery when they arrived in town, only to learn Jared and Shane had left an hour earlier.
‘Maybe we ought to get one of the lawmen to ride with us?’ July offered, as they mounted up again.
Wendy shook her head. ‘We don’t know for certain anything will happen. You and I ought to be able to handle whatever comes up. There’s a good chance no one will even trouble the Larsons.’
‘Just remember, I don’t shoot for shucks, Miss Wendy.’
They started off and kept a steady pace. Wendy turned to July and said: ‘I’m sure the Larson family attends a Sunday meeting – probably fairly close by. I doubt they would bring their kids all the way into the city.’
‘Yeah, come winter, that would be a real chore.’
‘So we should have plenty of time.’
After a short way, July again let his worry show through. ‘Supposing Jared and Shane can’t prove anything with Pegg’s records?’
Wendy grinned. ‘My brother knows how to get a confession out of a guilty party.’
‘Did he tell you the whole plan? I mean, there has to be more to it than using the daily orders and accounting records. How can they prove anything against the Big M ranch? And what if the tannery is involved?’
‘Do you have faith in me?’
July blinked in surprise at the question. ‘Boy, howdy! I don’t reckon I ever met anyone I have more faith in than you – and that includes T L.’
‘Well, I have complete faith in Jerry. I can’t remember a time when he ever set out to do a job and it didn’t get done. Plus, he’s been there for me a time or two before. And I mean, really been there.’
The Valerons--Retribution! Page 11
