Luke wanted to find out whether Jessica was still alive, too, but first he checked on the gunman at the top of the stairs. As he’d expected, the man was dead. He had seen the tag on the tobacco pouch in the man’s shirt pocket jump when the bullet struck, which meant there was a good chance he had gotten him in the heart.
With that confirmed, Luke went down the stairs quickly, taking them two at a time. When he reached Hobie, he asked, “How is she?”
“She’s still breathing. I was afraid she’d broken her neck falling down the stairs. But she won’t wake up!”
“She probably hit her head on the way down.” Luke holstered his gun and knelt beside the two of them. He reached out and gently explored Jessica’s head. Her red hair was loose, falling around her shoulders and down her back. That, along with the nightdress she wore, told Luke she had been getting ready for bed when the two men burst in and dragged her out of her room.
“Yes, I thought so. There’s a goose egg here where she hit her head. She should be all right, Hobie. We’ll know more when she wakes up.”
“When’s that going to be?” the young man asked miserably.
“That’s hard to say in a case like this. Can you carry her back upstairs to her room?”
“Sure.” Hobie’s arms were already around her. He shifted them a little and stood up, grunting with effort as he came to his feet. Even a slender young woman like Jessica was quite a bit of dead weight when she couldn’t help out any.
“I can give you a hand—”
“No, I’ve got her,” Hobie insisted.
He was on the first step, when a man’s loud, harsh voice said, “Hold it! Nobody move there!”
Luke started to reach for a gun, but the ominous double click of a Greener being cocked stopped him. Stalking along the first floor corridor toward them was a tall man with a drooping white mustache and a double-barreled shotgun. The newcomer also had a badge pinned to the lapel of the sober black coat he wore.
“Take it easy, Marshal,” Luke said. “You don’t need that scattergun. The shooting’s all over, and we have an injured girl here.”
“I’ll be the judge of when the shootin’s over,” the lawman snapped. He kept the twin barrels leveled at Luke and Hobie as he came up to them. “You two are strangers, and I don’t cotton to it when folks I don’t know start shootin’ up my town.”
“What about this man?” Luke asked with a nod toward the corpse at their feet. “Is he a stranger, too?”
The lawman squinted at the body for a second, then said, “As a matter of fact, yeah, he is. That don’t make it any better.”
With worry pulling his voice tight, Hobie said, “Miss Wheeler needs a doctor. She took a bad spill down these stairs.”
“Carry her into the lobby, then. I’ll send for the doc.”
“I can’t do that.” Hobie lowered his voice to a whisper. “She’s in her nightclothes!”
“Reckon I can see that. Do what I told you.” The marshal jerked the shotgun’s barrels toward the front of the hotel to emphasize the command.
“Better do what he says,” Luke advised Hobie. He didn’t know how steady the old-timer’s trigger finger was. It was always better not to take chances with a shotgun.
Hobie sighed and carried Jessica toward the lobby as the marshal moved aside. The lawman motioned for Luke to go ahead, too. At least he hadn’t demanded that Luke and Hobie give up their guns, and Luke was grateful for that. The two dead kidnappers might have partners somewhere close by.
Luke’s thoughts were racing. While it was possible the two men had tried to abduct Jessica simply because she was a very attractive young woman, he didn’t think that was what was going on. It was more likely the attempt was related to the attack on the stagecoach earlier in the day. Luke was fairly well convinced that Jessica had been the target of that, as well.
When they reached the lobby, the marshal told Hobie to put Jessica down on a divan that had a potted plant at each end. Hobie lowered her carefully to the cushions. She was pale and still unconscious.
The hotel clerk and a number of townspeople were gathered in the lobby. Luke knew the citizens had been drawn by the shooting.
The marshal told the crowd, “Somebody run fetch Doc Bismarck. And bring Cassius Mulvaney back here, too!” He glanced over at Luke. “Mulvaney’s the local undertaker.”
“He’ll have work to do, all right,” Luke agreed. “There’s another dead man up on the second floor.”
The marshal glared at him. “Are you responsible for both of ’em, mister?”
“I killed them, yes, but in self-defense and in defense of my young friend here,” Luke replied. “Do you know Jim Pierce and Ben Wallace, the driver and guard on the stagecoach run?”
“What if I do?” the marshal asked with a suspicious frown.
“They’ll vouch for us.”
A new voice said from the main stairs, “So will I, Marshal.”
Luke looked up and saw Stephen Langston descending toward them, wearing a long nightshirt with a coat over it.
“And who might you be?” the marshal asked.
“Stephen Langston, owner of Langston’s Emporium and Freight Company, over in Moss City, Arizona.”
Luke thought his guess that Langston was a successful businessman looked like it was correct.
“These men saved the stagecoach from outlaws earlier today,” Langston went on. “They saved all the passengers from certain death, including my wife Edna and me. If they’re involved in some sort of trouble here tonight, I assure you they’re in the right.”
The marshal squinted at Luke. “Supposin’ you just tell me what in blazes happened here?”
Luke did so, starting with the attack on the stagecoach and continuing to their rescue of Jessica from the two men. “Miss Wheeler started screaming while Hobie and I were going up the stairs. You can ask the clerk about that. He’s bound to have heard her, too.”
The marshal looked over at the man. “How about it, Ambrose?”
The clerk nodded without hesitation. “It’s like Mr. Jensen said, Marshal. The trouble started before he and his friend ever reached the second floor.”
The marshal told Luke, “It’s startin’ to look like I got no choice but to believe you.” He didn’t look particularly happy about that, however. “What I want to know now is what all this ruckus is about. If these two varmints tonight are part of the same bunch that jumped the stage, what’s so all-fired special about this gal that makes them want to grab her so bad?”
“I’m afraid we’re going to have to wait for Miss Wheeler to wake up and answer that,” Luke said.
“Hasn’t somebody got a blanket or something so we can cover her up?” Hobie asked. “She shouldn’t be lying here in her nightclothes with all these people around gawking at her.”
Ambrose went through a door behind the registration counter and came back with a blanket. Hobie took it and spread it carefully over Jessica, nodding in satisfaction when he stepped back. “That’s better.”
The doctor came into the lobby a few minutes later. He frowned when he saw Luke and Hobie. “Does trouble just follow you two around?”
“It’s starting to seem like it,” Luke said.
“Never mind that,” Hobie said with a note of impatience in his voice. He gestured toward the divan where Jessica’s blanket-covered form lay. “There’s your patient. She fell down a flight of stairs.”
“Any broken bones?” Dr. Bismarck asked as he bent over Jessica and lifted one of her eyelids.
“I don’t think so, but she’s been unconscious ever since she fell.”
“How long ago was that?”
“Five minutes, maybe,” Hobie replied with a shrug.
Bismarck checked Jessica’s other eye, then said, “Not an uncommon amount of time to be out cold after a good knock on the head. She needs to wake up soon, though.” He quickly ran his hands over her limbs. “Like you said, no breaks. She’s lucky in that respect. Her eyes look all right. Let’s try some smelling
salts.”
He took a small bottle from his black medical bag, uncorked it, and held it under Jessica’s nose. At first, she didn’t react, but after a second she flinched away from it and her eyelids began to flutter. A moment later, she opened her eyes all the way and gasped.
“There you go,” the doctor said as he put the cork back in the bottle. “Works every time.”
“What . . . where am I?” Jessica asked as she tried to sit up.
Bismarck’s hand on her shoulder held her down.
“You’re in the hotel lobby, Miss Wheeler,” Luke told her. “Don’t worry, you’re safe now.”
“Those men . . . two men . . . they burst into my room and grabbed me when I about to go to bed—” Jessica stopped short and looked down at herself, then at the crowd of people around her. “Oh, my God. This . . . this is so embarrassing.”
“You don’t need to be embarrassed,” Hobie said. “This isn’t your fault.”
“How . . . how did I get away from them?”
Langston waved a hand at Luke and Hobie. “These two desert knights saved you, Miss Wheeler, just like they saved all of us earlier when those outlaws attacked us.”
Jessica looked at them. “I can’t thank you enough.”
“No thanks necessary,” Hobie said. “And you almost got hurt bad while we were trying to help you, so if you had, I reckon that would’ve been our fault.”
“Nonsense,” Luke said. “It would have been the fault of those two men who tried to kidnap Miss Wheeler.”
“That’s right,” Jessica agreed. “Please don’t blame yourself for anything, Mr. McCullough.”
“Hobie.”
She smiled and nodded and said, “Hobie,” which put a big grin on the young man’s face. Jessica went on, “Do you think I could go back up to my room?”
Luke looked at the doctor, who said, “I don’t see why not. Does your head hurt, my dear?”
“Yes, it does.”
“I’m not surprised, after feeling that lump on your head. It may hurt for a day or two, but I think you’re going to be all right. If the pain suddenly gets worse, you’ll need to let me know.”
“But . . . I won’t be here. The stage is leaving again in the morning.”
Bismarck frowned. “I’m not sure it would be a good idea for you to travel so soon.”
“But I have to!” Again, Jessica started to sit up, clutching the blanket around her.
“All right, all right,” the doctor said. “You’ll be better off if you just stay calm and quiet. I’ll check on you again in the morning before the stagecoach leaves, and we’ll see how you’re doing then. For tonight, you need rest.”
Jessica nodded, then winced. The movement made her head hurt worse. “Thank you, Doctor.”
“Is there anyone who can sit up with you?” Bismarck asked. “It might be a good idea if you weren’t alone.”
Hobie opened his mouth to say something, but the stern look Luke gave him made him stop before any words came out.
Stephen Langston said, “My wife can sit up with Miss Wheeler. I’m sure Edna won’t mind.” He smiled slightly. “She gets a little spooked when people are shooting at us, but normally she’s very level-headed.”
“That’ll be fine,” Bismarck said. “Now, let’s help the young lady up.”
Hobie was quick to help. He and the doctor got Jessica on her feet again. With the blanket wrapped around her and the two men supporting her, she went slowly up the stairs. Luke followed, along with Langston. The crowd in the lobby began to break up.
Langston went to fetch his wife. Luke, Hobie, and the doctor accompanied Jessica to her room. Luke examined the lock where the door had been kicked in. It would need to be repaired before it could be fastened properly again.
While Bismarck was getting Jessica settled in bed, Luke took Hobie aside and showed him the damaged door. “We’ll need to take turns standing guard tonight.”
“You think something else is going to happen?”
“It’s not likely, but we can’t rule it out.”
“I can stay up all night,” Hobie said without hesitation. “I’ll get a chair and sit out in the hall. If anybody tries to get in, they’ll have to go past me.”
“We can take turns,” Luke said. “Whoever is on guard will be more alert that way.”
“Well, all right. But I’ll do whatever I have to, to keep her safe.”
The doctor told Jessica he would be back to see her in the morning, then left the room. Hobie shifted his feet awkwardly and held his hat in front of him as he said, “If you need anything, Miss Wheeler—”
“What you really need to do, Miss Wheeler, before Mrs. Langston gets here, is to tell us just why those hardcases keep trying to kidnap you,” Luke interrupted.
CHAPTER 17
Jessica stared up at him from the pillows. “I . . . I don’t know what you mean. Those men broke in here tonight, but I don’t know what they wanted.”
Luke thought he saw fear in her eyes. “They wanted you,” he said flatly, “and they were part of the same bunch that jumped the stagecoach earlier today.”
“Wait a minute,” Hobie said. “How do you know that? Did you recognize them?”
“I didn’t get a good enough look at any of them to recognize them,” Luke admitted. “But it’s the only thing that makes sense. I saw the way those men were shooting at the stagecoach. They were being careful to keep you pinned down and not kill anybody. I think they planned to sneak up once it got dark and take all of you prisoner.”
Jessica insisted, “They must have been after one of the other passengers, not me. There’s no reason anybody would want to kidnap me.”
“Then why did those two men try to carry you off tonight?” Luke shook his head. “I can’t believe it’s just a coincidence.”
“I’m sorry. I just don’t know.”
Luke was sure she was lying. The fear in her eyes was obvious. He didn’t like trying to browbeat her, but he was convinced the men who were after her would make another try. He and Hobie would be able to protect her better if they knew what was going on.
Hobie didn’t seem to understand that, though. He said angrily, “Luke, the doctor told us that Jessica needs to rest. I think we should leave her alone.”
Luke frowned, but nodded slowly. “You think about it, Miss Wheeler. We can help you, but we need to know the whole story. Maybe you’ll feel more like talking about it in the morning.” He shrugged. “In the meantime, one of us will be right outside the door all night to make sure that nothing else happens.”
“You mean in case anyone else tries to . . . to kidnap me?”
“That’s right.” And to keep you from sneaking off and trying to give us the slip, Luke added to himself. He didn’t know if she would do that, but when a person got scared enough it was hard to predict what they might do.
Edna Langston came in wearing a thick robe over her nightdress. She shooed Luke and Hobie out of the room, saying, “Let this poor girl get some sleep. She needs it.”
“Yes, ma’am. Hobie and I will be standing guard in the hall all night.”
She looked relieved to hear that as she pushed the door closed, even though the lock wouldn’t fasten.
Hobie frowned at Luke and said quietly, “You shouldn’t have jumped all over Jessica like that.”
“She’s lying to us,” Luke said. “She’s right in the middle of all this trouble. Do you think we ought to just ride off and leave her to deal with it herself?”
“Hell, no. But—”
“So we need to be ready for it to happen again, and to do that we need to know what’s behind the whole thing.”
“I guess that makes sense,” Hobie admitted grudgingly. “I just don’t want to upset her. She’s been through a lot already.”
Luke couldn’t argue with that. His instincts told him that there was a good chance Jessica Wheeler’s problems would get worse before they got better.
Hobie insisted on taking the first shift on
guard duty.
Luke relieved him after several hours. He sat in a straight-back chair outside the door of Jessica’s room, with only the glow from a wall-mounted lamp turned low lighting the corridor. He didn’t doze off. He had stood watch too many times in his life, going all the way back to the war, to allow himself to go to sleep on duty.
But he was tired the next morning and had to stifle a yawn as he knocked on the door of Hobie’s room a little before dawn.
Hobie looked sleepy, too, when he came to the door in a pair of long underwear. “Any problems?”
“No, everything was quiet. I thought you might want to go across the street to the café and get some breakfast and coffee for Miss Wheeler.”
That idea perked Hobie up and he nodded. “I’ll do that. Should I bring some for us, too?”
“That’s an excellent suggestion.” Luke handed three silver dollars to the young man. “That ought to cover the bill.”
Hobie didn’t waste any time. He dressed quickly and fetched the food and a pot of coffee. He held the big tray from the café while Luke rapped on Jessica’s door.
Edna Langston opened the door. She had a wary look on her face, but relaxed when she saw Luke and Hobie.
“How’s Miss Wheeler?” Luke asked.
“She was a bit restless, but she slept. She’s awake now, waiting for the doctor to come by.”
“We brought some breakfast,” Hobie explained.
“I see that.” Mrs. Langston turned and asked, “Do you think you could eat, dear?”
“Actually, I’m famished,” Jessica replied.
Mrs. Langston stepped back and ushered the two men into the room. Jessica was sitting up in bed with pillows propped behind her, wearing a dressing gown. She was still a little pale, but Luke thought she looked considerably less shaken.
“I’ll leave the three of you to enjoy your breakfast,” Mrs. Langston said. “I’m sure, being older, that you’ll be a proper chaperone, Mr. Jensen.”
Luke wanted to point out that he wasn’t exactly ancient, but he thought it would be smarter to just nod and say, “Of course, Mrs. Langston. Thank you for your help.”
“I was glad to do what I could.” The older woman patted Jessica on the shoulder. “You take care of yourself, dear, and if we don’t see you again, I wish you all the best.”
Luke Jensen Bounty Hunter Dead Shot Page 13
