“Peoples had recognized one of the three men—a man named Palmer—and knew that he hired out for strong-arm work. He called over one of my girls and told her to go and find Duke. He did not send for Murphy and Caliente, because for all he knew there were three or four men in the casino, as well.
“Anyway, Peoples kept a sharp eye on the men, who started out by complaining about the service. When they were served, they complained bitterly—and loudly—about the food. By the time Duke arrived, they were arguing with the waiter, demanding to be brought different dinners, ones that didn’t taste like piss! Imagine that? Piss! That’s what Van Gelder serves in his bar!
“The waiter looked over at me at that point, and I shook my head. It was obvious that no matter what we served these three men, they were prepared to complain about it.
“At that point one of the men stood up and punched the waiter in the face. I feel bad about that. I’ll have to give him a raise. Anyway, the other two men upended the table, splattering several other diners with the food that had been on it. After that they immediately turned and headed for the exit. I didn’t want them in the lobby, and especially not in the casino. So Danny and I rushed to block their paths.
“‘Excuse me, gentlemen,’ I said, ‘but you have some breakage to pay for.’
“ ‘You wanna see breakage?’ one of them asked. ‘Come on over to the casino with us—’
“‘I’m sorry,’ I told them, ‘but I can’t let you out of this room until you settle up.’
“‘We’ll settle up—’ one of them said, and he turned on Peoples and struck him. While Peoples strugged with that man, the other two began to beat on me.
“I held my own for a while,” Duke was quick to point out, “but eventually they drove me back into the lobby.” He paused to take a drink and then continued. “At that point, we were joined by Mitch and Carlos, and then the battle really began.”
It all happened so fast that Duke didn’t even have time to draw his gun. In fact, he’d been concerned about guests being injured by possible gunplay, which was why he never did draw it.
“My boys were doing okay, though,” he said. “Eventually it ended up a one on one battle and we put them out into the street.”
“Did you recognize any of them?” Decker asked Bendix.
“Palmer, yeah. He’s done some work for Big Harry.”
“That figures,” Decker said, “and Harry works for Van Gelder.”
“Well, they’re gonna have to do a whole lot better than they did tonight if they want to impress me.”
“What happened to the window?” Decker asked.
“Oh, that was Mitch, Sam Mitchum,” Duke said. “You may have noticed that he is a little on the large side.”
“I noticed.”
“Well, he got carried away, picked one of them up and tossed him through the window.”
“Gonna make him pay for it?” Bendix asked.
Duke swallowed some more whiskey and shook his head.
“I’ll pay for it.”
“Shit,” Bendix said, “if I broke it you’d make me pay for it.”
“No, I wouldn’t.”
“Yes, you would.”
“Not if I was in this kind of mood.”
“Which is?” Bendix asked.
Duke thought a moment, then came up with a word. “Elated.”
“Is that what that sparkle in your eyes means?”
“I guess. Been a long time since I’ve been in a brawl.”
“Maybe you should get out of the hotel business and come with me,” Decker said.
“Naw,” Duke said. “Once in a while is fine.”
“Maybe you should get cleaned up,” Decker said, “I mean, just in case somebody asks to see the owner?”
“Yeah, yeah,” Duke said, “you’re right.” He poured himself another drink and said, “Just one more drink. What did you fellas come up with?”
“Nothing,” Decker said, “but I’ll let Johnny tell you about it. I’m going to turn in.”
“Another drink, Johnny?” Decker heard Duke ask as he opened the door.
“Sure, why not?”
As Decker was closing the door he heard Duke saying, “Let me tell you how I handled those two jokers…”
Chapter Thirty
Decker had just taken his shirt off when there was a light knocking on the door. He went to it and opened it and found Sally Tucker in the hallway.
“I’m sorry,” she said, “I know it’s late, but I was hoping to catch you before you went to sleep.”
“You caught me,” he said. “Come on in.”
She walked past him and he closed the door. When he turned he saw that she was a little nervous. He wondered if it was him, or if she would have been nervous with any man.
“What can I help you with?”
“I heard talk that you were at the Alhambra today, and that you might be going back tonight?”
“Talk, huh?”
“Around the hotel,” she said, nodding. “Did you talk to Annie?”
“I did.”
“And?”
“She claims that Van Gelder doesn’t have a hold over her.”
“She’s afraid to tell the truth.”
“That may well be.”
“Did you talk to Van Gelder?”
“Not about that,” Decker said. “I just wanted to make him a little nervous.”
“What will you do, now?”
“I don’t know, Sally,” Decker said. “There’s not a whole lot I can do if Annie won’t help.”
“I’ll talk to her tomorrow, then.”
“That’s fine, but don’t go to the Alhambra. Have Duke send someone over with a message. I don’t want you anywhere near that place.”
“Oh, okay,” she said, looking puzzled. She walked to the door, then turned and said, “Decker, do you love me?”
He was taken aback by the boldness of the question.
“No, Sally, I don’t. I like you very much, but I don’t love you.”
“Oh. I just wanted to know. Good night.”
“Good night, Sally.”
Sally Tucker was just too good to believe. She was obviously just what she appeared to be, a naive young woman who had walked into a new town and new situation that she simply was not prepared to handle. She also was not prepared to accept what her sister apparently “was.”
What if, Decker thought, Van Gelder really didn’t have anything on Annie Tucker. How would he—or even Annie herself—make Sally understand that?
He removed his boots and was about to remove his pants when there was another knock on the door, this one a little stronger than the one from before. Sally returning with another question?
It was Stella Morrell.
“I waited until your…company left.”
“Sally? Don’t be silly. Come on in. Would you like a drink? I’ve got a bottle of whiskey around here somewhere.”
“No, thanks. I have to get back to the game. I wanted to see if you…found out anything.”
“All I’ve really done is ask around, Stella. No one has heard—or will admit to having heard—of your sister.”
“Then maybe she’s not here, in San Francisco.”
“Maybe not.”
“But she must be,” Stella said. She took out a telegraph message and handed it to Decker. “I got that today. It’s a reply to one I sent.”
He read it. It said that last month Stella’s mother got a telegram from Julie saying that she was going to San Francisco to look for Stella.
“That doesn’t mean she came, though,” Decker said, handing it back.
“No, but she wouldn’t tell Mama she was coming if she wasn’t. I’m sure of it.”
“Do me a favor, Stella.”
“What?”
“Find out from your mother where Julie sent the telegram from. The would at least give us a starting point.”
“All right, I’ll do that. I should find out tomorrow.”
“Fine.�
��
“I’ll let you get some rest, now.”
“Thanks.”
She turned to the door, then turned back suddenly and kissed Decker on the cheek.
“I could be persuaded to stay a little longer, Decker,” she said.
Her meaning was very clear, and under other circumstances Decker might have taken her up on the offer.
“Let’s wait on this, Stella. I don’t want anything from you until there’s nothing else going on between us. Do you understand what I mean?”
She smiled, indicating that she did. She kissed him on the other cheek and left the room before he could say anything.
Chapter Thirty-one
Julie Landan had gotten pretty friendly with the bartender in her hotel. Tonight he told her that there was a man there looking for her. In her room now, she wondered about the man who had been looking for her. Was he a detective, or the law?
When she went to bed she thought briefly about her mother and sister. She had told her mother that she was coming to San Francisco to find Stella, but as yet she had made no effort to find her sister. What would happen now if she did start looking for her? Would she walk into the arms of the man who was looking for her?
Lying in bed staring at the ceiling, she decided that she would have to put off locating Stella. First she had to find out who this man was and what he wanted. Once that was done, if he turned out to be someone who was after her for what happened back east—or even for something she had done here in the west—she had to find out if he could be bought off. If he couldn’t be bought off, then he might have to be killed.
That shouldn’t be so hard, should it? After all, she’d already killed one man who had begun to make her life hard.
What was another one?
Chapter Thirty-two
“What went wrong?” Big Harry demanded.
The three battered and bruised men faced him in a back room at the Alhambra.
“They had some good boys there, Harry,” Palmer complained.
“Like who?”
“Like Sam Mitchum, for one,” Murphy said, “He’s as big as a house. He threw me through a window.”
“Is he bigger than me?” Harry asked.
“That’s a good question,” Seidl said.
“Never mind,” Big Harry said. “Get out. Go somewhere and lick your wounds.”
“Do we still get paid?”
“Yeah, you still get paid—and be where I can find you. I may need you again—though God knows why.”
The three men began to file out and Palmer hung back.
“We did the best we could, Harry.”
“Sure,” Harry said. “You want to come with me and explain that to Van Gelder?”
“No, thanks.”
“You want another job, Palmer?”
“Like this one?”
“Easier. I want you to follow Decker as long as he’s in San Francisco.”
“What if he spots me?”
“I don’t know,” Harry said. “If he spots you I guess we’ll find out, won’t we?”
“Yeah, I guess so. Starting when?”
“In the morning. Report back to me every evening, right here.”
“Okay, Harry. You can count on me.”
“Sure. I’ll remember.”
Palmer nodded, then trailed his two partners outside.
Mark Sideman came walking in before the door had time to close.
“What do you want?”
“Your plan didn’t work, huh, Harry?”
“I don’t report to you, Sideman. I report only to Van Gelder.”
“Sure. Well, he’s waiting for you.”
“I’ll be along.”
“I’ll tell him.”
“You do that.”
The two men exchanged unfriendly glances, and then Sideman left.
After Sideman left, Harry decided that he was going to have to take matters into his own hands.
His very own hands.
Sideman couldn’t have been happier. Maybe now Van Gelder would let him take care of things himself.
I guess the boys you hired weren’t as good as the boys Duke Ballard hired, eh, Harry?”
Sideman couldn’t believe his ears. Van Gelder was going to let Harry off scott free, without an ounce of blame?
“He hired the best, Mr. Van Gelder,” Harry said, “which explains why I wasn’t able to find them.”
“Buy them off.”
“That don’t happen, Mr. Van Gelder,” Harry said. “You know that. That’d be like somebody trying to buy me off.”
“And that doesn’t happen, huh?”
“Never.”
Van Gelder rubbed his jaw.
“Maybe we need outside help.”
“You talking hired guns, Mr. Van Gelder?”
“I don’t know if the situation calls for that, yet.”
“All Ballard did was hire one of your girls,” Harry pointed out.
“Sure,” Sideman said. “Why was that so bad, right? He took Annie’s sister, maybe he’ll take Annie next.”
Van Gelder shook his head.
“He can’t get Annie Tucker. I’ve got her sewed up tight.”
“That don’t mean he won’t try,” Sideman said. “After all, he brought Decker in, didn’t he?”
“Maybe we should check Decker out.”
Harry was nodding when Sideman said, “I already have.”
Van Gelder looked at him in surprise.
“And?”
“He’s been a bounty hunter for the past five years or so, maybe more. He’s got a good record. Usually gets his man when he goes after him.”
“So what’s he doing in San Francisco?”
“He’s friends with Ballard. Maybe Ballard called him in to help.”
“Help on what?”
“Maybe he’s looking to move into the Square,” Sideman suggested, “with the Alhambra.”
“Never!”
“I didn’t think—” Harry started to say.
“Good, Harry,” Sideman said. “That’s not your strong suit, anyway.”
“Look, Sideman—”
“Shut up, both of you,” Van Gelder said. “Get out. Sideman, tell Annie I want to see her.”
“Sure, boss.”
Both Sideman and Harry left the room, and out in the hall they glared at each other.
“One of these days, Sideman,” Harry said.
“Not in the near future, Harry,” Sideman said, and started down the hall to Annie’s room. It wouldn’t pain him any to wake her up.
When Annie saw Mark Sideman standing in the hall she demanded sleepily, “What do you want?”
Sideman was busy inspecting her breasts, which were plainly visible through her nightie. She wished she’d pulled on a robe before answering the door.
“You’re a beautiful woman, Annie.”
“Tell me something I don’t know, Mark. Did you wake me up to make a pass?”
“No,” he said, smiling. “When I make my play, you’ll know it.”
“Sure. What is it?”
“Van Gelder wants you.”
“Now?”
“Right now.”
“What’s he want?”
“What’s any man want from you?”
“I’ll be right there.”
“Better come right now.”
“As soon as I put something on,” she said, forcefully. “Don’t bother waiting.”
He shrugged and said, “Suit yourself.”
Annie closed the door and pulled on a robe. What did Van Gelder want? Did he want what most men wanted from her—what he wanted from her most of the time—or was he ready to talk about her visit to the Ballard House?
She’d know in a few minutes.
“I’m going to ask you a question, Annie, and I want the truth.”
“You always get the truth, Victor.”
“I hope so.”
“What’s the question?”
“Are you thinking about leaving
the Alhambra?” he asked. “About leaving me?”
“No.”
“You’re not thinking of working at the Ballard House?”
“Why would I want to work there?”
“Your sister is there.”
“My sister is better off there, Victor, and you’re better off with her there. Do you know what’s she’s doing there? She’s waiting tables—and she likes it! Is that the kind of girl you wanted working here?”
“She’s naive. She could have learned.”
“She’s dumb. Victor. Believe me, I know. She’s my sister, after all. She never would have been the kind of girl you need here.”
“You mean like you?”
“Exactly like me.”
“And Margot?”
“Margot!” Annie said with distaste. “She’d like me to leave the Alhambra so she could move in on you, wouldn’t she? Is she the one who mentioned this to you?”
“A little bird mentioned it,” he said, “just a little bird.”
Sure, she thought. A vulture named Margot.
He stood up and removed his robe.
“Well, since you’re here, you might as well stay the night.”
“I thought you’d never ask,” she said, and removed her robe.
Julie Landan woke the next morning with a plan.
The plan depended on her finding her bartender friend during the day, because she didn’t want to wait until tonight to put it into motion.
She dressed, and left her hotel. Her intention was to go to the hotel where the bartender worked and see if she could get his home address. Then she’d pay him to do what she wanted him to do, and sit back and wait.
If this worked, she could be able to start looking for her sister Stella by tomorrow.
Chapter Thirty-three
Decker was having a late breakfast in the dining room when Duke entered. He was holding something in his hand.
“Got up late, didn’t you?” Duke asked, seating himself across from Decker.
“Didn’t see any reason to get up early.”
“How’s the shoulder?”
“Fine.”
In fact, his shoulder had been hurting when he woke at six, and he’d decided to give it a few more hours’ rest. It was now nearly ten thirty.
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