“How do you know he wants to rob a silver shipment?” I asked.
“Because the Carbonate Kings are careful. They engage both Wells Fargo and Pinkertons to guard their shipments. Hard to corrupt both parties at the same time. Vrable controls security for Wells Fargo, and he thinks I can handle the Pinkertons.”
“Ya figured that out pretty quick,” Sharp said.
“Been thinking hard on it—ever since we left Durango. Bane and Vrable are an odd pair to get together in the first place, and Bane would never split up peaceful unless he had further business with Vrable.” McAllen looked pointedly at me. “Steve, you said Vrable seemed more intent on fleecing the town than getting out on the trail after Maggie. That’s the Vrable I know. A goddamn swindler.”
“How’d you figure out that your daughter was still alive?” I asked.
“Hoped, more like it. I was sure they paid them poor Utes to grab her, and it made no sense to go to all that trouble just to kill her. Lots of easier ways to do that.” McAllen glanced around the dining room to make sure no one was eavesdropping. “This deal smelled from the start. Vrable volunteered to lead that posse. That didn’t make sense. He knew I’d guess his real identity, and it wouldn’t take much more thinking to figure out that he was part of the deed. Bane and Vrable are a couple of nasty characters, but they aren’t stupid. If they didn’t have something to hold over me, they knew I’d hunt ’em down and kill ’em.”
I was still confused. “How could Bane get your daughter away without the posse spotting them?”
“I figure Bane circled back after the posse left and took her from the Utes before we arrived.” McAllen shifted his attention back to Sharp. “Figuring out the rest of their plan wasn’t that difficult. If you put Wells Fargo together with Pinkerton in Leadville, you got silver shipments. Vrable’s the kinda man that would go after the money first and then get revenge.”
We all sat quiet a minute and then Sharp asked, “What do ya plan to do, Joseph?”
McAllen scooted his chair away from the table. “Ride into Leadville and kill that son of a bitch.”
“Joseph, no!” Sharp grabbed McAllen’s arm, as if he could stop his gun hand. “If Bane still has your daughter, he’ll kill her.”
“Damn it, Jeff, he’s gonna kill her anyway. They’ll set things up so I’ll be the one hanged for robbery … and probably murder. They’ll kill her while I sit helpless in jail waiting for the hangman’s noose, because they’ll want me to know she’s dead before I climb the scaffold. That’s their whole plan.”
“You can’t be sure,” I protested.
Completely out of character, McAllen looked ready to cry. Instead of continuing to rant, his voice sounded forlorn. “I’m sure.”
For more than a minute, the three of us just sat there. Then I asked, “Where’s Red?”
“On his way here … why?”
“Can he track Bane?”
“Thought of that.” McAllen paused before adding, “Maybe.” Then he shook his head. “No. We traded telegrams once I got to the hotel, and I told him to leave Durango immediately. It’ll take him four days to get here, and then he’ll have no idea where to start. If there’s a trail to follow, it’s back in the San Juans.”
“Does he know these mountains?” I asked.
“What’s on your mind, Steve?”
“Stall. We need time for Red to get here so we can try to find your daughter.”
“You’ll never find her, and if you do, Bane would kill the lot of you. He’ll hide in a protected niche, and he’s more dangerous than a crazed grizzly.”
“I’ve killed a grizzly,” I added weakly.
“You’re a good man in a fight, Steve, but you’re a tenderfoot in the wild.”
“Red’s not … and I’ve had some lessons of late.”
Sharp jumped in. “Give us a chance,” he pleaded. “What difference does it make if ya kill Vrable tonight or later?”
“The difference is he’ll be alone tonight. Soon he’ll surround himself with men in his pay. No, goddamn it. Later I might not be able to get to him.”
The two men glared at each other, and then Sharp said matter-of-factly, “Your decision, Joseph. Do ya want to give your daughter a chance or not?”
McAllen looked ready to pounce across the table after Sharp, but then I saw his anger seep away. After a moment, he said, “Jeff, thanks for speaking plain, but even Red wouldn’t have a chance of finding her. Those mountains are vast and deadly cold.”
“Do you think Vrable knows where Bane’s got your daughter?” I asked.
“Grab him and beat it out of him?” McAllen paused to think it through. “No … never work. Bane’s too wily to let Vrable know his whereabouts. Nope, Vrable doesn’t know.”
“Doesn’t Vrable need to tell him when you’ve agreed to cooperate? Or if you don’t, he’ll need to tell him to kill the girl.” I leaned across the table. “They must have some way of getting messages back and forth. What will Vrable do if you insist on proof that your daughter’s still alive?”
McAllen sat straighter. “Damn. I’ve let my anger cloud my thinking.”
I thought it might have been grief, but I kept that thought to myself. McAllen went quiet, and we gave him time to think. In the meantime our breakfast arrived. I didn’t get the breakfast I would’ve ordered. My eggs arrived undercooked, and the chop overcooked, but at least the biscuits were fresh from the oven, and the restaurant had a decent selection of preserves.
After we had dug into our food, McAllen said, “You’re right. They must have some way to communicate, and it sure ain’t by telegraph, because Bane would never feel safe in a town, especially not with a hostage. I know the man would never tell Vrable his location, so he must have a messenger he trusts. And that messenger is probably hanging around Leadville until needed. The trick is to spot him.”
“And then we trail him,” Sharp said, as he rubbed his sore jaw.
“Yes. They would need to get messages back and forth in short order, so I’m guessing Bane brought my daughter up here from the San Juans. Damn. I bet he’s less than a day’s ride away.”
“We need time,” I said. “Red’s four days away, and even if we spot the messenger, we can’t track him without Red.”
“Steve, quit beating around the bush. What are you thinking?”
“Don’t show up tonight. Vrable doesn’t know you’re close. We’ll pretend you must have left late or took longer on the trail than we expected. Wait here a couple nights. When you finally see Vrable, tell him you telegraphed your Pinkerton resignation from Durango, and you need a few days to trade telegrams with Denver to see if you can get your job back. Stall until Red arrives, then insist on proof that she’s still alive.”
“What proof? They’ll never bring her close enough for me to see her.”
“Do you recognize her handwriting?”
“Of course.”
“Then tell Vrable to bring you a letter written in her hand. Insist that it has a current date. That’ll send the messenger out before the robbery, and we can trail him to your daughter.”
McAllen frowned but only for a moment. “Steve, that might work. Worth a try anyway. If you were one of my Pinkertons, I’d give you a bonus.”
I felt myself blush. For McAllen, this was high praise. I also felt pretty proud of myself, because I had come up with most of the plan between bites of food.
Sharp brought up something I had missed. “What instructions did ya give Red? We don’t want people to know he’s with us.”
“I told Red to stay low. I meant to kill Vrable before he arrived. I wanted him here in case I failed. He won’t sashay up to me or you men, if that’s what’s worrying you.”
“It is.” Sharp pushed his empty plate away. “So, do we have a plan?”
“For the moment. But if anything goes awry, anything, I kill that son of a bitch on the spot and go after Bane myself.”
“Understood,” Sharp said. “Then we’ll see
ya in two days?”
“Looks that way.” McAllen looked around the dining room. “Damn, I wanted to get outta this place.”
“Looks to be a decent hotel,” I offered.
“I’m the only goddamn man in this hotel without a woman. The staff treat the honeymooners like royalty and the unweds with discretion. They don’t know how to handle me.”
“Hell, I’ve known ya for ten years, an’ I don’t know how to handle ya,” Sharp said.
McAllen didn’t laugh, but at least Sharp’s quip raised a slight smile. Under the circumstances, that was an accomplishment. At least we had given him some hope.
“Listen, Captain, I know nothing’s sure, but if it’s at all possible, we’ll get your daughter back.” I didn’t know how to convey my other concern, so I just added, “She’s young and she’s a McAllen. She’ll recover.”
“She’s a McAllen all right. Tough girl, but she won’t need to recover from what you’re thinking. The Shoshone castrated Bane.”
Chapter 24
After breakfast, McAllen told us to ride back to Leadville before we were missed. When we arrived at the Carbonate Hotel, we didn’t see Vrable or anyone else that appeared interested in us. In fact the town looked quiet, and then we remembered that it was Sunday morning. The faithful were in church, and the sinners were sleeping off their Saturday night wickedness.
We left our horses at the stable and walked around to the back entrance of the hotel. Using the rear staircase, we went to our rooms to drop off our coats, scarves, gloves, and hats. I also scrubbed my face and combed my hair at the washbasin. After checking my appearance in the commode mirror, I decided I was ready to find Dr. Dooley.
Sharp stepped out of his room at the same time as me. Despite his scruffy clothes, he looked presentable; at least as presentable as I had ever seen him.
“Hey, when you strike silver, are you going to buy new clothes?” I asked.
“Already own lots of producing mines.” Sharp tugged the sleeve of his shirt. “These ain’t worn out yet.”
“Matter of opinion, Mr. Sharp. Most people think threadbare is cause enough to throw something away.”
“That’s why most people ain’t got two silver dollars to rub together. ’Sides, buyin’ clothes takes too damn much time. Come on; let’s see where the good doctor has run off to.”
Sharp started toward the staircase, and I just stood there. When he failed to hear my following footfalls, he turned around and impatiently asked, “Well, ya comin’?”
“Naw, you go on ahead. I think I’ll knock on his door to see if he’s still in his room.”
He turned around and trudged back up the hallway. “Shit, Dancy, sometimes yer a pain in the ass.”
“Glad to hear it’s only sometimes.” I knocked on Dooley’s door.
“Yep?” came the answer from behind the door.
I enjoyed the look on Sharp’s face as I answered, “Steve and Jeff. We need to talk.”
“Well, come on in then. The door’s not locked, and your arm ain’t broke.”
Dooley sat propped up on his bed, fully clothed, reading the thickest book I had ever seen.
“Why’re ya holed up in yer room on such a gorgeous day?” Sharp asked.
Dooley looked baffled at the odd question but then said matter-of-factly, “Reading. This book’s too damn heavy to lug around.”
“What is it?” I asked. “You didn’t bring that up from Durango, did you?”
“Bought it from a doctor yesterday—used.” He lifted the tome above his outstretched legs. “Steve, I don’t think we’ll be sharing this book, unless you have a desire to learn about consumption.”
Dooley and I had been sharing books ever since we met in Pickhandle Gulch. I sure didn’t have any interest in a medical book. As I thought about it, except for The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, all the books we had traded had been fiction. On second thought, I suspected that a good piece of Franklin’s work might have been fiction as well.
Since Dooley made no attempt to get off the bed, I pulled over a chair, and Sharp grabbed a stool.
“Do ya know any dentists?” Sharp asked as he lowered himself onto the stool.
“I’m going to write John Holliday as soon as I finish this book. But this man’s a killer, not a healer.”
I scooted forward to the edge of my chair. “Doc Holliday? Damn, the real Wild West.”
Sharp gave me an odd look. “You’re pullin’ my leg, right? What the hell do ya call that ruckus back in Nevada?”
“Washburn was a local hoodlum. Doc Holliday’s famous all the way to New York City.”
“Famous? For what, for God’s sake?”
“Toughness … gunplay … knife fights … roaming free, doing whatever he wants, and taking guff from no man.” I decided I had to meet him. He’d get top billing in my book about the West, and my publisher would probably print another ten thousand copies. “Where is he?”
“New Mexico,” Dooley said.
“Who cares? He’s a wheezin’, scraggy drunk,” Sharp said. “Sober, ya wouldn’t pay him any mind; drunk, ya don’t want him to pay you any mind.”
“You know him?” When would Sharp quit surprising me?
“I know the sober Dr. John Holliday. Thankfully, I’ve never met the inebriated Doc Holliday.”
“How well do you know Holliday … the sober one, I mean?” I asked excitedly.
“I played at his table a couple of times. Few years ago. Holliday runs an honest faro game. He may occasionally get involved in a con with the Earps, but he keeps that away from the table.”
“A con?”
“Yep. The boys like to strip greenhorns of their money. They’re known for pullin’ off low-level swindles. Sometimes they just take an unsuspectin’ sucker for free drinks. Mostly, they do it for the fun of it rather than for the money.”
“Tell me about it. I want it for my journal.”
“Later,” Sharp said. “Steve, I got business here.” He turned to Dooley. “Doc, I got a terrible toothache. Ya know anyone in town?”
“No, but I can ask around.” He studied Sharp a second. “I don’t normally do teeth. Too much yelling for two dollars. But Jeff, if it pains you, I’ll take care of it right now.”
“I’d be obliged.”
“You’ll be in debt for two dollars is what you’ll be.” Dooley set his book on a side table and swung his legs around to get off the bed. “I’ll get to it. Need a stretch anyway.”
“Now?” Sharp exclaimed. “Maybe it don’t hurt that bad.”
“Hell, don’t be a baby. I’m leaving on tomorrow’s stagecoach. I want to get to Glenwood Springs before the first snowfall. Open your mouth, and let’s get this over with.”
Dooley took only a few seconds to examine Sharp’s teeth. “Gotta come out.” With no further ado, he rummaged around his black bag until he came out with a wicked-looking pair of pliers. “This ought to do. Open wide.”
“Goddamn it, Doc. You done this before?”
“Naw, but I always wanted to pull a tooth. Now open up.”
Sharp, a man I had never known to show fear, looked white as the pillow on Dooley’s bed, but he opened his mouth as a single tear leaked out of his right eye.
I couldn’t believe it when Dooley put his foot in the middle of Sharp’s chest and immediately yanked for all he was worth. After a short scream of pain from Sharp, Dooley held aloft a bloody tooth like he had plucked a piece of silver from a streambed.
“Gotta do it fast. That’s what separates the quacks from a skilled dentist.”
“Thought ya never done this before,” Sharp said as he examined the empty space with his tongue.
“Just joshing,” Dooley said. “Done it dozens of times. Just don’t like it. Rather set a leg or stitch a cut.”
Sharp got up on shaky legs. “I thank ya, Doc. Now I need whiskey to clean the wound.”
“Before you leave, aren’t you forgetting something?”
He turn
ed from the door. “What?”
“Two dollars.”
“Doc, that tooth got gold in it?”
He wiped the blood away and looked. “Yep.”
“Consider yerself paid.”
Chapter 25
After we finished a whiskey in the lobby, I asked, “How’re we going to flush this messenger out?”
“Don’t know,” Sharp said. “We’ve got to find this go-between, or our plan ain’t worth shit. The captain’ll be arrivin’ night after tomorrow, and he’ll want answers.” Sharp got out of his chair, rubbing his jaw. “This feels pretty good. Let’s start by walkin’ around the seedy parts of town.” He smiled. “Get a feel for the place.”
I stayed seated. “Jeff, it’s cold outside.”
“I don’t think we’ll find our quarry in the hotel lobby, so go back to your room and get wrapped tight.”
“What about Vrable?”
“Let him stew a while. Come on. Let’s go. Get yer gear back on. It’ll be fun.”
I stood reluctantly. “Only you think it’s fun to cavort with cutthroats and whores.”
“What the hell’re ya doin’ out here if ya prefer to socialize with gentlemen?”
I smiled. “Lead on. I couldn’t ask for a more experienced guide to the underside of a mining camp.”
We walked for over an hour. Leadville was a series of broad avenues with narrow boardwalks. Most blocks were half filled with one- to four-story brick buildings. We walked in traffic lanes, because many of the empty lots were under construction, the building materials spilling from the boardwalks onto the streets. Everywhere, workmen barked orders. Even on Sunday, frenzied construction consumed the town—everybody wanted to beat the first snowfall. We had seen several shabby lodgings, but we didn’t go inside. We didn’t want word to get out that we were searching the town.
Finally, we entered a dodgy café to get warm. Boisterous and ill-clad men filled both sides of long tables that looked in dire need of a scrubbing. We sat opposite each other in the middle of one of the tables and ordered coffee from a girl no older than fifteen. My eyes scanned a blackboard with the day’s offerings, but I saw nothing that appealed to me.
Leadville Page 10
