The Visitor 1862

by Barbara Svetlick

  They spent the entire afternoon with him instructing her on how to not only draw her gun but to then shoot without hesitation of her movements. He demonstrated several times and he was so fast that he shot before she saw the gun or his hand move.

  DOMINIC decided that Meeks was right about changing leads on the assignments and he would take more of a backseat though he didn’t like it at all. He hated sending them out when he didn’t go but the danger was so great and the enemy was in their back pocket watching intently. He and Mirisa continued to attend dinners and dances and occasionally the boys would appear but Maggie never accompanied Garnett.

  They completed several assignments as the winter set in and twice they had almost been caught. They all knew that there was a weak link somewhere and if they didn’t find it soon it might end badly. Dominic stood at the window as they waited for everyone to arrive then they began to discuss their strategy.

  “The first mistake I made was assuming when she came walking up that road that her horse was actually injured.”

  Garnett had replayed that night in his mind many times. “I agree, I think it was an ambush. If those men had been in the woods before she came down that road we would have known. They came up after she took off her hat.”

  Meeks listened to the details. “You might want to consider that the shooters were part of a larger rouse to get her into our inner circle. She was alone in the house all night the first night unless of course Garnett can vouch for her time? Garnett?”

  “I fell asleep sometime in the early morning and she was downstairs when I came down. I don’t think she could go through the house without being detected by one of the staff.”

  Meeks nodded. “Then that may explain why she wanted to stay at the house rather then move to the cottage. I get the distinct impression that she is looking for something in particular.”

  “She’s been disappearing for hours at a time so I followed her last night.” They all looked at Garnett and waited. “She met up with an officer just west of town by the crossroads.” He took in a deep breath then continued. “She has been trying to get information out of me as far as dates and who is going. She believes she is very clever at extracting information but she’s not as good as she thinks.” He reached in his pocket and handed Dominic a letter. “Richmond said there were no couriers and they have not had contact with her since we were in the mountains.”

  Meeks threw back a shot. “Maybe she needs a new partner who is more willing to talk.” Dominic looked at him and they all realized exactly what he wanted to do. “Of course, Garnett if you have personal feelings.”

  Garnett looked at him seriously. “She’ll probably believe anything you say because she knows by this time I’m not going to give up anything important and she is basing her information on when I don’t show up. Her efforts have definitely become less enthusiastic.”

  Meeks smiled. “Then we will see how much we can tweak that enthusiasm.”

  James lit a cigar and kicked back slightly. “Garnett and I have to leave in two days so we need an answer soon.” They took out the map and discussed their plan. Once they were in agreement, they decided to head down to the Tavern for lunch.

  Meeks knocked on the door of the cottage and she was surprised to find him standing there. “Sorry to bother you but I need to speak to Garnett.”

  “He’s not here.”

  Meeks raised his eyebrows in surprise. “That’s strange. We haven’t seen him in hours. Do you mind if I wait for him.” He appeared upset not to find Garnett so Maggie opened the door wider. She was dressed provocatively but not for the kill. He guessed that Garnett had been right. The cottage was located on the very edge of town and was small but comfortable. It had belonged to old Widow Meadows who had died a few months back. Meeks had bought it from her estate but didn’t know why except it would come in handy if they had to move out of the Tavern again.

  He sat down in the only chair in the small parlor and she went into the kitchen for a bottle of whisky and two glasses. He thanked her and smiled sweetly at her. When she had gone to the kitchen, she had unbuttoned two more buttons on her blouse. They drank for a while then she got up and walked over to his chair and knelt down in front of him. He reached inside her blouse and took her breasts in his hands then slid his hands up over her shoulders slipping her blouse off. She ran her hands over his body until he finally picked her up and carried her into the bedroom allowing her to slowly pull information out of him between hot wet passionate kisses. Garnett was right about her not being as good as she believed herself to be.

  He dressed and told her he had to find out what happened to Garnett. She laid in bed smiling. He looked at her slowly taking in every detail of her beautiful body then leaned over and kissed her. She evidently picked the wrong one to bed but Garnett had been so delicious that she didn’t mind being sidetracked for a while. After she heard the door close, she rolled out of bed and got dressed. She slipped out the back door and rode due north through the woods. She didn’t want to be seen by anyone. Garnett sat on his horse just beyond the road watching her. He didn’t have to follow but he was sure doing to miss her.

  He turned and headed back into town where James and Meeks were waiting. They rode out to the Plantation and came into the house as Dominic was coming down the stairs. Meeks nodded at him.

  “It is going to be a long day.” They all went into the library and closed the door. He shared the note from McPharson then threw it into the fire. They were just coming out when Mirisa came around the corner. They all kissed her good morning and told her they were there for breakfast if she thought she could cook something up.

  “I’ll have you know I am a very good cook.”

  James snorted. “Pray tell Mirisa, what are you best at?”

  “Besides getting what I want, I am best at making biscuits.”

  “Then if you will leave your husband, I will marry you tomorrow.” Dominic slapped him upside the back of his head.

  “Hey, she cooks.”

  “She also shoots remember.” They all laughed and it felt so good to be just the five of them again.

  MEEKS and Dominic left the house at 8:00 and headed north along the river. Garnett and James followed the road into Natchez. They stopped at the Tavern for a while then mounted up and headed north out of town on the Natchez Trail. They knew when they went by the cottage that she would be gone. It was a cloudy night blocking out the moonlight and the town was very quiet. They were moving at a slow trot and when they were out of town they broke the horses into an easy gallop. They traveled about twenty minutes when a horseman came out from the side of the road into their path. They both pulled up as their horses danced in the middle of the road from the sudden stop. Two soldiers on horseback came out from behind them.

  “Gentlemen.” The officer tipped his hat.

  “Colonel, I didn’t think we would see you again so soon.” Garnett thought it was so sweet to have Jacob right there in front of them. James’ horse kept dancing so he talked to her softly as she settled down.

  “Please drop your guns.” He had his revolver pointed dead center on Garnett’s chest. Garnett started to reach over with his left hand. “Slowly.” He undid his holster, held it up and dropped it on the ground. Jacob pointed his gun at James. “Yours.” James slowly undid his and dropped it between the two horses.

  “Tell me Jacob, did you just want to say goodbye to Suzanne when you shot her driver?”

  “Shut the hell up!” His anger was building on top of the obvious hatred. “I had nothing to do with that. I wasn’t even in town.”

  “Well, I guess that pretty much settles it then.” Garnett spit on the ground then looked him straight in the eyes. “And why have you stopped us tonight?”

  “I am arresting you for treason. Not that it’s going to surprise anyone. I’m also going to arrest the rest of your group along with Captain McPharson.”

  “Well, then you must have pretty good evidence to reach up Grant’s ass and grab on
e of his favorite captains.” He still didn’t blink and James was so relaxed that it made Jacob twitch.

  “Maggie will get me all the evidence I need so don’t worry about it.” He snarled as he pulled back the trigger on his gun.

  “Yes she is one fine piece of ass isn’t she?” With that Jacob centered his gun back on Garnett.

  “I told you to shut up. There is nothing that says I have to bring you in alive though I would much rather watch you hang. We’ll see just how good of a lawyer you really are when you are swinging at the end of a rope.”

  Another horse came out of the dark and Garnett knew by the way she moved that it was Maggie. Garnett tipped his hat. “Maggie, always a pleasure to see you though I much prefer you without clothing.”

  “Shut the fuck up Garnett!” Jacob came up off his saddle but Maggie put her hand on his arm and restrained him. Garnett loved knowing where a man’s true soft spot lie. It was definitely going to be a good night. One of the men behind them got off his horse and picked up Garnett’s gun from the dirt before walking between the two horses. When he bent down, James boot came up and caught him square in the face sending him flying in the air. James was off his horse before either Jacob or the other officer reacted. He shot at Jacob who still had his gun pointed at Garnett but when he pulled the trigger he realized that Garnett was also on the ground. James shot the soldier behind them as Jacob and Maggie turned their horses and immediately disappeared into the woods. James got to his feet, looked at the soldier he had kicked and put three bullets in his head before mounting his horse. They left the road knowing that they would not be traveling fast because they had no choice but to try to set up another ambush.

  Two men pulled up in a wagon; they loaded the bodies then stripped the horses releasing them. They turned off the main road and dumped everything down a deep gorge. When they got back on the road to town, Tom got out and brushed the road so the tracks and blood would not be obvious. War was war.

  Dominic and Meeks were positioned further north waiting. They heard the sounds of gunfire then someone coming through the underbrush faster then was advisable. Dominic took out his gun then re-holstered it. Meeks knew that meant he wanted to kill someone tonight. The horses had slowed down and they could tell the riders had dismounted and stopped. They were traveling together rather than splitting up which meant that Maggie was one of the two. As much as it seemed she worked alone, she didn’t seem to have the ability for covert actions so she would stay close to whoever the other person was. The sound of the night owl rose above the trees. Dominic and Meeks split and started circling around the area where they believed the two were hiding. Jacob knew that Garnett would come after him but he wouldn’t win this time. It would be a pleasure to kill that son of a bitch tonight. He pulled Maggie close to him as they crouched in the underbrush. He had worked hard to break this unit and even jeopardized Maggie’s association with the Union. Her work had been so valuable as a double agent.

  Garnett sent James around to his right but decided he would go straight in and try to lure them out in the open. It was risky because Jacob was a coward who would shoot a man in the back and think it was a good kill. His nerves were so raw that he was beyond control. James signaled his disapproval of this decision but Garnett didn’t respond so James moved closer to Garnett’s position as Garnett was making noise to draw attention. Dominic was trying to decide what the hell they were doing when it dawned on him that they had dug in and the dog was going straight in for the kill. Both Dominic and Meeks moved in faster but Jacob was so focused on Garnett coming for him that he failed to hear the movement of the others. Maggie on the other hand heard the noise behind her and she instinctively knew they had been set up.

  Jacob saw a movement and shot blindly into the dark. It went to the right of Garnett and he heard James fall. They all froze for a moment when Garnett opened fire into the brush and Jacob who had not reacted fast enough was hit in the right shoulder. He dropped his gun as Maggie backed up trying to get to her feet when Dominic grabbed her from behind. She screamed and tried to bite him when he dropped her with a blow to the head with his gun butt. Meeks stood over her while Dominic walked over to where Jacob laid on the ground moaning.

  “Colonel Smith, nice of you to drop in.” Jacob spit at him and then rolled off the ground sitting up. Dominic slowly raised his gun and emptied it into him. He holstered his gun then moved toward the sound of Garnett who was squatting next to James. He was holding his side but the blood was coming out between his fingers. Dominic took his hand away while tearing strips of his shirt to wrap around the wound. Even though it was bleeding profusely, it didn’t look like it hit anything important and obviously exited a few inches from where it entered. He balled up the rest of the shirt and told him to hold it tight. They helped him stand and brought him over to where Meeks was still standing over Maggie who was holding her head as tears ran down her face.

  Garnett squatted down in front of her. He could tell she was frightened; in fact, she was so scared that she couldn’t even plead for her own life. “Guess you didn’t really mean it when you said you loved me.” He cocked one eye, grabbed the back of her head and kissed her with as much passion as he could find. She started to respond when he buried his knife so deep in her that the blood immediately started to run down her chin from her mouth. She stared at him as he smiled and released her.

  “Damn Garnett, don’t you think that was a little rough?” Meeks was standing back so as not to get blood on his boots.

  “Naw, she liked it rough.” He wiped his knife off on her skirt and went to find the horses.

  They found no orders in either of their saddlebags and all their clothing was with them so they were ready to ride. Garnett threw the saddlebag over his own horse then searched the bodies for papers. Whatever they were doing it was not with the knowledge of the government. They disposed of the bodies and returned to town through the woods. James was having problems staying on his horse and the shirt was now completely soaked. They made it to the Plantation and Dominic and Meeks carried him in and laid him on the couch in the library. Mirisa almost fainted when she saw James as Garnett grabbed her around the waist until she recovered from the shock. She put her hand on his arm but he wouldn’t let her go. She smelled so good and he knew it would take so little, so little to love her.

  James told them what to get from the Miss Minnie’s stock but the loss of blood made him drift in and out of consciousness. They finally bound him back up and then carried him upstairs to his room. Mrs. Chauvin told Dominic that they would care for him during the night. He left the women with James and returned to the library. Meeks and Garnett were sitting on the desk waiting.

  “Why in the hell was he that close to you?”

  “He tried to stop me from going straight in and I wouldn’t listen to him so he must have moved in closer to my flank.” Garnett knew this was his fault without anyone saying anything.

  “I think we all need to take a trip. It’s been a rough year and quite frankly this war will be here when we get back.” They both looked at Dominic and then understood that he wanted to cross the river and head west. He took out the whisky and they sat down and proceeded to get drunk.

  Dominic slowly opened the door and found Mirisa sitting in a chair next to James. She was holding his hand and had fallen asleep with her head on the bed next to him. He looked at James who was awake. “Are you sure you don’t want to let me marry her?”

  Dominic shook his head hoping to avoid the questions that would follow once she absorbed everything. She stirred then sat up rubbing her eyes.

  “Mirisa, I thought I had died and gone to heaven until Dominic walked in and ruined the illusion.” James tried to sound funny but knew she wasn’t buying it.

  She hadn’t spoken to any of them since they came in with James. She wasn’t sure she wanted to know what happened. She got up, kissed him on the forehead then excused herself since she was still in her night dress. Dominic was surprised that she ignored
him so blatantly.

  “We’re going for a ride when you are back on your feet. Think you can handle it?”

  “You know you don’t have to ask. You say ride, I am right there with you.” He winced when he tried to sit up. “What are you going to tell Mirisa?”

  “Nothing. She’s going with us.”

  “Can you help me up?” He started to swing his legs out of bed and had to lie back down due to the pain.

  “Don’t you think you should stay off your feet for a few days?”

  “Knowing that you are downstairs drinking whisky and playing poker? No, I think I’ll feel better if I can move around though nothing has hurt this much since that Indian tried to knife me.”

  Dominic got him a fresh shirt out of the wardrobe and helped him put it on. The wound seemed to have stopped bleeding but getting out of bed so soon was not advisable. He got up off the bed and Dominic helped him on the landing and down the stairs. Mirisa came out of their room as they started going down the stairs. He looked like he was completely drained of any color and each step seemed to send a shock of pain through his face. Dominic helped him to the chair closest to the fire and threw him a blanket knowing that despite the warmth of the fire the fever wouldn’t break for a few days. Garnett put a glass of whisky next to him.