Red Bird was the first to greet him with a nudge to hurry with his feed. Arabian was waiting impatiently and let it be known he was hungry by stomping his hooves. The two mules were standing with their heads over the fence watching. Man worked as fast as he could giving them hay and oats.
He was on the way back to the house when he saw Roy and Dan riding their mule toward him. He waited for them to ride into the barn and dismount.
“How’s your mom this morning?”
“Better,” Roy said. “Still resting. One of Mom’s church-lady friends, Mrs. Saunders, has been keeping an eye on us. She came over this morning and said she’d stay and take care of Mom.”
“Glad to hear it,” Man said. “Give your mule some oats and hay and we’ll go inside for some breakfast.”
“We done et,” Roy said, “but we’d be glad for a cup of coffee.”
He waited and the three walked to the house. As soon as he opened the door, he said, “Kate, Roy and Dan are here.”
She came out of the kitchen and he could smell coffee and food cooking. “How’s your mom this morning?” she immediately asked.
“Better,” Roy said, glancing toward the kitchen. “Mr. Landers came over first thing and brought a sack of coffee beans, but we didn’t get none of it.”
“Mrs. Saunders says coffee’ll stunt our growth,” Dan grumbled. “Be glad when Mom’s well again.”
Chuckling, Kate led the boys to the table and gave them each a cup of coffee. She put hers and Man’s on the other side of the table. “Mr. Landers is sure being attentive.”
“Yeah, he wants to marry Mom,” Roy said. “He said if she ever got back home he wasn’t going to be so shy anymore.”
After the display they’d witnessed the night before, they knew Cliff was keeping his word. Kate sent Man an amused glance and returned to the kitchen to finish making breakfast.
“Well, boys,” Man said. “I don’t know what you can do around here today, in this weather. The snow is too deep to build fence.”
“We didn’t want to sit all day at home,” Dan said, being uncharacteristically chatty this morning. “Watching Mom and Mr. Landers making doe eyes and Mrs. Saunders bossing us around like we don’t have any sense of our own.”
“We planned on working in the barn,” Roy said. “We can do some cleaning and work on the inside of the enclosed porch like Miss Kate wants.”
“While we have time,” Man said, “I have something to discuss with you. We mentioned this to your mother and she was happy with the idea, but we want to run it by you for your thoughts.”
Man went through the plan of building homes for sale and hiring the boys on at salary. “With the way people are moving out to this area, we hope to start a business building homes. And you two would be a big part of that, if you’re interested.”
Both boys were leaning forward with wide eyes to hear the proposal. Both nodded.
“I’d need you to fence off home sites on the south side of our forty acres. I want the sites a hundred and fifty feet wide and three hundred deep to allow room for a barn if the owner wants one. Build them ten feet from the west side and twenty feet from the edge of the road.”
“How large will the houses be?” Roy asked.
“Family-size. We’d like to establish a nice neighborhood around here. I expect Coeur d’Alene to grow and the need for homes should be steady. If this works out and we produce quality homes at reasonable prices, they will sell.”
Kate returned delivering plates of food. “Sorry,” she whispered as she set Man’s plate before him. “I’m low on supplies here.”
“Looks fine to me,” he assured her.
The boys both began to eat, even though they’d already had breakfast.
Man turned his plate so his eggs were in front and the canned beans were in the back. “You’ll both need to act smart and take charge when we’re off on cases. I’ll establish an account at D&D Lumber and make arrangements with the bank.”
“Our company will be known as K&M Homes,” Kate put in, sitting at the table. “You’ll be representing us, so you’ll need to keep that in mind in all you do.”
“Yes, ma’am,” both boys said, shying away from her stern gaze.
“Maybe Cliff could be our first customer,” Roy said. “He made a comment about a place to live other than at his store. That is, if Mom decides to marry him. But, from what he said, I think he wanted more than just a building lot.”
“If he’s interested in a larger place,” Man said, “we would be willing to negotiate. He might want one on the west side closer to town and his store.”
“And, you never know,” Kate said. “Maybe one day you boys can have your own construction company. Shobert Construction. That has a nice ring, doesn’t it?”
Dan only stared at her in amazement, but Roy laughed. “That rings loud and clear, ma’am. It sure does. I can already hear it.”
Man and Kate laughed with him and they all dug into their breakfast.
***
The next morning, they woke to a bright sun shining. Man went and looked outside. “The snow is already settling with the sun,” he said over his shoulder. “I expect by nightfall it’ll be down to knee deep or so.”
“I hope so,” Kate said as she was busy making a fire to cook breakfast. “Go do your chores,” she said. “I’ll have food on the table when you get back. I expect Roy and Dan will be back since they showed up with it snowing yesterday. They got a lot done inside the porch.”
Man nodded. “I think they’re excited by the prospect of making a life for themselves.”
“They need to,” Kate said. “I think their mother is moving on. I wouldn’t be surprised if we’re attending a wedding soon.”
They had finished eating and Man was putting his heavy work clothes on when they heard a noise outside. Kate went to look and turned back to Man. “It’s the boys.”
Man went out to meet them and Kate pulled her coat on and went with him. She was anxious to hear about Lucille.
“She’s feeling a lot better today,” Roy said. “Mr. Landers brought over a lot of new clothes for her. It has been ages since we’ve seen her so happy. She was humming the whole evening.”
“What do you want us to do today?” Dan asked, his tone unusually sharp.
“Take the wagon into town and get the materials to finish the inside of the porch,” Man replied. “The snow is too deep to work on the fence, but if the sun stays out, in a day or so we can get back on that job.”
He was helping the two boys hook the mules to the wagon when a rider came into sight. Man went out to meet the man. It was a police officer.
“Chief Kincaid sent me out to ask if you and Marshal Kate could come to his office.”
“What’s going on?” Man asked.
“I don’t know. I rode up to work and the chief came out and told me to ride out and ask you to come to his office. That’s all I know.”
“Tell him we’ll be there as soon as we change clothes and saddle our horses.”
“Will do,” the police officer said and turned to ride back toward Coeur d’Alene.
Chapter 8
Police Chief Coy Kincaid was waiting by Assistant Chief Dunlap’s desk when Deputy Marshal Kate and Marshal Homer Manchester walked into the office.
The police chief shook their hands and gestured toward his office. Dunlap stood and followed. He closed the door when everybody was inside.
“We have a sensitive situation developing,” Chief Coy said. “I need your help.”
“What’s going on?” Kate said.
The chief gestured toward Dunlap and then at the door. Dunlap tiptoed to the door, pulled it open quickly, peeked outside, and looked both ways in the hallway.
He closed the door and turned back to Chief Coy. “It’s clear.”
“We may have someb
ody passing information out of this office,” he said.
He gestured to everyone to sit at the table. He went to the end and sat before he began to speak softly.
“We have a potentially serious situation developing. I sent a letter to Chief Marshal Meek asking for your help in this matter. I got a reply this morning. He concurred in your assistance.”
He handed the letter to Man.
Kate leaned over and read the letter. It wasn’t specific, it simply stated that Marshal Man and Deputy Marshal Kate would give assistance as needed, but if there was a lead on Vasquez and Engledow, the marshals would give that their first priority.
Man handed the letter back to the chief and waited for details.
He gestured at the door again. Dunlap hurried to the door and jerked it open. A police officer was kneeling at the door listening.
Dunlap grabbed the man and pulled him into the room. “Cuff him and put him in the isolation cell and nobody talks to him without either you or I present,” Chief Kincaid said. “Make that very clear to the jailer and assure him that he’ll be in the cage if he disobeys that order.”
“You can’t do this to me,” the policeman protested. “I was walking down the hallway and dropped my pencil and bent over to pick it up when Dunlap opened the door. I wasn’t eavesdropping.”
“Your pencil is in your shirt pocket, how did it get there if you were bending over to pick it up. You didn’t have time to put it there after I grabbed you,” Dunlap said.
The police officer was silent, as he didn’t have an answer. “Who’s paying you to pass information?” Chief Kincaid asked.
Again, the man was silent. “Get him out of here,” the chief ordered. “I’ll talk to him later.”
“We’ll wait for Dunlap to get back,” the chief said. “I want him to hear this and have his input.”
Kate glanced at Man. This was the second time they had been involved in this type of case. It obviously involved somebody important.
When Dunlap came back and took his seat Chief Kincaid again spoke softly.
“As a way of explanation, I need to go back in time and fill you in on a few details. The mayor of Coeur d’Alene is from one of the original settlers in the valley. They acquired a vast amount of land and property. This was handed down to Theodore Günter. Theo, as he is called, married into the Knorr family. They are also affluent. They came here at about the same time and gobbled up the good land. I heard it got testy back then on which family got the most and better quality property.
Anyway, going on with our predicament. This is a tad confusing so try to keep up. Theo and his sister-in-law were caught in a compromising situation by his brother-in-law, Elmer Knorr. The wife's name is Evelyn and the sister-in-law is Rosalind. Rosalind's husband is Hans Geyser. The Geysers are not nearly as affluent as the Günter and Knorr families, but they are considered in the upper class.
Here’s the situation as of this morning. It appears we may be looking at a divorce between Theo and Evelyn and Rosalind and Hans.”
“That shouldn’t be anything to get us involved,” Kate said. “That appears to be a domestic problem.”
“It was until Elmer Knorr, the brother who caught Theo and Rosalind in bed, was found floating in the lake yesterday morning. A preliminary investigation indicated he was murdered and dumped into the lake. The doctor said his death was not accidental drowning. According to gossip, we could be in for a shooting feud between the Günter and Knorr clans. A cousin to Theo reported somebody took a shot at him yesterday afternoon. The bullet clipped his leg, but we have been told both sides are going armed now. We want to nip this in the bud as fast as possible.”
“That I understand,” Man said. “After all the trouble with the miners uprising, we don’t need more killing and shootings.”
“The police department is caught in the middle of this with the Mayor of Coeur d’Alene on one side and a member of the city council on the other. That member is a Knorr. Both families have interest in a lot of businesses and there are Günters and Knorrs on almost every important board and committee, including the bank. I need your help putting the fuse out.”
Kate gestured toward the door where the policeman had been caught eavesdropping. “Which side do you think hired the stooge?”
“Either could have, but the odds are Günter. Well, that’s my assumption,” Kincaid said. “Theo has always wanted details of every case we investigate. I’ve suspected he knew too much about some cases and the only source would be an inside informer.”
“Do you have anything to add?” Chief Kincaid asked Dunlap.
“I might throw in one thing,” Dunlap said. “The Günters and Knorrs have been at odds since I’ve known them. I suspect jealousy. I was told that when Theo and Evelyn married there was a problem. That was from the two old men of the families, so this is nothing new. But it has escalated.”
“Since you know both families, what do you recommend?” Kate asked. “Is it feasible or possible to get the leaders of both sides in one room and get it all out on the table so they can deal with it?”
“Possibly,” Kincaid said. “It’s worth a try and it would be a start, but I doubt it would have any serious effect on either side. But, as I said, it would be a start and it would let the public know we’re trying. Something this big will be leaked and by noon today, everybody with ears will know what’s brewing.”
“It’s already out,” Dunlap said. “My wife heard about it at a meeting last night. I would recommend a thorough search of both everyone in attendance if you manage to get them all in one room. It could evolve into a shooting war. Evelyn and her sister Rosalind might go at each other, as well. They have never acted like sisters.”
“So far, nobody knows that Elmer Knorr was murdered,” Kincaid said.
“We have kept that under wraps until you were on the case. That could be the fuse that starts the real shooting,” Dunlap threw in.
“We’ll see what we can do,” Man said. “Unless either of you have more information we need, we’ll go visit with both sides.”
When neither spoke, Kate and Man walked to the front door with every policeman in the building looking at them, but it was deadly silent. It appeared everybody knew what was going on.
Man and Kate went to their horses and mounted. Man turned toward the telegraph office. “I’m going to send a carefully worded wire to Chief Meek telling him we’re on the case.”
She nodded agreement.
He came out, stepped up on Arabian, and turned down the street. “Nothing new on the whereabouts of Valdez and Engledow,” he said.
“What now?” Kate asked. “Do we start with Theo?”
Man nodded. “I’ve seen a sign on an office building. We can drop in and see if he’s there and will see us.”
The two marshals walked into the building and saw a woman seated at a desk. Kate took the lead. “I’m Deputy Marshal Kate and this is Marshal Manchester,” she said.
“I knew who you were the moment you walked in,” the woman replied. “In fact, Mr. Günter is expecting you. He told me you two were meeting with Kincaid this morning and to expect you. I’ll go back and let him know you’re here.”
When she was out of sight, Kate whispered, “Theo does have an ear in the police station and maybe more than one.”
Man nodded agreement. “Of course, it probably wasn’t a secret we were meeting with them since a policeman came out to invite us to come in. The informer they caught could have passed that word before we got here.”
“The woman came out of an office and gestured for Kate and Man to come to where she waited. They walked in and were greeted by a man in his mid-forties. His pleasant smile seemed genuine. However, they both knew that polished politicians were good actors and could lie with skill. Theo fit that description.
“Have a seat,” he said as he gestured toward two chairs in front of
his desk.
Man and Kate sat and waited for Theo to open the conversation. He met their gazes without expression and played the waiting game.
Man spoke first. “Your man at the police station advised you we were coming here and why. So let’s bypass that stage.”
Only a hint of surprise crossed Theo’s face and then was gone.
Kate was the next to speak. “A policeman was caught eavesdropping outside Chief Kincaid’s door. Assistant Chief Dunlap took him to a cell. You may want to post bail and up his ante to keep his mouth shut.”
“Who do you think you are talking to?” he shouted. “I’m the Mayor of Coeur d’Alene.”
“We know who you are. We came to you in good faith, hoping to stop the feud brewing between the Günter’s and Knorrs,” Man quickly put in. “You’ll find out today that Elmer Knorr was found in the lake and was murdered before his body was tossed in the water.”
That information didn’t send any signal of alarm across Theo’s face.
Kate picked it up and said, “Apparently, you were already aware that Elmer was murdered which means you know who did it or your informer got to you before we did.”
“We’re doing our best to keep any more murders from happening,” Man said.
“We came here first in respect for your position,” Kate added quickly. She was hoping to keep this conversation going as long as possible.
“I had nothing to do with it,” Theo said. “I got the word this morning that Elmer was murdered.”
He didn’t add where that information had come from, but that didn’t matter. Kate and Man knew the source - the plant or plants in the police station.
“We would like to get both sides in one room and discuss this situation intelligently rather than have it escalate into something more serious,” Man said. “If you can keep it as only a domestic problem that would be the sensible approach. However, we’re going to investigate the murder of Elmer Knorr and bring the culprit to justice.”
“A divorce or even two would be better than several murders,” Kate added. “If the Günter’s and Knorrs start shooting at each other it will cause more trouble than you or Coeur d’Alene needs. After the miners war, things need more time to settle down. Please be sensible about this situation and work it out peacefully. That’s what we’re asking.”
Mountain Woman Snake River Blizzard Page 10
