by Duane Boehm
“It sure has put the giddy–up in my step, I’ll tell you that. I can’t imagine what she would see in a little sawed off drunk like me though. She was probably just being nice and I should leave it at that,” Finnie said.
“I’m sure that her intentions will become apparent to you. Mary is not one to beat around the bush,” Gideon said.
“Will you talk to her for me and see what is going on?” Finnie asked.
“I most certainly will not. This isn’t school and passing notes and having friends do your talking for you. For Christ’s sake, you fought in a war. I would hope that you can handle this yourself,” Gideon said before taking too big of a sip of coffee and burning his mouth.
“Well, okay then. You don’t have to get ringy on me. You’re right though. I should handle this myself. It’s just that I’ve never had a woman of means interested in me. I can’t quite picture it,” Finnie said.
“Mary’s a fine woman. If she is interested in you, you had better put that bottle away for good. I won’t have her suffer with that. She’s had enough trouble in her life,” Gideon said.
Finnie grinned at Gideon. “I figured you’d get all protective about her. I’ve seen how you two are together. She told me to my face that she used to be a whore and about you and her. So you don’t have to be coy about all that.”
Gideon suddenly felt as if he were the one put on the spot. “If you have all the answers, then why are you asking me questions? Figure it out for yourself. This is the thanks that I get for trying to help a friend that is down on his luck. And if Abby can be friends with Mary, I don’t want to hear another word about it from you,” he said, indignation rising with each word.
Finnie let out a belly laugh that shook his whole body. “I love it when you get all riled. You get as defensive as a woman trying to hide her age. I never said I had a problem with it. I’m the last person in the world that should be judging anybody. I just wanted to let you know so that you didn’t feel the need to dance around the subject.”
Rubbing his scar, Gideon grinned in spite of his discomfort about the subject. “I’ll be glad when it’s time for you to go to work and get out of here.”
Gideon made his usual walk of Last Stand after Finnie headed to work. The sleepy little town was just coming to life and he stopped to chitchat with a few storeowners out sweeping the walk. After making his rounds, he walked down the alley behind Last Chance and slipped through the back door. He found Mary sitting alone at the table in the back room still in her housecoat and drinking coffee.
Mary looked up and smiled. “Good morning to you. I hear that you got your men.”
“We did. It was a lot of riding and I’m glad to be back and in my own bed. Traveling doesn’t have the same appeal that it once did,” Gideon said.
“How’s Abby feeling?” Mary asked.
“She’s doing fine, but the baby makes her tired. She doesn’t like admitting that she is older this time,” Gideon said and smiled at the thought of her in bed that morning.
“I know that you’re dying to ask if I’ve heard anything new about the murder of Druthers and I haven’t heard so much as a peep. If anybody knows anything, they know to keep their mouth shut,” Mary said.
“I was afraid that you’d say that. I’ve been thinking about this a lot. Cal and Leo aren’t going to talk and the girls are scared to death to say anything. I thought about dragging Cal and Leo to the jail to talk to them and see if you would slip into the Lucky Horse and talk to the girls. Maybe they would relate to you and tell you something,” Gideon said as he sat down at the table.
“You mean one whore to another? Like we have some kind of sisterhood,” Mary said.
Gideon grinned sheepishly. “You know I’ve never thought of you as a whore, but yes that is the gist of it.”
“We can give it a try. Cal and Leo should be there in an hour or so. When I see you walk out of there with them, I can try to slip in the back and see what happens. I’ve never met those girls. Cal’s girls keep a low profile around here. They don’t spend their money shopping around town, that’s for sure. I’ll walk on over to the jail when I’m done so that you know that you can get rid of them,” she said.
“Thank you. I don’t know what I’d do without you,” Gideon said.
“I don’t either. You’d probably be like a little lost puppy,” Mary teased.
“Probably. It seems it takes you, Sarah, and Abby to all keep me in line. I must be a fierce burden to all of you,” he said.
“Did Finnie say anything to you about last night?” Mary asked.
“He did,” Gideon said.
“And what do you think about it?” she asked.
Gideon sensed that no matter what he said that it wouldn’t be the right answer. Mary would make him play devil’s advocate one way or the other. “I think you’re both adults and should dine with whomever you please.”
“What’s that supposed to mean? Sounds like you think Finnie shouldn’t be seen out with a whore or that I shouldn’t be seen with a drunk,” Mary said.
“Don’t put words in my mouth. I didn’t say that. I just meant that it was your and Finnie’s business. Nobody else’s opinion matters,” Gideon said.
“It caught you by surprise, didn’t it?” she asked.
“Yes, I must say that it did. I didn’t see that one coming – not that I find anything wrong with it. Just didn’t expect it,” he said, trying to tread delicately.
“I made the invitation on the spur of the moment. It doesn’t mean that it’s going to turn into a romance or anything,” Mary said.
“Mary, who are you trying to convince – me or you? Finnie’s a fine man as long as he gets his drinking under control, but you need to be upfront with him if you decide that you just want to be friends. Us men don’t do well with mixed signals,” Gideon said.
“I know. I just did it without thinking and now I don’t know what to think. He really is a charming rascal and hard not to like. I better go get some clothes on so that I can go do your dirty work for you,” she said.
Gideon studied her, thinking all the while that he’d give a month’s pay to understand how the female mind worked before concluding that God made them that way to keep things interesting. “I’ll see you after we are done,” he said and gladly headed back to the alley before being interrogated any further.
He walked back to the jail and sat down on the bench out front to keep an eye on the Lucky Horse. Cal Simpson eventually appeared, unlocking the front door to the saloon and entering. Leo arrived a few minutes later. Gideon walked to the saloon and entered. Cal and Leo were behind the bar preparing for business. Looks of contempt lined their faces as they glanced up to see him.
“You gentlemen need to come with me to the jail. We have some things to discuss,” Gideon said.
“Can’t we talk here? I need to get ready for opening,” Cal said.
“No, we need to go to the jail,” Gideon said.
“If you want to talk to us, you can either do it here or get the hell out. Your choice,” Cal said.
“Cal, I’ve never understood your dislike for me, but the feeling is now mutual. And the choice is yours not mine. Either you can walk to the jail with me or I’m going to take this Colt Frontier and lay it upside your head and then drag you to the jail. Same goes for Leo,” Gideon said, working the revolver up and down in its holster.
“You’re going to get yours one of these days and it’s liable to be sooner than later if you don’t watch your step,” Cal said as he walked out from behind the bar with Leo closely following him.
“After you, gentlemen,” Gideon said, motioning towards the door and ignoring the threat.
Mary watched from the front window of the Last Chance and headed towards the back of the building once she saw the men leave the Lucky Horse. She slipped into the back alley, walking a block out of her way before crossing the street, and coming up the alley behind the other saloon. Entering through the back door, she began looking around
until she found the side room with the two girls sitting in it eating their breakfast. The two whores looked up at her with surprised expressions.
“Hi, I’m Mary. I own the Last Chance and I was in your line of work until a few months ago. I want to talk to you. Cal and Leo are at the jail and will be there until I leave here so you don’t have to worry about them finding out. May I have a seat?” Mary said.
The two young women exchanged glances before the one on Mary’s left said, “Sure have a seat.”
“What are your names?” Mary asked.
“I’m Constance and this is Sissy,” the same girl answered.
“Girls, we all know what it feels like to be a whore. I’ve been beaten and had other vile things done to me that are too indecent to mention. It comes with the job, but Minnie lost her life. Mr. Druthers might have killed her, but there is a lot more going on here. Somebody killed Druthers because they were afraid of what he might say and I know you girls know more than you’re letting on. The sheriff or I will never give you away, but you need to help him end this. Any one of us could’ve been Minnie. Please help us,” Mary pleaded.
The girls looked at each other again. Finally, Sissy nodded her head and Constance started talking. “If they find out that we talked to you, we’re as good as dead. These people don’t mess around.”
“I’m going to sneak out of here and the only two people that will know what you said are me and the sheriff. You have my word and I’ll stick to it. And if your information brings the Lucky Horse to the ground, you can come work for me if you want to stay in the whoring business or I will buy you a ticket to wherever you want to go to start over. I promise,” Mary said.
“They will kill us without a second thought if they find out,” Sissy reiterated.
“They will not find out. Was Minnie your friend?” Mary said.
“Sure, she was good to both of us,” Constance said.
“Then do it for Minnie and for yourselves,” Mary said.
Constance hesitated and looked at the other whore again. Sissy again nodded her head.
“I’m not sure we know enough to help, but here it is. Sissy was bought from an orphanage up in Kansas. My pa sold me to the same man for a thousand dollars. Minnie’s pa sold her too. Me and Sissy and some other girls were taken in a covered wagon to a cabin a couple days ride from here. That man and another man at the cabin made us strip all our clothes off and then they took a belt to all of us for three days. They got us to the point where we would do anything do avoid that belt. One girl wouldn’t give in and they took a whip to her until she fell in line like all the rest of us. After they broke us, they put us back in the wagon. A couple of the girls were dropped off after a day’s ride and Sissy and me ended up here. I don’t know what happened to the others. They brought us into town in the middle of the night. Cal isn’t in charge. He just runs things here. He gets mean every once in a while and takes a belt to us just to make sure we don’t forget how things are. We all knew better than to go to the law or we would’ve ended up just like Mr. Druthers. Cal gives us just enough money that we can buy a few things. We don’t know who’s in charge. We heard somebody threaten to kill Cal the other night if anybody talked. We were too afraid to get a look at them and Cal made sure we knew that we’d be killed if we talked. Mr. Druthers was in on it too. He got to slip over here for all the free pokes that he wanted. He liked to smack us around and choke us while he was poking. I think he got carried away on poor Minnie,” Constance said.
Mary sat in stunned silence as tears welled in her eyes. She had been expecting a bad story, but this was so much worse than she ever could have imagined. Reaching across the table, she took hold of a hand of each girl. Still unable to speak, she closed her eyes and tried to bring comfort to the girls with her touch. Finally marshaling her voice, Mary said, “Thank you for your help. I’m truly sorry for what life has dealt both of you. When this is over, I promise that I will do whatever I can to help you get a new start. You have my word.”
“Please be careful leaving here,” Sissy said.
“I will be. One of you can stick your head out in the alley and have a look before I walk out of here. Thanks again. I’ll be in touch when this is over,” Mary said and arose from the chair.
Constance stepped out into the alley and slowly scouted in both directions until convinced that no one was in sight. Opening the door, she waved Mary out into the alley. Mary retraced her steps back to the Last Chance, going so far as to enter through the back door and walk straight out the front door to head to the jail.
Mary burst through the jail door, interrupting the interrogation. “Gideon, that drunk that you brought to town and talked me into hiring has got into my whiskey this morning. You need to do something about him,” she ranted.
Gideon looked at Mary in surprise, not entirely sure whether she was acting or not. Turning his attention back to Cal and Leo, he said, “You two can get out of here. You’re useless anyway.”
Mary watched out the window until the two men were across the street before sitting down across the desk from Gideon. “Did you like my performance?” she asked.
“You should’ve been an actress. I wasn’t even sure about it,” Gideon said.
“What do you think being a whore is most of the time?” Mary said.
Gideon chuckled. “I guess you have a point there. Did the girls tell you anything?”
Mary began retelling the information that she had learned. Tears trickled down her face before she finished and Gideon had to pull a handkerchief from his pocket to give to her. Once she gained control of her emotions, she finished telling the girls’ story.
Gideon sat back in his chair and rubbed his scar. He didn’t know where to begin with the news he had just learned. The magnitude of the case sunk over him like an anchor. “We know a lot more now, but we still don’t know a thing to help solve this. Cal and Leo would have to be tortured to get anything out of them.”
“Druthers had to be the key to finding out more. He surely had to be the one that took care of the money and books. Why else would you have a small town banker involved? I wouldn’t think that he could’ve had the money to be buying the girls or owning saloons. He had to be of some use and I would think that a banker would come in handy for quietly paying people,” Mary said.
“That’s a good point. I think I’ll search the house and then talk to Mr. Fredrick,” Gideon said.
“What about the girls?” Mary asked.
“I think we have to leave them where they are until we have something. They’re safer that way. If we yank them out of there, Cal is the only one that we could charge and I fear that they all would be killed even if the girls can’t name anybody else. It would be hard to hide the girls around here without somebody knowing where they are and telling somebody else. The last time I tried that I about got my wife and daughter killed,” Gideon said.
“I know. It’s one thing to be a whore, but another thing entirely to be sold into it. We had better get out of here in case Cal is watching. You can walk me back to the saloon and then leave with Finnie. It’s time for him to get off anyway,” Mary said.
After leaving the jail with Mary and returning with Finnie to complete the ruse, Gideon walked to the bank. Mr. Fredrick stood at the teller counter and gave Gideon a warmer greeting than he ever had.
“You’re certainly in a fine mood,” Gideon remarked.
“I’ve been appointed bank president and I get to hire my replacement. Mr. Druthers never liked me getting too friendly with the customers. He treated me and everybody else like redheaded stepchildren and that’s going to change. People won’t have to come in here dreading talking to their banker any longer,” Mr. Fredrick said.
“That’s very commendable. I need to ask you some questions. Has anybody been in here quizzing you about Mr. Druthers?” Gideon asked.
“No. Everybody just seems glad not having to deal with him,” Fredrick said.
“Did Druthers have an account here
and if he did, could you please tell me how much money he had in it?” Gideon inquired.
“He did. It has a little over two thousand dollars in it. I guess the court will decide what to do with it if no will is found,” the banker said.
“Mr. Fredrick, I suspect there may be a ledger around here somewhere that is of a personal nature and not bank business. I’d like you to keep your eyes open for it and let me know as soon as you find it. For everyone’s safety, including your own, I suggest that you not tell a soul about this conversation. If there is a ledger, I can assure you that somebody will kill to keep it out of my hands,” Gideon warned.
“I will keep it under my hat. Druthers didn’t let me near a lot things and I’m still making my way through them. If I find something, you’ll be the first to know,” Mr. Fredrick said.
Gideon headed to Mr. Druthers’ house. He searched the small house and found nothing. The place looked to be in order, but he had a suspicion that somebody had beaten him to the search. Drawers in the wardrobe looked as if maybe clothes were shoved back in place. As he closed the door behind him, doubts of his ability to solve the crime began to creep back and he felt as if the town would suffocate him. His shoulders sagged as he slowly walked back to the jail.
By the afternoon, Gideon had all of the town that he could stand. He had been anxiously pacing in the jail waiting for Doc to return from checking on Ethan. The fidgeting had gotten so bad that Finnie had made himself scarce. With his concern growing, he decided to ride on out to check on Ethan himself.
He put Snuggles in a lope all the way to the cabin and found the doctor’s buggy still in the yard as he arrived. Not bothering to knock, he entered the cabin and hurried to the bedroom. As he entered, Ethan sat up and coughed violently into a handkerchief. Gideon could see nasty looking green phlegm on the cloth as Ethan moved it away from his mouth and collapsed back into the bed. Sarah picked up the rag that had fell from Ethan’s head and dipped it into a pan of water before wringing it and placing it back on his forehead. Ethan did not acknowledge Gideon’s entrance.
