He got a cab down to Rusk Street, then decided to walk from there. He took a quick look in the window of the Bloody Spur, saw business as usual. Zeke was behind the bar, and there were only a few men around. He looked at the building across the street, saw Mary Cronin at her window, but she didn’t wave. She didn’t recognize him, which was fine with him.
He thought about going inside to talk to Zeke, but he thought Short had gotten all there was to get out of the man—except for who was running the place now. Still, if he went inside to ask, word would get around and that would defeat the purpose of wearing his trail clothes.
He moved on.
He figured he must have missed the whorehouse he was looking for, so he kept going until he got to the docks, then retraced his steps. He found himself walking along with a group of dock workers who had apparently just gotten off work. He decided to cross the street and follow them discreetly. He bet that at least one of them would lead him to Lily.
Several of them went to saloons, others to a small restaurant, and he was sure some of them went home. Two of them, however, led him to a two-story structure that looked as if it had once been a hotel. They were laughing and slapping each other on the back as they went in.
Butler waited, and sure enough several more men appeared and entered, in the same jovial mood. Finally, he crossed the street, hoping he wouldn’t need some sort of code word to get in.
There were no markings on the building to indicate what kind of business it housed. Butler didn’t know what the law was in Fort Worth when it came to prostitution.
He mounted the three steps and knocked on the door. A small slot in the door slid open. He found himself looking into a pair of brown eyes with dark eyebrows.
“Can I help you?” a man’s voice asked.
“I’d, uh, like to come in.”
“For what?”
“Um…”
“Do you know what kind of a business we run here?” the voice asked.
“Well, of course. This is a…bordello.”
“No,” the voice said, “this is a whorehouse. I’m afraid I’m not going to let you in unless you can tell us who sent you?”
“I’d like to see Lily.”
“Lots of men want to see Lily,” the man said, “and Angie, and Dina, and Babe—”
“Babe?”
“Hey, it’s her name.”
“Okay,” Butler said, “sorry.” If he didn’t think of something fast he wasn’t going to get inside.
“So, if you don’t got a name for me you’re gonna have to move—”
“Sutherland.”
“What?”
“Sutherland told me to come,” Butler said.
“Did he tell you to ask for Lily?”
This sounded like a trick question. He thought a moment before coming up with what he thought was a likely answer.
“No,” he said, “as a matter of fact he said when I came here I should stay away from her.”
Suddenly, he heard the lock on the door and it opened, revealing a sticky man in his forties standing there. He recognized him by his eyebrows.
“That’s Sutherland,” he said. “If he scared off a few more customers, Lily would have to start waitin’ tables some place. Come on in, friend. Welcome to Rosie’s.”
Butler entered, the man closed the door behind them, and locked it.
“Go on into the sitting room,” the man said. “Rosie and the girls are there.”
“Thanks.”
Butler went through a doorway and found himself in the sitting room with more than half a dozen girls. The furnishings were gold and maroon. A woman in her fifties, wearing a dress that matched the furnishings, approached him with a wide smile and deep, powdered, slightly wrinkled cleavage.
“Welcome to Rosie’s, friend,” she said. She placed her hands on her hips and took a step back, looking him up and down. “You’re a handsome one. My girls are gonna like you. Come on and take your pick—or maybe I should just let them bid on you.”
CHAPTER 36
Butler understood why he saw so many men coming into this place. He was expecting some suspect-looking whores, at best, but every girl in the room—except for Madame Rosie—was beautiful.
“Would you like a drink while you’re tryin’ to decide?” Rosie asked. “You can have beer, whiskey, coffee…how about some music? Our piano player can play anything you like.”
He needed to stall.
“I think I’ll have a beer,” he said, “but no music. I’d like to talk to these fine ladies.”
“Well, talk away, friend,” Rosie said. “Talkin’ is free here at Rosie’s. Have a seat somewhere and we’ll get you that beer.”
There were several girls seated on a large sofa and they scooted either way to allow him to sit in between. Once he was down, he found himself pressed between some prime, sweet-smelling female flesh.
He had to force himself to remember he was not there for pleasure.
The man who answered the door went up the back stairs to the second floor, walked quickly down the hall. He knocked on the door of room 5—Lily’s room.
“What?” Lily shouted.
“Sutherland,” the man said, “it’s Walt, from downstairs.”
“Go away,” Sutherland’s voice came.
“It’s important,” Walt said. He waited, then added, “You told me to let you know if anybody asked for you.”
Seconds later the door opened and Sutherland appeared, holding a sheet around his waist. Since he had the sheet, Lily was left on the bed, nude.
“Somebody asked for me?”
“A fella came to the door, gave your name in order to get in,” Walt said.
“And you let him in?”
“I didn’t know I wasn’t supposed to.”
“Where is he?”
“In the parlor with the girls.”
“What’s he doin’?”
“I don’t know, pickin’, I guess.”
“Okay.”
“What’re you gonna do?”
“None of your business,” Sutherland snapped. “Go back where you belong.”
He slammed the door, turned to face Lily. She was a tall, busty brunette who had convinced Sutherland he was the best man she’d ever been to bed with. Of course, she’d convinced a lot of other men of the same thing. The only difference was, Sutherland knew she was lying, but he didn’t care.
“Comin’ back to bed, sweetie?”
“Afraid not,” Sutherland said. “I’ve got to get dressed.”
If it was a lawman downstairs, he didn’t want to get in a shootout with him. If it was Luke Short or Butler, this wasn’t the place to face them.
“Does this place have a back way?” he asked Lily.
“I think it’s blocked.”
He pulled on his pants, and then his boots. When he strapped on his gun, he walked to the window and looked out. He was on the second floor, but it wasn’t a long drop. He was a tall man and figured it shouldn’t be too bad.
“Are you goin’ out the window?” Lily asked.
“There’s somebody downstairs I’m not ready to see,” he said.
“Well, I hope you were intendin’ to pay before you leave,” Lily said. “Rosie don’t like to be stiffed.”
Hurriedly, Sutherland took some money from his pocket and dropped it on the dresser, then opened the window and climbed out. He dangled there for a moment, then dropped. The landing jarred him, but didn’t break or sprain anything.
He was in the alley next to the building. He moved to a window he knew looked in on the parlor. The drapes were parted just enough for him to see Butler on the sofa with some of the girls. They had him tangled up good in their arms and legs. For a moment he considered busting in and taking him, but there was too much that could go wrong in a room full of people.
He hated not taking a shot when he was so close, but he was more concerned at that moment with how Butler had found him. If the gambler could do it, so could the sheriff.
He deci
ded to go back to the Bloody Spur and have a little chat with Zeke.
CHAPTER 37
By chatting with the girls, Butler was able to determine that Lily was not in the parlor with them. With just a little more encouragement one of the girls said Lily was upstairs with her best customer.
“Not her favorite customer,” one of the other girls was quick to point out, “but her best.”
She was a blonde named Kimmie, while the girl on his left was a redhead named Ruby.
“Oh,” Butler said, “that would probably be my friend Sutherland.”
“You know Sutherland?” Ruby asked.
“You’re friends with him?” Kimmie asked, clearly disappointed.
“Well,” Butler said, “not exactly friends. I’ve just heard him talk about this place, and Lily.”
“Lily’s not so special,” Ruby said, sniffing.
“You’d be a lot better off with one of us,” Kimmie said, stroking his right thigh.
“That’s the truth,” Ruby said, stroking his left.
Butler felt he had two ways to go. Take one of the girls upstairs and try to find Sutherland, or wait outside for the man to leave.
“So, do you girls have a price for all night?” he asked.
“Oh, Rosie don’t like a man to stay all night,” Ruby said. “She says we can make more money with more men.”
“I see.”
Both girl’s hands were becoming insistent, so he sprang to his feet.
“I guess I’ll come back, then.”
“When?” Ruby asked, with big cow eyes, which meant to make her look disappointed.
“Why?” Kimmie asked. “For Lily?”
“No,” he said, “I have to decide between the two of you, and I can’t make that decision now. It’s just too hard.”
Coyly, Ruby said, “You could take us both.”
“Oh God,” he said, clutching his chest, “I think that would give me a heart attack. No, I think I’ll make my decision and then come back.”
“If you go red, you won’t go back,” Ruby said.
“That don’t even rhyme,” Kimmie told her.
“I don’t care—”
“I’ll see you girls soon.”
He had to get past Rosie on the way to the door. She couldn’t believe he was leaving.
“You can take your time and decide here,” she told him.
“Too much pressure,” he said. “Don’t worry. I’ll be back.”
He hurriedly went out the door, despite her protests. The same man opened it to let him out, and he got a bad feeling from him.
“What’s your name?” he asked.
“Walt.” The man’s eyes slid away.
“Okay, Walt, thanks.”
“Sure.”
Butler left. It was getting dark by this time. He decided to look for a likely place to stand and watch and wait. First, he checked out the alley next to the building, but that was no good. He finally decided on a doorway across the street.
He watched as men who had gone in before him came out, and still no Sutherland. More and more he had a bad feeling about the door man, Walt. Lo and behold, while he was thinking of him, the man appeared at the door. Apparently, he was through for the day. Walt stepped down, looked both ways, and began to walk in a direction that took him away from the docks.
Butler quickly crossed the street. Instead of simply intercepting the man he slammed into him and pulled him into a wall.
“Hey, wha—”
“Hello, Walt,” Butler said.
“Who are y—Hey? What’re ya doin’?”
“Sutherland was upstairs the whole time, wasn’t he?” Butler asked. “You went up and told him I was looking for him. What’d he do, go out a back door? Or a window?”
“Hey, I don’t know—”
“Yeah, you do.” Butler pulled him away from the wall, then slammed him back into it. The man tried to get away, but he was smaller and Butler was stronger.
“All you’ve got to do is tell me the truth, Walt,” Butler said.
“H-he’ll kill me.”
Butler took his gun out and pressed it to the side of Walt’s head.
“Why don’t I just kill you now, and get it over with?” he suggested.
“No, no!” Walt said. “Wait. Yeah, okay, he was upstairs with Lily. I—I tipped him off that you was downstairs.”
“He go out the back?”
“The back door’s sealed,” Walt said. “He musta gone out a window down to the alley.”
“Can you see the parlor from the alley?”
“Yeah, yeah, I think you can.”
So all Sutherland had to do was look in the window to see him. Apparently, he wasn’t prepared to take another try at killing him.
“Okay,” Butler said, “one more question. Where does Sutherland live?”
“Wha—you crazy? I dunno that.”
“Then where would he go?”
“Anywhere,” Walt said. “Anywhere in Hell’s Half Acre. This is where he feels at home.”
Butler thought a moment. Sutherland was going to be wondering how Butler found him. Where would he go to find the answer?
Butler released Walt.
“Okay,” he said. “Get going.”
“You ain’t gonna kill me?”
“Not even going to put a scratch on you,” Butler said. “Get out of here!”
Walt skulked away and Butler was sure he’d tell Sutherland about this.
He was counting on it.
CHAPTER 38
When Sutherland entered the Bloody Spur his anger was so apparent that Zeke—not even knowing if it was meant for him—ran out from behind the bar and bolted toward the back of the room.
Sutherland caught him in a few steps. The three or four customers who were there watched as he grabbed the back of his collar and walked him through the curtains into what used to be Ed Cramer’s office. There was still dried blood and bits of brain on the wall behind the desk.
“Wait, wait, wait—” Zeke was shouting.
“Sit down!”
Sutherland slammed him into his boss’s old chair, also covered with dried blood.
“Oh, no, no,” Zeke said, trying to get up, but Sutherland drew his gun and pointed it at his face. The bartender stopped struggling and stared at the gun with wide, frightened eyes.
“You told Butler about Rosie’s, didn’t you?” Sutherland demanded.
“No, I didn’t,” Zeke said. “How was I supposed to know about Rosie’s? I didn’t know you was there.”
“You know about Rosie’s, and you know about Lily,” Sutherland said. “If you didn’t tell him, who did?”
“I dunno,” Zeke said. “Hey, come on, Sutherland. You know me.”
“Yeah, Zeke, I do know you,” Sutherland said. He pushed his gun into Zeke’s mouth and pulled the trigger. Zeke’s blood and brains mixed with those of his boss on the chair and wall.
Sutherland withdrew the gun, walked back through the curtains into the saloon. The place was empty. No one waited around to see what had happened.
Sutherland went behind the bar, took down a bottle of whiskey, and drank straight from it. He was going to have to get rid of Butler before he went after Luke Short. And since the man was out looking for him, maybe the best thing to do was let him find him.
On the other hand, maybe he didn’t actually have to kill Butler himself to be in line to collect the price on his head. Maybe it was good enough just to see that Butler was killed.
He took another swig from the bottle, put it back, then took it down again and left, carrying it with him.
When Butler entered the Bloody Spur he knew something was wrong. Nobody was there.
“Zeke?”
He drew his gun and walked across the room to the curtained doorway in the back. He used the barrel of the gun to move the curtains aside, and then entered. He stopped short when he saw the grizzly scene behind the desk.
Butler moved closer. The back of the man’s head had
been blown out, and then he’d fallen facedown onto the desk. Butler leaned over to get a look at his face without moving him. It was Zeke, killed the way his boss had been killed—by the same man?
Sutherland?
The man had obviously come here straight from the whorehouse. He must have thought it was Zeke who told Butler where to find him.
“Sorry, friend,” Butler said.
He had to get out of there fast, just in case the law was on the way. Customers had obviously cleared out when they heard the shot.
Sutherland was trying to wipe out any trail to him, but Butler had the feeling that if he stood still, the man would find him.
CHAPTER 39
When Butler walked into the White Elephant Saloon he could see from the door the look of relief on Jerry the bartender’s face.
As he reached the bar Jerry said, “I was startin’ to think you was dead.”
“I’ll take a beer and we’ll drink to me still being alive,” Butler said.
“Suits me.”
As he was waiting for his beer a hand came down on his shoulder from behind. He turned quickly, thinking it was Sutherland, but it was Luke Short.
“Where the hell have you been?” He asked the question without rancor.
“I had some errands.”
“Where?”
“Hell’s Half Acre.”
“What the hell—”
“Have a beer and I’ll fill you in.”
Later Short said, “You’re crazy, do you know that? You could’ve got yourself killed.”
“Well, somebody got killed, all right,” Butler observed.
“Jesus,” Short said, “I’ve got to watch what I say from now on. Threaten to blow one person’s head off and suddenly there’s an epidemic.”
“The sheriff is going to come looking for you again,” Butler said. “Get yourself a good alibi.”
“I’ve got one,” Short said. “I was here this whole time, right out in front of people.”
“We better talk to Al Newman again, just in case,” Butler said.
“I can’t ask him to help again,” Short said.
“You didn’t ask him last time,” Butler pointed out, “I did.”
“Well, nothing’s happened yet,” Short said. “Let’s just wait and see. Meanwhile, what do we do about Sutherland?”
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