by Tell Cotten
I heard a noise again, over by the main door, and it sounded like somebody was opening the outer oak doors.
With my Colt in hand, I walked down the hallway and eased down the stairs. The boards creaked underneath my feet, and I winced.
I could see a silhouette of someone standing in the doorway. The person was tall and wide, and he had his back to me. I wasn’t sure, but it looked like Brock.
Being as quiet as possible, I left the stairs and walked towards him.
I heard another noise. This time it was behind me, and I started to spin around. But, before I could, strong hands grabbed me and threw me forward.
With a surprised grimace, I landed in the middle of a table. It shattered, and my flailing arms knocked over a chair. The impact caused me to drop my Colt, and I heard it hit the floor.
I was tangled up in the splintered table. I tried to stand, but then those same strong hands grabbed ahold of me again. I was spun around, and a hard fist greeted me in the face.
I staggered backwards, and as I did I attempted a roundhouse swing. But, the huge form in front of me easily blocked my ineffective blow. He lashed out again, and I tasted blood as I went flying backwards.
I landed in a heap and was knocked senseless. I gasped as I tried to recover, but then my attacker viciously kicked me in my midsection.
I groaned and curled into a compulsory ball. The breath was knocked out of me, and I couldn’t move.
I saw a pair of boots standing in front of me. Seconds later, I felt a hard blow on the back of my head.
Lights exploded. I managed to groan, and then darkness closed in around me as I passed out.
Chapter twenty-two
“Easy now. He’s waking up.”
My head hurt, my back hurt, everything hurt. I groaned as I forced my eyes open.
I blinked my eyes several times before things finally came into focus.
I was still on the floor in the lobby, and several lanterns had been lit. April and Brian were knelt beside me, and Ross stood behind them.
June stood over by the stairs in her nightgown, and her eyes were wide with fright.
April looked concerned. She had a wet towel, and she was wiping blood from my head. I could already feel a huge knot on the back of my head, and it was painful.
“What happened?” She asked.
I swallowed and licked my lips.
“A fight,” I managed. “I lost.”
“I can see that,” she smiled.
“What time is it?” I asked hoarsely.
“’Bout an hour before daylight,” Brian explained. “April came down and found you. She woke me, and I sent her after Ross.”
I frowned thoughtfully.
“I’ve been down here a while then.”
“What happened?” Ross spoke up.
“I heard a noise over by the door,” I explained. “I came downstairs, and somebody jumped me from behind. I think he came from the office.”
A worried look crossed Brian’s face. He stood, grabbed a lantern, and hurried into the office. He returned a few seconds later looking grim.
“Did you recognize them?” He asked.
I had my suspicions, but I didn’t want to say too much in front of Ross.
“It was dark,” I said instead.
“Well, whoever it was, they broke into our safe,” Brian muttered. “They took it all.”
“All?”
“Yes, all.”
Several stunned seconds passed, and I groaned softly.
I heard a muffled chuckle. I glanced up and saw Ross trying to hide a smile.
“What’s so funny?” I glared at him.
“I’m sorry, but I can’t help but think how ironic this situation is.”
“How so?”
“You two used to make a living by stealing from others, and now it’s happened to you. A switch of fortunes, so to speak.”
A surge of anger passed through me, and I fought to control my emotions.
“Ross,” I said.
“Yes, Lee?”
“You can leave now.”
Ross stared at me, and he narrowed his eyes when he saw how serious I was.
“Sure,” he said. “Soon as it gets daylight, I’ll ride out and look for tracks.”
“I’ll go with you,” Brian offered.
Ross nodded. He glanced at me once more, and then he left.
“Let’s get you up,” April suggested.
I nodded. April and Brian both offered a hand, and they helped pull me up.
I was dizzy. I swayed a bit, but then April grabbed me.
Even though I was in considerable pain, I couldn’t help but noticed how fresh and clean April smelled. I put my arm around her shoulder as we walked towards the stairs.
“Let’s get you to your bed, and then I’ll bring you some breakfast,” she said.
“Thank you, April.”
We passed by June, and she was still staring at me through wide eyes.
“Mister Lee,” June said in her soft and timid voice.
“Yes, June?”
“You look awful.”
“Go back to bed, June.”
“Yes, sir, Mister Lee.”
Chapter twenty-three
A few minutes later I was in bed on my back, with a pillow propped behind my aching head. April had gone downstairs to fix my breakfast, and Brian was standing in the corner, looking broodily out the window.
“I thought you said things would be better today,” he grumbled.
“I guess I lied.”
“We’re in big trouble now.”
“Really? I didn’t know.”
“There’s no way we can borrow enough money to pay Jeremiah,” Brian said as he ignored my sarcastic comment.
“What will we do then?”
Brian frowned thoughtfully.
“We’ll explain what happened, and then ask Jeremiah for some time. This hotel is making money. All we need is some time. A lot of time.”
“How ’bout payroll?”
“I can borrow enough for that and Mr. Tomlin’s steers.”
I thought it over and nodded. Meanwhile, Brian turned from the window and looked at me.
“Now that we’re alone, do you know who it was?”
“Brock and Amos,” I declared.
“You’re sure?”
“Not entirely,” I admitted. “It happened so fast. But it was Amos that attacked me, and the guy’s shadow in the door looked like Brock.”
“How can you see a shadow in the dark?” Brian looked at me oddly.
“You know what I mean,” I scowled.
“Is that all you can remember?”
“No. The feller that attacked me was wearing boots.”
“What did these boots look like?” Brian looked hopeful.
“They were just plain-looking boots. Nothing special that I can remember.”
“Well, that really narrows it down,” Brian said sourly.
I shrugged and then winced as a sharp pain pounded my head.
“Amos hasn’t come in yet,” Brian commented as he looked back out the window.
“Act normal when he does,” I said. “I want to see how guilty he acts.”
Brian nodded, and it was silent for several minutes.
“You want to know the one thing that really bothers me?” I said after a while.
“Just one?”
“Out of all the men I’ve killed over years, not once did I attack from behind. They all saw it coming.”
“Well, at least you heard it coming.”
“Amos is going to pay for this,” I vowed.
“If it was him,” Brian reminded.
“It was him,” I muttered.
“Well, I’d better go saddle my horse,” Brian said as he moved towards the door. “We’ll talk to Jeremiah when I get back.”
I nodded, and Brian walked out the door.
Chapter twenty-four
April brought my breakfast to my room. It was now daylight
, and she gasped when she saw my face.
“Oh my,” she said. “You look like a raccoon.”
“Thanks.”
“How do you feel?”
“Probably how I look.”
“I’m sorry,” she said.
I grunted. I took a swig of coffee and winced as I swallowed.
April stood silently in front of me. I glanced up, and those big, blue eyes were staring at me solemnly.
“June is really worried about you,” she said.
“Tell her I’ll be fine.”
“I will,” April nodded. She hesitated, and added, “June has become quite fond of you. So have I.”
I was startled and didn’t know what to say.
“I – I mean - we would be devastated if anything were to happen to you. I’m not sure if June could take it. She’s already lost so much.”
“Nobody’s killed me yet.”
“But there’s trouble coming, isn’t there?”
“Yes, I think there is.”
“You will be careful, won’t you?”
“Sure.”
April didn’t look convinced as she walked towards the door.
“I’ll leave you alone so you can get some rest,” she said.
“Thanks for the breakfast, April. I really appreciate it.”
“Of course,” she smiled at me, and added, “I’m sorry you lost the, uh, boxing match.”
“It wasn’t boxing,” I grumbled. “It was more like bare knuckled fist fighting.”
“What’s the difference?”
“Rules,” I grumbled.
***
After breakfast I dressed in some fresh clothes, splashed some water in my face, buckled my gun-belt on, and went downstairs. I was extremely sore, and my movements were slow.
The lobby was full of customers eating breakfast. I spotted Jeremiah sitting at the corner table, and he had a full plate in front of him.
Amos was at the other end of the bar, tending to a customer. He looked unconcerned as he went about his business.
“It was you,” I muttered as I watched him.
I turned and went into the office, and neither Amos nor Jeremiah saw me.
I needed a cigar. I grabbed one from my desk, trimmed it carefully, lit it, and took a deep puff.
I sighed in contentment as I sat behind my desk and enjoyed my smoke. Afterwards, I stood painfully and studied the safe.
The safe looked untouched. In fact, there weren’t even any scratch marks on it.
I was still at the safe when Brian walked in. He watched me a moment and cleared his throat.
“Feel any better?”
“No,” I replied, and asked, “Find anything?”
“No. Ground was too hard.”
“I figured as much.”
“Amos showed up,” Brian announced. “He’s tending bar.”
“I saw him.”
“Has he confessed yet?”
“Surprisingly, no.”
Brian nodded, and then he watched curiously as I opened the safe and studied the hinges.
“Looking for something?”
“A clue would be nice.”
“Found one yet?”
“No,” I grumbled, and asked, “How do you figure they got into the safe? There aren’t even any scratch marks.”
“Either they knew the combination or they picked it,” Brian declared.
“Who knows the combination?”
“Just you and me.”
I frowned. I started to reply, but before I could Jeremiah walked in looking jovial.
“Good morning!” He said.
Chapter twenty-five
Jeremiah’s cheerful look disappeared when he saw my face.
“What happened to you?” He looked startled.
“I bumped into a table.”
“That looks painful.”
“It is.”
“You should be more careful,” he chided.
“Thanks for the advice,” I said stiffly.
“So, what else happened?”
I didn’t answer. I looked at Brian, and he stepped forward and cleared his throat.
“We were robbed last night,” he announced.
Jeremiah looked genuinely concerned.
“What? Who did it?”
“We’re not sure,” Brian replied.
“What did they take?”
“They broke into the safe,” Brian explained. “They took all our money, including yours.”
A thoughtful look crossed Jeremiah’s face. It was silent for several seconds, and he sat in the chair across the desk from me.
“I take it you caught them in the act?” He looked at me.
“I did,” I nodded.
“Do you know who did it? Did you get a good look?”
“No. It was dark.”
“So they got away.”
“For now.”
Jeremiah pinched his face in displeasure. I looked at Brian, and he cleared his throat again.
“We owe you twenty thousand dollars,” Brian said.
“You most certainly do.”
“And you’ll get it, but it’s going to take time,” Brian said, and then he outlined our plan.
Jeremiah listened, and afterwards a heavy silence filled the room as he thought on that.
“What am I supposed to do while I’m waiting?” He finally asked sarcastically. “Sit in my room and twiddle my thumbs?”
Neither one of us replied.
“I want my money,” Jeremiah declared. “I want it now.”
“I’m sorry,” I spoke, and my voice was husky. “But we don’t have it.”
“What about the hotel?”
“What about it?” I narrowed my eyes.
“You own it, don’t you?”
“That would be correct, yes.”
“It’s simple then. I figure the hotel’s worth about what you owe me. Sign it over, and we’ll be even.”
“No,” I said firmly. “We won’t do that.”
“Any court of law would side with me,” Jeremiah pointed out.
“You can’t have the hotel,” I said, and my voice was curt.
“I don’t think you have a choice,” Jeremiah replied calmly.
I felt a rage starting to build inside me. I sat up in my chair, and my knuckles turned white as I gripped the edge of my desk. Jeremiah however, didn’t seem to be upset.
“Before things get ugly, I have a proposition that might make everybody happy,” he said.
I took in a big breath and let it out slowly as I fought to control my emotions.
“Let’s hear it,” I said.
“Nothing would change much,” Jeremiah said. “You two would still run the hotel as if you owned it. The only difference is that I would get twenty percent of the earnings. Then, when you can afford it, you can buy the hotel back and I’ll be on my way. In the meantime, I want the deed to the hotel for security.”
“That sounds reasonable,” Brian spoke quickly, and then he looked at me. “What do you think, Lee?”
I didn’t like it, and I frowned suspiciously as I studied Jeremiah’s face. But he revealed nothing as he calmly returned my gaze.
I sighed and looked at Brian.
“Are you sure about this?”
“What else can we do?”
I didn’t have a reply to that. With a deep frown, I looked back at Jeremiah and nodded slightly.
Jeremiah smiled and nodded graciously.
“I have one more suggestion,” he said.
I was silent, so Brian asked, “Yes?”
“We all want the hotel to make money,” he said. “Am I correct?”
“Just get to the point,” I said sourly.
“Even though I’m now the owner, I still have nothing to do. So, I suggest that I take over the poker room. You’ll make your money back faster if I play.”
“Are you trying to insult me?” I leaned over the desk and thrust out my jaw.
“Of course not. I’ll j
ust let the truth speak for itself. You lost; I won. And, to make money you must win.”
That burned. I couldn’t think of an answer, and the silence was uncomfortable.
“Lee, it might not be a bad idea,” Brian spoke up. “You look horrible. You could use a few days off anyway to rest up and recover.”
I scowled at Brian but didn’t say anything.
“It’s settled then?” Jeremiah asked.
I remained silent, so Brian said, “Yes, it’s settled.”
“Good!” Jeremiah looked pleased. “Now, I want this agreement to be legal.”
“I’ll draw up the papers,” Brian offered.
“That’ll be fine,” Jeremiah said, and he stood to leave. “I’ll sign them tonight.”
Brian nodded, and Jeremiah walked out the door.
“Are you all right?” Brian turned to me.
“No,” I muttered. “I don’t trust him.”
“There weren’t any other options to choose from, Lee. He had us.”
“I know,” I admitted, and asked, “What about Jessica?”
“What about her?”
“We just gave her hotel away.”
“We’ll get it back before she finds out,” Brian declared.
I had my doubts, but I didn’t say anything.
Chapter twenty-six
Jeremiah won big at poker that night, and the restaurant was full of customers. I wasn’t needed, so I went upstairs and turned in early.
I was still sore and stiff the next morning. I splashed some water in my face, got dressed, strapped on my gun belt, and went downstairs.
I could hear a low hum of laughter and chatter. I was curious, but then my face turned dark as I walked into the lobby.
Jeremiah Wisdom sat at my corner table, eating breakfast. June was seated beside him, and they were teasing one another.
I tried to hide my displeasure as I walked over to them. They looked up, and June smiled at me.
“What are you doing up this early?” Jeremiah looked concerned.
“I’m an early riser,” I replied curtly, and added, “I always eat my breakfast at this table.”
“Sit down,” he offered. “Join us.”
“Thanks,” I said stiffly.
Jeremiah was in the chair that I usually sat in, so I walked around the table and sat across from him.
