by Evans, Tabor
“We’ll keep that in mind,” Longarm promised.
After they’d settled in their rooms, Longarm felt like taking a nap, but it was early in the afternoon, so he freshened up and then told Bodie, “I’m going to pay a visit to the local sheriff’s office. I’ll be back in an hour or two and we can go get something to eat. You should stay here in your room and keep the door to the hallway as well as the one to the patio locked until I return.”
“What happens when me or Homer needs to take a leak or crap?”
“Well, in that case, sure. But carry your gun and watch out for trouble.”
* * *
Fifteen minutes later Longarm strode into Sheriff Newt Bolden’s office and caught the man snoozing with his feet up on his desk.
“Another rough day maintaining law and order in Reno, huh?” Longarm asked, giving the man a nudge and waking him with a start.
“Why if it isn’t Marshal Custis Long! How are you doin’?”
“I’m fine.”
“Like a cup of strong, cold coffee?”
Over the years Newt’s cold coffee had almost become a standing joke between them. “How could I resist such an offer?”
“I’ll pour us both a cup. I suppose you’re here about the murder of United States Marshal Hugh Parker.”
“To tell you the truth, there are so many things going on that my boss, Marshal Vail, didn’t even give me the deceased’s name.”
“Huh!” Bolden shook his head. “Marshal Parker’s gun and money were missing, and when he was found behind a saloon, he was unconscious. We hoped he’d wake up and be able to tell us something, but he passed away early this morning.”
Longarm took a sip of the sheriff’s coffee and tried not to grimace. “Good as always, Newt.”
“Yeah, I do like it strong.” Newt plopped down in his chair and threw his boots back up on his desk. “Did you know Federal Officer Hugh Parker?”
“No. We had never met.”
“No, him being from the San Francisco office and you being from Denver, I don’t suppose you would have met.”
“What was he like?” Longarm asked.
“Marshal Parker was hard to read. He kept his own counsel and didn’t tell me much, but I knew he was investigating that murder up in Virginia City.”
“What murder?”
“The one where a wealthy couple was murdered and burned up in their mansion.”
Longarm almost dropped his cup. “And their names?”
“Chester and Ruby Burlington. I met them a few times when they came down here to shop or just to get away from the Comstock Lode to see a river and trees again. They were as nice a couple as you’d ever meet and it was clear they were very much in love.”
“Did they arrest those responsible?”
“Afraid not.” Newt shook his head. “At first, everyone thought that Mr. and Mrs. Burlington had died accidentally. Chester Burlington always had a lit cigar in his mouth.”
“But their deaths weren’t an accident?”
“Their bodies were charred almost beyond recognition, but the mortician found a bullet hole in the back of each of their skulls.”
Longarm leaned forward with intense interest. “In the back, not the side or front?”
“No, in the back of the head. Dead center. Small-caliber bullets but obviously lethal. So it was pretty obvious they’d been murdered, and because their safe door was hanging open it didn’t seem a stretch to figure out that they had been forced to open the safe and then were murdered, and their home was burned down around their bodies to hide the cause of their deaths.”
“Yes, whoever killed them probably thought that the bodies would be too charred for anyone to note the bullet holes,” Longarm mused aloud.
“That’s the way that I saw it, and so did Marshal Hugh Parker. Of course, I couldn’t go up to Virginia City even to see the crime scene because it’s out of my jurisdiction.”
“What about the local Virginia City authorities?”
“The only man they had is gone. The Comstock Lode’s production has fallen off so much that the town has almost no revenue and is dead broke. They had to lay off their entire city staff and that included the only lawman on their payroll.”
“That usually happens when the gold peters out,” Longarm said. “And when everybody starts closing their business and striking out for the newer mining discoveries.”
“Yeah. There are still about a thousand people living in Virginia City hoping that some new pocket of gold or silver will be found, but most people think that the town is in for a slow death.”
“I’d agree that is likely.”
“Custis, you can buy mines and claims up there for a penny on the dollar now. Houses and businesses are going for next to nothing.”
“Kind of hate to see that,” Longarm said. “In her day, Virginia City was a sight to behold. I’ve never been in any boomtown where the liquor and the money flowed as fast and free.”
“Oh, it was wild and wicked, all right,” Newt agreed with a smile. “The life expectancy of a sheriff up there was about a month.”
“So tell me what United States Marshal Hugh Parker found out while investigating the Burlington murder and arson?”
“He was on to something, but he never quite got around telling me exactly what it was.”
“You mean,” Longarm asked, “that he thought he knew who might have murdered and then burned that couple to death?”
“I think he had his suspicions and was trying to round up some solid evidence.”
“Well he must have told you something.”
“Custis, Hugh Parker was real closemouthed. He would have told me when he thought the time was right, but someone got to him before that time.”
“Tell me everything you known about Hugh Parker and how he died.”
“Not much to tell. Marshal Parker was in his thirties, a good-lookin’ fella who had an eye for women and a thirst for drink. When he was staying here in Reno, he was seeing a young woman named Katie Lund.”
“Is she a prostitute?”
“No. She does bookwork for a lawyer here in Reno named Jake Kelsey. I met Katie a few times and liked her, but I sure never liked her lawyer boss.”
“Why didn’t you like Jake Kelsey?”
“Because,” Newt said, “he’s as crooked as a sidewinder and as cunning as a coyote.”
“What else can you tell me about Marshal Hugh Parker?”
“Not much. He was sent off by the feds from San Francisco, and he wasn’t here but two weeks. He didn’t like staying up in Virginia City, and I had the feeling that he felt . . . well, threatened up there on the Comstock Lode.”
“Threatened by whom?” Longarm asked.
“I’m not sure. But when the news got out that Mr. and Mrs. Chester Burlington had been shot in the back of their heads, everything changed, and you could just feel the anger and tension in Marshal Hugh Parker. He’d come over from San Francisco thinking he was looking at an accident and maybe a robbery and then suddenly he was investigating a cold-blooded murder.”
“Did he have any leads as to who might have done it?”
“Like I said, Marshal Parker was pretty closemouthed, and he played his hand close to the vest. I knew that he’d eventually tell me what he knew and not a minute earlier, so I didn’t press him. After all, the murder up there wasn’t in my jurisdiction.”
“Yeah, you said that.”
“Well,” Sheriff Bolden said a little defensively, “that’s the truth of it.”
“I know.” Longarm forced himself to take a sip of a coffee so strong it would have corroded a horseshoe. “But maybe he told his gal, Katie Lund, a few things I ought to know. Even a good lawman will say things in bed with a woman that he wouldn’t tell anyone else.�
��
“Is that a fact?” Newt asked.
“You know that it is,” Longarm said, seeing a smile tugging at the corners of the man’s mouth. “So I think I’d better go and have a talk with Katie Lund. Where is her attorney’s office?”
“Just up the street a block. You can’t miss it. Big red-brick two-story building with a white wooden balcony off the second floor overlooking Virginia Street. Attorney Kelsey likes to sit up over the sidewalk and wave at people he thinks might have money enough to pay him to solve their legal problems.”
“He sounds like a real hustler to me,” Longarm said.
“Oh, he is.” The sheriff glanced over at an old grandfather clock. “If you want some advice, I’d tell you to wait about an hour, till Attorney Kelsey heads out his door, and then go up and talk to Miss Lund.”
“And why would I have to wait?”
“Just a suggestion,” Newt Bolden said, raising his hands palms up. “No use in causing a stir when it can be helped.”
“I’ll take your suggestion,” Longarm said, sensing that the man was just giving him a friendly warning not to get involved with the attorney.
“We can sit here and chew the fat for an hour,” Newt suggested. “You can tell me about all the dangerous and deadly criminals you’ve shot since last we got together, but I’d rather hear about all the women you’ve screwed.”
“You’re a dirty and lecherous old fart,” Longarm said with a laugh.
“You pegged me just right. You about ready for another cup of coffee?”
“Nope.”
“Better drink ’er down before she’s gone.”
“I’ll take my chances, Newt.”
“Suit yourself,” Reno’s congenial town sheriff said, as he got up to pour himself another cold cup.
Chapter 15
Longarm visited with Sheriff Bolden until five o’clock, and then he walked up the street and stood opposite the lawyer’s office. Bolden had described Katie Lund as being a very attractive woman about five feet, two inches tall, with long, dark brown hair, a nice figure, and a “perky” walk, whatever that meant.
At about a quarter after five, Longarm saw a woman who fit that description exit the brick building where Jake Kelsey practiced law. She turned and walked south moving at a brisk pace.
“Gotta be her,” Longarm said to himself as he crossed the street and hurried to overtake the woman. When he did, he said, “Excuse me, are you Miss Katie Lund?”
She turned and looked up at him. “What if I am?”
Longarm removed his badge and flashed it before her face. “I’d like a few minutes of your time, Miss Lund.”
“What is this about?” she asked, not stopping.
“It’s about a boy named Bodie, who I think lost his mother and stepfather up in Virginia City. Mr. and Mrs. Burlington? And also the death of Marshal Hugh Parker.”
Katie stopped and turned to gaze up into his face. “I don’t recognize you.”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t introduce myself. My name is Custis Long, and I’m a deputy United States marshal who works out of the Denver office. I’m here on official business concerning the murder of the boy’s mother. Reno’s Sheriff Newt Bolden said that you knew Marshal Parker.”
“I won’t deny it.”
“Could we please go somewhere and talk?”
Katie frowned. “I’m not sure that I can tell you anything that would help you solve Hugh’s murder.”
“You might be wrong about that, and it wouldn’t take long to find out. Ten, fifteen minutes, Miss Lund. I’ve come a long way to work on this case and I need your help.”
She thought about it for a second or two and then nodded her head. “There’s a little place up the street called Clancy’s Bar and Steak House, where I like to stop and have a drink and sometimes a meal before going home. If you buy me a shot or two of good Irish whiskey and a corned beef and rye sandwich, I’ll tell you what I can about Hugh and the Burlington murder.”
“It’s a deal.”
* * *
Ten minutes later they were seated at a small, dark table in a fine Irish drinking and eating establishment that was already starting to fill up with the evening’s customers.
“I’ll have my usual glass of Brannigan’s Best,” Katie told the smiling waiter, who sported a handlebar mustache the equal of Longarm’s. “And a corned beef on rye sandwich.”
“Very good,” the man said with a thick Irish brogue. “And the gentleman?”
“The same.”
The waiter disappeared but returned in a few minutes with two brandy snifters filled with a richly colored whiskey. “Do you want to eat soon?” he asked.
“Maybe a half hour,” Katie told him. “Thanks, Clancy.”
“My pleasure, dear girl.” The owner of the establishment smiled at Longarm. “New to Reno, are we?”
“Yes.”
“I hope you’ll enjoy your stay. You certainly have found excellent company!”
“Clancy is old enough to be my father,” Katie said, but he’d like to be my boyfriend.”
“He’s not married?”
“I don’t know. If he is, I’ve never heard him speak of his wife or any children. Clancy is from Dublin, and he came to the Comstock Lode about ten years ago and opened a saloon up on C Street that made him a small fortune. He sold that saloon about three years ago when he saw the writing on the wall and knew that the ore was starting to peter out. He’s done very well here in Reno, but he has a wicked mind and a roving eye.”
Longarm raised his glass in toast. The Irish whiskey went down smoothly, and it warmed its way clear down to his stomach. “Excellent,” he proclaimed.
“Yes, isn’t it? Now,” Katie said, “what do you want to know?”
“As I said, I have Mrs. Burlington’s son with me. Bodie is fourteen, and it now seems that he is also an orphan. He has had a very difficult childhood and was involved in some trouble in Denver. I helped him out, and we found a letter from his mother that was bloodstained, saying she had married Mr. Burlington, found religion, and wanted him to come live with her and her new husband.”
“But then you found out that they were murdered up in Virginia City.”
“That’s right,” Longarm said. “And I also need to find out who murdered Marshal Parker and left him to die behind a saloon.”
“It was this saloon.”
Longarm blinked. “Marshal Parker died in the alley behind this saloon?”
“That’s right. Didn’t our sheriff mention that?”
“No. He must have thought it was unimportant.”
“Maybe it was,” Katie said. “Hugh and I used to come here after work, just like we’re doing today. We’d have a few drinks and a sandwich or some Irish stew and soda bread. Sometimes corned beef and cabbage. We liked this atmosphere and we liked the whiskey and good food.”
“Easy to see why you liked the whiskey. So what happened on the night Hugh Parker was murdered?”
Katie shrugged. “We had more to drink than normal that evening and the hour grew late. Hugh was pretty drunk and talking loudly. Clancy even had to come over a couple of times and ask him to quiet down a little.”
“Was he talking about the Burlington murders?”
“Yes. He was excited because he said he had found some evidence that might really prove who the killer or killers were.”
“And people overheard this?”
Katie nodded and emptied her glass, signaling for a refill. “Hugh said that there was a connection between the murder and a legal issue that was being introduced to our court in a few days.”
“What kind of ‘legal issue’ was he talking about?”
“The last will and testimony of Chester and Ruby Burlington.”
“I see.�
� Longarm thought a moment. “Why wouldn’t the Story County court hear that issue?”
“Because that court has been shut down, so now all legal matters from Story County are sent down here to Washoe County.”
“Now I understand. Katie, I have to ask you a question that is very important—was your boss, Jake Kelsey, involved in this court case?”
“As of today he is.” Katie accepted her refill and took a deep swallow. “I didn’t know that it was going to turn out like this. Hugh and I were friends, and a little more. When he was murdered, I just figured that he got into a fight with someone here after I left and it turned out to be the cause of his death.”
“And what do you believe now?”
She shook her head. “I believe that you believe that Hugh’s death and the death of the Burlington couple are somehow intertwined.” She stared into his eyes. “Am I right?”
“Yes,” Longarm said, “you are. Did Hugh Parker say anything that would help me find out who murdered the Burlington couple? I have to find some answers for Ruby Burlington’s son, and he might just be entitled to a sizable inheritance.”
“Do you think so?”
“Why not? Did Hugh Parker ever tell you if Mr. Burlington had any heirs?”
“One. Apparently, he has a son that lives in Virginia City who is a gambler and owner of a mine on the verge of being closed down. Hugh said he had met the son a few times and that there was bad blood between him and his wealthy father.”
“I see.”
Longarm glanced away, his mind whirling with possibilities. It made sense that the son might be the person who either murdered the Burlingtons or paid to have someone else do the job.
“What’s the boy like?” Katie asked quietly.
“Bodie is a good boy, but very rough around the edges. He had to kill a man in Denver.”
“Kill him!”
“Please,” Longarm said, “could you hold your voice down a little?”
“I’m sorry. But what a shock. You show up with a boy whose mother was murdered and burned to char, and in the next breath you tell me that this fourteen-year-old boy had to kill a man? That’s pretty shocking, Marshal Long.”
