Cady didn't have to guess what Sam expected to happen to him if he betrayed Mortimer. It wouldn't be only his job that he'd lose.
She swallowed the bitter lump in her throat. Never had she despised anyone as much as she did Mortimer. Even so, she had to play the game until she could figure out how to turn things her way. "Thank you, Mr. Crane. I knew you could be fair if it suited you."
"Of course, I can. I'm no monster." His cheeks regained their normal color. He straightened his shoulders and stormed off.
Everyone collapsed onto chairs, the energy drained out of them.
"That was close." Leda collapsed on a chair.
"Too close." Franco fussed with his clothes as if he'd been roughed up rather than bawled out.
"Cady!" Mortimer yelled from the other room. "In my office. Now."
"Oh, oh," Leda muttered.
"If he touches you…" Franco said.
"He'll need a new hand," Cady answered, getting up from her chair.
She marched through the parlor and into the office. "What is it, Mr. Crane?"
He stood behind his fancy desk in his trousers, shirtsleeves and suspenders. "You have one, single week, young lady, to come to your senses. That's how long I'll be gone. When I return, you will give yourself to me willingly or I will have your photographer lover shot."
Her mouth dropped open. She hadn't expected this. "You can't do that. You'd go to prison for murder. Besides, he's not my lover and doesn't deserve your enmity."
"I haven't been able to win you over any other way." He picked up a lit cigar and puffed on it. "You wouldn't bed me for your sister, but maybe you'll do it for his sake. If that doesn't work, I'll see to it that you're out on the street again and your sister moved to a place you will never find. I know the right man for the job too, a gunslinger in Cranesville. I'll hire him while I'm there. I can't trust Thumbs any more. Tell Franco to expect the new man in a day or two."
He sat down, seeming pleased with himself. "Oh, and about the murder charge, you'll find out I have many influential friends, in and out of the government. No one will send me to prison."
Cady's palms broke into a sweat and she began to tremble. Determined not to let him see her fear, she said, "I'll do as you ask, so long as you don't move Regina. I'll come to your bed in one week. If you bring Regina here, I'll do whatever you ask."
A slow grin spread across his face. "That's more like it. How about a kiss of appreciation?"
"I think not. Your proposal is blackmail, Mr. Crane, and that is against the law. Don't push me too far."
"Huh. Don't be giving me orders, girl. Now get out."
She fled his office, raced up the stairs and threw herself on her bed. Everything had seemed beautiful and hopeful yesterday. How had it all gone wrong so fast?
Mortimer, of course.
Her chest and throat ached with the need to cry, but she refused. She wouldn't give Mortimer Crane the satisfaction of knowing he'd upset her that much. She'd find a way out of his demands. Somehow, she'd escape his clutches. She had to.
But she also had to protect her sister.
And Garrick.
Would he come back for her like he said? Half an hour had already passed. Could she dare to depart with him? They could go to Cranesville and search for Regina. But could they find her before Mortimer had her taken away? She couldn't risk that.
Nor could she ask Garrick to support her and Regina until she found a new position.
Someone knocked on the door. She ignored it.
"Come on, Cady." Franco's voice. "We know you're in there. Open up or I'll get the master key."
"We're your friends, Miss Cady," Sam added. "We want to help you."
Giving up, she called, "Come in."
The entire crew, including Mae but minus Henri, trooped inside. Outside, snow continued to fall.
"What happened, Cady?" Leda wanted to know.
"Are you all right?" Mae asked.
"What did he say?" Franco asked.
"He's given me an ultimatum. Either I give myself to him in one week or he'll have Garrick shot, send my sister somewhere I'll never find her, and I'll be out on the street. Oh, and he's hiring a gunslinger. He said to tell you to expect the man in one or two days, Franco."
"That crooked, conniving snake," Leda muttered. "We ought to tear him limb from limb."
"No, please," Cady pleaded. "I couldn’t bear it if this mess hurt any of you. I'll have to do as he says. There's no other choice."
"There has to be a way." Franco paced the floor, hands in his pockets. "I won't let him do this to you."
"Me either." Sam slammed a fist into the wall, leaving a crack. "That low-down son of a… Forgive me, but I've come to despise that man. And I think I know who he's thinking to hire. A low-down skunk called The Whip because he's so good with one. I seen him kill a man once. Struck him with the whip in such a way it wrapped around his neck and choked him to death."
"Lord have mercy on us all." Franco crossed himself.
"There are six of us," Mae said. "Surely, between all of us, we can come up with a solution. We could go to the marshal."
Cady shook her head. "No. I have no proof of his threat. The marshal could do nothing."
Franco came to stand at the foot of the bed. "She's right. So, we need proof. And before this Whip fellow shows up."
Sam pushed in next to Franco. "I know what to do, Cady. Go back down there. Get him to repeat his demands. We'll all listen on the other side of the door. That would be proof."
"Not a bad idea," Franco said, rubbing his jaw.
"Yes, let's do it." Leda bounced on the bed.
"I love you all for wanting to help," Cady said. "But I doubt your idea would work, Sam."
"Why not?" He appeared crestfallen.
"For one thing," Franco said. "Mortimer isn't going to be satisfied even if she does go to his bed. Nor is he going to kick her out. He's obsessed with her. I've never seen him like this. Before, he took up with any woman who'd have him, including the other whores in town, but—"
"He never took up with me, thank heaven," Leda said.
"Or me," Alma added.
Franco held up a hand for silence. "He knows better than to bed his own girls and doesn't see Cady as being one of them."
"We need to find someone who can help us," Leda said. "Someone separate from the salon."
Cady's mind immediately darted to Garrick. "But even if we could prove Mortimer threatened me, would the marshal arrest him for that? Would he be in jail? Otherwise, little good would come from it."
"She's right," Franco said. "Everyone in Wildcat Ridge might hate Mortimer, but, as he said, he has friends in high places. Friends who could get him out of a small charge like threatening to kick a woman out onto the street, or even the murder of a man he could claim threatened him."
"Cady," Mae tugged on her arm. "Garrick isn't connected to the salon. He's good with a gun and knows how to fight. I'd ask him to help. For you."
She shook her head. "His leaving might make Mortimer feel better. It would devastate me."
"How do you know he can handle a gun?" Alma asked.
"Yes," Franco said. "And why would Garrick listen to you but not to Cady?"
Mae stared each of them in the eye. "Because he's my brother."
At last, Cady wanted to shout. Without saying a word, she went to Mae and gathered her into a hug.
Chapter Tweleve
Everyone gasped at Mae's announcement. Questions inundated her. Cady said nothing, simply watched the others react. She felt a little numb, as if she were watching from afar.
"Why haven't you said anything before, Mae?" Franco sounded upset, perhaps because she hadn't told him before about Garrick.
Mae blanched. "I couldn't, for his sake. If Mortimer learned about it, he'd be afraid Garrick would take me away and hate him even more. I wanted to protect him. "
"But we're your friends," Alma said. "Why didn't you trust us?"
"Keeping secrets can
be hard and painful. I didn't want to place that burden on you."
"I think she did the right thing," Cady said finally. "Asking someone else to keep your secret isn't fair to the person asked."
Mae spun about to look at Cady. "Oh, I'm sorry. That's what I did to you, isn't it?"
"That's not why I said what I did. I have a sister who's missing. I understand not only your viewpoint but Garrick's as well."
"Do you think he'll forgive me?"
"Of course. He knows what happened to you wasn't your fault."
Leda pinned Cady with a stare. "You don't seem surprised by all this. Did you know?"
Before she could answer, Franco waved them to silence. "Who knew or didn't know doesn’t matter. We have to decide how to help Cady and protect Garrick."
Cady made a gesture of helplessness. Much as she loved them for wanting to help, she could see no solution. "What is there to decide, Franco? I've already told Mortimer I'd do as he asked."
"No. Not yet. You can't give in before we've had a chance to try to resolve this."
She went to sit on her bed. "Okay. Talk."
Franco turned to Mae. "Honey? You meant that, didn't you? Garrick is your brother?"
"It's true. I will go to him, I promise, but I need to go when I'm ready."
Cady hugged her silently.
"I don't get how you think Garrick can help, Mae," Franco said.
"He knows how to use a gun," she answered. "He's strong and can fight. He'd do whatever he had to. He's in love with Cady."
"I agree, Franco," Alma said. "Garrick is strong and smart. And he cares. I've seen how he looks at Cady. Besides, who else can we ask to help us beat Mortimer?"
"That reminds me," Sam said. "I wonder where Lach is? We can't trust him, you know. He's been friendlier lately, but that means nothing."
No one had seen him. Nor did they want to. They decided he must be with Mortimer.
Sam went to Cady. "I know how to defeat that old mule's behind, Mortimer the Moron. You want me to fetch Regina, Cady? I'll do it for you. The only reason I haven't already is because he said he'd kill Garrick if we did anything to help you get Regina. I'm through knuckling under to that little rat-face. The man is privy scum. Someone ought to knock his block off."
"You know where to find Regina?" Franco interrupted.
"I delivered a bank draft once to the old bag who has her." Sam ran a hand through his hair, messing it up more than smoothing it. "She's a sweet kid. I worry about her."
Cady flew off the bed and confronted him. "Why? What are you worried will happen to her? Is she ill? Are they being cruel to her?"
He held her back with his big hands. "Hold off, Cady. She ain't ill, and if they're being cruel to her, I haven't seen it. But she's lost weight since we took her there. I don't think she's getting enough food."
"Oh, my lands." Cady all but collapsed onto a chair, her hands covering her face. "I did this to her. Me, her own sister. I ought to be horsewhipped."
Jumping up again, she pleaded, "Please, Sam, take me to her. You must. I have to rescue her."
"I'll get her," he said. "Just give me time. Mortimer's going back there and so long as he's there, I don't dare show up. After he returns on Tuesday, I'll go after her. Can you trust me that long?"
"Five days?" She swallowed the knot caught in her throat and nodded, wringing her hands. "Okay. Okay. I've waited this long. I suppose I can wait until then."
Oh, but she hated to. She wanted badly to force Sam and Garrick to take her to Cranesville.
"Meanwhile," Franco said. "I'm going to search Mortimer's office for his rents and mortgage ledger first chance I get. Not the one he keeps on his desk. I'm sure that one's been doctored. We need his real ledger, the one that tells the truth about his dealings. The man's crooked as a mountain road. I want to see him in jail."
"Do you think we can do that?" Leda asked.
"Put him in jail?" Franco nodded. "Oh, Yes. We can, and we will. It's a matter of time."
"What are you going to do about Garrick?" Cady asked Mae the next day as they cleaned the salon. The girls had been helping with the chores to lighten Cady's load, for which she felt much gratitude and love.
Ignoring her for a moment, Mae picked up a lamp in the anteroom and dusted it. "I said I'd tell him, and I will."
Cady wanted a better answer. She was worried about Garrick. He hadn't come back for her like he said he would. "When will you tell him?"
She straightened and cast Cady a glare. "I don't know. I'll go figure it out right now."
Mae threw her cloth into Cady's basket of supplies and headed toward the stairs.
Guilt slammed into Cady. She'd taken her concern for Garrick out on Mae. "Wait, Mae. I'm—"
A pounding came at the salon's front door. The women froze. They rarely received callers this early in the day. Sam came from the sitting room to answer it.
"We want girls," a drunken voice demanded from the foyer. "We're eager for some fun."
Three men pushed inside. Sam halted them at the entrance to the anteroom. "We're not open yet. Come back at six o'clock."
Shaped like a short-legged pear dressed in a long fur coat covered with snow, one of the men almost waddled when he walked. None were young. Or clean. All appeared intoxicated. Ruffians and troublemakers.
The tallest one took off his hat, exposing hair so white he looked like he'd been out in a snowstorm, which he had. The third man, older, had shaggy dark hair with a scar across his forehead and another on his chin. Not the type Mortimer allowed in the salon.
"Hell, no. That girl…" The coot with the scar pointed at Cady. "I'll take her. Come 'ere, girly."
He started toward her, and she backed away. Sam stepped in front of him. "Cady, get Franco. Or Lach, if you can find him. Wait here, fellows. We'll get you taken care of."
"You better. We're in dire need. Ain't we, Shorty?"
The pear-man laughed and nodded. The blond had his eyes on Mae who stood frozen on the stairs. "I want her."
"And you'll get her," Sam said. "Hold yer horses a minute 'til the boss gets here."
"What's the boss got to do with it?" The blond tried to push past Sam. "It ain't him I plan to have fun with." He cackled at his joke.
"What he has to do with it," Sam said, "is that he owns the place and the women."
Cady didn't stay to hear more. She raced to the kitchen where Lach sat at the table eating beignets.
She would have preferred to see Garrick there instead, but at least wherever he was, he was surely safe.
"Lach." She tried to pull him up out of his chair. "Sam needs you. There are three drunks in the anteroom demanding women, including me. Sam's holding them off until you can get there. Come on, hurry."
"Please, Lach," Mae added.
"Damn." He shook her off, dropped the pastry he had been about to bite back in the bowl and stalked out.
Cady followed but made sure she stayed out of sight.
Sam had drawn his six-gun and appeared ready to pistol-whip someone. Lach approached calmly, one hand on the butt of his six-gun. "What's going on here, gents?"
"We came for some fun, ya idjet," the blond said. "What's the holdup?"
"The holdup is that we aren't open yet. You either come back at six o'clock, or—" He drew his gun. "—we can end this now and bury you out back."
"Whoa, now." Shorty held up his hands. "We're seeking fun, not trouble."
"Well, trouble's what you found, nevertheless. I recommend you skedaddle now."
"All right." Shorty pushed the other two toward the door. "Let's go, boys. We'll return later, and it'll be a whole lot more fun."
"Aw, Shorty, why—?"
"Because I said so. Now get."
They staggered out the door.
"I think they'll be back, all right." Sam locked the door and checked his gun. "But not for girls. At least not right off. They'll be looking to kick our butts first."
"We'll have to disabuse them of the idea." Lach heade
d for the kitchen.
Cady smiled at Lach's new vocabulary. Both men spoke better now than before they learned to read. A hand fell on her shoulder and she jumped.
"Are they going to be more of a problem?" Mae asked.
"I think so. Let's go warn the others."
At ten after six that evening, the three men returned. Two other customers had also arrived and were visiting with Leda and Alma in the sitting room. Cady and Mae stayed in the kitchen, praying nothing bad happened.
Next thing they knew, screams and gunshots came from the front of the building. Not knowing what to expect, Cady ducked under the large table. Mae dove in beside her. Henri held a meat cleaver and she heard Franco cock his Smith and Wesson.
"You girls stay where you are. They're less likely to find you there."
"All right. What are you going to do?"
"Help Lach and Sam, if they need it."
The men went out and soon the pitch of the fight grew more intense. After what seemed like hours, silence prevailed. Franco and Henri returned. Cady's gaze shot to Henri's blade. No blood.
"You can come out now, girls," Franco said.
"What happened?" Cady asked after straightening to her full height.
"We have three roughnecks unconscious in the parlor," Franco explained. "The other two men who were already here left. Lach is guarding them while Sam goes for the marshal. I wish Garrick was here. We could use him about now. Hell, we could have used him during the fight."
"I wish he was here too. You know, he never came back for me like he said he would when Mortimer made him leave yesterday. It's not like him not to keep his word."
"Do you think he might have run into those men and be lying hurt somewhere?" Mae voiced Cady's worst fear.
Franco's brow furrowed. "Garrick can take care of himself, but we'd better check on him."
He went to the gun rack and took down a rifle. "You girls stay here. When Sam returns, tell him where I've gone and to keep an eye on Lach."
Fifteen minutes later, Sam returned with the marshal and deputy. Lach had disappeared. Sam helped the lawmen haul the three troublemakers to the jail and returned to the salon and still, neither Garrick nor Franco had shown up.
Cadence Page 11
