Howell knew it was both protocol and a message police might already be on scene.
Two uniformed officers responded within minutes. Howell sent one to get an ambulance wagon to respond from the hospital and had the other begin taking a report from Fuller. The other four were field interviewed one at a time in the hall. Hume, Thacker, Morse and Howell peppered them with questions and threats.
Before being taken to jail, the group had what they wanted.
They had made separate statements Riordan ordered the killing of Detective Sarah Watson. They had statements O’Brien was their leader. O’Brien was there and arrested but refused to talk. Hume suspected Howell would soften him up in jail and get a full statement. Either way, he knew Riordan would be charged with two counts of attempted murder by hire and moved to solitary confinement where he could not give orders to have anyone else harmed.
Hume explained this to the Pope’s and Sarah. He then headed home for several hours of sleep. Sarah thanked all involved and opened the adjoining door to Pope’s rooms. Israel and Scout slept there, door open. At Sarah’s insistence, Pope resumed his position in her bed and she took the chair. Within an hour, she snuggled up to the sleeping detective and dozed off contentedly.
3
For the next several weeks, Sarah went to the office daily. She had a few small cases requiring travel within the Bay area but was home by evening each night.
Pope walked farther and farther each day during his recovery. He spent an hour a day practicing his draw. He practiced from belt and shoulder holsters equally.
Israel returned to the cabin in Marin County. The Alameda sheriff responded to Hume’s telegram. Pope’s ranch was untouched.
Sarah met with the prosecutor and prepared to testify against Riordan. Israel Pope returned to testify at the trial, which his grandson attended as an observer.
Riordan received a total of thirty years imprisonment for an assortment of crimes. His kidnapping and attempted murders for hire were the keystones of the case against him.
Detective Sergeant Howell was concerned about who would take over the gang. Riordan operated within certain limits on most of his organized crime enterprises. He avoided prostitution and drug trafficking. Howell was not too sure if the young hoodlums under him had any limits.
After the trial, Hume called Pope and Sarah aside.
“Detective Pope, when do you think you will be ready for full duty, including travel?” he asked.
“I am ready now, sir. I will move a little slower and more deliberately for a little longer. I have been practicing my draw. I believe I am much faster now than ever before,” Pope said.
“Sarah, are you ready to hit the rails with Pope?” She nodded affirmatively.
“Meet me in my office early tomorrow morning. I will brief you on a case I want you two to take. We have had two train robberies and three stage robberies in Wyoming. Two Wells Fargo employees wounded, and three civilians killed. Come ready to board a train after the briefing. And remember to bring warm clothes. October in Cheyenne is different from October here.”
They parted.
“What kind of coat did you bring from Chicago before relocating to Arizona Territory where we met?” Pope said.
“A heavy wool dressy coat.”
“Sounds like we may both need to get heavy trail coats. I have spent most of my adult life in California. So, I am not equipped for the plains or mountains of the middle part of the country either. Let’s go shopping before heading home,” Pope suggested.
They bought similar style, but not matching steerhide coats with shearling lining. Pope’s was dark gray and Sarah’s tan. She bought heavier riding skirts and boots as well as earmuffs and a heavy wool shawl.
“Once we get there, I will probably buy a heavy caliber rifle,” Pope noted.
“We don’t know how civilized Wyoming Territory is or what’s there. I’d say buy the rifle now,” Sarah suggested.
They walked to C.D. Ladd’s in the 500 block of Kearny Street. Ladd’s had a new .45-70 caliber lever action Marlin Model of 1881 and highly recommended it. Pope bought it, a scabbard and four boxes of ammunition. Despite the load, Pope insisted on walking back to their rooms. He considered it part of his recovery regimen.
They packed for an unknown time span in Wyoming. Pope left his original 1873 Winchester carbine at home. Sarah took his short shotgun with its combination saddle scabbard and carrying case. She had seen the effectiveness of buckshot close-up the night O’Brien attacked.
The next morning, they were sitting in Hume’s office at seven. He reiterated what he told them the day before.
“This gang seems pretty well organized. It may be as many as twenty men. The train and stage robberies stopped a week ago. They netted twenty-three thousand dollars in gold and bills. It’s like the gang made their money and left. Local law enforcement and the marshals have no clue. They wore masks. There were no good descriptions.
I want the two of you to find out who they are. Then, where they went. Work with the Laramie County sheriff and the US Marshal in Cheyenne. Don’t get confused. Cheyenne is in Laramie County, but Laramie is in Albany County. It’s the next county over. We have an office in Cheyenne and a sub-office in Laramie. Once you get solid suspects, introduce yourselves to the lawmen and lead them to the outlaws. Pope, there could be up to twenty men. Do not go after them alone. This is a direct order! Sarah, if he tries, shoot him in the other leg.
I suspect you two will winter in Wyoming. It will be cold, so plan accordingly.
I have approved two travel drafts at the cashier’s window. They are also holding train tickets to Cheyenne. It will take several days for you to get there. You will have to be undercover most of the time. Work out your cover identities after you get there and determine the situation. I will expect regular and frequent wires by way of the Cheyenne Wells Fargo office. I am not sure you can trust anyone else. This is going to be a tough one. I wish you both Godspeed.” Hume said.
The chief detective stood, signaling the end of the meeting. He shook hands with both.
They went to the cashier’s window and picked up tickets and drafts, which they endorsed and cashed.
Luggage and armaments collected, Pope flagged a hansom cab and they headed to the train station. An hour later, they were eastbound on a train to their first transfer, Salt Lake City.
The train ride was a romantic getaway for two people who had been apart for weeks. They had a formal lunch in the dining car. Pope added money to upgrade their company ticket. It provided adjoining roomettes instead of seats. They talked, read and enjoyed scenery new to both.
They noticed it was getting cold outside very quickly as they headed across the country. The trip over the Rockies was spectacular. They transferred at Denver for the quick hundred-mile trip due north to Cheyenne.
As always for detectives responding to a crime to investigate, they reported to the Cheyenne Wells Fargo office first. It was a small office. The manager was fairly new and young. His name was Byron McCarthy.
He was expecting them at this time because of a wire from Hume.
“Welcome to Cheyenne, detectives. I suspect this will be a thorny one. This gang robbed three trains and five of our Concord stages. Two of our men, one driver, or jehu, and one shotgun messenger were wounded. Both will recover fine. Three civilians were killed during the train robberies. Our only corporate liability so far is to the stage passengers and for the twenty-three thousand treasure.”
“We are five days late for even the last one. I suspect any tracks will be obliterated by the wind. Have you had rain?” Pope said wondering if there had been mud which might have made for longer lasting hoofprints.
“Naw, dry and windy. I suspect some snow soon though,” McCarthy said.
“Let’s take the stage robberies first,” Sarah began. “Did they all occur on the same road?”
“Yes. The first two were on the route up towards Rapid City, South Dakota. One was between here and the Lodgepol
e Creek station. It was about fourteen miles north. The second was between there and the LaGrange station on Bear Creek. Another thirty-five or so miles further on. The jehu was wounded at the second robbery,” McCarthy said.
“Is he recovering here in town?” Pope said.
“Yes. He’s over at County Hospital.”
“I have to tell you, Cheyenne is a far more sophisticated city than either of us expected,” Sarah said.
“We even have a really nice Opera House. And, of course, everything is decided at the Cheyenne Club, where the money boys sit around with good whiskey and cigars and decide all our fates.”
“If you will give us the name of the jehu who got shot driving the stage, we will go by the hospital and question him before lunchtime,” Pope said. McCarthy wrote it down and passed a slip of paper to Sarah, who was sitting closer.
“Now the train robberies,” Sarah said.
“They were in a different direction. Both happened on the line westbound towards Laramie City. The first, where the shotgun messenger was wounded, was near the Willow Springs and Fort Sanders area. The fort is closed now, but it is a good marker for the track location where they stopped the train.”
“How did they stop it,” Pope said.
“They piled spare railroad ties which were being stored by the track. Made a virtual wall of them six feet high and six feet deep. The engineer said it was more than enough to stop the train. He did not have a lot of time and laid hard on the air brakes. They slid, steel on steel, right up against it. The rapid stop was what killed two passengers. One struck his head on a seat top in front of him and one was thrown out of an open window where he was smoking.”
“Where is the shotgun messenger?” Sarah said.
“He’s in the hospital over in Laramie. They moved the ties and steamed on in after the robbery,” McCarthy said, recovering the slip of paper from her and adding the name.
“So, the robbers didn’t kill all three passengers?” Sarah said.
“No, they shot one who pulled a gun during the second train robbery,” McCarthy said.
“Where was the second train robbery?” Pope said.
“It was fifteen miles this side of Laramie.”
“Sounds like about thirty-five miles from here?” Pope said.
“Just about,” McCarthy said.
“The jehu who was shot,” Sarah said. “Did he draw on them or otherwise provoke the robbers?”
“Nope. They just shot him in cold blood. He told me he was pretty sure the robber meant to kill him, but his horse moved and threw his shot off,” McCarthy said.
“What about the train messenger guarding the treasure for Wells Fargo” Sarah said.
“He challenged them with his ten-bore and one shot him in the arm before he could bring it into action.”
“Which came first, the stage robberies or the train robberies,” Pope said.
“They were interspersed. Which is why I wondered if it was two related gangs.”
Pope walked over to a Wyoming Territory map framed on the wall behind McCarthy’s desk.
“Byron, a way we usually try to estimate the robber’s base of operations is to take a map of the area and draw a circle around the robberies. Often the center is a logical base for the miscreants. Here, we have a top half of a circle with the territory line being the bottom boundary. However, the left quarter of our circle only extends thirty-five miles west, while the right one goes at least fifty-miles. It looks like if we adjust the center, it bases them in the middle of nowhere. I don’t see any towns fifteen or so miles east of Cheyenne. How about ranches?”
“No, it’s pretty barren territory. The conductors I talked to and our drivers and messengers all said these men looked and rode like cowboys. If you forget the fifteen-mile discrepancy and put the middle in Cheyenne, it doesn’t make sense. Twenty or so cowboys living in town and having to board their horses would be noticed,” McCarthy said.
“Twenty is a lot to rob either a train or a stage. Where did the number come from?”
“I have notes from where I questioned everybody I could before the two of you arrived. I will give them to you. It appeared to me we had several groups doing the robberies. Maybe there was one leader each time,” McCarthy said.
“I wonder if there are two different gangs. One in the east one in the west,” Pope said.
“I thought about the possibility, but a famous detective I know once told me there is no such thing as a coincidence,” Sarah said.
“Mr. Pinkerton?” McCarthy said.
“Mr. Pope,” Sarah said.
Pope was already scanning the reports McCarthy had prepared.
“Byron, it looks like the robberies were pretty quick in succession once they started. Now, they have either stopped or are taking a break. Nothing for five days,” Pope said.
“True, Pope. Or they made all the money they needed to finance something else.”
“Buy a ranch?” Sarah said.
“Mebbe.”
“If you are right and there are twenty robbers, and the top one or two get a bigger piece, there’s not a lot left for the rest,” Pope said.
“I guess I’m not as firm on the twenty number as I thought after thinking things through with the two of you,” McCarthy admitted. “I based it on taking statements and reconciling them. Mebbe the witnesses were not real accurate.”
“Wouldn’t be the first time,” Pope said. “You did a fine job with your report. Chief Detective Hume wants us undercover on this. He said the only one we could really trust was you. You’ve saved us a lot of interviews we’d have to make if we weren’t going undercover. Sounds like there is some question about the sheriff and the US Marshal?” Pope said.
“The sheriff is good. I’d stake my job on it. The US Marshal is a political appointee who was a wholesale grocer. The chief deputy is his nephew. Neither one knows which end of a gun goes ‘bang’.”
“I think we will go to the hospital here and talk with the jehu after we find a hotel and move our gear in,” Pope said.
“Go ahead and leave your gear here. We’ve grown to be a large under-staffed office in too small a space. However, I have a really good young messenger I like to keep busy. He can put your stuff in a cart and deliver it to the hotel.
I’d recommend the Western Hotel. About everything you will need in town is within a block or two of 16th or 17th Streets and their intersection with Third.
There are some saloons having separate restaurants where ladies can eat and some just restaurants.
While ladies cannot go in saloons yet, they can vote and hold office in Wyoming Territory, including being magistrates,” McCarthy said.
“How far is the hotel?” Sarah said, impressed with how forward Wyoming was.
“About a block out the door and to the left,” McCarthy responded.
“How about I’ll get some rooms and you sketch the map portions where the robberies occurred. I’ll come back and give Byron the alias’. You and we will talk with the wounded man here and get some lunch. After, we will secure horses for tomorrow and head west to the train robbery sites. I’d like to look around where the robbers waited, then executed their plans. I suspect the trains here are too busy to stop and wait for a detective to make sketches and think.”
“I am pretty sure you are right. The Union Pacific runs hard and fast down the tracks to California from here. Their schedule is tight,” McCarthy said.
“We will go undercover now, except for you and questioning the two injured employees.
There will be times we need to flash badges to get people to talk. Doing so will break cover, but always for an urgent reason. So, don’t be surprised.
I am conflicted as to whether to contact the sheriff yet. On one hand, I’d like for a deputy to lead us to the robbery sites instead of trying to find them ourselves. On the other hand, Chief Detective Hume told us to stay undercover until time to get a posse and warrants,” Pope said.
McCarthy was thoughtful for a m
oment.
“As I said, Pope, I completely trust the sheriff. He has a senior deputy in charge of investigating all of the robberies, though the farthest one west is just over the county line. He worked out some sort of agreement on it with the Albany County sheriff. I grew up here. I have known Chief Deputy Horatio Akin all my life. You can trust him.”
“How about this. You contact the sheriff and ask if Deputy Akin can lead us to the robbery sites over the next several days. The eastbound trip will require camping unless you know of a place to stay,” Pope said.
“No, there really is not any. You should go on to Laramie on the westbound trip and spend the night. I will tell the sheriff Wells Fargo will cover Horatio’s expenses,” McCarthy said.
“Then, we will leave our stuff for your messenger to deliver and will head to the County Hospital to see the jehu,” Pope checked the note, “Isaac Berenson. We will check in with you first thing in the morning to see how it goes with the sheriff.”
McCarthy nodded and the two detectives left to walk to the hospital.
They arrived within very few minutes and inquired about his room. He was in room 124 with another patient. Having a second person was not what they had hoped. It impaired their undercover status.
The two walked to the room.
There were two men within. One was a lank man with a mustache and Van Dyke beard. He was about forty. He had his right arm in a sling and was eating lunch with one hand. The other man’s tray was on a table and he was sleeping. He had snow white hair and was easily in his eighties.
“Mr. Berenson?” Sarah asked.
“I’m Berenson,” the first man said.
Sarah and Pope both showed him their badges. Sarah held a finger to her lips to indicate they should keep the conversation soft.
“We are investigating the robberies and are undercover,” Sarah said.
“I am Detective Sarah Watkins from San Francisco. This is my partner, Detective John Pope, also from Wells Fargo headquarters.”
“I’ve heard of both of you. The lady detective and the gunfighter.”
Wyoming Shootout (Gun For Wells Fargo Book 2) Page 3
