by Neil Hunter
Apart from finding out the man called Bennett had known Jiang Chi he hadn’t gained a great deal. He recalled Bennett’s friends leaving the saloon and wondered what they might be up to.
It was a question he found the answer to quicker than anticipated.
And that was when he felt the unwelcome pressure of a gun muzzle being jammed against his spine. Whoever was holding the weapon made a hard point of putting pressure on it to make certain Bodie got the message.
Chapter Five
‘Up ahead, friend, then take the alley there. If I have to I’ll shoot you right here on the street. Try me and it’ll be the last thing you ever do. I won’t kill you but make sure you never walk again.’
Bodie stayed silent, considering his next move. There was little he could do with that gun pressed against his backbone. No matter how fast he moved, the man behind him would most likely be faster. All it took was a slight pressure on the trigger and even Bodie’s speed would be no match for a bullet. So he did as he was told, stepping into the mouth of the alley, where the walls on either side shut off some of the street sounds. Ahead of him the alley stretched out to a dead end blocked by stacked wooden crates and barrels.
There was a second man waiting. Bodie recognized him as one of the pair who had been with Bennett in the bar.
A set up.
If Bennett had succeeded in putting Bodie down the pair would not have been needed. If nothing else it told Bodie he had already stirred up interest. His question about Jiang Chi had caused a reaction. Not quite the kind he had been expecting but it proved there was more to the disappearance of Jasmine Soong than he’d thought earlier.
The man ahead of Bodie had a lean face that caused his facial bones to stand out. He wore a wool cap pulled down over his ears. His hands were down at his sides, pressed in against the rough material of the dark pants he wore. Not enough to conceal the knife in his right hand.
A gun…now a knife, Bodie thought. These yahoos were determined to earn their pay.
‘I figure it’s not my money you’re after,’ Bodie said.
‘You got that right,’ the knife man said. His voice was quiet, almost pleasant. ‘But we might take it anyhow. Like a bonus. And we’ll add on what you did to Bennett. He’s a good friend.’
‘A friend? You picked the wrong kind of company, feller.’
‘Huh?’
‘The losing kind,’ Bodie explained.
‘You want me to shoot this bastard right now?’ the gunman asked.
‘No. I want to stick him in the gut and watch him squirm some before he dies. Now you let me have him, Vic.’
‘I don’t like having to say it but we got ya,’ Vic said.
Bodie wasn’t ready to disappoint him as long as the muzzle of the gun was still prodding his back. Doing something heroic sometimes needed a helping hand.
‘You watch that damn hogleg,’ the knifeman said. ‘Shoot him that close a slug could go right through and hit me as well.’
‘Jesus, Pardee, I ain’t stupid.’
‘Let’s not take a vote on that.’
‘Yeah? Fine if you’re going to be snippy about it.’
The tone of the man’s voice held a trace of annoyance.
Bodie felt the gun muzzle move away from his spine. Out the corner of his eye he saw the shadow of the man holding it move to one side. Vic’s arm revealed, the silhouette showing the extended outline of the revolver he was holding.
‘Do it, Pardee, before I change my goddamn mind. We don’t want to mess this up. The Chinaman wouldn’t be very happy about that.’
Pardee offered an anticipatory grin that showed his dull teeth. The knife in his hand moved from side to side as he stepped forward.
The seconds were slipping away. Bodie knew he was going to have to make his play now…not wait any longer…and he did just that, hoping Vic had moved his gun far enough clear Bodie’s body...
He turned quickly, full circle anti-clockwise, the move bringing him round so that his right elbow swept up and across, smashing into the side of Vic’s face, full force. The man grunted as the unrestrained blow racked his jaw and sent it out of line. The pain momentarily paralyzed the man, allowing Bodie the chance to grasp Vic’s gun hand, slipping his finger across Vic’s where it lay against the trigger.
Pardee yelled, lunging forward to close the gap.
Bodie angled the pistol and pulled back on the trigger, felt the weapon jerk as it fired. The .45 slug ripped into Pardee’s hand, tearing away two of his fingers in a bloody spray. The knife spun from his grip, leaving Pardee staring at his mutilated hand before he started to scream.
Bodie jerked the pistol out of Vic’s hand, dogging the hammer back again as he turned, pushed the muzzle under Vic’s chin and triggered a shot that ripped up through the man’s head and took out a chunk of skull on its exit. Vic made no sound as he toppled back and slammed to the ground.
Turning about Bodie held the gun on the moaning Pardee. The man gripped his mutilated hand, staring at the bloody stumps of his missing fingers.
‘Sonofabitch,’ he said.
‘Play rough you take the pain.’
‘This ain’t finished,’ Pardee said. He dragged a crumpled kerchief from his pocket and bound it around his hand. ‘You walked into something you shouldn’t have.’
‘Story of my life.’
Movement at the head of the alley caught Bodie’s attention. Curious onlookers were crowding together. Bodie heard authoritative voices demanding to be let through and the long coats the of the two San Francisco police officers who stepped into view.
‘Now what the hell is goin’ on here?’ The voice was powerful and held a strong Irish accent. ‘Holy Mother, it’s a slaughterhouse I see.’
The man was big and burly, where his companion was leaner. His face red and full and round beneath the peaked cap he wore. His powerful girth strained the seams of his uniform coat. A sturdy wooden club was clutched in his right hand. He fixed his eyes on Bodie’s motionless figure.
‘Is this down to you?’
‘Self defense,’ Bodie said. ‘They came at me so I defended myself. Is that a crime in San Francisco?’
‘We’ll see about that, boyo. Until then you’d better hand over that weapon and come with me.’
‘What about me?’ Pardee wailed. ‘He shot my hand to pieces.’
The big policemen glanced at him, recognition in his eyes.
‘Pardee? Well, well, now, what have you been up to this time?’
‘I done nothing. He shot me, Sergeant Kilpatrick.’
The second officer pointed at the knife Pardee had dropped. ‘And I don’t suppose that had anything to do with it?’
‘Nothing except he was about to stick it in me,’ Bodie said. ‘The gun belonged to his partner. Had to take it off him before he used it.’
‘He’s lyin’. We was walking peaceable like and he attacked us.’
‘You were strollin’ in the alley?’ Kilpatrick said. ‘You just happened to be holding a knife and this man came out nowhere and attacked you?’
‘Somethin’ like that,’ Pardee mumbled
Bodie reversed the pistol and handed it to the big policeman.
‘He needs to see a doctor,’ he said, indicating Pardee’s bloody hand.
Kilpatrick told his partner to escort Pardee to a doctor.
‘Have the doctor look at Pardee’s hand, then send someone down here to deal with the unfortunate departed. I’ll be at the station with our friend, here.’ After Pardee had been led away, Kilpatrick picked out a man from the crowd. ‘Here, you, Jellicoe, go fetch a blanket to cover that mess up, then stay with him until help arrives.’ As the man slipped away, Kilpatrick threw a warning glance at the onlookers. ‘I know every face here. If there’s any foolishness done about this body I’ll be lookin’ for you. And you know I won’t be joking about it.’ Kilpatrick glanced at Bodie, clearing his throat. ‘Will you be walking with me to the station now? It’s not that I don’t believe your
story, but I would not be doing my duty if I failed to report what’s happened here. You can have your say with Inspector Hallows. Now he’s a fair man and he might even be able to help.’
Bodie saw no profit in making his situation any more difficult and admitted that a local police officer might be able to point him in the right direction.
‘Why not,’ he said and followed as Kilpatrick led way out of the alley.
The walk to the local police office didn’t take long. Despite his size Kilpatrick moved quickly. He didn’t say anything until they were clear of the area.
‘Now I don’t recognize your face. Sure enough I’d say you were new to the city.’
‘You got that right.’
‘You talk like a westerner. Am I right?’
‘Yeah.’
‘And what is it that brings you all the way to our fair city?’
‘Looking for someone. A missing person.’
‘In Frisco? We got plenty of missing folk here, so it’s luck to you…Mister?’
‘Name’s Bodie.’
‘Well, Bodie, my boy, you’ll certainly be needing that luck.’ Kilpatrick took a long look at Bodie. ‘Tell me, have you done this kind of thing before?’
‘I do it for a living. Usually wanted men.’
‘So it’s a bounty man that you are?’
‘This time it’s not for a bounty. More for a friend. A favor.’
Bodie offered chapter and verse, including the finding of Jiang Chi’s body. Kilpatrick listened without comment.
‘This Ruby Keoh must be someone special to get you to come all this way.’
‘Yeah, she is.’
‘I hate to point it out, Bodie, but there are a lot of folk in this city. How do you expect to find your Jasmine Soong?’
‘That, Kilpatrick, is one hell of a question.’
‘We’ll have to see if we can help you with that, boyo. I don’t take to the thought of some young woman being taken off the streets. Not at all.’
~*~
Inspector John Hallows was a young looking man in his late thirties. Medium height, fair-haired, sporting a slim mustache. He had good shoulders and a lean body. He listened to Kilpatrick’s story in the office he inhabited as the Senior Inspector of the station. It had a window overlooking the street that allowed plenty of light through. When Kilpatrick finished he withdrew, leaving Bodie alone with Hallows. The policeman poured coffee from an enamel pot on the stove in the corner of the room and handed one to Bodie before taking his place behind his plain wooden desk.
‘I seems you’re a long way from home, Mr. Bodie.’
Bodie managed a smile. ‘You could say that.’
‘Never been this far west before?’
‘No.’
Hallows placed his coffee mug on the desk. He was silent for a few moments before he spoke.
‘I hope you don’t judge the whole of the city by what happened. San Francisco does have its peaceful side.’
‘Seems I went and made myself known to the wrong people.’
‘Finding this Jiang Chi murdered – and the way it happened – does suggest Tong involvement. They have unique ways of getting a message across,’ Hallows said. ‘And Bennett and Pardee are names we know well. Vic Leeson too. They’ll do most anything for the right amount of money. It’s no secret they’ve done work for the Tong as well.’
‘They started pushing,’ Bodie said. ‘And they wouldn’t back off.’
‘I can throw Bennett and Leeson in a cell but apart from what they started with you I don’t have all that much to keep them for long.’
‘Jiang Chi?’
‘Little enough to go on there. I can have questions asked but I can pretty well tell you we won’t find anyone ready to talk. The Chinese community can be pretty closed mouthed and if there’s Tong involvement we certainly shouldn’t expect any kind of help.’
‘I already figured the Chinese don’t give out information too easy. I’m hoping Henry Lee has better luck.’
‘We have to consider Miss Soong might not still be in the city.’
‘I know that but as long as I don’t have any other way to go…’
‘You look like a man looking for miracles.’
Bodie had to agree. For the moment, without much else to go on, he was hoping Henry Lee might have better news.
A knock on the office door alerted Hallows. A constable brought him a request from downstairs that took Hallows away, with a quick apology for Bodie.
‘Let me deal with this, then we can talk more. I doubt it will take long. Help yourself to more coffee.’
Bodie did just that. He stood at the window and watched San Francisco go about its business and not for the first time wondered where Jasmine Yi Soong was.
Here he was in a big city and at the moment he was no nearer finding the young woman than he had been when he had stepped down off the train that brought him here.
Okay, Bodie, stop acting like a damn novice. You’ve tracked men across the wilderness with less information.
He heard the door open, Hallows’ voice.
Then someone said, ‘What the hell are you doing in San Francisco, Bodie?’
Bodie turned around and faced Jason Brand across the office…
Chapter Six
San Francisco
Some time earlier Jason Brand had paused outside the telegraph office and re-read the message he had just picked up. It had been sent by Frank McCord, his boss in Washington. In his usual brief and to-the-point manner McCord had laid it on the line for his top operative.
No additional information apart from what you already know. Find him. Stop him. McCord.
Brand stared at the words, digesting them slowly. McCord made it all sound easy the way he said it.
He folded the buff slip and tucked it away in his coat pocket. Took a slow look around at the busy street and decided McCord was expecting some kind of miracle. He didn’t believe he was going to find those too available in San Francisco, so he was going to have to depend on tapping into local knowledge. In this case the police. If anyone would have that kind of information it would be San Francisco’s finest. Brand needed a way in. A starting point.
Who better than the local law?
Brand made some inquiries and found himself being guided to the San Francisco police department offices by the driver of a horse-drawn cab. The trip took a slow ten minutes through the thronged street. Paying off the driver Brand stood and looked over the building. He was a couple of blocks from the waterfront, with the beginning of Chinatown off to his right.
Brand made his way up the steps and into the building. It was larger than most law offices he was used to seeing. Most frontier towns contained simple Marshal, or Sheriff, offices. Single room for the lawman and deputies, with a three to four cell area in back. Here he found himself in an open office with a manned desk to the side and doors leading off. Polished wood gleamed under the light. Framed pictures decorated the walls and a line of chairs pushed against the wall. Brand caught sight of a uniformed man behind the reception desk.
‘I help you, sir?’
‘Pretty nice place you got here.’
‘We like it.’
The man, wearing sergeant’s stripes on his sleeve, loomed over the long desk. He was tall, wide-shouldered and burly. Mutton-chop whiskers adorned his brown face. He placed large hands flat on the desk. It was obvious he wasn’t in the mood for small talk.
‘I need to talk to one of your senior officers, Sergeant. On an important matter.’
‘Let me decide about that.’
‘My name is Brand. Jason Brand. Sergeant, I’ve ridden a train all the way from Washington to get here and to be honest it hasn’t left me in the best frame of mind. Take my word, you don’t want to pass this off lightly. Just find me one of your Inspectors and I’ll explain why I’m here to him…’
Brand’s voice had a sudden hard edge to it. He held his gaze on the Sergeant and refused to back down. The police officer stiffened, l
eaning forward as he made up his mind what to do. He turned abruptly and called out.
The door to the office behind the desk opened and a thin-faced young officer showed.
‘Pierce, go find Inspector Hallows. Ask him to come here immediately.’
Pierce scuttled out of sight.
‘You mind if I sit down, Sergeant?’ Brand said quietly.
‘If you’ve a mind.’
Brand dropped onto one of the chairs, stretching his long legs out. He was ready to get himself a meal. The food on the train had been less than the best and the restaurant at his hotel – where he had simply left his bags – didn’t open for a few hours.
‘Mr. Brand? I’m Inspector Hallows. I am told you need to speak to me on what appears to be an important matter that cannot wait?’
‘It can’t. Let me mention a couple of things. The Tong. Opium. Kwai Fu Tung.’
‘I’d like you to come up to my office, Mr. Brand. I have someone with me right now who will be as interested in what you have to say as I am.’
Brand followed the policemen up the stairs that led to a bare corridor. Hallows reached a door and pushed it open.
‘This is turning out to be a strange day,’ he said.
Brand stepped inside the office, took one look at the tall, broad shouldered figure standing at the window. Recognized him.
‘What the hell are you doing in San Francisco, Bodie?’
~*~
Hallows took his place behind his desk, feeling even more confused than he had been a few minutes ago. Not only did he have two men with similar reasons for being in the city – it seemed they already knew each other.