It was not until the next day that the newspaper carried a story of the fate of Alexander and Roderick Somerled, though as yet the two men had not been identified, so the author of the story could only surmise as to who they were and what had happened.
From the New York Herald:
A Most Ghastly Find
The bodies of two decapitated men were found yesterday morning in the alley behind Gimlin’s Pawn Service. The two heads were found with the bodies, but officials are uncertain as to which head belongs to which body.
Charles Gimlin, proprietor of the shop behind which the bodies were found, notified the police after he discovered the bodies while taking out the trash. He says they were not there on the night before, and he is certain that he has never seen either of them. No one has yet identified the two bodies and the police say there has been no missing persons report filed that could account for the men.
One theory advanced is that they may be sailors only recently arrived and, looking for some nefarious activity, found themselves in Chinatown. Two pistols were found with the two bodies, and the theory thus advanced suggests that while in Chinatown the two men were intemperate in their behavior and in so doing made enemies of a Celestial. It is well known that a Chinaman, being heathen, will, when provoked, often cut off the head of the person who has offended him.
Police say that this being the most probable event, this case will in all likelihood never be solved as no Chinaman will tell on one of their own, and to White men, nearly all Celestials look alike.
Duff spent the next two days anticipating the return of Deputy Malcolm. He realized that the fact that Malcolm did not return right away did not mean he wasn’t going to come back. Finally, after the paper came out, Duff made up his mind. He could not stay here any longer, for to do so would endanger not only Andrew and Rosanna but the entire theater company.
Duff had no choice now; he was going to have to leave. He didn’t want to run; he liked this job. And if the danger was only to him, he would not have run. But he had already seen what had happened to Skye—she was an innocent victim who was killed only because she was too close to him.
He had no wish to see something like happen again. That’s when he told Percy Fowler, first assistant to the stage manager, to ask Andrew and Rosanna to meet him in the sets storeroom.
“You wanted to see us, Cousin Duff?” Andrew asked. Rosanna was with him.
“Yes.”
“Well, couldn’t we have picked a more comfortable place to meet?” Andrew asked. “The green room perhaps? Or my dressing room?”
“I think here is better,” Duff said. “What I have to say isn’t for anyone’s ears but the two of you, and I would not burden you with it if I did not have to.”
“Burden us?” Rosanna asked. “Burden us with what?”
“With the real truth of why I came to America.”
“I thought you said it was because Skye had been killed,” Andrew said.
“Aye, that is true,” Duff said. “She was killed by the sheriff and two of his deputies, Gillis and Nevin.”
“But I don’t understand,” Rosanna said. “Why would the sheriff and his deputies want to kill such a lovely young girl?”
“It was not she they intended to kill, but me,” Duff said. “Earlier in that same evening, I happened upon two of the sheriff’s sons, Roderick and Donald, as they were attacking Skye with the intention of having their way with her. I interrupted their scheme and, in the fight that followed, killed Donald.
“After I took Skye back to her father, I vowed to turn myself in to the sheriff and plead self-defense. Skye, wonderful girl that she was, and truly in love with me, accompanied me so that the sheriff might hear the truth of the events. She did this because she knew that Roderick would have told his father a much different story.
“While on the road to the sheriff’s office, we were set upon by Sheriff Somerled and Deputies Malcolm, Gillis, and Nevin. Without so much as a by your leave, they began shooting at us, and the bullets struck and killed Skye. In a rage, I killed both of the deputies, but the sheriff and Deputy Malcolm ran from me. I then stowed aboard a ship and made my way here.”
“And here you shall stay,” Andrew said, “for if ever there was a killing that was justified, this was it.”
“Aye, and I would have been happy to stay here for a long time. The work is good, and the company is most agreeable,” Duff said. “But two nights ago, the sheriff’s other two sons and another deputy found me here.”
“But what? How? How did they find you?” Andrew asked.
“I have no idea.”
“Where are they now?” Rosanna asked. “Well, never mind that, they have no authority here. And we can secure a good lawyer for you who will help you defend yourself.”
“The situation has grown more complicated,” Duff said.
“In what way?” Andrew asked.
“Perhaps you read the article in the paper this morning of the two bodies found in the alley some distance from here?”
“Yes,” Andrew said. “You are talking about the two men that were killed in Chinatown.”
“’Twas not Chinatown where they were killed, but right here,” Duff said.
“Here where?” Andrew asked, confused by Duff’s comment.
“Here, in the theater. The two men are Roderick and Alexander Somerled. They and Deputy Malcolm confronted me here in the theater on the night I stayed to work on the flats. They came not to arrest me, but to kill me, and they began shooting. I managed to turn out the lights and with the advantage I had in the darkness by knowing the theater, I was able to turn the tide on them. I killed the Somerled brothers, but Malcolm got away. Then, in order that I not get anyone in the theater in trouble, I moved their bodies. But as I think about it, I know that isn’t enough. Somehow Deputy Malcolm traced me here, and he can come again, and that would put the two of you in danger.”
“Don’t worry about that. We will face the danger together,” Andrew said. “It is not as if we have never faced danger before.”
“No, I must leave. I have brought enough hurt to people that I love as it is. I will bring no more.”
“Where will you go?” Andrew asked.
“I don’t know. It doesn’t matter. I will just go.”
“He can go to Falcon,” Rosanna said.
“Yes!” Andrew replied enthusiastically. “I don’t know why I didn’t think of that myself. Duff, you must go find our brother Falcon. If there is anyone in the world who can help you now, it would be Falcon.”
“I thank you kindly, but I’ve nae wish to bring my troubles to anyone else.”
“Don’t be silly, everyone brings their troubles to Falcon,” Rosanna said. “He thrives on it.”
“Trust me, Duff, he will welcome you with open arms. And I will write a letter of introduction for you.”
“Where would I find him?” Duff asked.
Andrew smiled. “In Colorado. Oh, have you money?”
“I have some money that I brought with me, and I am owed two weeks’ salary from the production company,” Duff said. “But I hesitate to wait for it.”
“You need not wait. I know how much is due you. I will pay you now,” Andrew said. “Come to my dressing room, I will give you the money and the letter of introduction.”
“And,” Rosanna said.
“And?”
“Don’t you remember? The Black Watch thing?”
“Oh, yes,” Andrew said. “We were going to wait and present this to you at the close of the production of The Highlander, sort of a thank-you reward for a job well done as stage manager. But, if you are leaving now, we may as well give it to you.”
Duff followed Andrew and Rosanna to Andrew’s dressing room. There, Andrew gave Duff the one hundred dollars he had due in wages. Then he removed the contents of a box. It was the uniform jacket and kilt of the Black Watch, complete with a sgian dubh, or ceremonial knife.
“We thought you might like to keep this with y
ou,” Andrew said.
Duff nodded, then put his hand on Andrew’s shoulder. “’Tis family ye are, and family ye will always be,” he said. “I thank the both of ye, for all that ye have done.”
Percy Fowler was hiding behind the flats. He had no idea why Duff MacCallister wanted to speak to Andrew and Rosanna, but if by listening to their conversation he could realize some advantage for himself, he would do so. As soon as he brought the MacCallisters into the storeroom, he moved quickly so as to be out of sight, and here, he heard every word they said.
Percy had been working in this theater through five previous productions, and he had been told that, with the next production, he would be elevated to the position of stage manager. That didn’t happen when Duff MacCallister arrived. Both Andrew and Rosanna had insisted that their cousin be given the job, and because they were highly regarded by the producer of the play, their request was honored. Percy had been angered by being cut out of a job that was rightly his, but there was nothing he could do but accept it, for he knew of no other occupation that paid as well.
Now he was privy to some very secret information, information that he might find some way to turn to his advantage.
Chapter Nine
New York
Carrying a box of doughnuts he had just purchased, Deputy Malcolm knocked on the side door of the Rex Theater. He had to knock several times before the door was answered by a stagehand.
“If you’re here to buy tickets, you must go to the front door,” the stagehand said.
“Are you the man in charge of the theater?”
“No, I’m just a stagehand.”
“Who is the man in charge?”
“That would be Mr. MacCallister.”
“The actor?”
“No, the stage manager. Except, wait, he ain’t in charge no more. He left for some reason. The man in charge now is Percy Fowler.”
“Then he is the one I should see.”
“See about what? Mr. Fowler is a busy man. I can’t just go lettin’ anyone in off the street to see him.”
“It won’t take but a moment. I have a delivery of pastries,” Malcolm said.
“Pastries? What sort of pastries?”
Malcolm opened the box to let the stagehand see.
“Doughnuts,” the stagehand said. “Why didn’t you say you had doughnuts? I’ll take them.”
“No, I have been told to take them directly to the stage manager.”
“I can’t do that.”
“Very well, I shall return the doughnuts.”
The stagehand looked around, then stepped back into the theater. “Follow me,” he said. “You can wait in the green room.”
Malcolm followed the stagehand into the theater, past the rows upon rows of empty seats, then through a small door that led to an area behind the stage.
“This is the green room,” the stagehand said. “Wait here, I’ll get Mr. Fowler for you.”
“Thank you.”
The stagehand started to leave, but he turned back toward Malcolm and took a doughnut from the box.
A moment later a rather short and nearly bald man came into the room.
“Reid said you needed to see me.”
“Actually, I wanted to see Mr. MacCallister.”
“He’s no longer here.”
“Do you have any idea where I might find him?”
“You’re not American are you? You sound just like Mr. MacCallister. What are you, Scottish?”
“Yes, I am, actually.”
Fowler looked at the box of doughnuts Malcolm was holding.
“You didn’t come here to deliver doughnuts, did you? You came here to find MacCallister.”
Malcolm smiled. “I’m afraid you have divined my secret. Aye, ’tis to find Duff MacCallister that I have come.”
“Why do you want to find him?”
“Why, the man is a good friend from Scotland. I thought perhaps that two people from the same county in Scotland, here in New York at the same time, should have a bit of a meeting.”
“Is he your friend? Or have you come to arrest him for the murder?” Fowler asked.
The smile left Malcolm’s face and his eyes narrowed. “You know about that, do you?”
“I know that he killed two men here,” Fowler said.
The tone of Fowler’s voice convinced Malcolm that he would be able to work with him.
“Aye. MacCallister is wanted for murder. And so tell me, m’lad, how is it that ye be knowin’ about that?”
“I know,” Fowler replied, without directly answering Malcolm’s question.
“The reason I am lookin’ for him, is I’ve been sent by himself the sheriff to deal with the matter,” Malcolm said.
“Were you one of the three who came for him last week?” Fowler asked.
“You know of last week?”
“I know that before he left Scotland, Duff MacCallister killed one of the sheriff’s sons and two of his deputies. And I know that last week, when you and the sheriff’s other two sons came for him, MacCallister killed them both,” Fowler said.
“Aye, that is true. I was here with the sheriff’s last two sons.”
“Why is it that you want to go after him? It sounds to me as if he is too dangerous a man to pursue.”
“I will be ready for him this time. If I find him.”
“I imagine the sheriff back in Scotland must want him something fierce,” Fowler said.
“Aye, that he does, seein’ as how MacCallister has killed all three of the sheriff’s sons.”
“How badly does the sheriff want him?” Fowler asked.
“What do you mean?”
“I know where MacCallister is,” Fowler said. “And I could make that information available to an interested party if the price is right.”
“I see. And how is it that you know where he is?”
“I overheard him talking to his cousins. They discussed where he should go. Would that information be worth anything to you?”
“Would you not be willing to share it for the satisfaction of knowing it is the right thing to do?” Malcolm asked.
“Yes, I will have the satisfaction of knowing that it is the right thing to do. But I would also appreciate the reward. There is a reward, is there not?”
“Have you not been rewarded enough by being promoted? ’Tis true, is it not, that you would nae have the job of stage manager if MacCallister had not run off?”
“That is true,” Fowler said. “But with my new position comes new obligations. Financial obligations. You are in need of information, I am in need of some money. Perhaps we can work something out between us.”
“You want money.” It wasn’t a question, it was a statement.
“Yes.”
“I could see my way to giving you five pounds,” Malcolm suggested.
“Five dollars? Do you mean to tell me that all the sheriff is willing to give to find the killer of his three sons and two deputies is five dollars?”
“I said five pounds, not five dollars. If you took the five pounds to the bank and made a currency exchange you would get twenty-five dollars.”
“I’ll be needin’ more than twenty-five dollars,” Fowler said.
“Ten pounds. That would be fifty dollars.”
“I want a hundred dollars,” Fowler demanded.
“I’ll not give you a hundred dollars. The offer is fifty. Take it or leave it.”
“You’ll not find MacCallister without my help,” Fowler insisted.
“If you know where he has gone, there will be others who know as well. Perhaps someone who knows the value of money and will give me the information for five pounds.”
“All right, all right,” Fowler said. “You go to the bank, convert your money into dollars, then come back and see me,” Fowler said. “When you do, I’ll tell you where Duff MacCallister has gone.”
“Wait here, I will be back shortly,” Malcolm said. He turned to leave, with the box of doughnuts still in his hands.
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“Leave the doughnuts,” Fowler said.
“Beg your pardon?”
“The doughnuts,” Fowler repeated, pointing to the box.
“Ah, yes, the pastries. Of course.” Malcolm put the box on the green room table, then left.
As luck would have it, the Commercial National Bank was but a very short distance from the theater. There, Malcolm changed all his British currency to American. He also opened an account there.
Returning to the theater, he found Percy Fowler waiting for him outside.
“Do you have the money?” Fowler asked.
“I do. Shall we go inside?”
Fowler looked around furtively. “No,” he said. “I think it is best we do our business out here. I don’t want anyone to see me talking to you. Give me the money.”
Malcolm counted out fifty dollars in five-dollar bills. Fowler took the bills, folded them over, then stuck them in his pocket.
“He went to Colorado,” Fowler said.
“Colorado? Isn’t that a state? Can’t you be more specific than that?”
“He has a cousin there, named Falcon MacCallister. I am given to understand that Falcon MacCallister is a name that nearly all in Colorado will recognize. I think if you go to Colorado, then start inquiring about Falcon MacCallister, you will find your man soon enough.”
“All right,” Malcolm said. “I will do that. But if I go to Colorado and find that I am on a wild duck chase, I’ll be coming back to settle with you. And you, I know where to find.”
Fowler chuckled. “Goose,” he said.
“What?”
“It is a wild-goose chase. But I’m not sending you on one. MacCallister did go to Colorado, and if you can find Falcon MacCallister, you will be able to find Duff MacCallister.”
After leaving the theater, Malcolm went to the transatlantic cable company, where he paid fifty cents a word to send a message back to Sheriff Somerled. He wrote it several times, but tore up the message each time until he had it worded exactly as he wanted, giving the maximum information with the least possible words. Then, once he was satisfied with it, he gave it to the clerk.
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