“This wasn’t for Pescaterro, and it wasn’t just to strike at the town law. This was to rattle a whole bunch of people all at once.”
“Why?”
“Because someone stands to gain from it,” Nate replied. “Someone stands to make a whole load of money. More money than can be gained by getting paid by either company to hurt the other. That’s all this kind of thing is ever about. When something is just about blood, it’s much easier to see.”
Pete helped drag Pescaterro away from the fire toward the spot where the horses were waiting. “If you say so. You know,” Pete grunted while staring down at the outlaw, “it would have been easier if you’d allowed him to walk on his own.”
“No,” Nate replied. “This bastard’s done enough running free.”
“So we’ve got to take him all the way back into western Kansas?”
“That’s where the men who funded our little venture want him brought.”
“He’d surely cause a lot less trouble for us if you’d shot him somewhere other than the legs,” Pete said.
“This one’s bound for the noose and that’s where he’ll go. No matter how tough they talk, all wild dogs like this one will piss themselves when that rope goes around their neck. I’m not the only one who’ll like to see that.”
“Just trying to think of a way to make the ride easier,” Pete grunted as he strained to keep dragging Pescaterro along.
After letting out a tired wheeze of his own, Nate said, “We’ll get another wagon.”
33
Two hours later, Nate was lying in a tub of hot water with one leg dangling over the side and his head resting upon the smooth, curved surface. Steam rose from all around him, and he let out a long, contented breath. When he opened his eyes, he was treated to the sight of Angelica sitting directly across from him. Her skin glistened with water that wasn’t quite high enough within the large tub to conceal her breasts. She smiled and used both hands to get her hair wet.
“You’ve changed, Nate,” she said.
“How so?”
“Used to be you’d be more anxious after a night like this one.”
Nate shrugged and shifted within the tub. “We need to lay low for a spell. I don’t see why we can’t enjoy ourselves a bit while we do.”
Angelica’s foot slid against his leg and moved up along Nate’s inner thigh. “I couldn’t agree more. I’m just saying it wasn’t so long ago that you wouldn’t have thought that way.”
“Well then,” he said with a growing smirk. “Let’s just see if I can surprise you again.”
Reclining and arching her back a little, Angelica draped both arms along the sides of the tub. Just as she was going to cash in on the promise Nate had made, someone knocked on the door.
“Get the hell out of here,” Nate said while leaning toward Angelica.
The doorknob rattled before another series of quick knocks came. From the other side of the door, a voice said, “Open up. It’s Frank.”
“Leave. Now!”
Angelica grabbed the sides of the tub and stood up. Water dripped from every beautiful curve of her slender figure. For a moment, she stood there and grinned down at Nate. “We’re here to do a job,” she said. “Best get to it.”
“That’s what I should be saying,” Nate said, drinking in the sight of her naked body.
“I know,” she said as she stepped out of the tub and grabbed a towel to hold against the front of her body. “But someone needs to tend to important matters. There’ll be time for diversion later.” When Angelica walked to the door, she moved nice and slow. Although she kept her front covered, she allowed Nate to get a good long look at her taut backside. Opening the door, she looked outside and said, “Hello, Frank.”
“Umm, hello, Angelica. We need to talk. All of us.”
He wasn’t standing alone out there. Both Pete and Deaugrey were behind Frank and anxious to get a look past him.
“Give us a moment, will you?” she asked.
“Of course.”
She closed the door and dropped her towel at the same time, knowing exactly what she would or would not show the men outside. Turning on the balls of her feet, she strode across the room with all the confidence of someone wrapped in full riding gear and a double rig holster. “I’m not trying to torture you, Nate. We just don’t have time for much else apart from business right now and you know that as well as I do.”
Nate stood up from the tub and walked over to his clothes. “I know, but you can’t honestly tell me you’re not trying to torture me.”
“All right,” she replied with a grin. “Maybe just a little.”
Both of them pulled on enough clothing to be presentable and, in less than a minute, the other three who’d been waiting in the hall joined them. The hotel room was a fairly good size, but most of it was taken up by the bed and bathtub that had been brought up by special request. Frank walked straight over to the small table by a window where a pitcher of water was situated near two glasses. After pouring himself a drink, he pulled aside a curtain to look down at the street below.
Pete remained near the door with one hand resting upon the grip of his holstered pistol.
Deaugrey made his way to the first chair he could find and sat down. Although his gaze lingered on some very specific parts of Angelica for a few moments, he raised it to look her in the eyes before too long.
“Where have you been?” Nate asked.
When Frank turned around to face him, there wasn’t an ounce of the warmth he showed to his congregations. His face was dirty. His clothes were stained with sweat. His hand clutched the water glass as if he were about to shatter it within his grip. “I’ve been getting a look inside that depot,” he said.
“What did you find?”
“Most of the specialty weapons Grunwaldt talked about were on that wagon. A few were still in the depot. Other than that, just a small stockpile of rifles, pistols and enough ammunition to wound half of Joplin.”
“Not exactly worth the trouble they took to fortify that place,” Nate said. “They could have done the job a lot easier by posting a few more guards instead of reinforcing those doors and walls.”
“Exactly what I was thinking,” Frank said. “But there was something even stranger. That wagon rolled out to free Dog Ear Pescaterro from the town jail, right?”
“Most definitely.”
“And Dog Ear is on the Western Cartage payroll.”
“That’s right,” Nate replied.
Frank drank the rest of his water before pouring some from the pitcher into one hand so he could splash it on his face. Although he was a bit cleaner, Frank still had a steely edge when he said, “Most of those weapons and ammunition I mentioned were in boxes marked with the names Anstel and Joyner.”
After letting that sink in for a few seconds, Deaugrey asked, “Shouldn’t they be marked as Western Cartage property?”
“Yep,” Nate said.
“And why don’t you seem very surprised about that?”
“Because those weapons, this feud between these two companies, Dog Ear running wild through the streets, it’s all just a big show.”
“This ain’t a show I’m enjoying too much,” Pete said from his post near the door.
Nate looked over to the tracker and said, “That’s because it’s not being put on for our benefit.”
As Nate talked, Angelica had been straightening her clothes and running a brush through her hair. “Whose benefit is it for?” she asked.
“That’s something I imagine you’ll find out. At least, you will once I get you close enough to do what you do best.”
Deaugrey looked over at her with a smirk that had nothing to do with Angelica’s rumpled appearance or the disheveled state of her clothing. “I’ll be able to help with that. I managed to have a chat with Mr. Anstel. Things have been mighty h
ectic around here lately and I haven’t gotten a chance to tell you all about it.”
“Hectic doesn’t quite cover it,” Nate said. “Go on.”
“Our mutual friend Abraham Keyes seemed most anxious to have a word with me back at that mining camp,” Deaugrey explained. “And by that, I mean he wanted to put a few bullets into me.”
“Wouldn’t be the first one who wanted that,” Pete grunted.
Deaugrey tipped his hat to the tracker. “And he won’t be the last. Anyway, since Keyes appeared to be working for Anstel and Joyner, I went to have a talk with them.”
“You could’ve gotten yourself killed!” Frank said.
Nate was quick to jump in. “Let him talk.”
Although Frank was troubled by what he’d heard, he held on to what he was going to say for now.
“Preston Anstel is anxious to gather some dirt on his competitor,” Deaugrey continued. “Apparently, one of the more attractive ladies who shared the hospitality of McKeag’s Sanitarium with me is the sister of Western Cartage’s owner, Sam Cavett. I said I could arrange for her to meet Mr. Anstel and have a little chat by tomorrow.”
“And you want me to play the part of the sister?” Angelica asked.
“You’d look better in a dress than any of us,” Deaugrey replied.
Rubbing his chin, Nate asked, “How will you explain getting her here from McKeag’s so quickly?”
“I did have relations with the buxom Melanie Cavett before she was taken elsewhere,” Deaugrey said. “She didn’t have anyone else to talk to so she became rather chatty in the late hours of the evening. Between the bits and pieces I learned from her and my own powers of persuasion, I should be able to come up with a convincing enough story. Besides, all we need to do is get Angelica into Anstel’s building. Preston wanted to impress upon me how rich and influential he was and, in doing so, showed me a wall of safes he seemed particularly proud of. One of them bore the seal Pete described upon his return from Nagle. Grunwaldt’s two overlapping sideways Vs.”
“Grunwaldt?” Angelica asked. “As in, Caster Grunwaldt?”
“The same.”
“You know him?” Nate asked.
She laughed as if someone had asked if she knew where to find the sky. “Caster Grunwaldt has made some of the best safes ever sold. You don’t see many of them around because they’re usually more expensive than whatever is inside them.”
“Can you open one?” Deaugrey asked.
“I wasn’t brought here just to give you boys something to look at.”
“She can crack open any safe there is,” Nate said. “That’s why I wanted to bring her in on this job.” Looking back to Angelica, he asked, “You can crack open one of Grunwaldt’s safes, right?”
“I got into three of them a year ago when I was still living in London. It wasn’t easy,” she said, “but it can be done.”
“What makes them so special?” Pete asked.
She shrugged. “Depends on what it’s for. Grunwaldt is an artist. He can put together anything a customer might want. He’s known for a few different things. When I get a look at it, I should be able to tell you plenty more.”
“‘Should’?”
“That’s good enough for me,” Nate said. “Keyes is the one who wanted that safe, which means whatever’s inside is damn important. If the safe is as special as Angelica is saying, it could very well hold the piece that clears this whole picture up for us.”
“Last I heard,” Deaugrey said, “our dear Angelica was in a spot of trouble.”
“There was a problem or two in Nebraska,” she admitted. “Had to keep my head down for a while, but it’ll pass. Nate always comes along to sweep me away when I need it most.”
“That’s real sweet,” Deaugrey snipped.
“What’s that got to do with anything?” she asked.
“If you got caught, it must mean you slipped up,” Deaugrey pointed out. “This job has already had enough surprises. We don’t need to get this far only to realize one of us can’t deliver.”
“If you’re so worried, then you can toss a saddle onto your horse and leave town,” Nate said. “I’ll deliver your cut of the profits myself when I get a chance.”
Deaugrey was quick to reply, “Don’t get your nose bent the wrong way. I’m just saying that Anstel has plenty of hired guns protecting his interests. Keyes is among them, and he’s dangerous enough on his own.”
“I’ll worry about Keyes,” Nate said. “Frank and Pete will help me. Grey, you and Angelica will get into Anstel’s office to crack open that safe. I’ll see to it that Anstel will have bigger problems than you two.”
“How quiet do we have to be?” Deaugrey asked.
“You’ll have some time to work those persuasive powers and get as close as you can to that safe. When the three of us arrive to make some waves, you should have a bit more elbow room.”
“I like the sound of that.”
“Are you certain it might not be a bit soon to start making our presence felt in such a way?” Frank asked.
Pete chuckled once. “I’d say it’s been felt pretty good so far.”
Nodding, Nate added, “And we arrived at the game too late in the first place. Things have already moved along too far for us to try and work many more angles than we already have.”
“Then I suggest we take Pescaterro and go,” Frank said. “That’s what we were paid to do in the first place in case you’ve forgotten.”
“I haven’t forgotten, Frank. I think I’ve got a notion of what’s going on and Keyes is way too close to getting rich off of the blood that was spilt. After all he’s done, I can’t abide by letting him get what he wants.”
“So this is about revenge?”
Everyone in the room looked over to Nate for the few seconds he took before saying, “Yeah. Part of it is revenge . . . in the name of the marshal Keyes killed and dragged through the mud. The other part is simply because we’re here and we’re in a real good spot to be the one faulty cog that causes an entire machine to burst apart at the seams. None of you have to go along. That’s always been our deal. But if you do, you’ll have a cut of the price that’s got to be on Keyes’s head as well.”
“I came this far,” Pete said. “Also, Keyes and them others have taken too many shots at all of us. Riding away without making them sorry for that don’t set well with me at all.”
When Nate looked over at him, Deaugrey said, “These sound like long odds. I’m never going to turn away from a chance to thumb my nose at the odds.”
“I just got here,” Angelica said when it was her turn to opt in or out. “I barely got to enjoy myself yet. Also, cracking open another Grunwaldt safe will be a feather in my cap that money can’t buy.”
“Frank?” Nate asked. “You in?”
“As long as you promise one thing,” the preacher replied. “If this safe doesn’t give you the answers you’re after, we’re through with this whole affair. You’re right in saying we’re late in coming to this game. Any town tempted by railroad money in any way is going to have companies scraping to get as much of it as they can. That’s just the way of the world. Trying to cleanse all of that is a fool’s errand.”
“Spoken like a true preacher,” Deaugrey grumbled.
Ignoring Deaugrey’s snide remark, Nate said, “I’m not trying to cleanse anything, and I don’t hold out much hope in figuring out everything that’s been going on here. My concern was Pescaterro. He’s wrapped up tight and gagged in the dry goods store being used as a sheriff’s office for the time being. The sheriff’s hurt real bad and the deputies have no qualms with us taking Pescaterro out of their sight when we leave Joplin. We stumbled upon Keyes and I ain’t about to let him go. After that—this town can sort itself out.”
Frank’s eyes narrowed as he studied his friend carefully. Finally, he nodded and said, “All
right then. I’m in.”
34
It was a half hour before noon the next day when Deaugrey marched Angelica into the offices of Anstel & Joyner. They were immediately greeted by a pair of tired-looking gunmen who stopped them before they could get past the main desk situated at the bottom of the stairs. A few minutes later, Preston Anstel appeared at the top of the stairs looking much less polished than he had at his and Deaugrey’s previous meeting.
“What’s this?” Anstel grunted.
Deaugrey nodded toward Angelica and said, “This is Melanie Cavett.”
Making no attempt to hide the path his eyes took as he drank in the sight of her, Anstel said, “She’s quite beautiful, but not quite as . . . ample as you’d described her.”
Angelica adjusted her posture and arched her back while every man in the room stared at her chest.
“Tastes vary,” Deaugrey said. “Also, the selection within McKeag’s walls isn’t exactly as good as one might find around here.”
Anstel waved them up and turned to walk away. After Deaugrey’s guns were taken from him, he and Angelica were ushered up the stairs to the familiar hallway on the third floor. Having already opened the first door on the right, Anstel held it open so they could step inside. It was a modest office with a rolltop desk against one wall, a map of the state on another wall and enough books piled onto a pair of shelves and a couple of tables to stock a small library. Sitting at the desk, Anstel began rustling through the narrow drawers as he said, “That was fast.”
“I’m a little early,” Deaugrey said. “But not by much.”
“No. I mean finding Miss Cavett there. Was she already in town?”
“Close.”
The drawer he’d been looking for contained a pair of spectacles which Anstel placed upon the bridge of his nose. After the wire frames were looped behind his ears, he took a longer look at Angelica.
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