The Visitor - Colorado 1869 - 1871

by Barbara Svetlick

  Meeks opened a crude drawn map of the city. They had marked every place he had visited. “He was last seen with a slim blonde who works off of Alameda Street in a brothel. Her name is Julie. Garnett and Dominic are going to check out the brothel tonight and see if they can engage her.”

  James took Catherine out for dinner every night as they quietly continued their investigation. Every lead they found lead to another dead end. James was sitting on the window sill smoking a cigar watching the late night traffic along the plaza when the adjoining door opened and Meeks told him to put on his gun. He grabbed it as they headed out the back of the hotel. Dominic and Garnett were in an alley outside a small house tucked behind a stable. James noted the address.

  “The blonde just slipped in the side door.”

  “Any idea how many people are in the house?” James put on his gun as Garnett stepped back looking at the structure of the slim rickety building.

  “There are two men playing cards in the front and the blonde from the brothel.”

  Garnett pulled on the pipe along the adjoining wall then started climbing up the brick until he reached the lower roof. He worked along the side until he came to a small window where he pulled his gun then peered in. Garnett then worked his way in the other direction and disappeared from sight. Garnett finally slid back down the pipe.

  They heard voices coming from the house and stepped into the shadows watching. The dim light from the door opened into the alley and the blonde stepped out with a man who lit a cigarette and began pacing. His features were hidden by the dark and he was talking low so they couldn’t pick up the conversation until she got in his face.

  “Where?”

  “She’s here. Bring her around tomorrow morning and make sure you’re not followed.” The man flicked his cigarette then grabbed the blonde as she pushed him away. “Come on baby; just give me a little squeeze.” He moved her hand over his crotch and rubbed it as she tried to pull away but he wasn’t going to give up so easily. He unzipped his pants and pushed her against the wall pulling up her dress as she cussed at him when he began banging her until he finally stopped and let her go. “You are still the best little piece of ass north of the border and soon you will be so rich you won’t need to spread your legs for anyone except me.”

  “You’re a jerk.” She straightened out her dress and started walking away.

  “Don’t be late tomorrow.”

  They headed for the nearest canteen grabbing a table in the corner and ordering a bottle of tequila with fried tortillas and beans.

  Dominic downed a shot then sat back. He loved the women of San Antonio because they never said no as long as there was enough money on the table. “James, how is the babysitting going?”

  “Well, it makes more sense knowing she is married otherwise I would have thought she was a little overly demanding considering her properness.”

  “Isn’t that how you prefer them?”

  “I think I’m losing my objectiveness.”

  “James, are you falling for her?”

  “I just think I need to back off. You know she hasn’t asked one question about any of you or how the investigation is going since I told her Meeks was in town.” James poured another round. “She really reminds me a lot of Mirisa.”

  Dominic smiled as he chewed on his cigar. “James, I’ll warn you now before you get in over your head.” They all laughed and James poured a shot kicking back.

  The smell of the thousands of blooming flowers filled the humid air as they paid the barmaid and headed out into the balmy night. A little after two, the house seemed to be quiet so James slipped in the side door as Garnett climbed up the pipe and slipped into the far bedroom. He walked over to the small bed and pulled back the covers slowly immediately dropping into a crouching position. His eyes scanned the room quickly then a lot slower. He listened at the wall as the couple talked about their plans. He slipped back out of the window and down the side until he was on the ground. “We need to get James out now.”

  Meeks signaled and waited. The door opened just a little as James slipped out and walked into the dark of the building. “What’s happened?”

  “I can’t believe we didn’t see this one. The brother is not the target; he’s setting his sister up. He plans on killing Catherine and then taking out the other man. If I had to guess, I think the only one in on it is the blonde but she might be expendable as well. With Catherine dead the brother gets all the money since her husband has no legal right to it under the trust agreements.”

  “Where’s Catherine?”

  “I haven’t seen her tonight.”

  “Can you get in her room? You need to check on her.”

  James knocked on her door lightly then opened the door slowly. She was sound asleep so he closed the door and returned to the room. “She’s sleeping.”

  “Well, they have to get her to the house so I assume that the blonde will come get her so we just need to sit tight.”

  Garnett said he’d take the first watch and everyone else headed to their rooms to wait. The blonde showed up at sunrise and knocked softly on Catherine’s door. Catherine slipped on her robe and asked who was there.

  “I’m a friend of your brother. He asked me to bring you to him.”

  Catherine slowly opened the door looking at the thin woman holding the shawl tight around herself. “Please get dressed, we must hurry.”

  They slipped out the back door of the hotel as Garnett and Dominic waited in the shadow of the row house and James and Meeks followed at a distance. The two women came running down the alley not noticing James and Meeks as they slipped in the side door. James climbed up the pipe and into the room. The blanket on the bed was covering what looked like a body but it was only blankets. James stepped behind the door and pulled his gun. He could hear Catherine arguing with one of the men then he heard the feet on the stairs as the man was yelling at her.

  Catherine ran into the room and gasped when she saw the figure on the bed. She froze in the middle of the room and then walked slowly toward the bed. James heard the footsteps and he watched as her brother said her name. Catherine turned to Samuel’s voice.

  “You’re alive. Samuel I have been so worried about you…” Samuel motioned for her to move further into the room when she realized he had a gun pointed at her. Catherine put her hand to her face as she bumped into the bed falling on it before screaming when her hand touched what she thought was a body and then she fainted. Her brother came all the way into the room and pointed the gun at her head.

  “Sorry I have to do this but I have no choice.”

  James hesitated before he stepped out and put his gun barrel in the center of Samuel’s back. “Drop your gun.” Samuel froze then slowly lowered his gun turning simultaneously trying to tackle James when Garnett dropped him with his gun butt. James walked over to the bed and tried to bring her around. “Where are the rest of them?”

  “The girl left to get the horses.”

  “Should we wait on the girl?”

  “No. Our job was to find her brother which we did. The other man is knocked out and if they are still here when the Sheriff arrives then he can deal with them.”

  Catherine became hysterical when James brought her back to consciousness. He talked to her about her brother’s plans then told her that the Sheriff would be notified and they needed to leave. James put her on Garnett’s horse and they walked the two blocks to the hotel as Dominic and Meeks went to Military Plaza to talk to the sheriff. Garnett tied up the loose ends and decided to head back to the ranch leaving James to escort her back to town.

  When the sheriff tried to enter the house, Samuel opened fire and tried to escape out the side but Julie had fled rather than bringing their horses around as he had told her to do. He cursed and considered surrendering but as long as Lenny was alive he would not be able to convince the Sheriff that he had been held by the couple for ransom. He slipped back in the house barring the door as Lenny bleeding from a stomach wound stumbled up
the stairs to get away from the bullets. Samuel ran up after him struggling with him on the landing. Samuel tried to position his gun between them but Lenny rolled him over and they tumbled down the stairs as the gun went off. The sheriff found both of them dead at the bottom of the stairs, one from a gunshot and the other from a broken neck. They never found the blonde.

  The ranch had started to dry out and the men were putting the fencing back up in the lower pasture. James helped Catherine out of the stagecoach and took her bag into the hotel tipping the boy to take it up to her room. James told her he had things to do and he walked down to the stable to get his horse. He spent the next few days working at the ranch and finally went into town. When he checked with the tavern, they told him that she had taken the morning coach to Dallas. He thanked them then went up to his office. He poured a shot and thought about their last conversation. She gave him her address and expressed her wish to see him again though she would understand if he didn’t. She finally asked him if he was married and he told her he wasn’t but didn’t expand.

  Mirisa,

  I have struggled with writing to you because I don’t know where to begin or even how to express my love when I can’t reach out and touch you. I never thought anything would be as difficult as being near you but the months away from you have been torture. James told me of your pregnancy which is something that I didn’t take into consideration the night I discovered the only thing I have ever wanted and couldn’t have. I have confided in James because as you know he doesn’t like being in the dark especially when it concerns you. I would like to be at the plantation during the birth but if you are uncomfortable then I will understand and respect your feelings.

  I can express my love over and over and with so many different words but the plain truth is that I love you more with each passing day and miss you more than a thousand love letters could express.

  I told you that I would accept whatever decision you make regarding your future and I will but please know that if I could take you away from Dominic without hurting you I would do it tomorrow. Instead I will wait and I will always, always love you.

  Please know my life is empty without you. All my love, Alexander

  Mirisa sat in the rocking chair as Matthew peeled the pea pods sharing them with Dog. She thought he was becoming more handsome with each day. Now that she was finding it harder to be on her feet, Matthew was riding his pony only when Charlotte’s husband, Thomas, took him riding with their boys. He missed his father tremendously and his last few letters to Dominic asked when he would be coming home. She tried so hard to swallow her anger that Dominic didn’t take the time to write back to his son or even come home. Mirisa folded the letter and put her hand over her stomach. Ms. Minnie told her that the alignment of the stars foretold of a birth on September 18th which was a few weeks earlier than she had planned.

  Mrs. Chauvin stepped out onto the porch with a tray of hot tea and cookies. “It would be so lovely if our weather would stay this beautiful. How are you feeling this afternoon?”

  “I feel very good today.”

  After she put Matthew to bed, Mirisa sat down at Dominic’s desk and took out a piece of paper. She sat and looked at it for a while unable to even form a sentence. She put the pen down and walked over to the bookcase taking down a small book of poetry. She read for a while then returned to the desk and picked up the pen.

  She decided to write to all of them for to just post one letter might raise eyebrows. She addressed the letter to Meeks then penned a long letter to Garnett letting him know how much she enjoyed his second book ending the letter with how far Matthew had come in handling his pony. Finally, she wrote a long letter to James giving him minute details on her health and the babies ending it with Minnie’s prediction of the birth. She smiled because she knew that James thought that Minnie was a great cook that had the power to capture someone’s soul if they crossed her and stuff them in a large pot of fish stew. She decided to send James a package of fresh herbs and put the letters in the package.

  Mirisa then wrote a long letter to Dominic that was more forthright than she had planned as she expressed that he had been gone too long when his son needed him to be part of his life. She sealed it before she changed her mind. She missed them all from the depth of her heart. Mirisa ended the evening with a long letter to her father.

  The morning was cooler as Mirisa climbed in the summer carriage. She dropped Matthew off at Charlotte’s cottage so that he could play with her children while Mirisa and Charlotte spent the day in town. They went shopping and then had lunch at the Tavern with Thomas. Mirisa finally stopped at the post office and mailed her packages and letters. Now it was just a matter of waiting for her children to be born.

  JAMES PICKED up the mail before he went to the Tavern to join everyone for lunch. He put it on the table as he ordered lunch. The package peaked everyone’s attention.

  “James, have you ordered something of interest?”

  “No, it’s a package from Mirisa.”

  Dominic leaned forward. “What would she be sending to you?”

  “Probably fresh healing herbs though we will be home soon. I would be surprised if she welcomes any of us since we have not taken any time to write and have no excuse for not returning when she knows that we ride at the drop of a hat.”

  Garnett flipped through the envelopes taking out several handing them to Meeks then put the ones addressed to him in his front pocket. Garnett handed Dominic a letter from Mirisa. Dominic looked at it then put it down on the table as the waiter put down their lunch. Dominic hadn’t written to her once and he struggled with the guilt and anger that seemed to keep him from reaching out to Mirisa.

  Meeks finally stood and said he was heading back to the adobe to finish the final drawings of the lodge in Colorado. James looked at Dominic. “When are you heading back?”

  “At the end of the week. I am afraid that I may have a lot of fences to mend because eight months has put a tremendous strain on our marriage. The one thing I know for sure about Mirisa is that she hates being alone and the letters from Matthew are coming less frequently which means he has given up on me coming back and that is inexcusable.”

  “Well, this time you can’t blame it on work though I am sure that you have grown accustomed to using that excuse.”

  “I don’t have an excuse.”

  Dominic said he had to meet with a buyer and asked if anyone was cooking. James said he had pulled out one of the smoked pigs and would be cooking a roast. They rode back to the adobe and James put the mail on the counter. He took down the large knife and slit open the package. It contained little envelopes of fresh herbs. He dumped everything on the counter as Garnett walked in and poured a cup of coffee. Garnett picked up one of the envelopes and smelled it. Each envelope had the name and purpose of the herb written on the outside. “Strange woman.” Garnett turned over each until he saw his name and he started laughing.

  James looked up. “What’s so funny?”

  “How easily she outsmarts Dominic.” He pulled out another envelope handing it to James then found the third one. “Wonder what inspired her after all these months.”

  James sat down on the stool and opened the letter. He didn’t realize how much he missed her until he read the letter. He was laughing when Meeks came out to see what they were doing that was so amusing. Garnett handed him an envelope and watched as his expression changed. James read parts of the letter where she was scolding him for his lack of manners in not writing or even coming home to rub her back. Meeks slipped his in his back pocket and walked to the stove pouring a cup of coffee.

  “You know I think tonight I need to teach you how to make a good apple pie.”

  Garnett laughed and told Meeks if he could make a pie better than James they would leave him at home during the day. Meeks went up to the house lifting down a jar of apples and a jar of blackberries. He came back to the adobe looked for the pie tins, the jar of flour and the lard. He slowly mixed the dough as they watch
ed. Meeks threw flour all over the counter and then asked if they had a rolling pin. James reached up and pulled down the large rolling pin she kept at the adobe. They rolled out two crusts and poured in the preserves and looked at the pies.

  “Where are the tops?”

  James poured more flour in the bowl, added a pinch of salt and the lard mixing it slowly then added enough water to bind the dough. They rolled out half and Garnett picked up the knife and started making lattice work over the pie as James rolled out the other half. Satisfied with their work which would have made Mirisa laugh, they put both pies in the oven and retreated to the porch.

  Dominic showed up as James was pulling the roast and potatoes out of the oven. He looked at the pies then at James. “Is this your way of dealing with missing her?”

  “It’s our way of appeasing Garnett who is becoming impossible to live with for lack of pies.”

  “Then I imagine everyone is going back to the plantation?”

  “Yep.”

  Garnett picked up a plate and filled it with pork and potatoes and told Dominic that they were going back whether he was or not. Dominic nodded then fixed a plate as Meeks reached over and picked up a plate. “James, I noticed you received a letter from Miss Tyler.”

  He looked up from carving the roast. “I haven’t read it yet.”

  “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you this quiet regarding a woman.”

  “That’s because she scared me.”