Robert B. Parker's Bull River

by Robert Knott

  “He damn sure did,” Hawkins said.

  Hawkins took his hat off, set it on the table, and took a sip of whiskey.

  “I did talk to old man Letts, though. He’s the one who said he’d heard horses in the morning.”

  “What’d he allow?” I said.

  “Said he heard ’em, but it’s hard to make out whether Letts is just carrying on or not. He’s got a gift to gab.”

  “Which way is his place?” Virgil said.

  “He’s south, about halfway to Elk City.”

  “And nobody else has seen or heard anything?”

  “Nope. I told the boys to get some sleep and start looking again at first light. Got to be somebody somewhere that’s seen Strode, least so we know a direction to look.”

  “You’d think,” I said.

  The three of us rested with our thoughts for a moment and sipped some whiskey.

  “Saw you got Holly looking for a wire?”

  “Do,” Virgil said.

  “That’s a good idea,” Hawkins said.

  “That’s what we thought,” Virgil said.

  “So far he’s found nothing,” Hawkins said. “I put two of my boys there to help sift through.”

  Virgil nodded.

  “Good.”

  “Cross told me that Alejandro’s been going on about something he knows.”

  “He has at that,” Virgil said.

  “You believe him?”

  Virgil shrugged a little.

  “Judge Bing’s got Alejandro’s hearing set for the day after tomorrow,” Hawkins said.

  “Soon,” I said.

  “He figures since Alejandro escaped the first time,” Hawkins said, “he’s not wanting to take any chances.”

  “Evidently,” Virgil said.

  “Bing don’t tolerate gunplay,” Hawkins said.

  “No,” Virgil said. “He don’t.”

  “We know that.”

  “We do.”

  “Known Judge Bing for a good while,” I said.

  Hawkins nodded.

  “He was a territorial circuit judge for a while ’fore settling down here, wasn’t he?” Hawkins said.

  “Was,” Virgil said.

  “We’ve not seen him since,” I said.

  “Well, I’m sure he’s even tougher than when y’all last saw him. Not tolerating gunplay is only one of his displeasures. He damn sure don’t tolerate escaping prisoners—he’s even less appreciating of that. Put the two of them together and you got his attention.”

  “Bing is tough,” I said. “I’ll give you that.”

  “Goddamn right he is,” Hawkins said. “He’s got a big trial going on right now. A dispute between two large mining outfits, and from what I hear he’s not making it easy on nobody. Shitloads of people, landowners, and mining officials will be here this week, but he’s gonna get Alejandro out of the way.”

  “Who’s the prosecutor?” I said.

  “Baxter Beazley. He’s a mean sonofabitch, out to make a name for himself here in San Cristóbal. The court-appointed attorney is Charlie Chubb—he’s more of a drunk than the newspaperman Proctor Pugh, so, needless to say, Alejandro’s days are numbered.”

  “He’s been saying he’s innocent,” I said.

  “He damn sure ain’t the first man to try and slip out of the high knot,” Hawkins said.

  “Nope,” Virgil said. “He damn sure ain’t.”

  “Marshal!” Holly called.

  We looked to see Holly coming up the boardwalk.

  “You were right. I found the correspondence. My gosh. How could you have known?”

  30

  The correspondence Constable Holly discovered at the Western Union office was a telegram sent from Alejandro to a man named Dalton McCord. Holly read it aloud. It was a short telegram that simply stated: San Cristóbal—Found your brother, Jedediah. The note back from Dalton McCord was even shorter. It read: On my way.

  “Where from?” Virgil said.

  “Why, La Mesilla,” Holly said.

  “La Mesilla’s a half day’s ride south,” Hawkins said.

  “Vernon Talmadge still the sheriff there?” I said.

  “Yes, he is,” Hawkins said.

  “Rowdy goddamn place,” I said.

  “Indeed it is,” Holly agreed. “Vernon is respected, though. He keeps a strong hand on the place.”

  “He has got his hands full,” Hawkins said. “That’s for sure.”

  “Would you like for us to try and contact Vernon, Marshal?” Holly said. “See if he knows this Dalton McCord or see if he can find out anything about him?”

  Virgil thought about that for a moment.

  “Do,” Virgil said. “But I don’t want him doing nothing. Just find out what he knows, if Dalton is there. In the meantime, Everett, let’s you and me have a visit with Captain Alejandro.”

  When Virgil and I got in the office, Cross opened up the big door leading into the cells. Alejandro was lying on his side facing the wall with his back turned toward us.

  “Up!” Cross said too loudly.

  Alejandro didn’t budge.

  Cross whacked the bars with his club.

  “Up!”

  “Go to hell,” Alejandro said quietly, without turning.

  “Need to talk with you, Alejandro,” I said.

  Alejandro rolled over some and looked at Virgil and me.

  “Everett. Mi amigo.”

  “You got no goddamn friends here,” Cross growled. “Get your ass up!”

  “Go on, Cross,” Virgil said.

  “Get up!” Cross said as he walked out the door, returning to the office.

  Alejandro sat up slowly and pushed his long hair back with both of his hands.

  “I was dreaming . . . about my mother,” Alejandro said with a smile.

  “Thought you didn’t have no mother,” Cross interjected loudly from the other room. “Thought you was a Mezkin orphan?”

  I closed the door, blocking out Cross, so we could have a conversation with Alejandro without the interference of a man no one in the city of San Cristóbal much liked, including Virgil and me.

  “Everybody has a mother. Even Alejandro,” he said with a weak smile as he got to his feet.

  Alejandro scooped a ladle of water from a small bucket that was provided for him in his cell.

  “My mother, she was killed during the Guerra de Reforma. I was three. My father, he died, too, in battle, but my mother, she died in my home, in front of me. She was raped and murdered.”

  We didn’t say anything.

  “Then I was sent to the orphanage.”

  “McCord,” Virgil said.

  A slow smile came to Alejandro’s face.

  “Everett,” Alejandro said. “Virgil Cole. He is a smart man.”

  “He is.”

  Alejandro walked to the bars to face us.

  “Dalton McCord,” Virgil continued.

  Alejandro grinned fully, showing his white teeth.

  “Jedediah McCord,” Virgil said.

  “Sí.”

  “You sent a wire to Dalton,” Virgil said. “About Jedediah.”

  “Sí.”

  “What were you doing here?” Virgil said. “In San Cristóbal?”

  “Trying to find work.”

  Virgil shook his head.

  “You never tried to find work a day in your life.”

  “Well, you know, work is hard to find,” Alejandro said with a smile. “Especially when you are trying to find it.”

  “What was Dalton doing in La Mesilla?”

  “Like everybody in La Mesilla, gambling and whoring.”

  “You and him partners?”

  “No. I know him forever.”

  “You lied before
. You said his name was Joe, his brother was Jack.”

  “Sí.”

  “You want my help. Start talking, don’t lie.”

  “What do you want to know from Alejandro?”

  “You told him you found his brother.”

  “Sí.”

  “Why? Why did you send the telegram to Dalton saying you found Jedediah?”

  “It’s complicado.”

  “What’s complicado about it?” I said.

  “When we came to America together, many years ago. We, Jedediah, Dalton, and me, Alejandro, we got into some trouble.”

  “What kind of trouble?”

  “We were just niños. We robbed a bank and a man was killed. Dalton and Alejandro were caught, and we go to jail. Jedediah, he did not, he went free.”

  “Go on.”

  “Jedediah told the autoridades it was Dalton who killed the man. Jedediah, he went free. I was not in jail too long, but Dalton stay behind bars for many years. When he got out, he looked for his brother. He wanted to kill him but never found him, until Alejandro find him.”

  “Where?”

  “Here.”

  “In San Cristóbal?”

  “Sí. I was in town. I was walking the street and I saw a man, older now, but I knew it was Jedediah. He was walking down the street, too, with fat men. They were all wearing fancy clothes. I stop him. I said, Jedediah, but he said I had the wrong person, but Alejandro is like Virgil Cole. Alejandro is smart and I knew this man was for certain Jedediah.”

  “After you sent a telegram to Dalton, telling him you found his brother,” I said. “He came here?”

  “Sí, Everett. Two days later, Dalton, he come to San Cristóbal. He come with two amigos. Two amigos Alejandro not like.”

  31

  “Where are these two amigos now?”

  “Dead. I told you they wanted to cut Alejandro out of the deal. They tried to kill me. I shot them to save Alejandro’s life.”

  “And Dalton took off, left town?”

  “Sí.”

  “Where did he go?”

  “I do not know. I told you, he jump on his horse and I jump on mine and we go opposite direction.”

  “You seen him since?” Virgil said.

  Alejandro shook his head.

  “No. But when I hear bank get robbed, Alejandro knows who did it and how.”

  “And you know where to find him?”

  “I have idea.”

  “Idea?”

  Alejandro nodded.

  “I could only show you,” he said.

  “The telegram you sent before was to La Mesilla,” I said.

  “Sí.”

  Virgil looked at me.

  “That where he is?” I said.

  “Could be,” Alejandro said with a smile. “But Alejandro does not think so.”

  “So where?”

  “Many places to look but an especial place is where.”

  “What especial place, Alejandro?”

  Alejandro shook his head. He turned away from the bars for a moment, then started talking without looking at us.

  “I can help you,” Alejandro said. “I can show you.”

  He stopped talking for a moment, then turned back to face us.

  “Virgil Cole, I swear to you on my mother’s grave I only shot those men in self-defense. Your friend, in Butch’s Bend, I did not kill, either. The other hombre in the jail did that. You do not have to believe me, but if you want Alejandro’s help, I can help you, but Alejandro will have to show you where to go.”

  Virgil did not say anything.

  “You said you know about the how?” I said. “The how about the plan you said you were cut out of months ago?”

  “Sí.”

  “Tell us?” I said.

  “One day, Dalton and Alejandro visit bank. Dalton was very smart, like Alejandro, like Virgil Cole. He asked the teller if he could talk to Mr. Henry Strode. Henry come out. He stopped and looked at Dalton.”

  Alejandro grinned, thinking about the moment.

  “Mr. Henry Strode was . . . how do you say, without voice?”

  “Speechless.”

  “Sí,” Alejandro said. “Speechless. He was in shock to see Dalton.”

  “They did not talk?”

  “Not at first, but they got around to talking.”

  “What did they talk about?” I said.

  “It was a friendly visit. Friendly from Dalton’s position anyway,” Alejandro said with a smile. “You can imagine, Jedediah was not so happy to see his brother. Dalton tell him he was muy impressed with Mr. Henry Strode’s position. Such a big, important man.”

  “What about the how,” Virgil said. “The plan?”

  “Sí. It took some time to complete. Dalton, um . . . play with them.”

  “Play?” I said. “With who?”

  “Jedediah and his wife.”

  I looked at Virgil.

  “One evening, when Jedediah come home from work, Dalton, he was drinking tea with Jedediah’s wife,” Alejandro said with a grin. “She is muy bonita. Like Jedediah, Dalton is a very handsome man. The mujeres, they like him. They like Alejandro, too, but they like Dalton more. The mujeres, they always like Dalton.”

  “What happened that evening?” I said.

  “He tell her he is Henry Strode’s brother. She say, ‘Really!’ She did not know Henry had a brother. Jedediah, he come home from bank, and his wife say, ‘Look, look who is here.’”

  “How do you know this?” I said.

  “Dalton, he tell Alejandro. Dalton make friends with Jedediah’s wife.”

  “Friends.”

  “Sí. Maybe more than friends.”

  “What are you saying?” I said.

  “Dalton make nice with her.”

  “What kind of nice?”

  “He stopped by house more than once.”

  “Are you saying he had relations with her?” I said.

  “Relations?”

  “Fucking.”

  “I do not know, Everett,” Alejandro said with a laugh. “But he wanted her. Dalton told Jedediah, not in front of his wife, that he would make Jedediah’s life hell.”

  “So what about the robbery plan?” I said.

  Alejandro shook his head.

  “Dalton wanted to take Jedediah’s wife,” Alejandro said.

  “Take her?” I said. “Where?”

  “Take her to be his.”

  Virgil looked at me.

  “That was the plan?”

  “No.”

  “So what was it, Alejandro?”

  “Dalton would go to Jedediah’s home and tell Jedediah if he did not get all the money from the bank, he would kill his wife.”

  “I thought you said he wanted to take her.”

  “Sí.”

  “But he told Jedediah he would kill her?”

  “Sí.”

  “What you are saying does not make sense, Alejandro.”

  “He was to keep her, tell Jedediah he would kill her if he did not get the money from the bank. But Dalton made things bad for Jedediah. He hold her, how do you say . . . ?”

  “Hostage?”

  “Sí, hostage. He hold her hostage while Jedediah get the money. After, instead of kill her, he was going to just take her. Dalton gets the money and he also gets Jedediah’s wife. Venganza!”

  I looked at Virgil.

  “Revenge.”

  “Sí,” Alejandro said. “Revenge.”

  32

  We left the sheriff’s office and started walking back toward our hotel. Virgil and I didn’t talk for a while. We just walked, thinking about the conversation with Alejandro. In the distance we heard the evening train approaching, and as it got closer it let out one long blast o
f the whistle.

  “Hell of a deal,” I said.

  “Is.”

  “This Jedediah fella,” I said. “Buffalos Jantz Wainwright, his daughter Catherine, the bankers, and everyone in between into believing he was someone else.”

  “Yep.”

  “Think he knows where Dalton is?”

  “Hard to say.”

  “Maybe Dalton went back to La Mesilla.”

  “Could have,” Virgil said. “Nobody knows him as the bank robber.”

  “La Mesilla’s a big place.”

  “Is.”

  “What about the woman?” I said. “Catherine?”

  “Don’t know,” Virgil said.

  “She damn well may have run off with him.”

  “Or he took her.”

  “If Vernon Talmadge in La Mesilla don’t know him or know of him, or know where to look for him, then what?”

  “Only got one option that might offer an upside.”

  “Gamble on Alejandro as a pathfinder.”

  “Yep.”

  “Not the most favorable of circumstances.”

  “Nope.”

  “Judge Bing’s not gonna be too interested in us bargaining with Alejandro.”

  “No, don’t think he will.”

  “That prosecutor, neither.”

  “No,” Virgil said. “Him, neither.”

  “If Alejandro is not arraigned, he’s just in custody,” I said. “He gets arraigned and a trial is set, then Judge Bing can’t help us.”

  “I thought about that, too,” Virgil said. “If we are gonna wrangle him, it’s got to be before the arraignment.”

  “There’s also a good chance Alejandro doesn’t have a goddamn clue where to go, or look.”

  “There’s that, too.”

  “One thing’s for certain,” I said. “We don’t find Dalton in La Mesilla, we’ll most assuredly be on our own.”

  “Yep.”

  “Without someone providing us with some necessary information, be hard to know where to begin to look for him.”

  “Like trying to find a goose in a gaggle.”

  “Is.”

  Four horsemen rounded the corner ahead of us and came in our direction. As they got closer we could tell it was Danny and Davy and two younger posse boys.

  “Hey, boys,” Virgil said as they pulled up. “Anything?”