by Robert Knott
“Go on, Everett,” Virgil said.
I continued reading: “‘Dateline Mexico. June fifth notice: attention all news agencies and law authorities. Abducted American woman is believed to be in Mexico, near Mexico City.’”
Alejandro sat on the bunk with his elbows on his knees. He was shaking his head, looking at the floor as I continued to read.
“‘Be on the lookout for Catherine Wainwright Strode, twenty-five, five-foot-three, strawberry-blond hair, green eyes, and pale complexion. U.S. authorities, led by Marshal Virgil Cole and Deputy Marshal Everett Hitch, are in pursuit of Mrs. Strode. Her abductor is Dalton McCord, thirty-five, six feet, dark brown hair, blue eyes.’”
“Virgil Cole,” Alejandro said, looking up. “This is very bad.”
I looked to Virgil.
“The worst part is yet to come.”
“The bank?” Virgil said.
I nodded.
“Get to it,” Virgil said.
“‘Dalton is also wanted for the robbery of the Comstock Bank located in San Cristóbal in the New Mexico Territories.’”
“That it?” Virgil said.
“Yep,” I said.
“Holy hell, this is very stupid,” Alejandro said. “We will all die.”
“Ellsworth, Everett,” Virgil said. “He must have played his hand in orchestrating this reward business with Wainwright.”
“Providing the description of Dalton?” I said.
“Yeah,” Virgil said. “Ellsworth said he saw Catherine talking to a man on the street.”
“He did.”
“They thought they’re doing the right thing,” Virgil said.
“Well,” Alejandro said with a huff. “Whoever you are speaking of, they do not know Mexicans. Now the whole of Mexico will be looking! All this money! It will be like hunting for treasure.”
67
“How far, Alejandro?” Virgil said. “To this villa where we’re headed?”
“What does not matter? How will we get out of this alive?”
“How far?” Virgil said.
“Not far,” Alejandro said, shaking his head. “Two-hour ride, maybe a little more.”
I pulled the map out and spread it on the table.
“Now is the time, Captain,” Virgil said. “Where is this place?”
“I know what you are thinking,” Alejandro said. “They will kill me, and then you and Everett will need to know.”
“Right now,” Virgil said, “they need you more than they need us.”
“If they kill us, then it’s just you and them,” I said.
“I believe what you said is right, Alejandro,” Virgil said. “After they find out what they need from you, they will no longer need you.”
I nodded.
“Virgil and I are your best bet for getting out of this alive.”
“So let’s not fuck around here anymore,” Virgil said. “Where, Alejandro?”
Alejandro looked back and forth between Virgil and me for a moment. Then he lifted off the bunk and moved close to the map. He leaned over, looking carefully at the map for a moment.
“I told you. This is on no map . . . but it is near here . . .”
He pointed to an island.
“This should be the Isla del Toro, here,” Alejandro said, cocking his head slightly. “Across from the island, right here, there is a point, cliffs, not on this map, but here, I think this is it, here.”
“You think?”
“Yes, Everett, that is what I think from looking at this worthless map. Where Alejandro goes is where he knows to go, and it is not on any map. But there is a point here, a large bluff into the ocean. This side of that bluff there is a river that flows from the mountains to the ocean here. Up this winding river there will be a place for us to cross. Then we go up a ways, this is where we are going. This is where the villa is. It is Villa del Toro.”
“Villa del Toro?” I said.
“Sí.”
“How many roads into this villa?” Virgil said.
Alejandro shook his head.
“From this side, there are no roads. The entrance to the villa hacienda comes from the opposite side. The road in is a coast road south,” Alejandro said, pointing to the map. “You will see this bluff I am telling you about—it is a wall that runs from the ocean up the south side of this river.”
Virgil pointed to the map on the south side.
“Why don’t we come in this way and miss the river and bluff altogether,” Virgil said.
“This is a mountain here,” Alejandro said. “To travel around this and come in from the road would take weeks. Where Alejandro say we come into the hacienda, from the river is the only way in, and it is a narrow way in. Us three boys never traveled that road south. We came from this way I’m telling you.”
“Is there another way in from here?” Virgil said, pointing to the shoreline. “Across the river, coming up from the coast?”
“No, there is the cliff. It rises from the ocean and follows the river on the south. It’s too high, too rough. There is just this, the river that comes from the mountains. When we muchachos went there the first time, the water was low. But it rained while we were there and the river got difficult to cross. It could be like that now. This is how we would come and go when we moved about. We were never even on the road south into the hacienda. I don’t even know where that goes. It connects to a city on the other side of the mountain. A city I’ve never even been. We three would leave before it was light and cross the river and return after dark.”
“Where would you go?” I said.
Alejandro shrugged.
“Everywhere . . . nowhere. Looking for food.”
We stayed, looking at the map some.
“We are here?” I said, pointing to the docks.
“Sí, and Rio Toro is close to here, Villa del Toro is here.”
“You are sure?”
“Sí. As sure as I can be looking at this, Everett, but Alejandro knows where we are going.”
“Villa del Toro,” I said.
“Sí.”
“Bull Villa.”
“Sí.”
“And up through here runs Bull River,” I said.
“Sí. It can very much be a bull, too. If not for Jedediah, Alejandro would have drown in Bull River, but he catch me.”
Alejandro shook his head some.
“And who would ever know, many years later, Jedediah would never remember Alejandro.”
“Everything looked well watered, riding from Córdoba,” Virgil said.
“Did,” I said. “Looks like there’s been plenty of rain in this country. Might be full.”
“Sí. Bull River can be furious mad and very hard to cross, but Alejandro knows how.”
“How far up before we cross?” I said.
“A few miles maybe,” Alejandro said, “there we will find is the best place to cross. It might be easy, it might not be easy.”
I sat back in my chair as Virgil looked at the map more closely. I’d been keeping an eye out the window, watching the Federales across the way on the porch of the cantina. One of them pulled away from the others and started walking toward our room.
“Here we go, Virgil,” I said.
Virgil looked out the window.
“We got company,” I said.
“Oh, shit,” Alejandro said quietly. “Oooh, shit.”
68
I kept an eye on the Federal as he walked closer to the hotel.
“That Federal don’t got a pistol in his hand, does he, Everett?”
I shook my head, and then we heard the Federal’s boots on the hotel room porch followed by a knock on our door.
Virgil opened the door.
“Buenas tardes,” the Federal said politely.
“What can I do for you?” Virgi
l said.
“Lieutenant, he tell me, he like for you and your deputy to join with him,” the Federal said.
“Join with him for what?”
“He would like to purchase you and your deputy refreshment.”
“All six of you over there?” Virgil said.
“Perdóneme?” he said.
“All your compadres at that table?” Virgil said, then called quickly to me. “Count them, Everett.”
I looked out the window and counted the heads of the Federales.
“Six total, including the hombre standing in front of you,” I said.
“Good,” Virgil said. “Tell the lieutenant we’ll be right over.”
Virgil closed the door.
“The invitation is for you and Everett,” Alejandro said. “It is okay, Alejandro will just stay here.”
“Think they’re calling us out?” I said.
“Could be,” Virgil said.
“One thing is for certain,” Virgil said. “So far, we’ve not given them a chance to get the jump on us.”
“Think this is it?” I said.
“Don’t think so,” Virgil said, “but no reason not to be ready.”
“They could pull on us.”
“They could at that,” Virgil said.
“Maybe they want to try and get us over there so they can come and get Alejandro,” I said.
“Very well could be,” Virgil said. “They could pull on us and grab Alejandro.”
“Maybe Alejandro should have refreshments with you and Everett,” Alejandro said.
“Not just Alejandro they are interested in,” I said. “They’d like to scour our belongings, too.”
“Yep,” Virgil said.
“They think we got ransom money,” I said.
“They do.”
“What do you think is their best option?” I said. “Now, tonight, tomorrow?”
“This might well be it,” Virgil said.
“They could wait until the middle of the night and try to ambush us.”
“They’d risk killing Alejandro,” Virgil said, “if they unloaded on us here in a dark room.”
“Might be like we were thinking, though,” I said. “Maybe they want to let us sort things out with Dalton. Let us do the fighting.”
Virgil thought for a moment, then nodded.
“I do think that,” Virgil said.
“I think at the center, they are a lazy bunch,” I said.
“I think that, too,” Virgil said. “Just need to keep in mind lazy dogs can bite.”
“Yep, and there’s every reason not to think this refreshment invitation is entirely social,” I said.
“There’s every reason and then some.”
“Get ready?” I said.
“We do,” Virgil said.
Virgil pulled his second Colt from his saddlebag and loaded it.
“Leave the eight-gauge,” Virgil said. “No reason to bait the situation, but do get your second behind you.”
I nodded and got my second Colt and cartridges from my saddlebag and started loading it.
Alejandro looked back and forth between Virgil and me as we loaded our second pistols.
“What about me?”
“You’re coming with us,” Virgil said.
“Mother Mary. Perhaps Alejandro should just stay?”
“Perhaps not,” Virgil said.
“But Virgil Cole, there are six hombres Federales over there,” Alejandro said.
“There are,” Virgil said.
“You cannot go against six hombres alone!”
“I’m not alone. Everett is with me, and you will be, too.”
“What about a pistola for Alejandro. I cannot be of any help with these.”
Alejandro held up his shackles.
“Sure you will,” Virgil said. “They will be less likely to pull on us with you in the middle.”
“The middle?” Alejandro said.
“Sí,” Virgil said. “We’ll stay close together and walk over there with you in the middle.”
Alejandro shook his head.
“Better than you staying here and them coming to get you,” I said.
“’Sides,” Virgil said, “if they do want to share refreshments, it’d be best if you don’t have no pistola in your hand.”
Virgil secured his second Colt behind his back, and I did the same with my second Colt.
“How do you want to go about this?” I said.
“You stay on the right,” Virgil said. “Alejandro in the middle. I’ll be on the left. If we find ourselves in a have-to situation, I will take the three on the left, you take the three on the right.”
“Mother Mary, sweet Jesus,” Alejandro said.
“Let’s go,” Virgil said.
“What if they only want to drink?” Alejandro said.
Virgil took a final pull of his cigar, then placed it in the seashell ashtray sitting on the table.
“We will drink,” Virgil said. “Friendly-like.”
69
I opened the door and we walked out of the room. As Virgil instructed, I was on the right, Alejandro was in the middle, and Virgil was on the left. One hundred feet away, the six Federales huddled around the table on the cantina porch. As we got closer, it sounded as if they were talking quietly, then the Federales laughed loudly as we neared.
“Be ready,” Virgil said quietly.
“Oh, shit,” Alejandro said under his breath.
The lieutenant turned, smiling at us. He stood, and instead of pulling on us, he held out his arms like he was a welcoming relative.
“Welcome, Marshal Cole. Deputy,” he said loudly. “Good of you to join us. And look! You brought the prisoner. I’m glad you brought the prisoner, too. Please sit.”
The lieutenant barked at a few Federales to get us chairs. They did, and we sat. He barked at another to get glasses and pour us some rum. The heavyset silver-toothed Federal sat with his arms crossed on one side of the lieutenant, and the slit-eyed sergeant major sat on the other.
“I know you think I’m interested in the money and that is all, but I assure you that is not the case,” the lieutenant said, smiling.
Virgil didn’t say anything.
“How many hombres are with this bank robber, Dalton McCord?”
“Don’t know for sure,” Virgil said.
“You asked me not to get in your way.”
“I did.”
“That is what we will do.”
“Good.”
“Marshal, what I said about remembering where you are is just that we, too, have law, and it is my responsibility to enforce the law here, just as you enforce the law in America. As I mentioned before, this is my jurisdiction, so I ask you to please be respectful of my authority.”
“Will do,” Virgil said.
“Do you have a strategy for tomorrow?”
“Not much to strategize,” Virgil said.
“But you have some kind of plan?”
“Do,” Virgil said. “What to expect is, of course, unknown. We’ll let you know how it shakes out.”
“Oh,” the lieutenant said with a smile, “we won’t just sit here and wait on you. We will be there with you, Marshal, every step of the way.”
“All right,” Virgil said.
The lieutenant took a sip of his rum and smiled.
“I did some investigating of my own,” the lieutenant said.
“What sort of investigating?” Virgil said.
“The bank robbery in America,” the lieutenant said, “in San Cristóbal.”
“What of it?”
“It seems this Dalton McCord got away with a very large sum of money.”
Virgil didn’t say anything.
“So why did he a
lso take the woman?” the lieutenant said.
“Wouldn’t know,” Virgil said.
“If he robbed so much money,” the lieutenant said, “why the risk of ransom?”
“Told you,” Virgil said. “There is no ransom.”
“Yes,” the lieutenant said. “I’m sorry, I forgot.”
Virgil nodded.
“Then why did he take the woman if there is no ransom?”
“Hard to know that, Lieutenant.”
“Her father, this Mr. Wainwright, has also offered a big reward,” the lieutenant said.
Virgil nodded some.
“Read about that,” Virgil said.
“Just know, Marshal, money or no money, we are only here to help you find this woman.”
“Mr. Wainwright will be grateful,” Virgil said. “Me, too.”
The lieutenant smiled some as he turned his glass of rum. Then he leveled a friendly gaze at Virgil.
“So,” he said, “where will we be traveling tomorrow?”
“Alejandro here is the pathfinder,” Virgil said. “He will lead the way.”
The lieutenant looked to Alejandro but spoke to Virgil.
“Has he provided you a map, directions, et cetera?”
“We know where we are going,” Virgil said.
“What if something unfortunate were to happen to your prisoner?” the lieutenant said.
“Like what?” Virgil said.
“I don’t know,” the lieutenant said. “I just want to be cautious and respectful of this young woman’s life, that’s all.”
“I don’t intend for nothing unfortunate to happen to Alejandro,” Virgil said.
The lieutenant took a sip of rum and looked at Alejandro for a long moment.
“So he’s provided some details?”
Virgil looked to Alejandro.
“Oh, he’s said some, but he’s not provided the necessary details,” said Virgil.
Alejandro smiled.
The lieutenant looked back to Virgil.
“I want you to know, Marshal. My hombres and me know our people and this country, so we will be an asset in every respect.”
“Good,” Virgil said.
“I want us to be helpful for each other,” the lieutenant said.
He held up his glass.