Georgetown.
This morning I saw Tish and Running Bear from Wyoming and showed them around town. This afternoon I found Sam and Suzy petting a kitten on the street. Suzy begged Sam to let her keep the kitten and he said as long as she could take care of it, then it would be fine. Nile came over and the kitten stole his candy cane.
“This button case you and the sheriff are working on. How is that progressing?” Sam asked us.
“Progressing? It’s not, really,” I shrugged.
“Well we have to talk to another two people but we can’t seem to get a hold of them,” Nile said.
“So the people are missing?” Sam asked.
“Well one is Aurora and the other is Miss White Rose,” Nile said.
“Okay, I have another situation I want you both to be aware of.”
“Should we go inside?” I asked.
“Let’s,” he nodded and we walked into the sheriff’s office and we took a seat. “Okay first thing is first.. “This Vlad situation may get out of control, so just keep an eye on him, sheriff. I personally am pressing charges on him and our agency can work with yours to bring him in.”
“Vlad?” I looked at him, confused.
“I haven’t heard much bout this fella just hearsay and I saw him once from a distance,” Nile said.
“The second order of business is that I received a message on the front door of my office last night I... I haven’t told anyone about this yet,” Sam said.
“Oh?” Nile asked.
“Wait wait... Let’s go back to the first... What do we need to know about Vlad? First time I’m hearin’ the name.”
Sam lit his cigar and thought for a moment, then looked back at me. “He is a powerful little twisted man. Looks to be some kind of hunchback. Calls himself Vlad and packs a powerful punch and somehow is a mean aim with his derringer... Shot down three people last night and attacked my wife the night before.”
“Why wasn’t I made aware of any of this till now?” Nile looked between us.
“He was the man we were chasing last night when you came out of the office and I told you to grab your guns,” Sam looked at him.
“Ah yeah...”
“The evenings events before that happened so late there was no way to tell you about it.”
“Ah okay.”
“Just keep an eye out for the man. He is armed and very dangerous.”
“Alright. So what charges ya pressin? Not planning on Some vigilante justice are ya Sam? Cause you know the law applies to you as well.”
Sam relit his cigar and said, “Assault on my wife, inciting a bar brawl, brandishing a weapon in town, firing upon an agent of the law with intent to harm, shooting in town, and shooting me. About this message...” Sam went on then. “There was a... severed finger laying on the front porch of my office last night with a knife stuck in the door. It has two initials on it. ‘JJ’. That’s all.”
“Wow...” I looked over at him.
“Was that the name of the person who done it or the name of who the fingered belong to?” Nile asked.
“I don’t know. This blade looks to be a bone gandled bowie knife. Very high quality. The finger had a ring on it. Very fancy,” he pulled the finger from his pocket and wrapped in a kerchief and tossed it to Nile.
“A ring hmm?” I leaned forward.
“Let’s see...” Nile caught the finger. He stood up and went to get a tool box and placed it on the table.
“Could be an engagement ring...” I said, examining the finger without touching anything, and looked at the intricate ring. “Someone gave me that ring I’d have a hard time saying no.”
“Yeah, I’d say so,” Nile nodded. “Lets see a ring, a finger and a fancy knife. Sam was the kerchief yours or was the finger placed on it?”
“Sorry, it was mine.”
“If it’s an engagement ring that would make this a woman’s finger,” I stated the obvious so that it was said. “I can’t see a man wearing this fancy of a ring...”
Nile took a pair of tweezers and a wood tongue depressor and placed the wooden object on the finger gently to hold it down, then slowly removed the ring with tweezers from the finger. “Let’s see if there is an engraving on the inside. I know plenty of people have them engraved these days.”
“Especially if they were wealthy enough to afford this kind of ring,” I nodded to him.
Nile slowly removed the ring and placed it near the finger on the kerchief. “Ya see any markings there Sam, also the jewelers markings would be on this side as well? The inside?”
“You have a glass?” Sam nodded.
“Yeah I think I do. I built one into these glasses, but let me rummage through this tool kit.” He moved the tools around and found the glass. “Here ya go, it may be a little scratched,” he said and handed it to Sam.
Sam took the glass and began twisting the ring around in his fingers, inspecting the sides and the underneath. “This is odd,” he mumbled under his breath.
“What Sam?” Nile and I looked over.
Sam nodded and set the ring back down on the table. “There is an inscription on the back. Says, ‘Queen of the Railroad’ but no makers mark and no other defining features.”
“Queen of the railroad hmm... I know our dear friend Josey enjoys the railroad. Other than that don’t know who the queen is.”
“Hmm...”
“He can’t afford a ring like that,” Sam nodded.
“This was given to you last night Sam? Or when did you say?”
“Who else been operating on these lines lately Sam?”
Sam looked at the finger again for a moment, then looked back to Nile. “I wonder if it’s not our Georgetown railroad at all, but maybe something bigger. That ring looks like it belongs to royalty.”
“Hmm, could be. Anyone famous pass through town recently?”
Sam thought about it and then slapped his hand on the table, making me jump. “I have seen that ring before!” He went silent then and whispered, “There is no way... no way this could be true...” He looked between us and jumped up. “I need to get to the office. If this is what I think it is, our little town just got a lot more dangerous.”
“What?” I looked at him, then looked at Nile. “Is that story over?”
Sam headed towards the door and turned to us. “Well, you two comin’?”
Nile and I walked outside and we met Agent Woodrow ‘Woody’ Call. I recognized him from Amiville. Sam asked us to fill Woody in so we walked into the office and explained the case about the finger to Woody. Sam took out his old badge and set it in the drawer and set his pistols on top of the desk as he wrote out a telegram about the case. Sam set the big blade down next to the hunting bowie that was stuck in his door, and then looked back at us. I could feel the tension in the room and saw the anger and fear in Sam’s eyes.
“This is no ordinary case,” Sam told us. “The man who did this left this message for me and i think he intends to make it personal.”
“Personal how?” I swallowed.
“If this person is trying to make it personal, you must know him in someway? Any idea what the letters JJ stand for?” Woody leaned against Sam’s desk.
“Or ‘Queen of the Railroad’?” I asked.
“Only time will tell but...” his voice trailed off for a moment as he seemed to recall some dark memory from the past. In a moment he was back to normal again and he sighed, ashing his cigar. “If I am right this is one of the most dangerous men I have ever encountered in all my career as a Pinkerton.” He took a moment to gather his thoughts. “Two years ago I worked for two very powerful people - the owners of the pacific union rail road. I was hired with a team of agents to find out who was robbing the trains heading out west. We tracked the culprits down to a small town in New Mexico where under orders we surrounded and shot them down one by one.” His eyes took on an icy stare for a moment.
Woody frowned and said, “Well we’ve all met dangerous men before, and we’re all still standing.” he looked over at me and said, “You know this guy may be smart, attack us one by one. If he’s out for you, then I would assume he wants to cause you as much grief as he can,” he paused for a moment and then asked, “Where is your wife?”
“One of them got away ... and took down three of my agents in the process...” Sam stopped for a moment, listening to Woody, then looked back to the desk. “I will handle the personal security of my family, but I need you guys to investigate everything you can about this one Slick Jesse. If he is still around he will be hidden in the mountains and caves. He won’t be out in the open and he will slit your throat in the dark of the night if he finds you not paying attention. He will wait for you to make a mistake and when you do he will be there like a nightmare ready to destroy you.”
I nodded to Sam and looked to Woody. “Maybe it’s best we don’t go out alone...”
“Don’t go into the mountains on your own then,” Woody nodded to Sam and looked at me. “If we are to go then we go with a group of us.”
“Make no mistake, he wants revenge for the death of his crew and he may have had time to build up more. It’s been two years - if I’m right he has a new gang.”
I looked at Sam then and asked, “That new gang you told me about in the Spread Eagle... Could this be the one you were referring to?”
“I heard rumors of a new gang nearby. It’s a good bet he is the leader of it,” Sam confirmed and I nodded.
Woody frowned and scratched his chin, then pulled out his pistols and placed them on Sam’s desk. “Would you mind checking them over for me Sam? I’m afraid the may have picked up a lot of dust in Mexico.”
“Woody, I’m glad you rode into town when you did.”
Sam waited a moment before leaning forward and taking out his magnifying glass. He held up the custom guns and smiled as he ran his fingers over the grips and examined the guns. He gave them back to Woody and he thanked him, putting his guns back in his holsters. “And if we find him? You want us to finish the job you started?”
I tried to think of something intelligent to say but remembered the fear I had in the cave yesterday and wonders if I was ready to face someone as violent as this man, who could be more violent than the man I was running from the most.
“I don’t want you to kill him yet,” Sam held up his hand. “I need to send a wire to the woman’s husband first, and see if she is missing before we do anything... but if you see anyone suspicious, keep an eye on them. He i usually dressed all black with a long coat.”
“We need to figure out who the woman’s husband is first, don’t we?” I asked.
Sam held up the finger of the two owners of the railroad and pointed to the woman. “The queen of union pacific.”
“If Sam’s right, which I don’t doubt he is, then he knows who her husband is,” Woody shook his head.
I took the picture and remembered that it was Slick Jesse, the husband, and sighed at myself. Mimi walked in and said, “Howdy all I heard somebody lost a finger, news travels fast.” When Sam nodded she asked, “Did the doc sew up the nub? can see you all are taken care of business. Just thought I’d stop by, wonderin’ who lost the finger.”
Someone walked in with a clown outfit and said, “I want to report a crime.” Sam pointed down the road to the sheriff’s office and the clown said, “Seems the law in Colorado aren’t up for the job... I will hire you... clowns..”
“Well fellers if it top secret, I guess I’ll be going,” Mimi said.
“Not top secret, we are just discussing the case,” Sam looked at her and she nodded, heading out of the office wondering, “Where’s the circus?”
“It’s miles out,” the clown said. “I was sent forward to let you know there is a thief coming into town.”
“Who were you sent by?” I asked with a sigh. I hated clowns with a passion.
“The Carnivale. We are a traveling folk.”
“Specifically who?” I asked.
“Can’t remember the owner’s name. He beats me quite hard. I think they call him a number. Seven? Eight? Nah, I am sure it was one...”
Sam finally looked up from his desk and looked over at the clown. “Hello sir, please do tell who is this thief?”
Woody headed out of the office to get some work done and the clown said, “They seemed to ride on foreign horses. I saw these horses before in Europe. They was almost Arabian.”
I thought to myself that I’d rather investigate the finger or the button case than work with clowns and sighed, going to sit at the table as Sam said, “Arabian horse riders in Colorado... Who did you speak to in Colorado, may I ask?”
“Arabian they was, I tell ye,” the clown spit his tobacco on the floor.
Sam raised an eyebrow and said, “I don’t recall saying they weren’t. You came here looking for someone to listen to you right? Someone to take your story and your message? Well I’m trying to get the facts from you.”
“Well.. u know my mom and her circus.. we travel all around... seen all parts of the globe sir I tell you...”
“Now then who did you speak with in Colorado?” Sam asked again and I felt his irritation.
“I’m sorry sir,” the clown stepped back and shook his head. “Whatever happens in the circus stays in the circus.”
“Then you don’t really need us, do you?” I asked him.
He placed a stack of bills on the counter and grinned. “I think this says we do, don’t it?”
“You came in here and stated that you had spoken to law in Colorado,” Sam shook his head. “That is not circus business.” He looked down at the money and said, “I don’t mind taking a job good sir but we must know what we are dealing with.”
The clown looked up and looked between us. “They stole something... We need it back.”
“What did they steal from you?” Sam asked.
“A stuffed animal,” the clown said.
“A stuffed toy,” I said incredulously.
“Yes.. it was hidden in the top drawer of a caravan they stole.”
“They stole a stuffed animal, Sam. That’s all this is about.”
“It takes four horses to drag this caravan, so look around... and you will see whose horses are missing.”
“And if the whole ‘what stays in the circus stays there’ thing is true, we ain’t getting in or out of there with anything useful,” I muttered.
“Will you do this or not?” the clown asked, his hand still firm on the money.
Sam looked at the stack of money, then to the man. “A stuffed animal for that much money?”
“You might want to come back at another time. Looks like my boss is rather busy right now,” I looked at the clown.
“Well we haven’t got our toy.”
“This can’t be just about a toy. Not for that much money.”
“The whole circus won’t sleep till the little girl gets her toy,” the clown said and I rolled my eyes as he left a notecard on the floor, an Ace of Spades.
“You really think we’re gonna help you when I know that circus life is very confidential and no one there will tell us anything useful even if we did go there?” I asked him.
“Take the card and show it,” he said and I did so. “Write an eight on it before you come. We will let you in.”
“Right you will,” I muttered and took the card.
The clown took the card and shook his head. When I looked at it, an eight appeared on the back and then suddenly, the clown was gone as if he’d vanished from the office. I looked around and muttered,
“What the hell was that...” as I went back to my paperwork.
***
This evening I walked downtown and saw a man in front of the saloon. “Hello ma’am,” he tipped his hat to me.
“Hello there, Sir. Nice night, eh?”
“It is,” he nodded. I am Brigs Pinkerton.”
“Trin Paige,” I smiled. “Nice to meet you, Sir.”
“Nice to meet you.”
“Pinkerton eh... I’m a Pinkerton Agent in fact.”
“My Father’s business,” he grinned.
“Who’s your father?”
“Mr. Allan Pinkerton.”
“I don’t know him,” I shook my head.
“I tried his business. had an office in Colorado East. Not for me.”
“Oh yeah? What is your business?”
“A little of this, little of that. Was bored,” he chuckled. “Who is in charge of the Office here?”
“Is easy to get bored, that’s for sure. Sam Stillwater’s my boss.”
“Ah okay.”
“Been a busy day there today... Lookin’ around to see if Sam’s here.”
“I wont keep you lovely lady, you have a good day.”
“Not keeping me. The company’s appreciated,” I smiled. “Is quiet around here sometimes...”
“Looks that way,” he smiled.
“Care for a drink?” I asked, nodding to the saloon behind me.
“Are there many settlers?”
“It’s starting to pick up I think.”
“That’s good.”
“Shall we?” I nodded.
“I better not have that drink. My wife hear I been drinking with another lovely lady, I may sing an octave higher,” he laughed.
“Fair enough,” I chuckled. “I’ll let ya go home to her.”
“Ok I am gonna continue looking about, you guys keep making my family loads of money,” he chuckled and headed home.
“Will do, Sir,” he nodded and I walked home.
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