Bisbee.
I walked out of the office this morning and stretched, letting the bright sun greet me. I walked through town and smiled when I saw Alex in front of the salon. “Good morning, dear! Nice to see you in town on a weekend!”
“Nice to see you too,” he smiled widely. “It’s rare I get in.”
I pulled him close and kissed him deeply as he hugged me tight. I stepped back and looked in his eyes. “Feel like accompanying me to the library? I have some work to do and I don’t want to do it alone.”
“I’d be happy to,” he grinned and then frowned. “Is there a reason you feel uncomfortable alone?”
“Yeah... You remember that thing that happened with Serenity getting shot? And how you asked if it would turn into something big?” I asked and he nodded grimly. “Well... it did. We need to look up information about a particular gang... Apparently that Sam guy and some of his friends... they’re reviving the gang and I want to know what we’re getting into with them.”
He took in a breath and said, “Okay, the library sounds like a good place to start.”
“Also... Last night...” I hesitated, still trying to process the previous night myself. He raised an eyebrow and I said, “I found out that Lot, a Wild Bunch member, he was Kaly’s sister. And didn’t seem too upset over her disappearance. And... Lot killed the main leader of the Regulators’ gang back then. But he won’t tell me the name.”
“Wow...” he whistled.
“This just got dang serious,” I nodded. “Alex, if they find out I know too much...”
He took my hand and said, “You need to be careful.”
“Yeah, I’d say so,” I squeezed his hand tightly. “Especially because Lot threatened me last night before I left the saloon. Again.”
“I’m really worried about you. I know what kind of people we’re dealing with.”
“That’s why I need you, darling. Well, that and... other reasons,” I winked.
“I will be right here with you,” he nodded and grinned.
“Best thing I’ve heard in the past forty-eight hours. Shall we?”
“Let’s head to the library. We’ll... um... research.”
Tombstone.
We walked to Allen Street and entered the library. “Guess we should start looking... Don’t know how much time we’ll have...” I started.
Alex hooked his finger into my belt buckle and pulled me close. “Hello there.”
“People may already know that I’m looking into this and... Mmm....” I smiled and looked in his eyes.
“Seems we have a few quiet minutes,” he chuckled and kissed me slowly.
“I’m really starting to like this library...” I whispered as we continued to kiss.
“Me too. Something about this place... mmhmmm.”
“Perhaps we should... focus...” I looked into his eyes.
“Yeah, let’s get looking into this,” he nodded.
I tried to remember which shelf the gang information was on and we began scanning the shelves. “Anything?” I asked after a while.
He looked up from a book and said, “What? Oh, sorry. I got distracted by all these books,” he grinned sheepishly.
“You’re adorable, darlin’,” I chuckled at him.
“Not as much as you, sweetie,” he said and I laughed a bit. “Hey...”
“You find it, babe?” I looked over at him.
He looked up with a grin and said, “I think I found something.”
“You’re brilliant,” I smiled.
“Spent a lot of time in libraries,” he winked.
“Let’s have a seat.”
“Good idea,” he nodded and we walked over to the chairs.
I pulled out my notebook and said, “Alright, darlin’, read away. I’ll take notes.”
“Alrighty,” he began to read. “This is mighty interesting info here.”
“You gonna read it for me?” I chuckled, wanting to read out loud.
“The Regulators were formed out of numerous small ranch owners in the Lincoln area,” he began to read out loud. “Many of those who became best known as ‘Regulators’ ha a long history with one another previously. Billy the Kid was the best known, most likely because of his name. He received it due to the news accounts that readily attached his name to everything the Regulators did. The Lincoln County War brought him to the front, but several of the other Regulators were actually the driving force behind the events, and had a history of killing alongside one another prior to the war. Saunders, Bowdre, Scurlock and the two Coes had previously killed rustlers together. On July 18, 1876, that group had stormed the Lincoln jail, removing horse thief Largo, and hanging him. Saunders and Coe had tracked down cattle rustler Meras, shooting and killing him that same month in the Baca Canyon. Their association with McCarty began when, in the spring of 1876, Billy moved to Lincoln County and began working for Scurlock and Bowdre at their cheese factory. He later worked, for a time, for a rancher Henry Hooker, and then for Saunders and Coes on their ranch. By the time the Lincoln County War came along, those main core members, referred to as the ‘iron clad’, were all more experienced and closer to being actual ‘gunmen’ then was McCarty.”
“1876... So then the guy Lot killed must have been a descendant of these guys,” I noted.
“Looks it,” he nodded.
I wrote some more notes and then said, “What else?”
“The Regulators received their cloak of legality from the Justice of the Peace of the town of Lincoln, John Wilson. They went through three different leaders, all but one being killed. Although Billy the Kid achieved most fame, he never led them. The Regulators were formed to counter what was believed to have been a corrupt sheriff’s office, in addition to other gangs. The Lincoln County War and the Regulators would launch Billy the Kid to everlasting fame. However, in reality, other Regulators were closer to actually being “gunmen” than Billy. In some cases, Billy was credited with killings that in fact were carried out by other Regulators. By the Regulators’ end, any killings committed by them had his name attached, whether he was the actual shooter or not. This would eventually be detrimental to his attempts at amnesty. The posse comprised a mixture of American and Mexican cowboys. Before being called the Regulators, some of the main members called themselves the ‘Iron Clad’. The most famous shootings were the Gunfight of Blazer’s Mills and the Battle of Lincoln. Accounts of the number of people killed by the Regulators during the range war vary, as some killings attached to them have never been substantiated.”
“The Lincoln County War... Interesting...” I nodded.
“February 18, 1878, The death of John Tunstall sparked a conflict with another group, the Murphy and Dolan faction, which would later be called the Lincoln County War. Tunstall was killed by Murphy-Dolan gunmen William Morton, Frank Baker, Jesse Evans and Tom Hill. The next day, Bonney and Brewer swear out affidavits and warrants are issued by Justice of the Peace John Wilson for the sub-posse.”
“Another gang war... Just like the one brewing now... Apparently Sam and his buddies were riling up Punk and them.”
Alex nodded and kept reading, “While trying to serve the warrants, Waite, Bonney and Constable Martinez are detained by Sheriff William Brady. Waite and Bonney miss Tunstall’s funeral, Martinez would be let go. On the 23rd Bonney and Waite are let out jail. March 1, ‘Dick’ Brewer is appointed town constable by Justice of the Peace John Wilson, Billy is his deputy. They are to bring in Tunstall’s murderers. Others are deputized and call themselves “The Regulators. March 6, The Regulators arrest Bill Morton and Frank Baker. Three days later Morton, Baker and Regulator William McCloskey are killed at Agua Negra, with McCloskey believed to have betrayed the Regulators.”
“Wow...” I shook my head.
“April 1, Jim French, Frank MacNab, John Middleton, Fred Waite, Henry Brown, and Billy Bonney shoot at the Sheriff and his deputies through makeshift portals of the adobe wall they were behind. Bonney is wounded by Matthews while attempting to recover the rifle taken from him by Brady. Sheriff Brady and Deputy Hindman are killed. April 4, There is a gun battle at Blazer’s Mill with Buckshot Roberts, a bounty hunter working for Dolan. Buckshot and Brewer are killed, Middleton is badly wounded, Bonney is grazed by a bullet, George Coe has his trigger finger shot off.”
“Hm...” I shuddered a bit, remembering Buckshot Bill and sighed at the similarities of the names.
“Ouch, can you imagine gettin’ your trigger finger shot off?” Alex asekd and then said, “Hmmm...”
“What?” I looked at him.
“You okay? You looked a little off for a moment.”
“It’s nothing... Just similar names is all... I’m sure it’s a coincidence,” I shook my head but traced my wrist a bit out of habit. “Keep going... how did they disband?”
“April 18, The Kid, Middleton, Waite and Brown are indicted for the murder of Sheriff Brady. Dolan, Evans, Matthews and others are indicted for the murder of Tunstall,” Alex kept reading. “April 29, Frank McNab is killed by members of the Seven Rivers Warriors. Ab Saunders is badly wounded, and Frank Coe captured. April 30, George Coe shoots and wounds Seven Rivers member “Dutch Charlie” Kruling in Lincoln. Seven Rivers members Tom Green, Charles Marshall, Jim Patterson and John Galvin are killed that same day, and although the Regulators are blamed, their involvement was never proven. Seven Rivers gang members at that time were beginning to turn on one another.”
“Of course,” I smirked a bit.
“May 15, The Regulators gained some revenge by storming the area around Seven Rivers, capturing and killing Manuel Segovia, the cowboy who had killed Frank McNab. July 15, the Regulators were surrounded in Lincoln at the McSween house. Facing them were the Dolan/Murphy/Seven Rivers cowboys.”
“Ah ha,” I nodded. “And the plot thickens.”
Alex continued to read, “July 19, the house was set afire. As the flames spread and night fell, Susan McSween was granted safe passage out of the house while the men inside continued to fight the fire. By 9 o’clock, those left inside got set to break out the back door of the burning house. Jim French went out first, followed by Billy the Kid, Tom O’Folliard, and Jose Chavez y Chavez. The Dolan men saw the running men and opened fire, killing Harvey Morris, McSween’s law partner. Some troopers moved into the back yard to take those left into custody when a close-order gunfight erupted. Alex McSween was killed, as was Seven Rivers cowboy Bob Beckwith. With McSween dead the war was over..”
“Wow,” I shook my head at that.
“Ultimately, the Lincoln County War accomplished little other than to fester distrust and animosity in the area and to make fugitives out of the surviving Regulators, most notably Billy the Kid. The Kid, Scurlock, Bowdre, Chavez y Chavez, Saunders, Brewer, Brown, McNab and the Coe cousins received the most notoriety as being “Regulators”. Gradually, his fellow gunmen scattered to their various fates, and Billy the Kid was left with Charlie Bowdre, Tom O’Folliard, Dirty Dave Rudabaugh, and a few other friends with whom he rustled cattle and committed other petty crimes while negotiating for an amnesty that would never come, and evading capture. Ab Saunders later died, in 1884 in San Francisco, California, during surgery to correct problems he still suffered due to his wound received on April 29, 1878. Frank and George Coe moved around for a time, eventually returning to Lincoln, where they became highly respected citizens, and successful ranchers. Despite the fact that the Regulators numbered some forty plus, most members, however, were relative unknowns, and their whereabouts after the war ended is lost to history.”
“Lost to history, it says... Only to be revived again here...” I said. “I bet you Kaly was digging into her past and Lot didn’t like that so much.”
Alex closed the book in his lap and looked at me. “This is getting interesting.”
“What’s going through that cute head of yours, sweetie?” I nodded.
He thought about it and said, “I think we need to find out what he didn’t want out in the open.”
“I was afraid of that.”
“I will be right beside you in this,” he nodded.
“I hope so... I don’t want to do any of this alone. This is gonna get too dangerous. Maybe we should go back to Diamond and talked to Matt and Bill?” I stood, closing my notebook and putting it in my pocket.
“Good idea. We shouldn’t keep it to ourselves,” he said and I took a deep breath, not ready to go outside yet, and looked at him nervously. He gave me a cheeky look and then kissed me quickly.
“One more before we leave.” He leaned back and looked at me, asking, “You okay?”
“I just...” I sighed and leaned into him. “I’m just glad I don’t have to do this alone.”
He held me close and said, “I wouldn’t let you do it alone.”
Black Diamond.
We walked into Diamond and I suggested that we walk to the saloon. “Sure wish you were here for the dance last night, Alex.”
“I wish I had been too,” Alex smiled.
Lil’s voice came from upstairs and I called up, “Lil, that you up there?”
“Upstairs, ya’ll,” she called down to us.
We walked upstairs and I said, “Hey Lil. You remember my man Alex.”
“Howdy Lil, Bill,” Alex tipped his hat and I smiled over at the mayor.
“Hello Alex, nice to see you again,” Lil said.
“Nice to see you too.”
“I made him feel guilty for missing such a good night last night,” I winked at Lil.
“It was so much fun. I never laughed so much,” Lil smiled.
“Too bad I missed it. I was out in the cold desert by myself. It would’ve been a whole lot nicer dancing with Trin,” Alex chuckled.
“It sure was. Very... informative too,” I nodded.
“Yes it was,” Lil nodded. “Couldn’t help but overhear, Trin.”
“We’ve been over at the library looking into this gang, Lil. If they’re a copy of a past gang I wanted to know what we were getting into. Seems like it’s gonna get... dangerous.”
“Not good.”
“Nope. Definitely not.”
“Well, I guess that means I best put my guns back on.”
“Did they talk about it anymore after I left last night?” I asked.
“Not much. Thought they were gonna shoot Kenny when he said he had to leave. Was about to get my frying pan out.”
“Kenny sure was spinning some good records,” I laughed. “And it was nice hearin’ you sing between some other songs too. You should hear this woman sing, Dear,” I said to Alex.
“Oh yeah? Maybe sometime I can,” Alex smiled.
“Kinda heard some talk in Tombstone this morning about the gang,” Lil said.
“In Tombstone?” I looked to her.
“Yep, trying to think of the lady’s name.”
“Wasn’t Victoria, was it?” I asked, curious.
“Kelly,” Bill said.
“Kelly?!” I blinked. “What was she sayin’?”
“Oh, heck. I only listen to about half of what Victoria says and forget the rest. Trying to get a gang started is all I heard.”
“Kelly was talking about this?” I asked as Alex looked at me.
“I think that was her name.”
“Bill... Matt and Ryker talked about a woman who we couldn’t identify that was involved in this thing. I thought it might’ve been Sam’s girl,” I looked from Alex to Bill. “But if it’s Kelly...”
“Just kinda heard it as passing,” Lil said.
“Still... hearing Kelly and the gang’s name in the same sentence is awfully significant.”
“I didn’t hear a name. Just gang.”
“Oh... Still, that can’t be a coincidence,” I looked at Alex and he nodded.
“Just might keep an eye on her,” Lil advised.
“Usually do. Thanks for the tip, Lil.”
“Hey Bill... Remember last night that guy named Bruce... He kept mentioning this woman named Pan,” I looked to Bill.
“A bartender hears a lot of things, ya know,” Lil winked.
“Oh, I know. Remember when I did it back in Colorado, Lil?”
“Yes, sure do.”
“Was great for information for the paper,” I winked at Alex.
“Yes, and I’m going to talk to Mr. Wise about her,” Bill nodded.
“About Pan? Who is she? Why was he so afraid of her being so close?” I asked.
“Hmmm... only Pan I can think of is in Greek Mythology,” Alex put in and I smiled, not surprised at Alex’s level of knowledge.
“There used to be a gal named Pan here. Was in law, I think.”
‘Oh?”
“She shot me once when I ran with Mac and TJ.”
“I see... So she’s bad news too...” I nodded.
“She seems to be. Ain’t seen her around in awhile though.”
“We need to talk to Lot about last night... He ain’t tellin’ me something,” I said.
“Good luck. He is a hard on to get information out of.”
“Don’t I know it,” I nodded. “He threatened me again though, did you hear that part? Said I should watch my back.”
“Better be careful around me, talking like that,” Alex cracked his knuckles.
“Well Trin, I would do that if I were you,” Lil nodded. “You’re treadin’ in dangerous water.”
“I ain’t goin’ anywhere alone from now on probably. Will always have my right hand man next to me,” I winked at Alex and he winked back.
“In town here Trin if he ain’t around take my dog with you he will warn you if someone is around,” Lil offered.
“That’s a good idea, Lil. Thanks,” I smiled.
Lil told us about how they were thinking about doing a poker tournament at the saloon and I promised I would be there.
Bisbee.
Alex and I said goodbye and then headed back to Bisbee. Instead of heading home, I asked him if he would like to dance and he said that he’d love to, especially since he couldn’t be there last night. We walked into the Stock Exchange and put a record on the turntable, and then spun around the dance floor, feeling so happy and content in one another’s arms. There was nowhere else we wanted to be.
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