Tombstone.
I walked into the clinic this morning and found Alex sitting at the desk. I exhaled with relief and asked, “Got anything for a hangover?”
“Hey Trin! How about a hug?”
“That’ll work.”
He wrapped his arms around me and gave me a hug as he said, “Nat worked with me this morning. She did a great job.” I leaned my head against his shoulder and he said, “She also said you might be in need of a drink.”
“She was practically giddy when she came to find me just now.”
“She’s a smart kid,” Alex chuckled. “She’ll learn a lot.”
“Another drink... Perhaps just coffee...” I leaned back and looked at him.
“Coffee would be good for me.”
“Well if she refuses to go to school at least she’s learnin’ somewhere... Shall we?”
“Come on, let’s get that coffee.”
“Lead the way,” I said and we headed outside.
On our way to Kate’s, Bree was heading to the bank and said there had been trouble there. I tried to ignore it and followed Alex into the saloon, rubbing the temples from my headache that was forming from the shouting outside.
“Got a headache, Trin?” Alex asked, handing me a piece of willow bark.
I took the bark and chewed on it, feeling the relief. “Yeah... a few headaches all combined in one.”
“Well, I don’t know about everything that’s giving you headaches, but I can say one thing for sure - you’re doing a really good job raising that kid.”
“I am?” I looked at him.
“You are,” he nodded. “She’s a smart one. And curious. She listens well. When she wants to anyway. You should be proud of that.”
“She did well in the clinic then?” I asked. Talking about Natalie seemed to be the only topic I could handle positively right now.
“She did great! I explained about being clean today and she did just what I asked of her. I enjoyed having her there.”
“That’s great to hear. Want to know a secret?” I asked and she nodded. “I think she was more excited about just spending special time with you more than being in the clinic.”
“She’s a great kid. I like having her around,” he smiled.
“If our history wasn’t so complicated... She’d probably be calling you Uncle.”
Alex chuckled and said, “I made her call me Mr. Stone in the clinic to be more professional.”
“Yeah, sounded weird even as I said it. Bet that was hard for her.”
“She slipped a few times. But that’s okay,” he grinned. “I just wanted her to get used to a more professional level when she’s working. She’s a hard worker. That clinic has never been cleaner.”
“Mmhmm. And her grammar is improving too, I’ve noticed. I think it’s all the reading she’s been doing.”
“I told her she needed proper grammar there too. No one wants an ignorant sounding doctor.”
“Mmhmm, that’s for sure. Even if they’re nine.”
“I know how much she reads so she’s smart enough for that.”
“That’s for sure. There’s not a moment when that girl isn’t in a book or my journals. But she wants to know all about me and where I came from... She’ll learn a lot more from reading my journals than me trying to retell it all.”
“That’s a good point. She seems very curious about your past.”
“Well... Since she started calling me her mother I guess I’ve accepted the role... It’s only right for a child to know where her parent came from, isn’t it?”
A woman walked in and I recognized her as the one who asked me and Ansar if we knew how to pick locks the other day. I asked her if she’d figured it out yet and she said that she hadn’t. I found out her name was Madison and she left the saloon. I noticed she’d had a couple drinks and reached over with my gloved hands to take her cup, lifting prints for my files.
“I’ve got to be heading out. It was nice to see you. And I’m proud of your kid,” Alex stood then.
“Thanks, Alex. I appreciate that,” I set my mug down and hugged him tightly.
“I’ll see you a little later.”
“Nice to hear after someone pretty much said I was untrustworthy in court on Saturday.”
“Don’t listen to them!”
“It’s Suzy. When do I ever?” I nodded. “She wants a fight, she’s got it.”
“I’ll catch up with you in Bisbee later, Trin,” he assured.
An hour later I was standing in front of the sheriff’s office, leaning against the post, when Sabi walked over. We talked about how it had been a hard weekend and Sabi took a deeb breath and said, “I been tryin ta ferget.”
“Yeah... Harder for you, I guess.”
“I still see’s peeples heads comin off, but don’t tells nobody. They will get all uppity again.”
“I still see flames and I wasn’t even there. I just imagine what the kids must have seen.”
“I sawed it all.”
“Oh hon... If you feel like you need to talk about it... If that’ll help you feel better... You know you can talk to me right?”
“Tha ‘dults don’t care though.”
“You always know I care.”
“Thankies Auntie Trin. You aint an ‘dult though, you is just kinda like a big kid,” she said and I chuckled at that. “‘dults get all mad at everything kids say and does.”
“Well I guess it’s different for me ‘cause I’ve got one now, right?”
“I suppose so but that don’t make a different for most folks. Stormy and Mike and Adriana and all them yelled plenty.”
“Yelling don’t help make things better though.”
“Den der is tha kids that acts like ‘dults. I am just glad Mr Garth kilt them men.”
“I hadn’t heard they were both dead..”
“They must be after tha fire and all tha shooting. Serves em right though. I think if ya just kilt all the outlaws then things would be peaceful like again..”
“If only it were that simple,” I sighed.
“Why ain’t it Aunt Trin?”
“Because there’s always new outlaws comin’ and goin’, kiddo.”
“Yeahhh I suppose dats true.”
Mikk rode over then and I said, “See Sabi, Mikk’ll tell you. He’s been here longer than I have. There’s always new outlaws comin’ in and out, no matter how hard ya try to fight ‘em.”
“Maybe if ya lock em up as dey comes in, then new outlaws will think twice afore coming into town?” Sabi suggested.
“From the mouth of children, eh Mikk?” I chuckled.
“Don’t get me started on outlaws !...Outlaws runs this town..Both the mayor AND the Sheriff are both old gang members of the Cowboys...Ringo’s old gang...so don’t get me started!” Mikk exclaimed.
“They is? Sherrif Aly was an outlaw?”
“Nah... Not Aly,” I shook my head.
“I could kinda see tha mayor as an outlaw. He is kinda skeery lookin sometimes.”
“Mayor Wise and Kristof. Those are old outlaws,” Mikk said and I wasn’t surprised by that based on our investigation a while back about the Regulator gang and the discovery of Ringo.
“Ohhh.”
“Well that don’t mean they still do bad things though,” I said. “Kris is very trustworthy.”
“So who was tha old law den sir?” Sabi asked.
“Oce an outlaw always an outlaw...and Ringo’s gang were like brothers..family...look...how much proof do you need ?..they both still wear the red sashes....so don’t give me no smoke,” Mikk muttered. “They may run the town...but running a town does not make them respectable.”
“Yeah but I ain’t seen ‘em kill anyone or rob a bank lately. So I trust ‘em,” I looked at him.
“Why would they rob a bank?” Mikk laughed out loud. “They OWN the dam town...but no worries..ya all just blind. Two wrongs never make one right.”
“What you want me to do about it, Mikk? Go around and arrest everyone for the things they’ve done in the past?” I sighed. “For one thing... I don’t even do the arresting part. For another.. That would be a hell of a lot of paperwork.”
“Yeaaah thats a great idea!” Sabi nodded. “Arrest everyone who ever did wrong and kill em!”
“I’m not saying you should arrest them..but it does not change the fact that THIS town is runned by outlaws.”
“Still don’t mean we gotta give up tryin’ to do the right thing and gettin’ bad guys convicted in court,” I told him.
“Listen this is the year 1900...but is there any modern things here ?..nooo...and why ?..cause they don’t want us to know...don’t want us to progress they want us to stay uneducated to keep us under their boots.”
Zeth walked over then and asked, “Trin? Can I talk to you about something that happened last night?”
“Sure, Zeth. You need to talk in private?”
He nodded and we excused ourselves and headed for my office. When we were inside, Zeth told me about how he had gotten shot last night. Zeth said he came into Tombstone and heard an explosion. He saw Bill outside and another man was holding a large bag that looked like it was from the bank. Zeth followed the man and he shut the door and came out but didn't have the bag, so he went in to get his money back from him. A shoot out followed where Zeth's arm was shot. The man who shot him helped him to the clinic. With Jimmy's help, Angeles came to heal his arm. Zeth said he thinks the one who shot him was Mac. After he was healed, someone tried to frame him for ruining a door at the clinic. He wasn't sure who really ruined the door.
Zeth wrote down his statement after several times of trying to get the facts right in conversation. When we’d gotten all the facts straight he said he hoped that he wouldn’t be going to jail for getting his money back from outlaws because he’s part of a family of lawmen.
Bisbee.
This afternoon I played piano for an hour at the Stock Exchange and then felt my left arm become sore. Thankfully, Alex was there to massage my back and he helped loosen the knots that were there. I introduced Rye to Alex and thanked her and everyone else for coming to hear me sing.
When we heard a loud crash outside, Alex and I walked out to find that Zeth had fallen over from having too much to drink. We helped him to the hotel to rest for a while and gave him some water to drink, then headed for Allen Street.
Tombstone.
We saw the bank doors open and wandered over to see what was going on. Alex said that he needed to head home so we said goodbye and I continued to investigate the bank. Jy stood in front of the doors and then Thomas and Bree walked outside.
“Well looky there, the prettiest lady in Tombstone walks up to welcome me back to town,” Thomas smiled at me.
“Well hey there!” I walked over to him. “Thomas, feel like coming with me and catching up? A lot has happened lately.”
“Sure,” he nodded.
We said goodbye to the others and headed for Kate’s. “We could always catch up whilst dancing if that sounds better?”
“You look a little tired dear, do you feel up to dancing?”
“You’ve grown to read me well... Perhaps you’re right,” I smiled.
“So tell me, what has been going on lately? I wont be leaving Tombstone again anytime soon. I got my last bit of money from back in Texas, so I am no longer needed there anymore.”
“That’s the best news I’ve heard all week... Well, I don’t even know where to start. I feel like everything’s kind of collapsing on me and I can’t handle it alone anymore. Raising a daughter is harder than I thought it was going to be.”
“Howdy,” a man walked in and I recognized him as the other man named Alex who had been working towards being a doctor.
“Hi there, other Alex,” I nodded to him.
Thomas took out a pouch and rolled a cigarette, lighting it with a match. “Oh, things not going to well with Natalie?”
“Other Alex?” he frowned as Thomas greeted him.
“Things are going well now... She started helping Alex out in the clinic. She needed to do something to distract her from... that fire...” I looked at Thomas.
“How is Natalie doing since that fire? How is Jimmy? I haven’t seen him in I don’t know when,” Thomas looked at me.
“There was a fire?” Alex asked.
“Next door to my house last week,” I nodded to him. “My daughter and her best friend witnessed it. Natalie is... Starting to bounce back but it scared her for a while.”
“Was anyone injured?”
“I heard someone got shot, and two people were inside,” Thomas said.
“Yeah, a sheriff was killed and a deputy hurt and I’m pretty sure the two guys inside the house were killed in the fire.”
“Which sheriff?” Alex asked.
“The one in Diamond.”
“I met her... She wasn’t the most pleasant of folks.”
“Then we had a massive court trial on the weekend... For Zan... If she had been charged guilty she would have hanged for murdering a woman who had tried to kill her and threatened her family. But she was charged not guilty, thank God. But Suzy had it in her bright mind to attack the Pinkertons because I was a key witness for the defense... And aired out all of our past crimes, claiming that I wasn’t a reliable witness.”
“Oh was that the lady you told me about Trin, who had ummm lost her memory?” Thomas looked at me.
“That’s the one,” I nodded.
“Oh my I certainly missed a lot,” Alex shook his head.
“Me too, I been back in Texas since Thursday. The things we miss when we are away,” Thomas said.
“If Suzy wants to start animosity between the Pinkertons and the Rangers, she’s got it now. I don’t care if it was a good tactic in court. I felt as if me and the entire agency were on trial,” I looked at Thomas as Alex said goodbye and headed out of the saloon.
“Well it sounds like you have had a busy weekend for sure. Here I was in Texas drinking whiskey, and consorting with lude women, and you was dealing with kids, and trials and such,” he smiled.
“Consorting with lude women, huh? Didn’t miss me then?” I winked at him.
“Oh I missed you very much. That big woman would have made you look like a midget she was wide as this bar,” he smiled.
I chuckled and nudged him lightly. “I really missed you... I think Jimmy witnessed a shooting last night. Heard he was a witness to somethin’ today when the man shot came to give me his statement.”
“Oh no! You haven’t seen Jimmy? I wonder how this adoption with him and that Mrs Joan he said who wants to be his ma, is going?”
“I don’t know... Nat hasn’t seen him all day either. Or last night.” I looked in his eyes and reached for his hand. “When did you start smoking, dear?”
He took my hand and held it softly as he looked into my eyes. “Its a habit I have had for years. I dont smoke all the time, just when I deal with idiots, and get frustrated like I was in Texas. I thought I was going to have to show them the ugly side of me.”
I felt relief just at holding his hand. “I don’t think I could express how much I missed you... The sheriff who was killed was a good friend of mine. And then this trial really took it out of me. Last night was not one of my... finer moments and I think I may have worried Natalie because she told on me to Alex.”
Thomas finished his cigarette and said, “Oh my, what happened with you last night? I thought about you the whole time I was gone Trin. It seems you have caught me in a way no other woman ever has. Not that I am complaining, but I worried about being away from you the whole time.”
“I may have... had a few too many. I felt myself longing for you like I’ve not longed for a man in quite some time. It’s so hard raising a child on your own, Thomas... And then on top of that all these ghosts from my past keep coming up while I’m trying to finish my memoirs and it just... It becomes overwhelming when you have to face it alone.”
“I am sorry I wasn’t here. I had to leave for Texas on such a short notice, if I had had time, I would have loved to take you and even Natalie with me. That train ride was so long and boring, I thought I was going to go crazy. I wont be making that trip anymore. I just deposited a large amount of money here.”
I pulled him close and leaned against his chest, exhaling with relief. “So you’re going to stay? For good? Here with me?” I looked at him hopefully.
Thomas smiled and kissed me softly on my lips, giving me a hug. “If you will have me. It gets awfully lonely in the Bisbee hotel all alone at night. I like it much better at a certain small house in Pearce. I can keep a better eye on you, Natalie and Jimmy staying here then going off somewhere.”
I pulled him closer and let him kiss me longer. “I most definitely will have you. S’pose that means we can start tellin’ people we’re courtin’ then?” I slid my hand down his back. “I just wish Jimmy wasn’t already wanting to go to Joan’s family. I’m sure that you would be much better suited for him... Natalie has told me stories about that family.”
“Yeah, I wish I could do something for the boy. He deserves much more than to live with someone who is in the Calvary. But I have never taken care of kids either, and have no place for him to live. I wouldn’t stand a chance against Joan.”
I sighed and leaned against “Unless of course.... but we’ve only merely started courting. They wouldn’t count that as a real family I’m sure. I just... I hate Natalie going over there ‘cause Joan seems to be so controlling... And now with this case against Miss Ashton and Rikki I just...” I sighed, realizing I hadn’t told him about that yet.
Thomas looked at me with curiosity. “Who is Ashton and Rikki?”
“Ashton is the woman who wants to adopt Payton... I’ve come across osme disturbing criminal possibilities between her and Rikki and they’ve put poor Payton in the middle.”
“Ok, Payton, I have met her and she is a sweet girl. Jimmy talked about her and him becoming brother and sister so to speak because they are part of the same family. But if they are endangering her, and putting her in the middle, that is not right at all.”
“That’s why I am concerned... I’m looking into it and Joan don’t seem to like that I’m poking my nose around their family business. But when it affects my kid’s best friend and the family she goes to visit...” I sighed against him.
“I understand. You cant have Natalie going to visit where something criminal may be going on. Does Joan seem to be in on it too? I heard Jimmy say he works for her, tending to her horses. Maybe its all a ruse to hide what they are really up to?”
“I have no idea... She didn’t like me asking her how many horses she’d sold legally to them. I shouldn’t even be talking about a case like this with someone but I just... it’s got me worried, Thomas. She was very confronting when all I wanted to do was ask a simple question. I know for a fact though from Payton that something more is going on.”
“Maybe I could visit her at the ranch she owns, and act as if I am interested in buying some horses. See if I can come up with anything.”
“That would help. You could help gain information for me. Just... be careful. If Rikki suspects anything she will become nasty. And I wouldn’t go in unarmed,” I nodded.
“Oh I would make sure to carry my gun. I learned never leave home without it since I came to Tombstone. You people live wild lives around here,” he winked.
I smiled and stood, kissing his lips firmly. “I think I am going to rest for a bit. Come visit me in Pearce later this evening though? Perhaps we could have that drink and you could spend some time there with me?”
“I sure will Trin. Please give my hello to Miss Natalie,” he took out a small bag of candy and gave it to me. “Also would you give this to her, that came all the way from Texas.”
“I will tell her and give this to her. Thank you dear,” I kissed him hard again.
“Please be careful, and I will call on you later this evening I promise,” he returned the kiss and I headed out of the saloon.
This evening I was sitting in my office on Allen Street working on reports when Natalie came bounding in and told me that Thomas was outside. She told me she was going to sit in my office and read and I gave her a hug before heading downstairs.
“Well hey there, dear. A little birdie told me you were out here. She’s buried herself in my office to read.”
“Well hello beautiful lady. Are you here alone tonight?” Thomas whistled at me.
“I’m all yours, darlin’.”
“Oh my, well the last time a lady told me that, well ummm..never mind...” he chuckled.
“Did you go shopping dear? I love the new look,” I looked him up and down, noticing the new duster and hat he was wearing.
“Yes I did, I figured I should try to fit in better if I am going to stay out west. So I look ok huh?” he put his arms around me.
I looked around and kissed his lips firmly. “You look perfect, darling. Shall we head over to Kate’s?”
“Sounds good to me dear pretty lady,” Thomas took my hand and led me to Kate’s where we danced with everyone in the saloon. There was a big crowd there and when the night was over, Thomas walked me home.
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