Tombstone.
This afternoon I walked down the street and saw someone I recognized by the bank. “How you been, Maxx?”
“I’ve been well, than you?” he smiled at me.
“Keepin’ out of trouble, I hope?”
“For the moment, yes.”
“But wait a moment or two and that might change, huh?”
“Town seems a bit empty.”
“Indeed.”
“Just look around. Maybe someone needs to cause a little excitement to bring people back out.”
“Would make things interesting, I’m sure. You have some suggestions, Maxx?”
“A few well placed sticks of dynamite and some gold nuggets, well, could start a gold rush right here.”
“As long as those dynamite sticks ain’t right here in town…” I chuckled.
“Oh yes… I was thinkinh in the middle of allen street. What better place to find gold. Would cause a rush of folks.”
“Right... we’ve just been walkin’ over it all day and never knew it huh?” I smirked.
“Exactly,” he grinned.
“So Maxx... How long you been in Tombstone?”
“This time? A couple days.”
“What about in general?” I smiled.
“Hmm… Not sure I can count that high.”
“What brought ya back this time?”
“Had to come in from the range, get some supplies.”
“Ah I see.”
“Been out there,” he motioned around in general. “Trying to find my fame and fortune.”
“Any luck?”
“But I seem to keep ending up right here in Tombstone. Naw, no luck yet.”
“It always keeps pullin’ people back somehow.”
“It does at that. Every since I first arrived here, oh about two years ago.”
“Even the dead... who ya think are gone for good... still find a way to come back.”
“I imagine many thought I’d kicked the bucket,” he chuckled.
“Few brushes with the wrong crowd there, Maxx?” I smiled.
“A few.”
“Hasn’t been much work for me lately. Thought I’d wander through town and see who might be around.”
“I remember a fella named Clint. He almost bury’d me in boot hill, but almost doesn’t always count,” Max grinned.
“Clint Houston huh...? My first case,” I shuddered.
“The same.”
“Thought he’d been killed too. But nope... he showed up again months later too.”
“Now I would almost recon him for being a resident of boot hill, but if I did, he would return to haunt me for sure,” Max chuckled.
“Seems he likes haunting me. I worked with Tye Durden on that one... Ansar assigned me to locate him and find out where he’d gone to,” I chuckled. “So we went over every case Tye had ever worked with him to try and get a profile of the man. Was quite a lot of work.”
“Tye, now thats a name I haven’t heard in a while.”
“Then he came into town and got in some dual with Jimmi Rubble. Think he was arrested but then escaped, but then declared dead. Still think it was all a rumor though. I don’t believe someone’s dead till I see their body with my own eyes and I feel no pulse.”
“You ever search out his wife to find out?”
“Too many people in my life have come back from the ’grave’. Even before Tombstone. His wife... Harmini?”
“Yep, cute little thing.”
“Cute little thing shot the man who was protecting me then ordered me to hang him but I wouldn’t do it.”
“Deadly with a gun.”
“She was gonna kill me too I’m sure but I got away.”
“SILENT HENK! HOW THE HECK ARE YA??!” Adrian shouted then and I jumped in surprise.
“Good gosh that man’s got a voice on him, huh?”
“HEY!! WE’RE TRYING TO TALK DOWN HERE!” Maxx shouted back.
“Who’s Silent Henk?” I asked, looking at Maxx.
“Pardon,” Adrian closed the window then from where he was shouting.
“Another one returning from the grave,” Maxx smiled and waved to Adrian.
“Oh? I told ya. It’s like day of the dead around here. Might as well be Halloween all year around.”
“Howdy Major, fine thank you and yourself?” A voice shouted back to Adrian and I assumed it must have been Henk’s.
“Careful what you wish for,” Maxx looked at me.
“What’s Henk known for doin’? I haven’t heard that name and I’ve lived here over a year. Almost two,” I looked at Maxx.
“Known mostly for hangin’ out. Seems he might have been in the calvary once,” he said.
“Ah, so a good man then?”
“Good friends with the mayor.”
“Sounds like it. Wonder where he’s been hidin’ for the last year.”
“Good? If ya wanna call someone that runs with Lot’s gang good, then ok.”
“If he’s been with the cavalry he can’t be all that bad, can he? Well ya didn’t say that part. Good to know.”
“He’s fair with a six gun,” Maxx chuckled.
“Also good to know.”
“CAN’T COMPLAIN.. SAME SAME .. THANK YOU KINDLY!” Adrian shouted back to Henk then.
“Though I’m guessing Lot wouldn’t let anyone in his gang who wouldn’t good with a six gun,” I said.
“Now that I couldn’t say,” Maxx laughed. “Seems he has some that aren’t the best with guns.”
“Luckily I haven’t had much of an opportunity to find out one way or another.”
“Well if ya don’t bother them, they won’t bother you. Unless you’re a lawman.”
“What about a partial lawman?” I winked.
“Good to hear so Mayor!” Henk shouted back. “So long and cya around!”
“They won't bother with partial law,” Maxx said.
“Not until I get in their way. Or help law arrest ’em I suppose.”
“Then ya just become trouble for them, and yeah, they’ll shoot ya.”
“Managed to go a year and a bit by not getting shot up by many of ’em, so I must be doin’ somethin’ right.”
“If you’re staying out of their way, then I’d say yes.”
“But then most of what they’re involved in don’t need a detective… Doesn’t take a detective to say who shot whom when there’s witnesses. And there usually is in a Wild Bunch shooting.”
“Yep.”
“They like an audience.”
“And usually more than one of them against the one that was shot.”
“Mmhmm. They all tend to swarm at the same time, don’t they?”
“That they do.”
“Like locusts. Swarm and devour.”
“And if one of them is alone, well they tend to no be so brave.”
“Indeed then they stay quieter.”
“Kinda gives you the idea of what they are really like, doesn’t it,” Maxx smiled.
“It sure does,” I chuckled. “
Profiling gangs is very important in my business.”
“I think they believe in the old saying about safety in numbers.”
“They’re just the main gang that I see around here lately. I think there’s a couple of Young Guns around but not many. And not many active if they are. I guess there’s a couple Mavericks out and about still.”
“Nope. But I have noticed, if you get one alone and start in on him, or her, a bunch of them show up out of nowhere.”
“Very true. It’s like they have a sixth sense and can tell when one of their group is in trouble. It’s truly uncanny.”
“Haven’t seen any mavericks in pert near a year.”
“That’s probably a good thing. Glad we got rid of those pesky Blackbirds and Dead Rabits.”
“Not sure there are any gangs left around except for the wild bunch..”
“The dead Rabbits would kill or set fire and then leave behind the dead rabbit as their mark. Blackbirds were more... in disguise often. Mavericks and Young Guns... They just kinda did stuff without caring about leaving behind a mark. They were harder to read. And usually more intense.”
“What ever happened to robbing stage coaches and trains?”
“Haven’t dealt with that since I left Georgetown. None of that happens here in Tombstone. Hell, we haven’t even had a good bank robbery in months. Or a fire. Or a randomly left threatening letter.”
“I think the train quit coming around, and all the stage drivers got scared off.”
“I thought there was still a stage coach driver or two. I know Anthony Nelson drives the stage coach when he’s in on the weekends, at least I think he does.”
“I haven’t seen any. Only ones I seen drive the stage are the kids.”
“I’m sure that’s not safe,” I chuckled. “How do they even get up behind the wheel?”
“Well, you know how kids are. They are natural born daredevils.”
“Don’t I know it... Got one of my own. Two, I guess, if you consider us all a family though Thomas and I ain’t married. We’re close enough though. Just not into the conventional way I guess.”
“Ahhh, you live in sin with him.”
“Nah, that’s out of safety. A woman living alone at a time like this with a little girl? He and Jimmy live in their own home but he does spend the night sometimes. But we feel like a family.”
“Then just live together.”
“Jimmy and Natalie are cute little things. Are you kidding? And get scorned by everyone for not getting married?”
“Seems to be the thing around these days.”
“And that’s the problem. I see so many marriages happening so fast and then couples divorce or move away... I don’t want that to happen to us. I like how things are... We haven’t even been together five months yet.”
“Now me, I’ll stay married to my single life. No one to tie me down that way.”
“I thought I would be that way too but... then I met Thomas... and Natalie adopted me as her mother… I never thought I would have a child.”
“Free to come and go,” Maxx smiled and looked around.
“At least I skipped the whole diaper and burping phase.”
“I’m surprised they let a single woman adopt a child.”
“Well it was extraneous circumstances..”
“As long as your happy, thats what matters.”
“The matron at the time was not the nicest lady towards her. I wasn’t going to put up with that.”
“Did ya shoot her?”
“I am, I love Natalie to pieces. She’s like a mini version of me which is so strange but true.” I shook my head then and said, “I didn’t have to. She left town.”
“Been several matron them brats..errr, I mean them kids ran off.”
“Can’t really blame them if they’re treated so badly… There’s a nice lady assisting over there now. Seems to really love and care for the children.”
“I bet she is.”
“Well I should continue on my rounds. It was nice to talk to you, Maxx. I hope you continue to stay safe.”
“I need to be running Trin. It was nice talking to you again,” Maxx smiled.
“If you need any help solving mysteries, you let me know.”
“I may just make a few mysteries for you to solve too,” he chuckled. “Have a nice day.”
“Well then I’ll know it’s you, won’t I?” I chuckled at him. “You too, Maxx.”
“Maybe not,” he smiled and turned for the hotel.
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