Tombstone.
I walked down Allen Street this morning and waved to Angel and a woman she was talking to. “Vell speak of the devil,” Angel said as I walked over to her.
“I didn’t do it,” I said with a grin.
“Sure yha did this time, Miz Trin. Miz Lucy here, she needs your help it seemz.”
“Hi there Lucy. How can I help you?”
“Hi there,” Lucy said. “I need to employ the help of a detective. I’m trying to track someone down.”
“Well I just so happen to be an expert at findin’ people,” I said with a wink to Angel, who chuckled. “Who are ya trackin’ down?”
“My sister, but the difficult thing is I don’t know her name. Just what she looks like. And that she is a big trouble maker,” Lucy said with a smirk.
“Miz Trin’s about the bezt detective yha get in this territory,” Angel said.
“Well that describes ’bout half the people in Tombstone,” I said with a chuckle to Lucy and then looked at Angel. “More like the only detective, Sherif.”
“Shh…” she chuckled and then headed down the street for a drink.
“What’s your last name, Miss Lucy?” I asked her.
“She also has a thick southern accent, and my last name is Wallick,” Lucy said.
“Hmm…” I said and invited her to join me at Kate’s. We sat down and got a couple of whiskeys and I looked over at her. “So... you’re lookin’ for your sister but ya don’t know her name?”
“Yes, my parents were ashamed of her and would never tell me her name. They tried destroying all pictures of her even but I saved one.”
Joe and a woman walked in then and we greeted them as I asked Lucy, “Can I see the picture of your sister, Miss Lucy?”
Lucy pulled out a picture and handed it to me. The picture showed a young woman who was tall and thin with long black hair. “We have different mothers also.”
“Hmm…” I said and pulled out my notebook. “I’m going to draw out a copy of this picture for my records. I gather that photo is special to you.”
“Yes, it is very special, the last thing I have of her,” she said with a nod.
I drew out the sketch while I listened to Joe and the woman named Alexandria talking about drinks and said, “Good thing I paid attention in art class.”
“That has to come in handy at times.”
“So... when was the last time you saw your sister?”
“She left home when I was two, so not since then. We had received a letter saying where she was a few years back.”
“And where was she then?”
“She was here.”
“So why take a few years to come look for her?”
“Because I did not have a way here till recently. My family did not want me to go and I fear they will never speak to me again because I have gone looking for her.”
“I understand, it was just a question I had to ask.”
“I will answer any questions you have if it’ll help find her.”
“So your sister has a southern accent, was a big trouble maker, and it looks like she has long black hair and is tall and thin. Anything else you can tell me about her? I s’pose not much since the last time you saw her was when she was two,” I asked, summarizing what I knew. I turned the picture over curiously and asked, “How long ago was this picture taken? Is there a date on it?”
“That’s about all I know,” Lucy said with a nod. “I know it’s almost a hopeless search, but I have to try. This picture was when she was about 16, just a bit before she left.”
“I s’pose she could have changed her appearance quite a bit by now… How old would she be now?” I asked.
“It’s very possible. She left home because she was a thief., and they suspected her of murder. She would be in her 30’s now.”
“Who was she suspected of murdering?” I asked.
“A man who lived a few miles from us, he was found drowned in a small stream, and a piece of one of her dresses was there where they found him,” Lucy said.
“Don’t mean she killed him though,” I said as I got a refill of whiskey from Joe.
“No, it doesn’t but the sheriff thought she did. She was always trouble, stealing things, and just causing general problems for everyone, so he thought she did it because of the dress piece found there. They always thought of her first when something happened,” Lucy said.
“Sounds like a popular gal, your sister,” I said to her.
“She was, just not in the way she should be.”
“Mmhmm… Was she married? Kids?”
“She had many suitors, but was not married and did not have any children.”
“Well I’ll do my best to find your sister, Lucy.”
“Thank you. I just really do hope it isn’t a pointless search, since i know so little. I will send a letter home, trying to get anymore information that I can. I do have one older sister who was near her age who may be willing to tell me something.”
“Alright, any information will help. Who is your older sister?”
“Her names June, she lives back at home in South Carolina.”
“June... That sounds familiar. Oh, she doesn’t live here then?”
“She does not.”
“That won’t help me much then. Unless you can get something out of her,” I said with a chuckle.
“Hopefully she will tell me something.”
“Indeed. Anything she can tell you will be helpful, I’m sure.”
I then was introduced to Alexandria and greeted Bianca as she came to join us. Amara and Snow walked in too and Lucy made her leave, thanking me for my help. I only hoped that I’d have something to tell her. I finished my drink and headed out of the saloon.
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