Cera's Place (11 page)

She stared back at the chief in confusion.

“Officer Barnes!” the chief boomed. “Bring the keys and get Captain Tanner out of this cell—immediately!”

The desk officer hurried over with the keys and, after a few fumbled attempts, unlocked the cell.

Cera finally found her voice. “I don’t understand. You know Mr. Tanner?”

“Know him? Hell, I owe him my life. I—and many other men—wouldn’t be alive today if it weren’t for his bravery during the war. I fought with Jake all over the Indian Territory. There isn’t a finer soldier, or man for that matter, than Captain Jake Tanner.”

“Stand down, Colonel.” Jake got up slowly from the bunk but didn’t move any closer. “You’ll have the lady believing your bedtime stories.”

“They aren’t bedtime stories, Jake, and you know it. Captain Tanner here was awarded the Medal of Honor by President Lincoln himself just days before the poor man was assassinated. God rest his soul.”

Officer Barnes mumbled an Amen to no one in particular.

Cera gripped the bars of the cell and peered at Jake. “You’re a war hero? Why didn’t you tell us?”

Jake shrugged. “It’s not something I try to work into a conversation.”

Backing away, she lifted her chin. “Chief Williams, it was a pleasure to see you again and thank you for your help. Please, come by the saloon for a drink. We always like to show our appreciation to the city’s police officers.”

The chief took her hand and bent over it. “The pleasure was all mine. I’m sorry for the mix up.”

She turned back to the cell and cast a final look at Jake before walking stiffly away. After a moment, she heard Isaac’s footsteps behind her. With her emotions churning, she didn’t trust herself to look at him. On one hand, she was right about Jake being a decent man. However, there was a part of her feeling foolish for thinking he was just the usual drifter. And she didn’t like to be made a fool.

******

The chief tilted his head at Isaac’s retreating back. “Friends of yours?”

Jake grabbed his hat from the bunk and shoved it on his head. “Long story.”

“Well, hell, come on out of there.” The chief grabbed him into a bear hug. “It’s great to see you, my friend. I’m sorry you had to spend some time in my jail.”

He grimaced as his former colonel’s enthusiasm sent pain shooting through his body. It took him a minute to answer. “Yes, the accommodations leave a lot to be desired.”

“Well, that’s the idea.” The chief laughed but then stopped. “Did my boy do that to your face? Damn, I’m sorry.”

“No, this is courtesy of a couple of thugs that I had a run in with. It’s all part of the long story.”

“There’s a mighty good restaurant around the corner. How about we get some food and you tell it to me?” the chief suggested.

Jake clapped his old friend on the shoulder. “You’ve got yourself a deal.”

As they walked to the restaurant, the chief filled him in on his life since the war ended. “I’ve been chief for almost three years now. It took the wife a bit of time to adjust to big city life, but now she’s fine.”

“How do you keep up with the crime? From what I’ve seen, it’s a pretty rough town.”

The chief sighed. “You’re right. I’ve got some good men working for me—and some questionable ones.”

“Sounds like the Army,” Jake replied with a wry smile.

“Yes, except I can’t shoot the traitors.” The chief stopped in front of a small restaurant. “Here we are, Sam’s Grill, best oysters in town.”

After they had eaten and the server had delivered another round of beers, the chief leaned back in his chair with a satisfied grunt. “So, tell me your story and don’t forget to include the part where you got the shit kicked out of you. I never thought I would see the day that happened.”

Jake grimaced good-naturedly. “Yes, but in my defense, my mind was preoccupied at the time.”

“You weren’t thinking about a sassy Irish saloon owner, were you? It’s not often a woman stomps into my jail demanding the release of her man. Usually, if a man winds up in jail, the woman is more than glad to leave him there.”

“Well, she is definitely a big part of my story, but I’m not ‘her man.’ I’m not really sure why she came to the jail.” He toyed with his beer glass. “I arrived in town a few days ago hoping to find the daughter of one of my soldiers, Sergeant Daniel Freedom.”

“The one who died at Honey Springs?”

He nodded. “Yes, it just so happens his daughter works for Cera. So as I was admiring Cera’s…saloon, I got the feeling something strange was going on there.”

“Strange? How do you mean? As far as I know, she runs a legal place. I rarely have to send my men there.”

“I don’t know. One of the serving girls said Cera had troubles and didn’t have time for me.”

The chief let out a hearty laugh. “Oh come on, now, sounds like she was just trying to let you down easy. I’m sure there’s a few women who can resist your charms, maybe Miss Cassidy is one of them.”

Jake also laughed but then shook his head. “No, it’s more than that. A few nights ago, this ugly fellow came in with two other men. Cera told him to leave—actually pulled her Derringer on him. I intervened and later that night, the two men jumped me.”

“Do you know who the ugly fellow was?” the chief asked between swallows of beer.

“I don’t know his first name, but his last is Biggs.”

At the name, the chief doubled over coughing, causing the server to hurry over in concern. Clearing his throat, the chief waved her off. “She drew on Samuel Biggs? I’m surprised she’s still breathing.”

“He’s that bad a character? He seemed as stupid as he is large.”

The chief shrugged. “What he lacks in wit, he makes up for in meanness. I’ve been trying to put him in jail for the past couple of years, but he seems to have some very influential friends.”

“Cera thinks he has your man Klein in his pocket,” he suggested.

“Huh, that’s definitely a possibility.” The chief rubbed his face with both hands. “I get the feeling the Mayor is on Biggs’ payroll too—or at least too afraid of Biggs to cross him. Take for example what happened earlier this week a few blocks from Miss Cassidy’s saloon. A building owned by a local Chinese businessman caught on fire. Nothing suspicious there, fires are commonplace enough, but I heard Biggs and his men beat to death several Chinese that same night. No bodies have turned up, though, and unfortunately, my sources aren’t of a reliable nature. The Mayor won’t let me spend any man-hours investigating the fire or those missing Chinese. I don’t know if the two incidents are related, but something feels kind of funny in my gut.” The chief paused to light a cigar and offered one to Jake.

“And you say this happened near Cera’s?” he asked as he lit his cigar. “That might explain it.”

“What? You think she knows something?”

“Maybe…” He thought back to his first day in the saloon and the fear in Ginger’s eyes. “It’s definitely something I’m going to look into.”

“Be careful, Jake. I would hate to find you at the bottom of the harbor. Biggs is as bad as this city gets. Rumor is he’s working with Choy Poy and Hip Yee. Those two characters are the leaders of a Chinese Tong that runs Chinatown—all the gambling, prostitution, drugs—everything.”

He nodded in understanding. “When I worked the mines in Nevada, there was a Chinese Tong that ruled with an iron hand. The Tong terrified the Chinese workers.”

“So you know what I’m up against.” The chief took a long pull of his beer and replaced the cigar in the corner of his mouth. “Then let me tell you a story about what happened several months ago. I received a letter from three Chinese women begging me to help them escape from their owners, an old Chinese couple named Ah Can and Ah Die. The girls said they were forced to sell their bodies each night or suffer whippings, or worse, as punishment.”

“Their ‘owners’?” Jake pointed his cigar at the chief. “You all have heard slavery is outlawed, right? Or didn’t the news make it this far?”

“Well, unfortunately, in some places slavery is alive and well. Before I could track down these girls, one of them, Ah Sing, escaped and went to Reverend Gibson’s Mission School. To protect her from this Chinese couple, the Reverend asked a young man, Yat Sang, to marry her.

“But then her owners complained to Hip Yee that Ah Sing was stolen from them. Yat Sang was brought before the Tong and told he must pay the old Chinese couple $350 for Ah Sing—or die. Well, of course, Yat Sang didn’t have that kind of money, so he went back to the mission to hide.

“I arrested Ah Can and Ah Die for imprisoning the girls, but the prosecuting attorney wouldn’t try the case. He had an explanation for everything I brought up. Finally, the mission took up a collection and sent Yat Sang and Ah Sing back to China. About a month later, I heard the Hip Yee had paid the prosecuting attorney $10,000 to look the other way. Course I can’t prove any of that.”

The chief signaled the server for two more beers. “I don’t suppose you want to press charges against these thugs who beat you up? I’d love to take another crack at Biggs.”

Jake gave a derisive snort. “I have my own brand of justice. Don’t worry, though, they’ll get what’s coming to them. Besides, from what you have already said, I don’t think it would do any good.”

“Yes, you’re probably right. I’m sure somebody would give them an alibi for that night.” The chief sucked on his cigar and blew out a large smoke ring. “You know, Jake, I could use a good man like you on the police force, someone with a taste for justice who I could trust. Are you looking for a job?”

He took his own cigar from his mouth and stared at the glowing embers, trying to decide the best words to use. “I’m honored you would ask me, but the timing isn’t right. I have a few more things to resolve before I take on a new job. It wouldn’t be fair to you…or me.”

“Well, if you change your mind, the offer is always on the table. I would consider myself lucky to work with you again. In the meantime, is there anything I can do to help? Where are you staying?”

“I got a room over at Mae’s Boarding House.” Jake shrugged. “It’s comfortable enough.”

“Hell, I can do you better than that. How’d you like a room at the best hotel in San Francisco?”

He laughed at the chief’s absurd question. “I’d have to say I can’t afford it.”

“I can get it for you free of charge. The hotel manager owes me a favor.” The chief winked. “It’s the least I can do, considering you saved my life.”

“I guess if you put it that way, I’ll take you up on that offer.”

“Good, then when we’re done here, we’ll move your belongings over.” The chief raised his glass to Jake. “To old friends.”

He didn’t return the toast for a long moment. Instead, he let the faces of the many that had died flash through his mind. Finally, he echoed, “To old friends” and then drained his glass.

Chapter 8

After Jake parted ways with the chief of police, he headed to Cera’s Place for some answers. Over the past few days, he’d been spit on, beat up, and thrown in jail. He deserved to know why. A light rain fell as he walked, dampening any remains of his good humor.

Stopping outside the swinging doors, he shook the water from his hat. The sound of clinking glasses mixed with piano music spilled into the street. Across the smoky room, Ginger was running a high-stakes game of Faro for half a dozen men. Grabbing her arm as she collected the losers’ money, Jake raised his voice above the noise, “Red! Where’s Cera?”

Ginger’s face flushed and her eyes darted around the room like a cornered fox. “Cera? Oh goodness, she was here a minute ago. Maybe she’s in the kitchen. Why don’t you go wait at the bar? Have a shot on the house. You look like you could use one.” Ginger turned back to the card game, but Jake held on to her arm. She tugged at it, trying to break his grip.

“You’re a terrible liar,” he growled. “I haven’t had the best of days and my temper is running short. Now tell me where she is.”

“Aww, Jake, don’t be that way. She’s my boss and gave me strict orders not to tell anyone, not even Isaac.”

Impatient with the delay of the card game, the man nearest to Jake slurred, “Hey, mister, why don’t you find your own girl? This one here is with us and we want her back.”

In one quick move, he let go of Ginger’s arm, grabbed the man by the collar, and lifted him off the floor. “I got business with this girl,” he said through clenched teeth. “You can have her back when she tells me what I need to know.”

Ginger pushed her shoulder between the two men. “Lord Almighty! What’s gotten into you, Jake? Put that poor man down.” She called out to the men at the table, “It’s all right, everyone, I’ll be back in a jiffy to win the rest of your money.” She laughed gaily, pushing Jake toward the bar.

Before Ginger could say another word, he held up his hand. “I can pretty much figure out Cera is off doing something she shouldn’t be. So let’s skip the rest of this conversation. Tell me where she is so I can go save her—again.”

Ginger braced her hands on her ample hips. “Well, aren’t you the smart one and arrogant to boot.” They stood nose to nose, but then her shoulders sank and she covered her face with her hands. “Oh, I don’t know what to do.”

He pulled her hands away. “Tell me. You know it’s for the best.”