The Shopkeeper (27 page)
Authors: James D. Best
Tags: #Western stories, #Nevada, #Westerns, #Historical fiction, #Fiction
The question surprised me. “Thirty-one.”
“Thirty-one. Well, you’ve done a lot. Been involved in some rough deals, I gather. But at her age, tell me what you had done?”
I thought a minute. “I had won a bird-hunting contest and negotiated my first business deal. I had bought four bicycles in New York City and sold them on Long Island. But my father helped. Oh, I hadn’t had a woman yet.” I smiled. “Close though.”
“Where do you think Jenny’ll be at thirty-one?”
I surprised myself with the first answer that popped into my head—married to a forty-five-year-old man. Instead, I said, “From what I’ve seen, probably running the state of Nevada.”
“The state may not be big enough to contain her.” Sharp laughed.
I glanced back at the buggy, uneasy about showing levity in front of Mrs. Bolton. It was an irrational dread. I felt like we were two kids in the back of the class, giggling behind our hands because we were afraid of the schoolmarm.
Just as I dismissed the concern, Mrs. Bolton yelled, “Mr. Dancy, come here!”
I reined Chestnut around and trotted back to her buggy. Pulling up alongside, I said, “Yes, ma’am.”
“Ride ahead and reserve me the suite at the St. Charles Hotel.”
“No. I’ll see you to Carson City myself. Besides, it’s already occupied.”
“I’ll be fine with these men. Ride ahead and tell the hotelkeeper to throw out whoever’s in there. That’s my room. I always stay in the suite.”
I had expected anything but this. The person she wanted the hotelkeeper to throw out, of course, was me. “I’m sure they’ll find an adequate room for you. You’re only staying one night.”
“If it’s anything other than the suite, it will not be adequate.”
This was not worth it.
“I have the suite. I’ll vacate it for you.”
“You? What’s a gunfighter doing in a suite in the finest hotel in Carson City?”
“Moving,” I answered, as I spurred my horse to catch up with Sharp.
When I caught up, I rode in silence because I was angry with myself for giving in to her preposterous demand. Then it occurred to me that somehow she had found out that I had the suite. Damn her.
After a few minutes, I asked Sharp, “What are Washburn’s interests in Virginia City?”
“A mine, two saloons, an’ I don’t know how many whorehouses.”
“When he’s there, where does he stay?”
“He has a place above the Comstock Lode Saloon. What are you thinkin’?”
“I want to catch him unawares.”
“Virginia City makes Pickhandle Gulch look tame. It has a large police force, but it’s still rowdy as hell. I don’t suggest ya challenge him there. Too dangerous.”
“Does he feel safe in Virginia City?”
“Yep. In fact, he has fewer bodyguards when he’s in his own saloon, but the Comstock’s always filled with people beholden to him.”
“He can’t make payroll after he’s dead.”
“Maybe not, but the police could arrest ya.”
“Not if it’s self-defense.”
“You’re underestimatin’ Washburn. He’s too clever to be goaded into a fight, especially when he knows about your skill.”
I didn’t respond immediately but then asked, “What’s he do when he’s in town?”
“Sees to his holdin’s, breaks in new whores, hosts shootin’ contests.”
“Shooting contests?”
“Yep, out behind the Comstock Lode Saloon. He has a gallery set up an’ gives five-to-one odds that nobody can beat him.”
“Good?”
“Never been beat to my knowledge, but the suckers keep comin’ for the fun of it an’ the chance to win five dollars on a one-dollar bet. He makes quite a show of it.”
“He must have seen a Bill Cody show.”
“One with Bill Hickok in the cast, no doubt. He wears the long hair … and that two-pistol cross-draw like Wild Bill.”
“You knew Hickok?”
“Sure, in New York. Couple of westerners caught in the big city. We drank a few nights away, pinin’ for the big sky.”
“What was he like?”
“Unhappy. When I knew him, he worked for Buffalo Bill an’ hated it. He was only in New York a few weeks. Then he went on the road with the troupe, an’ I never saw him again.”
“Did you see the Cody show?”
“Yep. Had to see if it was as bad as Hickok said. It was.”
“I loved it. Probably why I’m out here.”
“You bought that bunkum?”
“Not the show, but I bought the mystique and adventure of the frontier.”
“Disappointed?”
“Not a bit.”
Sharp started to say something, but I held up my hand and said, “If you don’t mind, I need to think awhile.”
We rode in silence for nearly an hour. I had most of it figured out, but the particulars would depend on events. If I read Washburn right, it should work. After going over it one more time in my head, I said, “Jeff, I need a favor.”
“I think you’re on the wrong path, but I’ll come with ya to Virginia City.”
“No, I need you to go ahead of me. Is it safe for you there?”
“Always has been.”
“I insist you take two Pinkertons with you.”
“All right.” The quick response surprised me, but then I remembered that although Sharp could handle himself, he was careful. I explained the plan to him.
After I finished, he asked, “When are ya goin’ to go?”
“Couple of days. I need to see Mrs. Bolton safely onto the train and give your part of the plan time to ferment.”
“I’ll leave tomorrow. Don’t dally. Instead of fermenting, your plan may rot.”
“One other thing. McAllen can’t know.”
“Figured as much, but what’s his role?”
I told him.
Chapter 47
“Last time, you had a bigger room.” The chambermaid had lost none of her insolence.
“I temporarily gave up my suite for someone.”
“That would be Mrs. Bolton.”
“How do you know that?”
“Mr. Dancy, I work at this hotel.”
“Do you know Mrs. Bolton?”
A long pause. “Of course. She’s a frequent guest.”
“But you don’t like her?”
“Do you have another letter for me to forge?”
“No. Please sit.”
“I don’t sit in guests’ rooms. How can I be of service?”
This woman was exasperating. “Do you know Jennifer Bolton, Mrs. Bolton’s daughter-in-law?”
“Yes.”
“Do you like
her
?”
Another long pause. “Why should that matter?”
“Because she needs a tutor.”
“Dollar a lesson. A lesson lasts two hours,” was her immediate answer.
“Not here. At her ranch in Mason Valley.”
“
Her
ranch?”
“You must have heard about her husband being killed. He bequeathed the ranch to her. It’s a big operation, and she needs to learn how to read and write and how to keep books. She has a man here with a buggy, and she asked me to find her a tutor. Are you interested?”
“Does she know you’re asking
me
?”
“No. Not you specifically.” Her tone puzzled me. “Why?”
“We’re friends.” She looked away. “Sort of.” Then she squared her narrow shoulders and gazed directly at me. “Her husband paid me to play cards with her and occasionally to escort her to the stores or to do other errands. The answer to your question is yes, I like her, but I won’t take the job.”
“Why not?”
“It’s hard enough to be in the same hotel with Mrs. Bolton. I refuse to be in the same house.”
I laughed. “I don’t blame you, but I’m escorting her to the train station in the morning. She’s going to live in San Francisco.”
The chambermaid smiled for the first time. “I’m not sure that’s far enough away.” Then a thought struck her. “Will she come back or visit?”
I ignored her question. “Did Jenny ever talk about her?”
She looked wary. “We shared a few confidences.”
“Then you know Jenny hates her. Jenny has almost all of John’s assets, and she won’t allow her back … ever.”
She thought that over. “I live in Carson City. Staying at her ranch would be an imposition.”
“She’ll make it worth your while.”
“How much? What’s the pay?”
This was a problem. I had not discussed pay with Jenny, and I already knew this girl was a shrewd bargainer. I decided to take a chance and not try to be clever. “What would it take for you to accept the position?”
Again, without hesitation: “Forty a month, plus room and board. In the main house, with no other duties.”
Shrewd hell, greedy was more like it. I would bet forty a month was more than Joe earned, even after his raise. “I have a question first. If you and Jenny are sort-of-friends, why didn’t she mention you when we talked about me sending her back a tutor?”
“She thinks I’m just an uneducated chambermaid. I never told her I taught the children of politicians.”
“I was under the impression you were her hired companion over an extended period.”
“I was. Whenever Mr. Bolton came to town.”
“And yet you never told her you were educated. That doesn’t sound like you were sort-of-friends and shared confidences.” I gave her as hard a look as I could muster. “Just tell me the truth. I’ll not send her someone who lies.”
She shuffled her feet and looked uncomfortable for the first time since I had met her. “Mr. Bolton told me he would fire me if she ever found out. He knew she would insist on lessons, and he wanted her … well he didn’t want her able to fend for herself.”
She looked down, embarrassed. “I know that’s not what you do for a sort-of-friend, but I needed the money.” She lifted her chin. “I did help her, though. She attended meetings with her husband, and afterward I’d tell her who the people were and explain what I could. She’s smart. She asked good questions and showed an appetite to learn. She wanted the gossip too: lovers, drinking and gambling habits, payoffs, everything. She just kept asking questions. I never taught her the three Rs, but I told her lots of things about how this town and this state work.”
“You knew?”
“I’m a chambermaid in the most exclusive hotel in Carson City, and I’m in politicians’ homes almost every day.” She shrugged. “I have ears.”
I was stunned. Perhaps Jenny
would
one day rule this state. “So she had another teacher,” I mused.
“Another? What are you talking about?”
“She learned a lot from trailing after her husband, more than he ever knew. And whether you like her or not, Mrs. Bolton taught her how a woman can run a bunch of rough-and-ready cowhands.”
Her face displayed revelation, and then she muttered almost to herself, “Yep, Jenny would soak it all up like a sponge.” She gave me a clear-eyed look and spoke directly to me. “Jenny’s clever. Clever enough to keep her smarts to herself.”
“When I met her, she seemed innocent and unaffected. Was it all just an act?”
“Are you in love with her?”
This was another clever woman. Heaven help the men when these two got together. “I don’t know.”
“If you love her, tell her.”
“I don’t know which Jenny I’m attracted to.”
“The real Jenny’s a much more engaging woman. Perhaps too much of a woman for someone attracted to the bouncing princess with the winsome smile.”
That hurt. And I knew why. It might be true. Now it was my turn to shuffle, and I took the coward’s way out. “Forty dollars is unacceptable. Thirty.”
“Done.”
I had been had. Damn.
“All right, I’ll write Jenny a letter and tell her about our agreement … and that you are not to empty chamber pots. If everything you’ve told me is true, there shouldn’t be any problem. Can you leave tomorrow?”
“Yes.” Then she gave me a coy smile. “And how do you suppose she will read the letter?”
“Her foreman can read.” Why did the women in this state rile me so? “Thank you. A buggy will be in front of the hotel at seven. Be ready.” I decided to motivate her. “I’ll be in the lobby with Mrs. Bolton at seven-thirty.”
Without comment she moved to leave, but just before she opened the door, I said, “Just a minute. Why didn’t you tell me you knew Jenny when I asked you to forge that letter?”