Zooey Pinkerton- a Daughter's Right (4 page)

“Oh honey!” she remarked as she
hurried down to gather Zooey into her bosom. “I am so sorry about
your father.”

May Martin was a statuesque
woman with a full figure and silver hair drawn tight into a bun at
the nape of her neck. She was a handsome older woman with sparkling
blue eyes and a quick smile that would put even the most pained or
nervous visitor at ease.

“Thank you, May,” Zooey sniffed
before wiping her nose on the sleeve of her coat. “How's
Marta?”

“Come in and Albert will
explain. I'm glad you came too, Joshua. Zooey needs her friends
right now.”

Joshua nodded. “I'm certainly a
friend, Mrs. Martin, but I'll need to speak with Marta if she's up
for it.”

May wrapped her arm around
Zooey's shoulder and led them both inside the foyer. “I'll let
Albert know you’re here. Would you like some tea, Zooey?”

Zooey nodded gratefully and hung
her coat up on the wall. She sat on a wooden bench located
underneath the coat rack and held her hands tightly in her lap.
Joshua watched her in uncomfortable silence, only lifting his head
when he heard the clicking of boot heels on the floor.

“Zooey, Sheriff Duncan. Thank
you for coming.” Doctor Albert Martin was a rotund man, in his
early sixties, with green eyes and thinning white hair. He had a
kind face with soft wrinkles around his eyes and mouth. His white
doctor's coat was threadbare at the sleeves and elbows, having been
mended once too often.

“Doc? Can we see Marta? Is she
awake?” Joshua asked.

“Yes,” agreed Zooey. “I'd like
to see her.”

“I know you would, Zooey and I'm
certain you have some questions for her, Sheriff, but I'd like you
both to come into my office for a moment. There are few things we
need to discuss. Marta is resting right now, anyway. I gave her a
sleeping drought not long ago.”

Zooey stood up and ran a shaky
hand through her red curls. “I don't like the sounds of this, Doc.”
Doctor Martin led her to his office down the hall. A chair was
pulled out from his antique writing desk and two others were set
off side. A stethoscope lay cold and shiny atop a freestanding
table, with various tools on a tray set up for minor stitching and
surgeries.

“Please sit down Zooey. Ah,
here's May now.”

Albert stood aside and watched
as his wife set up a tray of tea and cups. On a normal day she
would have brought in cookies or cake, but no one felt the need for
sweets today. “Thank you, my dear. I am sure a cup of tea will help
set us all up right.”

May nodded and patted Zooey's
shoulder before she walked out of the room. Zooey eyed the doctor
impatiently and tapped her toe on the floor. She accepted the
steaming cup of tea, took a polite sip, and then placed the cup
down hard on the doctor’s writing desk. Its contents sloshed on one
side and then the other.

“What is it you have to say, Dr.
Martin? I don't mean to sound rude, but by sitting here we are
wasting precious time that could be spent catching Tom Brennan. I
just want to see Marta and know she’s going to be alright!”

“Zooey! Calm yourself.” Joshua's
voice was like cold water on Zooey's fiery frustration. She shrank
into her seat and mumbled,” sorry”.

Doctor Martin forced a small
smile and waved a hand in the air. “It's alright,” he said gently.
“Zooey, I know the last couple of days have been a lot to handle. I
know Marta is like a mother to you. Before you go see her, I just
wanted you to know that she may never be “right” after this. The
physical trauma was bad enough, but none of us can begin to know
how the emotional trauma will be for Marta. She was there when they
shot your father
and..
. well for her to be abused in this
manner is horrifying to me both as a doctor and a man.”

Zooey hung her head and cried
softly. “I hate this...I hate him. Pops should have known what he
was getting involved in.”

“We all make mistakes, Zooey.
Your father was human.” Joshua broke in.

“Yes,” Zooey agreed. “But Tom
Brennan is not! I want him to pay.”

“Zooey, come now. I'll have May
bring you in to see Marta. She should be waking up soon.”

Zooey drained her teacup in
silence. When she looked up she could see the two men exchanging
pitiful glances. She knew their sympathy was directed at her, but
it wasn’t what she wanted.

“Are you ready, Zooey?”

May held her hand out to the
young woman.

“Okay, May. I'm ready.”

Joshua stood aside and nodded
politely as they passed. “I'll meet you outside when you’re ready
to leave. My questions for Marta can wait.”

“Thanks, Josh. I appreciate
that.”

“How's Zooey doing?” Doctor
Martin asked Joshua once Zooey was out of earshot.

“She's tougher than most. I
think the hardest part is losing that ranch.” Joshua smiled
sadly.

“Can you get Brennan?”

“That's my plan Doc… that's my
plan.”

Sarah applied a heavy layer of
powder to her neck and collarbone. She stood back and surveyed
herself in the mirror. Her long, honey coloured hair was done up in
ringlets that hung seductively around her neck and shoulders. She
wore a tight red dress that showed as much as a saloon girl dared
show without causing a riot. Sarah had taken great care to cover up
any damage Tom may have done the night before. “I'll prove I'm
worthy, Tommy,” she whispered to her reflection. “You'll see.”

After spritzing herself with a
cheap, floral scent, Sarah tidied her room. Just as she was about
to head down to the bar, she heard voices coming up through the
open window.

“She looked so horrible, Josh. I
can't wait idly by while your men try and track Brennan down.
Somebody knows where he is!”

Sarah looked down on Zooey
Pinkerton and Sheriff Duncan as they walked down the dusty road. A
surge of panic spread through her belly. “Nobody will hurt my
Tommy. I'll fix you, Zooey Pinkerton. I'll be damned if you ruin my
plans to get out of this stinking saloon.”

Flushed and angry, Sarah tossed
her bottle of scent across the room. She watched it smash into
slivers on the floor, engulfing the room with a heady, floral
fragrance.

A knock on the door startled
Sarah. She hurried to clean up the mess she had created.

“Sarah? Everything aright? You
need to get downstairs. The bar will be filling up soon. It's
payday. You damn well know what that means! Men want to spend their
cash.”

A shudder racked through Sarah's
body at the thought of the rough, work-worn hands of the cattle men
and cowboys. They liked to paw her as she sang and served
drinks.

“I'll show everyone I'm no dumb
blonde. Just wait and see.” Sarah hissed under her breath as she
mopped up the perfume. She stood and smoothed out the creases in
her skirt. Satisfied she was presentable; Sarah pasted on her
famous fake smile and headed down to the bar for another days
work.

* * *

Zooey could hear the strains of
piano music coming from the saloon as she and Joshua entered the
Sheriff’s office. After seeing Marta’s swollen face, broken arm,
and broken spirit, it made her more determined than ever to find
Tom Brennan.

Zooey stopped and stared up at
Joshua's face. “Can't help but think of Marta’s face. She's been
destroyed, Josh. Tom Brennan has destroyed so many lives…and for
what? Greed? All for a man...a “boss” that nobody seems to
know?”

“Oh, I'm certain somebody knows.
It's a matter of weeding out fact from fiction and finding someone
willing to rat him out.”

“Sheriff Duncan!”

Joshua turned to see one of his
deputies come charging through his office door. “You may want to
read this.”

The young deputy tipped his hat
to Zooey and threw a thin sheet of paper down on Joshua's desk. It
was a telegraph sheet but Zooey didn't get a chance to look at it
before Joshua grabbed it. “Are you sure about this, Arnie?” He
asked the young deputy.

“Yes sir. Just got it from the
telegraph office myself.”

“What is it, Josh?”

“It looks like we'll finally
find out who Tom Brennan's boss is!”

Zooey scowled and leaned across
the desk, snatching the paper from the Sheriff's hands. “What do
you mean?”

“A good contact of mine across
county got word of someone important coming into town. Considering
your father's ranch is a big grab, it wouldn’t surprise me if the
boss himself was coming to survey the property.”

A surge of excitement swept
through Zooey’s body, charging her with some much needed energy.
She ran her hand along the barrel of the Colt revolver in her
waistband. “We need to be out there waiting for him!”

Joshua eyed Zooey's hand and
frowned. “Keep that weapon right where it is, Miss Pinkerton!”

“Miss Pinkerton?” she asked.
“Josh, be serious. If you know this man is coming, then why can't
you wait for him out at the ranch? You could plan some kind of
sneak attack.”

“This guy is sophisticated
enough to avoid detection. Do you think he's going to march down
the centre of town with flags raised for all to see?”

“No, I suppose not,” Zooey
shrugged, deflated. “Damn it all!”

Joshua moved in close to Zooey
and placed both hands on her slender shoulders. “I know it’s
frustrating. Just let me see what else I can find out. I have to be
discreet about it or Brennan and his men will know something is up.
I'm surprised he hasn't come looking for you already.”

“I am too,” Zooey remarked. She
shivered as if a winter wind had just blown through the room. “He
must have been angry that I got away from the ranch.”

“I don't doubt it. For tonight
let me do some asking around. I'd feel better if you went back to
Charlie's and got a good nights sleep.”

“I doubt I'll sleep much. From
the sounds of the music at the saloon, everyone is ready for a
party.”

An idea crossed Joshua’s mind,
but he wasn't sure if it was appropriate. “Zooey?”

“Yes?”

“I'll be up late trying to sort
all this out. Why don't you stay at my place?”

A flush burned Zooey's cheeks.
“I don't know about that.”

“It's safe and you'll get some
rest. If you want you can even have a hot bath and a decent meal.
If I get back early, I'll sleep on the fainting couch in the
study.”

“You have a fainting couch?”
Zooey was surprised that a bachelor like Joshua would have a piece
like that around. It was something a woman would have in her
bedroom, not a sheriff.

“It was my mother's. After she
died and my father disappeared, it was the piece of furniture I
couldn’t throw away.” A far away look crossed Joshua's face. He had
loved his mother fiercely. As a young deputy, he had been the first
to come across her body on a dark, hot summer night. A gang of
bandits had found her alone at the house and killed her for a bit
of jewellery. His father had left shortly after and never
returned.

“I'm sorry, Josh. I didn't mean
to pry.”

Joshua pulled on his coat and
nodded. “Not to worry, Zooey. I've known you and your family for a
long time. You could never pry. Now grab your things. It's a half
hour out of the city.”

“Thank you, Josh. It will be
nice to have an actual bath. Sarah, that saloon girl, didn't seem
too happy that Charlie was letting me stay, anyway.”

“I wouldn't worry about Sarah.
Let's get going before its dark.” Zooey grabbed her coat and
followed Joshua out the door. She beamed when she saw Gypsy hitched
just outside the door. The horse whinnied and nodded its head in
greeting.

“It's good to see you too,
Gypsy. You’re all I've got now.” Zooey nuzzled the horses’ neck and
scratched her forehead. She inhaled the earthy scent of the animal
and swallowed the lump that formed in her throat.
You feel like
home.
A tear trickled down Zooey’s cheek as she realized she
may never have a home again.

“Are you ready, Zooey? It's
quite a ride out.”

Zooey sniffed and hoisted
herself onto Gypsy's back.

A pair of dark eyes watched with
interest as the sheriff and Zooey rode away from the jail office.
Back to the old homestead? Interesting,
he thought.
This
will certainly be a homecoming no one in this town will ever
forget. I hope you’ll be surprised, Joshua Duncan.

“Ready boss?”

The older, distinguished looking
man glanced back and scowled at the scruffy cowboy, sitting on a
stallion behind him. “We’ll head out when I say I'm ready and not a
moment sooner. Got it?”

“I got it, boss,” the younger
man nodded before adding silently,
“Asshole”
.

“We have a stop to make before
the ranch. My throat is parched and I need a drink.”

“Yes sir.”

Both men nudged their mounts and
pulled their hats low over their brows. The dust curled up behind
them as they walked the horses over to Charlie's Saloon. The older
man quickly and quietly dismounted and proceeded to dust off his
dark coat and pants. “Damn dirty business, this town. Nothing has
changed. Watch my horse. I won't be long.”

“Yes sir.”

The older man raised an eyebrow
and shook his head. “There are many words in the English language
youngster. Perhaps you need to start using them. While I appreciate
your common sense in not speaking until spoken too; I bore easily.
Try and think up a new way to agree with me.”

“Yes sir.”

A heavy sigh left the man's
throat as he walked up the front steps. “I'm surrounded by fools,”
he whispered before opening the door and walking into the saloon. A
blast of warm, sour aroma hit his nostrils as he inhaled and
removed his hat. “Nice to see nothing has changed, Charlie!”

Charlie Marks raised his head
from his beer glasses. His mouth instantly dropped open.