The Accomplice, page 8
“No hard feelings, John,” Doc said. “Although I will take exception if I stop getting Martha’s invitations to dinner.”
“You don’t have to worry about that. Whenever you’re in Dallas, there’s a spot for you at our table.”
No matter how much Seegar wanted another shot of whiskey, he got up while shaking Doc’s hand. After that, he turned and worked his way through the crowd until he could find his way out the front door. Once outside, Seegar let out a slow, sorrowful breath.
[10]
Caleb had walked out of the Busted Flush without taking much notice of the table where the two dentists were sharing drinks. He was too concerned with the bad intentions scrawled all over the faces of the men who were waiting for him at the front door. And though the old man standing there with those other two wasn’t anything close to threatening, he couldn’t have been there to wish Caleb good luck after being released from jail. The elderly miner was shifting and squirming way too much on his feet to be pondering anything good.
“What’s this about?” Caleb asked once he was practically toe-to-toe with the biggest of the three.
The man taking up the most of Caleb’s field of vision was slightly shorter than Caleb and had a gut that hung like a sack of lard over his belt. Although the top of his head was shiny bald, the hair on the sides and back of his head hung down like a thick, greasy curtain. Thick arms hung out at an angle from his shoulders, and sausagelike fingers dangled like meaty fringe at the ends. When he spoke, a brushy mustache curled in to scrape his teeth and collect saliva at the ends of each whisker. “You remember my uncle?”
Caleb didn’t need another look at the miner. Instead, he took a moment to examine the third member of the group. That one might have been of a similar height to Caleb but was stooped over at an odd, sideways angle, thanks to the way his left shoulder was gnarled and twisted into something of a hump.
The humpback’s face was crusted as though he hadn’t bathed in a month, and he had the pungent stench to go along with it. Dirty clothes hung on his narrow frame, making the gun belt around his waist look more like a rope tied around the middle of a scarecrow.
“I asked you a question,” the fat man said, his intrusive mustache lending an odd sound to some of his words. “You remember my uncle or not?”
“Sure, I recognize him,” Caleb said. “That just leaves me wondering who the hell you other two are.”
Digging his thumb into his chest, the fat man said, “I’m Kyle, and this here is Jim.”
The humpback gave a short, upward nod when he heard that last word.
“We’re Orville’s kin, and we got a problem with you.”
Already, Caleb could see a few people outside trying to get a look into the Flush. When they realized they couldn’t see through Kyle’s girth, they moved along toward some of the other saloons down the street. That sight made Caleb feel like he’d just tossed some money from his own pocket into the gutter.
“I’ve had a real bad couple of days,” Caleb said angrily. “So how about you roll your asses away from the door so folks can get in?”
For a moment, Kyle looked stunned. He glanced from one side to another as if he was waiting to see the person that Caleb was really talking to. When he didn’t find any likely candidates in the vicinity, he grabbed hold of Caleb’s shirt and dragged him outside.
Kyle’s strength was a bit more than Caleb had been expecting. Before anyone could do anything about it, all three of the younger men were outside the saloon with the miner not too far behind.
With his face twisted in an ugly snarl, Kyle slammed Caleb against the closest wall he could find. “You see that old man, there?” he asked, jabbing a finger toward the miner. “That’s Orville Deagle.”
“Orville Deagle is both of our uncle,” the humpback said as he leaned in so close that Caleb could smell the rot in his teeth.
“Yeah,” Caleb said with a grimace. “Why the hell should I care?”
“I know all about the shit stains you cater to in that saloon of yours. It’s men like Virgil Ellis and that Doc Holliday that took damn near everything my uncle had in this world.”
After waiting this long, Caleb figured that he’d seen the best that these men had to offer. If there were any more armed assholes waiting for him outside, they would have surely made themselves known just to put some more bite into Kyle’s bark. Caleb met Kyle’s stare and snapped both arms up and out to knock the fat man’s hands away.
“I asked you once already,” Caleb growled. “Why the hell should I care? The last I saw of your uncle, he was running out of my place without leaving behind what he rightfully lost. If you’ve got a problem with Virgil, then you’re in luck, because he’s already been fitted for his coffin. If you’ve got a problem with Doc, you can mention it to him in person, because he’s right inside.”
Jim reached over Kyle’s shoulder and pushed Caleb toward the wall. “My uncle got out with some claims, but they weren’t worth half as much as the money he got cheated out of before any of that trouble started. Our problem’s with the asshole that set up them crooked games. We know damn well you get a cut from every—”
The humpback was cut off as Caleb shot both arms out in a quick snap of motion. His left arm caught Kyle right under the chin, and the right extended to take hold of Jim by the collar. Shocked by the way Kyle was suddenly staggering back, Jim let out a pitiful groan when he realized that he wasn’t able to get away from Caleb.
Hauling Jim toward the wall, Caleb pivoted at the last second to clear a path for the humpback to stumble past him and run face-first into the front of the Busted Flush. Jim’s face hit with a dull crack and left a bloody stain upon the wood panels.
By this time, Kyle had worked through the pain shooting through his mouth and was working himself into a real lather. The taste of blood trickled into the back of his throat, causing the fat man to ball up his fists and start swinging. Even though his first wild punch clipped the back of Caleb’s head, his next punch gave him nothing but more pain as it slammed into the wall not too far from where Jim had landed moments ago.
As Caleb twisted around to deliver a punch to Kyle’s ribs, he was wearing a wide grin. “I don’t know what you were thinking coming back here,” he said while tossing a right hook into Kyle’s face. “But I’m kind of glad you did.”
The fat man reeled from the punch but quickly recovered. Before he could respond in any way, he saw Jim hop up with his arms splayed out to either side. The humpback let out a crazy shriek as he wrapped his arms around Caleb’s neck and hung onto his back like a tick.
“You boys obviously don’t come to my place too much,” Caleb continued with just a little bit of a wheeze thanks to the added weight hanging off his back. “Because, if you did, you’d know that I’m used to this sort of thing.” Rather than try to shake free of Jim or the humpback’s flailing punches, Caleb reached up and grabbed hold of both of Jim’s arms.
As Caleb turned to put Jim directly between himself and the saloon’s wall, he said, “In fact, this is doing me a bit of good.” He then pushed back off of both legs to smash Jim against the wall. “This might even serve as some advertising to show just how much I care to keep the bad element out of my saloon,” Caleb said as he slammed Jim once more against the wall.
When Caleb let go and stepped forward, he left Jim stuck there like a swatted fly.
“I don’t even care what you two assholes were after anymore,” Caleb said.
Now Kyle was standing directly in front of Caleb wearing a murderous look on his face. Fortunately, he seemed to have forgotten about the gun at his side and instead swung his fist with every ounce of his muscle behind it.
Waiting until the last moment, Caleb ducked and moved to one side. That way, Kyle got a clear shot at Jim, who was still peeling himself off the side of the saloon. Caleb almost felt sorry for the humpback as the fat man’s knuckles buried themselves into the poor bastard’s face.
Jim slid to the ground in an unconscious heap.
“All right, fat man,” Caleb said as his blood still pounded through his veins, “you can either collect your friend and leave, or we can keep dancing.”
Kyle’s eyes flashed, and he started to accept the challenge with his fists. The moment his hand brushed past his holster, his smile took on a whole new level of ferocity; and he began to skin the gun with a clumsy draw. Before he could clear leather, he was stopped by a wavering voice from a few feet away.
“Hold up, Kyle,” Orville said from where he was standing. “There’s not to be any shooting. We agreed on that.”
Neither Kyle nor Caleb would take their eyes off of each other, since doing so would only prompt the other to make a move.
“I know what we agreed,” Kyle said. “But it looks like this asshole wants to keep fighting.”
“Put the gun away,” Orville insisted. “Maybe then I’ll put mine away, too.”
That caused Kyle to swivel and get a look at the old man for himself. Sure enough, Orville was holding a revolver that looked like something of an antique. Still, the weapon seemed to be in working order, which was enough to earn a bit of respect.
“You wanna shoot this one?” Kyle asked. “Go ahead.”
Orville looked scared; there was no denying that. He also looked ready to fire at a moment’s notice. “I’ll shoot the leg of the first man who tries to make this any uglier than it needs to be. That means all three of you.”
By this time, the humpback had cleared the fog in his head just in time to see Orville point the revolver at him.
“Now, are you boys gonna act like we discussed?” Orville asked.
“Yes, sir,” both Kyle and Jim answered in unison.
Turning his eyes and his gun toward Caleb, the old man asked “What about you?”
“I’m not the one who started this,” Caleb replied.
“That’s not what I’m asking. Are you gonna come along and hear us out, or are you gonna start swinging again?”
After a few seconds of deliberation, Caleb shrugged and nodded. “What the hell? I’ll hear what you have to say. But we could have all been talking real civil right now over a drink if these two hadn’t dragged me out here the way they did.”
“Maybe,” Orville said as he tucked his outdated revolver back under his belt and covered it with his jacket. “Maybe not. Let’s just see how it goes.”
“All right, then. How about we head back into my saloon so we can have that drink?”
“No,” Jim snapped. “My uncle’s already been attacked once in there! Lord only knows what you got inside if’n he sticks his face in there.”
“He wasn’t attacked. He didn’t even—” Caleb stopped himself, took a breath, and said. “Fine. We can talk somewhere else. But I’m not stupid enough to follow you three into some alley after getting bushwhacked once already.”
“Where’d you rather go?” Orville asked.
“What about the Alhambra? It’s just one street down.”
Orville and his two nephews started walking down Main Street to where it intersected with Houston. Caleb, on the other hand, remained rooted to his spot. Kyle was the one to stop and wheel around like a bull that was about to charge.
“Come on, then!” the fat man grunted.
“First I want to know what this is about,” Caleb demanded. “I’ve been through too much lately to waste my time with senseless bullshit from the likes of you fellas.”
This time, the nephews glanced over to their uncle before saying another word.
Nodding. Orville said, “It’s about an arrangement that needs to be struck between us. After what I been through and what I done already, I deserve something by way of payment.”
Caleb let out a choppy, humorless laugh. “Look, everyone in the Flush last night got a scare, and from what I saw, you skinned out of there quicker than most.”
“Yeah, but I heard about what them gamblers said. They meant to cheat me out of my money and my claims. Them things is my bread and butter.”
“Well, they didn’t get anything from you they didn’t win fair and square. Two of those men are dead. I’d say that settles things between you fellas.”
“That still doesn’t settle up between us.”
“How so?”
“It’s because of me that you’re not sitting in that jail cell right now.”
That struck a nerve inside Caleb’s chest that had been itching ever since his backside had left that old, smelly horse blanket. “What do you mean?”
“You’re either going to make this right,” Orville said, “or I’ll rethink the story I told to Ben Mays and see to it that you get tossed right back into jail. I can also add a few more things to my story that will more than likely get you strung up.”
Caleb let out a sigh. Even as he started walking down Main Street, he felt like his boots were sinking in quick-sand. “All right,” he grunted. “Let’s have that talk.”
[11]
The Alhambra was one of the finest-looking buildings in sight. Unlike many of the other structures, this one hadn’t been slapped together from a kit. A fire that had swept through town the previous autumn had taken out a good number of businesses, including the Alhambra’s previous location. In fact, many gamblers said the place was better than ever now that it was in a prime location on the corner of Main and Houston Streets.
Caleb had only just been feeling the bite of having such a competitor so close to his own establishment. That bite sank in a little deeper when he walked into the Alhambra to spot plenty of faces that had only left the Busted Flush less than twenty minutes ago. Rather than find some other place to have this talk, Caleb ignored the smarmy waves thrown to him by the Alhambra’s barkeep and picked out a table in the corner next to the piano. He sat down with his back to the bar and hoped nobody else had seen him walk in.
“Hello there, Caleb,” said a petite waitress with her shoulder-length blonde hair tied back with a black ribbon. “Did you run out of good bourbon at the Flush?”
“Maybe I just came to sample this beer,” he offered. “You ever think of that, Sarah?”
The blonde stared down at him with an amused smile and said, “You must really be in the mood for our special brew since I hear there’s a party being served in your honor down at—”
“Just get me a beer,” Caleb interrupted. “Please.”
Letting him off the hook with a squeeze on the shoulder, Sarah leaned down to plant a quick kiss on Caleb’s forehead. “Anything you say. What about your friends, here?”
Since he’d been more than happy to be distracted by the brush of Sarah’s hair against his face, Caleb was reluctant to acknowledge the “friends” she’d spotted. Even so, there was no mistaking the pungent odor of the humpback’s breath or the loud creak of Kyle’s chair as it squealed for mercy when the fat man sat down upon it.
“Bring them beers, too, I guess,” Caleb said grudgingly.
Sarah nodded, tossed a flirtatious grin at the other three men, and turned to walk away amid the rustle of her bright red skirts.
“Appreciate the drinks,” Orville said. “That’s right friendly, considering the circumstances.”
Caleb smiled amiably. “Great, then why don’t we just consider us squared up?”
Orville shook his head. “I’m afraid not.”
“All right, then. Let’s get this over with as quickly as we can. How about we start off with how you think you’re responsible for me getting out of jail?”
The old man pulled in a breath and steeled himself. “That’s the God’s honest truth, mister.”
“The name’s Caleb Wayfinder.”
Hearing that caused Kyle to chuckle. Under his breath, he muttered, “Goddamn Injun.”
Seeing the glare on Caleb’s face was enough to cause both Kyle and Jim to start reaching for their guns.
“Why don’t I just call you Caleb?” Orville offered. “Like I was going to say, me and my nephews helped get you out of that jail.”
“How do you figure?”
“Because I showed up at the request of Dr. Holliday to offer my version of what happened when Mike Abel was killed.”
“Were you the only one that showed?”
“We was there, too,” Jim said. “And we talked you up real nice.”
Nobody at the table seemed to have even noticed that the humpback had opened his mouth.
“There were others,” Orville said. “Dr. Holliday saw to it that plenty showed up. Some of them didn’t even know Mike was dead. I think it was the first time a few of them had even stepped foot in your saloon.”
“That’d account for most of Dallas,” Sarah said as she stepped up and set mugs of beer down in front of each man. Like most servers who made a decent living at the job, her timing was impeccable.
Caleb waved off the sarcastic comment, but Sarah wasn’t going anywhere. “I can settle the bill later,” he told her.
“I’m to collect it now. Manager’s orders.”
Twisting in his seat, Caleb spotted the well-dressed manager of the Alhambra who was waving at him from across the room. “What ever happened to professional courtesy?” Caleb asked.
Sarah shrugged.
Even though he knew Sarah and the manager were just needling him, it couldn’t have been a worse time to look for a laugh. Caleb slapped some money into Sarah’s waiting hand and quickly turned his back to her. Only then did the blonde study the table with concern.
“Is everything all right with you boys?” she asked.
Kyle had yet to take his eyes off of her. More specifically, he had yet to take his eyes off the plunging neckline of her dress. “We’re just fine, darlin’. Don’t you worry.”
Dealing with the likes of Kyle and his equally leering cousin was just another part of Sarah’s job. She bent down to whisper in Caleb’s ear, ignoring the way Kyle and Jim’s eyes widened at the extra bit of cleavage she showed them.
“You just let us know if there’s going to be trouble,” she said.
