Deadly Is the Night (13 page)

“Her name is Elizabeth Byrnes. Post Office Box Fourteen, Prescott, Arizona Territory. She would hug you. Good day. See you tomorrow in Tucson.”

They both agreed to see him there.

He ate a bean and meat flour tortilla meal from a street vendor while he walked to the judge's office, washing it down with a bottle of sarsaparilla from another street vendor. His men, with their prisoners, were ready to go.

“How about Cary?”

“Della, the doc's wife, is bringing her to Tucson. She looks nice in her new dress. One of us will meet them at the stage depot and take them to our hotel.”

Frank Herman drove his big Conestoga wagon, with his hoof-stomping big horses, into town and halted the teams. The prisoners were loaded over the high tailgate with Arnold swearing they'd never get them to Tucson alive.

“Arnold, you have a will written?”

“No, why?”

“Anyone attacks us, I will shoot you first and them second. You better pray they don't try anything.”

His threat shut the loud mouth up. They rumbled out of Tombstone, stopped over at the Benson jail, loaded Hadley, and were on their way. The grade going west was steep and hard, but the big horses were on their toes and pulled through. They finally emerged over the crest. The wagon was not as comfortable as a stagecoach, which had suspension that helped over the rough spots, This rig had none, but they were making good progress.

Chet doubted they could get a mass of riders to stop them, but he was on edge and would be until they arrived at the Pima County Courthouse. The jail was still many hours west of their location.

It would be a long night.

At dawn, when they came off the last high spot in the highway and headed down hill through the forest of saguaros toward the sleeping town of Tucson, Chet decided he could sleep for three days when it was over. He only hoped they'd let him do that. Tossed around and shaken by the crude ride, he was ready for the last of an estimated forty-mile journey from Benson.

He admired Frank Herman's driving. He never let up on the horses, making it the fastest drive he possibly could. And seated on a spring seat, he'd taken a bigger beating than Chet suffered in the wagon bed.

At last with the sun peeking in an orange fire ring from behind them, they rattled through narrow streets for the courthouse. Frank reined his horses to a halt at the front steps.

“You are here.”

The three lawmen clapped and cheered. Someone came out of the jail and let down the chained-up tailgate. “What have you got?”

“Three rapists and white slavers. I am deputy U.S. Marshal Chet Byrnes.”

“We've got plenty of room for them. They must have wired ahead. We have bailsmen and lawyers inside anxious to bail them out.”

Chet shook his head. “They are too big a risk to run for Mexico to allow them out on bail.”

“Whatever you say, sir,” the jail guard said.

The prisoners were unloaded and then his two deputies stepped down.

Chet took the lead and parted the crowd in the lobby. They were soon back in the jail portion and the handcuffs were taken off. The prisoners were ordered to completely undress, shoes and all. They made them walk naked clear of their clothes and put on striped uniforms.

They were asked their names and who to contact in case of death. Barefooted, they were marched back to the cells. The sheriff, Ben Deloris, was there. He asked Chet and his men to come into a side office for a conference.

“Marshal Byrnes, you stirred up a hornets' nest. What is the situation?”

“Chuck Hadley kidnapped a young woman, Cary Cannon, up in Maricopa County. Her parents, Claude and Edna Cannon, came to my ranch at Preskitt Valley and asked me to try to get their daughter back. Claude thought the man who took her intended to take her to Tombstone.

“My two deputies and I began to look for her in Tombstone and a snitch got me a chance to buy her. Hadley wanted two hundred dollars. After he took my money my men arrested him. She was heavily doped. We took her to a local doctor.

“When she woke up she said besides Hadley raping her, two other men had also raped her and, afterward, each man declined to buy her. That made them accomplices to white slavery and kidnapping. She said she would testify against them.”

“What a horrible story. Those other two have strong lawyers and are demanding them to be bonded out.”

“Hell, they'd simply run to Mexico. Do I need to talk to the judge?”

“I am setting that up. When did you sleep last?”

“Two days ago.”

“I know you brought them here because the Cochise County jail is not escape proof, and they would have enough pull there to get out on bail.”

“Arnold runs a whorehouse and I shot one of his guards while arresting him. Lake is a gambler and no doubt a white slaver. Hadley is a worthless lazy bastard who courted a young girl and then kidnapped her to sell her.”

“I have sent for Judge Kimble. He won't let them have bond after hearing you.”

“Sorry I am causing you so much trouble.”

“Hell no. Those three bastards have no right to be loose to do it again.”

“Exactly.”

“What do you need to do next, besides sleep?”

“Get some of that. Della, the wife of the doctor who revived Cary, is bringing her to Tucson on the afternoon stage. I need to meet her.”

“How about you sleep. I will send a deputy with one of your men to meet her. Where would you put her up? And what next?”

“Feed both women first, and I'll get rooms at the Congress Hotel for all of us. Della may wish to stay. Send a telegram to Claude Cannon, Hayden's Ferry. Tell him his daughter is safe and in Chet Byrnes's care. Send the same wire to Elizabeth Byrnes in Preskitt with the same note.”

“I can take care of all of that.”

Chet put some bills on his desk. Deloris shoved it back. “We can handle this. You obviously have done enough. I will handle this and see about the judge.”

Jesus came in. Chet told him how to handle the women and the hotel. He agreed to take care of it. “I should pay Herman.”

“Give him a hundred and thank him.”

Jesus approved, took the money, and went to get Miguel. All that handled, Chet slouched in a leather chair and closed his eyes for minute. Deloris was back. “The judge is in his chambers. We are going up the back stairs.”

“Madhouse out there?”

“Worse than that. Kimble is a tough judge, but he's fair.”

In the judge's room, Kimble nodded as Chet stood before the bench.

“Tell me all about this matter of the arrests you made in Cochise County.”

Chet slowly reconstructed the reason he went there, how he found Hadley and trapped him into accepting payment for her. Then how he arrested Lake and then Arnold as rapists and accomplices in kidnapping and white slavery.

“Marshal Byrnes, I know your reputation in enforcement is very strong. You have asked my court not to allow bail to be extended to any of the accused in these charges. Why is that?”

“They reside less than ten miles from the Mexican border. They will take a powder down there first chance they get. They are all able to do that. Arnold owns a whorehouse. Lake is a gambler, and I believe research could prove he had been involved in other white slavery before or why would Hadley have let him use her body?”

“This young lady will testify?”

“She will and I believe a smart prosecutor could get Hadley to testify, too.”

The judge said, “These kind of trials are tough on innocent girls.”

“I told her that, but she has been abused and wants them punished.”

“Is there a chance they'd plead guilty to a lesser charge?”

“I hope no one accepts it.”

“I will not set bail on them. They may go to a higher court, but your argument is good enough for me. They are too great a risk to receive bond.”

“Thank you, sir.”

“No, after hearing your story and the difficulties, I thank you.”

“I am going now to get some food and rest.”

Deloris stopped him. “Avoid that mob downstairs. Go out the back door. Your men have gone to get her.”

“Thank you.”

“There will be a grand jury assembled. They may need you to testify.”

“I understand.”

“Get some sleep.”

“I will as soon as my men and the women are safe and settled.”

He joined his bunch, Della, and Cary at their usual family café.

“Those reporters didn't find you?” Jesus asked.

“No. I left by the back door thanks to the sheriff. Judge has refused them bail.”

“Hurrah.”

“You ladies all right?”

Della nodded.

“I had a telegram sent to your folks that you were all right, Cary.”

Cary looked pleased over all they'd done for her. “Thanks. I am sure my folks have been worried.”

“I had a wire sent to my wife, too.”

“We already ordered. The waitress is bringing you some food and sarsaparilla,” Jesus explained to him.

“Do we have beds?”

“Yes. At the Congress Hotel.”

Della said, “I am going to stay an extra day if she needs me.”

“Thanks, Della. She can use the security.”

“This food sure looks great,” he told the waitress.

“Oh, señor, you always say that.”

“It's always good.”

He thought how really good it had been as he fell across the bed and went to sleep in his clothing.

First light the next morning Chet woke uncertain of where he was. A hotel in Tucson. The prisoners were in jail. His head pounded with a headache. He felt like he'd been run over by a wagon and team, but he got up, straightened up his clothes, and hitched on his gun belt. Another day, another dollar. He'd much rather been home for this one.

His men and both women were in the lobby waiting for him.

“We going to the restaurant around the corner?”

“Let's go to Sue's,” Della said. “She has a good place to eat. Doc and I eat there whenever we are here.”

They agreed and went a block farther. The coffee was good, the platter of breakfast man-size, and they thanked Della for the suggestion.

“What will happen next?” she asked.

“We need to wait for the grand jury to meet. They will direct the prosecutor what to do next.”

Chet bought a newspaper and laughed.

“They won't hear from them for six months,” Chet said, shaking his head. “Did that bouncer look like a butler to you, Miguel?”

“No, but he had a gun.”

Chet smiled. “I like the businessman feature the best.”

They went back to the hotel. The prosecuting attorney came by and went over the evidence. He told them they were calling in the prospective grand jury members and court would be held sometime soon.

“We all have things to do. Cary has not been home in some time. Della is staying here to help her but does need to get home. My men and I have jobs to do and family.”

“I will call you all in the next two days.”

“Good.” He wired Liz he was tied up for another day or so with a grand jury appearance.

Court was finally called and he and everyone made their appearances. A couple members of the grand jury asked Chet if he thought the rape of Cary made them a part of the white slave trade charges.

“I believe they accepted being part of that criminal offense by raping her as a test whether to buy her or not and not reporting his offer to sell her.”

“Do you think she was merely a prostitute and going to profit for doing it?”

“No. When Hadley sold her to me, she was naked and unconscious from laudanum. A state that he kept her in after he kidnapped her from her family's home near Hayden's Ferry about one week earlier.”

“Mr. Byrnes, how did you get involved in this? Couldn't local authorities have handled it?”

“Local authorities offered them no help, so Claude Cannon and his wife drove from Hayden's Ferry to my ranch at Preskitt Valley to ask for my help in finding their daughter. I said I would try to find her. They had caught something that was said about Tombstone, so we started there. I made it known that I would buy her and was led to Hadley who sold her to me for two hundred dollars.

“We took her to the doctor. When she recovered she told us those other two men sampled her body, in Hadley's hope, to buy her. That to me was guilty proof by association. They never reported the crime. They used an innocent girl's body for their own purposes as a test whether to buy her or not. That makes me angry. She could have been my daughter or yours.”

“Thank you.”

He left the jury room.

A newspaper reporter followed him out of the courthouse. “Sir, do you consider your apprehension of these three men unusual for a federal marshal, stepping into territorial law and arresting them?”

“No.”

“But, sir, aren't there county sheriff officers to handle such matters?”

“When outlaws cross county lines, they can avoid apprehension in the next county. A young woman was kidnapped in Maricopa County and taken to Cochise County by her kidnapper. There her kidnapper became involved in white slavery trade and two men tested her for that purchase. Those three men would have slid by the law enforcement in both counties had my deputies and I not apprehended them.”

“Will they be tried in federal court or territorial court?”

“That is up to the prosecution. I merely arrested them.”

“I understand you own several ranches across the territory. Why are you involved in enforcing the law?”

“Arizona will never reach statehood without showing America we are not a criminal hole for all such men as those I arrested here to hide in. I am for statehood and will do anything to move us there.”

The reporter had to half run to keep up beside him as he wrote his notes. “Sheriff Behan of Cochise County says two of these men were illegally arrested in his jurisdiction. That they both are prominent businessmen and pillars of the community.”

“Maybe he needs a new set of glasses.”

“You don't agree with his assessment of Mr. Lake and Mr. Arnold?”

“I don't. Lake is a gambler by profession. Arnold owns a whorehouse. If we attempt to build statehood on those kinds of businesses, Arizona will never become one.”

“Both are legal legitimate enterprises.”

“I did not arrest them for that. By their treatment of that girl, as someone to buy, they broke the federal law that prohibits white slavery.”

“Why?”

“They were involved in the crime. They are as guilty as Hadley was who kidnapped her and then offered her for sale to them.”

“Both those men have hired high-price lawyers to defend them.”

“That's legal.”

“You don't object to that?”

“Not under the law for their defense.”

“But you insist they are guilty.”

“A jury of twelve men, presided over by a judge, will decide that.”

“But you, personally, decided they were guilty.”

“That is why I arrested them. And I consider them the scum of the earth for what they did to that girl.”

“They have witnesses they say will show she's a wayward woman.”

“Under federal laws you cannot sell any woman, wayward or not. The girl was kidnapped and he tried to sell her to three men I know about, Lake, Arnold, and me. The other two never reported him to Sheriff Behan about what he tried to do with her. That is what a law-abiding citizen would have done—reported the crime. They raped her and considered buying her from Hadley. They are accomplices to the crime and the prosecutor will prove it to a jury. Now I have more important things to do than argue with you.”

“One more question?”

“Hurry.”

“Why did you not put them in the Cochise County jail?”

“Look up the number of prisoners that have escaped from that jail.”

“You are saying the sheriff of that county lets them out?”

“That or he has a poor system of locks on his cells. Good day.”

He could already hear the Tucson newsboys hawking the next morning's paper. U.S. Marshal says Sheriff Behan lets criminals out of his jail.

His crew was in the café seated at a private table in the back.

“How did it go?” Jesus asked.

“I told them what I thought and they cold-faced me. How did you all do?”

Cary shook her head. “I thought the same thing. But I did not cry. They asked me if I ever worked in a house of ill repute. I told them I did not. Why would they ask me that?”

“Cary, I am sorry, but if the defense can make the jury believe you have done that, then they can get your testimony downgraded. But the law reads that anyone involved in selling people, it does not matter who they are, it is a crime.”

“Della told me their raping me might not hold up if they have witnesses. But you say it doesn't matter about my role, that it was a crime to sell me.”

“Exactly.”

“I want them punished.”

“So do we. That's why we are still here instead of home with our families. Right, Della?”

“Yes, sir. We all are here because we have a cause to prove.”

The men nodded. “What will the judge do?”

“He promised no bail. That means they can't run for the border. When the grand jury decides their fate, we will know the next thing we must do.”

“What about you, Miguel?”

“I am learning all about these legal proceedings.”

“It gets complicated. Prosecutor Jacob is supposed to send us word here when the jury decides what the charges will be.”

Jesus jumped in with news for Chet. “Elizabeth sent you a telegram. She is coming down here to help you.”

“Tonight?” Chet asked.

“She left last night so she will get here tomorrow.”

“So, Della, you will get your wish to meet my wife.”

She smiled. “I heard that earlier. Cary and I both are excited to meet her.”

Cary nodded.

“I hope the grand jury does their deliberation this afternoon.”

“Will we all have to testify again?” Miguel asked.

“Yes, they may try them separately. No telling.”

“Spencer found us here. He is getting some supplies and will be back to talk to you later,” Jesus said.

“How is he doing?”

“Says there is lots to do. But he looks happy about his marriage.”

“That sounds good.”

“With the help Frisco sent from Mexico, he says he is learning more Spanish to be able to talk to his kids.”

Miguel chuckled. “He has a long ways to go.”

Chet smiled and drank some of the fresh coffee the waitress brought him. “You have to crawl to walk.”

Miguel agreed.

“I am curious,” Della said. “What will you do next after this trial business is over?”

“Go home, put my boots up, and rest.”

“These two men tell me you get cases like this all the time. You and Jesus last found another woman kidnapped that the local law denied she was taken?”

“We also went to Utah twice.”

“Do you keep records of all this?”

“No.”

“You should. Someone needs to write a book about all your work so your children and people will know all the generous things you have done for the people of this territory.”

“I'd be happy with statehood for Arizona.”

“Amen.”

Spencer returned. He hugged Chet. “Good to see you, boss man. The ranch headquarters is moving slow. The lumber is there and we do have a plan. In sixty days I promised Lucinda a bunkhouse completed enough to live in. It may be close. She is a darling and really helping me a lot. Best thing that ever happened.”

Chet didn't tell him the woman, Rebecca, did not leave Preskitt on the tickets he bought her to go back home but was
housekeeping
there for a widowed man named Chandler and his two children. Chandler had some mining interest at Crown King and had more money than a deputy marshal. Luckily, Spencer now had himself a wife and that was a better sounding deal anyway.

Spencer left them after an hour's visit to drive his wagon of supplies back to the ranch. Things sounded like they were moving along well up there.

They received no word from the grand jury and went back to the hotel. Chet took a bath and shaved in his room. With his wife coming the wait would not seem so long. He met her when the stage arrived. They hugged and kissed. He had her luggage delivered to the hotel, tipped the deliverer, and they joined his growing circle at the café owned by Jesus's cousins, for supper.

The prosecutor, Jacob, came by and they talked in private. “The trial will start very shortly, and I believe all three will plead guilty to the white slavery charge. That is a federal trial and they can get from five to ten years at Leavenworth, Kansas, or the Ohio Federal Penitentiary, since Arizona has not built the state prison at Yuma and they'd have to serve time at some county jail here on bread and water and road-building in chains.”

“You think they will plead guilty then?” Chet asked.

“I think you put the fear of God in their hearts that you were going to succeed in getting them convicted even if they proved Cary was a harlot. I don't believe that is the case, but that was their purpose from the get-go to get them off. But under the white slave law even a prostitute can't be sold, so by pleading guilty and admitting, they will get lesser years.”

“Let me ask Cary what she thinks first?”

He drew her apart and told her they could save a long trial and get them behind bars for several years.

“They will go to jail?”

“Yes. Federal jail.”

“I would appreciate not testifying. But I promised you I would even when you told me how bad it would be for me.”

“We have won. Considering the high-price lawyers they hired we have won. They could not sell anyone into slavery or be an accessory to that and not face the trial and conviction.”

“How did you figure that out?”

“I had that in mind when you woke up and you told me what they did to you.”

“Thanks. Your wife is beautiful.”

“She can help you. It is her way.”

“She offered to help me. I may go back to Hayden's Ferry even after all this happened to me, but I really appreciate her offer to find me a new life.”

“We can work that out later if you need help. I must tell the prosecutor that his plan will work for you.”