Murder at Thumb Butte (23 page)

As soon as Davis spotted us, he drew two beers. With one in each hand, he walked them over and slid them in front of us. “On the house,” he said.

“
Thank you,” McAllen said. “That’s exactly what we want to talk to you about … free drinks. Who—”

“
I’m sure Mr. Brow would be fine with as many as you like.”

“
Not what I meant,” McAllen said. “Can we talk private?”

“
Now?” Davis waved an arm. “I’m busy.”

“
We can wait a bit,” McAllen said. “Got any help comin’?”

“
Two barmen from nights should be here soon. We can talk after they arrive.”

McAllen lifted his mug and saluted the crowd of men who were still watching us. “Gentlemen, drink hearty.”

With that, everyone resumed talking, laughing, and tapping glasses in toast. Davis raced down the length of the bar, serving beer and whiskey as fast as he could pour. I normally drank coffee in the morning, but now I appreciated being offered something cold. The gunfight had made all of my senses keen, so my beer smelled and tasted better than ever before.

After we each had savored a few swallows, McAllen said, “Now, what’s this about Maggie?”

“
I’m not sure I understand.” I hadn’t expected that Maggie would be foremost on McAllen’s mind after what we had just been through.

“
Yes, you do. What was that about her being infatuated with Mrs. Cunningham’s son?”

“
I told you … I was just showing her what it felt like to have someone butt into her business.”

“
Bullshit. Steve, I’m not the greatest father to Maggie, but part of my job is readin’ what’s on people’s minds. I saw the way Maggie reacted. She was rattled, and she doesn’t rattle easy. So what’s goin’ on?”

I took another swallow of beer, but somehow it wasn’t as refreshing as before. “Exactly what I said. She’s infatuated with John Cunningham. She tried to get me to court his mother so she could have time alone with him.”

“
Damn.” Now it was McAllen’s turn to delay by taking a drink. “I knew this day would come … but so soon.” Then he gave me a harder look than he did the gunmen outside. “You keep her away from this John, you hear me?”

“
I’ll do what I can, but I think we’d both better work on it.” After another quick swallow, I added, “Mrs. Cunningham agrees with you, by the way.”

“
What the hell’s she got against my daughter?”

Not the reaction I expected. “Nothing. She just thinks they’re both too young.”

“
How old is he?”

“
Not sure. Sixteen, seventeen.”

“
Damn it, Maggie’s only fourteen.”

“
Fifteen. She had a birthday. They come around regular, I hear.”

“
Damn it, I know when she has a birthday.” He waved Davis over for another round. “I remember birthdays; I just can’t count.”

He was taking this much more seriously than I had expected. McAllen was the most solid man I had ever met. In danger, he was deadly calm; in work, coldly calculating; and in moments of relaxation, generally humorless. McAllen was a man of control, and I realized I was less concerned with what was right for Maggie than I was in sheltering my friend from a situation he couldn’t control.

Davis brought over two beers, and McAllen growled, “When are those two barmen gonna get here? I got another problem to take care of.”

“
Maybe you ought to go look after your other problem and come back later.” Davis spoke evenly. Angry customers on the other side of the bar didn’t intimidate him. “It’s your fault I’m so busy.”

“
Fault? That’s an odd word to use for someone defendin’ himself.”

“
Poor choice of words. Mr. Brow and I are grateful for the business and pleased that both of you survived this dastardly assault.”

“
Damn it, don’t smooth-talk me.” McAllen, a man who never showed emotion, looked heated. “We’ll wait. What I got to ask won’t take but a minute.”

Davis looked at the door. “Okay. They both just came in, so let me get them started, and I’ll be right with you.”

After Davis left to get his barmen working, I asked McAllen, “How do we find out who met at that old barn?”

“
The liveryman can tell us who regularly took out a horse at night.”

“
Joseph, it’s less than a twenty-minute walk.”

“
Thought about that. The murderer had a horse the night he killed Campbell—needed it to drag the body away from the old barn. Perhaps he always used a horse.”

“
Could’ve been privately boarded.”

“
Someone on a ranch or workin’ a mine maybe. But all of our suspects live in town, so they probably boarded or rented their horses at one of the liveries. We need to check it out, anyway.”

“
What about the four dead outside?”

“
First, we talk to Davis and the liverymen. Then I’ll check with the judge and get permission to ride down to Wickenburg. Maggie’s goin’ with me.”

“
Wickenburg’s a full day’s ride, and nobody’s been out of town.” I didn’t like McAllen being away for two or three days, especially since I suspected he just wanted to get Maggie out of Prescott.

“
You and the Schmidts work Prescott. I’ll give you a list before I leave. If those hired men got loose lipped, it was in Wickenburg, not here. We gotta find out who met at that barn or who hired those killers. Those are our two clues.”

Davis walked over as he took off his apron, which he threw into a box behind the bar. “There’s a small room in back. Grab your beers and we can talk in there.”

The Palace saloon was L-shaped. We followed Davis around the end of the bar to a door. He opened it to display a small room that could accommodate about ten men in captain chairs around a rectangular table. Davis held the door open and allowed us to go in first.

“
What’s this room used for?” McAllen asked.

“
All sorts of private meetings, including political committees that prefer to do their work where there’s a ready supply of whiskey and food. Some big deals have been struck in this room.”

“
No need to sit,” McAllen said. “All I want to know is who paid for Jeff Sharp’s drinks two nights ago.”

“
That would be me, Doc Holliday, and Mr. Brow.”

“
Mr. Brow? He bought after the first two rounds?”

“
Yep. When he saw men gather round to hear about Campbell being knocked off his feet, he told me to make Mr. Sharp free for the night. Your friend was drawing in business. Just like you boys are today.”

“
Why did you buy Sharp that first drink?” I asked.

“
Are you serious? He did what I had wanted to do for months. I was so happy to see that son of a bitch on the floor, I would’ve bought him more drinks if Mr. Brow hadn’t stepped in.”

“
Why didn’t you ever hit him?” McAllen asked.

Davis rubbed his chin. “I might have if I had met him away from the Palace. Mr. Brow would fire me if I just up and hit a customer in here. That man stole money from me, but I wasn’t gonna allow him to take my job as well.”

“
Did you want him dead?” McAllen asked.

“
Did I want him dead?” He rubbed his chin again. “I sure wasn’t sorry to hear that he
was
dead, but I don’t recall wanting him dead before he was. What I wanted was my money, and next best would be to flatten him out.” Davis smiled. “I know what you’re asking, so here’s a direct answer: I didn’t kill Elisha Campbell.”

_{Chapter 34}

There were two liveries in Prescott, and neither could recall anyone taking a horse out on the night of the murder. The Gurley Street livery had a night watchman, but the Granite Street livery did not. McAllen doubted that anyone would risk the accusation of being a horse thief, so if the murderer took a horse from the Granite Street livery, it was probably his own. For a two-dollar tip, the liveryman agreed to get us a list of all the owners by the next morning.

Disappointed with our lack of progress, we went over to Mrs. Potter’s to meet the Schmidts and Maggie for lunch. The café was crowded, but the Schmidts had already secured a table.

Carl Schmidt stood as we approached. “Good afternoon, Mr. McAllen, Mr. Dancy. We’re happy to see you come out of that shooting unscathed. We were also relieved to hear the judge didn’t order you held.”

“
Thank you, Carl, but it’ll be Captain McAllen from now on. Also, from this point forward, Maggie is my daughter.”

She instantly beamed.

“
I’ll be taking a room at the Palace, but she’ll continue to stay in her room at Prescott House,” McAllen added.

“
Pa!”

“
It would be unseemly for you to stay in my room. Remember, we’ve been foolin’ people. They may not immediately accept the truth. Besides, it’s only for sleepin’. The rest of the time, I want you with me.” He looked directly at Mary Schmidt. “Soon, the two of us will be taking a short trip to Wickenburg.”

“
Wickenburg?” Carl Schmidt looked unnerved. “Captain, the investigation is here, and we don’t have much time. I spoke with Mr. Blanchet this morning, and he’s planning to start the trial next week, possibly Monday.”

“
Those killers came from Wickenburg. I want to find out who hired them.”

Carl looked at his wife for support, but she was intently watching McAllen.

“
None of the suspects have left town,” Carl scratched under his arm and looked nervous. “Captain, we’d know if any of them had been gone for several days.”

“
They could have sent a go-between, probably for the reason you just gave. It would be suspicious if they up and left town for an extended period.”

“
Then let me go to Wickenburg,” Carl said. “You’re much more valuable here. Besides, I have a knack. People open up to me.”

McAllen looked at Maggie. I knew he wanted to get her away from John Cunningham. My guess was that when he thought about it, a couple of days wouldn’t make much of a difference.

“
Maggie?” he asked.

“
I want to stay here … with you.”

“
Wickenburg’s a rough town, more of a minin’ camp and way station.” McAllen seemed to be considering the idea. “Do you think you can handle it?” he asked Carl Schmidt.

“
I’ve met the town marshal. He’s a competent man. If I need help, I can rely on him.”

McAllen weighed the subject a while longer, before saying, “I’d want you back here in three days, before the trial starts. It’s a full-day’s coach ride, so you’ll have only one day to investigate.”

“
If there’s something to be found, I’ll find it in a day.”

McAllen looked at me. I nodded agreement.

“
Okay. Carl, take tomorrow morning’s stage. This afternoon, I want you to talk to the troublemakers and good-for-nothings around town. Try to discover if any of their friends left for Wickenburg or disappeared for a couple days. If you can get a name, then when you get to Wickenburg, see if they met with those four gunmen. After you return, we’ll work on findin’ out who hired the go-between. Understood?”

“
Yes, sir. What about Mary?”

“
First, let me catch you both up on what we’ve discovered.” Between ordering and the delivery of our meal, McAllen explained to the Schmidts everything we had done since the prior afternoon. At the end, he said, “Mary, I want you to ride around town and look for private stables. If you see any, find out whose horses are boarded there. It may not be just the homeowner’s. People with barns take in other animals to make extra cash.”

“
That sounds like a pleasant afternoon,” she said. “Horseback riding and snooping. Two things I love.”

“
We have another problem,” Carl said. “Blanchet isn’t going to bring up the stock swindles, so Winslow is protected through the prosecution phase. But Castle says he intends to make the swindles a key defense issue and refuses to keep Jonathon Winslow’s name out of the proceedings. Worse, the editor over at the
Arizona Daily Miner
insists
that he’s going to publish the entire trial transcript.”

Evidently, Carl was unaware that Winslow was McAllen’s primary suspect, and that the captain had sought the Pinkerton reengagement so he could stay close to Winslow. Then I stopped thinking along this line. Captain McAllen was the most reputable man I had ever met. If his agency had been engaged to protect Winslow’s reputation, he would fulfill the contract—unless he developed proof that Winslow was the guilty party.

“
What do you suggest, Carl?”

“
Sharp is your friend. Ask him to convince Castle he should leave our client out of this unless hard evidence is discovered.”

McAllen looked uncertain. I could guess what was going through his mind. Did he have greater allegiance to his employer or his friend? In the end, he just said, “I’ll think about it.”

It was an awkward moment, but Maggie helped us get past it by asking her father, “What are we going to do?”

“
Right after lunch, Carl’s gonna introduce us to the editor of the
Arizona Daily Miner.”

“
He won’t change his mind about printing the transcript,” Carl said.

“
I don’t intend to try. At least, not today. I’m gonna give him an exclusive story about the four of us. The three Pinkertons and my daughter.”