Dorothy Garlock (38 page)

Corbin expressed his feelings about the Carters. “Marshal, the Carters saved our lives. They acted in self-defense against a couple of guys with a tommy gun. They had seen their brother shot down like a mad dog. It was a brave thing they did, coming in there in a hay wagon. I doubt that even a trace of those men will ever be found. I’ll testify in court for the Carters if they’re brought to trial.”

“I’m marshal for the state of Missouri. I don’t see any need for a trial. Do you, McGiboney?”

“You said it. You’re the marshal for the state. I’ve got bigger fish to fry.”

“We have one more piece of information. I told you that my wife’s father has been in the bootlegging business and was trying to get out. He was rather small-time compared to George Remus and some of the others. He left for St. Louis to complete the deal. He was due back a couple of days ago.

“This morning my wife and I were in the photographer’s studio, and she spotted her father’s brass knuckles. She says that he has always carried them with him. He doesn’t carry a gun and uses the knuckles if he finds himself in a tight spot. We need you to ask Alex Lemon, the photographer, how they came to be in his possession.”

“Boone will tell you that they are Papa’s,” Annabel added.

“How can you be sure they are your father’s?”

Corbin answered for Annabel. “They were a special pair to start with. At one time a knife blade was on one end. It was removed, leaving that end rough.”

“We’ll see what we can find out, ma’am.”

McGiboney spoke. “We need to confront Potter with the fact that you were in the hayloft at Donovan’s and saw what went on while he was with the hit men. We need to get him to lead us to the other contact here.”

“Before we do anything, I want to make sure my wife is in a safe place.”

Jack spoke up. “I didn’t get a chance to tell you. Boone said to bring Annabel to the doctor’s office. She can stay there with Tess. I told Boone what happened. He has things he wants to say to you about marrying Annabel.” Jack grinned.

“I bet he does.” Corbin snorted.

McGiboney got to his feet. “No point in waiting around. This is going to be easier than I thought. Seems that Donovan’s men and the Carter clan did most of the work for us.”

Corbin pulled the thin leather belt from under his shirt. He took out the papers and gave them to the marshal.

“These are the notes I took on each of the men you wanted me to observe.”

“Thanks. After what you’ve done, I think the state should reimburse you for the car you lost. I’ll see what I can do. If you want to walk your wife and Jack to the doctor’s office, we’ll mosey along behind and keep an eye open.”

Annabel was quiet as they left the hotel. She walked along beside Corbin and Jack and didn’t speak until just before they reached the doctor’s house.

“Jack, did you tell Tess about Marvin?”

“I told her everything.”

“How did she take it?”

“She just kind of closed up and didn’t say much. She just fretted about Leroy.”

The marshals remained on the street corner when Jack went into the house. A minute later he returned with Boone and Tess.

“Ya sneakin’ polecat.” These were the first words out of Boone’s mouth. “I ort to strip off yore hide and hang it to dry.”

“Go ahead and give it a try, you mud-ugly sidewinder,” Corbin answered belligerently.

“I knew the minute I turned my back ya’d do somethin’ underhanded.”

“Underhanded?” Corbin sputtered. “I’d put my fist in your big mouth if I—”

“Hush up! Both of you,” Annabel snapped. “Aren’t you happy for me, Boone?”

“Of course I am, sugar. I just have to let this brayin’ jackass know that I knew what he was up to.”

Annabel spoke to Tess. “What’ll we do with these two?”

Tess smiled her quiet smile and snuggled her hand into Boone’s.

“I’m afraid something has happened to Papa, Boone.”

Boone patted her shoulder. “You and Tess stay here with Jack. Doc says Spinner should make it all right. And Leroy is better. I’ll go along with the stinkin’ pole—”

“Say it and I’ll flatten you out right here.”

“Take him to see the brass knuckles.” Annabel looked pleadingly at Corbin. “He’ll know that they’re Papa’s.”

“I will. Stay here with Jack and Tess. As soon as we know anything, we’ll be back.” Corbin looked beyond Annabel to Jack. “Jack, take care of the women.”

“Be careful,” Annabel pleaded.

“We’re not alone now, sweetheart. We’ve got the marshals and the ugly sidewinder now.” He bent his head and kissed her.

Boone snorted.

Jack snorted for a different reason. “I guess we’ll have to put up with a lot of that kissy stuff now.”

“Just wait, young scutter. I hope I’m around when you fall in love. I’m going to make your life miserable.”

Annabel stood on the steps holding Tess’s hand and watched her tall husband and the shorter, huskier Boone walking down the street. They joined the marshals and introductions were made. The marshals shook hands with Boone; then, after a few minutes of conversation, the four men headed for Main Street.

Corbin peered into the photographer’s studio to make sure there were no customers before he opened the door and the four men entered. Alex Lemon came out of the back room.

“You’re back. Did your wife change her mind?”

Corbin took the brass knuckles from the table and handed them to Boone. As soon as he heard the oath that came from Boone’s mouth, he made a grab for Lemon’s shirt and hauled the startled man up close to him.

“You son-of-a-bitch! Tell me where you got those knuckles or I’ll bust up every piece of equipment you have in this studio after I work your pretty face over with them.”

“What? Who— Stop that!”

“Stop what? I haven’t even started. Tell me where you got the knuckles, or your sweety, Mrs. Zeadow, won’t recognize you the next time you go crawling, like a slimy little worm, to her bed while her husband is away.” Corbin tightened his hold on the neck of Lemon’s shirt and shook him.

“What do you … want to know? Stop. You’re choking me.”

“I told you, dumb-head! Are you deaf as well as stupid? My wife saw those knuckles this morning. They belonged to her father.”

“I got them … got them …” He pulled on Corbin’s wrist to loosen his hold so that he could breathe. Then he took a deep, gulping breath. “I bought them at the mercantile.”

“From whom?”

“Whom do you think? Luther Hogg.” Lemon was breathing hard. “I told him that I’d always wanted a pair. He said that the man that had them wouldn’t need them … that he’d gone downriver. I paid two dollars.”

“What did he mean by ‘gone downriver’?” Boone asked.

“How do I know?”

“What else did he say?”

“I asked if the man would be back for them. Luther laughed and said not unless he came back on Halloween as a ghost. I took it that the man had died.”

“You’re out two dollars. Sit down.” Corbin pushed him toward a chair and went to speak quietly to the marshals.

“What do you think?”

“Godamighty, Appleby. You ’bout scared the shit out of him. A few more minutes and he’d have confessed to killing his own mother with her standing in front of him.”

“Surprise. It’s a technique I learned while dealing with misfits in the army.”

“I think he’s telling the truth. Hogg may be our man, but all we’ve got is his connection to brass knuckles. We’ll have to get Potter to turn on him.”

“I’m keepin’ these.” Boone held up the knuckles, then slipped them into his pocket. “What ya goin’ to do ’bout him?”

“We’ll have to keep an eye on Lemon to stop him from getting to Hogg.” McGiboney went to the door and beckoned. “I’m glad I brought two extra men. One of them will stay here and keep an eye on our Romeo friend. Does he really bed the married ladies in town?”

“I’ve been told that he does. Frequently.”

“The lucky little shit.” McGiboney stepped out the door and spoke to one of his men. While the marshals were conferring, Corbin and Boone left the studio and waited on the sidewalk.

“The sons-a-bitches killed Murphy. It’ll be a blow to Annabel. He’s all she’s got,” Boone said with a sad shake of his head.

“You’re wrong. She’s got me now. If it’s true he’s been killed, we’ll have to help her get through it.”

Chapter
28

M
ARLYS PERKINS, the doctor’s wife, took Annabel in to see Spinner. Had she not been told who he was, she would have been hard-pressed to recognize him.

“Spinner?” she said softly. “Oh, Spinner, I’m so sorry this happened to you.”

“Howdy, youngun.” His cut and puffed lips barely moved when he spoke. His bony nose was swollen to twice its normal size.

“The doctor thinks you’ll be all right.”

“They was dead set on bringin’ me here. Ya know how Boone is when he gets his neck bowed.”

“I know. He was right this time.”

“I’da been all right. That ride pert-near killed me.”

“Did Jack tell you that Corbin and I are married?”

“He told me. Ya needed a steady man, youngun. I ain’t seen him but a time or two. But he seemed like he could stand up to Murphy.”

“He is steady, Spinner. I hope Papa will like him.”

Mrs. Perkins came into the room with a small glass of water and held a straw to Spinner’s mouth.

“This will let you sleep for a while. When you wake up, I’ll bring you something to eat.”

“If it’s beefsteak, you’ll have to get the dog to chew it for me.”

“It won’t be beefsteak. It may be beef broth.”

He made a derisive sound. “Tess is been jammin’ me full of that stuff.”

“Good for her. It may have saved your life.”

“Tess and I will be close by.” Annabel leaned down and placed a kiss on Spinner’s forehead.

“Thanky for that, youngun. Hit’s been a spell since I been kissed by a pretty girl.”

“Then we’ll have to do it more often.”

Annabel went back into the room where Tess waited. “How is Leroy?”

“He’s better. Much better. But I didn’t tell him about Marvin. I told him that I wasn’t going back home, that I was staying with Boone.”

“What did he say?”

“He said he didn’t want to go back there either.”

“Where is Jack?”

“Sitting out on the steps.”

Annabel leaned back in the chair. The thought came to her that all down through history it had been the woman’s fate to wait for her man to come back from the wars. What Corbin and Boone were involved in was a war … of sorts. And she could only pray that her papa was not already a casualty.

They waited until the only clerk Potter employed left the store to go home for dinner. Then Marshal McGiboney sent his deputy into the drugstore to signal to them when Potter was alone.

When the two marshals, Boone and Corbin entered the store, Corbin closed the door, shot the steel bolt and turned the “Closed” sign facing the street.

“Mr. Appleby, good to see you again. What can I do for you gentlemen?” With a friendly smile on his face, the dapper little gray-haired man came from behind the prescription counter.

“There’s a good deal you can do, Mr. Potter.”

“I’ll help you in any way I can. How is your charming wife?” Potter glanced nervously at the strangers who had moved to surround him.

“Alive and well.”

Led by Bill McGiboney, the four men began to crowd Potter into the back room.

“What’s going on here? Gentlemen, my clerk has gone to dinner. I must watch the store.”

“You won’t have any customers,” Corbin said. “I locked the door.”

“I … I don’t understand.”

“You will shortly.”

“Is this a … holdup? There’s the safe. It’s open.” Sweat had popped out on Potter’s face. His rosy cheeks became rosier.

“We’re not after your money. I’m Federal Marshal Bill McGiboney.” The marshal produced his badge. “This is Missouri State Marshal Sanford. You know who the other two gentlemen are. My deputy is at your front door.”

“How do I know that you’re a marshal? You don’t look like one. Explain yourself, please.” Mr. Potter tried to draw a cloak of dignity about him.

“Be glad to. We understand that you have connections with the George Remus operation in Chicago.”

“Remus? Who is that?”

“You’ve never heard of him? That’s strange.”

“Why … would I? Where did you get the idea … that … I know him?” Potter stammered.

“From a couple of fellows out of Chicago who say that Remus pays you a pretty penny to keep this area clear for him. You inform him of the competition, and he blows them away.”

“That’s the … silliest thing I ever heard of. Who … said that?”

“Lester and Benny. You know who I’m talking about.”

“I never heard of anybody named Lester and Benny.”

“Your memory is short, Potter.” Corbin could hardly keep his hands off the man. “Yesterday you told Lester to kill Marvin Carter. When he did, you told him it was good shooting. Then you said for him not to get a big head because anyone could hit the side of a barn.”

Potter’s face went white and still after his jaw dropped. The expression of utter surprise on hearing his own words repeated back to him would have been funny if it were not such a serious matter.

“Why … that’s … that’s a lie!” Potter looked pleadingly at the marshal.

McGiboney shrugged and looked at Corbin. “The man says you’re a liar.”

“Are you calling me a liar?” Corbin moved forward and towered over the shorter man.

“No, no. You’re mistaken, is all. I don’t know how those men could say … such things. I don’t even know them.”

“You lying little shit-head. Isn’t that what Marvin Carter called Lester just before you told Lester to kill him?” Corbin’s hand leaped out and fastened on Potter’s shirt so fast it threw the shorter man off balance. Only Corbin’s hold kept him on his feet.

“My wife, the former Miss Donovan, and I were in the hayloft out at the Donovans’. We could see and hear everything that happened in the yard below. We saw you drive in, saw you go through the house, saw you waiting for Benny and Lester. We heard you say that you were in charge, that they had botched the job they had been sent to do and it had cost the boss fifty thousand dollars’ worth of whiskey.”