“Those Indians are long gone. They’ve been causing havoc all along the UP line. They’ve just been waiting for warmer weather to clear out and head up north to their hunting grounds. They’re probably in Canada by now.”
“Still, I must try, Mr. Evans. It’s important to understand why they did what they did. Why did they attack and kill helpless men and women?”
“Why do the Indians do any of their killing? They hate the white man. They don’t care if those men and women were helpless. Hate is a powerful force to reckon with, Mr. Porter. A powerful force.”
Granite Evans immediately called for Curtis and sent him with a note for Gus. “He should be at the warehouse. But if not, find him. Don’t leave it with anyone else.”
“Yes, sir,” Curtis said, hurrying out of the office.
Granite checked the clock, then poured himself a drink despite it not being noon yet. He slowly sipped the contents and wondered how long it would take Gus to get here.
As it turned out, Gus showed up much sooner than even Granite had expected. In fact, the man was so good at sneaking around that he had made entry into the house and into Granite’s office without anyone raising the alarm to let Granite know someone had gotten into the house.
“You wanted to see me?” Gus asked, moving to stand near Granite’s desk.
“Yeah, thanks for making it quick. I’ve had nothing but one problem after another.”
“What do you want me to do?”
“Get the things from the stagecoach attack and send them to Chicago. I made a big mistake and gave Laura the necklace that was removed from one of the women. Told her I had it custom-made for her. The dead woman’s brother recognized it as one he bought for his sister, and now he’s all up in arms to find the man who sold it to me.”
“Sold it to you, eh?” Gus shook his head. “Well, I can arrange for the stuff to leave Cheyenne tonight. No problems with that. There’s not all that much to see to. The rings, the pocket watches, a couple of fancy-made wallets, and a few other things that were probably meant to be gifts. It won’t be hard to get it out. My cousin Tilly has been hankerin’ to see her ma, who lives near Chicago. I figured when yougave the word, we could send the stuff with her. Her ma has brothers who can get it sold. Won’t cheat us. They’re family, and there’s a code.”
“The more I hear about your family, the more I like them. In fact, why don’t you crate up the other stuff we’ve collected from previous jobs. Take it all to Chicago. The real purpose of robbing that stage was the money box. The rest is just extra, and we need to get rid of the evidence. No sense in having someone find it and come after us. I’m not going to ruin my political ambitions on a handful of goods that might only bring in a few hundred dollars.”
“That’s a lot of money to some folks, Mr. Evans.”
Granite was surprised at the comment. Gus wasn’t one to share his thoughts unless directly asked for an opinion. Granite had always liked that about the man. He found it strange that now, out of the blue, Gus was worrying about money.
“You having financial troubles?”
Gus shrugged. “The family’s got some problems. Nothing we won’t work out.”
Granite nodded. “I tell you what. Take that stuff and make sure it never sees the light of day around here, and you can keep the profits. All of it. You’ve earned it. You and those cousins of yours have been a tremendous help to me.”
The look on Gus’s face said it all. “Thank you, Mr. Evans. You won’t regret it. My family knows how to be loyal. Ain’t a one of them ever betrayed another. It wouldn’t be tolerated. I’ll send Tilly as soon as I can. Tonight if possible.”
“Good. Then I’ll consider the stuff no longer my concern. Now get out. I have other work to see to. We’ve got a governor to kill.”
Gus smiled. “I’ll be anxious to hear what you have in mind.” With that, he exited as quietly as he’d entered.
Laura wasn’t surprised to return home from visiting Marybeth and Melody and find her father absent. She found him gone more and more these days. She had thought once the president made the gubernatorial appointment that Father would have more free time, but that didn’t appear to be the case. It seemed his business was consuming all his time. She didn’t know what he was doing but figured if he wasn’t working toward finding her a husband, she could live with his absence.
She’d barely made it to her room when a knock came on her door. Laura opened it and found Rosey.
“I heard you come in, Miss Laura. I’ve come to lay the fire for your evening.”
“Thank you, Rosey. I thought perhaps you were Etta coming to help me change my clothes.” Laura began taking off her gloves.
Rosey shook her head. “Etta quit. She went home not long after you left this morning. She was terribly upset.”
“About what?” Laura couldn’t imagine the housekeeper just up and quitting without notice. She set her gloves aside.
“I don’t know, Miss. She seemed afraid. But of what I couldn’t say. She came into the kitchen and told Mrs. Murphy and me that she was leaving and not coming back. She said there were troubles all around, but I don’t know what she meant by that.”
“I don’t either.” Laura knew Etta Duffy to be levelheaded and of sound mind. What could have upset her so much that she felt she had to leave her job here? “She needs the work. Her family depends on her.”
“I know, Miss.” Rosey finished with the wood and kindlingand lit the fire. It wasn’t long before the flames caught, and the dry wood began to burn.
