He didn’t think Hammersmith could take too much more prodding. The man’s temper was too hair trigger for that. And now Frank had put Hammersmith on notice, as he had done with Munro, that he wasn’t going to stop investigating until he had the evidence he needed against them.
Now it was just a matter of time.
Chapter 25
Hammersmith was so furious at Morgan—and so worried that the marshal would make good on his promise to get the evidence he needed—that he didn’t even think much about Jessica Munro during his ride into town later that day. He was looking forward to possibly seeing her again, but today her loveliness didn’t fill his thoughts the way it often did.
No, the image in his brain now was that of Frank Morgan, dead and shot full of holes.
Unfortunately, that was never going to happen in a stand-up gunfight, and Hammersmith knew it. He was deadly with his fists and a fair shot with a rifle or a shotgun, but he couldn’t handle a revolver worth spit. He knew as well that he couldn’t hope to match Morgan’s blinding speed. If he had tried to bring that rifle up during the confrontation this morning, Morgan would have killed him without blinking an eye. Hammersmith was well aware of that, and so he had struggled mightily to control his temper.
He didn’t want to come that close to dying again any time soon.
Still, he was convinced that Morgan had to be dealt with. The marshal had to go. Otherwise, Hammersmith and Munro ran the risk of Morgan finding someone who would testify against them. That was unlikely but not impossible, and the threat of prison or a hanging was great enough to convince Hammersmith that action was necessary.
Now he just had to see to it that Munro felt the same way. He brought his horse to a stop in front of the old hotel Munro had taken over for his headquarters, dismounted, and went inside.
At Hammersmith’s knock, Nathan Evers opened the door of Munro’s suite. The two men had been acquainted for several years, but that didn’t mean they liked each other. In fact, Hammersmith didn’t have much use for the prissy secretary.
He shouldered past Evers and said, “I need to see Mr. Munro.”
“He’s not here,” Evers said.
“Well, where is he?”
Evers shook his head. “I’m not sure. He said he was going to talk to several of the businessmen here in town. I think he plans to make offers to them for their establishments.”
“He wants to buy a bunch of stores?” Hammersmith asked with a frown.
“Mr. Munro believes in maintaining diversified financial holdings.”
Hammersmith grunted. “You mean he wants to own everything, not just the mine. He wants to turn Buckskin into a company town, so when the poor bastards who work for him have to buy anything, they’ll be giving their wages right back to him.”
“Mr. Munro is nothing if not a canny businessman,” Evers said with a shrug.
Hammersmith rubbed his jaw and frowned in thought. He wanted to talk to Munro about the problem of Frank Morgan, but he couldn’t wait around all day for the mining magnate. On the other hand, he had ridden all the way into town. He ought to get something out of the visit….
“Is Mrs. Munro here?” he asked.
“I believe so.”
“I’ll talk to her then,” Hammersmith declared.
It was the secretary’s turn to frown. “What business do you have with Mrs. Munro?”
“That’s between her and me,” Hammersmith snapped.
The two men glared at each other for a moment before Evers gave in—as Hammersmith had known he would. “Just a moment,” he said.
He went to the door of the suite’s other room and knocked on it. When Jessica Munro answered, Evers said, “Mr. Hammersmith would like to speak with you, ma’am.”
The door opened. Jessica wore a green silk dressing gown that looked good on her. She smiled and said, “What can I do for you, Mr. Hammersmith?”
She was so lovely she took his breath away, as usual. He managed to say, “I, uh, have an important message about the mine that you can pass along to your husband if you’d be so kind, ma’am.”
“If it has to do with business, you could have told me,” Evers said.
Hammersmith bared his teeth and said, “I’d rather speak to the lady.”
“It’s all right, Mr. Evers,” Jessica said. “I’m glad to help Hamish with his business. He never lets me do anything really important.” Her full red lips pursed in a little pout that made Hammersmith’s heart thud even harder. “Why don’t you go downstairs to the kitchen and get some coffee for us?”
Evers looked reluctant to leave them alone. “Are you sure you want me to do that, ma’am?”
“I’m certain.”
He sighed and nodded. “All right then.” He looked at Hammersmith and added, “I’ll be right back.”
When he was gone, Hammersmith grinned and said, “I don’t think that fella likes me very much.”
Jessica ignored that comment and asked, “Do you really want to talk to me about the mine, Gunther…or did you come for this?”
Just like that, she was in his arms, and her mouth met his with an eager urgency as he bent his head to hers. Her body molded against his, and he could feel every curve of it through the dressing gown.
When she pulled back from him after a long, intense moment, she said, “That will have to be enough to satisfy us both for now. I don’t think Nathan will be gone for very long.”
Hammersmith’s voice was rough with need as he said, “Are you sure?”
“Yes,” she said, her voice firm. It softened a little as she added, “But there’ll be another time, Gunther.”
He dragged in a deep breath in an attempt to get control of himself. He said, “I really did want to talk to Mr. Munro about some things. Can you tell him that Morgan was out at the mine again this morning?”
“You mean Marshal Morgan?” Jessica asked with a frown.
“Yeah. He was talking about that cave-in and the strike over at the Lucky Lizard.”
Jessica shook her head. “That doesn’t have anything to do with the Alhambra, does it?”
Hammersmith thought for a second about how to approach this, then said, “No, but Morgan’s got a burr under his saddle about it anyway. Everything bad that happens around here, he blames on me and your husband. I think Mr. Munro needs to know that Morgan’s still causing trouble.”
“But what can be done about that?”
Hammersmith’s massive shoulders rose and fell. “I wouldn’t know about that,” he said. “Mr. Munro handles all the problems like that. Just tell him about Morgan coming out there, and if he wants me to do anything about it, he can let me know.”
“All right.” She gave a little laugh. “I’m glad I don’t have to worry about all these things. I just don’t have any head for business at all.”
“Well, that doesn’t matter,” he assured her. “You’ve got me and your husband looking out for you.”
“That’s right.” She rubbed her hand up and down his arm. “And I know I can count on you, can’t I, Gunther?”
He swallowed hard. “Yes, ma’am. You sure can, Mrs. Munro.”
“Oh, I think when we’re alone, you can call me Jessica. Would you like that?”
He bobbed his head and said, “Yes, ma’am. I mean, Jessica.”
She pointed to a chair on the other side of the room. “Now, I think you should go over there and sit down, because I think I hear Evers coming back.”
Sure enough, by the time Hammersmith was seated in the chair Jessica had indicated, Evers was right outside the door. He came in carrying a silver tray with two cups of coffee on it. Jessica was all the way across the room, standing by the window. Judging by appearances, nothing improper had happened here while Evers was gone.
He looked suspicious anyway, and Hammersmith wondered if he would tell Munro about him being here alone with Jessica. Well, Munro either trusted Jessica or he didn’t—and any man with a young, beautiful wife like that shouldn’t trust her too much, in Hammersmith’s opinion. He had acted on impulse and couldn’t do anything about it now.