She smiled sweetly.
“Um, okay, may I tell him who’s calling.”
“Sure. I’m Marshal Virgil Cole; this fellow here is my deputy, Everett Hitch.”
“Oh, well, okay. Just one moment, Marshal, Deputy.”
46
We watched as she walked back through the curtains and to the corner table where the men were playing poker. She leaned down and spoke to one of the men at the table. He turned and looked back at us. He looked to the others at the table, excused himself, and started walking toward Virgil and me. The piano player and the chanteuse started up another tune as Berkeley walked in our direction. Berkeley was a big man with big features, wearing an expensive suit. He had a thick head of curly hair slicked back with shiny oil. He came through the curtains and held out his hand.
“Burton Berkeley,” he said.
Virgil did not take his hand. I interceded and shook hands with Berkeley. I showed him my badge.
“I’m Deputy Everett Hitch; this is Marshal Virgil Cole.”
Virgil was looking through the curtains to the men at the poker table. They were looking at us.
“Well, this has been quite an evening here in Half Moon Junction,” Berkeley said. “Were you the lawmen on board?”
“We were,” I said.
He shook his head. “How, how in the hell did you get back to here?”
Virgil did not answer; he asked instead, “Where’s the governor?”
Berkeley looked back and forth between Virgil and me.
“Well, he’s safe, Marshal.”
“He’s not one of the fellows back there at the table looking at us, is he?” Virgil said.
Berkeley turned, looking at the men in the back room who were looking at us, and then turned back to us, shaking his head.
“No,” Berkeley said.
“Did he leave on the Denison?” Virgil said.
“No,” Berkeley said. “He is here.”
“At this hotel?”
“Yes.”
“His wife with him?” Virgil asked.
Berkeley put his hands to his hips holding back his suit coat.
“Yes, they retired. This is terrible. They were obviously in shock and, well, with their daughters in peril. Do you know anything about them, their whereabouts?”
The piano player kicked into a loud section of his already noisy tune, which annoyed the hell out of Virgil but provided him the opportunity to ignore Berkeley’s question. Virgil was not accustomed to, nor interested in sharing, details about anything to anyone, especially someone he just met with a white flower in his lapel.
“What about the other passengers on the train?” Virgil asked.
“Some, most, we were able to get on the Denison train back to Texas. There are a few I believe at the other hotels, wishing to depart tomorrow.”
“What about the robbers,” I said. “They had the horses from the stock car. Any sign of them?”
“No,” Berkeley said. “I’m afraid not. It’s my understanding when the coaches came to a halt, they told the passengers to wait until they were gone, out of sight, before anyone stepped off the train. That’s my understanding, anyway. I have no idea where they are. They most likely moved quickly away from the fray, but I honestly have no idea. What with dealing with the governor and the rest, I’m sorry, I just do not know. We did look for them. I had a few of my deputies look around. We had their descriptions, but we came up with nothing. There are a lot of men in this town.”
“The two back there, staring at us,” Virgil said. “That Lassiter and Hobbs?”
Berkeley turned, looking at the men. He turned back to Virgil and nodded slowly.
“Why, yes,” Berkeley said. “As a matter of fact, they are. That’s James Lassiter and Chester Hobbs.”
47
We ate pork chops with pepper gravy, corn, and cat-head biscuits covered with molasses. The pretty whore with the straight back and pointed shoulders smiled at me as she picked up my empty plate. Virgil lit a fancy cigar Berkeley gave him, and we listened to Mr. Lassiter and Mr. Hobbs tell us about their account of the evening. With the exception of learning about the large dollar amount of money the governor was carrying, so far Lassiter and Hobbs’ story coincided with what Emma and Abigail told us. Hobbs was wiry and angular, with thin hair and muttonchops. Lassiter was taller and handsome, with intense eyes. They both had gray hair and appeared to be close to sixty.
“We were en route for a business endeavor in the Indian Territories before we were tossed from the train,” Lassiter said.
Hobbs twisted a napkin like he was trying to get water out of it.
“It was a grueling walk back here,” Hobbs said. “I can tell you that. God knows I’ve got the blisters to prove it.”
Lassiter scoffed a bit.
“If it weren’t for the mule team traveling down from the camps, we’d still be out there,” Lassiter said.
“Yes, and thank God in Heaven,” Hobbs said. “No telling what might have happened to us.”
“No sooner than we got back,” Lassiter said, “and I wired ahead, the governor and the others arrived. Just the goddamnedest thing.”
“And thank God,” Hobbs said. “But now the poor girls are missing. I pray for their safe return.”
“What did you wire ahead?” Virgil said.
“Well,” Lassiter said, “alerting the way stations of the situation, of course.”
“The situation being?”
“Well, that we were being robbed,” Lassiter said, “and to notify authorities.”
“A heinous test of mettle all around,” Hobbs said, “not to mention the extravagance of the robbery.”
Virgil sat back in his chair, puffing on his cigar. He moved around some crumbs of biscuit on the table.
“You said a half a million dollars,” Virgil said. “That is a lot of money.”
Lassiter let out a whistle between his teeth. “Indeed it is, Marshal Cole,” he said. “Indeed it is.”
“It was,” Hobbs said. “A business endeavor that simply went awry.”
“Awry in the worst of ways,” Lassiter said.
Hobbs bobbed his head, concurring with Lassiter.
“Hell of an ordeal,” Hobbs said. “Hell of an ordeal.”
“Was that the extent of your wire?” Virgil said.
Lassiter squinted at the question like he didn’t like it.
“It was,” Lassiter said.
Virgil took a pull on his cigar. He blew out the smoke, and it swirled under the lamp hanging over the table.
“You send a wire to anybody else?” Virgil said.
Lassiter looked at Hobbs and shook his head.
“Like who?” Lassiter said.
“Texas law officials?”
“Did not,” Lassiter said.
“How come?”
“What do you mean?” Lassiter said.
“Just that,” Virgil said.
Lassiter looked at Hobbs.
“Your governor was on the train. His life in danger,” I said. “Just curious why you did not contact Texas Rangers or military.”
“Or other members of the Texas government,” Virgil said.
“There was no reason to alarm anyone,” Lassiter said, “until we knew what we were dealing with.”
“And now you know?” I said.
“Well, to some degree we do,” Lassiter said. “Yes.”
Virgil took another pull from his cigar and blew another roll of smoke across the table.
“How did this conductor fellow come to target the governor; you, Mr. Lassiter; and you, Mr. Hobbs?” Virgil said.
“What do you mean?” Lassiter said.
“Just that,” Virgil said.
“He got into the Pullman with you,” I said, “and ordered you to get your luggage down?”
Lassiter and Hobbs looked at each other and nodded in tandem.
Hobbs said, “That’s right.”