Frank’s first impression of Deadwood was that it was dusty and crowded. The streets were lined with tents, with people selling everything from whiskey to mining tools to baths. Frank saw hordes of prospectors sifting through mud and rocks in metal trays, no doubt looking for gold. New construction was going up everywhere.
One merchant pushed a live chicken right in front of Frank’s face. “Chicken, mister?”
“No, thanks,” Frank answered.
By far, most stores and tents were selling prospecting supplies like picks, pans, and shovels. It was a street full of commotion, and Frank and Bill had to work hard to weave through the crowds without being accidentally struck by a pickaxe. There was obviously gold on the brain here. One man was even carrying a chamber pot, which Frank didn’t know what to make of. A second man came by with a chamber pot.
“What’s with the commodes?” Frank asked.
The man tilted his head back. “New hardware store running a special,” he said. “You need a new commode?”
“No,” Frank said. “But I need information. You know a fellow by the name Swearengen?”
“Everyone knows Swearengen, but she ain’t no fellow. That’s the lady who runs the Gem.”
“A lady? The Gem?”
“Yep. It’s right smack in the middle of town. You can’t miss it. Just look for the painted ladies out front.”
Unfortunately, there were painted ladies out in front of most of the buildings in town.
“Thanks,” Frank said. He and Bill walked some more and sure enough, there was the Gem. And sure enough, there were the ladies, advertising their wares on a balcony out front.
And sure enough, someone was trying to shimmy up a post on the side of the building and sneak in through a window.
And sure enough, Frank would know that tailored dress and long brown hair anywhere. Even from behind.
“That. Is. Annie,” Frank said. His heart leapt.
George snapped his head. Where’s Annie?
“She’s climbing up that wall. What in carnation is she trying to do?”
“Do you mean tarnation?” Bill asked.
“I always thought it was carnation,” Frank said. “Anyway, it doesn’t matter, because that. Is. Annie.”
Bill tipped his hat up and squinted. “It can’t be. What would a girl like Annie be doing in a place like this?” he said.
“I don’t know. And how did she get here so fast?”
“Can’t be her,” Bill said, but we’ve established that his eyesight wasn’t what it used to be.
The two men crossed the street and went around to the side of the building to get a closer look, where the girl was still shimmying up the post. She was most definitely Annie.
She hadn’t made it very far. She sure as heck would never reach the window, at least not by nightfall.
“Annie?” Frank called out.
“Hang on, I’m almost—” She froze and then turned her head slowly to see Frank and Bill. “Frank!” she exclaimed. “Mr. Hickok! When did you get here?”
“Just now.”
“Me too,” Annie said.
“And you’re already breaking and entering?” Frank couldn’t help but smile.
“Not yet, but if all goes well, I soon will be,” Annie said cheerfully.
“I’ve got news for you,” Frank said. “It’s not going well.”
Annie looked up at the window and sighed.
“Won’t you come down here and talk to us?” Bill asked.
“I can’t. I have a job to do,” Annie said.
Bill and Frank exchanged glances. What job could Annie possibly want at a brothel?
“Oh, calm down. It’s not that kind of job,” she said.
Well, that was a relief. But it didn’t explain what she was doing here. “Please come down,” Frank pleaded.
“Okay, fine.” She shimmied down and dusted off her dress. “What would you like to know?”
“Start with why you’re trying to break in.”
Annie clasped her hands together. “So I was taking a walk in the woods, definitely not thinking about anyone in particular, when I ran into a Lakota girl, who made an unfortunate joke about pee, and then we ran into a bear, who, I might add, we fought bravely, although you can’t really fault the bear for being aggressive because she had cubs with her.”
Annie’s eyes were bright, and she was gesturing animatedly with her hands. She was so cute when she told a story. Frank remembered why he had fallen in love with her in the first place.
Bill looked worried. “How did you fight off a bear?”
“Well, most of our efforts went into not looking like food, and not smelling like food, and there was a lot of waiting in a tree.”
“Wow,” Frank said. “I guess that bear really had it coming. So is she staying at the Gem? Is that why you’re breaking in? To finish off the bear?”
“No, I—” Annie started to protest and then smiled. “I see. You’re being funny.”
Frank felt his face getting red. “I was trying to be funny, anyway.”
“Yes. That was hilarious. So, back to my story, Many Horses—that’s the Lakota girl’s name—got to talking and she told me that there’s a nefarious villain here by the name of Swearengen who’s been turning people into garou and then mind-controlling them. I know, right? Swearengen is obviously the Alpha you’ve been hunting. And Swearengen is holding Many Horses’s sister hostage. So she asked me to help, and that’s why I’m here.”
Frank and Annie stared at each other in silence.
“Wow, that was a long story,” Bill said.
“I think it’s safe to say I’ve solved the mystery of the Alpha,” Annie said proudly.
Frank opened his mouth to tell her that actually he’d solved the mystery, back on the train, but he stopped himself. Annie loved winning.
“Anyway,” Annie continued breathlessly. “It’s good to see you.”
Frank wanted to ask her if she was sure about that, considering how they’d parted ways, and considering that she knew he was a garou, but instead, he said, “Why don’t you use the front door?”
She tilted her head. “A girl like me in a place like that? I’d stick out like a sore thumb.” She gestured to her long sleeves and high-neck collar. “Not the thing you want to do when you’re doing reconnaissance.”
From what he’d seen of Deadwood, Annie would stick out like a sore thumb everywhere.
“You have a point,” Frank said. “How about Bill and I go in first and check things out? If we see any sign of your friend’s sister, we’ll let you know.”
“You would do that for me?” Annie asked.
Frank nodded.
“We’d do it for us,” Bill clarified. “We’ve been hunting the Alpha for a long time. If it’s Swearengen, our job is almost done.”
And then Bill would retire. Frank sighed and turned his attention back to Annie. “You never told us why you’re here, though.”
“I did tell you. I’m here to break into the Gem.”
“He means why are you in Deadwood?” Bill said.
She glanced shyly at Frank. “Oh, um, I wanted to get my ten dollars back from Jane. Do you know where she is?”
Frank shook his head. “Not yet. But she’s probably around here somewhere. Or she will be.”
“Why would she even come here in the first place?” Annie asked.
Frank scratched the back of his neck. Annie had traveled all this way, and sure, she was being nice to Frank, but she probably hadn’t changed her mind about the garou. After all, she came here for Jane. Or at least Jane’s ten dollars. Which also didn’t make sense, because she’d probably spent more than that getting here.
Maybe Annie just needed some friends. But if she found out the truth about Jane . . .
“Jane wanted some time away,” Frank said. “She’s done this before—taken off on us. She calls it her restless soul.”
Of course, this was a big fat lie. Jane had never wanted time away from the gang.
“Deadwood isn’t that big,” Frank said. “We’ll run into her eventually. For now, Bill, let’s go check out the Gem and see what we can find out about this Swearengen.”
“We need to be very careful,” Bill said.
“I’m always careful.” Frank grinned at Annie. “I’m the most careful out of everyone in my whole family.”
Which was not even close to true.
Ten minutes later, Bill and Frank sauntered into the Gem and quickly realized there was nowhere safe to look. Scantily clad women decorated every nook and cranny of every room. Annie was right. If she had come in, it definitely would’ve raised suspicion.
They snooped around for a while, but didn’t see anything that was out of the ordinary for a brothel, or any obvious garou or outright villainy. “What now?” Frank asked.
Bill smoothed his mustache. “Let’s see if we can locate this Swearengen fellow. I want to get a look at his face.”
Frank’s heart started beating fast. “Are you sure that’s wise?”
“Wise? Nah. But I’ve come to this conclusion in life, son: The boldest plan is the best and the safest.”
Frank wasn’t sure he agreed. A few men had already recognized Bill. They were whispering excitedly among themselves.
“We need to move fast,” Bill said. “It won’t be long before the whole town knows I’m here.”
“Maybe we should have sent Annie,” Frank said.
One of the girls approached them. She was dressed in a white slip with a matching corset over top. “You looking for company, handsome?” she purred.
“Where would we find the owner of this fine establishment?” Bill asked.
Frank wondered if his use of the term fine establishment was a bit loose.
“Al’s in the back,” she said curtly, less friendly now that she knew she wouldn’t be getting paid. She smiled at a man at the bar. “You lookin’ for company?”
“I guess we’ll find our own way,” Frank said. They headed toward the back, to what looked like an office. Presumably Swearengen’s office.
“You look in there first,” Bill directed. A solid plan, since Bill couldn’t see.
Frank paused by the doorway, his shoulders to the wall, and leaned over quickly to peek inside. Then he froze. Because he saw Jane.
“Jane!” he whispered. She was reclined in a chair, her feet up on the desk. Frank smiled, relieved. He would have walked in and thrown his arms around her right then and there, but Bill grabbed his sleeve and pulled him back. Bill put a finger to his lips.
“But it’s Jane,” Frank hissed.
“Jane and who?” Bill replied.
Oh, right.
Frank inched over a ways to get a look at who Jane was talking to.
“It’s a woman,” he reported to Bill.
Bill relaxed a little. “So not Swearengen.”
“But she’s wearing a top hat,” Frank said warily. He’d learned his lesson about people in top hats.
“That’s not helpful,” scoffed Bill. “What else? Does it seem like Jane’s a prisoner?”
Frank checked. Jane was smiling. He hadn’t actually seen her smile like that since the night of the factory. “Nope, she looks pretty comfortable.”
“Does she appear to be brainwashed?”
“How does a person appear brainwashed?” Frank retorted.
“Well, what’s she saying?”
“Stop talking to me, and I’ll listen,” Frank said. Garou had excellent hearing, after all. He crept closer.
“That sounds very nice,” Jane was saying. There was something different about her voice. It was higher-pitched, maybe? And her tone was more respectful than he’d ever heard Jane talk to anybody. Maybe she was under a thrall.
“You’ll take a room upstairs,” said the top hat lady.
“That would be delightful,” said Jane.
Oh my gosh, she’d used the word delightful. Something was definitely wrong.
“And you’ll take all of your meals with me,” the woman said. “Breakfast, dinner, and supper.”
“Of course,” agreed Jane. She was being awfully agreeable.
“And I’ll have some tasks for you to do from time to time,” continued the woman. “A few odd jobs.”
“Whatever you need, Al,” said Jane. “I’ll do it.”
Frank’s breath caught. Al.
“I think the woman might be Al Swearengen,” he muttered to Bill. “And Jane just promised to do whatever she wants!”
“What? A woman?” Bill frowned. “Let me see. Switch spots with me.”
Frank didn’t know what good that would do, but he obediently traded places with his father. Bill peeked into the room. Then he stiffened and pulled his hat down, shadowing his face.
“Do you know her?” Frank whispered.
Bill shook his head and backed away.
“I’m so glad you’ve come back to me,” the top hat lady was saying warmly.
“I’m glad, too,” said Jane.
“We need to get out of here,” Bill whispered urgently. “Now.”
“But Jane . . .”
“We’ll figure out what’s to be done about Jane later,” Bill said. “Let’s go.”
The two of them stepped outside.
“What’s going on?” Frank asked. “Was the woman Al Swearengen?”
“I think so,” said Bill darkly.
“And you know her?”
Bill didn’t answer. He was stroking his mustache again, obviously deep in thought.
“Do you think Jane already got the cure and she’s in Swearengen’s thrall?”
“I don’t know,” Bill said.
Right then the saloon doors swung open, and out stepped Jane with Swearengen.
“I’m gonna follow them and see what I can find out.” Bill tucked his long hair, his most recognizable feature, underneath his coat.
“I’m coming with you,” Frank said.
“No,” said Bill. “You go keep an eye on Annie in the alley, before she gets herself into trouble.” Then off he went to follow Jane and Swearengen.
Frank stared after him, puzzled. Then he returned to the alley where Annie, indeed, was trying to climb the post again.
“Annie, get down,” Frank said.
“Did you find Walks Looking?” Annie jumped down and brushed off her dress.
“Well, no. But we did find Jane.”
“Jane!” Annie exclaimed, her face lighting up. “How is she?”
“She seemed good,” Frank admitted. “But she might be in cahoots with Al Swearengen.”
Annie frowned. “What?”
“I don’t know. I’m pretty confused. Bill went after them.”
Annie seemed to make a decision. “Well, if Swearengen’s not in there, it will be safe to go in and look for Walks Looking. Be right back.”
Frank caught her hand. “You still can’t go in there, Annie.”
“Yes, I can,” Annie said.
“No, you can’t.”
“Yes, I can!” Annie argued. “I was tasked with finding my friend, or at least the sister of my friend, and that’s what I’m going to do. Don’t worry. I’m the best finder of lost things in my whole family.”
“Annie—”
“I’ve just got to figure out a way to get in without being noticed.”
Frank sighed. Clearly there was no talking her out of this, but he couldn’t let her go in there alone. “Wait,” he said. “I have an idea.”