It took more than a little prodding, but Doc was finally convinced to get up from his seat After saying his farewells to the other gamblers, he took hold of a polished black cane that had been propped against the table and leaned on its silver handle as he walked. When he got to the bar, Doc produced a pair of twenty-dollar chips in his right hand before making them disappear again with a slight flourish. “I’ve been helping myself to these all night,” Doc said. “Those two on either side of me were playing so badly they never even noticed.”
“What’s with the cane?” Caleb asked.
Doc shrugged and then postured like an aristocrat in an old painting. “I find it makes me look distinguished.” After seeing that Caleb wasn’t impressed, he added, “It also makes things a bit easier on my rough days.”
Caleb knew better than to press Doc on matters regarding his health. Since Doc was clear-eyed and speaking without coughing, he knew the slender Georgian was doing as well as could be expected. “How long have you been in town?”
“Just a few days. I must say, I’m feeling a whole lot better since I’ve arrived. This mountain air does wonders.”
“Who’s Tom Mackey?”
“I am,” Doc replied with a smirk. “I thought you would have deduced that by now.”
“You took a new name?”
“It seemed prudent, especially after the way I left Fort Griffin.” All Doc had to do was nod at the barkeep for him to get a fresh glass of whiskey set in front of him. After taking a sip, Doc added, “It was a bit of a mess.”
“That sounds about how things have turned out around here.”
“Oh really? I take it you’ve crossed paths with the Tiger?”
“Yeah,” Caleb said. “His name’s Morris. Did you know there’s a price on our heads?”
Doc nodded. “I heard about that before I got here.”
“It made it back to Fort Griffin already?”
Doc nodded again. “I imagine so.”
“Jesus. This has got to stop. Otherwise, we won’t be able to play a game of solitaire anywhere near the circuit. Hell, we’ll be forced to run like outlaws once enough money-hungry cowboys get word of this.”
“Say what you want about the Tiger, but they certainly do have an efficient system in place.”
“Fine,” Caleb grunted. “We can just pay our taxes like everyone else and then get on with our business.”
“That’s fine talk from you. First you get shot by these animals and now you want to pay them for it.”
“And what the hell have you done, Doc? Besides drink a lot of whiskey and spout off at them, I mean.”
“I walked out of Jacksboro after someone tried to cash in on that bounty you mentioned. I’ll be damned if I’ll slink off somewhere and hope some group of extortionists forget about me. I’ve got a life to lead and don’t have that kind of time to waste in doing it.”
“You had some trouble in Jacksboro?” Caleb asked.
Doc nodded casually, but kept his mouth shut as the barkeep approached him. The big man had a friendly face, but arms thicker than tree trunks. Somehow, the burly man managed to clean off a glass without crushing it between his thick fingers.
“You still owe for that whiskey you’ve been drinking, Mr. Mackey,” the barkeep said.
“Oh, how forgetful of me,” Doc said, replying to his new alias without missing a beat. He produced one of his stolen chips and set it on the bar. “I believe that should cover it.”
“And then some. I’ll get your change.”
“Keep it. Just keep the drinks coming.”
The big man grinned and nodded. “Thanks, Mr. Mackey.”
“Please, call me Tom.” After the barkeep had moved on, Doc looked to Caleb and said, “That’s the sort of fellow I’d rather have on my side.”
“What happened in Fort Griffin?”
“You seem particularly nervous, Caleb. I’d like to know what happened here.”
Realizing that he wasn’t going to get any information out of Doc if he didn’t want it known, Caleb sighed and said, “Morris made it clear that the Tiger is through making threats and promises. They’re starting to play rough, and now Lottie’s nowhere to be found.”
“Lottie’s here?”
“She was. I went to her room and she was missing. Apparently, she was taken right from her hotel by a couple of men.”
Suddenly, all the humor that was such a natural part of Doc’s face was gone. “She’s been kidnapped?”
Caleb’s gut reaction was to say she had been. Before he could get the words out, however, he stopped himself and stared down at the bar. “From what I heard, a few men came to get her and she left with them. I’ve been tearing through town expecting to find a door that needed to be kicked down so I could charge in with guns blazing.”
“To save the fair damsel in distress,” Doc said as if to complete Caleb’s line of thought. “I never had you figured for the noble sort.”
“What about the stupid sort? That’s what I feel like right about now. For all I know, she’s got another game set up somewhere.”
“Or she’s having a word with the Tiger herself. She did, after all, know who to look for around here.”
Reluctantly, Caleb nodded.
“You must not have taken the Tiger’s threat too seriously,” Doc pointed out. “Otherwise, you wouldn’t have decided to come here and take in this fine establishment.”
“I got the message from you, Doc. That’s why I’m here.”
“Oh, that’s right. If it makes you feel any better, I haven’t heard a thing about Lottie or any terrible fate that might have befallen her. Still,” he added while swirling the whiskey around in his glass, “she has been known to partake in rather dubious company. We being the exceptions of course.”
“She’s been helping me,” Caleb said.
“Are you sure of that?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Doc shrugged and sipped his drink. “She’s been looking after her own interests for quite a while. She certainly didn’t have our well-being in mind at that game in Fort Griffin. I’m sure Mike would agree on that.”
“We’ve already been through that.”
“Fine, fine,” Doc grumbled. “She’s never been too hard to find before, so I doubt she will be now. There’s a few people we can ask about her whereabouts. That sure beats running up and down the streets hoping to catch a glimpse of red hair.”
Suddenly, Doc froze while lifting his glass to his mouth. The look of surprise on his face was something Caleb had rarely ever seen before. “Then again,” Doc said, “perhaps waiting for a glimpse of her was all we needed to do.”
Turning to see what had caught Doc’s attention, Caleb spotted Lottie at the front door of the Theatre. Caleb headed for the front door in a heartbeat, and the moment he got to her, he wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in her fragrant red hair.
“Where the hell have you been?” he asked.
“I just needed to talk to some friends.”
“Friends? I thought you were dragged out of that hotel.”
“The man at the desk said you were upset when I wasn’t there,” she replied. “He also said I could find you here.”
“Who were the men you left with?” Caleb asked. “What friends did you have to see?”
Rather than answer any of those questions, Lottie was staring back toward the bar. The sound of a cane knocking against the floor announced Doc’s approach seconds before he spoke up.
“Hello, Lottie,” Doc said. “Good to see you again.”
“Likewise, Doc. I didn’t know you were in Denver.”
Taking hold of her and forcing her to look directly at him, Caleb said, “You two can catch up later. I want you to answer my questions.”
“Why are you being so rough with me?” Lottie asked.
“Because Doc and I are being hunted down and you decide to disappear in the middle of it all. Who came to get you at the hotel?”
“He’s just an acquaintance of mine.”
“He’s still outside, isn’t he?” Even though he didn’t get a spoken answer to that question, Caleb could tell that he’d hit a nerve. Moving her toward the bar, Caleb told Lottie to stay put as he stomped out of the Theatre.
That left her and Doc facing each other. Although Doc wasn’t imposing himself in any way, the intensity in his eyes made Lottie feel as if they were the only two people in the room. She shifted on her feet, but couldn’t quite get herself to leave.
“Caleb’s not going to find anyone outside, is he?” Doc asked.
“I’m in here with you, Doc. How would I know what he’ll find?”
“Fair enough. Then let me ask you another question. Whose side are you on?”
Letting out a breath, Lottie straightened her back and looked Doc dead in the eyes. “I’m on my side. And if you try to come off like you’re any different, then you’re a damn liar.”
“I prefer to think of myself as a bluffer. A damn good one. The only problem is that you’re a damn good one yourself. Something else I know for certain about you is that you’re not the sort of woman who needs frequent rescuing. So where have you been that’s gotten Caleb so worked up?”
She paused for a moment and then took a quick glance over her shoulder toward the door. When she saw nobody coming in, she looked back to Doc and spoke in a more hurried voice. “I’ve had a little talk with Morris. He found me because I checked in with him to see where you and Caleb stood. Things are bad and they’re about to get worse.”
“What happened to you while you were there?”
“Nothing. We just talked.”
As Doc studied her, he could hear the front door opening and a set of angry footsteps stomping toward the bar.
“It’s too late for me to get out of this,” Lottie said quickly. “I know it’s too late for you. It’s not too late for Caleb. He can still set up another saloon somewhere instead of scraping out his living under the heels of men like Morris and Stakely.”
“Who’s Stakely?”
“He’s the one that intends on bringing all of this to an end so bloody that nobody will try to cross him or anyone else collecting his taxes ever again.”
As the steps came closer, Doc looked again, to see Caleb eyeing everyone in the Theatre as he made his way to Lottie’s side.
“Where did Stakely take you?” Doc asked in a rush.
“Babbitt’s.”
“There’s nobody out there,” Caleb said as he stepped up to the bar. “At least, nobody who doesn’t belong.”
“Why don’t you take her somewhere she can rest?” Doc asked. “Perhaps one of the rooms upstairs would be better than a hotel. I believe the management here is somewhat sympathetic to our situation.”
When she saw Doc looking at her, Lottie gave a quick, appreciative nod.
“I’ll check in with you later,” Doc said. “I have an appointment elsewhere.”