The offices of Anstel & Joyner were located in the newer section of Joplin’s business district. They were housed in a wide building with three floors, which made them slightly larger than the bank which was directly across the street. Black carriages were lined up in front of the building, tended by drivers who knew better than to say a word to the well-dressed men who walked in and out of the offices. They scowled at Deaugrey as he passed them, however. When he saw that, Deaugrey tipped his hat and ambled toward the front door.
“Do you have an appointment?” asked the barrel-chested man who greeted Deaugrey almost immediately upon entering the building.
“I certainly do,” Deaugrey announced. “And I’d hate to be late for it because of a well-meaning but troublesome lackey.”
The man was somewhere in his thirties, had short brown hair, spectacles and a narrow, bushy beard that was reminiscent of a goat’s. He raised one eyebrow and replied, “That’d be better than being late because you got tossed into the street and kicked beneath a set of wagon wheels.”
After giving that a moment’s consideration, Deaugrey said, “I suppose you’re right. The name’s Deaugrey Scott.”
There was a set of stairs nearby. Two men stood there. The one who descended them first had a solid build and was slightly taller than average. His round face was smiling at the moment but had the potential for something much darker. Salt and pepper whiskers covered his chin and most everything below the neck was covered in an expensive dark blue suit. “There he is!” he declared. “I was hoping you’d arrive.”
“Why wouldn’t I?” Deaugrey replied.
“I realize my invitation wasn’t exactly traditional.”
“The most recent invitation was fairly straightforward.” Looking past the first man toward the top of the stairs where Abraham Keyes stood, Deaugrey added, “It was the earlier introduction that left something to be desired.”
Keyes smirked without saying anything.
“Yes,” the man in the dark blue suit said. “But, considering the company you keep, you must understand why I’d be somewhat skeptical that you’d pay me a visit of your own accord.”
Deaugrey opened his arms wide as if he meant to embrace the well-dressed man who was now walking toward him. “Well, here I am. See how far a man can get just by asking nicely?”
The well-dressed fellow nodded and offered his hand. “I’ll tuck that lesson away for the future. I’m Preston Anstel.”
Shaking Anstel’s hand, Deaugrey said, “Pleased to meet you. Now let’s talk business.”
Anstel draped an arm around Deaugrey’s shoulders and steered him toward the stairs. “Since time is a precious commodity to every man, I’ll save both of ours by being blunt. I’m told that you’ve spent a fair amount of time in various sanitariums over the course of your years.”
“Fair is hardly a word I would use to describe that time,” Deaugrey said in a wounded tone of voice.
“Quite. Is my information correct?”
“It’s correct, Mr. Anstel,” Keyes said as the short procession passed him on the stairs. Falling in step behind them, he climbed the stairs while making less noise than a cat stalking an unsuspecting pigeon.
Deaugrey ignored Keyes and told the man beside him, “You are correct, sir.”
“Good,” Anstel replied. “Then I assume my information regarding you recently spending some of those unfortunate days in McKeag’s Sanitarium is also correct.”
“It is.”
“Excellent. I, myself, have never seen the inside of one of those places. Please don’t take that as an insult to you, but more of an admission of ignorance on my part.”
“If only more men were so willing to admit that very thing,” Deaugrey said wistfully.
As far as Deaugrey could tell, the second floor was filled mostly with shelves of books and an abundance of little desks where little men sat hunched while scribbling into large ledgers. There were hallways in the distance and several other doors, but he didn’t have a chance to see much more before they’d climbed to the much quieter third floor. Just past that landing was a single hall that extended all the way back to a large door. There were only six other doors along the way, three on each side.
Anstel led the way to the second door on the left side of the hall, opened it and stepped inside. When Deaugrey paused before following, Keyes shoved him forward. The room was sparsely furnished, but comfortable. Its floor was carpeted. Two of its walls were papered. All three chairs situated there were padded. The shelves on the other two walls were filled with leather-bound volumes marked only with dates and Roman numerals.
Standing beside one of the chairs, Anstel propped an arm upon its backrest as if he were posing for a portrait beside his favorite Arabian stallion. “While you were in McKeag’s,” he said after the lengthy pause he’d taken to enter the room, “did you have the opportunity to visit with any of the other . . . guests?”
“A few,” Deaugrey said.
“What about a young woman by the name of Melanie Cavett?”
Deaugrey tapped his chin as he thought. He then lowered himself into one of the chairs, crossed his legs and turned his eyes upward as if to ponder the designs that had been etched into the wood trim along the upper corners of the room. “You know what might jog my memory? A glass of brandy.”
“How about a knock to the head?” Keyes asked.
“You’ll have to pardon my associate,” Anstel told Deaugrey. “He is rather straightforward.”
“He’s also had his chance to do things his way,” Deaugrey pointed out. “And he made a mess of it.”
“He did at that,” Anstel replied while shooting a pointed glare at Keyes. “Abraham, fetch us both a glass of brandy, will you?”
Keyes stalked out of the room.
Once the door had been shut most of the way behind the lean gunman, Deaugrey asked, “Were you the one who sent him to that mining camp?”
“Yes,” Anstel replied curtly. “But his orders were merely to bring you back here. I was quite dismayed when I heard how he attempted to accomplish his task.”
Although Deaugrey didn’t believe that for a second, he said, “It’s nice to have a conversation with someone like yourself, Mr. Anstel. Or . . . should I call you Preston?”
“Either is fine with me. Now, does the name Melanie Cavett sound at all familiar?” When Deaugrey began tapping his chin again, Anstel asked, “What about Casey Pescaterro?”
“Now that name does strike a chord.”
“I thought it might. He is one of many men who will lead the charge against you. I daresay they won’t be nearly as civilized as myself when they come calling.”
Putting on a convincingly puzzled expression, Deaugrey asked, “Whatever would a known murderer like Pescaterro want with me?”
“He works for the Western Cartage Company. They have their spies throughout this town in an effort to cripple me and my prosperous business. Since you are now a guest of mine, thugs like Pescaterro and his ilk will tear after you just as viciously as they have torn after me.”
“If only there was some way I could be protected from such a terrible fate,” Deaugrey said drily.
Anstel grinned like a child who knew he had every adult that mattered wrapped around his little finger. “I’ll admit, offering my protection is something I’ve done plenty of times in situations like this. However, considering your circumstances, I’d say you’re already in need of a more secure arrangement. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be here talking to me. Am I right?”
Keyes reentered the room carrying a half-full brandy glass in each hand. He gave one to Anstel and the other to Deaugrey.
Swirling the liquor in the curved glass, Deaugrey sniffed it and then took a healthy sip. “Ahh. This does seem to jog my memory. I believe I did meet a certain girl named Melanie while I was in McKeag’s house of horrors. Short in stature. Long, strawberry blond hair. Green eyes and quite a generous pair of—”
“That’s her,” Anstel cut in. “Was she still incarcerated the last you saw her?”
“Oh my, yes. The demons plaguing her aren’t going to be letting go anytime soon.”
“Then perhaps you might also know where patients at McKeag’s are taken when they become particularly troublesome?”
Deaugrey took another sip of brandy. “I might.”
“Would you care to include that as part of our civilized conversation?”
“Not for free. After all, isn’t commerce the height of civilization?”
Anstel’s face was an unreadable mask. Not a single feature twitched as he said, “My associate Mr. Keyes could always take you into another room and start breaking your bones until you tell me what I asked for.”
“That wouldn’t be very civil.”
“Neither would some of the other things I could come up with. But, that’s where we are if you want to stonewall me.”
“Just coming here is a risk,” Deaugrey said.
“You think your friend Nathan Sathow would try to kill you?”
“He doesn’t appreciate it when his partners go behind his back.”
“If it’s money you want, I can offer you a tidy sum for telling me where next to look for Melanie Cavett,” Anstel announced. “You see, she is no longer at McKeag’s and I suspect she’s been moved to an alternate location. Oftentimes, doctors have connections to more than one sanitarium, or there might be another place where the difficult patients are kept. I could eventually find this information out for myself, but I need to know right away. If you can provide me with this information, I can make it worth your while.”
“How much are we talking about?” Deaugrey asked.
“Five hundred dollars and a ticket to anywhere you like as long as it’s a suitable distance away from Joplin.”
“I’ve got a better idea. Why don’t you keep your money? It’s really not that hard to come by and I’d rather have something else.”
Although he didn’t show any surprise, Anstel did seem genuinely interested the moment his offer of payment was refused. “What would you like?”
“Start by telling me why this idiot here tried to shoot me,” Deaugrey said while flicking a hand toward Keyes, “when you could do the same thing very easily right now in this very room.”
“And perhaps you could tell me why you came to this room,” Anstel said, “when you must have been fairly certain that Mr. Keyes would be here.”
“I didn’t know anything of the sort,” Deaugrey lied. As far as he could tell, his deception landed perfectly on everyone within earshot. “I know that your company and Western Cartage are locked in some sort of pissing contest, which means there’s good opportunity for money to be made. When I came here yesterday, I merely asked to speak to the man in charge because I thought I could provide my services and get rich in the process.”
“Rich? That depends on how far you’re willing to go.”
“What do you need her for?”
“Melanie Cavett is the sister of Samuel Cavett, the founder of the Western Cartage Company.”
“Ahh,” Deaugrey sighed. “So you want to find the buxom Miss Melanie for use as leverage against your competitor.”
Anstel’s nod was barely visible. Just another subtle nuance, like the bend of a single wisp of flame within a roaring fire, but Deaugrey’s ever-searching eyes picked it up.
“One thousand,” Deaugrey said while letting the brandy glass dangle between two fingers. “Pay me that much right here and now and I’ll not only tell you where Melanie was taken, I’ll have her brought to you.”
Anstel’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. “Why would you do that?”
“Because you’re paying me.”
“How could you do that?” Keyes asked.
“Let’s just say Melanie and I were—are—more than just acquaintances,” Deaugrey said. “When a woman as sweet as that one comes your way, any man should hang on to her.” Licking his lips, he added, “And there are so many places on her that are just made for a man to hang on to.”
Holding the brandy under his nose, Anstel drew a breath that was long enough to fill every bit of his lungs with the liquor’s fragrance. His eyes stared straight ahead, but were clearly focused on nothing. His thoughts rolled around behind them before finally settling in the place they needed to be. “You’ll get half now,” he said after he’d snapped his focus back onto Deaugrey. “Half after you bring her here. I’ll need to get a look at her to make absolutely certain she’s the young woman I require.”
“Of course. How long has it been since you’ve seen her?”
“A while.”
Deaugrey winced. “You should know that spending time in any sanitarium will change a person. Both physically and spiritually.”
“I don’t give a damn about her spirit,” Anstel said. “Just bring her to me.” He walked over to one of the bookshelves and removed two wide volumes that looked to have been cut vertically so they were shorter than their neighbors. That way, they could fit on the shelf without hanging over while also covering the large handle hidden behind them. Anstel pulled the handle, which brought the entire shelf swinging outward on well-oiled hinges. Behind the shelf were not one, but four safes arranged two across and two high. Both safes on the top were similar and didn’t seem extraordinary in the slightest. The one on the bottom left was taller and wider than the rest, mostly due to its walls, which looked thicker than the top two combined. The safe on the bottom right struck Deaugrey as downright peculiar. He caught sight of something etched into one corner of that one before Anstel opened one of the top safes and withdrew a stack of cash.
“Here you go,” Anstel said as he closed the safe and spun the dial. “As I’m sure you’ve seen, I’m good for the rest and plenty more. If you prove to be a valuable enough asset in the days to come, I can indeed make you rich.”
“If not,” Keyes said, slapping his hand down onto Deaugrey’s shoulder, “I can make you dead.”
Deaugrey took the money and flipped through the stack while taking a long sniff. “Nothing smells better.” With a grin, he added, “Except for certain bits and pieces of my dear Melanie.”
Anstel’s face remained a wall with no cracks. “Just bring her here.” With that, he got up and walked out of the room. Once in the hall, he told someone, “Get him out of here,” and walked away.
Before he knew what was happening, Deaugrey’s glass was taken away. He was pulled from his chair and then shoved toward the stairs. He glanced over his shoulder and smirked at Keyes. “How’d you find me?”
“You came to us, remember?” Keyes replied.
“Not here. Back at that mining camp. How’d you find me?”
“Your friend Sathow and I have some history. I was already at that camp on other business when I saw him riding through there. He was preoccupied with something or other, but called you by name. He had to say it loudly because you couldn’t take your eyes off of one of the whores trying to draw cowboys in off the street. I’ve seen that look in men’s eyes plenty of times before. This time, it told me if I wanted to find you, all I had to do was keep an eye on that tent full of whores and you’d come along sooner or later. I was fairly certain it would be sooner.”
“That doesn’t explain why you put on such a display when you interrupted me in that cathouse,” Deaugrey said while he and Keyes walked down the stairs. “Whatever history you had with Sathow doesn’t explain that.”
“You’ve had a price on your head well before making that escape from the nuthouse,” Keyes told him. “The word of your recent liberation was put out through several counties, and it caught my attention since I know you’ve worked with my friend Nate Sathow.”
Deaugrey could only guess at the sort of hell that would show in Nate’s eyes if he knew Keyes had just referred to him as friend.
They were on the ground floor now and Keyes continued pushing Deaugrey along until they’d both stepped outside. “I wanted to put a bullet through your head,” Keyes said in a voice that sounded like it had been dragged through a mess of wet gravel. “After what you pulled all throughout Linn County, the authorities didn’t much care if you were brought in alive or dead.”
“That was a memorable couple of weeks,” Deaugrey mused.
“When he heard about you breaking out of McKeag’s, Mr. Anstel got word to me the very next day that I should try to get to you as soon as possible. Between that and the reward being offered, I thought I should keep my eyes open. To be honest, I didn’t really think I’d find you. Stumbling upon Sathow at that camp was a bit of luck. You being there with Sathow was an even nicer bit of luck.”
That was a bit too much luck for Deaugrey’s liking, but he wasn’t about to let on. “Well, I appreciate you being so forthright with me.”
Keyes filled the doorway with his tall frame and imposing stance. One hand was hooked over his gun belt and the other rested upon his holstered pistol. “Don’t be too sentimental. There ain’t nothing you can do with what I told you, and it was the quickest way to shut you up. Besides,” he added as he stepped back and started closing the door, “you, Sathow and plenty of others I don’t much care for will be dead soon anyways.”