Hell Town

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.

And remembering the sweet warmth of Jessica’s lips and the pliant heat of her body, he wouldn’t change anything even if he could.

Except for maybe killing Frank Morgan before now. That he wished he had done.

When Hammersmith was gone, Nathan Evers asked, “What did he tell you, Mrs. Munro?”

“I believe that’s between Mr. Hammersmith and myself,” Jessica replied. She didn’t fully trust Evers, mostly because he had never acted the least bit interested in her as a woman. Any man like that had to have something wrong with him, as far as she was concerned.

It was a shame too, because he was rather handsome in a bespectacled way.

“If it has to do with the mine, I should be privy to the information as well,” Evers insisted. “I am Mr. Munro’s confidential secretary, after all.”

“If Hamish wants you to know something, he’ll tell you,” Jessica snapped.

She went back into the bedroom, leaving Evers fuming in the sitting room. As she sat down at the dressing table and began to brush her hair, like she usually did whenever she was worried or upset about something, she thought about what Hammersmith had told her.

This lawman Morgan was becoming a problem. Even though Hamish would never take her into his confidence, Jessica was convinced that her husband and Hammersmith were responsible for the explosion at the Crown Royal and the cave-in at the Lucky Lizard. Those were the sorts of things that Hamish would do, although Hammersmith would take care of all the details so that Hamish could keep his own hands clean.

Still, somewhere there might be some bit of evidence tying him to the sabotage, and if that connection ever came out, Hamish Munro would be ruined. He would wind up in prison or worse. Jessica had never planned to wait years before making her move, but she wasn’t sure if she was ready for Munro’s downfall just yet.

On the other hand, it would simplify things if the law did some of her work for her. If anything happened to Hamish, she would inherit his business empire. His first wife had died years ago, without ever having any children. Jessica was the only heir left. Of course, she was sure that Hamish would leave his lawyers in charge of everything…but they would just see how long that lasted. Men always underestimated her. She would wrest control away from those stuffy old attorneys in their suits before they knew what was happening.

“You’re getting ahead of yourself, Jessica,” she told her reflection in the mirror. “Nothing has happened to Hamish yet.”

Perhaps it was time to tilt the odds a little more in her favor.

From inside the marshal’s office, Frank had seen Hammersmith ride up to the hotel, dismount, and go inside. The burly mine superintendent had stayed in there for a while and then left. Frank could make a pretty good guess why Hammersmith had ridden into town. Hammersmith had come to warn Munro that Frank was pushing his nose in where it wasn’t wanted. Probably, he would have tried to talk Munro into sanctioning an ambush attempt, too, if Munro had been there.

Unfortunately for Hammersmith, Munro wasn’t at the hotel. Frank had seen him leave earlier, and he hadn’t come back yet.

A few minutes after Hammersmith rode off, Jessica Munro emerged from the hotel, wearing a long, dark blue skirt and a pale blue blouse. Frank saw her through the open door of the marshal’s office. She angled across the street, seemingly unaware of the avid stares directed toward her by most of the men she passed.

Frank realized to his surprise that she seemed to be heading for his office. He got to his feet.

Jessica stepped onto the boardwalk and came straight to the door. “Marshal,” she said as she paused there, “I’d like to talk to you.”

Frank came out from behind the desk and held out a hand. “Come on in and sit down, Mrs. Munro,” he said. “The furnishings aren’t fancy, but that chair’s not too uncomfortable.”

Jessica came in and sat down. Frank perched a hip on a corner of the desk and asked her, “What can I do for you, ma’am?”

“I’d like to talk to you about Mr. Hammersmith, the superintendent of my husband’s mine.”

Frank nodded. “Yes, ma’am, I know who he is. What about him?”

“I think…” She drew in a deep breath, making her breasts lift. Frank tried not to notice that, but he wouldn’t have been human if he hadn’t. “I think he’s been doing some things behind my husband’s back that aren’t in Hamish’s best interest.”

“How do you mean?”

“I believe he may have had something to do with the trouble at the other mines in the area. You know, that explosion at the Crown Royal and the cave-in and strike at the Lucky Lizard.”

Frank’s interest quickened. “You think Hammersmith was responsible for those things?”

“I…I don’t know. I think, from a few things he said, that he might have some connection with them.”

“But your husband wouldn’t know anything about any of that?”

Jessica stared at him, all wide-eyed innocence. “No, of course not. Hamish is an honest businessman, Marshal. He would never resort to unscrupulous tactics like that.”

Frank scratched at his jaw with a thumbnail. “Why are you telling me this, ma’am?”

“Because I don’t want Hamish getting into any trouble for something that’s not his fault! If Mr. Hammersmith is responsible for what’s been happening at those other mines, I’m sure he’s doing it to help the Alhambra, but at the same time he’s been acting without my husband’s permission or knowledge. I don’t want Hamish being blamed for those things.”

“Does your husband know that you’re here?”

She shook her head. “No, certainly not, and I don’t want him to know. He doesn’t like for me to involve myself in his business affairs.” She laughed. “He says I shouldn’t worry my pretty little head about such things.” A look of concern appeared on her face. “You won’t tell him, will you? You can look into Mr. Hammersmith’s actions without Hamish having to know that I talked to you?”

“I reckon I can try to keep your name out of it,” Frank promised.

She sighed in relief. “Thank you, Marshal. I’m just trying to help Hamish, not get him angry.”

“I can understand that, what with you being his wife and all.” Frank stood up. “Is there anything else I can do for you?”

“No, I don’t believe so. You will try to find out what Mr. Hammersmith has been up to?”

“Yes, I will.” Frank didn’t tell her that he had already suspected Hammersmith before she ever came over here. He didn’t share her conviction that her husband was blameless in the matter, though. But she didn’t have to know that.

Jessica stood up and offered him her hand. “Thank you, Marshal. You don’t know what a load this is off my mind.”

“Might be a good idea not to say anything to Mr. Munro about Hammersmith,” Frank said as he took her hand. It was warm and supple. “Just let me look into it.”

“All right.” She smiled, making her face light up. “Good-bye, Marshal.”

Frank said good-bye and watched her walk out of the office. As he settled back down in his chair, he thought about what she had told him. The more he thought about it, the less sure he was that he believed anything she had said. Was she really so trusting that she thought Hammersmith would be carrying out that sabotage without her husband’s knowledge?

Just because she acted like a pretty, brainless fool didn’t mean she actually was one. Maybe she was trying to increase Frank’s suspicions not only of Hammersmith but of Munro as well. But why would she do such a thing?

Frank couldn’t answer that question just yet, but he was going to keep it in mind. It looked like Jessica Munro was playing some sort of game of her own. She might turn out to be just as dangerous as her husband and Hammersmith.

And the female of the species, Frank reminded himself, was often deadlier than the male….