Louisiana Laydown

5

For nearly an hour, Fargo sat and listened while Tom Anderson told the story of his rise to power as the mayor of Storyville. He’d started off with the very saloon they were sitting in, and not long after, he’d added the “lady companions,” which seemed like an awful fancy way of saying whores, until Anderson explained that there were many wealthy men and tourists who came to New Orleans every day.

“Some come for business, or the horse races, or even to invest in the riverboat business,” Anderson said. “But all of them like to have sex and they’ll pay top dollar for the kind of girls I employ.”

“So what’s gone wrong?” Fargo asked.

Anderson sighed. “Everything,” he said. “First, Senator David Parker from Winn Parish—which borders this one—came in here, talking on the one hand about cleaning up the city, making it respectable, while on the other, he was financing places like Hattie Hamilton’s Blue Emporium and lining his own pockets at the same time. Then Senator Richard Beares followed suit, bringing our own Catahoula Parish into the fight.”

“And the newspapers,” Fargo guessed. “Attention you didn’t want, but the politicians crave.”

Anderson nodded. “Exactly so,” he said. “So now there’re three of us vying for control of Basin Street, but I don’t hang my head in shame when I talk about what I do. I’ve built most of this area up from nothing. When I first got here, what fire hadn’t gutted, the swamp was trying to take back. Now, there are businesses, jobs, trade—it’s a real community.”

“A real dangerous one,” Fargo said. “It’s not a pretty place, at least as far as I’ve seen.”

“No, it’s not pretty. But it’s more than what it was. If those two get their way, all of the brothels will go underground, and the blue book trade will be legally banned. These girls won’t be working in a decent place like mine. They’ll be on their backs in the alleys, taking whoever will service them for two bits and a bite to eat.”

“You don’t paint a pretty picture,” Fargo said. “But what about the poker game?”

Anderson started in surprise. “How’d you know about . . .” His voice trailed off. “Are you working for one of those bastards?”

“I met Parker on the riverboat, coming down from St. Louis,” Fargo said. “He told me about the game, offered me a job.”

“What kind of a job?” Anderson asked, his voice filled with suspicion.

“Told me he wanted me to keep an eye on things, keep things fair, watch out for cheating, that sort of thing,” he said. “He offered a pretty damn good wage, too.”

“I just bet he did,” Anderson said. “But you can be damn sure that there’s something in it for him, if he asked you. David Parker would skin a starving cat for a new pair of gloves if he liked the color of its mangy fur.”

“He sort of strikes me that way, too,” Fargo said. “But a man in my position can’t afford to turn down money like he was offering.”

“If you do what he says—keep the game fair—then you’ll have earned your wage and then some,” Anderson said. “I think the whole thing is some kind of setup. I just haven’t figured it out yet.”

“What do you mean?”

“Look, David Parker is one smart fella. He likes to gamble—loves it, in fact—but he also likes to win. Out at the racetrack, the odds change when he takes a seat in the clubhouse. This game was his idea. We’d all sit down, play a high-stakes game of poker. The money is part of it, but the real stakes are unspoken. The winner gets Basin Street and Storyville. The losers can find somewhere else to play.”

“I figured it was something like that,” Fargo said. “The problem is that the whole game has to be rigged. Somehow. Otherwise, Parker wouldn’t have suggested it.”

“You think he’ll cheat?”

Fargo shook his head. “I don’t reckon he’ll be that obvious about it. There must be something else involved. He likes the odds to favor him.”

“Fargo, H.D.’s told me the story about what happened out in Kansas. He says you’re the hardest man he’s ever met—but you’re also fair. Will you help keep the game fair at least?”

“If I spot anyone doing anything out of line,” Fargo said, “you can be sure I’ll say something. There’s more than money or a business on the line here, I think. There’s all the folks who live and work in this area. Seems to me like you’ve tried to do right by them, much as you can. I’m not sure Parker and Beares are so high-minded.”

“They aren’t,” Anderson said. “Ask around and you’ll learn the truth.”

“I intend to,” Fargo said.

He was about to add something more, when Anderson stood. Coming through the door were the two men who’d left earlier, dragging another man between them.

It was the man who’d stolen Fargo’s horse.

“Ahhh, if it isn’t Slick Willie Smith,” Anderson said. “How are you, Willie?”

Willie’s eyes were wide and frightened. It didn’t look like the men had roughed him up too much, but his coat was torn and his lip was bleeding. “I’m . . . I’m sorry, Mr. Anderson. I didn’t know he was a friend of yours! I swear it! I just thought he was passing through!”

“Willie, we’ve talked about this before, haven’t we? You aren’t supposed to be stealing at all. What happened to that job I got you over at the stables?”

“I got drunk,” the man said. “Ol’ man Simms, he fired me on the spot.”

“I would’ve, too,” Anderson said. He looked up at his men. “Did you retrieve Mr. Fargo’s belongings?”

One of the men nodded. “Yes, sir. Willie was trying to sell the tack when we caught up with him.”

Fargo breathed a sigh of relief. He and the Ovaro had been through a lot together. Losing his tack and gear would be one thing—those were replaceable—but a great horse like the Ovaro would be all but impossible to find again.

“Well, Fargo,” Anderson said, “what do you want done with him?”

Willie was all but gibbering now, and Fargo shook his head. “Let him go,” he said to the men. They released him and as Willie started to backpedal, Fargo snatched his coat lapels and yanked him forward, lifting him off his feet.

“Don’t hurt me, please, mister!” Willie screeched.

“Stealing is a sorry-assed way to make your way in the world, Willie,” Fargo said. “Mr. Anderson here gave you a shot at the straight life—got you a job—and you ruined it. Now I’m going to give you one: get sober and get a job. If I find out you’ve been stealing again, from anyone, there won’t be a second chance. I’ll hang you from the nearest post I can find and spare the world a lot of grief.” Fargo shook him until his bones rattled. “You understand me?”

“Yes, sir,” Willie said. “Yes, sir, Mr. Fargo. I understand. ”

Fargo shoved him away. “Now get out of here,” he said.

Willie ran for the door and Anderson chuckled. “I thought he was going to wet himself for a minute there.”

“So did I,” Fargo said. “I’d best get going. I still need to see to my horse and meet up with H.D., and I still haven’t gotten a room yet.”

“Where did Parker tell you to stay?” Anderson asked.

“The Bayou,” he said. “Across from the Blue Emporium. ”

“I know it,” Anderson said. “He owns it, but it’s a decent enough place.” He looked at Fargo seriously. “This is a dangerous bit of business you’re in, Fargo. A lot of money and lives are on the table. Watch your back, and if you run into trouble, come find me. Otherwise, I’ll see you at the game and pray that you’re as straight an arrow as you seem.”

“I’ll keep it in mind,” Fargo said. “One thing I can tell you: there’s only one set of rules I play by, Anderson. Mine. They’re harsh but fair. If I catch anyone cheating, you can be sure I’ll say something.”

“Good enough,” he said, offering his hand.

Fargo shook and took his leave, finding his horse tied up outside and all his gear exactly as he’d left it. He pulled his gun belt out of the saddlebag and put it back on.

So far, what he knew was that Parker wasn’t telling the whole truth, and Anderson was telling his version of it. And there was still the matter of figuring out what Richard Beares was all about, too.

A lot of people, all of them telling lies of one kind or another.

“It’s no wonder they call it Storyville,” he said to the Ovaro, who nickered at him in reply. He climbed into the saddle, and turned the horse toward the livery.

The humid air was still and heavy as the early evening sun went down on the water. All the way to the livery, Fargo felt eyes on him and he knew that word had spread.

And that he was being watched by everyone.

John H. D. Timmons had spent most of his forty-two years of life living in bad circumstances and working in worse. His father had been a Baptist minister in New Hampshire who took the sentiment “spare the rod, spoil the child” to heart and regularly beat the young, defenseless John H. D. Timmons within an inch of his life. Believing that women were much like children, the man had treated his wife the same.

The year he was sixteen, H.D.’s father had beaten his mother to death. H.D. returned the favor, burned down the small home and attached church he’d grown up in, and left, heading west and not stopping until he’d reached Oklahoma.

Punching cows was tough, but compared to growing up with the Reverend (as he often thought of his father) it was easy. He learned to ride, shoot, drink, fight, and generally take care of himself. When a group of cattle rustlers began stealing from the Double Bar T ranch, it was H.D. who’d helped the marshal track them down and bring them to justice. From that point on, his future in law enforcement was assured.

He’d worked in a lot of prairie towns, from Oklahoma to Nebraska and then back down to Kansas, which is where Fargo had first met him. The work was hard and dangerous, but H.D. brought perspective to it, wasn’t on the take, and treated the citizens who were law-abiding as they deserved to be treated. The years had aged him—he’d gone a little softer around the middle, and there was more gray in his hair than black, but his hands were still rock steady as he poured two shots of sour mash and raised his glass in a toast.

“Here’s to still being alive,” he said. “And to still being a bit faster than the fella trying to kill you.”

Fargo raised his own glass, and added, “Or to just being a bit luckier.”

H.D. laughed and both men tossed back the bourbon. “It’s good to see you again, Fargo. Last I heard, you were headed to the Dakotas.”

Fargo nodded. “I went up there for a spell, but didn’t stay. There’s too many bad men up that way, stealing land, cattle, and grubbing for gold. Seems like that’s all anyone was interested in, so I moved on.”

“You run into trouble?” H.D. asked.

“Nothing I couldn’t handle,” he said. “But it does seem to find me wherever I go.”

“I’ll say,” H.D. said. “But it’s not trouble that finds you. Not really. It’s folks who need help. Trouble of one kind or another usually follows right along with that.”

“It does,” Fargo agreed. “So tell me straight, H.D., who’s really running this town?”

H.D. laughed. “Everyone thinks they are,” he said. “But no one really is. The whole city is a mess, always will be, I suspect.”

“Why’s that?”

“The structure of it, for one thing,” H.D. said. “This isn’t a town like you and I would think of it. It’s a bunch of little towns, all close together, each with a different set of rules and regulations. They call them ‘parishes,’ but really they’re just little towns.”

“That doesn’t make a lick of sense,” Fargo said. “Why don’t they have a city council or something?”

“They do,” he replied. “But as a rule, they’re ignored or laughed at. The real power here is in who runs the parishes that produce the most money.”

“Like Storyville,” Fargo said.

“Exactly. There’s Winn Parish and Catahoula Parish, which are really run by State Senators Parker and Beares. Storyville is part of both, and it’s where the most money gets made. So the fighting has been fierce.”

“Have you had any trouble?” Fargo asked.

H.D. chuckled and poured another set of shots. “No,” he said. “And I don’t intend to. I get paid by the city, have full retirement benefits, and do my best to keep peace in the streets. Which means that Anderson, Parker, and Beares have taken their battles to the alleys, the swamps, and the backrooms of the whorehouses. It suits me just fine to let them fight it out amongst themselves.”

Fargo’s eyes narrowed. This wasn’t like the H.D. he’d known at all. “I thought you believed in the law,” he said quietly.

“Fargo, I do,” H.D. said. “But I’m not a young man anymore, and there’s only one of me and three of them, plus more hired guns than you’ve ever seen. When they aren’t shooting each other, they’re knifing each other. And when they aren’t doing that, they use their hands to choke, steal, or beat the hell out of anyone they can.” He drank his shot and then added, “And now you’re here.”

“Just here for work,” Fargo said. “Parker hired me up in St. Louis.”

“To do what?” H.D. asked. “You’ve never been on the wrong side of the law before.”

“And I’m not now,” he said. “I guess they’ve decided to settle all of this with a poker game.”

“A poker game?” H.D. asked. “Seriously?”

“That’s what Parker said, and Anderson confirmed it.”

“I’ll be damned,” H.D. said. “Things might settle down, then. What’s your job in all this?”

“I’m supposed to keep the game fair,” he said. He sipped his own shot, savoring the charcoal flavor on his tongue. “So I’m told.”

“Fair, huh?” his old friend said. “You do know that all of them will cheat like there’s no tomorrow.”

“I suspected as much,” Fargo said. “But then it will be fair.”

“What do you mean?”

“If one man cheats, it’s not fair,” Fargo replied. “He’s taking advantage of the others. But if all of them cheat, then it is fair. No one is playing by a different set of rules than anyone else.”

H.D. laughed so hard he went into a coughing fit, and finished by mumbling, “Goddamn humidity,” under his breath. He looked up, wiped his mouth, and said, “Don’t stay down here too long. It’s like breathing a swamp.”

“I don’t plan to,” Fargo said. “Just long enough to do what I was hired to do, collect my pay, and move on.”

“So where’s this poker game being held?” H.D. asked. “That way, maybe I can keep an eye on things outside at least.”

“The Blue Emporium,” Fargo said. “Hattie Hamilton’s place.”

H.D. hissed like a scalded cat. “Damn. That maybe changes everything.”

“What do you mean?”

“She plays at belonging to Parker, but Hattie Hamilton belongs to nobody,” H.D. said. “She’s as cold-blooded a woman as I’ve ever met.”

“She seemed decent enough to me,” Fargo said. “She met Parker and me when we got here, down at the docks.”

“That’s Hattie, all right,” he said. “She likes to play the lady, but she’s more snake than woman.”

“Come on, H.D.,” Fargo said. “She’s just a woman—and a whore to boot.”

“Fargo, you listen and you listen close,” H.D. said, his voice dropping to a whisper. “Hattie Hamilton has killed at least two people that I know of, though I could never prove it. And those girls of hers are barely more than slaves. She’s got more money than Parker or Beares, and if they’re holding this so-called game at her place, you better have sharp eyes, because something about her is . . . wrong, broken on the inside.”

“Do you think she’s dangerous?” Fargo asked. “Honestly?”

“Like a hungry alligator,” H.D. said. “And she’s damn near untouchable. Half the men in the state senate have either slept with her or been in her place. She knows lots of pillow secrets, and even when she’s suspected of something, every deputy in this town will look the other way.”

Fargo whistled, thinking that maybe he’d underestimated the players in the game. “I can’t say as I’m much impressed with this place,” he said. “Why do you stay?”

“Safer than being out west,” he said. “Out there, in the open, there’s nowhere to hide. Once a bad man moves into an area, you’ve either got to kill him, hang him, or arrest him—and if you’re outnumbered, the odds are against it. Here, all I have to do is keep the streets quiet and go about my business. It’s not justice, but I’ve learned that at least here, I’ve got places to hole up in.”

“Didn’t imagine you being much of a runner,” Fargo said. “You stood and fought right next to me back in Kansas.”

“This isn’t Kansas, Fargo,” H.D. snapped. “It’s not like anywhere I’ve ever been or heard of. New Orleans sprang up out of a swamp, and in its rotten heart, it’s still a swamp. If I weren’t married, why I’d—”

“Married!” Fargo interrupted. “Since when?”

“I met her about two months after I got here,” H.D. said. “Beautiful Creole girl. She won’t leave because her family is here. Otherwise, retirement be damned, I’d have moved on.”

“I’d like to meet her,” Fargo said. “No wonder you’re keeping your head down.”

H.D.’s face reddened. “It’s . . . it’s worse than that, Fargo.” He skipped the glass and knocked back another swallow of the sour mash. “She . . . she worked there. At the Blue Emporium. She was a whore.”

“What?”

H.D. shook his head. “I ain’t supposed to talk about it,” he said. “But the truth is that Hattie Hamilton’s had me by the short hairs since I got here. And if I do anything that messes with her, I’ll be out of a job, probably dead, and my wife . . . she . . . she’d have to go back to work for Hattie.”

“Damn,” Fargo whispered. “You’ve landed in a world of trouble, haven’t you?”

His old friend nodded, then said, “And now you’re in it, too, Fargo. Once you’ve messed around in Storyville business, it’s like a bear trap. You don’t get free. Not ever.”

“I’m my own man,” Fargo said quietly. “I always have been.”

“Not here,” H.D. said. “No one here is free.”

Looking into H.D.’s eyes, Fargo could see that his old friend believed what he was saying. Every word of it. Struck by the depths of despair, the lies and deceit all around him, Fargo finished his glass of whiskey and set it on the desk with a soft thump. “I guess I’ll get over to the hotel,” he said. “Maybe grab some dinner. Then I’ve got to find Beares. I want to talk to him before the game.”

“Don’t worry about it,” H.D. said. “He’ll find you.” He poured himself another snort from the bottle, and Fargo saw that his friend’s hands were steady, but his eyes were haunted. “He’ll find you and then you’ll have talked to them all and you’ll know what I’ve told you is the truth. This place isn’t a city, Fargo. It’s an alligator pit, and each and every one of them is hungry.”

“Damn,” Fargo said again. He could never have imagined John H. D. Timmons this broken down inside, this scared of anyone. “What have I gotten myself into here?”

“A real bad place, Fargo. A real bad place.”