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Episode Thirteen
concluded with:
Hunter tensed
up as he heard a voice from down the street: a voice he had heard a few hours
ago in the Lucky Miner. “Of course I was cheating, Rance. So was everyone else
in the game, or they were trying to. Why, not to cheat at playing cards amounts
to gambling, which is a sin.”
The sheriff saw two shadows advancing through the puddles of light. He couldn’t
take a chance on the gambler’s friend possibly running after Hooper’s killer.
He would have to shoot both of them.
Episode Fourteen
Hooper continued to pontificate as
the two men approached the spot of light provided by one of the hotel’s porch
lamps. As the two men began to enter the light, a woman called out and rushed
toward them.
Penelope
Castle joined Dehner and Hooper in front of the hotel. The sheriff cursed
inwardly. Killing a gambler and his friend was one thing, no one would care.
But killing a woman would create pandemonium in the town. He couldn’t take a chance
on hitting her. Sheriff Rush Hunter lay flat on the roof and listened
carefully.
***
Penelope
Castle leaned against the counter of Westlake’s General Store and counted her
money. The young woman didn’t know if she had enough. She had never hired a detective
before.
Penelope
had often been one of the last people to leave Westlake’s General Store. Not an
unusual situation for a bookkeeper.
For a
moment, she reflected on happier times, like the day she had stood nervously in
front of Lon Westlake making her pitch for a job. “I may not be a formally
trained bookkeeper, Mr. Westlake, but I have a head for figures. You can ask
Mrs. Stanfield. She will tell you I was the best student at arithmetic she ever
had!”
Lon
Westlake had hired her. Six months later he asked her to marry him. What
followed seemed like magic. She cherished the memories of the one hour they had
together in the store each day after Lon’s brother and his wife departed. Not
that anything wrong happened! They kept the shades of the store wide open, not
giving the gossips anything to chew on.
But she and
Lon made silly jokes and talked about their future together as she worked on
the books and Lon got the store ready for the next day. Yes, she had to go home
early on Wednesdays when George Conklin came to dinner. At first that had seemed
like no more than a pebble in her shoe.
Then came
that awful morning when she arrived at the store to find out Lon had been
arrested…
Now, Penelope’s
eyes had been fixed on the store’s front window. Seeing the men she had been
watching for, the woman hurried out the front door and into the street.
“Excuse me,
Gentlemen!”
Dehner and
Hooper halted near the splash of light in front of the hotel and turned to
greet the young woman who stopped in front of them, looking very
self-conscious. “I know it is late gentlemen, I’m sorry for being so rude.”
Stacey
Hooper’s smile was more lecherous than gracious. “No apology is needed! An
evening spent with ruffians is rarely concluded with the arrival of someone as
lovely as yourself.”
To Stacey’s
disappointment, Penelope addressed Dehner. “Sir, I understand you are a
detective.”
Rance
cringed, remembering how Stacey had called him “…the west’s greatest detective”
back in the saloon. “Yes, my name is Rance Dehner.”
The woman
noted the chagrin on Dehner’s face. “This is a small town, Mr. Dehner.” She
nodded at the store behind her. “One of our regular customers witnessed the
mishap at the Lucky Miner this evening. Knowing about my present circumstances,
he came by and described you and your, ah, friend to me. I figured you’d be
staying at the hotel…”
Penelope’s
voice trailed off. She inhaled and then spoke. “Mr. Dehner, I wish to hire
you!”
The next
fifteen minutes were spent with Dehner at first trying to put Penelope at ease,
and then masking his surprise that her wishes were identical to those of Tully
Brooks. The detective stopped Penelope when she began to approach the matter of
money. “I’m sure we can work out the fee at a later time, Miss Castle. I do
have one question. Have you discussed this matter with the local law?”
Penelope
nodded her head. “Our sheriff, Rush Hunter, is a good man. I’m afraid I’ve been
too harsh on him. So has much of the town. Rush has to uphold the law. A jury found Lon Westlake guilty of robbing
the bank. What could a lawman do?!”
“I’ll talk
with the sheriff first thing in the morning. I’ll let you know the moment I
come up with anything significant, Miss Castle. Meanwhile, allow me to walk you
home.”
“That’s
very kind of you. Thanks.”
“Propriety
demands that I wish both of you good night, despite the fact that you both are
oblivious to my presence!” Stacey Hooper turned and marched into the hotel.
“Oh, dear!”
Penelope put a hand to her cheek.
“Don’t
worry about my friend. He’s temperamental, but harmless.”
***
Rush Hunter
watched the couple walk up the street and vanish into the night. George Conklin
would not be happy when he learned the gambler was still alive. Hunter would
have to come up with a new scheme. Fast.
Monday: Episode 15 of
Last Job
