Now Playing: Hellfire
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Episode Twelve concluded with:
They stopped at the
back door of the Quick Dollar. Rance tried the door, which was locked. The
detective pointed to a nearby window. “Breaking the glass will probably make
less noise than busting down the door.”
Rance pulled his Colt as he moved over to the target. “The latch is broken!” he
said as he opened the window and holstered his gun.
“Hallelujah!” Hosea declared in a loud whisper. “That’s an answer to prayer!”
Stacey’s face crunched. “When did you pray for a broken latch?”
“Well…what I meant was…”
“Never mind that!” Dehner anxiously whispered. He was looking out at his
companions after having crawled through the window. “Get inside!”
Episode Thirteen
Hosea
and Stacey complied. The three men were now standing in a large storage area.
Stacey’s voice was uncharacteristically nervous. “Ah…Hosea. Do you know if Gail
might be, um,..with a client?”
Hosea hastily shook his head. “If an
owlhoot wants to spend more than an hour with one of the girls, he has to take
her to a hotel. Beau Rawlins’ orders. But listen here. Gail don’t--”
Dehner cut him off. “We have to get
moving. We don’t have much time. One of the other jaspers guarding the town
might find the two we tied up.”
Dehner carefully opened the door
that led into the saloon proper. The detective immediately remembered Hosea’s
statement about the occupants of Hellfire preferring darkness to light. The
Quick Dollar seemed dedicated to an eternal night. Two thick doors that fronted
the bat wings stood closed. The saloon’s four small windows were covered by
thick curtains. Smoke from the previous night circled about the room like a
snake stalking its prey. No one had bothered to stack the chairs on the tables.
Many of the chairs were scattered about the saloon like confused drunks. The
air was rancid with the odor of tobacco, booze and urine. Broken bottles lay
scattered on the floor.
The kerosene lights were glowing on
the large wagon wheel chandelier that hung over the Quick Dollar, but the
chandelier didn’t seem to provide illumination. Rather, it cast a shimmering
yellow stain over everything it touched.
“If Satan has an office, this must
be what it looks like,” Hosea said. The other two men nodded in agreement.
“Come on,” Dehner said as he led his
companions up the stairway.
When they reached the top, Hosea
took the lead, moving quickly toward the room where he had talked with his wife
the previous night. As he opened the door, the three men glanced toward the bed
where Gail lay. The girl looked pale and was breathing rapidly, like someone in
pain. Her hands clung to the white sheet that covered her as if it were a flag
of surrender.
“Wake her up, Hosea. But we haven’t
got much time.” Dehner and Hooper stepped away as Rance closed the door. Hosea
Rimstead was alone with his wife.
Tomorrow: Episode Fourteen of Hellfire
