Luke Mueller found a rock shelf that enabled him to get out of the rain, but it was a cold, wet, miserable night and he spent every waking moment of it, thinking about Falcon MacCallister. He had never met MacCallister. But everything changed from the moment MacCallister came onto the scene. By rights, Luke thought, he should be waking up in a whore’s bed, having a breakfast he didn’t cook, and spend the day drinking and planning on how to spend his money. Money that he no longer had—money that Falcon MacCallister took from him.
Oh, how he hated that son of a bitch.
From the MacCallister Eagle:
JUSTICE DISPENSED:
Falcon MacCallister the Dispenser
Readers of this newspaper are well aware of the dastardly murder, last week, of Reverend Charles Powell, and his wife, Mrs. Claudia Powell. There are few men to whom the town of MacCallister owes more gratitude than it owes to Reverend Powell. He had been specially selected to offer the convocation to the Lord in the dedication of the statue of Colonel Jamie Ian MacCallister. The good reverend was one of Colonel MacCallister’s contemporaries in time, and his peer in service to his friends, neighbors, and indeed, the whole valley.
This newspaper is pleased to report nearly all the perpetrators of the appalling murders of this saintly man and his good and loving wife have been brought to justice.
Clete Mueller, Ollie Terrell, Bo Caldwell, and Clarence Poole, four of the five brigands who underhandedly murdered the Reverend and Mrs. Powell, have been sent to appear before their maker for final judgment. The instrument of their demise was Falcon MacCallister who was so moved by the most foul bank robbery and murder committed by the villains, he tracked them down and brought them to justice. Confronting them at the Lucky Nugget Saloon in Black Hawk, it was reliably reported by witnesses that Colonel MacCallister gave the thieves and murderers ample opportunity to surrender and present themselves for a fair trial. The outlaws refused to avail themselves of this prospect so graciously offered, choosing instead to test their mettle against Falcon MacCallister, believing their superior numbers to be to their advantage.
Their supposition was wrong, and in the resultant gunplay, described by witnesses to the event as “quicker than thought,” all four desperados were killed. Luke Mueller, the fifth member of the gang, was not present at the time of the aforementioned confrontation and, as of this writing, is still at large.
New York, New York
A young woman sat in the front of the hansom cab holding her baby under the blankets and against her body to protect it from the cold night air of early spring. Though her part of the cab was partially enclosed, the driver sat outside the enclosure, on a high seat above and behind her. Janelle Wellington was a strikingly pretty woman with dark hair, deep blue eyes, high cheekbones, and a smooth, olive complexion.
When the cab stopped, Janelle spoke to the driver through the hole in the roof.
“Please wait for me,” she said. “I’ll only be here for a few minutes.”
“Yes, ma’am,” the driver answered, calling back down to her. Tying the reins off, he pulled his scarf up around his neck all the way to his ears, stuck his hands into his pockets, then hunkered down into his heavy coat to wait for his fare.
The young woman carried the baby to the front door of the brownstone, then up one flight of stairs. She knocked on the door and when it was answered, stepped inside.
“Janelle? What are you doing here? And out on a cold night like this with that baby?”
“Sue, I need to leave the baby with you for a while.”
“Over night?”
“For a while longer.”
“What is this about? What is going on?”
“You know what is going on. You know the disgrace I have brought to the family. I can’t stay here anymore, and I can’t take the baby where I’m going.”
“Janelle, what do you mean? What are you talking about? Where are you going?”
“I don’t know. I mean, I’m not quite sure yet where I’m going. I guess I’ll know when I get there.”
“No, don’t do this. Don’t do this to yourself, don’t do it to the family.”
“The family,” the young woman said with a derisive laugh. “After all that I have done, do you really think I could do anything more to this family? I have disgraced myself, I have disgraced Mother and Father, and I have disgraced you.”
“Don’t be silly. You haven’t disgraced me.”
Janelle’s smile became more sardonic.
“I haven’t disgraced you,” she said. “See, even you realize that I have disgraced our parents.”
“I didn’t mean that and you know it. They were upset and disappointed, yes,” her older sister agreed. “But I think it was more over what happened to you, than they were with you. They love you. We all love you, and I don’t want to see you throw your life away like this.”
Janelle sighed. “Please, just tell me you will take care of the baby. At least for a while. I need some more time, is all.”
“Of course, you know I will take care of the baby. But what about Mother and Father? Do they know you are leaving?”
“No. And please, say nothing to them until after I have left.”
“You don’t know what you are asking of me.”
“I do know. Believe me, I do know. And I know I couldn’t ask this of any other person in the world.”
“I will say nothing until after you have gone, on one condition.”
“What condition is that?”
“You must let us know where you are, and that you are safe.”
“I promise I will let you know.”
“No, not just me. You must let Mother and Father know as well. We must be assured that you are all right.”
“I will, I promise. Thank you for loving me, even after all this.”
The two embraced, then the younger woman, kissing her baby on the forehead, handed him over to her older sister. Her eyes bedimmed by tears, Janelle didn’t look back, She hurried down the stairs, then outside where she climbed into the cab.
“Where to now, miss?” the driver asked.
“Grand Central Station,” she said, barely able to get the words out.
The driver nodded, then slapped the reins against the backs of the horses. The team plodded on, the clip-clop of the hoofbeats echoing off the three-and four-story brownstone houses that fronted the street from each side.
Janelle wept silently.
Chapter Five
Idaho Springs, Colorado
