An Eventful Journey
Chapter 4
Livvie stopped moving, just out of reach, swaying slightly. The lurching movement of the train made it hard for Johnny to keep his balance. Instead of fighting it, he used it to add force to his forward movement. He flung himself at Livvie, using the weight of his body to drive her sideways. As they fell he heard a shot.
"Get down!" he yelled, the only warning he had time to give his fellow passengers as he and Livvie landed in a heap on the floor.
The seat's sturdy wooden frame was their only protection as another shot exploded through the air. He grasped Livvie's right wrist and twisted it, feeling only a twinge of guilt. He needed her gun and didn't have time to be gentle. She gave a cry of pain and her fingers sprang open as her eyes filled with tears.
He could feel her soft body under his and knew that he was crushing her. His face was only inches away from hers and he had an impression of huge, blue, water logged eyes. His hand closed around the gun and he rolled off her. Another shot sent splinters of wood flying close to his cheek. He risked one quick look and squeezed off a shot as Art ducked out through the rear door of the carriage.
As he scrambled to his knees Livvie began hammering her fists against his back. He swung round to face her. "Settle down."
She shrank away from him, her bottom lip trembling. "You hurt me."
Johnny looked at her in amazement. "You're the one who…" He stopped and shook his head. There wasn't time to argue. "Scott?"
"Right here, Brother."
"Get our guns."
Johnny kept his weapon pointed at the rear door as Scott ducked into the space previously occupied by Livvie and Cherry. It didn't take long for Scott to retrieve their gun belts from the bag.
"Watch her." Johnny pulled Livvie to her feet and shoved her toward Scott.
"What did I do to deserve this?" Scott asked as he led her over to a seat.
"You've got a way with women, and I don't think she likes me much any more." Johnny shared a brief smile with his brother. "Try asking her what the plan was to get off this train."
Johnny turned his back on the girl and hunkered down by Mrs. Wells. She had her arms wrapped around Susan, who was sobbing inconsolably.
"He's gone?" Johnny asked. He looked at Bobby. All the pain had vanished from the young man's face. His eyes were closed and he lay still. "Damn." Johnny bent his head for a moment. What a hell of a waste.
"That was very foolish of you." Mrs. Wells looked up and he met her concerned gaze. "You could have been shot."
"My brother has a tendency to act first and think later," Scott said.
"Yeah, well, it worked, didn't it?"
"It was an unnecessary risk, young man." Mrs. Wells stumbled as she tried to rise. Johnny caught her arm and guided her to her feet. "What do we do now?" she asked.
Johnny helped Susan to stand up. She was shivering violently and her red-rimmed gaze fell on Livvie.
"You bitch!" she shouted. "We've only been married for two months. You all deserve to hang."
Susan lunged for Livvie and raked her nails down the blonde's face. Livvie yelped and tried to hide behind Scott. "Keep her away from me."
"You should sit down Ma'am," Johnny suggested to Susan. "Leave her to us. She's got some talking to do."
"I don't have anything to say to you." Livvie edged away from Susan.
Scott caught her arm and pulled her down onto a seat, sitting beside her to prevent her from moving. "Oh, I think you do. You're an accessory to murder and I don't see a jury showing you much sympathy unless you help us."
"I can't." Livvie's face crumpled.
Johnny stared at her. "You want to hang?" he asked with calculated brutality. Leaving her to think about that, he handed her gun to Jackson, picked up his own gun belt and buckled it in place. "The rest of the gang are likely to stay holed up in the baggage car, at least for now. Go and tell the other agents what's going on. This isn't over yet."
Jackson nodded in understanding and moved away.
Mrs. Wells drew Susan back to her side. "We have things to do, my dear."
Johnny sank into the seat opposite Livvie. "You know what'll happen if we keep this train moving until it gets to Sacramento? As soon as the law finds out about the killing, they'll fill that mail car full of lead and your sister'll probably wind up dead." He saw her small jerk of surprise. Scott sat grim faced and silent at her side. "If you want to help her, we can get the driver to stop the train and you can persuade her and the others to give themselves up."
"I don't want to hang." Livvie's hand rested against the front of her throat as she looked from one brother to the other. If she was hoping to find any evidence of compassion, she was disappointed. "What happens if I help you?"
"You, your sister and Art will be sent to jail. Rick'll swing for murder."
"Jail?"
"What the hell did you expect?" Johnny asked. "You've been robbing trains up and down the country. You're just lucky no one was shot before today."
"If you want us to help you, you have to cooperate." Scott threw Johnny a warning glance. "How were you planning to get off the train?"
Her words were hesitant. "We have horses waiting about ten miles outside of Sacramento. There's a bridge where the train has to slow down enough that we could get off without any problems."
"How far do you reckon we are from Sacramento?" Johnny asked his brother as he stared through the window at the featureless darkness.
Scott consulted his watch before shaking his head. "It's hard to say, but I doubt if we have too much time if we're going to stop the train. They might try to make a run for it when we do, but without horses they won't get far. Besides, we'll have a lot of irate passengers to back us up."
Johnny could hear raised voices and looked down the carriage. Steve Jackson was heading back their way, followed by a well-dressed man and couple of others who were more casually dressed.
"Guard the door," the newcomer instructed.
Johnny let the men pass before standing up. He studied the Pinkerton agent, deciding that he didn't like what he saw. This wasn't a man who was used to getting his hands dirty and he had a bossy manner about him that they could do without.
"I am Special Agent Charles McParland."
"Special, huh?"
Johnny saw the man's mouth tighten in response to the jibe.
"I understand that the Agency owes you two gentlemen a debt of gratitude."
He didn't look very grateful, Johnny decided. In fact he looked decidedly put out. "We need to stop the train."
"Nonsense. The outlaws are secure and we will deal with them when we reach Sacramento."
"If you don't stop the train there's a good chance they'll escape." Scott had also stood and Johnny noticed that his brother seemed to be using his body to shield Livvie from McParland's cold stare.
"I am in charge of this case and I don't need advice from civilians."
"It looks to me like you're the sort of man who usually works in an office." Johnny laid his right hand on his gun, a cold smile resting on his lips. "Now, I ain't worked in an office in my life, but I know how outlaws like this think."
"Do you, Mr….?"
"Lancer." Scott stepped between the two men. "The outlaws have horses waiting for them not far from here. If we try to make it to Sacramento they'll try to get away."
"Are you saying they'll leave her behind?" McParland turned his attention to Livvie for the first time.
"You've got a lot to learn," Johnny said. "If they get away they've got a shot at breaking her out of jail. If they try to free her now, they'll likely be gunned down. Besides, they'll count on her not being hurt, seein' as she's a woman."
"The fact that she is female has no effect upon how she will be treated. Jackson, get over here and take her into custody." He held out a pair of handcuffs.
"That ain't necessary," Johnny protested.
"I believe I was just told that they have horses. Do you want to take the chance that she'll try to escape? Would you be willing to shoot her down to stop her?"
"Leave it, Johnny," Scott advised softly. "They have a job to do."
Johnny turned his back on the sight of Jackson fastening the shackles around Livvie's slim wrists. He wouldn't stand for any rough handling, but Scott was right. By choosing to walk on the wrong side of the law, Livvie had sealed her own fate.
He looked over at Mrs. Wells and Susan. They had stripped off Bobby's blood soaked shirt and had used the water in the canteen to wash his body as best they could. As Johnny watched, Mrs. Well's gently laid the discarded jacket across his face.
"Are you alright, Ma'am?" Johnny asked. "You've had a rough night."
Her face was deeply lined and her eyes were hooded and dull. "There is too much violence. Too much." Her voice drifted away to silence.
"I'm sorry." He looked again at her black clothes, wondering.
"You have nothing to apologize for, young man." Her voice was very nearly steady. "But, I think you had better make that rather pompous man listen to you and your brother."
Johnny couldn't help grinning at her. "Yes, Ma'am."
"I think I will take this poor girl into another carriage."
Johnny saw that Susan had lapsed into a state of shock, her fingers twisting a lace handkerchief as she stared at the still body of her murdered husband. "She was lucky you were here to help her."
"No one should have to go through the loss of a loved one without support."
They looked at each other in silence as Johnny considered the implications of that statement. He knew that words would be meaningless so he moved away to let Mrs. Well's coax Susan into leaving the scene of her husband's murder.
Livvie was still sitting by the window, staring at the chains tethering her hands together. Scott and the Pinkerton agent were arguing about the wisdom of stopping the train. Johnny kept out of it. Scott was talking in a low, controlled tone, making his case as persuasively as a good lawyer. McParland was listening, his arms firmly crossed over his chest.
"You have a significant victory within your grasp," Scott said. "I wouldn't like to be in your place if you have to explain how the outlaws escaped. I understand that they are wanted for crimes in several states. The man who brings them to justice will really make a name for himself."
Johnny smothered a grin. Scott had read this man well. Appeal to his vanity and he'd do anything they wanted.
"I'm sure you mean well, Mr. Lancer, but being a private detective is a very specialized profession."
"I'm not trying to imply anything else," Scott replied gravely. "However, my brother and I have had the advantage of seeing these outlaws for ourselves. They're desperate men and women. One at least knows that he's facing the hangman's noose. They won't give up easily and would rather risk death trying to escape justice. That poor young man over there," he pointed to Bobby, "was gunned down in cold blood. They won't think anything of shooting anyone who tries to impede them. Stop the train now. Your men can uncouple the baggage car and this carriage, and then the train can continue its journey. News will reach the Marshall in Sacramento within the hour. Even if we can't convince them to give up, we can keep them penned here until the Marshall arrives."
"I suppose there is nothing to be lost by doing that."
"It will also protect the good citizens of Sacramento," Scott continued. "If the outlaws try to break out here, they'll be facing men armed and ready to stop them. If shooting were to start at the station…" He shrugged, letting McParland draw his own conclusion.
"Very well. I'll have one of my men pass a message to the driver. I assume I can count on you and your brother assisting us?"
"I don't like leaving a job half done," Johnny drawled slowly.
He sat down opposite Livvie as McParland began issuing instructions. Bobby's body was lifted carefully and carried into the next carriage. Word of the failed robbery was passed to the driver and it wasn't long before the train began to slow.
"How'd you get into this business?" Johnny asked.
Livvie looked up at him, her face white. "Our father was a train robber. Of course we didn't know that when we were children. Our mother used to just tell us that he traveled around for his work. I'm not even sure that she knew the truth until," she swallowed, "the end."
"What happened?"
"Our mother was taken ill. Cherry was eighteen and I was a couple of years younger. Somehow, Pa got to hear about it and he came back. He was arrested at her funeral and put on trial for murder and robbery. He…" She looked away and Johnny watched her face in the reflection from the window. "He was convicted and hanged. All our neighbors turned against us and, one night, the house was set on fire. We were lucky to escape with our lives. We were left with nothing."
"So you went into the same line of work?"
"Not at first. We lived as best we could for a couple of years, taking any menial job that came along just to scrape together some money. Cherry became very hard. She'd watched them hang him and she was never the same after that. Art used to ride with our father and he tracked us down to tell us how sorry he was to hear of his death. It was Cherry who convinced him that we could go into business together."
"What about Rick?"
"He's our cousin. He was never quite right in the head, but I swear I never thought he'd kill anybody like that."
The train whistle sounded and there was a squeal of brakes. The carriage shuddered as it finally ground to a halt. Livvie gave Johnny a pleading look and then turned to stare out into the darkness.
Tbc
Caroline
March 08