Chapter 4 – Foreign Assistance Leads to Possible Solutions
Matt left Kitty in Doc's hands determined to find the man responsible for stabbing her. He didn't want to leave her, but knew Doc was right. The bushwhacker had to be caught and the longer he stayed upstairs, the harder it would be to track him down. He left the Long Branch for the alley where it had happened, surprised to see Holmes at the entrance studying the ground in front of him.
"Holmes, you'd better not have messed up anything. The evidence here is for attempted murder, not a stolen fiddle. As much as Sam values it, it's just a piece of wood and more easily replaced than his employer."
"My apologies, Marshal. I had no idea these footprints held any significance beyond a chance for me to see how much I've learned. I welcome the chance to apply your lessons. I was careful not to disturb anything as I followed the tracks to the back of the alley and out to the front again. It appears that two men were at the head of this alley, but only one stayed. That one was the bigger of the two. He lingered and then ran toward the back of the alley. However, although there were several paths he might have taken to head toward another street, I believe those either belonged to other men or were made much earlier. He turned back to the front of the alley and then headed across the street to the Lady Gay Saloon."
Matt followed the path Holmes had taken and agreed the young Englishman was right. He'd never had anyone pick up the art of trailing a man quicker and praised him for it.
"Thank you for your praise. If nothing else, I am an observant and logical man and only seek to improve upon those powers so that I might better apply them to the solving of crimes that baffle the police. I only have one question before I leave you to your task. I couldn't help but notice that Miss Russell, the bartender Sam's employer, is more to you than just another business owner whom you are sworn to protect. How is it that you are investigating the attempt on her life rather than sitting by her side?"
"She'd be the first to answer that. While I put saving lives first and foremost, once I see to providing the necessary medical care, I put emotion aside and focus on my duty to my badge, which is to enforce the law. If I let emotion interfere, my judgment will be clouded and I'll miss some vital clue that will allow me to find the killer or spoiler, who is all too often well hidden."
Although he largely ignored the young man, Matt allowed Holmes to follow along with him as he pursued Kitty's would be killer. He used Holmes as a sounding board as they walked into the Lady Gay, going over in his mind every drunk Kitty had had thrown out of her saloon and everyone that also had a grudge against him as well, because he'd been the one to throw the man out. There were far too many possibilities and far too little reasons for any of them to take things this far. To possibly get a fresh angle on the problem Matt listened to what Holmes had been able to overhear that afternoon. All it amounted to were lots of grumbling, particularly on the part of one ballplayer to his teammate, but there was nothing to set it apart from any other man with a chip on his shoulder.
Finally, no closer to finding who had stabbed Kitty than he was earlier that night, Matt parted company with Holmes. He gave the man the task of continuing to look into who might have taken Sam's fiddle and if he happened to come across something that helped with Kitty's stabbing to report to him immediately. Holmes, following Matt's advice to find out as much as he could about all the possible suspects, had already eliminated his fellow actors. However, he wouldn't entirely rule them out until after he searched their luggage in the dressing rooms on Monday. He needed to learn more about the ballplayers, since he wouldn't have the same opportunities to learn about them and their possessions. Therefore, the Englishman set about feigning enough interest in their sport to perhaps ingratiate himself enough into the confidence of one of the players so that he could find out more of their background and a possible motive for either crime.
The street was quiet by the time Matt headed back to the Long Branch where Sam was closing up. He helped lock up and dejectedly climbed the stairs to check on Kitty.
"There's no change. Go home and get some sleep. Perhaps something will surface in the morning that will be of help."
Matt reluctantly complied with Doc's suggestion and headed down the back stairs. Soon he was unlocking the door of his rented room, tired and frustrated with his lack of progress. If he'd been more alert, he might have sensed someone was watching him.