JJ found Heyes sitting by a window in the parlor. The gaming table next to him held a half-empty bottle of Irish whiskey and an overflowing ashtray. He cleared his throat loudly, but there was no response from Heyes. After a long moment, he tried again.
"If you want to say something, say it," Heyes said, without turning to look at JJ. "If you're just gonna cough up phlegm, do it somewhere else."
"That's a fine way to talk to someone who's just made you a rich man."
Heyes jumped out of his chair so suddenly that JJ took an alarmed step backwards.
"I knew it. I told Thaddeus you were playing some sort of angle, and I was right."
"What do you care if I get some money out of this! You ought to be grateful. If it weren't for me, you and your partner would still be trying to find a poker game to pay for your hotel room."
Heyes' face went still and hard. JJ stumbled backwards until his back was up against the wall.
"If it weren't for you. . ." Heyes put his glass down on the table and advanced on JJ. "If it weren't for you. . . " Heyes grabbed JJ's arms and shook him. JJ raised a hand to defend himself, but Heyes twisted him around with his arm behind his back, and shoved him up against the wall.
"What is wrong with you?" JJ could hardly get the words out with Heyes restraining him.
"Gentlemen! That's enough!" Heyes' attention was drawn to Ada's unexpected appearance, and he loosened his grasp on JJ.
"Stop this immediately, or I'll call Miguel!"
Heyes released JJ, leaving him to sag limply against the wall.
"Go ahead. Call Miguel. See what happens when I tell him he'll be reporting to me before long."
"There's something seriously wrong with you," JJ said. He stumbled over to an upholstered chair and collapsed.
"Try to calm down, will you?" Ada asked. "At least pretend that you're a reasonable human being."
"Pretend!" Heyes was exasperated. "I'm the only person here making any sense!"
"I know that all this is a shock to you, Joshua," Ada soothed. "Sit down. Please."
Heyes was looking around the room wildly, breathing hard, blinking rapidly. Ada walked up to him and put her hands on his shoulders.
"Just sit down. Please." He calmed under her soft hands and allowed her to guide him to a sofa. She sat down next to him.
"I know this must all be a terrible shock for you," she said quietly, trying to soothe him. "I can't imagine how hard it must be to learn that the person you thought was your father wasn't, and that you've been lied to by people you thought you could trust."
Heyes jumped up away from her and started pacing back and forth, talking fast.
"Miss Ada, this is all a big misunderstanding. I'm not who you think I am. I'm not your brother. I'm just a common fella from Kansas with a common name. There's all sorts of Smiths out there, hundreds and thousands of them."
"Joshua, will you please sit down!"
Heyes kept pacing, wringing his hands.
"As I said before –" Heyes opened his mouth as to speak, but quieted when Ada held one hand up.
"As I said before, I know this is a shock. You weren't expecting any of this. I wasn't expecting this." She looked over to JJ, whose expression was serious. "None of us expected to find you again, even though we never gave up hope. Everything fits. Your age. Your coloring. Even the more unusual physical characteristics, like the dimples and the mark on your neck." Heyes' head snapped up suddenly, and she smiled gently at him.
"Do you remember how you got that little scar?" He looked at the floor, avoiding her eyes. "You were only three. You tried to shave your face, the way Papa did. Only you couldn't handle that razor, and you cut yourself a little." She smiled at the memory. "Papa was so scared you'd really hurt yourself! And it left a scar. You carry that scar to this day."
"I got the scar in a fight. Man I was playing poker with didn't like me winning so much. Said I had to be cheating." Heyes raised his head. "I wasn't, by the way. Cheating, I mean."
"That's a good story," JJ commented. "I might almost believe it, if I hadn't seen that daguerreotype of you at age 4 with the scar on your neck."
"It's not me! All this stuff, it's all coincidence. Nothing but coincidence."
"Maybe so. I always say, Coincidence is God's way of remaining anonymous."
Heyes was almost pleading. "You've got to believe me. Miss Ada, I know your father wants to believe this, but it just isn't true. I'm not who you think I am."
"You were only a little boy, and children can forget frightening experiences. Even adults can forget traumatic events. JJ can tell you that."
"It's true, Joshua. Really. I know I lost my leg at Cold Harbor, but I don't remember any of it. Everything's a blank from seeing that minie ball flying at me to being in the federal district hospital a couple weeks later. If that can happen to a grown man, think what a scary thing can do a little child who's taken away from his home and pa and then goes through what you did during the Border Wars. It's no surprise your memory's all mixed up."
Heyes rubbed his neck with one hand restlessly.
"I don't see why you two are pushing this whole thing. Ada, you're coming in a poor second if I'm who you think I am. You stand to lose a lot of money. And JJ, you're selling your lady friend out for $5,000. What's your angle?"
"Suspicious sort, aren't you? Maybe we just want Harley to be happy in his last days."
"What do you get out of this?" Heyes looked appraisingly at the others. "In my experience, nobody does anything unless they have something to gain."
"You've had some bitter experience then," Ada said quietly. "It's made you an angry young man."
"Only time I get angry is when people try to play with me, and that's what you two are doing. So tell me the truth now, or I'll get Thaddeus and we'll leave here right now, and you can tell Mr. Pemberton how you drove me away."
"Alright, Joshua. Truce. The truth is, with $5,000, I can propose marriage to Ada."
"Why do you need so much money? A justice of the peace won't cost more than a few dollars."
"Because I asked Harley for Ada's hand, and he refused. Not just because he calls me a blue belly because I fought for the Union, but because I don't have two cents to my name. When I told him Ada was old enough to decide for herself who to marry, he said he'd cut her off without a dime if she did."
"I don't mind the thought of being poor, but John is old-fashioned. He won't marry me unless he can support me. Anyway, the way things stand with Papa's business, I don't stand to inherit as much as you think. The emperor has no clothes." At Heyes' shocked look, Ada corrected herself. "Well, the emperor has a scant wardrobe, let's put it that way. Papa has neglected his business since he got sick. I've tried to step in and help, but Papa won't let me. He says a woman's place is in the home."
"Hasn't he tried hiring any good men to run things for him?" Heyes asked.
"Oh, he's tried, but it never works out. JJ's been trying, too, but sick as he is, Papa won't let go. He second-guesses everyone and undercuts them. Things aren't going well."
"So if I play along, act like I accept all this, then you two get everything you want. What if I don't play along?"
Ada and JJ exchanged concerned looks.
"Putting aside everything we've said already - why don't you want what you're being offered here?" Ada asked.
"Because I made a solemn promise that I would never take anything that isn't rightfully mine. Ever. If I accepted this, I'd be lying about who I am, not just to people I care about, but to some poor old man on his deathbed."
"I told you he was a good one, didn't I, Ada?"
"I can't do this. I just can't. Don't you see? I'm not who you think I am."
"You're Joshua Smith, aren't you?" Heyes didn't answer JJ's question. "You know, after you checked in to the hotel, I wondered about your names. Smith and Jones. Tommy thought you might be famous outlaws, living under aliases." Ada smiled at the joke, but Heyes didn't. "Well, I figured right away that real outlaws would come up with better aliases than Smith and Jones. I mean, how suspicious is that? So the names had to be real."
"Of course they were real names, John. And the more you talk, Joshua, the more I see that you are an honest man, through and through, and that you care about doing the right thing." Ada stood up, smoothing her skirt. "I believe you are my brother. Truly, I do. And if I doubted it, I might still want you to inherit. You're a good man.
"JJ, if you'll accompany me, I need to check in on Papa. He might need some more medicine by now." JJ stepped over to her slowly and took her arm in his.
"With pleasure." They left Heyes standing alone, in the middle of the room.
