Part 1: Chapter 39: 1888: Red Deer, Alberta
James is No Longer a Lieutenant
It was a week later that James was asked to go to North Winnipeg in order to be debriefed about Blinky Morgan and Seamus Grant. The Deputy Commissioner of the Mounties had "dealt with the problem Mounties," but didn't say exactly what he had done with them. The soldiers had been discharged and kicked out of their contracts to serve. The general himself was pushing through criminal charges on the soldiers who had also been caught. In James' own investigations around the town, James didn't have any concrete evidence about how much the Blinky Morgan's men influenced the brothers. How the brothers influenced the town proprietors. Being able to have charges stick depended entirely on the members of Blinky Morgan's crew squealing on them. The Mounties were having a hard time getting much from them. They had confessed to holding people hostage at the saloon, but that was it. James got the feeling that they were waiting on word either from or about Blinky Morgan or Seamus Grant before they were going to do something. Something they had already decided as a group as a gang member.
The constable posted at the sign-in led James to a basement room where two of the Mounties he had requested to chase Seamus Grant was waiting in the morgue for him. James took a look at the man on the table.
Seamus Grant looked like a pin doll with all the bullet holes in his body. The autopsy was just a formality.
"What happened?" James asked.
"We tracked him to Sandy Beach," the first Mountie said.
"We were able to corner him," the next said.
"We tried to get him to come quietly, but he decided to fight," the first Mountie added.
"He took out four of us, before we got him," the second Mountie said with hatred.
"Did he say anything?" James asked.
Both just shook their heads.
"He smiled," the first Mountie said with disgust. "It was the creepiest thing I have ever seen."
"Any luck with Blinky Morgan?" James asked.
"Only one report. He and a handful of his crew are heading further north into the un-safe places of the North-West Territories," the second Mountie said.
All three men knew that it was a lawless area, and he would disappear easily into that space.
"Thank you, men. Complete your reports and check in with your superiors, but I have no doubt you will be allowed back to your posts," James said as he took one last look at the shot-up body of Seamus Grant.
James had been correct about the Mounties being able to leave once their reports had been finished. As he was checking in with his boss, James and his general were discussing the protocols in Red Deer. They agreed that the traveling ban could be lifted, and the curfew lessened.
As James was about to leave, there was a chatter amongst the Mounties and shouts of horror. James ran back inside.
"Constable, what is going on?" James demanded of a Mountie running down the hallway.
"All of the men from Blinky Morgan's crew that we arrested have killed themselves in some way," the Mountie replied.
"ALL of them?" James asked in reply.
The Mountie nodded.
James walked down the cell blocks, several had hung themselves, a few had used their dishware to cut an artery.
"Damn!" James swore under his breath.
"Go home, James. This is our mess to clean up," the general ordered.
James didn't even argue. This was going to be a huge PR battle he didn't want to get into.
When James got back to Red Deer, he decided to go to the saloon without his uniform on. This was going to be a personal visit. When he entered, he saw Cliff and Don toasting with Archie's boss at the bar top.
"Sir, what can we get you?" Cliff asked.
"Just your undivided attention," James glared.
The men all turned to look up at him.
"You are extremely lucky that Blinky Morgan thought of you as nothing but a chew toy," James said.
"We're here, and they aren't," Don said cockily.
"Only because of me! Had I not showed up, Blinky Morgan would have had his people murder, rape, and pillage the town, and blame you," James growled. "An innocent child would have been kidnapped!"
The men flinched.
"You have gained my interest, and NOT in a good way. If anything happens in here that is not entirely legal, I will shut you down and run you out of town," James threatened.
The brothers looked at each other and nodded.
James then turned his grey eyes onto Archie's boss. The man flinched.
"Let's talk on the way to your bank," James said simply before opening the door and waiting for him to follow.
"Sir?" he asked with a slight tremble.
"You're in more hot water than those idiots, and the sad thing is you are a better person. Or at least you were," James glared out of the sides of his eyes.
"I'm not sure what you're talking about," the man said.
"You blackmailed a good man! Archie told me about your threat when he finally decided to tell me about Seamus!" James' eyes narrowed in anger.
The man flinched.
"Anyone with a conscience would have given Archie the leave he had asked for. His mother-in-law was dying. In fact, both of his in-laws died while they were in Winnipeg! What kind of man treats a family that poorly? You know that Archie has a gambling problem, and yet your greed has made it a requirement for his job!" James said in anger.
"That's between me and my employee," the man tried to protest.
James glared at him.
"You're really going with that excuse?" James asked in disbelief.
"Sir…"
"You committed a crime, and Archie is willing to testify," James explained the situation the man as in.
The man went pale.
"You will be summoned by a Mountie to discuss this in more detail later in the week. Do not attempt to skip town. I WILL find you, and I will have no hesitations on asking for the fullest punishments," James glared at the man before leaving and walking back to the fort.
When he got to his home, he heard the shrieks of laughter coming from Colleen as Harris had been spinning her around their parlor. Nate was still sitting with an injured Sirius. Sirius seemed to be doing better, but neither wanted to be parted from each other.
Edith saw him first and held out her hand, noticing that he had had long days.
"UNCLE NORMAN! You're back!" Colleen shouted with happiness from Harris arms.
James smiled. Colleen's moods were contagious. It was a good thing she was a happy person.
"I am," James stepped into the room more fully.
"How did things go?" Archie asked.
"Good and bad," James said.
They all just waited until he continued.
"The good is that the Mounties caught up to Seamus. But he went down with a fight. He is dead now," James admitted looking at Archie.
"Good, best thing that could've happened to him," Archie said with relief.
The others nodded.
"The bad news is that Blinky Morgan escaped further north. His men we arrested all committee suicide in their cells," James growled.
"How does that impact things here?" Ophelia asked as she watched Nate.
"Well, we are loosening the restrictions. We don't think anyone will be back here for a while, but we still need some caution," James explained what he could in front of the children.
"Are we allowed to go home?" Colleen asked.
"I want to check things out before you do, but yes," James smiled.
"Where's Sirius gonna go?" Nate asked as he pet the dog. Sirius gave him a soft whimper and big begging puppy eyes.
"Well, I think the Mounties will have to retire him with that injury," James said as he knelt next to the boy and the dog.
"Who will take him?" Colleen asked with fear. "Auntie Edith can't have animals around much. She's only let him stay because he helped Nate."
"Colleen, did your Aunt say you could call her by her first name?" Ophelia reprimanded.
Colleen also had a knack for knowing when she could push boundaries.
"No, Mama. But we've known her longer than Auntie Regina, and we call Auntie Regina by her first name. Seems like we should be able to," Colleen explained her reasoning.
"It's absolutely fine with me!" Edith beamed.
"What about you Uncle Norman, can we call you Uncle James?" Colleen made sure to ask before doing so.
"That's fine with me," James smiled at both children. "Now back to your original question, I think some kind family who likes animals will have to take him in."
"MAMA! DADDY! Can we?" Colleen asked eagerly.
"That's a low blow, man," Archie gave a light, teasing glare to James.
James just shrugged.
"He saved Nate's life. We owe him," Colleen stated as she ran to the dog and hugged him. Soon Ophelia and Archie were looking at the pleading faces of their two children and the Mountie's most expressive dog.
Archie and Ophelia had already decided to take in the Mountie dog. Sirius had saved Nate's life, and they wanted Sirius to be in a comfortable home.
"Ya do know that General is going to be jealous of this," Archie said to James as he pointed to the children and Sirius.
"I do, but he will have to learn to deal with it," James said.
"Does that mean we can keep him?" Colleen asked with excitement.
"Yes, we're keeping him," Ophelia confirmed.
The loudness of their cheers and Sirius' howls were deafening, but worth it.
The next day James had ridden out with Harris and the Grants to the Grant house. Archie was explaining how everything had looked when they had returned from Winnipeg. Then he told them of what they had been able to fix, and what he still needed.
James had looked around the house and yard taking in the repairs and work still in progress.
"Archie, walk with me," James instructed. They needed to have a private conversation. Archie walked with him slowly on the land next to theirs, but never leaving sight of the house.
"Archie, I know you had to take out a loan. Will you let me cover it?" James asked.
Archie sighed and hesitated.
"It's a lot of money," Archie admitted.
"It would have to be for the repairs and replacing you've been working on. But we want to help, and we have the money to do so. Will you let us take it over?" James asked.
"I've been thinking about this a lot over the past few months. We would have had to go to Winnipeg, even if we hadn't become close. Seamus still would have had his influence pressed. The house would have still left in squalor. We would have had to take out a loan much sooner. He might have won," Archie said.
"That doesn't mean we can't help you now!" James persisted.
"Life throws us troubles, and this is my burden to bear, James," Archie replied.
James knew that Archie had a point that this would have more than likely happened even if the two families hadn't become close.
"Just know that we can help you ease it," James said.
Archie nodded.
"Any luck with the investigations?" Archie asked as they walked back towards the house.
"Not much," James admitted. "We're going to talk with your boss sometime this week."
Archie nodded.
With Red Deer back open for business, Archie and Ed assumed they were expected to go to the Saturday night poker game. When they entered the saloon at their normal meeting time, the brothers were already playing a set against James and some off duty Mounties.
Archie gave him a look.
James met it with one of his own. Really, he was trying to see how much Archie would be struggling.
"The good soldier has decided to actually join us in his off time," Cliff explained the man's presence.
"Should make this more interesting," Ed said as he sat down.
Archie didn't sit until his boss walked in.
His boss flinched when he saw James at the table.
They all placed bets. Don dealt the cards.
There was some small talk as they started, but with addition of the soldier, who normally didn't play, it was stilted and awkward. As Don was more and more into his cups though, he was getting more and more rude.
"I've heard rumors that your wife is an elephant woman," Don said as he looked over at James.
"I'm curious as to who told you that. The people who have seen her wouldn't dare insult her in such a way," James said simply.
Archie nodded in agreement.
"So why does she hide away if she isn't?" Don asked.
"Tell me what you would do if your spleen had to be removed, sir," James asked back.
The men gasped at that.
"Given the stench of this place, I would bet you would die an agonizing death," James said simply but with a fierce look around the saloon.
Don met his glare.
As they had been playing, James had steadily gotten more and more worried about how far Archie was into feeding this addiction. He was not betting as much as he could be, and he seemed to know when to stop and when to continue, and he seemed to be up at this point. But James could see that getting him away from the tables, even when he wouldn't be required to go, would be a challenge. His father had been similar. So, had Richard. Both men had far much more money to waste. Thankfully, he inherited the family business and its proceeds when his father retired, not when he had died.
James was also getting the feeling that Don and Cliff were getting annoyed at being shown up by Archie each week in a fair game. And considering their lack of morals, James could see them resorting to cheating to get Archie to crumble.
James had never liked the indoor games his father had preferred, but it had been one of the only ways to have his attention, so James, despite not playing often, was a good player.
It was the last round, and the men kept placing bets. More than anyone should have, really, given what had happened in town recently. Eventually, they started folding. Ed first. Then Archie's boss. James' two soldiers. Cliff. Then Archie. Which left Don and James.
James' hand wasn't a winning hand, it usually wasn't. But the first lesson his father had given him about teaching others a lesson in gambling with a Normandeau was to keep betting until everyone folded. They had more money to waste and the higher the calls were the more likely they would fold. James absolutely felt that Don and Cliff needed that lesson.
Don eyed James as he put down a $20.
James put down two $50s.
The men watching the game were all waiting with bated breath as a they knew that the brothers couldn't afford to match it.
Don sighed and threw down his cards.
James grabbed the chips and let them know he was cashing it in.
Cliff looked like he was going to have a row with his brother after they left, but cashed out the chips as the others left.
James counted the money and then left following behind the groups.
"Gentlemen, your money," James said as he handed back their portions.
"But ya won it," Archie gave him a look.
"I was teaching Don and Cliff a lesson," James said.
"What lesson was that?" Ed asked in confusion.
"Don't gamble with someone who has more money than you," James said.
Ed looked surprised.
"What was yer winning hand exactly?" Archie asked.
"A pair of twos," James said.
Archie and Ed laughed at Don losing to a pair of twos.
Archie took his portion and walked together as far as they could.
"I hope ya know that we don't think of Edith the way he described," Archie asked as they were about to separate.
"Of course not. Edith knows who she can trust with showing her natural face to. It does burn me that people don't see past someone's looks, though. Edith is the kindest person I have ever met, and yet people say cruel things about her," James finally ranted his anger.
Archie nodded.
"On Monday, we will meet with your boss," James said. "Stop by after church?"
Archie nodded and then they finally went home.
The next afternoon, the Grants had their normal afternoon and evening with their larger family. Regina was looking ever paler. Harris was increasingly worried about her.
Ophelia was glaring at her in annoyance.
"I'm fine," Regina protested.
"Clearly," Ophelia said sarcastically. She then positioned herself in order to help Regina the best way she could, while the family caught up.
This made Edith and Regina both comment on how Ophelia wasn't the type to not help family, and she couldn't yell at them for doing the same.
James and Archie were out in the yard with Nate and Harris. They were teaching Harris how to ride a horse. Harris was on Galileo. Nate was happily on the back of General.
It was during this quiet afternoon that one of the Mounties at their gate opened it to someone of higher rank.
His general and lieutenant general rode in with two envelopes.
James sighed. These types of visits usually didn't bode well. Edith had seen who the visitors were and had the people on the inside help her out to their porch. James took General's reins and stopped him. He grabbed Nate from the tie and held him for a moment.
"Is that the boy who Seamus attempted to kidnap?" his general asked.
"Yes, this is Nathan Grant. He goes by Nate," James said as he switched Nate to his left so he could salute his superiors.
"At ease," his general replied. Then he smiled at Nate.
Nate smiled back.
Go stand with your dad," James whispered as he put Nate on the ground. Nate nodded and followed his instructions.
"How can I help you gentlemen?" James asked in confusion.
"The fiasco with Blinky Morgan and Seamus Grant was a nightmare of ridiculous proportions. I had to tender my resignation after the mass suicide had been dealt with. They knew Seamus had been caught. Apparently, they had instructions for any event. Lieutenant General Bishop is going to be promoted to general come the beginning of the work week," his general said.
James had a look of horror on his face.
"Sir, if anyone should be blamed, I feel like it is mine. I left my post," James said quietly.
"You left who you thought to be a good man in charge, and when you realized it wasn't you came back. All of us have gone over those days ad nauseum. Each of us agrees that if it weren't for your quick and clever thinking, it wouldn't have happened so peacefully. We would have had a blood bath and a kidnapped child to deal with. You bluffed the criminals into thinking that you were okay with killing innocents. Those of us who know you, know better. You wouldn't have shot up the saloon. You were coming up for promotion any way. So, we decided to promote you to major. Congratulations, James. You've earned this," the general smiled and shook his hand.
James was standing there in shock.
His family behind him were all beaming with pride and love.
"Keep up the good work, Major Normandeau," his general said as he handed over the new insignias for his uniform.
For those who don't know the significance of the promotion, James was promoted two levels. He skipped being called captain. The real Normandeau, in what I can find, was only ever a lieutenant (have also discovered that his first name wasn't James, but when I was giving him a first name, I couldn't find his first name; it was always J. E. Bedard Normandeau. To me he sounded like the would be half British, half French. So, I decided to give him a very British first name!) James is now officially, a senior officer (even though many treated him as such anyway).
From what little I've learned, they all live in what they called the North-West Territories, there were just in one massive land mass, with the exception of B.C., Toronto, and Quebec, were their own territories. Which is why I made mention of the fact that Blinky Morgan was escaping farther north. Eventually as the territories grew more populated, other territory names were created. (Alberta, etc.). So that by 1916 (timeline in the show) the Northern Territories were called the Northern Territories.
Thanks for the positive feedback!
