Chapter 5
As he'd predicted, it was dusk by the time they rode into Dodge. He led the way through the back streets and alleyways until they arrived at the rear entrance to the jail without seeing or being seen by anyone.
Dillon wondered how long it would take to get used to coming home to a dark, empty office. The place felt cold and desolate without Chester waiting there with the stove burning and coffee pot at the ready. He lit two coal-oil lamps then stirred the embers in the stove and threw a log on top of them to get the fire started again. The clang of metal as he closed the iron door resonated in the cold emptiness of the office and brought him back to the present. He knew he'd have to get some help around here soon but couldn't face that option right now.
"So what do we do now, Matt?" Ada was looking around at the brick walls and sparse furnishings.
"First I'm making coffee, then I'll take the horses to the stable and find a place for you to stay."
"Can I see Miranda tonight?"
"I'll see what I can arrange."
()()()
After leaving the horses in Moss Grimmick's capable hands, Matt's next stop was the Long Branch.
He could tell that business was winding down for the night when he looked over the batwing doors. Only three tables were still occupied, and those by a few hardcore drinkers who were draining the almost empty whiskey bottles to be sure they got every last drop of the precious liquid.
Kitty was washing beer mugs in the bar sink, and Sam was stacking chairs on vacant tables in preparation for sweeping the floor.
"Welcome back."
The quiet greeting came from Kitty and was meant for Matt's ears only. He felt a little guilty because, yet again, he needed a favor. He glanced at the few remaining patrons before going across to her with a rather sheepish expression on his face. In a normal relationship they might have exchanged a chaste kiss or he might have put his arm across her shoulders and delivered a gentle squeeze, but he couldn't allow himself either of those small pleasures here in the open. She continued to stack the washed beer mugs to drain in the sink while similarly suppressing her own desires.
"Kitty, I need…"
"Don't tell me, Matt…you have a young lady who needs a place to stay." Her words were softened by a smile as she looked into his eyes.
"How do you know that?" Her intuition never failed to amaze him.
"The look on your face says it all. Who is it this time?"
"A United States Marshal," he said while studying the stack of drying beer mugs. She was about to question him about that, but he was in a hurry.
"I'll explain later," he promised before turning to leave.
Kitty shook her head while smiling.
"Everything alright, Miss Kitty?" Sam inquired after the marshal left. He'd been helping the few remaining customers out through the door but doubted any one of them would find his way home tonight without help. He picked up the broom and began the nightly task of sweeping the heavily stained floorboards.
"Yes, it's fine, Sam. Maybe there'll come a day when that man will be able to stay and talk for more than five minutes at a time," she added thoughtfully.
A little while later Dillon walked Marshal Ada Boothe through the darkness of Dodge City's alleys to Doc Adams' office. He still wasn't quite comfortable with the idea of a woman being an officer of the law - but here he was with two of them in his town. He hoped that when that official envelope arrived from Washington it would order them to return home and forget about Yarborough and his gang until an appropriate group of lawmen could be assigned to the project.
()()()
Miranda Miller was definitely doing better. Even Doc was surprised by her progress. Matt showed Ada into the back room and talked with the wounded marshal for a few minutes before leaving the two women to have some time together.
"How's she doing, Doc?"
Adams had removed his spectacles and was carefully folding them into their metal case. He finished what he was doing before looking up at his friend.
"A lot better than I thought she would. She'll probably be up and around in a few more days."
"That's good. No doubt it's all due to the skill of her physician!" Matt added, trying to goad the good doctor into a little friendly banter, but Adams was too tired to go along with it.
"I'm glad to hear you acknowledge that." Doc's response was a statement that was intended to end further conversation.
()()()
Ada didn't think Tom had willingly revealed the existence of her and Miranda to Yarborough or his men, but their fellow marshal was in such bad shape when they found him that she couldn't be totally sure he hadn't let something slip. Ada was concerned by the possibility that some of those men were now looking for her and Miranda, especially since the entire ambush party who'd been sent to waylay anyone helping Tom Durbin, now lay dead just south of the Cimarron Crossing. Yarborough's men had never seen the two women but news of a pair of unknown females arriving in any town would travel fast. Anyone trying to track them down would consider Dodge City an obvious place for the two marshals to come looking for help.
Matt led the way to the Long Branch, once again taking the lesser used and mostly unlit route. He knocked softly on the side door which opened into Kitty's storeroom-come-office. He figured she would still be there entering the night's business into the books. It wasn't long before the door was opened, allowing him to hurriedly steer Ada inside. He followed quickly behind her and took a last minute look up and down the alleyway before shutting out the darkness behind them.
"Ada Boothe, Kitty Russell," he introduced the two ladies once they were both inside. Ada removed the tattered hat she'd been wearing and released the pins that had been keeping her hair contained. It fell in loose blond curls around her shoulders.
A look of astonishment came over the saloon owner's face. "Matt told me he was bringing a United States Marshal, but you're not quite what I expected," she said in surprise.
"Is it the fact that I'm a woman that surprises you?" Ada asked.
Kitty laughed. She'd seen almost everything in the course of the years she'd spent working in saloons. "Not really," she admitted. "Nothing much surprises me anymore, but I never imagined a marshal with long blond hair."
Both women chuckled while Matt looked on, unsure what to say.
Ada broke the brief silence "At this very moment, Kitty, there are twice as many female marshals in Dodge City as there are male officers of the law."
Matt saw that the women had already struck up an understanding so he had no hope of winning any argument tonight.
Kitty turned towards him. "I do have a room to spare, Matt, so Ada is welcome to stay here for a night or two."
Dillon regarded the woman who at times haunted his dreams. Often, here in this small space, he would take her in his arms for a short moment in time before leaving. He would feel her warmth and then reassure her that he would return. He didn't feel right about doing that while Ada was standing there watching.
"I need to go check on the late-night stage. It's due in any minute. I'll see you later, Kitty.
She followed him to the door to let him out. "Be careful, Matt."
As she spoke she gave him that special smile before he turned to leave then closed and bolted the door behind him.
Ada had been watching and easily sensed the connection between these two people she barely knew.
"He's a good man, Kitty." Ada spoke softly, as if she was trying to figure something out.
"He is indeed, Ada and I don't want to lose him to some gunslinger's bullet either. I worry about him at times like this. I know he has something on his mind, and I suspect it has something to do with you and the other marshal up in Doc's office. I also have a feeling that you'll be leaving town soon on some serious business."
Ada could see the concern on Kitty's face now that Matt had left. Up till then the redhead had kept a smile on her lips and some kind of glow in her eyes.
"If we do, Kitty, I promise you I'll do my best to see that he comes home safely." She reached over and placed a hand on Kitty's arm to reinforce her words. "I mean it," she said quietly, to add significance to her words.
Kitty looked at her. "You understand, don't you?" she said slowly, still considering the meaning of the words Ada had said.
Ada nodded. "It shows, clear as day. We got to talking on the way back to Dodge from Walnut Creek. He didn't mention you by name or even admit that there was anyone special in his life but I could tell from things he said that somewhere there was someone."
Kitty laughed "You must have a great interrogation technique to get any information out of Matt Dillon."
"Mandatory skill!" Ada laughed. "And I also know how to listen and fill in the silence between words."
()()()
Matt got to the stage depot a few minutes before the coach arrived. He had a little time to sit and think. Whatever was it that drove a woman like Ada Boothe to pin on a badge? He knew that women were complicated beings. As soon as he thought he had them figured out, someone like Ada came along and confused him all over again.
The noise of the stagecoach heading up Front Street seemed so much louder at night. It stopped right in front of the depot with the horses breathing hard and stomping their feet. The driver climbed down off the box moving carefully at first.
"Evenin' Marshal," Joe Finney called out as he opened the coach door and helped four passengers to the ground.
"I've got one of those official looking envelopes for you," he said while checking the compartment to make sure no one had left anything behind. The mail satchel was under the box. Finney fished it out and handed over a thick brown packet.
()()()
Matt sat alone in the cold dimly lit jail. He hadn't bothered to try to get the stove going again. He picked up the large envelope that had come all the way from Washington. Using his knife, he carefully sliced through the seal and removed a stack of about a dozen or so circulars which he browsed through briefly. He didn't recognize any of the names and the few pictures attached held no significance either. Finally, he opened the small sealed envelope that accompanied them and read the letter it contained. Disturbingly, it didn't tell him and the women marshals to abandon their quest. Instead it explained that because of difficulties beyond their control they were unable to assign a group of men to go down to the Oklahoma Territory right now. Furthermore they requested - actually it sounded more like an order - for Dillon and the remaining team of peace officers to go to Kenton and endeavor to eliminate the threat from the man known as Yarborough.
Dillon sat back in the chair and put his hands behind his head. The trail herds would start to arrive in another week or two. This was no time for him to leave town. He read the letter again. There really was no other way to interpret its meaning.
If he had to he could get the sheriff in Hays to send a man to watch the town for a few weeks, but worst of all he was going to have to break the news to Kitty.
Matt sat there feeling pushed and pulled in opposite directions. He always considered Dodge City to be his town and it was his responsibility to see that it remained safe for the people who lived here. When Washington had originally sent him to Kansas, his prime responsibility was to set up a headquarters in Dodge and bring law and order to the frontier.
Right now that badge was pulling him away from the same town when it needed him most.
TBC