Chapter 10
"Sit down," Davis said when Jarrod came into his office at seven thirty the next morning.
Jarrod sat down in the chair in front of Davis's desk. "So, what did 'maybe' mean?" he asked straight away.
"After you left here yesterday, one of our men came in and let me know he'd found something on Alistaire Martin he thought was pertinent," Davis said. "Long before he went to prison, before his parents died and when Alana was 12 or 13, his father tried to get him into an industrial school here in town."
"An industrial school?" Jarrod asked. "Aren't they mostly for problem boys?"
Davis nodded. "To give them some discipline and some kind of craft that will get them a good job, but apparently he couldn't get Alistaire in. Our man knew the fellow who was operating the school when Alistaire's father tried to get him in, but the man is not with the school anymore and had no qualms about telling our man the story once he found out our man was looking into Alana Roman and the Martin family. Alistaire was rejected because he had abused his sister."
Jarrod was surprised, and yet not surprised. "If that's true, it explains a few things."
"Like the hold he might have over her," Davis said. Then said, "Like why she can't have children."
"It was sexual abuse?" Jarrod asked.
Davis said, "The informant wasn't sure, but it definitely was physical abuse significant enough to do her damage internally. Alistaire apparently beat the hell out of Alana more than once, and that's why his father was trying to put him in the industrial school – to get him away from her."
"And it didn't work," Jarrod said. "And he kept abusing her."
"Until he went to prison. But he probably still has that hold over her, that threat that he'll beat her up again if she doesn't do what he wants – like get money for him."
Jarrod frowned, and felt very bad. If this history he was hearing was true, it changed his thinking about Alana considerably. She wasn't lying because she was malicious. She was lying because she was beaten up and continually threatened – and maybe because she didn't accept that her brother had abused her enough to damage her internally and keep her from having children. "You're aware of Robert Kern, her first husband?"
"Yes, we know he was here but he's gone back to Denver," Davis said.
"We need to find that doctor he talked to about Alana, and this Dr. Parkins she apparently also saw while she was with Steve Roman."
"Didn't you convince her that she ought to take you to see Parkins with her?"
Jarrod nodded. "Yes, I think so, but it's possible she'll go back on it. I'm going to see her today."
"Parkins may know who that first doctor was, and he may know for sure from examining her that she can't get pregnant."
Jarrod made a decision. "Even if she won't take me to see him, I'm going to try to see him on my own and see if he'll talk to me. We need to know what he's thinking about her, everything he's thinking."
"There is a bit more," Davis said. "The 'maybe' part from last night."
"What's that?"
"The bartender recognized you when you came in."
"So did one of the men I was playing poker with," Jarrod said.
"The bartender said your name out loud to someone else at the bar, and a third man looked up and looked awfully interested. That man left. I asked the bartender if he knew who the guy was. He said 'Morton or something, maybe Martin.' He didn't know for sure, but he came in there a lot."
"Maybe that was Alistaire Martin," Jarrod said.
"If it was, he's seen you now," Davis said. "If you don't string along with Alana, and he finds out, I suspect you could be in for some hurt. And I mean physically."
Jarrod scowled, nodded. "What does this Morton or Martin look like?"
"Dark hair, short cut, trimmed moustache, a good looking fella. About six feet tall and lean."
At least he was taller than average. He'd be easier to spot. "Dark eyes?"
"I couldn't tell. I'd appreciate it if you get back to me after you talk to Alana today. I feel the need to keep an eye out for what you're doing, just in case."
"I appreciate that," Jarrod said.
"A bodyguard might not be a bad idea."
Jarrod smiled a little, but suddenly it was a smile that said he had put something together in his mind. It was a wicked smile that said he knew what to do to catch a snake.
"Yes, a bodyguard," Jarrod said, "but not one clinging to me."
XXXXXX
Jarrod told Davis about the idea he had – all of it - and Davis kept nodding. Then, as he was leaving, Jarrod said, "Don't follow me right away. Give me at least five minutes."
"It'll take me that long at least to round up the man I need," Davis said.
"I'll stop by Nat Springer's office and bring him up to speed, but I won't take any longer than ten or fifteen minutes there. You can be in place by the time I get to the Palace."
"Just keep your eye out," Davis said.
"You do that too," Jarrod said. "Remember, he might know what you look like too."
"I doubt it. He wasn't paying any attention to me at the bar."
"Nevertheless, keep your head down and your face hidden if you see him. Follow me at a distance when I leave but don't make any move toward me unless I yell for help. You do what I want you to do, I'll take care of what I want to do, and I'll get back to you here by early afternoon."
With that, Jarrod left Pinkerton and headed straight for Nat Springer's office. He kept a bit of a lookout, but he didn't see anyone who answered Alistaire Martin's description, and he never saw Davis either. If Davis's operative were nearby, Jarrod didn't know him.
Springer was in, thankfully, and Jarrod sat down with him in his inner office, closing the door behind him. "Nat, everything I'm going to tell you, you can and should share with Steve Roman as soon as you can, except for what I'm hoping will happen today."
Springer listened while Jarrod explained everything he had found out about Alana, her parents, her brother, and what it looked like was going on with the woman and her lies. Springer's face grew darker and angrier, the more he heard.
Then Jarrod said, "This is what I'm going to do now." And he explained what he'd set up with Pinkerton.
Springer nodded. "It sounds a bit risky, but then that's you all over, my friend." He remembered the risk Jarrod had taken in court at Heath's trial in Stockton.
"I try to calculate my risks carefully, Nat," Jarrod said. "If everything goes as I think it will, I'll be back over here by mid-afternoon."
"Even if it doesn't go the way you want it to, I want to know by mid-afternoon," Springer said.
"If it doesn't go the way I want it to, I may be in the hospital, or in jail."
Springer smiled a little. "Just let me know which one and I'll come get you."
Heartened, and returning the smile, Jarrod got up and extended a hand. Springer stood and took it.