LOST AND FOUND - PART 1

CHANCE MEETING

CHAPTER 1

Joe was bored and he was surprised that he was bored. San Francisco had so much to offer a young man, but nothing seemed to be very interesting anymore. His biggest problem was that he couldn't get his older brother, Adam, out of his mind. "Six years," he thought, "it's been six years."

Adam had gone to Chicago with an old friend from college, Allan, who had shown up at the Ponderosa asking him for help. Two weeks had gone by with no word. Then another two weeks went by, and still nothing.

Extremely worried, Ben had gone to Chicago himself and when he talked to the local authorities he had been horrified when he was told Adam's friend was dead; he had been murdered. As for Adam, no one had even heard of him.

Ben had stayed as long as he could but found no trace of his missing son. He advertised a reward, but no one with any legitimate information came forward. Then he even went to a local detective agency run by a man named Pinkerton and hired them to look. For a month the detectives tried to turn up any information at all, but could not find a thing. Adam had just vanished.

They took it very hard that they couldn't help and all promised to keep looking, on their own time, right before they saw Ben off at the train station.

Those six years had gone by, but Joe somehow knew in his heart that Adam was not dead; he clung desperately to that hope, they all did.

He was very deep in thought as he walked along so he almost didn't glance in the window of a gentlemen's club as he passed. His brain didn't register the face he had seen until he was almost a block away. When it did, his heart started to pound and he turned and hurried back..

He stepped right up to the window and cupped his hands around his eyes to block out any glare and saw from the side a tall dark-haired man working behind a bar. The man was efficiently setting things up for the day with an economy of movement. Joe stared intently, watching the way the man moved and his heart began to beat even faster.

The man then turned toward the window and spoke to someone Joe couldn't see. The other person must have said something amusing because the man laughed, white teeth flashing in a dark beard.

The pounding of his heart roared in Joe's ears and he rushed to the door and ran in. He was in such a hurry he didn't notice the enormous, musclebound man guarding the door until he was grabbed by the scruff of his neck by a huge hand.

The doorman said, "You can't come in here unless you got yourself a membership, and I don't think you do." He started dragging Joe out saying, "Sorry he almost slipped past me, Mr. Eden. I'll just toss him out."

"No, wait!" Joe pleaded, trying to dig his heels in. "Adam, is that you?" he pleaded in a last-ditch attempt to get the attention of the man behind the bar.

The bouncer stopped dead in his tracks and looked at the man he had called "Mr. Eden." He must not have liked what he saw because his expression became uncertain. Joe squirmed around and managed to take a brief look and was shocked when he saw that the man he thought was Adam was coldly angry.

Joe's captor shook him and started to drag him out the door again when Mr. Eden spoke, "It's alright Charlie, you can let the kid go," which the doorman did immediately. Joe slowly turned and he saw the other man watching him with narrowed, intense eyes - a look that was very familiar.

"How did you know my first name, kid?"

His mouth was so dry Joe couldn't speak at first, but then he managed to croak, "I know your first name because you're my brother."

This Adam called Eden rolled his eyes and the bouncer laughed nastily. "How many people does that make claiming I'm a long-lost relative so far this year, Charlie?" Adam said.

"Probably 'bout an even dozen."

"I think you're right," Adam said as he cocked his head to the side and looked Joe up and down. Then he addressed the bouncer again.

"Well, Charlie, I'm now inclined to be in a generous mood." He turned back to Joe, "Come here kid, you can have a beer and tell me your story."

Joe glanced nervously at Charlie then moved slowly to the bar. He sat down on a stool as the other man placed a mug of beer in front of him. "It's not really my story, it's more like your story."

Adam continued working behind the bar, "Alright then, tell me my story."

Joe was rattled and blurted out the first thought that came into his head, "Aren't you going to have one?"

He gave Joe a dark sideways glance, "No thanks kid, I don't drink."

"You don't drink and you work in a saloon?" Joe mentally kicked himself and tried to organize his scrambled thoughts. Everything this man was doing and saying was keeping him off balance.

"I don't work here," Adam said as he stopped moving around to lean against the bar sideways on one elbow. He pulled out a narrow cigar and lit it.

"Get to the story, I don't have all day."

Joe opened his mouth to respond when he realized he just wasn't sure what to start with. When he met Adam's eyes with a blank stare of his own the other man shook his head and spoke, "So you're trying to tell me I'm your brother. That's hard to believe, son, I don't look anything at all like you."

"We have different mothers."

Adam raised one eyebrow, "Nice touch, that neatly explains the lack of resemblance." He looked at Joe expectantly.

"Our brother Hoss has a different mother too."

Adam gave Joe a sardonic look, "Just how many of us are there?"

"Only us three," Joe said, "Pa's been married and widowed three times."

"Well, at least he had enough sense to stop while he was behind," Adam gave a short, harsh laugh.

The younger man was starting to get a little irritated and his face turned slightly red as he said, "So why do so many people claim you as a long-lost relative?"

"You play dumb really well kid," Adam said, then looked at the bouncer, "tell him why Charlie."

The bouncer laughed, "Mr. Eden's just about one of the richest men in this here part of the state."

Joe's mouth fell open, "Really? But why do you work here, then?"

"I told you before kid, I don't work here; I own this place." Both Adam and Charlie laughed.

The front door opened then and all three men turned to the newcomer. He was an average looking man with brown hair and eyes. He anxiously addressed his employer. "I got here as fast as I could when I got your message, Mr. Eden. Didn't Bob show up this morning?"

Adam straightened up and put out his cigar as his expression became serious. "No he didn't Jack," he said as he came out from behind the bar and went to the nearest table.

"Come sit down, I need to talk to you about it."

When they were both seated Jack asked, "Did he get into another fight?"

Adam shook his head, "No, not in the way you mean. I'm sorry Jack, but Bob is dead. He was murdered last night."

Jack gasped and looked at the other man in shock, "But why? I mean, how? What happened?"

"I'm not completely sure yet, but you can be sure I'm going to find out," Adam crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair, "as far as I can see it looks like whoever did it was a professional."

Jack still couldn't take it in, "But why would someone hire a professional killer to murder Bob?"

"Because he worked for me, Jack. All the harassment I've been dealing with for the last six months hasn't shut me down, so now the perpetrator has upped the ante to murder."

Appalled by what he was hearing, Joe turned around on his stool. Adam glanced up at him, "Did you get all that, kid? Still sure you want to claim me?"

Turning back to Jack, Adam said, "I know you and Bob were close, and I was pretty sure he didn't have any family to notify. Do you know of any?"

The other man just shook his head, staring down at his hands in his lap.

"I didn't think so," Adam raised his right hand and smoothed down his beard. "Someone has declared war on me and mine. I promise you Jack when I find out who did this I am going to bring him down myself."

His employee looked up at that, "What can I do to help?"

Smiling Adam said, "You just keep your eyes and ears open and report anything you hear to me." He stood, "I have to leave soon and make the arrangements for Bob's funeral. I've sent out notices letting all employees know what happened. Every business I own, except the hotel, will close day after tomorrow at one o'clock so anyone who wants can attend the funeral at two."

He leaned down and looked Jack in the eye. "I need you to help spread the word to all employees that if anyone threatens them, they are to come immediately to me. And if anyone decides to leave my employ out of fear I will not hold it against them." Straightening up he continued, "I have a lot of people coming from the agency in Chicago and they should be here tomorrow."

Jack nodded his head. "I remember now, you used to work with Pinkerton didn't you?"

"That's right, first in New York and then in Chicago. I've called in a lot of favors and a lot of friends. Whoever is doing this is going to pay." Adam looked at Joe then.

"Come with me, kid. I have to get going, but you can finish your story while I change," he said as he went to a door near the bar and went in. Joe was close behind.

He walked into a large office and Adam told him to have a seat as he pulled his shirt off before going through another door. Joe couldn't stop a gasp of horror and the other man heard it. He came back and all Joe could do was just look at him with wide eyes.

Adam laughed, "Sorry Joseph, I keep forgetting about these scars and how they affect other people." The mass of scars on Adam's chest was just as bad as what Joe had seen on his back. "What happened?" he finally managed to say.

"Someone tried to beat me to death and when that didn't work, they tried to cut me to death. In fact, I was dead, at least for a while, and when I woke up I was on a table in a hospital morgue in New York. Fortunately for me, a very talented surgeon managed to patch me back together.. Which brings me back to your story - everyone around here knows I woke up without any memories at all. The only thing I knew for sure was my name is Adam."

"What about the Eden last name?"

"Pinkerton gave me that last name when he hired me. He thought it was a good joke. It stuck, and I didn't really care. One name is as good as another when you don't know who you are," Adam shrugged and went back through the other door.

Joe sat down, looked around the office, and spent some time considering everything he had heard. "So you didn't remember anything at all?" he eventually called through the open door.

"No, not a thing," Adam replied and came back into the office dressed in an expensive dark-gray suit.

Joe stared at this elegant, well-groomed, yet powerful-looking man, from his brilliantly polished boots to his closely clipped dark beard. And then the importance of something this Adam had said came to him.

"You called me Joseph."

"What?"

"When we first came in here and I reacted to your scars you called me Joseph. I know I never told you my name."

The other man stood very still, looking at Joe with hooded eyes. "You're right, I did and I'm sure you didn't tell me your name too," he turned away to take a black hat down from a row of pegs on the wall, and then he turned back to Joe.

"Hmmm...I have to say this is getting to be much more interesting." He put his hat on with his left hand and that is when Joe noticed he was wearing a wedding ring.

"You're married!?," he yelped.

Adam laughed, "Very close to five years now, everyone knows that. Damn, you really are good at playing dumb, if you are playing dumb. Where are you staying in town?"

"At the Eden House," Joe said then realized who must own it. "Oh."

"Perfect, and yes The Eden House is mine. Do you have anyone with you?"

"Both Pa and Hoss."

"Alright, I tell you what kid, you bring them to my office at three o'clock today and we'll see what happens. Just go to the front desk, give them your name, and someone will show you up," he was standing holding the office door open. "So, what is our illustrious surname?"

"Cartwright."

"Cartwright," Adam repeated, "well at least that's a lot better than the last one. I wouldn't wish the last name of Winkleblech on my worst enemy."

Joe laughed as he got to his feet and Adam smiled at him. "Well Joseph Cartwright, if you are telling me the truth that's wonderful." Adam paused and his face became hard, his eyes intense, "but if I find you've just been fooling with me you will regret it."

He left the office then and Joe trailed behind him until the two were standing on the sidewalk out in front of the club.

Adam turned to him once more. "For both our sakes Joseph, I hope you are telling me the truth," he said then turned and walked away leaving Joe with the strange feeling of actually being afraid of a man he had known and trusted all his life.