INVESTIGATING

Chapter 39

Adam was standing on the sidewalk in front of a large, brownstone row house. He was watching a second floor window without tipping his head back, only his eyes were raised. Someone was in that window, watching him too. Even though all he could see was a man's silhouette, he knew it was Albrecht.

"Take a good look," he thought. "By the time this is over you will come to loathe the sight of me." He smiled to himself, then went up the steps and knocked on the door. It immediately opened to reveal a tall man dressed in traditional butler's livery. Adam wanted to roll his eyes at the pretension.

"May I help you?" The butler said in a deep, rumbling voice then his eyes widened when he saw the badge pinned to Adam's suit coat.

"Would you please inform Mr. Albrecht I am here to see him?"

"Yes, sir. Please come in," the butler said and stepped back to let him enter.

He closed the door and turned to say, "May I take your hat?"

"No thank you," Adam said as he removed it.

"May I have your card, sir?" The butler then seemed surprised when Adam took one from his breast pocket and handed it over. He almost laughed at the butler's assumption that he wouldn't have one. But he kept his expression suitably serious.

"Please wait here, sir." The butler intoned and walked off down the hallway at a stately pace. Adam took the opportunity to look around.

The entry hall in this house was very similar to the one in the gray stone mansion he used to live in. He shook his head at all the wasted space even while acknowledging the beautiful craftsmanship of the construction. But he still preferred his own house that was truly a home.

He was admiring a beautiful painting of a seascape when the butler returned.

"This way sir," he said and seemed to be twice as nervous as he had been when he saw the badge. Adam followed the man at the same stately pace until they reached a pair of pocket doors. The butler pushed them apart saying, "Please be seated, sir. Mr. Albrecht will be with you in a moment."

Adam gave the man an appraising sideways glance then moved into the room and sat down. As soon as the butler pulled the doors shut, he stood and began to survey the room slowly. He knew Albrecht would be keeping him waiting for some time.

Everything in the room seemed expensive and tasteful, yet he got the impression that something was not quite right. He had been in many homes owned by true aristocrats and this place seemed like a poor imitation. Shaking his head, he continued to look around.

Almost an hour later he heard footsteps coming so he hastily sat down in the nearest chair. The doors opened and Simon Albrecht strode in, a harried look on his face. Adam stood.

The other man hurried toward him, but his visitor quickly took stock of Simon's physical characteristics. The man was slightly more than average height with a large frame. He no doubt had been muscular at one time, but now was rather soft and becoming fat. He was almost bald on top and what hair he had left was a non-descript brown. His facial features were crude and the only outstanding thing about him was his eyes. They were cold and dark gray as they looked disdainfully at his unwelcome guest. The man opened his mouth, but Adam deliberately cut him off by speaking first.

"Please accept my apology for disturbing you at such a time, but I only have a few days in the city and we would like to get this investigation concluded as soon as possible."

That neatly stole Albrecht's momentum and the man stopped in mid-stride as he arranged his features in a suitably sorrowful expression.

"Yes, all this has been extremely difficult for me. Do you have children Mr. Cartwright?"

Adam nodded, "Yes," he said and tamped down his fury at this man.

"Then you must have some idea what it would feel like to lose them."

"Yes, I think I do," he responded softly while desperately holding on to his neutral expression. "I only need a few points clarified before the investigation can be closed."

"Please be seated," Albrecht said as he lowered himself into a large, overstuffed chair.

Ignoring the invitation Adam remained standing. "There are a few small holes in the information we have gathered and we hope you will be able to help us. I believe your entire staff, except for the nanny had the night off. Did this happen frequently?"

"Yes it did. I am often away and saw no reason to keep the house fully staffed in the evening. The nanny was perfectly capable of caring for my children by herself," he paused for effect. "They were quite young."

Adam nodded, "Yes I know. How long was the current nanny in your employ?"

"I believe about four months."

"I see, not very long then."

"No."

"Did she produce any references when you hired her?"

"I did not hire her myself. My housekeeper takes care of such things."

"Ah...I understand. The reports say you were out of town that night, but are not very clear as to where."

"I was visiting a friend."

"And this friend's name would be?"

Albrecht shifted in his chair and cleared his throat. "Considering that we are both men of the world I'm sure you can understand if I would rather not give you a name if doing so would tarnish the reputation of a lady. She is a widow and I have been seriously considering marriage." He arranged his features in that sorrowful expression again. "I had felt it was time for my children to have a mother again."

Adam turned away as he clenched his teeth, but quickly regained control. "I just have one more question," he said as he turned back to hit him hard with what he knew would be unexpected. "What do you think happened that night?"

The other man blinked and Adam could almost see him sorting through possible scenarios as the seconds ticked by. Then Albrecht put on an expression of righteous anger. "The only thing I can surmise is that the fire was possibly set by someone bent on revenge."

"Revenge? For what?"

"A man of my wealth and position has to expect he will make enemies in the business world. I have been threatened before."

"You have? Did you report any of these threats?"

"No. I had no proof, just my word against theirs."

"I see..." Adam said while mentally acknowledging the other man's shrewdness in proposing an unknown party to have set the fire. "Well I believe I have everything I need now and I apologize again for disturbing you."

Albrecht quickly stood. "Then I may assume that this investigation will be finished soon?"

Adam smiled his half smile while intently looking the man in the eye. "Yes...very soon."

They had gone through the pocket doors and the butler was there, waiting to see the visitor out.

"Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions," Adam said and the two men shook hands.

"You are quite welcome," Albrecht said and retreated back into the drawing room.

"I'll have to scrub this hand thoroughly when I get back to the hotel," Adam said under his breath as he followed the butler down the front hall.

"I beg your pardon, sir. Did you say something to me?" the butler asked as he opened the door.

"No," Adam simply answered and strode through. The door immediately shut behind him. Smiling, he could have sworn he heard the butler heave a sigh of relief.

He took his time going down the front steps and when he was standing on the sidewalk he stopped to put his hat back on. Albrecht was at the second floor window again.

"Feeling a little nervous Simon?" he said and smiled a satisfied smile as he walked away in the Hotel's direction.

He reached the first corner and was about to step around a street lamp and down into the street when he heard someone shout his name from behind - and then the pounding of galloping hooves. His instincts told him to turn and look, but instead he jumped up, grabbed the metal arm of the street lamp that stretched out over the road and swung himself up.

When he looked down he saw a wagon streak past and looked right into the startled eyes of the man driving. One of the back wheels almost clipped the lamppost. Adam watched from his perch as the wagon continued to speed down the side street then turned onto another and was gone. He took a deep breath, held it, then let it out slowly to steady himself and slow his thudding heart. Then he looked down again when he heard someone on the ground laughing.

"Nate! What the hell are you doing here?" he said as he swung himself down and landed in front of his friend. Numerous people on the street were staring at this odd display, especially a short, stocky young man in a badly fitting suit. Adam ignored them.

"God! The look on that man's face was priceless!" the other man sputtered out as he continued to laugh. "I swear, when he saw you swing up there his mouth opened so wide I thought his jaw was going to just fall right off!"

"I'm sure it was hilarious," Adam said tightly. "What are you doing here?"

"Well boss, remember how you've always told us to trust our instincts? I had a bad feeling about your going to see Albrecht by yourself so I followed you. It's a good thing you had me watching your back or we'd be scraping you up with a shovel right now."

Adam stared at him darkly for a moment his lips in a grim line. Then he relaxed. "Alright, you've got me on that one, but I can't have you four ignoring my direction." The corners of his mouth turned up slightly, but his eyes were still hooded and annoyed. "The next time your instincts are screaming something to you, please tell me beforehand."

Glad that he still had a head on his shoulders, Nate quickly agreed. "Sure boss, whatever you say."

His expression turning skeptical Adam said, "Why is it I get more tense instead of less whenever I hear those words coming out of your mouth?"

"Beats me!" Nate said and gave his friend a wide-eyed, innocent look.

"Knock it off, that's just as bad," Adam was laughing reluctantly now as they both crossed the side street and started the long walk back to the hotel.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The two men didn't make it back until close to six o'clock. The other deputies were gathered in the sitting room, anxiously waiting, but they all relaxed when Adam and Nate walked in. Three pairs of eyes were staring at Nate's face, and when he gave them a quick wink they knew all was well.

"Well?" Mike said. "What's Albrecht like?"

"Not quite as intelligent as I thought," Adam said as he went into his room to take off his suit coat and vest. When he came back he half sat on the front edge of the table to face his men. "Alright, you go first Dylan."

"Piece of cake," the handsome young man chortled. "Former nanny's name is Katherine Bell. Her family lives locally and I went to see them. They haven't heard a word from Kate since the night she disappeared, and according to her sister she was not romantically involved with anyone. Now, the man who supposedly eloped with her was a gardener by the name of Ambrose Harte. I went to talk to his family and guess who should happen to open the door?"

"He was there!" John's voice almost squeaked.

"Yep. Claim's he doesn't know anything about Kate disappearing and I couldn't shake his story. He told me he left his job for a better one, but was reluctant to give me any details. In fact, the entire family seemed to not want to say anything at all. I caught a lot of significant looks passing back and forth and I'm sure if we go back tomorrow, or even right now he'll be long gone."

"I'm sure," Adam said. "Is that everything?" The young man nodded.

"Very nice work," Adam continued, "even though you had to do it by yourself."

Nate ducked his head, but smiled to himself wondering when Adam would tell the others about his close call.

Adam turned to Mike and John with an expectant expression.

"Well," Mike said, "I guess we don't need to tell you about the unidentified men now." He grinned at his boss. "But we found four unidentified adult female bodies in the records."

"Dylan, did you remember to get a description of Kate?" Adam asked.

"One better," Dylan said and pulled a small picture from his pocket and leaned forward to hand it to his boss. "She was about five foot seven."

Adam took a quick look at it and held it out to Mike who looked at the picture briefly, then quickly flipped through his notes. "This must be her," he said as he quickly went over the description he had copied down. "Nasty, the cause of death is listed as strangulation, but nothing about how or where the body was found."

"The police report will have that information. One of you can go down there tomorrow morning while I'm visiting the orphanage," Adam said as he moved around the table to sit down behind it. "Well, it is six-thirty and I think we are finished for the day."

"Aren't you going to tell them what happened?" Nate was grinning.

"You thought it was so funny, you tell them," his boss answered with a sour look.

Nate turned to the other three men. "Our fearless leader here almost got trampled by a runaway wagon practically right in front of Albrecht's house."

Adam broke in, "That's why I said he's not as intelligent as I thought. That was a clumsy attempt and hastily planned. He might as well have slapped me in the face with his glove." Adam smiled, "I believe the battle lines have now been drawn. And you can be sure he'll be trying again," he finished as he leaned back in his chair.

"Yeah, but what actually happened?" Dylan insisted.

Adam eyed him irritably, "The wagon came at me from behind as I was just about to cross a side street. Nate warned me, so I swung up onto a street lamp to get out of the way. Alright?"

Mike and Dylan managed to keep their expressions neutral, but Nate was laughing without restraint. "I swear you all would have just died laughing..." he sputtered.

John, however, was not amused. "Don't you think that's a poor choice of words Nate?" he said without a trace of his usual bashfulness as he frowned at his friend.

Nate stopped laughing. "You're right Johnny," he said but continued to grin as he turned to Adam. "Sorry, boss."

"Considering the fact that you probably saved my life," Adam answered, "I guess you can be let off the hook... this time." He grinned back and everyone relaxed.

"If you are so positive that Albrecht is going to try again, you shouldn't be staying by yourself," Nate insisted. "So come with us. There's safety in numbers, right?"

"Sure," Adam said mockingly, "there's safety in numbers...until you all fall into the same hole."

Nate grinned. "You're never going to let us forget that are you?"

Adam slowly shook his head, never taking his eyes off Nate. "Nope."

"Come on, come with us Adam," John pleaded and the other two deputies joined in, urging him to go out and have some fun.

He looked around at their eager faces and sighed, "All right, I will go with you on one condition. Do not try to drag me into one of those 'houses' again."

Four voices rose in protest, but he shook his head. "Did you really think I was going to sit in the parlor among the 'demi monde' and wait for you? God, if Thea had heard even a whisper about me just being in a place like that there'd be hell to pay - and I will hand you four over to her mercy without a moment's hesitation." He smiled, "Any of you willing to take that risk?'

All four men vigorously shook their heads. "Good, then we understand each other," Adam said and went back into his bedroom for his suit coat.

The four deputies quickly put their heads together and decided where they wanted to take their boss on this rare occasion. Usually he refused to go along.

When Adam came back out the four were waiting by the door. He looked at their faces, each one grinning in anticipation. "Why do I have the feeling I'm going to regret this?" he said as he shrugged into his coat. The other men just glanced at each other, smiled, and dragged him out the door.

The cab pulled up in front of a large, flat building that had the raw appearance of having just been built. Adam was the last to climb out and when he did he burst out laughing. "What the hell is this?" He said as his friends started laughing too.

The building had been constructed to look like a circus tent and was imaginatively named "The Three Rings." Adam was still laughing as the other men started pushing him toward the door.

The inside was a cross between a saloon and what you would expect to see in the circus. Sawdust was thick on the floor, circus-like acts were performing on a stage across one end of the room, and trapeze-like swings suspended from the ceiling held young women in acrobatic costumes who lazily swung back and forth.

The five men found an empty table in a dim corner and Adam automatically took the seat where his back would be up against the wall, yet was still closest to the door. An attractive young woman dressed in a ringmaster's costume appeared in front of their table to take their orders. When she moved off, the four deputies watched her intently then turned to see their boss's reaction. They were surprised to see he was surveying the room with narrowed eyes and hadn't even given her a second glace. He seemed especially interested in the acrobatic dog act that was currently performing on stage.

Other performers wove in and out among the tables, some with well-trained small animals, some juggling various items, some doing floor acrobatics, and one woman who definitely qualified as a contortionist. John stared at her with his mouth open until Mike reached out and pushed it closed.

One man came to stop in front of their table, did a handstand, then lowered himself until his head almost touched the floor, then raised himself again. He did this five times, bowed when they applauded then moved on to the next table. John turned to Adam. "Can you do that?" he asked.

"Sure," his boss replied, shrugged out of his suit coat, and proceeded to prove his claim, except he did ten "push-ups" instead of five. When he flipped himself back up his deputies applauded, as well as people at the surrounding tables. His friends were delighted that he seemed to be having a good time and looked relaxed for the first time since they had started this maddening investigating.

The contortionist stopped in front of them, used Adam's knee to step up on the table, and proceeded to twist herself into a human pretzel. She winked at him, untwisted herself, and slid into his lap. After twining her arms around his neck, she pulled his head down to whisper in his ear. Adam shook his head. She whispered again. He whispered something back and her eyes opened wide with what looked like fear. Slipping quickly from his lap she stood and hurried off.

The other men roared with laughter. "What did you say?" Nate asked.

Adam smiled his half smile while shooting a dark look at his friend. "None of your business," was all he would say, and even though they continued to harass him, he refused to answer.

In between being entertained by the acts the five men spent most of the evening talking about past cases, past blunders, and the first time Adam had taken Thea out to dinner when she somehow managed to set the table on fire.

"Come on! You never told us about that," Mike said while the others were still having a good time laughing at Adam's embarrassment.

"She did a lot of things like that while we were courting."

"What else?" Dylan demanded.

"Poked me in the eye with her sunshade. That wouldn't have been so bad, but we were walking down by the river and when I jerked away I slid backward down the bank and into the water."

His deputies were laughing so hard they looked like they were in pain.

"You would have thought I'd have learned my lesson from those first two times, but no - I took her fishing." He looked around at their incredulous faces. "Yes, gentlemen I took her fishing and ended up having to cut the hook out of my ear myself."

John's head was down on the table as he gasped for air, Nate had slid halfway out of his chair, and Dylan's face was bright red. Mike was making a funny, almost squealing noise as he shook his head and tried to speak. "And you married her anyway?"

"Yep. I knew she'd settle down eventually." He smiled that special smile. "See, I went after her single-mindedly and I think that would be enough to make anyone nervous. So these things were really my fault because her hands were shaking all the time. Thank God she got over that," he laughed along with his friends as he pulled his pocket watch out to check the time.

"What time is it?" Nate asked.

"Midnight," Adam answered as he stood. "I'll go out and flag down a cab," he said, picked up his coat and left.

He had taken about ten steps away from the entrance when he sensed someone coming at him from behind. Instinctively, he dove to the left, tucked his shoulder in and rolled to his feet. Turning, he saw a heavily muscled man skid to a stop, then turn to come at him again. Adam's eyes fastened on the knife his assailant was holding in his right hand.

"Oh for God's sake," he said in furious exasperation and just waited for the man to come in reach. When he did, Adam stepped to the side at the last second, grabbed the man's forearm in both hands then slammed it down across his raised knee.

The man's scream almost drowned out the sickening snapping sound of the bone breaking. He dropped the knife and fell to his knees as he cradled his broken arm against his chest. Adam kicked the knife away, stepped up to the man and grabbed him by the hair to yank his head back. His eyes, full of cold rage locked with his attacker's. "Don't ever pull a knife on me. I hate knives," he ground out through clenched teeth then looked up as he heard people running toward them. He let go of the man's hair and straightened up.

"What happened?" Nate almost shouted. "Adam, are you hurt?"

"He came at me with a knife, and no I am not hurt," his boss said and seemed to be making a conscious effort to calm down as he was still shaking with suppressed fury.

"You broke his arm?" John asked as his eyes moved to Adam's holster. "Why didn't you use your gun?"

"Because if I had, he would be dead right now," Adam answered tightly while eyeing John with annoyance. "And I wanted him alive so he can tell us who his employer is."

"Oh," John said as he nodded his head.

"Nate, flag down a cab and go to the police station. Have them send the wagon down here and make sure they know a doctor will be needed."

"Yes Boss," Nate took off and was quickly gone.

Adam leaned over the man still kneeling on the ground. "Who sent you?"

The man looked up at him with wary eyes, but didn't speak. Adam leaned further down. "Look, we can do this the easy way or the hard way, but you will tell me what I want to know. Who...sent...you?" When their eyes locked again the man flinched then looked down as he mumbled something.

Adam yanked his head back again. "What?"

The man on his knees winced with pain. "Albrecht alright? Simon Albrecht sent me!" he cried out then groaned as Adam let him go and nodded with satisfaction.

"Well boys, now we at least have something to haul Albrecht in for. I wish it wasn't too late to get a warrant so we could pick him up tonight."

The three deputies nodded and stared at the man on the ground with hostile eyes. No one noticed the short, stocky young man who was near the entrance and listening to their conversation intently. When Adam turned away to glance down the street he slipped back inside to wait until he could safely leave.

The wagon soon came and by the time they finished at the police station and reached the hotel it was almost three o'clock. The deputies went to bed, but Adam didn't even try. He knew he wasn't going to be sleeping again until Albrecht was safely behind bars.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Simon Albrecht was not in a good mood; he was having a bad day. Both attempts to remove that thorn in his side had failed, but he was determined that he would not end up taking his own life like his former business acquaintance had. Cartwright had to die - it was the only way to keep him from tearing Simon's life apart, layer-by-layer, until he uncovered the truth for the world to see. He shook his head thinking about how hard it was to find competent help these days. And where did that tall blonde come from? His informant at the hotel had told him Adam Cartwright was coming alone.

He reached the street and the shorter of the two coachmen who were waiting jumped down and opened the door for him. Albrecht was half way in when he saw someone sitting on one of the seats. He turned his head to say something to the man behind him and was punched in the side of the head. Then he was pushed inside, landing in the seated man's lap.

Shaking his head to try and clear it, he looked up and realized the man was dead and he tried to scramble back, but the false coachman landed on top of him. Then he felt a cool, sharp blade at his throat and he found himself making a whimpering sound - it shocked him.

"Listen to me very carefully," a hoarse voice whispered and he shivered with revulsion at the warm breath sliding past his ear. "If anything else happens to Adam Cartwright I promise you I will hunt you down and gut you like a fresh kill." He felt the knife blade start to cut into his skin slightly. "Do you believe me?" the voice continued.

"Yes!" Albrecht managed to choke out.

"Good. Now just so you know I mean business, I'm going to leave you with a souvenir of our little chat." The knife blade left his throat and he felt a terrible white-hot pain as it smoothly slid into and up his cheek. He started to scream, but a hard, gloved hand covered his mouth.

"Remember Simon," the voice hissed in his ear and suddenly his attacker was gone, slamming the coach door shut.

Albrecht reached for his handkerchief and tried to staunch the blood dripping from his cheek. When he realized his attacker was truly gone, then he began screaming.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

At five o'clock the next morning Adam was sitting at the table, going over the reports again when someone began knocking on the sitting room door. When he heard Wes calling his name he hurried over to let the big man in.

"What is it Wes?" Adam said, the taste of fear in his mouth as he automatically thought something had happened to his family.

"You're not going to believe this, someone attacked Albrecht last night," Wes said as he moved into the room and dropped into one of the chairs in front of the table. Adam came to lean against it.

"What happened?"

"Albrecht was coming out of one of his 'houses' on Peachtree and when he got to his coach his attacker pushed him inside, held a knife to his throat, then carved up his cheek."

"Cut his face?"

"Laid it wide open."

Adam looked at him blankly for a moment. "Did this person say anything?"

Wes nodded. "Whomever it was said that if anything else happened to you Albrecht would be hunted down and gutted."

"What time did this happen?"

"About one o'clock."

"Good. All five of us were at the police station then." He shook his head.

"What did he mean by 'anything else'?

"Oh. I was almost run over yesterday afternoon and almost knifed last night."

"So you had a very busy day," Wes smiled.

"You could say that," he grinned back at his friend. "But at least we have proof that it wasn't one of us."

"Yes, thank God," Wes sounded relieved. "Oh," he continued, "I forgot to tell you - Albrecht's attacker also killed the two coachmen."

"Damn, I guess that means the man was serious. He will come back and kill Simon."

"That's what it looks like. But who could it be? I can't think of anyone you're friends with who would do something like that."

Adam shook his head, "I don't either. The only people I know who could kill like that would definitely not be interested in keeping me alive. This just doesn't make any sense."

"Yeah...it sure doesn't," the big man agreed and stood. "Well, I just thought you would want to know as soon as possible." He started toward the door. Adam followed.

"Thanks Wes," he said while clapping his huge friend on the back and the man stepped out into the hallway, but turned back. "You be careful. This case is the most dangerous you've had to deal with so far. Jackson was stupid. Albrecht isn't."

"I know. I'll be careful Wes."

The other man nodded, hesitated then grabbed him by the shoulders to pull him into a bone-crushing hug. Then he let go, turned, and sped off down the hallway. Adam smiled - Wes had never done anything like that before. He thought again about how thankful he was that the huge man had accepted his offer to help him go straight as he closed the door and moved back to the table.

An hour later he was just about to wake his deputies when he heard a slight sound at the door. When he turned his head he saw a white square lying on the floor. He ran to the door, pulled it open, and heard footsteps racing away to his left so he took off after them. Rounding the first corner, he almost ran into a plain, elderly-looking woman. He slid to a stop.

"Pardon me, but did you see anyone go by here?" he asked.

She looked at him with startled pale blue eyes. "No, I heard someone go by, but didn't see them. I just came out of my room," she said in a high tremulous voice.

"Thank you and my apologies again," he said and took off, but didn't see or hear anything else. He walked back to the suite and had just turned the corner when the room door the woman had been standing in front of opened silently. A heavily muscled man of average height came out, went to the corner, and poked his head out only far enough to watch Adam go into the sitting room. As soon as he saw the door shut he stepped out into that hallway, quickly walked down its length, and hurried down the stairs.

Adam was opening the envelope. He pulled out a heavy card and quickly read the message that was written in bold, black letters. "I've taken care of this one. Be more careful in the future. Hunter."