Bret was still asleep when I got back to the room, so I didn't have to explain what I'd found out before I had the whole story. Once again I grabbed the heavy coat and left, hoping that he'd keep sleeping while I was gone.
I had no idea if Rally had an office or not, so I went to see Joe Mercer at the barbershop. I could stand a haircut and shave, anyway. Looked like everyone in town was still asleep, because Joe's place was empty save for its owner. He smiled and looked pleased when I walked in.
"Hey, Bart. How's everything this mornin'?"
I didn't mind digging for information since I was paying for his services at the same time. "Not too bad, considerin' my brother got shot this mornin'."
"What? What happened?" He was already working on my hair as we talked.
"Official word is I shot him accidentally."
Joe smirked. "And unofficially?"
"Somebody else shot him, and it wasn't an accident."
"Ah-ha. Wouldn't happen to be a young lady I saw runnin' down the street earlier today, would it?"
"Well, since I wasn't there I can't exactly say. But besides some attention to the way I look, I need to get some information. Can you answer some questions for me?"
His smirk vanished real quick. "I'd like to, Bart. It just depends on what you need to know."
"Does Rally Simmons have an office?"
He visibly relaxed. "That's easy. Four doors down on the other side of the street. But you probably won't find him there until later. I saw him ride out of town about an hour ago."
"Any way of knowin' where he went?"
"Nope. Maybe it's got to do with that big deal he was talkin' about last night."
"The one that was fallin' apart?" I needed to find out who was involved in that.
"Yeah. Probably. Why are you lookin' for him?"
I waited to answer until Joe didn't have the scissors quite so close. "I want to talk to him about June Morgan." I needn't have worried about the scissors. As soon as I said June's name Joe sat down slowly in the other barber's chair and looked like his dog had just died.
"Poor Junie. Such a sweet, misguided girl. Rally befriended her."
I watched him carefully. "I think he's done a lot more than just befriend her, Joe."
His head shook, sadly. "I've been afraid of that. She was so . . . . . . vulnerable. And he's . . . . . . . "
"A snake," I finished for him.
"Good description." Joe got back up to finish the haircut. "Pat ya on the back with one hand and stick the knife in ya with the other. As long as it benefits him. Say, what's this?"
Joe found the lump that had come to stay with me last night, and I "youched!" when he poked around. "How'd ya get that?" he asked.
"I ran into a door."
"With the back a yer head?"
"I was walkin' backwards."
"Oh." Joe shrugged his shoulders. I guess he figured if I wanted him to know anymore about the lump and the dried blood I'd tell him. I didn't.
"What do you know about Rally and June together?"
"Not much. I've seen 'em a couple times, but I was hopin' it was nothin' more than business. Or kindness. Junie's a little . . . . . . slow sometimes. But a sweet girl, like I said. Then Rally got his hooks into her . . . . . ."
"And he still pursues Maggie Sawyer?"
Joe laughed at that. "Remember what you called him."
I had to wait a minute to ask my next question, as Joe had already started the shave. And that razor was just a little too close, even if I didn't think there was any chance of anything going wrong. "Why does everybody play poker with him if they know what he is?"
"Ya gotta understand, Rally wasn't always like he is now. Time was, he was a good fella. Why, he's the one that loaned Tom the money to open the store. Somethin' happened somewhere along the line, and he changed. Money got to be the most important thing in his life. I guess we just choose to ignore what he's turned into. And once we lost Tom . . . . . . "
"Anybody else in the group involved with him financially?"
"That I'm not sure about. He tried to get me in on one a his deals, but I just flat told him no. I know he was after Saul Bender for a while. I don't know if he succeeded or not. Calvin – probably not. You'd have to ask him. What's goin' on that yer not tellin' me, Bart?"
"Not sure yet, Joe. But let's keep this conversation just between us, huh? At least until I know more than I do now." My chin felt a whole lot better, and my hair looked more like me and less like a wild man. "Thanks," I told him as I paid him for the cut and shave, and clapped him on the shoulder for the information.
Well, now what? Rally wasn't in town and it was too early to go see Maggie. The thought of Maggie made me smile for just a moment. That sweet mouth and those blue, blue eyes. Witty, bright, charming. I'd much rather spend time with her than a bank president, but I finally decided that's just where I needed to go next. The wind had picked up again and snow already on the ground was blowing everywhere. I was about to head for the bank when I remembered a more serious commitment – Bret.
I went hurrying back to the hotel. Bret was awake and moving around, although rather awkwardly. "Thought you deserted me," was the first thing he said when I walked in.
"Nope," I replied as I brushed snow off my coat.
"Not snowin' again, is it?"
I shook my head and grinned at him. "Wind's blowin'."
"Alright, I'm starvin' and what's the grin for?"
"Well, let's see what we can do about gettin' your coat on. And I'll explain the grin when we get your lunch ordered."
After a short struggle we got Bret's coat on (like I said, he's usually the one helping me, so he's had way more practice than I have) and the sling back on his arm, and headed down to the dining room. The same waitress was still there and she asked as we walked in, "Are you gonna eat two lunches this time?"
Bret shot a look at me that said 'You better be explainin' that soon' and we sat at a different table. He ordered his lunch and I got more coffee. I was holding out for lunch with Maggie, and I'd barely had one swallow of coffee when he asked, "Okay, what have I missed?"
I was still explaining my breakfast to him when his food came. I got everything cut up and proceeded to tell him about the rest of my morning while he ate, with me lending a hand whenever necessary. He nodded and commented in several places, but got a disturbing look on his face when I told him about June and Rally.
"What kind of a snake takes advantage of a woman like that?"
"The kind named Rally Simmons. At least we agree on what he is. I was headed to the bank to talk to Saul Bender when I came back here instead."
For the first time, I got a smile out of my brother. "Glad you did. I was starvin'."
"You're always starvin'." I took a good look at Bret. He could still stand to put a few more pounds on his frame.
"Have you given up eatin', now that you've had one meal today?"
"No, when I leave you I'm goin to see Saul and then havin' lunch with Maggie."
"Have you got time to go up to Pete's with me and tell all this to Constance?"
"Nope," I replied. "But I'll come up there and explain everything after lunch. Oh, and after I track down Simmons."
"Alright, come back upstairs for a minute and help me with that dang coat, would ya? I want to see how Connie's doin' this afternoon."
"Sure. You be there until I come by?"
"I will. Spendin' time with Constance isn't real difficult, ya know."
I grinned at him. "I wouldn't imagine it is. And that's just why I wanna have lunch with Maggie. Alright, let's get your butt dressed. Constance can get ya undressed. Oops, I mean out of yer coat."
"Funny boy."
I shuddered involuntarily. I hadn't heard that phrase for a long time, and hearing it never again would be too soon.
Bret realized too late what he'd said, remembering Montana and the beating just like I had. "Sorry."
"Forget it. It's been a long time."
"Evidently not long enough," he stated, as we walked into our room. I thought about that for a minute. How many times did I almost die? Once from the beating, two or three times from convulsions, and once on the gallows. Would I ever truly forget the time we'd spent in Silver Creek? I hope so, someday.
And then I shook my head as if to shake the memories away. I had other things to worry about right now.