Chapter 13

Esther wasn't really sure why she was doing what she was doing, or that she should be doing it, but once she settled down in Jarrod's office and watched the street, she started to think she was not doing enough of it.

She saw the sheriff making his rounds, pretty slowly she thought, and he certainly was spending a lot of time on this particular street. He'd move out of her sight and then back in again but he didn't seem to move on until the street lights were lit. After they came on, she didn't see him again, and he was far too big a man to miss if he was out there.

Esther saw a couple of other things too. As soon as the lights came on, two shadows crossed the street from the alley beside the Stockton House and into the alley beside Dr. Merar's office. They passed quickly under a couple lights, so quickly Esther couldn't be sure but she thought they were her boss's brothers. One of them moved with that swagger Heath had, the other with that solid determination Nick had.

Then she saw something else that struck her as interesting. A man came down the street, passing under some lights but then not appearing in the lights from the Empire saloon. Esther stood up and tried to see if he was on this side of the street. As she did, she saw him pass under a light but then go back across the street again, to the alley between the Empire and the barber shop. By a dim street light several feet away from the barber shop, she saw the man's shadow disappear up the stairs to that room above the barber shop.

Esther wasn't sure who that room belonged to, but she was pretty sure that shadow belonged to Jed Bishop. She had seen the man in court and here in the office. She knew how he moved with his head a bit far forward and walked slightly favoring his right leg. What was he doing here this time of night, and why was he sneaking up to that room? Well, Esther wasn't as prim, proper or naïve as a lot of people thought. She made a mental note to find out who lived up there, but she'd bet anything it was a woman Jed Bishop didn't want to be seen with.

It was getting darker, tougher to see. Esther began to wonder if she should go home. Nick and Heath were at the doctor's office with her boss, she was pretty sure of that. They would protect him. But Jed Bishop was in town too. What did that mean? Esther had to think hard about what she should do now.

XXXXXXX

Nick and Heath thought they had gotten across the street and to Dr. Merar's back door without being noticed. Heath kept looking around as Nick gave four knocks, but there was no one in that back alley where they were. Dr. Merar was letting them in a few seconds later, and then he closed the door behind him.

"Everything all right here?" Nick asked quietly.

Dr. Merar nodded. "Jarrod's asleep. I just checked."

"He was pretty bushed," Heath said.

"I'd like to head upstairs and get some rest myself," Dr. Merar said.

"I'll be going with you," Heath said. "Nick, do you want me to relieve you down here anytime?"

"The sun will start coming up about five," Nick said. "Why don't you relieve me at two or so? Just changing places ought to help keep us awake."

"You yell loud if anything happens before that," Heath said.

The three of them went by the sickroom. The door stood open and it was dark inside except for a very small lamp on a table a few feet away from the bed.

"I'm gonna close this door," Nick said. "I want some warning if somebody tries to come in. Good night, Doc."

"Good night," Dr. Merar said, and he put out the remaining light in the first floor waiting area and hall before he and Heath went up the stairs to the doctor's living rooms on the second floor.

Nick went into the sick room, closing the door quietly. He checked on his brother. Jarrod was sound asleep, breathing easily.

There were two windows in the room. Nick went to the one that was in the darker shadow and carefully looked out onto the alley outside. There was a very faint light coming from the street, but shadows out there were very deep. Anybody could be hiding.

Nick pulled a chair from the side of the bed to a place beside that window, where he could look out when he wanted to and not be seen. He sat down, checked his revolver to be sure it was loaded, then settled in.

Upstairs, Heath looked out the window of the parlor onto the street. He could see the Empire from there, and the hotel, and if he craned his neck he could see a little of Jarrod's building because the street turned just a bit. The saloon was still bright and busy. Heath could hear the faint roar of voices.

Dr. Merar said, "I'm going to turn in. I'm going to turn out the light in here – I always do about this time of night."

Heath nodded. "There's some streetlight coming in. I don't think I'll bump into anything. And I'm just gonna pull up a chair by the window anyway."

"Call out if you need me," Dr. Merar said.

Heath nodded. "Good night, Doc," he said as the doctor withdrew to his sleeping quarters.

Heath pulled up a chair to the window, putting it to the side a bit so he wouldn't be seen from outside, just as Nick had done a floor below. He also checked his revolver, just as Nick had done.

But because they were settling in and getting ready, neither one of them saw what Esther had seen – Jed Bishop going into the room above the barber shop. Esther didn't know that, but before she could decide whether to go tell them, she saw the lights go out both downstairs and upstairs at the doctor's office. She gave a sigh, considered going home, but then just settled back into Jarrod's chair again.

She was tired. She thought she might fall asleep, but she fought it. She wasn't sure why, but she thought it was important that she fight it and keep watching to see if and when Jed Bishop came back down those stairs beside the barber shop.

It was some time later before Esther snapped awake and realized she had fallen asleep. Alarmed, she sat up, looked out the window, and saw how very late it was. The Empire saloon was quiet and Harry was closing it up. The lights through the windows caught several men in the street, all wandering off either on foot or on horseback. Esther didn't know any of them but was suddenly more afraid that Jed Bishop had left that upstairs room and she had missed seeing him.

At the doctor's office, Heath also saw Harry closing the Empire up. He watched the men leaving, recognizing one or two of them, but all of them were disappearing into the night, just as Esther had seen.

Suddenly, Heath heard banging and stumbling and general commotion coming from downstairs. He ran for the door and ran down the stairs. Dr. Merar in his nightshirt was right behind him, but by the time they got down there they saw only a shadow running out the back door. Heath went after it, while the doctor went to the sick room, where he found Nick climbing up off the floor and Jarrod trying to sit up in bed.

Dr. Merar helped Nick to his feet. "Nick, are you hurt?"

"No," Nick moaned angrily. "I saw him come in the door and he saw me and when I went for him, he smacked me with the door and took off. Where's Heath?"

"Going after him," Dr. Merar said. "Out the back door."

Nick ran out after his younger brother, while Jarrod tried to get up out of the bed. "What's happening?"

"Somebody tried to get in but ran out," Dr. Merar said, going to him. "Your brothers are after him."

"I need to help," Jarrod said, trying to get up, but he was too groggy. He fell right back down.

"You stay right here," Dr. Merar said. "You're in no shape to help them. You couldn't catch up if you wanted to."

Jarrod realized the doctor was right and he just sat there. His head hurt and was still half full of dreams he'd been having that were quickly slipping away.

Outside, Nick was trying to catch up with Heath but he got as far as the front of the Empire and lost him. Harry was coming out the door, looking confused. "Did you see Heath?" Nick asked quickly.

Harry pointed toward the barber shop. "Somebody just ran that way! Down the alley!"

Nick took off, ran into the alley just in time to find a tussle going on in the shadows. He dove into it and found out quickly that one of the men was Heath, but that there were two other men there in the pile with him. Harry came running up behind Nick, carrying a lantern, arriving just as Nick pulled one man up and Heath pulled the other. Then the five of them just stood there looking at each other – Harry, Heath, Nick – and both Jed Bishop and Joe Tyler.

"Harry, help us get these two to the sheriff's office," Nick said.

"He won't be there," Harry said. "It's two in the morning."

"I'll get him!" someone yelled, and the five men in the alley realized that three men who had left the Empire a few minutes ago were there where the alley met the street. One of them took off running.

Nick had hold of Joe Tyler and shook him, snarling, "Which one of you just ran out of Doc Merar's office?!"

To which both Bishop and Tyler said, "What?"