Chapter 13 – After Midnight

The Regional Director wasn't happy. Just yesterday he'd gotten the information that Bret Maverick was in jail in Hobbs, New Mexico and was waiting to stand trial for murder. He'd agonized all day over what to tell his best agent, working on the case in Kansas City. He'd finally sent a telegram that was vague and sketchy and then felt remorse the rest of the night for not being totally honest with her. And now this.

True, this was good news. Not only had Maverick been cleared of all charges, he and his brother had left New Mexico – destination unknown. The problem was it was late – very, very late, and Arthur now had to do his best to rectify the misinformation he'd fed Ginny Malone. To that end he tempered his frustration and set about to correct his mistake. He'd finally finished the new wire and had it sent, and hoped he hadn't alienated the person he'd come to depend on most . . . Agent Malone.

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Ginny spent most of the evening on the floor of the saloon, but every hour or so she went upstairs to check on Mae. Around midnight she finally found the blonde asleep and made sure the door was securely locked when she left the room.

During one of her visits off the saloon floor, Frank Carson had left Diamond Lil's. Not long after that Beatrice disappeared, ostensibly with a cowboy that wanted to partake of her particular charms. Ginny went to Red's office to talk and discovered his office door closed and locked. She went straight back to her room and located the Colt Peacemaker she'd purchased just two days before, made sure it was loaded, and spent the rest of the night sleeping on the floor of Mae Templeton's room. It wasn't comfortable, but it was a skill she'd acquired from Bart Maverick in Memphis when it was questionable whether Bret would live or die. When she woke it was just past sunrise and every part of her body was stiff and sore.

She got up slowly, stood and stretched, then went quietly to the door and listened. There was no sound in the hall, and she unlocked the door and walked out, locking it behind her. She crept down to her own room and got cleaned up; fresh clothes always made her feel better. When she arrived downstairs she was surprised to be the first one there; not even Alfie or Frank had made it in yet. Ginny put on a pot of coffee and waited impatiently for it to be done, then poured a cup and sat at a table.

She'd deliberately set a trap last night, and no one had taken the bait. 'Maybe it was too soon,' she reasoned, 'and I should just give it more time. Or maybe I suspect the wrong people. Or maybe . . . '

Ginny drank her coffee and stopped second-guessing herself. There was really only one thing wrong, and it had nothing to do with Mae or Frank or Red or any of the other girls. There was a murder to be solved, and a kidnapping ring to break, but she was unable to give either of them her full attention. There was one thing on her mind, and that was the telegram she'd received from Arthur.

It was vague, deliberately so, and that could mean only one thing – Bret was in trouble of some kind. And Ginny Malone was having a hard time thinking of anything but the man she loved. She had two choices – either abandon her job, her assignment here in Kansas City, when it felt like she was getting close to a breakthrough, or ignore the knot in her stomach and let Bret fend for himself. After all, he'd gotten this far in life without her hovering over him. Much as she loved him and was worried about him, she had a job to do. And she was damn well gonna do it.

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It was almost eight o'clock before Frank got to Lil's. He found Ginny behind the bar, pouring another cup of coffee, and he grinned as he watched her. She turned around slowly and saw him, and a smile spread across her face. "Morning."

"Mornin'," came his reply. "Up awful early, ain't you?"

"I didn't get much sleep last night. I was too worried about Mae."

"Have you seen her this mornin'?"

"I took her some coffee a while ago. I think she's finally ready to eat something, too, when Alfie gets here."

Frank smiled at the girl standing behind the bar. "We don't have to wait for Alfie. Why don't I cook breakfast for the three of us?"

"Would you? That'd be great. I can bring Mae down to the back dining room and we can lock the door. Nobody else should be up for a while."

"Go get her. I'll get started."

Ginny ran upstairs to Mae's room, knocked and unlocked the door. Mae had gotten dressed, but that was about all she could manage this morning. "Frank's cooking breakfast for us. I'm gonna take you downstairs to the dining room, but you gotta promise me you won't try to get away."

Mae nodded. "I'm too hungry to run away. Is there more coffee?"

"Of course there is. Let's go."

The two women left the room and Ginny locked it behind her. They walked quickly downstairs, and Malone poured coffee for all three while Frank cooked. The smell was heavenly and they were soon eating bacon, eggs and biscuits. "Alfie was right," Ginny declared. "You cook as good as he does. You'll make somebody a fine wife someday." She smiled at the head bartender, and he beamed back. When they were almost finished the 'locked' dining room door swung open and Beatrice strolled in, a surprised look on her face. "I thought that was locked," Ginny directed at Frank.

"It was. I have keys. I smelled food and couldn't imagine Alfie cookin' this early. I didn't know y'all were down here. I thought Mae was confined to her room." Bea made it a statement and not a question.

"A girl's got to eat," Frank insisted. "There's plenty here, Bea. You want some?"

"Sure, why not? It smells too good to pass up."

Ginny poured one more round of coffee while Beatrice ate, and when that was finished she turned to Mae. "Time to go back."

Mae nodded and followed Ginny out of the dining room. Frank stayed with Bea and finished his coffee. They sat in silence for a few minutes while Bea ate, and he was startled when the older woman asked him a question. "What are you doin', Frank? Bein' a guardian angel and a babysitter?"

"It seemed like a good idea at the time, Beatrice. Can't afford to have the girl starve to death. Not if we're gonna ship her to Frisco."

"That's enough," Bea ordered, and the tone of her voice changed. "I told you never to talk business in this saloon."

"Yes, boss."

"Frank."

"When can we talk? We've got some plannin' to do."

"Tonight, after five o'clock. If you don't slip away for dinner with your lady love. I'll meet you in the usual place."

"And what if I do take Sammi Jo to dinner again? Let's wait until midnight to be safe."

"That didn't work so well the last time."

Frank gave a little chuckle. "This time I don't have to kill anybody."

"Don't be so sure about that. Red's gettin' awful nosy. So's that redhead of yours, for that matter."

"Uh-uh. I don't care how nosy you think she is, you're not touchin' her. We had a deal."

"We don't have a deal until we can get Mae out of here. Alive."

Carson chuckled again. "I've got a plan for that. I'll explain tonight."

"It better be a good one." Bea cleaned her plate and set her fork down. "I've got to get back upstairs. You just watch yourself with that little honey."

Bea stood up and headed for the door, tripping over a misplaced stool as she crossed the dining room. It caused just enough noise to serve as a warning for Ginny, who'd been listening to the exchange outside the unlocked door. The Pinkerton agent hurried back to the bar, where she started another pot of coffee. 'I was right about Frank,' she thought as she watched Beatrice walk up the staircase. 'But Bea sure had me fooled.' Now the next question became, how did she find out where the 'usual place' was?