Chapter 3
Continuing to sit in a dark corner in Kitty's room, Shawn could hear the clamor of the customer downstairs dwindling down. It was an indication that the saloon would be closing soon. While he had been waiting, Shawn looked over at Kitty multiple times. The entire time she was asleep, she had not changed positions. Shawn hoped that meant it would be easy to transport Kitty from her room to the wagon.
He started wondering how he and his brothers would get Kitty to the wagon. Shawn softly walked over to the only window in the room. He pushed the curtains to the side. Kitty's room faced the alley. Taking her out the window was an option. Shawn returned to the corner.
It was not long until Shawn heard silence from the saloon. The patrons must have left, but Shawn still needed to wait. He was certain that the barkeep would probably still be down there cleaning up before closing. Plus, he heard a few saloon girls giggling as they passed by Kitty's room. Shawn almost forgot about them being upstairs. He would have to remind his brothers about the saloon girls being upstairs.
Shawn did not know how much time passed, but he figured it was enough time for the barkeep to be gone and for the saloon girls to be in their rooms for the night. Taking one last glance at the sleeping Kitty Russell, Shawn walked towards the door. Carefully turning the knob, Shawn opened the door and walked out. He softly shut the door behind him. Shawn quietly descended the steps and walked towards the backroom.
He unlocked the door and peeked into the back alley to see if Louis and Jesse were out there waiting. They were nowhere to be seen. Shawn stepped back inside to wait. Louis had told him to check the alley when he got to the backroom. If he and Jesse weren't there, Shawn was to wait in the backroom until he heard a soft knock on the door.
Shawn looked around the backroom. There were several crates stacked against the wall. The crates contained bottles of whiskey. Shawn made a mental note to grab a few bottles to take back to the cabin. He located a wooden chair and sat down to wait.
It was after two o'clock in the morning, when Louis and Jesse arrived in town. Front Street was completely deserted. All the businesses and saloons were dark.
"The town looks purty dead," Jesse observed.
"Good. The last thing we need is someone prowling about and seeing us," said Louis. He maneuvered the wagon back into the alley so it would be easy to quickly get out of there once they had Kitty. "Come on. Let's see if Shawn is in the Long Branch's backroom."
Louis and Jesse jumped down from the wagon and walked to the back door. Louis lightly tapped on the door. Hearing the tapping, Shawn got up from the chair he was sitting on and went to open the door. Louis and Jesse were pleased to see Shawn. That was a good sign that their plan was working so far.
"Seeing that yer down here, I'm guessin' that things have gone smoothly so far," said Jesse. He and Louis stepped inside.
"Yeah, no problems at all," Shawn responded. Louis and Jesse started walking toward the door to the saloon, but Shawn stopped them. "Wait."
"What's the matter?" Louis questioned. "Don't tell me yer havin' second thoughts."
"No," Shawn replied. "Keep in mind there are saloon girls upstairs in their rooms. We need ta be sure not ta wake 'em up."
"Good point," said Jesse. "How are we gonna get Miss Russell from her room to the wagon?"
"We could take her out the window in her room," Shawn suggested.
"Na, I think that would be too hard," said Louis. "It'll be much easier to bring her down the stairs and through the saloon. We'll have to be very quiet. Let's go."
Louis let Shawn lead the way, so he could show them which room was Kitty's. The three men quietly crept up the stairs, careful not to make any noise. Shawn led them to room 3. He slowly turned the knob and walked inside. Louis and Jesse followed. They saw Kitty in a peaceful slumber. Louis slowly walked to the bed and carefully turned down the covers. He noticed that Kitty was petite. Carrying her down to the wagon should be no problem.
"How are we gonna get her downstairs and to the wagon?" Shawn asked quietly.
"I think the best way is for me to put her over my shoulder and carry her that way. You can tell she doesn't weigh a lot," Louis replied. "Help me get her up on my shoulder."
With very little effort, Jesse and Shawn helped Louis situate Kitty on his shoulder, like a bag of potatoes. Before leaving the room, Louis pulled out the three envelopes from his pocket. Making sure he had the correct envelope, Louis placed the envelope on Kitty's pillow. The other envelopes went back into his pocket. They left the room and closed the door behind them.
Without any issues, the three men were able to get Kitty out of the Long Branch and to the wagon. Louis gently laid Kitty in the back of the wagon. Things were going in their favor, and the last thing they needed was for Kitty to wake up and start screaming. She would probably scream for the Marshal. They wanted him involved, but not yet.
Remembering the bottles of whiskey, Shawn ran back inside. Louis wanted to yell at him, but knew he couldn't. He had know idea what Shawn was doing. But Louis did know if Shawn messed everything up, he would have a difficult time forgiving Shawn. If Shawn was lucky, Louis wouldn't kill him. Shawn returned a minute later with four bottles of whiskey, two bottles in each hand.
Louis had to admit he was pleased to see Shawn return with the bottles of whiskey. The cabin could use more. However, now was not the time to be worrying about a whiskey supply for the cabin. They had more important things to concentrate on.
"I thought we could use these," said Shawn, placing the bottles in the back of the wagon.
"Yes," Louis agreed. "But we have ta get goin'," He pulled an envelope addressed to Matt out of his pocket and turned to Jesse. "We'll stop in front of the Marshal's office. Take this envelope and slide it under the door." He gave the envelope to Jesse.
"No problem." Jesse took the envelope from Louis.
They left the back alley of the Long Branch. Louis and Jesse sat in front, while Shawn sat in the back with Kitty. Quickly stopping in front of the jail, Jesse jumped down from the seat and went to the door. He slid the envelope underneath. His task complete, Jesse returned to the wagon. Neither of the men said anything until they were far enough from town, so that if Kitty did wake up and scream, nobody would hear her.
"I can't believe we got away with it," Jesse remarked.
"This is only the beginning," Louis reminded his brothers. "We have to hope the Marshal can solve the clues we're gonna leave for him in time, 'n come out to the cabin. Once he's out to the cabin, we'll kill him and keep Miss Russell."
"Why didn't we just tell him where we have Miss Russell? Why make him solve clues?" asked Shawn.
"Because I want the Marshal ta suffer," Louis answered. "Knowing we have Kitty Russell, but not knowing what's happening to her, would cause him some suffering." Jesse and Shawn nodded in agreement.
On the way back to the cabin, Louis dropped off the third envelope. Marshal Dillon would find that envelope if he solved the first clue. The other clues had not been placed yet. The brothers did not want to risk someone else finding them by accident.
Louis and his brothers reached the cabin and carried Kitty inside moments before the sky lit up with lightning, thunder crashed, and the clouds released their rain. Not caring if he got wet, Shawn went back outside to retrieve the bottles of whiskey. Dripping wet, Shawn walked back into the cabin. Kitty was on the bed.
"Since yer already soakin' wet, go out and unhitch the horses. Tether them to the hitch rail," Jesse instructed Shawn. Shawn did as he was told.
The storm outside was in full swing, but the storm Matt and Kitty were about to face was just beginning.
TBC