Winter's Refuge

Chapter Two Hundred Seven

JED 'KID' CURRY

The kids' distraction was welcome and I was happy that they did not touch the bird's nest. But I realized that Diane Frances is not as quiet as I thought. I need to watch over her more carefully.

Me and Heyes went back into Lom's house and picked up the telegram that started this discussion. I reread it. It was short and sweet:

"TO: Marshal Lom Trevors

Three Birds, Phoenix Office

Trevors STOP Info provided panned out STOP Meet Marshal Gray Lyons and Karl Josephs Thursday by noon STOP Shortage of marshals STOP Bring Curry STOP

Deputy Director Aaron Brothers"

Then me and Heyes sat down with Lom to get the details. Heyes won't go; he'll stay here and take care of our families and Phoenix, but his mind excelled at the details of plannin'. We needed that.

Lom had figured out from studyin' newspaper accounts of past robberies, some that even included quotes from the victims, just where the hideout of the Black Brook Gang was located in Colorado. And was able to draw a circle, with that at the center, and noticed that all their robberies, stagecoach, banks, and trains were within forty-two miles of their hideout.

Bein' cautious, the marshals scouted out their prey twice before strikin'. Their leads came from articles in the paper and talkin' to the clerks in the telegraph or mail offices. Most of whom also sold tickets for the stages and trains. Then plain clothes marshals went undercover and had gone out and talked to some of these clerks. Lom handed us their reports to read. At Lom's invitation, Heyes reviewed his work and came to a different conclusion but the same targeted payroll. Lom thought that the Black Brook Gang was gonna rob the Number 8 train on Monday, somewhere between its third passenger stop and the water tower thirty miles further along the route, close to their hideout.

"Hard to rob a train too close to a terminal," Heyes said.

"But all their history points to it," Lom argued.

"Why rob a train when that payroll is sitting in a bank, guarded by inexperienced men overnight?" Heyes asked.

"How do you know that it's guarded by inexperienced men?" Lom returned.

"Just look at this interview with the clerk in Two Roads Junction." Heyes passed the newspaper to Lom.

"So? He gives the exact train the payroll will travel on."

"Turn to the last page," Heyes added.

"The ads?" Lom asked, as he skimmed the page. "Oh, how could I have missed that." He read aloud. "Easy money. Looking for two men to guard the bank Friday, Saturday, and Sunday night from closing until 3:00 AM each night. No experience necessary."

"Why only until 3:00 AM?" I asked.

"They're naive. Probably think that bank robbers are tucked in their beds by 3:00 AM," Heyes replied with a wink. "Really, I think whoever placed that ad is in on the robbery that will occur after 3:00 AM on one of those nights. But no matter, Kid and Lom, you need to go there quickly and get those bank jobs."

LOM

I was embarrassed when Heyes found something I had missed. He reminded me that he had traced the father of one of the McWinter Gang hostages through the want ads. I had correctly identified the payroll as the target of the Black Brook Gang, but misjudged where it was to happen.

I watched the Kid take a deep breath and saw that Heyes was watching him, too. "Kid, you up for this?"

The Kid nodded slowly. "Ready to go in two hours. Have to give Rocky instructions for the blacksmith shop and kiss my wife and kids. Lom, why don't you ride Fall's Sunrise; he's a younger geldin' and can keep up with Winter's Glory."

Neither of them ever mentioned my oversight and wrong choice of where the robbery would occur. We sat and planned for another half hour then the boys took all their kids home and I explained to Wayne that I'd be away for a few days. He'd stay at the big house, as he called the Curry/Heyes ranch house. He was overjoyed.

HEYES

Chrissy was worried about the Kid helping Lom and being with child made her break into tears. I was worried for a moment when the Kid said if she was that upset about it, he wouldn't go and help his friend stop the robbery. He knows his wife well. She wiped her tears and said of course he was going and to please be careful.

The Kid did and said all the right things, but something was troubling him.

"Kid, you need to talk?" I asked. When he didn't answer, I called him again and pulled him out of our fenced yard and toward the stream. "Kid!"

I broke his concentration. "Heyes? Where are you takin' me? I have to get ready."

I headed upstream, away from the house. "Something is bothering you. Let's talk."

"Is it that apparent?" he asked, following me.

"Only to me…and maybe to Chrissy, when she's not pregnant," I told him. "Out with it or I'm riding with you and Lom until you do."

He stopped, chose some stones from the bank, and started to skip them across the still water. "Never been afraid when I thought I might have to use my gun, but I am now and that can be dangerous."

This was serious. He didn't deserve a flip answer. I wasn't sure what to say, so I finally just said, "Why now? You been practicing every day. I think you're as fast as you ever were."

"Ain't my speed I'm worryin' about," my partner said, picking up another handful of rocks to skip. "When I was in gunfights before, it was just you and me, no home, no other family. Now we got families, kids to raise. It seems there is so much more to lose now. That's what I'm afraid of."

I understood but words escaped me. I stood next to him and skipped a stone.

"Ain't so much worried about dyin' but about them - their grief, the impact me dyin' like that would have on their lives. I know you and Chrissy would take good care of them. But it's a weight on me I didn't used to have," he finished.

"I understand, but don't know how to help you." I felt lost looking for an answer for him.

"Don't think anyone can. I need to know you'll watch out for them." The Kid looked at me, the intense blue of his eyes showing his earnestness.

"Always, partner. Always," I answered.

Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them, he stood straighter, and I knew he was focused on the job with Lom ahead of him.

"Pa, Uncle Lom is here and says it's time to go." Michael came running up to us.

The Kid ruffled his hair and gave him a smile. "Well, if Uncle Lom says it's time to go, it must be," he answered.

Juan brought their horses to the side of the house. We no longer allow our horses to be in front of our house since Fall's Bells ate the blooms off Chrissy's roses and bit some thorns in the process. Now there is a specific horse railing at the side of the horse…with no roses nearby.

JED 'KID' CURRY

I kissed each of the kids, mine and Heyes', before I left. When I kissed Angie and then Auntie on their cheeks, I whispered to each to take care of Heyes and he'll take care of everyone else. And then there was just Chrissy. Her earlier tears had vanished. Now she was smilin' when she kissed me and told me to be careful. But I knew her well and I saw the fear behind her words.

"I'll come back to you, don't you worry, Chrissy darlin'," I whispered. "I love you."

I had to leave quickly after that or the weight of what I was leavin' would make me emotional.

I was glad that Lom rode in silence. I wasn't ready to talk; I had to put the thoughts of my family securely away and clear my mind for this job. And that's when I realized that Lom wasn't just quiet, he was upset. And I think I know why.

"Lom, you still worried that Heyes found somethin' you overlooked? Don't. Heyes looks at things like that. His mind plans as an outlaw," I told him.

"It was right there. I didn't read the want ads. I usually don't. I will now." Lom took a deep breath. "I'm just glad that Heyes found it and put it all together." And with that small discussion, he put the guilt behind him and moved on. "I've been thinking. I'm very sure where their hideout is."

"Black Brook? Never really heard of it," I replied.

"That's because it doesn't exist. It's not a place but a person. Brook Evans. None of the article writers realized it, but there were clues in the statements of the victims and witnesses. The outlaws called their leader Bro or Black. A couple of times the outlaws complained about how long they had to ride when they thought the liverymen couldn't hear. When I could get an approximate area, some marshals, not wearing their badges, asked questions. The Evans' farmstead was near there but had been burned out. Some said Indians but others said that the arrogant Evans' son, Brook, had cheated others around out of their land. In retaliation, someone set fire to their barn and it moved to the house. His parents and younger brothers were killed. His sister survived but she was badly burned. She lives in a fancy hospital. The neighbors all wanted to speculate where Brook found the money to pay for it.

"Anyway, no one was ever charged, even though Brook accused one man. Sheriff said there was no evidence to hold him. Brook killed the man and the sheriff in the middle of the street and got the nickname Black Brook. Everyone there is afraid of him, but no bank robberies have ever happened there. Marshals followed three men they think are part of the gang to a dead-end canyon not far from the Evans' homestead.

"I'd like to get the men when they rob the bank in Two Roads Junction and the ones left behind in their hideout," Lom finished.

"Then we'll have to put our heads together and do just that."

LOM

The Kid is a good traveling companion. He's quiet, yet speaks his mind. Pushing the horses to get to Two Roads Junction and get those jobs, we ate in the saddle and took breaks when the horses needed them. Earlier today, I saw the Kid playing with the kids as they raced for the tree to see the bird's nest. There's no trace of that man now. He's become the careful, watchful outlaw and fast gun I need for this job. We got to Two Roads Junction late Wednesday afternoon.

Two Roads Junction wasn't much of a town. The largest building in town was the railroad station. A north south train and an east west train both stopped here. The passengers that needed to stay overnight to make their connections either slept in the terminal depot or stayed in one of the six rooms at Elsie Ann's Rooming House. Taking our horses to be stabled, I studied the livery man. Something about him I didn't trust, but I need to adjust my thinking. I haven't trusted anyone I've seen here since Heyes figured that the time 3:00 AM in the ad was sort of a signal. As planned, my badge was hidden in my pocket and I wore an old trail worn shirt.

Going next door to the rooming house, I got the last two-bed room for me and the Kid. Although later I heard the same clerk tell a couple traveling with an old lady that they just got the last two-bed room, too. Like I said, I'm not trusting anyone in Two Roads Junction.

While I did this, the Kid went to apply for the bank guard jobs. He was going to present us as drifters who saw the ad…not too bright drifters. He told the man at the bank who interviewed him that he was the smart one of the two. They gave him the job without even seeing me.

Now that we were hired, we took Thursday to get the lay of the town and talk to more of the townsfolk. They didn't trust two dirty drifters any more than I trusted them. So, we rode northeast hoping to catch the two incoming US Marshals before they got to the town and tell them of our plan. And it was also the direction of the suspected hideout of the Black Brook Gang. We only rode about ten of the thirty miles there, scouting side roads in case this turned into a chase before we met up with Marshals Gray Lyons and Karl Josephs. I know them both to be good men. They listened to Lom's plan and decided that they would scout around for the hideout but not approach if they found it. Friday afternoon they'd ride into Two Roads Junction and by the time we go on guard duty, they'd be on the hotel roof and the livery roof backing us up.

"Glad to have you backin' us up," the Kid said shaking hands with them both. "In Brown River my backup on the roof across the street saved my life."

"Glad to do it," Lyons replied. "If I remember the reports right, you never gave the name of the man stationed up there?"

The Kid answered, "A friend," this time just as he had when he gave his official report. I figure it was a member of the old Devil's Hole Gang, probably Preacher. But I'll let him keep that secret.

Thursday night, I paced the floor. What if something went wrong? There's so many things that could go wrong. I don't know how long I paced when I suddenly heard a threatening voice.

"Lom, you're as bad as my partner. If you don't turn off that light and lay down, I'll…" the Kid growled.

I cut him off before he finished and did as he said. But I laid awake and stared at the ceiling. Sometime before dawn, sleep claimed me with dreams that intensified my fears.