“Of course,” Parker said, getting to his feet. “We aren’t going anywhere.”
“Should we take a break?” Beares asked, also rising. “Until you return?”
“Come on,” Anderson snapped. “We don’t need a woman here to play cards, do we? Let’s keep this thing moving along.”
“Whatever you say, Mayor,” Beares snapped. “I suggest we take a break.” He looked at the others for support and saw none forthcoming.
“Well, to hell with it,” he said. “I’m taking a damn break. Come along, Hattie. I’ll escort you upstairs.”
It finally seemed to sink in to Parker what Beares really wanted to take a break for and he said, “I think I’ll come along, too. I could use some fresh air.”
“I’m stunned,” Anderson said, laughing. “It’s taken this long for the two of you to figure out that you’re both sleeping with that woman?”
“I am not!” Beares stammered. “How dare you accuse—”
“I’ll dare whatever the hell I want,” Anderson interrupted. “You two want to fight over Basin Street and Storyville. I built them up from nothing. But I wasn’t being led around by the balls while I was doing it.”
Hattie whistled sharply, already at the door. “This is a pointless argument, gentlemen,” she said. “Since I won’t be bedding anyone tonight.”
“And that,” H.D. muttered under his breath, “truly is a shame.”
Hattie, Parker, and Beares headed upstairs, while Anderson and H.D. sat and smoked.
Fargo stayed put for several minutes, then he moved to stand next to H.D. “Can you keep an eye on things here for a few minutes?”
“Why’s that?” H.D. asked.
“Just a feeling—” Fargo started to say, when the sound of gunshots echoed through the building. “Ah, damn it to hell,” he said, running from the room and wondering which of the men was dead.
12
The acrid smell of gunpowder still hung in the air when Fargo reached the top of the steps, with H.D. and Anderson hot on his heels. The front door of the Blue Emporium was standing open, and lying face-down in a pool of his own blood was Senator Beares.
Hattie was standing over the body, her back to the stairs and a small pistol in her hand, while Parker stood next to the door, his mouth hanging open in shock.
“What the hell happened up here?” Fargo demanded.
Hattie spun toward him, and he quickly reached out and disarmed her. A woman with a gun was a dangerous thing in almost any circumstance, which Fargo knew from hard-won experience.
H.D. took the pistol from Fargo’s hand and demanded his own explanation.
“I didn’t kill him, if that’s what you’re suggesting,” ]Hattie snapped.
“I hadn’t suggested it yet,” H.D. said. “But you are the one standing here with a gun and Senator Beares looks pretty dead to me.”
“She didn’t do it,” Parker said. “We . . . Beares opened the door and there was someone standing on the steps, waiting for him. He shot Beares and Hattie pulled out her pistol and fired back, but the villain had already fled down the steps and into the street.”
Fargo stepped over Beares’ body and looked out on the street, where curiosity about the shot was bringing people outside. He scanned the crowd, but the dark made most of the faces virtually anonymous. He knelt down on the steps, looking for any traces of blood. “There’s no sign here,” he said to H.D. “No blood except for Beares’.”
“Hattie,” H.D. said. “I’ve got to take you in for questioning and send a couple of men over to pick up Senator Beares’ body.”
“Questioning?” Hattie snapped. “Why? Senator Parker just vouched for me.”
“I’m aware of your relationship with Senator Parker, ” H.D. said. “And it makes sense that he’d want to protect you—and his investment in the Blue Emporium. You need to come with me.”
“This . . . this is outrageous!” Hattie screeched. “Why would I kill Senator Beares?”
“I don’t know,” H.D. said. “But you can tell me all the reasons you wouldn’t down at the jail.”
“Is this absolutely necessary?” Parker demanded. “We have a game to finish.”
“Not really,” Anderson said, coming up the stairs for a second time.
“What do you mean by that?” Parker asked.
“Horn is gone,” Anderson said. “And so is our money.”
“Game called on account of murder,” Fargo said. “Perfect.”
“Why are you up here, Fargo?” the senator asked. “You were supposed to be downstairs watching over our money.”
“No, Senator,” Fargo said. “I was supposed to be watching the players, remember? That’s what you hired me for. When the players split up, I had to make a choice. I chose to stay downstairs until the shooting started up here.”
“Damn it all to hell!” Parker shouted. He stepped outside and walked down the steps. “Michaels, Douglas! Get over here!”
Two men drifted in from the crowd and Parker spoke rapidly to them, no doubt sending them out to search for Horn and the missing money. He came back up the steps and said, “They’ll find him.”
“I wouldn’t bet on it,” Fargo said. “All of this, I think, was pretty well planned.” He turned to Hattie. “Wasn’t it, Miss Hamilton?”
“I don’t have any idea what you’re talking about!” she snapped.
“Why don’t you take her away now, H.D.?” Fargo suggested. “I’ll come by in a bit and see if I can help you shed some light on this mess.”
“You do that, Fargo,” he said. He took Hattie by the arm and began walking her down the steps. Her voice rose to a screeching protest that faded as he moved her down the street at a rapid walk.
“What are you going to do now, Fargo?” Anderson asked.
“What I do best,” Fargo replied. “I’m going to find Horn.”
“This isn’t the wilderness, Fargo,” Senator Parker said. “There are no tracks in the dust for you to follow.”
“I don’t quit that easily, Senator Parker,” Fargo said. “I’ll find him and bring him back.”
“Just make sure you don’t lose your way,” he said. “With all our money.”
Anderson chuckled grimly. “I think maybe you hired the wrong kind of man, Parker,” he said. “Fargo doesn’t strike me as the kind of fellow who would do such a thing.”
“Maybe,” the senator admitted. “But it’s more likely that my men will find him first.”
“And then where will our money go?” Anderson asked. “And that doesn’t even begin to address the true stakes we were playing for.”
“No, it doesn’t, does it?” Parker replied. “Perhaps we’ll have to work out another arrangement later.”
“This is my part of town,” Anderson said. “If you want it, you’ll either win it or take it by force. But I’ll be damned if I’m going to give it to you just because you threaten me.”
“You’re fighting a losing battle, Anderson,” he replied. “Sooner or later, all of this will belong to me.”
“I guess we’ll see, won’t we?”
“That’s enough,” Fargo said. “I’m not going to stand here all night while you two work yourselves up to a fight. Go on back to your places and I’ll get to work.”
Parker waved a hand dismissively. “Whatever you say, Fargo. Just be sure that if you do find Horn, you come back with our money.”
Anderson didn’t speak, just turned and stalked out into the night. Several men fell in next to him as he moved down the street, and Fargo watched long enough to make sure they were gone, then waited until Parker, too, found some men to bring up his carriage and drive him back to his mansion. Inwardly seething, Fargo started into the warren of streets surrounding the Blue Emporium.