Read The Shopkeeper for Free Online Page B

for him not investigating the Dave Masters shooting. And at some point, Doc had probably classified some dead body as murder. I looked at Jeremiah, and his more relaxed expression told me he had not previously crossed Washburn. I was faced with an ugly dilemma. If I stayed, there was a chance Washburn would confine his revenge to me, but if I ran, he would pick other targets for retribution. From everything I had heard, this man insisted on getting his way.

    “I need to get to Washburn,” I said.

    “You’ll never get close.”

    “I must.” I shifted my gaze to capture the eyes of all three men. “Even if I eliminate another intermediary, he’ll just hire another and then another. This beast must be killed at the head. Metaphorically speaking, of course.”

    Dooley slapped his cards on the table. “Not metaphorically. Kill him … if you can.” His voice sounded harsh.

    “That’s quite barbarian, Doc. I thought you were a civilized man.”

    “I’m a frightened man. And you should be too. It’s a hell of a lot easier to thwart two morons than to prevail against a clever villain with the morality of a hungry lion.” Dooley pulled on his ear and then shook his head. “This is quite serious. You’re far too calm.”

    I thought I must appear calmer than I felt, but I knew Washburn did not scare me as much as the Cutlers had. I picked up my glass of bourbon and took a small sip, holding it in my mouth a moment. I swallowed hard and then said, “The Cutlers were new to me, but I’ve dealt with ruthless, ambitious men before.”

    “To the death?” Jeremiah asked.

    “No,” I admitted. “Table stakes.”

    “Washburn plays for keeps,” Jeremiah said.

    “Perhaps, but I know the game.” Their doleful eyes did not encourage. My chair made a harsh scraping noise as I scooted closer to the table. “Tell me everything about the man. I need to know about his mines, his other business interests, political dealings, mistresses, everything.”

    Richard stared at me. “I’ll tell you the only thing you need to know.” Richard leaned forward. “Mr. Sean Washburn, Esquire, has ruthlessly built a huge empire on top of innocent and not-so-innocent corpses. He’s a scary man, and he’s probably already planning to add a few more carcasses to his grotesque pile.”

    “Then we need to plan as well. Or do you intend to sit here and brood until he makes a visit?”

    Dolley began to swirl his bourbon glass through the wet ring it had sweated onto the table. “His empire’s big, all right, and we probably don’t know the half of it. Nor all the people throughout the state that he’s corrupted.”

    “Tell me what you do know. I’ll surmise the rest.”

    “How?”

    “I’ve seen the type before. He’s smart and powerful, but he’s vulnerable somewhere.”

    Richard still looked dubious. “If you attack his business, won’t he have more reason to kill you?”

    “Goddamn it.” I banged my glass on the table. “You say he’s already got reason enough. I need to fight him where I can get at him directly. No surrogates.”

    Jeremiah spoke for the first time in a while. “Makes sense. We can’t kill an endless supply of thugs, and we can’t just sit here and wait to die.”

    I was taken aback. “Thank you for the plural pronoun.”

    “Not as generous as it sounded.” Jeremiah gave me an angry look that said this was my fault. “We’re all in this thing now, whether we like it or not … and I don’t.”

    “I could distance myself from all of you.”

    “Too late. You’ve already pulled us in.” Jeremiah expression had not softened.

    I didn’t make excuses but looked at each man sequentially. Finally, Richard said, “Okay, we’ll tell you everything we know.”

Chapter 10

     

    I stepped out of the telegraph office, leaving behind a stunned operator. The man had sworn an oath of secrecy, but I feared that this news was far too rich for him to keep my message secret for long. I