Chapter 4

“Excuse me for a moment,” the Secretary said, and he let himself out of the office. When he had left the room, Opal Anne and I talked to Mr. Beshoar about the Secretary of State and the value of his word. The newspaperman smiled before he spoke.

“As he said, he IS a politician and that makes him not only a liar, but a very skilled liar. Something he didn’t mention, so he didn’t lie about it, was that in a few months his term will be up. Once he’s out of office the promises he made would go out with him. If there was an investigation going on, it could also go away unless the new Secretary follows up.”

“Then we need to be sure to find out everything from Wilks that we can. I want to know the names of everyone in the chain of command. I have another plan for them.”

“I can’t aid you in killing anyone,” Beshoar said very seriously looking at Wilks still being cared for by the two large men.

“No, I have other plans for this company and the people involved in the murder of my family.”

“Would you care to share?” the newspaperman asked.

“Can you keep it between you and me?” I asked.

“Yes, unless it’s illegal,” he said firmly.

“I’m going to buy the Pueblo Cattle Management Company. That should make it possible to save all of those jobs that the secretary had wanted. Then I’m going to turn over any employees who were involved in the murders of my family to the authorities. I have a feeling that once the whole story comes out, we’re going to find that Mr. Wilks somehow discovered that the O’Dell family is soon to be one of, if not the, richest families in the western US. The plain is full of gold. I have a lot of good things I want to do with that gold. But I don’t want attention brought to me or my family.”

“Really? There’s that much gold?”

“Yes. It was an old Spanish claim that was wiped out by smallpox. The Indians have passed the word around the regional tribes, from generation to generation, that the plain is a cursed and evil place. They won’t go near the place. None of them, regardless of tribe. That has spread to the white population who are still scared to death of smallpox. All the records of the find are on the plain and, since everyone died, no one knew about the place.”

“Well, once you can let out the entire story, please give it to me first. It sounds like a story I would love to tell.”

“It seems like the least I can do after your help today.” I offered my hand and he took it and then Opal Anne did the same.

We chatted about my family and the war and the aftermath. Opal Anne told about our past, as far as how we got to Colorado and she openly admitted to having been a whore before she met the O’Dells. She spoke with great love about me and my brothers. No mention was made of the trading wives, it wasn’t needed.

We hadn’t realized how much time had passed, but it must have been considerable. Dewey, Mr. Simms, and the mousy lawyer, Mr. Moses, returned to the office and were taken aback that Mr. Wilks was unconscious on the floor.

“Where is Mr. Meldrum, and what happened to Mr. Wilks?” lawyer Moses asked.

“The Secretary stepped out for a moment. I’m sure that he’ll be back presently,” Mr. Beshoar replied.

“Mr. Simms is very precise in his dictation, Mr. Beshoar,” Dewey C. Howe Esq, related to Simms employer, occasionally glancing at Mr. Wilks and the two men attending to him. “He is to be commended. He recorded everything correctly. Mr. Moses has agreed that the document is accurate. As soon as the Secretary returns, we can sign the agreement and the O’Dells can return to their home and the State of Colorado can continue unencumbered by the potential loss of so much of its territory.”

“Simms, well done my boy. We’ll wait here while Mr. Moses goes and finds the Secretary.”

Moses seemed to be put out by his demotion to lackey, again, by the more powerful men in the room. He walked out of the office and down the hall to find the Secretary speaking to a young man. In the time that he had been out of the office, the Secretary had sent a wire to Colorado Springs and they sent a message to the Capital. The politician had set the wheels in motion.

“Mr. Secretary. Can you come back to the office now?”

“Yes, of course,” he said, since it seemed that a negative response might cause Mr. Moses to faint. Before he followed the lawyer, the Secretary spoke to the young man he had been dealing with. “Let me know as soon as you get a reply.”

“I will sir,” the fellow replied.

The Secretary followed the mouse, rather, Mr. Moses back to Mr. Wilks office. As he walked in the two large men had just gotten Mr. Wilks into his chair. He was just now coming around.

“Where ... am ... I?” he asked in a soft uncertain voice.

“You are in your chair in your office and lucky to be alive,” Beshoar said.

Wilks shook his head a few times, and then looked around the room. Then he remembered.

“You two men, take that woman out and get the police!”

“That’s not going to be necessary men,” the Secretary said. “Mr. Wilks will be fine in a moment. Go back to your duties.”

The two large men looked to each other, and then from Mr. Wilks to Mr. Meldrum and then down to a smiling Opal Anne O’Dell.

“Don’t do anything to upset my wife or my daughter,” I suggested. “My wife isn’t always as gentle as she was with Mr. Wilks.”

I managed to say that with a straight face, and between that, and the appearance of their employer, they chose to leave the room. I looked over at Simms to find him sitting back in his chair, writing down everything that was being said, and showing the slightest of smiles.

“Mr. O’Dell if you will trust me, I’ll take the document with me to the Capital and have a copy made and sent to Mr. Howe.”

“No need, Mr. Meldrum,” Dewey said to the Secretary. “The staff here made a copy for the both of us. As soon as you and I sign them, and have them witnessed by Mr. Moses and me, the deal will be signed and sealed.”

“What are we waiting for?” The Secretary asked.

“Wait! You can’t do this and leave my company hanging,” Mr. Wilks said, still a little woozy, and holding a blood soaked handkerchief to the side of his face.

“Mr. Wilks, I have just now sent a summary report of your actions to the State Attorney General. I’m sure that very soon you will be visited by the U.S. Marshall Service and the justice sought by the O’Dells will be set in motion.”

I looked at everyone in the room and decided that now was a good time to start driving coffin nails.

“Mr. Wilks, if you will give me the names of all of the men involved in the murders of my family, I will attest that you gave assistance in bringing everyone to justice.”

“And if I don’t?”

“Then my wife and daughter and the daughter of my brother will testify in court, The presence of an orphaned child will no doubt not look good for you.”

Mr. Wilks nodded, and I looked at Dewey.

“I want to go home. Can you handle everything else?”

“Yes, Paul. I’ve got it from here as soon as you sign these two documents.”

I actually took the time to read the two documents as they lay side by side on Mr. Wilks desk, Opal Anne reading along with me. When I was done, I waited for Opal Anne to give her permission and I signed the two documents. Opal Anne signed under my signature, Mr. Meldrum signed on his designated line and then Mr. Beshoar signed as the witness.

I thanked all involved, except Mr. Wilks, and Opal Anne and I left the offices. We walked to our horses and upon mounting them we smiled at each other.

“I thought that went well,” Opal Anne said.

“Does that include the beating you applied to Mr. Wilks?” I asked.

“It does. I still want to treat him the same as I did the men that killed Rory.”

“We can go back in,” I said and began to dismount my horse.

“Paul, no! Let’s let this string play out and then see what needs to be done. Now, Pauli is getting fussy, and so am I. Let’s return to the hotel, eat dinner and wait for Dewey. Then in the morning we can ride back to Fountain City, pick up Michelle and go home.”

“Sounds good to me.”

We rode to the hotel and asked the desk clerk to have the animals taken to the livery. We went to the restaurant in the hotel and asked if nursing Pauli was going to be a problem. The manager asked Opal Anne to just keep her breast covered as much as possible. Opal Anne had no problem with that. We were seated and we both ordered the pot roast and coffee.

We were halfway through the meal when Dewey came in. He looked a bit upset. He waved when he saw us and then went to have his buggy and horse taken care of. He joined us at the table and was taken aback when he saw part of Opal Anne’s freckled breast.

“Relax, Dewey. It’s what they were designed for.”

“I know Opal Anne, it’s just that I’ve never seen yours and to be frank for a second I was appreciating the view. Sorry Paul.”

“Not at all Dewey. But you seem to be a little off.”

“Yeah, after you left, Wilks tried to get the Secretary to destroy the contract. He was pissed and I don’t think he is going to go away peacefully.”

“Do I need to go there in the morning and just shoot him in the face?” I asked seriously.