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The stagecoach pulled up in a cloud of dust, the coachman reining in the steaming horses with an oath. He jumped down, spat, and opened the stagecoach door.
?Ma?am,? he said, his moustaches quivering appreciatively.
Clara Belle descended into the arid atmosphere of Gorey Creek, a dewy rose in a desert.
A lady of some twenty-five summers, her glossy chestnut hair was swept into a knot at the nape of her neck. She lifted her skirt slightly as she climbed down, to reveal starched petticoats and buttoned boots.
Clara waited as the driver swung down her trunk from the roof, her fine blue eyes surveying the town. .
Gorey Creek was an up-and-coming township in America?s mid-west. There were several dotted around the county, becoming prosperous by the region?s rich gold seams and enormous cattle ranches. Yes, Gorey Creek would suit her very well.
She left her trunk in situ, and crossed the road to a rowdy saloon bar. The noise was turned off, as if by a tap. Unperturbed, Clara walked to the bar.
?Good day. Can you tell me where Mr Walter Stoner lives, please??
Cowboys, ranch-hands and saloon girls stared in astonishment, but it seemed the bartender was used to out-of-the-way questions.
?Edge of town,? he replied, laconically. He nodded the direction. ?Name of Longhorn Ranch.?
?Thank you. May I rent a room here? My trunk is across the road.?
?Sure.? He brought out a register and key. ?Name and address??
?Miss Clara Belle, London, England.? There was a hum of excitement.
?Room 8. I?ll have your trunk brought up.?
Clara, smiling sweetly at a couple of cowboys who were regarding her with open mouths, ascended the stairs. She was followed by the bartender?s assistant carrying her trunk. After testing her bed, she set off to explore.
She located the Sheriff?s office. He was talking to his deputy, and both men jumped to their feet when they saw Clara.
She sized them up. The tall, good-looking one is the Sheriff. His deputy looks keen ? might be after his job. She said,
?I am Clara Belle. I intend to set up business as a private investigator. I wanted to warn you ? I don?t want to step on anyone?s toes!?
Both men looked like they would love to have their feet abused by Clara, but the Sheriff merely remarked,
?I?m Bill Ferron, Miss Belle, and this is my deputy, Dan Branner. There?s no call for a private detective here.?
?On the contrary, Sheriff. I?ve come to help my cousin. Walter Stoner, who?s having some trouble.?
?Say,? piped up the deputy. ?I?ve heard about these PIs. Aren?t you like Sherlock Holmes of London??
?Clever man, by all accounts,? said Bill.
Clara saw two pairs of wary eyes boring into her blue ones. She answered coolly.
?No, I model myself on Conan Doyle, who invented him. Now, there?s a clever man.?
?How can a lady in skirts chase criminals?? Dan scoffed.
?With her brain, of course, Deputy.?
The Sheriff bowed slightly. ?Allow me to show you around town, Miss Belle.?
?Clara, please. Thank you, Mr Ferron.?
?Bill.? He hid his embarrassment from his deputy. ?Dan, finish that report.?
Dan moved quickly to open the door. There was a ping as something hit the floor. A glint of yellow rolled under the desk.
?You?ve dropped a bullet, Deputy,? said Clara.
Outside, Bill said,
?That?s the livery stable. You can hire a horse and carriage there.
?This here?s Jeb?s store. Sells provisions, household items, anything, I guess. Here?s the man himself.? A rotund man in a white apron was introduced.
?Hope the Sheriff will bring you to the dance tomorrow night.? He winked at Bill, who ignored him.
?Here?s the saloon. You don?t want to be going there, a lady like you.?
?On the contrary, Bill, I?m staying there.?
The sheriff was horrified. ?It?s full of ruffians! There?s many a bad business conducted there, I wish I could stop it. There?s a clever brain behind it all.?
?Well, maybe you can be just as smart, Bill. I?ll help you.?
?You??
?I told you. I?m a private investigator. Think Pinkerton?s. I?m a step better than the law. I ask questions where lawmen fear to tread.?
?Yeah, and get yourself killed! It ain?t all cosy here like leafy England. It?s rough and tough and there?s ruthless people who?ll stop at nothing to get what they want!?
It was a powerful message but Clara didn?t bat one of her lusciously-lashed eyelids.
?Sheriff, I can look after myself. And little old England can be just as dangerous.?
Bill jutted out his jaw, but realised he had met his match.
Hal tottered off, still muttering, and Bill said, ?There?s too many of these incidents.?
?What is that?? Bill stared at this strange, strong, beautiful woman.
?To be a female Sherlock Holmes. Will you be my John Watson??
Bill looked into her eyes, and moved closer. The parson hailed them, and the moment was spoiled.
Walter opened it, and did a double-take when he saw his cousin. She introduced herself.
?You are a private detective??
Clara opened her bag and took out a notebook and pencil. ?Can you tell me about your problem??
?Yeah, I can do that ? though what the hell you can do, Clara, I can?t imagine ? no offence.?
?Well, him or his deputy. Same thing?
?Don?t rightly know. Seems like there?s a jinx on the place ? or me.?
?Sure is. So, be careful now, won?t you??
Deputy Dan Branner was at her elbow. ?May I have the next dance, Miss Belle??
?Clara, please. Could you get me a drink first? This dancing is thirsty work.?
Dan came back with two glasses of punch.
?Steady on with that, Clara! Jeb?s wife makes it keen and strong.?
?Just what I need.? Clara drank deeply. Dan said,
?I see.? Clara?s mouth was a thin, tight line.
?If I were you, I?d go somewhere where your talents would really be appreciated. The sheriff is hidebound ? he?s got no vision. I?ve known the guy years so I can tell you this. Actually, I think it stems from him losing his wife the way he did.?
?What happened ? I suppose she died??
?Died, nothing! She left him for a visiting Marshall from California. The Sheriff has been against women ever since.?
Later, Bill asked to accompany Clara back to her lodgings. She looked at him with cool eyes.
?Alright?thank you.?
At the saloon, a brash woman overloaded with paint and powder sashayed her way over to Bill.
?Howdy, Sheriff. This your new lady friend??
?I?m afraid the Sheriff is busy at the moment, Miss???
The woman skirted round to Bill, putting her face up close. Clara stepped between them.
Bill turned away to hide a smile and the saloon girl flounced off.
Next day, Clara returned from the ranch and marched into the Sheriff?s office. The two men were seated at the desk as before. She faced Bill.
?The person responsible for terrorising Walter, and indeed for most of the villainy in this town, is here in this room ? aren?t you, Dan??
Bill jumped up but the deputy seemed unperturbed. He laughed and strolled over to where Clara stood with the sheriff.
?How d?you work that out, Miss Holmes??
?You are jealous of the Sheriff and are always attempting to undermine his authority. You even tried to turn me against him, by saying he didn?t want me around. Not content with stirring up trouble in the town by paying the Garroway boys to incite fights and rowdiness, you wanted to drive poor Walter from his ranch, so you could then buy it cheaply.?
The deputy?s eyes narrowed. ?What do you mean??
?You found gold on the land. When I was up there I saw it glinting in the river bed. Then I remembered the ?bullet? you dropped. The final nail in your coffin was Patty-Jo. You owed her money and paid her with a small gold nugget.?
?That old whore? Who?s gonna take her word??
?I am.? Bill confronted Dan.
?Bill, come on! D?you honestly think me capable of doing this??
Doubt crept in to the Sheriff?s handsome face, and in an instant Dan snatched his gun. ?get into that cell, both of you. I ain?t gonna tell you twice.?
Clara and Bill walked in to the small room. Dan locked it and leered in at them from the outside.
?Well now, don?t you make a pretty pair!?
?Dan, what the hell has come over you? How many years have we known each other? Please, don?t do this. ? Bill made a last ditch appeal to Dan ? which failed.
?Hell knows what the fool thinks he?s doing by running in there,? muttered Bill. ?He?s cornered.?
Clara looked at his set face and knew Dan wouldn?t get away.
But Bill was almost at the saloon doors. He dashed them open, his gun up and revenge in his sights.
Bang! A shot was fired from the landing. ?Everyone get down!? Bill yelled.
Clara took in the surprise on people?s faces as they watched the sheriff and his deputy apparently try to murder each other. There was a scream cut short. Upstairs, Dan appeared holding a frightened Patty-Jo by her white throat.
?Let me go, Bill,? he growled, ?or she gets it. You know I?ll do it.?
Clara took advantage of the confusion and the crowded saloon to nip out under the swing doors. Quickly, she ran round the back of the building. Yes, there was the outside staircase. She ran lightly up and through an open window. A saloon girl and her client were cowering on the bed. Motioning silence to their astonished faces, Clara slipped out of the door onto the landing, directly behind Dan and his hostage. Creeping up, she put her pistol against his head.
?Give it up, Dan,? she said, and the deputy lowered his gun in disgust.
?How on earth did you know Dan was behind so much of the villainy in this town, Clara?
?You know my methods. Apply them!?
They both laughed as the sheriff whirled her round the floor.
?I got this. ?She said with confidence. She walked right up to the hooded figure, Suzanne in tow, grinned broadly and said:
?Hello! I?m Lana and this,? she said bringing her friend up in front for expectation ?is Suzanne. Now Suzanne is your newest co-worker, and we are here for the free tour? the guard looked down at them, slightly menacing and after a long, pregnant pause he rolled his eyes and stepped aside.
Suzanne smiled sheepishly and nodded at him as they passed, and Lana only laughed.
?Thank you!? Lana called back just before slipping behind the curtain.
Inside the walls were painted a kind of rusty red, glass cabinets held the more delicate items, but the walls held weapons, chains, and nasty looking hooks. Suzanne made a joke about this being the worst honeymoon suite until with an evil glint in her eye Lana replied, ?for some.?
They chatted, flirting like mad and when Lana asked him if his princess won?t be jealous of their conversation, he told her that she was two timing him with the green knight. They laughed and when the others said they were going to the bar down the road, Marcel asked if they wanted to join him. Both Lana and Suzanne agreed.
At 4 AM when the bar was closing, Lana invited Marcel back to their place, and he agreed. They spent the rest of the night, talking, laughing, making out, and when morning came, neither wanted it to be over. They went for coffee but soon Marcel had to go home, he had to get ready for work and Lana agreed to take the subway with him, just to get a few last moments in his company. They got off at Pape station and he took off.
Not ready to go back into the hot crowded mess of the TTC, Lana sat down for a moment on the curb, beside her sat a girl wearing a white tank top and mirror shades, a cigarette dangled from her lips.
?Can I bum one of those?? asked Lana.
?this is my only one but you can have the second half.? She took one last drag and handed it to Lana. Normally Lana thought better of taking a half-smoked cigarette from anyone but this time the thought didn?t even occur to her. Instead she puffed grateful and began to chat.
?I?m Lana, thank you for this. I ran out and could really use one after the night I had.?
"I?m Virginia, nice to meet you. Tell me about this night you had? she said leaning in conspiratorially. Lana began to describe her evening before, and Virginia would interject a joke here and a comment there. Soon the Cigarette was gone and a passing man who was smoking was suddenly assailed by two voices in unison asking to bum a smoke. He looked startled but handed them a cigarette which they shared as well. Virginia told Lana that she was here also because of a boy and told her own story. They figured out that they were practically neighbours, and they had a lot in common.
Lana walked back into the subway, smiling to herself. Little did she know that though the knight was lovely, the greatest gift he gave her was putting her in the right place at the right time. She only saw him twice more before life got in the way and they parted on friendly terms, but Virginia, now there was a best friend for life.
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