“Exactly!” the doctor said. “I’m sure that Ivan thought it would bring him at least several thousand dollars. Mr. Leach, however, had other ideas. He believed that he had enough power and influence that his guests would be well protected.
“I take it that Mr. Leach has his own gunnies?”
“A few,” the doctor said. “They come and they go. Right now he has about three on his staff. They guard the ore shipments as well as his other interests and his person. They are a very ruthless bunch, that I can assure you. They have provided me with a fair amount of business.”
“I see.”
“Why didn’t Mr. Leach use one of his own men instead of Jack Ramey?” Megan asked.
“Good question,” the doctor replied, “and one that I also asked myself. The best answer I can figure is that it was cleaner to hire a cold-blooded little executioner like Jack Ramey. A man who would gun down the marshal and the deputy and then disappear never to return.”
“Ramey’s fatal mistake,” Longarm said, “was to delay his departure.”
“I can assure you, Marshal Long, that Jack Ramey was not known for his caution or his brilliance. His cronies and bedfellows practically lived at the Champion Saloon. They were so egregious that they drove out any respectable clients and had it all to themselves.”
“Egregious?”
“It means someone or something that is remarkably bad.” Dr. Blake shook his head. “And believe me, Jack Ramey and his fellow lowlifes who had taken over the Champion Saloon were the worst of Bodie’s worst.”
“I see.”
“Anyway,” the doctor continued, “Horace Leach is the man who paid Jack Ramey a thousand dollars to execute those murders.”
“How do I get to the man without dying for my trouble?” Longarm asked.
“I don’t really know,” the doctor replied. “I can tell you this. Horace Leach is a very intelligent and prudent man. If he even suspects that we know he is the one behind those jail-cell murders, we are all as good as dead.”
“And I suppose,” Longarm said, “that the Savior Mine and its surrounding property are a veritable fortress?”
“Of course. There are armed guards everywhere. He has a large house on the property and three gunmen live downstairs. I’ve heard that one of them is always on guard. They do not drink when on duty, and they are not allowed to bring any women on the premises that might distract them.”
“What about his mining crews?” Longarm asked.
“What about them?”
“Are they loyal?”
“Not particularly,” the doctor decided after a MOment’s reflection. “Leach has a very poor reputation as an employer. He’ll fire anyone who gets hurt in a mining accident, and the Savior is always the lowest-paying among the big mines. Furthermore, Leach has an abominable reputation for safety on the jobs. His mines are the most dangerous by far. I’m told he cuts every corner possible, even trying to save money by inadequately shoring up his shafts and tunnels.”
“He sounds like a real skunk,” Megan said.
“He’s not a nice man,” the doctor agreed. “I’ve attended two of the soiled doves who frequent the Leach Mansion, and both were suffering from severe beatings and some rather hideous sexual perversions.”
When Longarm saw Megan’s eyebrows shoot up with curiosity, he growled, “Never mind, Megan!”
The doctor seconded that by saying, “My dear, you most certainly would not enjoy hearing the things that Leach does to women. It would be neither enlightening nor pleasant to contemplate.”
“All right,” Megan said. “So don’t tell me what he does to them. Dr. Blake, why don’t you just tell us how we stop this terrible man?”
Longarm whirled toward Megan. “There is no we in this matter,” he said very firmly. “You’re in no shape at all to leave your sickbed.”
“Custis, you of all people know that I’m still in pretty good shape.”
“Stay in bed and keep the door locked and a gun by your side,” Longarm ordered. “Megan, I have to bring down Horace Leach alone, and I sure don’t want to be worrying about you. Or you either, Doctor.”
Blake smiled wanly. “I sincerely appreciate your concern. But I think that I am quite safe because I am entirely unworthy of one of Mr. Leach’s paid assassins.”
He snapped his bag closed and went to the door. “I wish that I could say the same for the both of you. I wish that you had just taken my advice and left Bodie forever.”
“Thank you,” Megan said. “Will you be returning soon?”
“Tomorrow,” the doctor said as he turned to go. “That is, God willing.”
When they were alone again, Longarm bolted the door and went over to Megan. He took her hands in his own and said, “I’m going after Horace Leach tonight and I can’t be worrying about you, Megan.”
“I’ll keep my door bolted and a gun at my side.”
“Not good enough,” Longarm told her. “I want to relocate you tonight.”
“To where?”
