“I’m sure there is a good reason, and with luck, Father Dominic can explain it when we speak to him. It must have something to do with the murder in New Mexico, that golden chest, its contents, and why they sent Father Dominic to the middle of Wyoming with the chest,” West mused out loud.
“Probably, and it might explain why Father Dominic was also attacked and if Kate Mulligan is responsible.”
“I’m sure you’re right,” West answered as they approached the church doors. He paused for a moment before opening one of the two large doors and escorted Julia inside.
“It’s not as large as it appears from the outside,” Julia commented before blessing herself with the holy water from the font near the doors.
West watched her and shrugged. “Maybe it’s the white paint and the fact it sits alone on the small rise like it’s watching over the town.”
“It isn’t, but God is,” Julia said and smiled at West.
“Welcome,” a male voice boomed in the empty church. “Please come in and sit. Is there anything I can do for you? I’m Father Dominic.”
West approached Father Dominic and held out his hand. “I’m West Lange, and this is my wife, Julia. We’re the Pinkerton agents from Denver. Our boss is a friend of your uncle’s, and I believe you wrote Archie a letter asking for our help.”
“Yes, yes, I’m pleased you are here. Since I wrote that letter, I was attacked. I sent a telegram to Denver stating I was attacked and hoped to get help soon.”
“We received that information when we stopped in Cheyenne,” West said. “Do you have any idea who attacked you?”
“Yes and no. I was here in the church when a young cowboy came in asking f I had a minute to talk. Of course, I said I did. We sat here in the front pew, and he said he had some troubles, and maybe I could help. When I inquired as to the nature of the troubles, the cowboy said he needed money and asked me for the gold chest. When I refused, he hit me with the butt of his gun,” Father Dominic explained.
“Did he find the chest?” West asked.
“No, it’s hidden well and not anywhere near here,” Father Dominic answered.
Julia looked at the white bandage on his head and asked, “Were you badly injured?”
“Not too badly. He did knock me unconscious, and when I woke, I noticed that my office and living quarters in the back were thoroughly searched.”
“Did he take anything?” West asked.
Father Dominic’s face saddened, “Only the map, but I doubt he would be able to find where I hid the chest.”
“Map?” West said. “Then, she has the chest.”
“She? No, I was attacked by a young cowboy, and I did make a map, but unless you ride to where I first noticed the hills, you wouldn’t be able to follow the map.”
West began to explain about Kate Mulligan and asked, “Is it possible your young cowboy was a woman in disguise?”
Father Dominic nodded and said, “Yes, now that I think about it, it might have been a woman in men’s clothing.”
Father Dominic rubbed his head and said, “My memory of his or her face isn’t good. I remember being hit on the head, but the face of the person who hit me seems blurry in my mind.”
Julia noticed blood on the bandage around Father Dominic’s forehead and said, “Your head is bleeding. Perhaps you should have the doctor look at that.”
Father Dominic shook his head. “We don’t have a doctor. After I woke, I stumbled to Smiley’s for help. He sent someone to the boarding house because they are the only ones in town with any medical knowledge, and they sent a young girl to stitch up my cut. That’s’ another thing I want to talk to you about.”
“I don’t think we can help you bring a doctor to town, but we can get you on a stage to the nearest town with a doctor,” West said.
“No, it’s not the doctor, it’s Meg.”
“Who’s Meg?” Julia asked.
“She a barely sixteen-year-old girl who was sold to the madam of the bordello boarding house to cover the gambling debt of a man she was traveling with. She told me the man romanced her when he met her in a town near Cheyenne and she ran away with him. When he got in trouble here, he arranged with the saloon owner to have Meg work off his debt at the boarding house.”
Julia, shocked at what Father Dominic had just told them, silently vowed she’d do something to help that innocent girl.
Chapter 8
Julia’s anger grew the more she heard about the young girl working at the supposed boarding house across the street. She couldn’t stand by and let a young girl’s life be ruined forever. Turning around, she stormed out of the church, ignoring West’s calls for her to stop.
Julia crossed the road and rushed up the stairs of the boarding house, stopping just long enough to catch her breath before she began pounding on the door.
The door was opened by a giant of a man who glared at her and said, “It’s too early to be waking folks up. What do you want?”
“I demand to speak to the owner of this establishment,” Julia answered.
The man shook his head, and started closing the door when a female voice behind him asked, “Who is it, Rudy?”
Rudy turned his head and said, “Some woman who says she demands to speak to you.”
Julia heard the female voice tell Rudy to let whoever it was in, and Rudy moved and held the door open wide.
Julia entered the dimly lit room and saw a woman wearing a pink satin robe who appeared old enough to be her grandmother sitting on a sofa smoking a cigarette.
“What can I do for you?” the woman asked. “You looking for a job?”
“Absolutely not. I’m here to discuss you holding
