A Longer Fall (Gunnie Rose #2)(24)

The most bloodstained paper was the one that had been in Jake’s chest pocket. I puzzled it out slowly, reading each word out loud to Eli. “Dear Jake, I already miss you and you are just leaving. I bless the day I met you. You are a handsome man inside and out. You have honor and integrity and a beautiful cock.” I decided to read the rest to myself. “More of the same,” I told Eli, trying to sound matter-of-fact. “It’s signed ‘Burke.’?”

Eli said, “Burke was in love.”

“That makes me sad.” Burke would want to know, as soon as I could get his full name and hometown from Maddy.

There were receipts, too, but I knew where we’d been so they weren’t that interesting. Eli unfolded the other note with his long fingers, the one that had been in Jake’s boot. Eli read it out loud in a voice just above a whisper. “Mr. Tutwiler: When you get to Sally, a representative of mine will meet you and assume responsibility for the cargo. Once you have handed it over, you can return to Texoma. My representative will say ‘Let my people go.’ If you’re approached by someone who doesn’t say that, he’s a thief. Act accordingly.”

It wasn’t signed. This was so aggravating.

“How’d Jake know this letter was actually from your employer?” Eli said.

“Maybe something was enclosed. Or maybe there was something on the envelope. Or maybe he knew the person who handed it to him.” I was ready to learn something solid. You needed to know who your enemies were. That was even more important than knowing your friends. “I don’t like maybes.”

“I knew that about you,” Eli said. He was smiling, just a bit. “I don’t either.”

Mr. Mercer’s shadow of the morning was at the desk as we walked by on our way out. As I’d guessed, her name tag read MISS MERCER.

“Mr. Savarov,” she said, kind of cooing. “A moment, please.”

We went to stand in front of the desk. She looked almost pretty and round in a light green dress with a dark green scarf at the neck.

“Will you be staying with us longer, Mr. Savarov?” she asked, not even bothering to look at me.

“I made my reservation for three more nights,” Eli said. “Was that unclear?”

“No, sir.” Miss Mercer couldn’t think of a lie quick enough.

Eli looked puzzled. “Then there’s no problem,” he said carefully, trying to figure out what was going on.

The girl flushed. She didn’t know where to look while she talked to someone as outlandish as Eli; her big brown eyes went from his long braid to his neck (his collar was askew and one of his tattoos was just visible) to his grigori vest. And back again.

“I hope you have a lovely morning, Miss Mercer,” I said, and started toward the front door.

When we were safely out the door, I said, “Eli, never be alone with that girl.”

Again, he looked puzzled. “I don’t plan on it,” he said.

“I think she does,” I told him. Eli flushed and we walked the rest of the way to the hospital in silence. I watched my feet in their strange shoes move across the sidewalk. Today I wore my pale-blue skirt with little white flowers, and the white blouse. I felt like an idiot.

Maddy was awake, but right away I saw she had a fever. Her face was flushed, her eyes were dull, and she was listless. “Good to see you,” she said. “I was glad to have my bag. But one of the nurses locked it up with my guns in it. She said we couldn’t have those lying around.”

“Are you okay with that?” I didn’t know what I’d do about it if she wasn’t, but I’d try to do something.

“Yeah, I guess. I ain’t going to be doing any shooting for a day or two, I reckon.” Maddy managed a smile. “And I don’t need my clothes.” She plucked at the white hospital gown.

“What does the doctor say about your fever?”

“You can tell, huh? He gave me a shot to kill the germs, he said. I should start getting better today.” Maddy tried to smile.

“Can I trouble you for Jake’s boyfriend’s name and how I can send him a telegram? I figured he’d want to claim the body.”

“Burke Printer. He prints the newspaper in Sweetwater. His office is at… let me think… it’s on Armstrong… sixty-two.” I checked on Charlie’s information while we were at it.

Eli wrote everything down on one of the scraps of paper he seemed to always have in one of his pockets. “I hope you get better,” he said. “If you need us, ask the nurse to call us at the Pleasant Stay Hotel.”

Maddy looked a little surprised at the offer. “Thanks, I will.”

I spent a little more time with Maddy. We talked about the food, which she said was fine, and her leg, which looked okay. I wondered where the fever was coming from. Was the wound infected? Or one of her cuts? But I could tell Maddy was nervous about the fever and didn’t want to discuss it.

I asked Miss Mayhew, on duty at the entrance desk again, where the telegraph office was. I’d figured it would be somewhere around the train station, and it was, from her directions.

Eli and I decided to go there first, then work our way from the station out through the town looking for Ritter and Seeley, or Rogelio, or Sarah Byrne. Anyone familiar. “We can cover ground faster if we split up,” I said, which was common sense.