At Harper's Ferry Read online

  *

  Ezra and Jack rode up to the decrepit building that housed the City Watch. It was a brown brick affair that was in need of repair - several windows were broken and covered since it was a popular sport to throw rocks at the police department. They dismounted and hitched their horses to the post outside. At this time in the morning, a few people were there since it was a popular time to pick up a friend or relative who had been pulled in the night before for drunkenness.

  The main job of the City Watch was to round up drunks and keep the peace. Henry Garrett was the current Captain of the Watch and an old friend of Jack’s. They knew each other from their days in the Army. They had both seen plenty of fighting in the western prairies and afterwards came separately to Washington to start different careers. Garrett had gone into the police force, eventually promoted to the top position for his hard work. It had been a pleasant surprise when Jack and Garrett had met again in the course of business.

  Jack and Ezra brushed past a bleary-eyed man leaving though the front doors. They entered and nodded to the front clerk. The clerk raised his eyes momentarily at them and nodded in recognition, allowing them past. Jack pushed the swinging door open and they went into Garrett’s office.

  The office was a small affair, cramped with books and in need of a good dusting. The windows were open, letting in a damp cool breeze. The gentle hum of a trapped fly could be heard tapping against the glass. Jack saw Garrett sitting at his desk, studying some reports.

  “Good morning, Garrett, it’s good to see you,” Jack hailed his old friend.

  Garrett looked up from his paper-strewn desk and briefly smiled at them. “Well, if it isn’t Jack,” he boomed with a hearty voice. He was a compact man with a long beard and sparkling blue eyes. His face was lined and tanned from years of living out West. The captain was rough in his language and manners, but he was a good man to work with. “Ezra, I see you are still wasting your time with this old devil. After I spent my time in the army with Jack, I was hoping I would never see him again. Ten years later and he’s still showing up like a bad penny.”

  Ezra smiled back. “It’s good to see you again, Captain.”

  “It’s been awhile since I’ve seen you two. Are you stopping by only to see me? Or is this business?” Garrett asked them. He pushed some papers away, leaning back in his chair to give them a listen.

  “I’m sorry to say that this is a business call,” Jack replied. “Someone is missing and his family is getting sick with worry. We are trying to track down where he may have gone. We thought we would get some further information from you before visiting the family.”

  “You always like being prepared. But why are they asking you for help? This sounds more like a job for my men.”

  “They think you are too busy rounding up pickpockets and inebriated soldiers to be of any use to them,” Jack replied with a wink. He knew that Garrett held himself rigidly to the law and didn’t always approve of Jack’s methods.

  “If that is the case, then I’m not sure why you would even come to ask me for my help.”

  “Of course we would have to stop by to see you,” Jack laughed. “You always know what is going on in this town.”

  Henry shook his head. “I wish I could help you some, but we’ve been busy ever since President Lincoln has come to Washington. There have been several Secessionist conspiracies against his person. The government is running around making everyone sign silly oaths and trying to get rid of anyone they deem disloyal. This whole situation has made our job even more difficult, and it’s bound to get worse before it gets better.”

  “Always the optimist,” Jack said dryly.

  “How bad are things?” Ezra asked Garrett.

  “There have been several desertions and even cases of sabotage. Ever since Fort Sumter was shelled, this town has been overrun with soldiers. If you haven’t noticed, the town is filled with raw recruits from every backwater town and farm village. They are getting their first taste of city life and have brought a whole army of whores and thieves with them. I just don’t have enough men to police the entire city.”

  “We will come to the point then,” Jack said. He sat himself in front of Garrett’s desk and Ezra joined him sitting in the other chair. “We are looking for someone named Lawrence Hanson. We think he kept an appointment with someone at the Gay Lady Saloon on Tuesday and then disappeared afterwards.”

  “I know the place,” Garrett said. “It’s not a pleasant part of town for anyone to visit even during the day. We have to break up fights often and haul away some of the heavier drinkers. I’m not sure why someone of Hanson’s background would even be there.”

  “You know of the Hanson family?” Jack asked, looking incredulous.

  “I read the papers like anyone else. But I know everyone in this town, or at least the people worth knowing. Lawrence was here in this very office just over a year ago now. I wanted to throw him in jail for a while to teach him lesson, but his father convinced the accuser to let the matter drop.”

  “What was he charged with?” Jack asked. He was surprised that he would let Lawrence walk away a free man since Garrett normally followed the law to the very last letter.

  “I don’t wish to speak poorly of the lad, but he was accused of adultery. It’s an old story - the wife was with Lawrence and got caught by the husband while engaging in a less-than-moral activity. There are laws against adultery in this town, but they are hard to enforce and even harder to prove. The husband wanted to press charges, but enough money was passed around to make sure everyone who was involved stayed quiet.”

  “I see,” Jack said. He pulled out three cigars and offered one to Ezra and then one to Garrett. “What ever happened to the woman Lawrence was seeing?”

  The captain took the cigar, bit off the end, and took the match offered by Jack. He lit his cigar and pulled deeply on it, letting the smoke roll slowly out of his mouth. “I’m not sure. She just disappeared afterwards. Rumor has it that her husband didn’t want her back anymore.” A smirk flitted across his face. “I’m not too surprised.”

  Jack pondered that for a moment and then said, “The night Lawrence disappeared he may have met a gentleman with the name of Abbott. Do you know anyone with that name?”

  Garrett gave them a dark look. “I can tell you plenty. If Lawrence has gotten into trouble with the Abbott I’m thinking of, then the poor lad has bitten off more than he can chew.”

  “What can you tell me?” Jack asked, impressed again at the encyclopedic knowledge of Garrett. “My partner here knew of him as well – I’ve never had the pleasure of running into him.”

  “His full name is Lewis Abbott. He’s a villain to be sure. We’ve never had any legal reasons to charge him with anything, but it would make me happy to do so. He is a keeper of whores, and the rumor is that he is less than kind to them. He also does some bill collections for gambling dens. On more than one occasion blackmail has also been mentioned in connection with his name, but no one ever steps forward to ask for our help.”

  “I can imagine why someone might not want to prosecute a blackmail case,” Jack said. “They’d be thinking of the publicity and prefer to let the matter drop; though someone like you would be more inclined to see it through.”

  “Why haven’t you locked him away?” Ezra asked impatiently. “There are a few girls I know who have run afoul of him. He’s a bastard.”

  Garrett smiled thinly at him. “Prostitutes who are beaten or robbed rarely press charges since they are working illegally. We take the regular ladies and make them leave town. A week or so later they are back in town, playing the same old game under a new name. Abbott never has to worry about being attacked either - there is a man called Stevenson who helps keep the tougher customers in line. The pair of them is a dangerous combination. Abbott does all the heavy thinking while Stevenson does the dirty work.”

  “Stevenson? What’s he like?” Jac
k asked, pressing his friend for more information.

  “Well, he’s just the sort of man you would want – if you needed a killer. You know the type - born mean. He wasn’t given the good graces of society and church, if you know what I mean.”

  Jack chuckled. “I can’t say I’ve had any such graces. I turned out alright.”

  Garrett laughed in agreement. “That’s true, but Stevenson is not the type of company that a gentleman of Lawrence’s background would be seen with. This Stevenson is bad news through and through. A few years ago he had a fair number of troubles with the law, but then he suddenly started receiving help by a few well-paid lawyers. No one knows where this money came from.”

  This additional information turned out to be quite interesting to Jack. Someone with money was behind all of this. If Faith’s brother was being blackmailed, then the Hanson family would be more than willing to pay extra for Jack’s services. These old Washington families recoiled at any sense of dishonor. “Is there anything else you can tell me about Lawrence?”

  “He struck me as a weak lad who thought too highly of himself. He was the type of rich, spoiled bastard who doesn’t think of the consequences of his own actions.” Garrett’s voice dripped with disdain. “He would be easy enough to influence and even easier to trick. He is a witless boy who has had the good fortune of being rich, but not knowing how to use it to his advantage.”

  “This is all good to know, Henry,” Jack said. “It might interest you to know that some government papers are missing as well. One can’t be certain that he is the one who left with them, but the War Department seems to have made that inference, and are now questioning the Hanson family.

  “My goodness, that is interesting. I’d not have thought the Lawrence Hanson could have come up with such a plan on his own. Perhaps there is more to him than I thought.” Garrett paused, his face turning stern. “I don’t like it, Jack,” he said with sudden decision. “The two of you get on the wrong side of the government, and it will be bad news for you. Maybe it would be better for you to let the law handle this, that is, the City Watch and the War Department.”

  “Nothing doing, Henry, I can look out for myself. This case may be delicate in some respects, but I am capable enough to deal with a missing man and a packet of documents.”

  Garrett shrugged. “If you say so. I’ve been busy, but I’m also a worried man. Rumor is that soon even more soldiers are going to be pouring into Washington. The army is going to turn this city into a fort. There won’t be enough men in the Watch to keep down crime, and I’m afraid we will all be replaced sometime soon.” Garrett threw the cigar down on the floor and ground it out with the heel of his boot. “When a man worries like me, he has a hard time sleeping. Thoughts of losing your job can keep you up at night.”

  “Don’t worry, Garrett, an old War hero like you, they can’t get rid of so easily,” Jack said. He pulled the bottle of whiskey from his coat pocket and stood it on the desk. He knew that his friend liked to drink. It was nothing to give him the bottle that Ezra had just bought. “Here you go. This will help some.”

  Garrett picked up the bottle and looked at it appraisingly. “It won’t cure my troubles, but it can’t hurt. Thanks.” He pulled the cork and took a long pull from the bottle. “If you run into any trouble with this case of yours, let me know. I’ll see what I can do to help.”

  “Thanks, Henry,” Jack said. “If you ever need a job, be sure to come and see me.”

  The captain stood up and said grimly, “I hope it won’t ever come to that.” He then shook hands with Ezra. “I want you to make sure to keep this old man here out of trouble. Wherever he goes, trouble is sure to find him.”

  “Will do, Captain,” Ezra said easily. “I’ve seen my fair share of trouble with Jack, but he always seems to end up on top.”

  Garrett laughed again. “That’s more luck than anything else.”

  Jack then shook hands with Garrett and clasped him on the shoulder. “If we hear anything you need to know, I’ll pass it along.”

  “I would be much obliged if you did.”

  “So long, Henry. Don’t drink too much, and don’t work too hard.”

  “I would rather drink than work,” Garrett replied as he uncorked the bottle again and watched them leave.