Chapter 4 #2
“You’ve got a copy on your desk at the mine office,” Warren said, placing his glasses back on his nose and hooking them over his ears.
“It’s just a basic accounting of the town.
Dorothy has listed everything we have in terms of industries and businesses, and she’s made some recommendations for Mac.
Mostly, she focused on what we need to secure the town. ”
Here, Warren turned to Robert. “She took a lot of her recommendations from your reports. I think Mac will be happy to help us with a little injection of funds so that we can get what we need.”
Robert nodded. This was his turn to draw their attention to what really mattered.
“That would help. But I can’t stop thinking that we are chasing our tails.
We have no good leads or information on El Aguila.
We don’t even know where his base is. I still think he’s running this operation from somewhere else?—”
“How would he do that?” Jeff asked, looking skeptical. “Bandits aren’t that loyal generally, are they?”
“His seem to be,” Robert said. “The only one we’ve been able to turn was Herman, and he was such a low-level bandit that they didn’t even tell him anything. What we need is to find ourselves a high-level member of his operation and?—”
“How do we do that?” Troy interrupted. “The last time we saw the accountant was months ago, and he was our best bet at getting some information.”
“That we know of,” Jeff said testily, playing with something on the tablecloth. “I think we got close when we found that Hilltop camp of theirs and it spooked El Aguila. He’s closed ranks, stopped sticking his head out, and is finally hiding like the coward he is.”
“If he ever stuck his head out at all,” Robert said. It was a theory he was working on that had come to him when Michael and Warren were in New York. Their news had gotten Robert thinking in a whole new way.
That got everyone talking over each other, so no one was listening to anything anyone said.
Robert, who was used to this, sighed and waited.
When everyone piped down again, he said, “We need to consider the possibility that El Aguila is playing a different game to us.”
“What do you mean?” Andrew asked.
“Only that it’s odd, don’t you think, that Mac in New York has trouble in his firm right at the same time we’re looking for some financial aid out here?
And what about this mine? Why does El Aguila want it?
He’s not a miner, an engineer, or a refiner.
He can’t extract or purify the ore, so why fight us with such determination?
There’s a piece to this puzzle that we are missing, and I believe it has to do with Mac and his companies back east.”
“I had the exact same thought,” Warren admitted. “Michael and I talked it over while we were in New York, but after a few days on the train, we decided we must be imagining things. The connection is too tenuous.”
Robert shrugged. “It’s not impossible. I’ve seen a man stab another man over an apple. People are crazy.”
“You’re not suggesting—” Jeff began, but Andrew cut him off.
“Robert, that is quite the theory,” he said, rubbing his chin tiredly. “But even if that is the case, there’s nothing we can do about matters in New York. We need to focus on here.”
Robert nodded. Andrew was right. He couldn’t solve a mystery in New York from Texas any more than Lucy could exonerate herself from here. All she could do was lie low and not draw attention to herself, and he could try to keep them all safe. That was all either of them could hope for.
“Fine,” Robert conceded. “Can we discuss the extra security for the shipments?”
“Yes,” Andrew nodded. “We definitely need to do something. Those bandits are becoming very bold and reckless.”
“Good. Can we hire some gunmen for our shipments?” Robert asked. “We’d need money to pay their salaries.”
“We spoke to Mac about this,” Michael said with a nod. “He’s just waiting for Dorothy’s report, and then he’s prepared to add another loan to our existing one.”
That meant more waiting. It took time for reports to reach New York and to be read and then for things to happen. Robert sighed. Waiting seemed to be his lot in life.
Everyone seemed quite happy with that though. The wait didn’t seem to bother them.
“It’s better than nothing,” Andrew said quietly to him.
Robert nodded. “It certainly is. I was just hoping we could do something a little sooner.”
“We’ll see what we can do in the meantime,” Andrew said.
“Perhaps we can start advertising and interviewing potential candidates for gunmen for the shipments. By the time we’ve found the right men, we could have the money in the bank in San Antonio.
” He sighed. “I would love us to have a bank here.”
“That would save time,” Warren said with a nod. “But it would draw every bandit in the region down on our heads, with or without connections to El Aguila. So maybe that’s a project to hold back on until we’ve sorted the bandit problem out once and for all.”
Robert agreed. “Okay, I’ll go to San Antonio and place an advertisement in the paper. Let’s see what we get. We should hold the interviews there for safety.”
“I think they should be here,” Michael disagreed. “After all, this is the town those men will be fighting for. They should see it before signing on.”
This was a sticking point. Robert kept looking at this situation from a security point of view.
The more people one allowed through the gate, the more potential there was for El Aguila to send spies and saboteurs into their midst. One strategically placed villain and the whole house of cards they had built could come tumbling down around them.
“It will be fine. You need the men, so interview them here. Warren and Michael have to go to town tomorrow. They need to send off the correspondence and do a few other things. They can place the advertisement,” Andrew said.
“Okay,” Robert agreed. “I’ll write it today. But I’m sending Jeff with them.”
Andrew nodded. “Mac is sending someone to help Dorothy with her report on the mine. He’ll be arriving soon, so we should make him feel welcome.”
It wasn’t long after that point was mentioned that the meeting broke up. Robert was glad to be out in the cool night air. There was a fresh breeze blowing, and he wondered if they might get some frost.
As he walked home, he passed by Mrs. Odenkirk’s place and looked up at the windows.
Lucy had said her room was at the back of the house.
There was no knowing if she was awake or asleep.
He really wished he could see her more often.
In the three days she’d been in town, they had hardly had time to say hello, what with her working at the general store and him running all over town, checking on security matters.
In the morning, he would make an effort. It was Saturday, and since Mr. Di Aventura closed his store in the afternoons, Robert and Lucy could perhaps go to Anita and Kevin’s restaurant and have a meal together.
Yes, that was an excellent idea.