The Loner: Crossfire (16 page)

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Authors: J.A. Johnstone

BOOK: The Loner: Crossfire
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“Mrs. Carlyle, are you all right?” He paused for a moment.
“I’m fine. That’s what this was all about? Lannigan’s children?”
“My children.”
“Can you prove it?”
“Give me enough time and I can. Or rather, Claudius Turnbuckle can.”
“I believe that. What a great story! And it’s all mine, because Jessup Nash isn’t here! What are you going to do now?”
“Get my kids back,” Conrad said. “Settle with Lannigan.”
“You’d better hurry, then, because the police will be here any minute.”
Conrad nodded. “Thanks for your help.”
“No need to thank me! Once I write this story, they’ll forget all about Nellie Bly!”
Conrad and Frank made their way out of the mansion, twisting through hallways, pounding through a kitchen, and emerging into a garden at the back of the house. The carriage Diamond Jack had provided was still parked in front, but they would be running too great a risk of being caught by the police if they tried to reach it. They would have to find some other way to get to Lannigan’s house.
With a sinking feeling, Conrad realized he didn’t even know where that was. He knew the location of the Golden Gate Saloon in the Barbary Coast, but that was all.
“Frank,” he said miserably, “I don’t know where to—”
A large, menacing shadow loomed over them, and they turned swiftly, bringing their guns up.
Chapter 28
 
“Mr. Browning, Mr. Morgan,” the familiar gravelly tones of Ling Yuan said. “Please come with me.”
Conrad wasn’t surprised to see the big hatchet man in the fancy garden behind the Nob Hill mansion. Somehow, he had a habit of popping up wherever he was most needed.
But that didn’t stop Conrad from asking, “What in blazes are you doing here?” as he lowered his gun.
“Wong Duck sent me to report on what happened here tonight,” Ling Yuan replied. “I heard shots, then saw Lannigan, his wife, and a number of gunmen pretending to be waiters flee from the mansion. My feeling was that if you and Mr. Morgan survived the battle, you would take your leave this way, rather than risk running into the police.”
“Your hunch was right about that,” Conrad said. “I found out Lannigan’s been pretending my children belong to him and his wife.” He caught his breath. “Wait a minute! Your boss knew I was looking for my kids, and with the way he keeps tabs on Lannigan, he must’ve known that Lannigan and his wife have twins. He must have put that together, but he didn’t tell me about it. Why would he keep that from me?”
“It is not my place to question Wong Duck’s actions or his motives,” Ling Yuan said.
“Never mind,” Conrad snapped. “I can figure it out for myself. He was counting on me losing my head when I found out about the twins. He thought I’d react by starting a fight, which is exactly what happened, and he hoped Lannigan would be killed in the ruckus. But it didn’t work out that way.”
Ling Yuan didn’t comment on that theory. “We must go. The police will be here soon.”
It was true. Conrad heard clanging bells on the police wagons as they approached the mansion. “All right, but Diamond Jack and I are going to have some words about this when it’s all over.”
Ling Yuan didn’t say anything. He just gestured with a ham-like hand at the path that ran through the garden.
“Come on, Conrad,” Frank urged. “I’m betting Ling Yuan knows how to get to Lannigan’s house.”
“Of course,” the big hatchet man said.
“Then you’re right,” Conrad said with a curt nod. “We have to go.”
The three of them hurried along the path until they came to a brick wall about eight feet tall. With Ling Yuan’s help, Conrad and Frank clambered over it. The hatchet man was able to pull himself up and over without any assistance. They dropped onto one of the steep, narrow streets and quickly vanished into the darkness.
 
 
“You realize I’m risking my reputation for you,” Claudius Turnbuckle said as he handed the gunbelt to Conrad. He had gone to the Palace Hotel to get it after a Chinese messenger had shown up on his doorstep with a note from Conrad. Ling Yuan had arranged that without much difficulty. “The police are looking for you.”
“Am I wanted for anything?” Conrad asked as he buckled on the gunbelt and felt the familiar, comforting weight of the Colt revolver in the holster. He had discarded the cravat but still wore the suit. Its dark color made it easier for him to blend into the shadows outside the big estate belonging to Dex Lannigan.
“No, no charges have been brought against you yet,” Turnbuckle said. “The police merely want to question you about the shooting at the Kimball mansion. But you can’t expect to disrupt such an affair and have bullets whizzing around the heads of the most important people in San Francisco without getting into trouble for it.”
Frank said, “The shooting wasn’t our idea. Lannigan’s men started that particular ball.”
“That may well be true. Still, I expect complaints to be filed against Conrad, at the very least.”
“But not by Lannigan.”
Turnbuckle shook his head. “No, despite what you said he threatened, he won’t go to the police. He can’t stand to have the authorities delving too deeply into his business, even his personal affairs.”
Arturo had accompanied Turnbuckle from the hotel when he found out the lawyer was engaged in an errand for Conrad. The four men stood in deep shadows under some trees along the street a block away from the Lannigan house. Ling Yuan was scouting around in an attempt to find out just what sort of situation they were facing.
Arturo said, “This fellow Lannigan probably has at least a dozen hardened killers in there to protect him and his family. You can’t hope to simply break in and take the children from him.”
“Ling Yuan said we could get as many men from Diamond Jack as we need,” Conrad replied, “but that’s too dangerous. We can’t risk the children being hurt in an all-out battle like that.” His mouth twisted in a grimace. “Anyway, I’m not sure I trust Diamond Jack anymore, if I ever did. He knew where the kids were, and he didn’t tell me. He was using me to kill Lannigan, so his hands wouldn’t be dirty.”
“He’s a crook, after all,” Frank said. “Can’t expect the hombre to be doing something out of the goodness of his heart.”
“Maybe not, but I still don’t like it.”
Turnbuckle pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and mopped his forehead, even though it wasn’t a particularly warm night. In fact, the air had a slight chill in it, made worse by the dampness of the fog rising from the bay. “If you don’t intend to attack the house, what
are
you going to do?”
“I was thinking that if Frank and I can get in there and get our hands on the kids—”
“You’ll be charged with kidnapping and sent to prison, more than likely,” Arturo said.
Conrad shook his head. “The woman really seemed to care for them. I think we can persuade her to tell the truth. If she’ll admit to the deal she made with Pamela, and to the deal Lannigan made, the police won’t have anything against us. The twins are
my
children, and I have a right to them.”
“What will wind up happening is the whole thing will be thrown into the courts,” Turnbuckle said. “The children won’t be turned over to you immediately, Conrad. This is going to take time.”
“Well, at least they won’t be living with a criminal like Lannigan anymore,” Conrad said. “And eventually everything will come out and they’ll be with me.”
“I wish I had your faith,” Arturo said. “In my experience, most often anything that
can
go wrong
will
go wrong.”
“Not tonight,” Conrad said with grim determination.
Before they could discuss the situation further, Ling Yuan came trotting out of the shadows. “There is a carriage house in back,” he reported without any preamble. “Something is going on in there. I believe a team is being hitched to a vehicle, and several horses are being saddled as well.”
Conrad bit back a curse. “Lannigan’s not forting up here. He’s about to make a run for it.”
“So it appears to me,” Ling Yuan agreed.
“We have to stop him.” Conrad felt a sense of desperation growing inside him. “Where’s he going to go?”
“Lannigan has a hunting lodge in the mountains east of here, on the other side of the bay. He must think he and his family will be safer there.”
“It’s not his family,” Conrad snapped. “Claudius, you and Arturo stay here. Ling Yuan, take Frank and me to this carriage house.”
Arturo began, “Sir, are you sure you should—”
“I haven’t come this far and gone through so much to let them slip away from me now.” Conrad’s voice trembled a little from the strain he felt. “Not when I’m this close.”
“Then we’d best not waste any time,” Frank said.
He and Conrad followed Ling Yuan toward the rear of the estate that sprawled across a hillside overlooking the bay. The view would be pretty during the day, but there was nothing much to see at night. The fog blotted out the lights of the towns on the other side of the water.
A brick wall surrounded the house and its grounds, much like the one around the Kimball mansion. Ling Yuan led Conrad and Frank to a wrought-iron gate in that wall. On the inside was a drive made of crushed stone that ran to the carriage house. Yellow light glowed through the windows.
Suddenly the big double doors in the front of the carriage house swung open. Light slanted out onto the drive. Two men on horseback trotted out, followed closely by the team pulling an enclosed carriage.
“They’re coming!” Conrad said. “We have to stop them.”
“Best split up,” Frank said. “We’ll wait on opposite sides of this gate. Once they get it open, we can jump the carriage before it goes through.”
That sounded like a good idea to Conrad. He motioned for Ling Yuan to go with him. They hurried to the left side of the gate and waited with their backs to the brick wall while Frank went to the right side and did likewise.
Hoofbeats pounded along the drive, coming closer. Conrad drew his gun. Chances were, Winifred Lannigan and the children were inside the carriage, so he and his companions would have to be very careful. They couldn’t just blaze away at Lannigan’s men. The risk was too great that a stray bullet might hit one of the twins. Every shot was going to have to be painstakingly aimed.
The men on horseback rode well ahead of the carriage. When they reached the gate, one of the riders swung down and went over to the wrought-iron barrier. A big key rattled in the lock, and with the creaking of hinges, the two sides of the gate swung outward.
Conrad moved fast, darting through the opening and taking by surprise the man who had unlocked the gate. The gun in Conrad’s hand rose and fell, thudding down on the man’s head. He collapsed, out cold.
Still mounted, the second man was ready for trouble. Muzzle flame spouted from the revolver in his hand. Conrad felt the heat of the bullet pass his face.
Frank’s gun roared, and the man on horseback cried out, clutching his shoulder as he swayed in the saddle. The horse bolted, dumping him.
Inside the carriage, Dex Lannigan roared, “Run them down!”
The driver did his best to follow that order. He whipped the team into a hard gallop, making the carriage lurch back and forth as it barreled along the drive. Conrad thought about shooting one of the lead horses and piling up the team, but the carriage might overturn and crash. He couldn’t risk it.
Several riders had been following the carriage, and they spread out to the sides, opening fire as they galloped toward the gate. Conrad and Frank returned those shots without having to worry about hitting the children.
One of the gunmen spilled out of the saddle with a hole bored in him, a slug from Frank’s .45.
Another doubled over as one of Conrad’s bullets struck him. He managed to stay mounted, but his horse veered off wildly. That left two men on horseback. They pulled back behind the racing carriage.
The vehicle was almost on top of Conrad and Frank. They had failed to stop it, and they had to leap aside to avoid being trampled by the charging team. As the carriage rolled through the gate, a large, dark shape soared into the air from the top of the wall, swooping down almost like a giant bird. Ling Yuan’s daring leap carried him to the roof of the carriage. He crashed down on it and caught hold of the brass railing around the edge to keep from falling off.
Conrad lunged for the carriage, too, hoping to grab hold of the back and climb onto it, but a horse of a gunman struck him a glancing blow with its shoulder and knocked him off his feet. Bullets kicked up the crushed rock of the drive as they landed only inches away from him. He rolled away from the bullets and came up in a crouch, firing his Colt at the rider who had just tried to ventilate him. The man’s arms went wide and he let out a gurgling scream as Conrad’s bullet tore into his throat and blew out the back of his neck.
Frank had traded shots with the remaining rider, but none of the bullets had found their mark. The man left his saddle in a diving tackle that sent him and Frank crashing to the ground. They rolled over and over, wrestling with each other.
Despite no longer being a young man, the rugged life Frank Morgan had led meant he was still strong and fit. He got hold of his opponent’s shirtfront and flung him to the side, then landed on top of him. Frank drove a knee into the man’s belly and hooked a hard right fist into his face. The man tried to put up a fight, but he was no match for The Drifter. Frank hammered several punches into the man’s face and body, and with a defeated sigh, the man went limp.
Frank came to his feet and followed as Conrad ran out through the open gate to stare along the street. He hoped to see the carriage a block or so away where Ling Yuan had stopped it, but the vehicle was gone.
“They got away,” Conrad said in an agonized voice. “They’re gone!”
Frank grabbed his arm. “Somebody’s coming. Is that the Chinaman?”
Ling Yuan trotted up the street toward them. He held his upper left arm with his right hand. Dark worms crawled between his fingers. Conrad knew they were trails of blood.
“How bad are you hurt?” he asked as he and Frank hurried to meet the big hatchet man.
“It is nothing,” Ling Yuan replied. “A bullet straight through my arm, and it did not strike the bone. But when Lannigan shot me while I was trying to get the reins away from the driver, it was enough to make me fall off the carriage.”

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