Роберт Паркер - Robert B. Parker's Revelation

Havenhurst walked with us across the atrium toward the Aztec Billiard Room.

“We’ve been fortunate not to have much trouble here, thank God,” Havenhurst said as we walked. “For a time I had two security guards on full-time. They were retired deputies from Las Vegas law enforcement, but after a period of complete calm I let them go. They are on call, though, so to speak. They live near here, should trouble arise, but thankfully I’ve not had to request their services. That is until now, so I can certainly send for them if you’d like.”

“Everett and me will be okay,” Virgil said as we arrived at the doors of the billiard room.

We stopped shy of entering and Virgil turned to Havenhurst.

“You should remain out here, though, Mr. Havenhurst. Never know how things might go down and I would not want you to get summed up on the wrong end of some kind of weapon wielded by a goddamn escaped prisoner who has no intention of being locked up again.”

“Yes, yes... I understand, Marshal... Please know, I do my best to run a tidy ship here, so hopefully when and if you do find the men you are looking for you can settle this with decorum.”

Virgil looked at me and nodded a little.

“We will do our best,” I said as Virgil and I both pulled our Colts. “Decorum is our business.”

We both checked the chambered loads, and with our Colts close to our sides I opened the door and followed Virgil inside. As the door closed behind me Virgil leaned toward me and said, “Decorum?”

“Good behavior,” I said as we both scanned the stately dark billiard room for our three men.

There looked to be twenty, maybe thirty, people in the wide room with ten billiard tables, and it appeared there was a game happening at each table.

“Full house,” I said.

“Is.”

Like the previous saloon, this place was full of cigar smoke, but unlike the previous place, this room was noisy with the sounds of pool balls, laughter, and game commentary.

“No one looking at us,” I said.

After continued perusal Virgil shook his head.

“Don’t see ’em.”

“No,” I said. “Don’t, either.”

Virgil slid his revolver back into its holster and I did the same. Then we walked slowly toward the bar, all the while keeping a sharp eye out for the three, but as we strolled and neared the bar we saw no sign of them.

We stood toward the right end of the bar, and within a short amount of time the bartender came walking over.

“Evening, gents,” he said.

He looked like he might be the brother of the bartender across the way at the State Room, except he was bigger and not as heavy.

Virgil showed his badge and I turned my back to the bar so as to keep an eye on the room.

“We are marshals,” Virgil said, “and we are looking for three men. We know they have been in the hotel as late as this afternoon. We just had a conversation with Mr. Havenhurst and Tony across the way. Havenhurst is just outside the door here. Havenhurst and Tony have shared with us how the whores are lined up for your guests. So now we need a few answers to a few questions.”

The big man looked back and forth between Virgil and me, and before Virgil could continue, he said, “I know exactly who you are talking about.”

I turned and looked to him.

“And they were liquored up,” he said. “Two dark-headed guys with scraggly beards and hair and a bigger guy, bald, strong-looking.”

Virgil glanced to me.

“That’s them,” he said.

“You can find them at the bathhouse. The far end bathhouse, number sixty-three. It’s a place where some of the girls go with the guests. It’s an option, instead of the rooms. They paid for three gals, and bathhouse sixty-three... They had the money.”

We wasted no time, and with Havenhurst leading the way we quickly made our way to the bathhouses.

Bathhouse 63 was situated just off the wide, tree-lined creek behind the hotel. The hot waters from the hot springs offered up rising vapors that gave the whole setting a mysterious foggy atmosphere.

“What is on the far side of the bathhouse?” Virgil said. “The side we can’t see?”

“On the opposite side of the structure there is an opening with a deck. The hot waters follow a channel to a pool in front of each bathhouse. They are all situated the same way. Sixty-three is no exception.”

“Thank you, Mr. Havenhurst,” Virgil said.

“What would you like me to do?” he said.

“Nothing you can do right now,” Virgil said. “You should go back inside and wait. And make sure no one comes this way. Later, there might be some need to clean up a bit, but we won’t know what is what until we have a chance to get in there and assess the situation.”

There was a path lit by gaslights on poles that led down to bathhouse 63 and there was a door to the bathhouse, but it was closed. Virgil and I skirted off the path and moved up to the building from the dark. As we neared we could see light and could hear voices coming from within. The window that faced us was small and covered with a curtain. There was a window in the door, but it, too, was covered with a curtain.

“Let’s go off that way a ways,” Virgil said quietly, “and come back from the dark on the far side where we have a better idea of what is what.”

We moved off in the dark and crossed the steaming creek, down some into the woods, then came back to where we had the bathhouse in view. Sure enough, we knew right away we had the men we were after when we saw Ravenscroft.

He was sitting in a pool of steaming hot water with a woman under his arm. Behind him on the side of the pool we could see a pair of holstered pistols with the bullet belt wrapped around them.

The bathhouse behind was without a wall on this side that faced us, so we could see the other two men, also with women.

One couple was sitting up in a bed and the other twosome was lounging on pillows on the floor next to the bed, and everyone was naked.

Looking at six naked people in this open-sided bathhouse with the steam rising up conjured thoughts of what a scene might have looked like in the empire of Rome.

“What do you want to do,” I said quietly.

Virgil thought for a moment.

“If by chance one or some of them can get on the run, I think one of us needs to be on the path side that heads back to the hotel.”

I nodded.

“Then,” he said, “we let them know they are surrounded and see who feels like throwing their hands up.”

“’Bout it,” I said.

“I’ll go back around to the path,” Virgil said. “You come in from this side. Once I get up to the path and get ready I will let them know we have them corralled. You can then voice from this side to surrender and let’s see what they do.”

“Okay,” I said.

Virgil looked to me. I could barely see him but could see enough to see him nod a bit.

“All right, then,” he said. “Here we go.”

Virgil moved off, backing up into the woods, then moving upstream a ways, then crossed the creek. From where I was nested I could see him clearly as he came up the back of the creek and into the lighted path that led back up to the hotel.

I pulled my Colt and started to ease a bit closer toward the bathhouse and found a good-sided tree to take cover behind. I was watching the three men intently as I waited on Virgil’s voice to interrupt their playtime. I wondered what they would do. I figured they’d react just like Skillman, Wythe, and Dekalb had reacted in Vadito, that they’d most likely stand and fight, and I knew the answer to that wonderment was a few seconds away, and then I heard Virgil.

“You are surrounded. Give yourselves up.”