J.A. Johnstone - The Loner - Crossfire

As Conrad struggled to regain his wits, Lannigan pummeled him viciously. The man panted in his ear, “Why ... won’t ... you ... just ... die!”

Conrad got a hand up, and chopped at Lannigan’s face. Using his other hand he grabbed Lannigan’s collar and hauled him to the side. He swung another punch, burying his fist in Lannigan’s midsection. Breathing heavily, both men came to their knees and slugged at each other.

The weight that suddenly landed on Conrad’s back drove him forward. Winifred wrapped her arms around his neck and shouted, “I’ve got him! I’ve got him!”

Not for long. Conrad surged to his feet and slung her away from him. She cried out as she slid across the floor just like the Smith & Wesson had a few moments earlier.

That startled cr y turned into a shriek of pain as she slid into the line of fire between Frank and the hired guns. She rolled onto her side and clutched at her right arm, which had been creased by one of the bullets flying back and forth.

“Winifred!” Lannigan bellowed to his gunmen, “Hold your fire! Hold your fire!”

Conrad scrambled after the .38. As he bent down to grab the gun Lannigan moved like a man possessed and lashed out with a kick that caught Conrad on the jaw. Conrad saw it coming and jerked his head aside, preventing the kick from shattering his jaw or breaking his neck. It sent him flying backward, leaving him too stunned to move after he landed.

Lannigan scooped up his wounded wife into his arms. “Cover us!” he barked at his men. “We’re getting out of here!”

Still firing, the gunmen leaped up and formed a line to shield Lannigan as he dashed toward the door with Winifred in his arms. Frank crouched lower behind the bullet-pocked table and held his fire. He didn’t try to bring Lannigan down. There was too great a chance of hitting the woman.

Conrad rolled over onto his stomach, pushed himself up a little, and shook his head groggily in an attempt to clear away some of the cobwebs clogging his vision. As his eyesight cleared, he saw Lannigan disappear through the front door with Winifred. The gunmen retreated as well, shooting as they went to keep Frank pinned down. The last of them darted through the door, and a silence fell over the ballroom.

Frank hurried over to Conrad and helped him to his feet. “Are you all right?”

“Yeah. Just shaken up a little. And mighty tired of getting hit on the head and kicked in the gut.” Conrad clutched Frank’s arm. “Lannigan got away. Now that he knows I know about the twins, he’ll probably head for his house and try to fort up there.”

Frank nodded. “Either that or take his wife and the kids and get out of town while he has some of his bought-and-paid-for lawdogs take care of you.”

That thought shook Conrad. “If he tries to have me arrested and locked up as a dangerous lunatic, after tonight the police will probably believe him.”

“I reckon after everything you’ve gone through, nobody could blame you for acting a mite loco—”

“Yes, they will,” Conrad cut in. “This is San Francisco, not Dodge City. You can’t just bust into a society party and start waving guns around. Frank, we have to get out of here.”

Frank nodded. “If we can catch up to Lannigan and get our hands on those kids, maybe we can get to the bottom of this. Come on.”

They started toward a rear door, figuring it would be safer to go out that way. Before they reached it, Francis Carlyle stepped out from where she had taken cover. “Conrad!”

“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.”