Wilde-Fire: Wonder Women 0f The Old West (Half Breed Haven Book 1) Read online

  Cassandra, however, was thinking of it plenty. Knowing the criminal mind, the way she did, she considered it to be a good hiding place for bandits and lawbreakers. An abandoned town, two days ride out into a desert where no one ventured anymore—it was an ideal hiding place, right out of one of the dime novels she secretly loved to read.

  Sam Peterson continued speaking about Hell’s Kitchen, saying something about how unusual the mining operation there was, but Cassandra was only half listening. It was at that moment, inside the bar, that she had formulated a plan of action. She thanked the friendly Sam Peterson after he was through explaining the town to her, and hastened out of the saloon, with her plan still cooking up fast in her head. She told the girls that come morning that they would be venturing into the desert. Beacon, Cassandra had concluded, wasn’t just a ghost town anymore. It was a hideout town.

  The ride out had gotten them to their present situation. Looking up from her sketch in the sand now, Cassandra noticed that her sisters had been occupying themselves handily. They had left her alone and had turned their attention to practicing with their weapons. All three of them wore a Colt .45’s on their hips, which would have been the same as what she wore if hers weren’t two in number in their twin holsters. Apart from the guns, the other three sisters had weapons of their choice and weren’t reserved about practicing with them.

  ……Honor was helping Catalina practice with her bullwhip by picking up a stick and tossing it into the air, and quick as lightning, Catalina cracked her signature bullwhip that was usually kept coiled and clipped to her side, snapping the stick in two. Honor Elizabeth found another stick and tossed it again, and this time around, Catalina cracked the stick in half with her eyes closed, a proud chuckle escaping her lips at the sound of the broken stick.

  She had seen her sister doing this before and yet, every time, she was amazed by her swiftness and skill. Turning her attention to Lijuan afterwards, she saw that she had placed a narrow rock that was about six inches high atop a boulder. Deftly, Lijuan plucked the small twelve-inch long blacksmith’s hammer she kept tucked in her belt, spun it around in the air, grabbed the handle and hurled it neatly at the rock. She hit it with so much precision that the thin rock was carried away off from the boulder without the handle ever striking the larger rock.

  Cassandra shook her head at this point, thinking of the number of men her Asian sister had felled with the small hammer. Likewise, Honor could be skilled with her knives, too, and as if her sister knew that she was thinking about her, Honor stopped helping Catalina and stepped away to practice on her own. Cassandra looked on as Honor stuck a small piece of cloth she had torn off from her bedroll onto a nearby cactus. With her back to the cactus, she spun around, seized the knife from her belt and threw it, putting it dead center through the small piece of cloth.

  Cassie felt like cheering, not just for Honor Elizabeth, but also for all of them. Years ago, she had trained them all with the skills she learned as a Pinkerton, but the trio of sisters had each chosen their own special weapons, and they excelled at them. Remembering what she excelled at too, Cassandra tossed away the stick in her hand and impulsively rested her hands on the butts of her twin silver-plated pistols. Being a crack shot was her skill, and she took some pride in it.

  Getting her attention off her sisters and the map she had drawn on the ground, she shifted her gaze to the clouds. The storm was luckily quickly receding, having passed over Beacon and moving farther down the desert.

  “Girls,” Cassandra called out, getting her sisters’ attention.

  Their attention fell on her immediately, each ending their practice.

  “Okay, sisters. Back on our horses! We’ve got a ghost town to haunt!” Cassandra grinned, springing into action.

  It was about time.

  CHAPTER 2

  * * *

  Riding into the town took them only a few minutes, with Cassandra in the lead. The sandstorm might have headed elsewhere, but dust still remained on the deserted lands, drifting about everywhere with the soft breeze. All four of them rode quietly, finally stopping to inspect a dust-laden sign at the edge of the windswept town. Catalina nudged her horse close enough so she could reach out with her forearm to scrub off the caked dirt.

  “Welcome to Robelesville,” she read out. “Thought this here place was called Beacon, Cass?” she asked.

  “From what I was told, Robelesville was the official name of the town, but everyone soon started calling it Beacon because at night, it was a beacon of light in this endless desert,” Cassandra corrected. “Even the maps started using it.”

  “Well, it assuredly is not any sort of beacon anymore for anyone or anything, unless you take tumbleweeds into consideration,” Honor sniffed.

  “Damn storm!” Cassandra muttered under her breath, a thought crossing her mind.

  “What?” Lijuan asked.

  “Any tracks that might have proved there was recent activity here such as men and horses just got handily eras …” Cassandra fumed, her attention suddenly trailing off to a few feet ahead of them. Her sisters looked in the same direction in time to notice a pair of cats sitting on a hitching post. The feral animals hissed at them as they rode by.

  “Ah, it would seem the living, breathing legacy of the Cat Lady!” Honor cheered.

  “Looks like this town isn’t completely deserted,” Catalina cheerfully added.

  Cassandra wasn’t the least pleased with the fact that the wind had cleared any possible trail they could find. “Guns out and be on your guard, girls!” she warned, dismounting her horse while the others followed her example too.

  As they did, she frowned and stared intently down the deserted street of Beacon. It was a forlorn testament to the ravages of time and the elements. Nearly every single structure either had fallen walls or collapsed roofs. Large gaps populated either side of the street down the rows of buildings where the constructions had completely imploded into misshapen jumbles of wood. The streets and sidewalks made of weathered slats were coated with desert sand.

  Yellowed and decaying papers blown in and out of the buildings from many sandstorms over the years and dry wooden planks littered everywhere. The large water tower dominating one end of the street looked old and dilapidated too, and there was a small shack tucked away underneath in equally deplorable condition. At the other end, the direct opposite of the tower, huge rock piles rose everywhere slowly being buried in the desert sands. Beyond the rock piles, about a quarter mile away loomed a small mountain, jutting skywards, breaking the seemingly endless expanse of flat terrain.

  “Let’s split up,” Cassandra instructed, turning to her sisters. “Honor, you’re with me on the right side of the street. Cattie, you and Lijuan take the left. We’ll work our way through, building by building, and meet at the water tower.”

  Her sisters nodded obediently, thinking it would make their search faster, too. Immediately, Catalina and Lijuan tied their horses tight and hurried towards the structures on the other side of the street. Cassandra paired up with Honor and began to go through the rest of the dilapidated buildings on the far right of the once-buzzing town.

  They had to lift a few fallen boards off some of the doors to gain entry into some of the edifices. Dust flew almost everywhere, with the stench of decay so obvious in the air. They were in the fifth building when Honor took a long look around and opined that the large four walls they were searching through used to be a general store. Cassandra nodded, pointing to what was once the counter and a row of shelves behind it, most likely where the most valuable items were kept, to prevent any sticky fingers making off with them. What remained of the counter and shelves alike were, as expected, dusty and decaying wood.

  An hour’s slog later, Cassandra and Honor arrived at the water tower, having searched everywhere and found nothing. Down the street they could see Lijuan and Catalina checking through the last of the structures and the fact they were still searching told them it wasn’t likely they had much luck finding any
thing useful either.

  Exhaling, Cassandra looked up at the wooden water tower overhead, noting the sections of metal piping that were once a uniform conduit from the water below up into the tower. They had become separated under the relentless beating they had taken from the elements. Cassandra knew it had been years since any water had been pumped up to the waiting tower. She continued to observe the structure of the tower, also noticing off to the side, its rusted pumping mechanism that had probably taken several men and their brute strength to operate.

  The hand pumps like most of Beacon were frozen in time, partially buried in the sand. They were ruins now, but she thought Beacon had been doubly blessed to be abundant with gold and a water supply. She knew entire rivers flowed under the deserts of the West and it seemed Beacon had tapped into one during its heyday.

  “Well, after that fruitless effort, I sincerely still want my cold drink of water,” Honor whined, getting Cassandra’s attention away from the tower. “I will bet you there is a well inside that shack underneath the tower.”

  “I’d bet you’re right,” Cassandra sighed, already taking a step towards the shed.

  Inside the shack, the light spilling in through the door luckily dispelled the darkness. They had both bet right, though. There was a well inside the shack with a bucket dangling from a pulley on a wooden arm hovering over the well, and quickly, Honor reached for the rope and began to lower the bucket into it. As the bucket hit the water, creating a splashing sound, Cassandra idly noticed dusty glass bottles on a nearby shelf. At the same time, as Honor began to pull the bucket skyward, a revelation swept over Cassandra and she wasted no time stepping towards Honor as the water-filled bucket came into view.

  “Give me that bucket!” she ordered hurriedly.

  “Manners, Cassandra. Wait your turn!” Honor scolded playfully, oblivious of her intent.

  Cassandra flashed her a look that indicated that she wasn’t in the mood for any form of teasing or joking. Sensing that she was on to something, Honor nodded, grabbed the bucket and swung it to Cassandra who began to study it immediately.

  Her eyes trailed off to examine the rope attached to it too.

  ***

  Outside, equally having no luck with finding any useful clue, Catalina and Lijuan exited through the bat wing doors of what had once been a saloon. As they did, though, the doors made the last couple swings back and forth of their lifetime and then fell from their hinges, clattering to the ground. The pair looked back, exchanging a surprised look.

  “Should we leave a note for someone to send us a bill at Half Breed Haven?” Catalina giggled.

  Lijuan responded with an amused look and was about to say something when her attention suddenly fell on something a few feet from where they stood. “Awwwww,” She grinned, her face melting.

  Catalina looked down to their feet to notice a large orange tabby cat padding its way toward them. It immediately ran to Lijuan and began to rub itself against her boots, purring. Catalina displayed a wide grin, reminded that her sister who instantly frightened many of the ranch hands at Cedar Ledge with her no-nonsense personality always felt a weakness towards cats. Lijuan had always had a pet cat, the last one being Miss Mittens, whose passing she still grieved after having her as her companion for nearly a decade.

  Lijuan didn’t notice the smile on Catalina’s face. She reached down, picked up the cat, and began to stroke its head, thinking how cute he was. She couldn’t help but think back to when she was a child, before Honor Elizabeth and Cattie had been born. Her only companions had been her older brother, Dutch, who doted on her and obviously loved being a big brother, and her cat, Tom-Tom.

  She rarely liked to think of that childhood now. As a little girl, Lijuan remembered that she had been shunned by her sister when their naval officer father had shown up seemingly back from the dead following his disappearance amidst a shipwreck, toting a baby he had proclaimed as their little sister. Lijuan was aware of just how much shame her sister’s rejection of her brought Cassandra to this day, and she went out of her way never to remind Cassie of how it had been. She had forgiveness in her heart, but forgetting it would never be possible.

  How could she? For the longest time, an immature and jealous Cassandra hadn’t even believed Lijuan was really a Wilde. Some days, Lijuan still found it hard to imagine just how much she and Cassandra now loved each other, after all those years as children when it seemed they were sisters in name only.

  “Well, how are you, Mister … Mister … Mister Muffins!” Lijuan chuckled, shaking off the memories of the past to focus on the orange cat in her arms.

  “You’re namin’ that critter?” Catalina rolled her eyes. Long ago, she had disciplined herself never to get attached to animals because working with cattle; it was not a good idea, knowing fully well what fate awaited them at the stockyards. For better or worse, she had extended that to pets as well.

  “Why not! He’s a cutie, and it’s not like he’s anyone’s …”

  Lijuan’s voice trailed off as she looked into the cat’s face. Reluctantly, she scratched him under the chin and put him down.

  “Run along, Mister Muffins! Cattie, let’s go!” she said.

  “What’s the hurry?” Catalina asked, baffled by her sudden urgency.

  “Move!” Lijuan commanded, saying nothing else.

  Catalina followed her instantly, preferring to ask questions later, knowing if Lijuan found it necessary for them to move their location, it was for a good reason. They raced the short distance to the shed underneath the water tower and with the same urgency, Lijuan yanked the door closed behind them.

  “Hey! If you are trying to make it seem like midnight in here, you may be rest assured you have faithfully accomplished your task!” Honor chided them immediately.

  Lijuan simply disregarded her protest as Catalina pulled a match from a box of Lucifers that she always kept handy for Whip, as he was forever misplacing his for the old pipe he had been smoking since his navy days. She struck one to life and turned to Honor with questioning eyes.

  “That better, Honor Elizabeth?” she asked.

  “THIS IS THE PLACE!” Cassandra and Lijuan suddenly said at the same time.

  “What now?” Catalina asked.

  Again, at the same time, Lijuan and Catalina both said, “THE HIDEOUT TOWN!”

  Cassandra and Lijuan looked at each other, wondering how the other had figured out the same thing, but by different means. Lijuan waved her hand for Cassandra to speak.

  “Let’s get out of here now!” Cassandra announced. “They could be watching us. Once we are out of sight of the town, I’ll explain.”

  “Let’s ride!” Catalina responded, already reaching for the door.

  “But first …” Honor implored, rushing towards Cassandra. She took the bucket back from her and took a big drink from it. “Ambrosia incarnate!” She said happily afterwards.

  “Huh? What’s this ten-dollar ambrosia word you keep throwin’ around?” Catalina’s brow knitted as she put her hand on her hip.

  “We move! Now!” Lijuan’s tone was sharp paying no mind to both sisters.

  They hurried out of the shack and returned to their horses to untie and mount them once again. The sisters bolted out of the town at full gallop afterwards and didn’t stop until they were behind a ridge that could shelter them from view, in case anyone was watching from Beacon.

  “Now, would you kindly enlighten me as to why you two think for certain this is where the Boxhall Bank robbers are lurking about?” Honor asked after they had dismounted their horses.

  “A dilapidated town with either rust or rotten wood everywhere, and yet that bucket you were drinking out of looked like it just came from a general store,” Cassandra noted. “The rope too. They should have both been all rotted.

  “You … are amazing as always,” Honor said, whistling.

  “I wouldn’t be worth my salt as a Pinkerton if I let something like that get by me,” Cassandra beamed. She turned to Lijuan and a
sked, “How did you know?”

  “I made a new feline friend,” Lijuan said. “His name was Mister Muffins. Came right up to me and was loving the attention I was giving him. He wasn’t feral like the others we saw. Someone has been taking care of him!”

  “Hot damn! She’s right!” Catalina rocked back and forth. “I didn’t even think of that! But we checked all of the buildings and nothin’!”

  “Well, Beacon was a gold town,” Cassandra said, thinking. “I remember now I wasn’t paying much attention to what the saloon owner was telling me about the town because I was so eager to start planning our search, but I do recall now. He said the mineshaft ran horizontally under the town—basically, a big long trench that they built the town over and worked their claims. How does a shaft like that sound for a hiding place?”

  “It sounds mighty likely!” Lijuan exclaimed. “Now those piles of rocks at the far end of town make sense! The mine’s excavations. There must be a good-sized space under there, judging by how many rocks we saw. We just have to find the entrance.”

  “Well, sugar! I figured the mines were probably over at that mountain that’s a hop and skip from town,” Catalina mused. “Makes you wonder how the old prospector found the gold in the first place.”

  “I could care less about that. As said, we have to find the way into the trench, shaft, or whatever you want to call it,” Lijuan muttered.

  “And that we will, under the cover of darkness!” Cassandra proclaimed tipping her head back, turning her face to the sky.

  It however seemed like forever to all four of them for the sun to set in that very sky. By the time it did, they rode into town from the east, in order to arrive unseen behind the huge piles of excavated rock, and tied up their horses there before sneaking back onto the main street. The pair of cats from earlier were now out on the prowl, hissing at the women who were not too happy about even the slightest noise.