Already Gone Page 13

  "Who are you running from?"

  "I don't know. But we seem desperate."

  "Where are you now?"

  "Another barn. There is a man out front. Jesse jumps him and slams the butt of a revolver against his head. The man is on the floor bleeding. We steal a pair of large gray horses. No saddle. We make saddles from grain bags and hay and ride off."

  "Where are you going?"

  "Away. We're being chased."

  "By who?"

  "I don't know. I can't tell. Probably a posse. A man on horseback is flagging us down. Says he's a doctor and needs directions to a town. Jesse is telling him that we are two of the Northfield Boys. He’s asking the man if he's heard of the robbery. The man is saying yes. He's nervous and afraid. He says he recognizes Jesse and will help if he can. Jesse is trading clothes with the man. We are taking his horse. Our horses are exhausted. The man places bandages on our wounds. He wishes us well as he walks away on foot. We're leaving on his horse."

  “Stay with it, what is happening now?” “Nothing more, we’re just riding away.”

  "Alright then, go forward in time to the next significant event."

  "I'm on a farm. I'm looking at stones by a spring. I'm turning some of the larger stones over. I'm staring at a drawing on a map."

  "Is this your farm?"

  "No. Someone else's."

  "Where did you get the map?"

  "I don't know."

  "What are you doing now?"

  "I'm poking holes in the ground with an iron rod. I'm prying a large rock out of the ground with a shovel. I've found a rusted spoon and a blue metal coffee cup. A copper kettle is buried underneath. I'm digging the kettle out from under the rock. I'm turning the pot over. Dirt, paper money and coins are pouring out of the kettle onto the ground."

  "How many coins?"

  "Lots. Gold and silver coins and paper money. I'm not counting them. I stuff them into saddlebags. I seem very pleased."

  "Where are you? Are you near a town?"

  "Don't know. Farmland all around. A stream nearby. A knoll with a cave on one side. I see a weathered, red colored barn off in the distance. I'm loading everything on my horse and leaving. Going somewhere. Don't know where."

  "Keep going forward in time now to the next significant event."

  "I'm inside a bank. I'm giving a fat dirty wad of cash to a man behind a desk."

  "What town are you in?"

  "A sign in the Bank over the counter says Fletcher Bank."

  "Who is the man behind the desk?"

  "A nameplate says E.W. Dilling President. I think I am buying a piece of property."

  "Are there other people in the bank?"

  "Yes, lots. People are coming up to me to shake my hand and ask questions. Dilling says that everyone's in town to celebrate Oklahoma's statehood. Folks are asking Dilling to introduce me to them. He says they want to meet an old outlaw. I shy away and take my papers and leave."

  "Would you like to continue?"

  "Yes. I am not tired."

  "Go forward in time now to the next significant event."

  "It is snowing heavily. I'm on foot."

  "What are you doing?"

  "I'm carrying a long iron rod and a shovel and saddlebags. I'm staring at an Oak tree with a horseshoe nailed to the bark. I'm brushing snow from the tree. I'm looking for something. I see letters carved into the tree underneath the horseshoe."

  "What are the letters?"

  "M O and Y. I'm brushing more snow off the letters. I'm blowing the rest off with my mouth. I'm holding a piece of glass up to the carving and looking through it. I see that the last letter is not just a Y it is a Ў. Kind of a Y with a curly cue on top. And the O looks more like an O with a small c inside it ©. Now I'm walking away from the tree. I appear to be pacing off steps. The wind is howling, and snow continues to fall. I stop, turn around and drive the iron rod into the ground with the butt of a shovel. I do this repeatedly every few feet working back towards the tree."

  "What direction are you going?"

  "Can't tell. I can't see the sun. The snowfall is turning into a blizzard. If I had to guess, I'd say that the tree is to the South of where I am. Turning away now. Trying to locate my horse. Need to find shelter."

  "Would you like to continue?"

  "Yes, but the vision has faded. I see nothing else."

  "OK," Willy said excitedly turning off the recorder. "The railroad track scene was from one of the James' Gang train robberies. I'm not sure which one. I'll need to do some research to pin it down. In the next scene, Frank and Jesse are fleeing a posse following the botched Northfield Bank robbery. They got away, but the Younger brothers were captured and sentenced to prison at Stillwater Penitentiary."

  "The fat wad of cash Frank is handing to a banker, in a following scene, is for the purchase of the farm in Fletcher. He bought the farm for Annie and his family in 1906 and lived there until his mother Zerelda died in 1912. You have to wonder why he bought land in Oklahoma when his family home was in Clay County, Missouri. I'm of the opinion it was because he wanted a strategic base to hunt for the two million dollars."

  "The next part is downright fascinating. I believe that Frank is searching for the money that Jesse stole during a bank robbery. Most likely from a bank in Liberty, Missouri. It's difficult to pinpoint the exact bank since Jesse and Frank robbed a total of twelve banks and assorted trains and stagecoaches during their outlaw days."

  "Legend has it that Jesse buried the loot from the Liberty robbery under a large boulder. He drew a map to its location on his boot and later transferred it to paper and gave it to his mother, Zerelda. Zerelda must have subsequently given the map to Frank."

  "I'm not sure of the exact location where Frank found the money, but it must have been on a farm near Buzzard's Roost. The James gang camped there on many occasions. And Frank did find a rusted spoon and coffee cup there. I'll research this location too. Also, stories from those days state that Frank did unearth a copper kettle containing six thousand dollars in paper and coin from somewhere around Buzzard's Roost. That must have been from the Liberty, Missouri bank robbery."

  "The next scene is the kicker. The carving on the tree is M © Ў with a hooked Y, not M.O.Y as the legends say and with a © as opposed to the letter O." "What's a hooked Y?" Marcus questioned.

  "It's a mark Jesse left at almost every location where KGC coins were buried in Mason jars. The mark was left on a tree or rock to indicate that coins were buried nearby. Perhaps he left a hooked Y to point to the buried bullion. I don't know what the © means unless it helps locate the exact spot."

  "Great, so now what?" Marcus said sarcastically. "So now we have to figure out what the carving on the tree is pointing to," Willy replied. "Perhaps in my next session with Doctor Pete we'll get to it," Cracker added.

  "I doubt it, my dear. I think we've seen all Frank has to offer us on that score. He may have known what the characters meant but if so it looks as though it didn't do him any good. From what we've seen, I'm convinced that beyond a few KGC caches and the Liberty bank money, Frank never found the two million dollars."

  "Well, that's it then."

  "Not so fast, Marcus. Not so fast. We have access to treasure hunting gear Frank didn't have in his day. And computers to help break this code. I'm off to the university library first thing in the morning to do some more research," Willy said, putting his cap on. "When's the next session, Cracker?"

  "Wednesday, same time."

  "Let's meet the same time as usual but at a new location just in case Roy is following. I suggest Tom Yum Kung. It's a Thai bar and restaurant off Walilae by Koko Head. I could go for some Thai food for a change. And, Marcus, think about moving in with me at the Pagoda. We'll need money for plane tickets, materials and the like. No sense in you paying for a separate motel room. Ask for the key at the front desk. I'll tell them you're coming. Room 108."

  "Have room for me too, Willy?" Cracker asked. "I think I'll give Roy a wide berth for a few d
ays." "We'll get our own room Cracker," Marcus responded. "After tomorrow it might be wise to stay out of sight and hold our nightly meetings at the Pagoda as well."

  ≈≈≈≈≈≈

  Roger Dunbar sat in his car smoking a Pall Mall while looking at a man sprawled in a lounge chair outside the Pagoda. Dunbar, standing six feet three inches tall, was a hard man to miss. He was a big man carrying a dead weight of flesh on his gut. His hair was shoulder-length, tangled and shining with an accumulation of sweat. It was unbearably hot sitting with the engine off in his non-air conditioned Pinto. He wasn't often called to do a stakeout and was glad of it. Tisdale must be short of men, he thought.

  He had a photo of Willy and Marcus taped to the cracked dashboard of the Pinto. He hadn't seen Boggs since he'd left the room earlier that morning. He had orders to call Tisdale if Marcus showed up. With his relief man still six hours off, Dunbar settled back for the long wait.

  ≈≈≈≈≈≈

  Roy Dunn had a feeling that Cracker wasn't going to show up at the Pearl City house for a while. He'd called her cell numerous times with no answer. He’d phoned The Glade, and the bartender there said he hadn't seen her in a few days. For a promise of fifty bucks, he said he'd call if she showed up. The Chief Petty Officer in charge at the EM club said she'd taken a few days off. She must be shacking up somewhere with Reno, he thought. "Might be a good idea to sniff around at the Hiwakulani," he said to himself with a grin.

  ≈≈≈≈≈≈

  Late Wednesday afternoon Marcus checked out of the Polynesian Sands. Throwing his bag in Cracker's car they headed for The Pagoda. "Let's check in then head to that restaurant to meet Willy. You can drop me there while you go on to Billingsley's," Marcus said, pulling away from the curb.

  Sitting beside Marcus as he drove her car the short distance to the motel, she replied, "I need to stop at The Glade first, honey." "What for?" "To pick up my cut for the week. We're going to need some cash." "Cut from what?" he asked. "My business. I run an escort service from the bar. Roy is my partner of sorts."

  "Escort service?" Marcus asked. "Yep. Small business. I only have three girls. But it pays. I do the scheduling, and Roy's the muscle if something goes wrong for the girls."

  "What about you? Do you serve as an escort too?" Marcus asked. "Once in a while if one of my girls is off or doesn't show. And I have a regular or two I take care of when they come to town. That bother you, Marcus?"

  "Nope, just asking." "Good."

  "What if Roy's at the bar now?" Marcus asked? "He won't be. He'll be on duty at the base." "If Roy knows or suspects anything about us, doesn't that bring an end to your partnership?" "Probably but guys like Roy are easy to find. The bar is full of them. Let's go, we'll head to the restaurant to meet Willy afterward."

  ≈≈≈≈≈≈

  The lobby of the Hiwakulani was jumping when Roy Dunn arrived. A line of tourists, waiting to check in, stretched fifteen feet back from the registration desk. He spotted Marjorie talking to a guest towards the end of the queue.

  "I'm truly sorry for the wait, sir," she said to an agitated couple waiting in line. "Our computers are down, but they should be back up shortly. Please wait in the lounge and have a beverage on us. I'll come and fetch you as soon as we're back online."

  "Remember me?" Dunn said, walking closer and clearing his throat to get her attention. "No. Should I?" she responded politely. "Please have a complimentary drink on us sir while we sort out our computer problem." "I'm not here for a room, Marjorie,” he countered. “We met briefly weeks ago when I was here to pick up Virginia McCracken."

  "Oh yes, Roy something, right?"

  "Yes. Roy Dunn. Good memory. I need to speak to you about a friend of yours."

  "Who?"

  "Marcus Reno. I believe you and he spent some time together." "Why? Did something happen to Marcus? And what's it to you anyway?" she demanded. "I'm just trying to find out where he’s staying," Dunn replied with a smile.

  "I don't know where he is, and I could care less," she replied taken aback. "Things ended badly then?" Dunn pressed. She took a deep breath and blew it out slowly. "Yes. Don't cross-examine me! How is this any of your business?" she replied loudly enough for others to hear.

  "Is there a problem here?" Holly asked, overhearing their conversation. "This guy is asking questions about Marcus. Says he's a friend of Crackers," Maggie exclaimed. "I see. How may I be of assistance, sir?" Holly said folding her arms and leaning forward.

  "I'd simply like to know where Marcus Reno is staying. Is he here at the hotel?" "We do not give out information regarding our guests," she replied sternly. "Of course not but I'm wondering, do you allow your staff to date the guests? Or more to the point, to sleep with them?" Dunn said inching closer to Holly.

  "I'll have to ask you to leave now, sir. Call security Marjorie."

  "Listen, honey, all I want to know is where he's staying. I figure Miss Marjorie here knows the answer since the two of them were shacking up. Call the hotel manager. Go ahead. I'm sure he'd like to hear about it." Holly nodded. "All right," pulling him out of earshot of the guests. "The Pagoda motel last I heard. Now get out of here."

  "If he's not there, I'll be back ladies. Good day."

  "Marcus must be in some kind of trouble. That's the second guy in a week to ask about him." Holly said pulling Maggie aside out of earshot of the hotel guests. "Second guy?" Maggie replied looking frightened. "Afraid so. The first was a private investigator named Tisdale. He came to the condo asking the same thing."

  "What the fuck Holly? Why didn't you tell me?"

  "I thought I was doing the right thing, Maggie. I didn't want to upset you." "Did you tell him where Marcus was staying?" Maggie asked anxiously. "Not initially no. I just told him that they both left, and I had no idea where they went."

  "What do you mean by initially Holly?"

  "Tisdale phoned me a few days ago demanding that I tell him where Boggs was. I met him at a bar down the street and told him.” "You told him the Pagoda?" Maggie said. "Yes," Holly replied sheepishly.

  "Marcus is probably there with him. Who is this Tisdale working for?"

  "No idea. I didn't ask."

  "You didn't ask? Why the hell not?"

  "Because I don't want to have anything more to do with those two hustlers and you shouldn't either." "I'm going to the Pagoda to warn Marcus." "You don't owe him anything, Maggie. He's bad news. Forget about him."

  "I can't."

  ≈≈≈≈≈≈

  Dunn's cell phone rang as hotel security watched him leave the Hiwakulani.

  "It's Louis from the Glade," the voice said. "Hey man, what's up?" Dunn replied walking towards his car. "Cracker was just here. Picked up some cash from Alex and left."

  "Was anyone with her?" Dunn asked. "She came in alone,” Louis replied. “When she left, she got in a car with some guy." "What kind of car?" "Late model Toyota. Corolla I think." "What did the guy look like?"

  "Kind of tall, thin, blonde hair. Didn't get a real close look." "Thanks, brother I owe you fifty." "Well, at least I know she's still in town," Dunn said to himself with a smile.

  ≈≈≈≈≈≈

  Marcus and Cracker ordered dinner at Tom Yum Kung while waiting for Willy. Named after a Thai soup recipe, Tom Yum Kung served the best Thai food to be found on the Island. The restaurant was empty of patrons. The only person visible was a young waiter setting out napkins and silverware. "I suggest the Thai-style grilled beef, brushed in oyster sauce and served with sticky rice," the waiter offered. "If you prefer fish, we do a superb gaeng som here. It is a Southern Thai curry with fish and prawns."

  "I may have both, I'm so hungry," Cracker replied. "Sorry, I'm late," Willy said as he rushed in and sat down at their table. "I spent the afternoon at the university library and uncovered some very pertinent info." "Great, let's order dinner and hear what you've discovered," Marcus replied.

  "In 1873 Jesse held up his first train, the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific, near Adair, I
owa. That is undoubtedly the train robbery Virginia witnessed. Secondly, I'm convinced that the six thousand dollars Frank unearthed at Buzzard's Roost was from the bank Jesse robbed in Liberty, Missouri in 1866. Also, I verified that the fat wad of cash Frank handed to a banker in Fletcher was for the purchase of the family farm."

  "More importantly, I have a theory on what the letters M, © and Ў carved on the tree might mean. The 'M' stands for one hundred. The © is not a letter. It's a sign for gold. A circle within a circle."

  "But that looks like the letter 'C' inside the circle," Marcus interrupted. "Yes," Willy replied. "But I'm of the opinion that part of the inner circle wore off leaving the letter 'C'." "Man, that's a leap," Marcus replied. "Perhaps," Willy replied. "But it's the best I can come up with at the moment."

  "The hooked Ў," Willy continued, "indicates that money is buried nearby. The letter M with the numerals lists the distance from the tree. Either one hundred feet or one hundred yards. I'm not sure which. The cryptic carving is somewhat confusing, but no one ever accused Jesse of being particularly smart." "What direction from the tree?" Marcus asked.

  "I’m not sure, but I'm guessing either North or South. That seems to make the most sense. We simply have to measure one hundred feet and one hundred yards from the tree and draw a large circle around each." "That's still going to entail a lot of digging," Marcus said.

  "Perhaps but the gold can't be buried that deep in the ground. Remember it was snowing when Jesse and Frank dug the hole. The snow was up to their knees. The ground must have been frozen. We'll use a state of the art metal detector to search in a circular pattern around the tree. If that fails to unearth anything, we'll bring in ground penetrating radar. I found an outfit in Oklahoma City that has a GPR unit. It's costly to rent, but perhaps we can get use of the equipment on a contingency basis."

  "Yeah, but it could take weeks to search in all directions around that tree," Marcus said. "Not necessarily, Marcus," Willy replied. "Remember what Cracker observed? Frank paced off a distance from the tree and then started searching to the South. Meaning he was working back in a Southerly direction towards the tree. So we start at 100 paces to the North of the tree and work back just as Frank did."