Punctually at eight o`clock, Zenobia, now wearing her best dress, entered the bank of White Skull and asked for Miss Cassandra DeRainier. One minute later, she sat opposite the bank manager in her private office.
Cassandra could not deny her Southern origin. She had no family resemblance towards Queena, but there was some aristocratic antebellum South attitude in her behaviour. However, Queena had obviously told the truth about Cassandra not being racist. She had greeted Zenobia with a warm handshake and had shown interest to employ her.
„I really could need a helping hand with the documents. They have to be cataloged and we now have more than 200 customers. Pete has done this so far, but I don`t want a man working in that little closet so close by my own chair. I prefer the presence of women – during work.“
Cassandra smiled, but Zenobia got a little bit carried away by that last sentence. She remembered the morning when she had awoken after a night close to Andrea`s body. The reporter, obviously thinking that Zenobia was still sleeping, had slipped out of the bed and sneaked into the adjacent room. The mirror attached to the sleeping room`s wall had allowed Zenobia to watch Andrea whilst she washed her face. Zenobia could see the other woman`s nipples, hard from the cold morning air, protruding under her flimsy nightgown. Then, Andrea had crouched over a chamber pot and she had heard a lapping. Obviously, that very moment Andrea had spotted her in the mirror, too, for she slightly blushed. Zenobia hastily put the bedsheet over her head and pretended that she had been sleeping, but after a few seconds, she heard a friendly voice:
„You may come and help me with the breakfast, Zenobia. there`s no need to stay in bed if we are both awake.“
During breakfast, they had spoken about their plan once more. Zenobia should try to get a job in the bank and then find out as much about Miss DeRainiers financial transactions as possible.
„Is that okay for you?“
„S-sorry, Miss!“
Zenobia had been so far away with her thoughts that she had obviously not heard the question Cassandra had asked her.
„I just wanted to ask if you can live with the fact that I can only offer you a small salary for the time being. Our bank has to stand – difficult times.“
Zenobia agreed to the indeed small sum she got offered and Cassandra once again smiled and shook her hand.
„Well then, welcome aboard, Miss-eh-“
„I-I haven`t got a last name yet“, Zenobia stammered, blushing all over. Neither she nor Reggie had so far fount the time to get registered as free men with a last name.
Cassandra frowned, then, she smiled again: „Well, the I will call you Miss Zenobia and in my documents, you will be called ,Miss Brown` until you have registered at Tucson. Is that okay for you?“
Zenobia nodded and Cassandra led her to the adjacent closet. It contained two cupboards, a small desk and a chair and it was covered with papers.
„I will just explain you what to do, Miss Zenobia. You may start immediately.“
***
Arina woke up by the smell of fresh coffee and she wanted to stretch and yawn and tell her uncle that she was ready and awake. However, something kept her arms trapped and her yawning was stifled by something big and soft that stuffed her mouth.
„Ghhhuummmpphh!“
With horror, Arina rose and was at once fully awake. She was not at her farm anymore! She had been abducted and now was tied to a post in the tent of an Indian, gagged and clad only in her camisole and knickers. She flailed and mmphed and soon, the face of the Indian woman appeared in the tent`s entry.
„Breakfast ready“, she said in broken English and approached. Arina continued squirming and screaming through her gag.
„Shut up!“, Nascha said in a sharp tone and looked at her with cold brown eyes. After some seconds, Arina obeyed.
The Apache woman undid the cleave-gag and helped Arina to spit out the two balled up stockings that had gagged her for some 14 hours now.
„T-thank y-you“, she croaked after some panting and coughing. She wanted to ask the woman to free her arms, but now, the man entered the room, too. Unlike the woman, that was once again fully dressed, he was only wearing a loincloth and Arina could see several scars on his muscular body.
Before he freed her, he tied a noose around her neck and led her outside like a dog on a leash. Arina staggered, but he allowed her to sit by the fire where he offered her a mug of coffee and some corn tortillas. Arina was too exhausted and hungry to resist the seductive fragrance of the breakfast and so, she ate and drank.
After the meal, the Apache pointed to a rock nearby.
„Toilet.“
Arina blushed, but indeed, she had to follow nature and so, she wanted to take the leash from her head, however, the man did not allow her to do so.
The leash was just long enough to allow her to hide behind the rock that reached up to her hips. Even when she squatted, he could still see her head and Arina blushed all over and closed her eyes in self denial.
After she was finished, Cuchillo once again tied her wrists behind the tent`s post. She wanted to ask him what he wanted to do with her, but he just gagged her once more, this time only stuffing one of the stockings into her mouth before tying the other one between her lips.
„Mhhmmmmph! Uuuhhmmm!“
„I go hunting and will be back by dusk“, he said in English and, taking his rifle, he left Arina alone with the woman that was staring daggers at her.
***
Zenobia did not believe her eyes when she looked through the keyhole of the closet. Her work had been not very difficult, but lengthy and boring. She had not found anything irregular so far.
Suddenly, she had heard a somehow familiar voice from the next room. When she secretly spied, she froze to her tracks. Winona! The woman who was either an agent of the Confederacy or the Union and who had been together with her on the pirate ship. She remembered the last time she had seen the redhead. Reggie and her had left her tied to a tree, stark naked and still thoroughly gagged.
Zenobia listened carefully to the two women`s conversation. Obviously, here, Winona called herself „Mrs. Leona Douglass“, and she and the bank manager had a heartily and humorous talk about marriage and men in general. After more than an hour, Winona/Leona proposed to go out for dinner in the evening, for „Leona`s“ husband intended to play poker that evening.
Zenobia hastily continued her work and was only disturbed by Cassandra who wanted to close the bank for the lunch break. Taking careful looks around if Winona was somewhere on the streets, she rushed to Andrea`s house. The reporter, again wearing man`s trousers and a white shirt, was working on the next volume of the „Gazette“. She told her friend everything and she frowned.
„Maybe, it`s just a coincidence that Winona`s here. But, as you said, she is using a false name. So, that`s suspicious. However, did you find out something weird?“
„Not really. However, the insurance sums paid after the robberies seem quite high to me.“
Andrea scratched her head.
„Maybe, she has told the main insurance company a higher sum than she actually paid to the mine and kept the rest for herself. Maybe, she even launched the robberies and made double profit.“
„But the only proof we have is that one note about a higher sum than the mine reported to be stolen!“
Andrea smiled: „Well, it`s at least a clue! Enough to base an article on it that will maybe shoo Cassandra up. From the way she reacts, we can see if she`s guilty or not!“
„But, this note is on the desk at my working place. If I take it with me, she will know who`s behind all this and maybe take revenge.“
„I`ve got an idea, but I am not sure if you are willingly to participate“, Andrea said with an enigmatic smile on her face.
***
During breakfast, Hawk alias Reverend Pendergast had found out that he had already gotten a new nickname: „Reverend Chicken“. Obviously, the details of his role in the coach robbery had already spread. He could hear laughter behind his back when he walked the streets and so, nobody considered it strange that he rented a horse and left the town for the day.
However, this was only his backup story to take a closer look at the burglar`s hideout. Of course, he did not expect to find a cave with chests of silver and gold in it. Such a hideout even the most stupid City Marshall would have found when they had looked for the robbers months ago. But Hawk had other things he was looking for. As a child, he had read the works of the famous Edgar Allen Poe, including his stories about the private investigator C. Auguste Dupin, and he had become fascinated by the described method of deduction. Simple traces could tell a whole story if one had a sharp eye and a logically thinking brain.
After a few hours, he had found the place where the robbers had spent at least a few hours after they had left the coach. They obviously had freed the horses, for these were branded and difficult to sell. Hawk also found his empty wallet (expecting a robbery, he had kept most of his money in a secret bag inside his shirt) and the handbag of the black woman. It was empty, too, but Hawk could find a crumpled letter in a female handwriting, introducing Zenobia to Miss Cassandra DeRainier. It was signed by a Queena DeRainier, obviously the bank manager`s niece. Hawk considered the black woman to be harmless, but he would keep that relationship in mind.
He also found some cigarette butts, a piece of a newspaper and a cartridge case. The newspaper was written in Spanish, obviously Mexican, and the cartridge case told Hawk that a shot had been fired, but obviously noone had been hurt or killed.
Hawk now had all the available evidence. It wasn`t much, but he could deduce at least three things:
1. At least one of the robbers had been to Mexico after the 25th of May, the date the paper was printed.
2. Since it was unlikely that they had fired just for fun whilst hiding after a robbery, the cartridge case meant that they had had an argument.
3. The woman, who had smaller feet than her accomplices, had fired the shot, according to the footprints and the position of the cartridge case.
Hawk`s brain worked quickly now. Obviously, the lack of booty had led to an argument in which the woman had had to emphasize her position by shooting at her men. Since there had been four more robbers and only one bullet, this meant that noone had dared to shoot back. So, either the male robbers were a bunch of cowards or too clumsy to hit a barn`s door at blank distance, or the woman was really good as a gunslinger.
Hawk left the place. He now knew a bit more about his opponents. Not much, but enough to start further plans.
***
„Mhhmmmph! Nnnggg!“
For the umpteenth time, Arina tried to get the Apache woman`s attention. After the man had left, she had done the dishes, ostendatively ignoring the bound and gagged girl. Then, she had once again looked at Arina with her cold eyes before she had started to rummage in a leather bag. To Arina`s surprise, she hung a mirror to the main post, just above the captive`s head. Then, she draped the contents of the bag all over the bed. it were two dresses, both obviously Mexican, and several items of underwear.
To Arina`s dismay, the Indian woman had taken off her dress, standing in front of her naked. Without being the tiniest bit shameful, she examined herself in the mirror. Suddenly, Arina understood. This Indian was not living with his tribe, but alone with what seemed to be his wife or lover.
„She must think that he has kidnapped me because he wants a younger woman!“
Arina shuddered by the implications of that thought. However, the Apache woman had no reason to be discontent with her body. Her legs were long and shapely, her belly flat and firm and her whole body showed no wrinkles or excess fat. Her face was pretty, though a bit austere, and her high cheekbones gave her an almost aristocratic appearance. However, she was a woman in her thirties and Arina was just 18.
Her suspicion intensified when the Indian started to put on the underwear. It was obvious that she tried to be as European as possible to persuade her husband to get rid of her new rival.
Now, she had put on a pair of frilly black and red knickers and a pink camisole that was too short for the tall woman. The situation was almost ridiculous. Now, she looked questioningly at a garter belt and a corset, evidently not knowing how to put these on.
„Mhhmmmm! Mmmhhhhmmph!“
This time, the woman reacted.
„What?“
„Mhhmmmmph!“
„Toilet at evening!“
„Nnnnggg!“, Arina answered, slightly reddening.
Finally, the Apache woman seemed to be curious and she ungagged Arina.
„Thank you. I-I can sh-show you how to-to wear these“, she stammered.
The woman hesitated, but then, she went to a corner and fetched a revolver. She held it under Arina`s nose before she released her wrists.
„Show me!“
Slowly, Arina rose and went to the pile of clothes. She rummaged through it. The smell of the underwear told her that this had been worn before and she shuddered by the thought what the Apache had done to their previous owners. Finally, she found a black and red camisole.
„Here. These must match. Look!“
She pointed at her own white knickers and camisole, then, she handed the one she had found to the Indian woman.
Nascha put away the gun and took off the camisole she was wearing. When she was pulling it over her head, Arina quickly grabbed the gun, cocked it and pointed at the other woman with the barrel.
„So, you bitch! Kneel down!“
Carefully, Arina stepped away from Nascha, not taking her eyes fom her. The Indian woman remained calm and obeyed, but her eyes told Arina that she was looking for a possibility to overpower her.
Arina knew she had to tie Nascha up, but that would mean she had to put the gun away. Suddenly ler eyes fell on the bag that had contained the clothes.
„Put that over your head! Then lean to the post! And stay on your knees!“
Moving slowly and lithe, the topless woman obeyed. Now, the Apache was blindfolded by the bag, this giving Arina a slight advance in whatever she did.
Taking the rope that had tied her wrists before, she tied Nascha`s hands behind the post, pulling the ends as tight as she could. Then, she took the lasso and wound the whole 50 yards again and again around Nascha`s arms and upper body, pinning her to the post, before knotting it off. The woman had not uttered a sound, but Arina decided to gag her, too.
She grabbed the stockings that had gagged her previously and that were still wet with her saliva. Balling them up in her hand, she ripped the bag from Nascha`s head. The tall woman stared daggers at her.
„If Cuchillo will find youuuhhmmmmphhh!“
With one hand, Arina stuffed the two stockings into Nascha`s mouth, whilst her other hand grabbed the woman`s scalp and forced her to keep her mouth open. When she had stuffed her mouth to capacity, Arina tied a strip of cloth between her lips. Nascha grunted slightly.
Drawing by hugues66
Arina once again pulled the bag over her head and knotted it close around her neck. Now, Nascha would have to concentrate on breathing and could not wriggle te hood off.
Arina quickly rummaged the tent for anything that could help her escaping. She found a pair of Mokassins that fit her feet and a pair of suede leggins and a canteen. She decided against putting on one of the dresses, but draped a cloth over her bare shoulders. Quickly, she collected a few tortillas in a cloth, grabbed the canteen and the revolver and left the tent.
It turned out that Cuchillo had taken the only horse with him, meaning she had to walk. But Arina was confident. She had just overpowered an enemy, she had a weapon and enough provision for the next two or three days. She looked at the sun and took the direction she thought it would lead her back to civilisation.
***
The plan of Andrea had turned out to be simple, but effective: at about six o`clock in the evening, Cassandra had told Zenobia that she had an invitation for dinner. She promised to be back after two hours and, since the money was in the safe and three men were working downstairs, let Zenobia alone in her office.
Only a few minutes later, Andrea slipped in through the open window.
„I am quite sure nobody has seen me! Let`s go!“
Together, they searched through Cassandra`s papers, but they found nothing more than the single note Zenobia had told Andrea about earlier. It was just a small hint that Casandra had paid 10.000 dollars to the mining company, but had told the main insurance company in Tucson that she had paid 12.000. It was not a really big fraud, but it could cost her her reputation and her job as a bank manager.
„Okay, let`s prepare for some distraction.“
Andrea had shared Zenobia`s concern about being the first suspected if Andrea published an article about irregularities in the bank. But if a robber had entered the office, looking for some money, and had taken some documents with him, this could look convincing. It was also convincing that he had thrown away anything worthless to him on the garbage heap near Andrea`s house. The note wasn`t signed and she intended to tell that she had found the note on her veranda by sheer coincidence.
However, this meant that it had to look like a burglar had been there. And a burglar would have taken care Zenobia could not raise alarm. Andrea had not felt easy about triggering her new friend by tying and gagging her, but the Black had told her it was okay for her.
„You want to take a seat in her chair?“, Andrea asked after she had cut the curtain strings.
Zenobia shrugged and sat in the upholstered chair. Andrea took her arms, crossed her wrists behind the backrest and wrapped the string around them.
„Much tighter, it has to look convincing!“
Andrea seemed to be concerned about hurting Zenobia, but finally, when Zenobia tried to twist her hands, she had to admit that Andrea had done a good job. Before the reporter bound her ankles together, she asked mockingly:
„Or do you prefer that I tzie your knees to the armrests, so that anyone can look underneath your skirts?“
Zenobia laughed and shook her head, but her giggling sounded a bit hysterically. Andrea bound her ankles to the chair`s front legs. Then, she took two large dishcloths from her pocket.
„Sorry, dear, but it has to look convincing.“
„Just get it done – dear.“
Carefully, Andrea shoved one of the cloths into Zenobia`s mouth and tied the other one between her lips. She pulled the ends surprisingly tight before knotting them off, causing Zenobia to yelp.
„Is that too tight?“
„Nnnnggg!“, Zenobia answered, shaking her head. Actually, it was tight, but she would stand it until Cassandra came back.
Now, Andrea took a crowbar and forcefully opened the drawers and the doors of the desk and the cupboard. She grabbed the little money she could find and some documents that looked like insurance policies. Placing a soft kiss on Zenobia`s cheek, she left through the window.
„See you, dear.“
„Mmphhh!“
***
Sitting under a tree and looking at her men playing poker, accompanied by the usual cursing and laughing, knew she had to find a way to make some money if she wanted to keep control over them. She knew that she was faster on the draw than any of them, but they were four and she could not be awake all the time.
In fact, none of their robberies had been a big hit. Their first raid on a coach leaving the mine had brought them two tons of silver ore. But none of them had known that it only consisted of silver in quite small amounts. In addition, it had been quite impossible to sell it without raising suspicion. So, in the end, they had gotten some 400 dollars. Next time, they had assaulted the wagon that brought the monthly wages for the mining workers. This had been some 5000 dollars – quite a sum, but divided by five not quite much for the Mexican revolution.
Since the coaches to and from the mine now were heavily guarded, they had started to rob stage coaches, but obviously, no rich person travelled to White Skull. Three raids, together with the one yesterday, had brought them some 100 dollars each.
„Not very much for the risk of being shot to death, hanged or sent to prison for 20 years“, Viola thought and once again looked at her men. The way she had told Billy to behave yesterday had tamed them for the moment, but they were starting to become rebellious.
The bank of White Skull! Billy hadn`t been the first who had had the idea, but this would not be possible without bloodshed. Two armed guards protected the bank and the three clerks were wearing weapons, too. At night, two other men did a patrol, so an attack would result in a shooting, too.
„Of course, I could ask Miss DeRainier for the key“, Viola thought an laughed without joy. Then, she hesitated. Since Viola always wore a mask at her robberies, she could visit White Skull without fearing to be recognized and she did so quite often. So, she knew something about the 500 inhabitants, including the fact that Cassandra DeRainier lived alone in the third floor of the bankhouse. Two cleaning women were there three times a week, but no servant seemed to live upstairs with her – and no husband, though some of the bachelors in the town had tried to become Mr. Bank Manager. If they could get inside, they could overpower Cassandra and force her to give them the money.
The only problem was that it was as impossible to storm Miss DeRainiers private rooms as it was to enter the bank. That was, unless -
„Men, listen to me!“
Reluctantly, the four robbers interrupted their game. Viola stepped closer to the fire and smiled:
„Are you still interested in Billy`s proposal from yesterday? Well, there`s maybe a way for us to get the money and to stay alive and unharmed.“
Now, even Carter, who had just had a stroke of luck, completely forgot about the Full House in his hands and listened to their gang leader.
***
A slightly dipsy Cassandra came back from the „Crown“, White Skull`s only real restaurant, where she had spent a lovely evening with the charming Leona Douglass. She had told her that her husband was interested in the mining business and wanted to learn everything about it, the reason why they spent their honeymoon in such a remote part of the United States. Cassandra had invited Leona to visit her during the next days.
She was pleased when she saw that the light still was burning in her office. Obviously, this Zenobia had not left, although she had been two hours late. Humming a tune, she went up the stairs and opened the door to her office – only to nearly bounce back.
The whole room was in a mess, with papers spread everywhere and the cupboard`s doors broken.
„Mmmhhhmmmm!“
In her chair, Zenobia sat with her arms behind the backrest and looking at Casandra with a mixture of fear, shame and relief. Her mouth was gagged with a white cloth parting her lips and some packing in it.
Drawing by hugues66
„Miss Zenobia! What has happened? Leyland! McAllister!“
The last two words were the names of the two patrol guards that quickly came up to her. Meanwhile, Cassandra had freed Zenobia from the cleave gag. The girl spat out a dense wad of cloth.
„T-they wer t-t-two! They c-came through the w-window and g-grabbed me, Oh my god, I-I am s-so sorry!“
Zenobia started crying. Now, the two guards entered the room and Cassandra scolded them:
„Wher have you had your eyes, you fools! Two men have burglarized my office! Look at all this mess! And my poor new secretary, haven`t you heard that she needed help?“
The two men looked at the tips of their shoes and waited until Cassandra had calmed down a bit and sent McAllister to fetch the Marshall whilst Leyland was ordered to free the still sobbing Zenobia.
„Please, dear, stop whimpering, it has happened now! You shouldn`t have left the window open, but you didn?t know and you sure trusted these two fools here who have had their last day on my payroll if anything important is missing!“
Immediately after the las knot had been loosened, a still contrite Leyland left the room.
After the Marshall had interviewed both Zenobia and Cassandra, the bank manager told her to go to sleep whilst she wanted to see what actually had been stolen. When Zenobia walked towards Andrea`s house, she had to oppress a triumphant smile.
***
Arina had walked through the mountains for several hours, trying to find a way that would lead her home. She could recognize some of the mountain peaks, but since she had been blindfolded during the last hours of her abduction, she did not know where to go exactly.
Finally, when she had been about to resignate and cry, she had found a little brook. In this dry area, there weren`t many sources of water and maybe, this was the brook that flew aside their farm. Anyway, sooner or later it would lead her to a village or at least a farmhouse. After a short break, she followed the brook with renewed strength.
At around dusk, she had reached a little grove where she even found a few bushes with berries. Arina ate greedily and decided to give her aching feet a rest. The Apache had told he would not be back at his tent before dusk and this meant that he had maybe just now just found his bound and gagged wife. Arina guessed that she had been walking for at least eight hours and if he followed her tracks, he would have to take the same route. She decided that a few hours of sleep were absolutely okay.
However, her sleep was roughly interrupted by a hand that clamped her mouth shut.
***