Free Sherlock Holmes and the Queen of Diamonds by Steve Hayes, David Whitehead Page B

she’d learned his real identity, she’d been studying him intently, sizing him up with fresh interest.
    ‘True,’ he admitted. ‘And many folks would say me and Frank chose the wrong one. Maybe we did. Who’s to know? All I can say is I sent letter after letter to the Kansas City Times – letters they published, too, to their credit – sayin’ as how we were willin’ to go straight, but still the law branded us outlaws.
    ‘’Course, I did a fair bit to deserve the name. I was always part of one gang or another, and we robbed banks and stage-coaches – even a fair, once – from Iowa to West Virginia and just about every place in between. A couple years ago we took to robbin’ trains, as well.’
    ‘And you gave some of the money to the poor, from what I’ve heard,’ put in Elaina, ‘which is why the newspapers began comparing you with Robin Hood.’
    ‘It’d pleasure me to say that was true, Countess.’
    ‘Ellie.’ 
    ‘Ellie – but fact is, that whole ‘Robin Hood’ thing started ’cause one time there was some local families ’board a train we robbed and when Frank recognized them he gave ’em back their money. They spread the word and, well, the press picked it up and made us sound like heroes. We all had a good laugh about it. Truth be known, there wasn’t much profit in robbin’ the poor. They got nothing worth stealin’, anyway. So we concentrated on banks and the express safes, where the real money was.’
    He chuckled, adding: ‘Had a mighty good run of it, too. But finally the law got their fill of us, and one of the express companies hired the Pinks to run us to ground.’
    ‘You’re referring to the Pinkerton National Detective Agency, I take it?’ said Holmes.
    Jesse nodded. ‘Their agents were everywhere. Got so bad, you couldn’t cross the street in Kearney without bumpin’ into a Pinkerton man.’
    ‘Yet you were never caught,’ Elaina said.
    ‘No, ma’am. Kearney folk take care of their own, see. Wasn’t no one ever gonna tell the Pinks where we was holed up. That was one of the things that got Cage Liggett so riled – he knew we were operatin’ right under his nose but he couldn’t get folks to turn us in.’
    ‘Cage Liggett?’ echoed Watson.
    Jesse suddenly scowled, the mention of Liggett causing his temper to flare again. Gulping the remainder of his drink, he said: ‘He was the man Allan Pinkerton chose to lead the hunt for me, the man I’m really here to find.’ His eyes hooded dangerously. ‘The man I’m here to kill ,’ he finished in a rasp. 
    Silence filled the room for long moments before Jesse found it within himself to continue. ‘Cage Liggett’s a hard, vain man, Mr Holmes, ambitious as hell an’ cruel as winter. He promised Pinkerton that he’d have us in irons within two weeks of takin’ the job, but Frank and me, we chose not to oblige him. ’Fact, we did all we could to lead him a merry chase and make him look the fool – and that was our mistake, I guess, for we should have stomped him the way you’d stomp any snake. But we didn’t, and in the end he swore that if he couldn’t catch us then he’d find some way to fetch us out into the open.
    ‘Well, that Liggett eventually got so desperate, he started chasing rumours. And when one of his spies told him that me’n Frank planned on visitin’ Ma and our stepdaddy, Dr Reuben Samuel, at the tail end of January just past, that was all Liggett needed to hear. He and a bunch of his men surrounded the house one night without being seen. They hid among the trees for a spell, tryin’ to figure out what to do to flush me’n Frank out. Finally, accordin’ to Liggett, he yelled for us to come out. Ma swears she never heard nothin’ an’ Ma’s no liar. Anyway, when no one answered, Liggett threw a pot flare into the house….’
    Holmes, seeing Elaina’s puzzled frown, explained: ‘Officially, it’s known as Grecian fire. It resembles a lantern, except that it has a