The Devil's Bride by A.S. McGowan

Author:A.S. McGowan [McGowan, A.S.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-11-28T18:00:00+00:00

"Well, I plan to be one someday." the young man said.

"Someday does not mean you are one today. Now what is going on?"

"Everyone thought if I came dressed as a priest it would be less suspicious than a Pinkerton detective, ex Texas Ranger, or any of the other sorts."

"I am not following, so get to it, young man," he said in his best big brother voice.

"Let’s say that Ronnie Drew is not doing very well at all."

This was not good at all. If John and his brothers thought it best to send the young Gage dressed as a priest, then things were worse than he thought. The disturbed Jacob may have been spinning more truth than falsehood in his tales. He motioned for Gage to follow him and headed back upstairs. In his small kitchen, he reached for an extra plate and spooned some of his breakfast on to it, then sat it in front of an empty chair. Once the men had settled in front of their breakfast, they said grace.

"So, what is the news?"

"It took John some digging, but it seems this man has amassed his fortune in not very legal ways. One is the running of various saloons in small towns. He is a vile man for sure."

"Running saloons may offend the sensibility of good Christian folks, but I don't see the illegal in such things." He forked up some eggs and chewed while watching his brother.

"No, that in itself is not the issue. Matthew, the man runs ads for mail-order brides. Then when one answers that has no family to come looking, he ropes her in and then forces her to work in his saloons."

"The women at the boarding house."

"Yes, dear brother. The women he has working for him do not do so out of necessity or a desire to do so. They are his prisoners. Again, I must confess the man is vile."

Guilt shot through him. He worked for a man who would do such terrible things to young women. He has offered medical care to these women, yet he never offered them a chance at freedom. He told himself that he could not offer what he didn't know they needed. That knowledge did little to assuage the guilt gripping him at his kitchen table.

"John told me to come and inform you. Then I am to collect you and bring you home."

"I can't leave just yet. I have to try to help those young women."

"Then I will stay and help you."

They spoke on the subject a bit more while finishing breakfast. Then Matthew left Gage at his place while he made his way for his weekly visit to the boarding house. The walk there troubled him. How could a man get away with such things? He knew the answer. Time and again he had seen what a man of wealth was allowed to do. The man that murdered his father was one such man. The man never once was brought to answer for the crime of murder.

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