The Governor's Daughter

My Own Personal Hitman

Cap woke up early the next morning. He rolled out of bed and hissed when he moved his shoulder. Throwing on a shirt, he made his way to the kitchen for breakfast. 

"Mornin'." He said groggily. 
"Mornin' son." Levicy put his plate in front of him. Cap did not see Lydia but figured she was still in bed. Anse was the only person who knew where she went.
"I'm gonna go wake up Lydia." Levicy announced and went to get her.
"Leave 'er be. She had a long day yesterday." Anse said quickly.
"Nonsense. She's always up early." Levicy continued. 

"She went out the window again." Levicy sighed.
"What?" Cap said.
"She ain't there." Levicy said. Cap got up and went to go outside. Anse followed him. 
"Damn. She always takes me horse." Cap muttered when he walked in the barn.
"Cap, she's fine." Anse assured him.
"How do ya know?"
"She left last night ta go help John B."
"You let her go?"
"Yes."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"You're in no condition ta go ta Pikeville. She'll be back later today." 
"She better be." He stormed passed Anse and went inside the house.

Lydia tied her horse up by John B's. She looked around to see where to start her search. She spotted a brothel and new Frank and/or Nancy would be there. She made her way inside and tried not to draw attention to herself.  Lydia found a corner to stand in and scan the crowd. She had only seen Nancy McCoy once and that was at a distance but she has seen plenty of pictures of Frank Phillips. 

After searching for a while she decided to have a seat. 
"Anythin' ta drink?" The bartender asked.
"Water please." She dug in her purse to find change.
"I got it."  A rugged voice with a twang said. Lydia turned to see a tall and rugged man. He had dirty blond hair and a mustache.
"Uh, thanks." She said confused and took a sip of her water.
"Ransom Bray." He introduced himself.
"Hi." She mumbled against her glass.
"Who might you be?"  
"Jeanie." She decided to go by her nickname in town.

"Ain't heard that around here."
"Been in this area my whole life." She lied smoothly.
"Ya know, I'm part of a posse. Second in command." He bragged.
"Good for you." 
"Not just any posse. The one after the Hatfields. Why, I shot Cap Hatfield yesterday. Pretty sure I killed 'im." Lydia almost choked on her drink.
"I don't know. I heard he's hard to kill." She said.
"Shoot, he ain't nothin' but a one-eyed gorilla. Real scrawny too."
"Hm. Sounds like my type." She tried to get him to leave.
"Let me show ya a different type." He whispered in her ear.
"I'm engaged."
"Engaged, not married. Have a little fun." He tried to sway her.
"Well, I'll consider it if ya tell me where your boss is stayin'. I need an interview for the paper." She lied as the idea popped in her head.
"Ya got yourself a deal. He's stayin' across the street with his fiance. Now, why don't we go upstairs." He smirked and grabbed her arm.
"Because she's engaged." A familiar voice growled.

Lydia turned around to see John B. She smiled up at him.
"I guess scrawny really is your type. Never been with a real man." Ransom teased.
"Leave her be and go your own way." John warned.
"Or what?" 
"Or I'll escort you out of here."
"I'd like ta see ya try." Ransom chuckled and pulled out his gun. John went to reach for his too but stopped when Ransom dropped his. Lydia had her gun in his gut.
"Leave." She said. Ransom immediately went out the door and did not look back. 

John glared at Lydia and sat on the stool beside her.
"What are you doing here?" He asked her and took a drink of her water.
"That's mine." She whined.
"I just pretended to be your fiance. I can drink your water."
"Fine."
"Why are you here?" He asked again.
"I wanted to see you scare Perry later. How'd ya find me here?"
"I recognized Cap's horse and wondered why he would be here." 
"Cap got shot." She mumbled.
"What happened?"
"I didn't ask him for details. Johnse told his ex-wife, Nancy McCoy, where him and Jim where. She is with Frank Phillips. She told him and his posse went after him. Cap came home shot in the shoulder. They got Jim and took his body."
"I knew about Jim."
"How?" She asked.
"They have his body on displace outside." He told her. Lydia put her hands over her mouth in horror.
"Let's go to your room now." She stood up and he followed.

"First off, I'm gonna kill or severely injure Nancy. Second, I'm taking Jim's body home." She told John after making sure the door and windows where shut.
"Okay. No and no." He said bluntly.
"You're my alibi."
"No Lydia. You're going back now."
"I can't."
"You will."
"I'm not gonna shot her." She pleaded.
"Then what will you do."
"Poison her."
"How exactly will you do that?"
"I kinda borrowed some arsenic."
"I don't believe you. That's unrealistic and sounds like something in those stupid novels you read."
"I have to get inspiration somewhere. Remember when the sheriff brought a load of arsenic to the house after he seized ?"
"Yeah."
"I took a bottle."
"Why in the hell would you do that?"
"I was going through a hard time and thought I'd need it."
"I don't want to know. You're going back right now."
"Give me ten minutes." 
"No."
"Five."
"No."
"I'll be right back." She said and grabbed a few things out of her bag.
"What is that?" John asked.
"I grabbed this bread from the kitchen. I already put the arsenic in it."
"How do you know how to do this?"
"I have connections. I didn't put enough in there to make it a severe case of arsenic poisoning. If she gets it treated properly then she'll be fine. If not...."
"So you're just gonna give it to her?"
"No. I'm gonna figure out which room she is in and leave it there. I wrote a note congratulating her on her engagement. It just says from a friend."
"They'll suspect the Hatfields instantly."
"No one saw a Hatfield come in and we were at a meeting with Perry Cline."
"Come on. I know where her room is." 
"How do you know where her room is?" Lydia raised an eyebrow.
"Everytime I walk by it I hear her name very clearly." He said in disgust.
"Ew." Lydia wrinkled her nose.

John walked in front of his cousin protectively. He peeked around the corner to make sure it was clear.
"Come on." He motioned her. They quickly but quietly made their way to Nancy and Frank's door. Lydia placed the loaf in front of the door and they made there way to the front desk.
"Here's my pay for the night. Much obliged." John handed the clerk his money and they walked out.
"Let's go see Mr. Cline." Lydia smiled.
"You're a very sadistic person."
"No. I just don't like it when people cause problems for my family."
"I can tell. If I need a hitman one day, you'll be the first person I call."
"I'd be offended if you didn't."
"My own personal hitman. Kinda cool, kinda scary."