Kidnapped

Chapter 7 - Not Quite Right

Josiah Trelawny walked into the saloon in St. Denis. He hadn't told Dutch, but he'd decided on a change of plan. Something didn't sit right with this whole McKenzie/Cornwall deal. Why would he dress you in such revealing clothes, if he'd already made a deal with Leviticus Cornwall. More to the point, how could he afford to buy such expensive Italian clothes, when he couldn't even afford decent security.

As Josiah approached the bar, the bartender waved him a greeting, and poured him a glass of scotch whiskey.

"Thank you, Samuel," Josiah beamed. This was his regular haunt, and the bartender knew him quite well.

"Mr Trelawny, how are you this evening, can I get you anything else?" He asked.

Josiah smiled, "well as a matter of fact Samuel, there might be something else," he hesitated. "I'm after a little information. What can you tell me about the businessman, Jonas McKenzie?"

Samuel leaned a little closer to Josiah.

"From what I've heard Mr. Trelawny, he's not much of a businessman!" He whispered.

"Oh really!" Josiah slid some money across the counter, "tell me more!"

An hour later, Josiah was standing across the street from the McKenzie residence. He watched as a young street kid, delivered the letter, and the photograph of Emmeline in bloody shackles.

If the information he had gleaned from Samuel was true, then Jonas McKenzie would soon be in touch with his backer.

The truth of the matter was, Jonas McKenzie didn't actually have any money. It was all a front.

Of course he'd had money at one point, but he'd made a few bad decisions, lost pretty much everything. By rights he should have been in debtors prison. He wasn't and he had his daughter to thank for that. He didn't really think his daughter would thank him much at all if she'd known what he was doing.

Josiah watched and waited. After not more than a few minutes, the boy, who had been told to wait, ran off down the street.

Josiah had a good idea where he was going. He waited patiently. He didn't have to wait long, before a fancy carriage drew up outside the residence.

McKenzie came out the front door of his house, gesticulating madly with his arms.

Josiah peered through his binoculars, as the carriage door opened.

"Angelo Bronte!" he muttered under his breath.

The man disappeared inside. He hadn't come alone, and two of his men waited outside the front door, with two more accompanying Bronte and McKenzie into the house.

Josiah waited patiently. Whatever was going on in the house, probably wouldn't take long. One thing he did know, Bronte would be pissed. The question was, would he be pissed enough to pay two hundred thousand dollars. Only time would tell.

As he suspected, it didn't take long for the meeting between the two men to conclude. Bronte said something to one of his men, then he returned to the carriage, and the rest of the men, returned with him.

Within a few minutes of the carriage leaving the McKenzie residence, the man left behind exited from the back of the building, riding a horse.

Josiah whistled for his horse, and followed at a discreet distance.

The man headed to Rhodes. Josiah figured, that he wouldn't need Mary-Beth tomorrow. He was pretty sure that there would be no money left at Rhodes station.