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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Silver Moon" data-source="post: 3281264" data-attributes="member: 8530">Chapter One-hundred-thirty-one “The First Debate“, Sunday June 11th, 1882, 3:00 P.M. Marshal Berg had told Chester, "Helen and I will head over and get Mr. Snavely.” Regarding Chet’s idea of accompanying the Sheriff Deputies back to the Crazy-8 Berg states ”Good idea, but I'd rather send Neil with them. There's already enough tension between you and those boys from Sheriff's Office given that you and Jeff Mills live at the same place."Midway through the afternoon Minerva and Nakomo are interrupted by a knock on the door. She looks up to see roofer Tim Gorch accompanied by two other men. His companions are tall burley men wearing western garb. He introduces them to his cousins, Lyle and Tector Gorch from Abilene Texas.   Tim says, "We'd like to finish up the roof on the Sheriff's Office and Jail. We figure with four of us working we should be able to get most of it done this afternoon and finish it in the morning."Minerva stays behind to pray and prepare for the burial services, Hoping that she will be finished in time to attend the evening's rallies.   She admonishes Nakomo and the men to drink plenty of water and keep themselves covered up before turning to her task.   Nakomo spends the afternoon with Tim Gorch and his cousins, Lyle and Tector Gorch Working on the roof of the Sheriff’s office.  The afternoon goes by swiftly. Nakomo asks Lyle and Tector "So what brings you up here from Abilene Texas? It seems like a long way to go to repair a roof."Lyle turns to Tector and says "Did you just hear a low-life elf daring to speak to his betters?" Tector replies, "Nope, must have just been the wind. The only thing I do with elves is kill 'em." Tim Gorch yells over "Shut up and get back to work guys, the sooner we finish this job the sooner we can start on Adair's which will be really good pay. Leave the kid alone, free labor is free labor."  Nakomo's ears turn red at the nasty remarks but he turns away without responding and continues laying down the roof. He spends the rest of the afternoon listening in on their conversations.Kate left the bath house cleaner of body if not of mind and headed to the Lucky Lady looking for Jake, who was sitting downstairs just finishing a meal. "I've been learning some interesting things today," Kate said when she arrived at his table. "Mind if I share?"    "I am always eager to hear about interesting things. Please, sit down. Would you like Maria to bring you some food?" Jake seems quite at ease and in a fine mood."Now that I think about it, I haven't eaten since my breakfast was interrupted this morning. I'd better eat, even though I don't feel much like it.  Kate reached into her pocketbook and pulled out one of the little paper packets she kept there. She deftly dropped the powder into the candle burning on the table to create some privacy. "I had a visit from Wyatt Earp today. Apparently he was looking for you, but you weren't home so he came to the ranch. Seems he took down another one he suspected in Morgan's killing and buried him. Yet, despite his death, Bronco Madsen is still running for council on Fisk's ticket and was at the Liberty party rally. All that's left of the grave Earp put him in is a dug up hole."Jake raises an eyebrow when Katherine uses magic to silence their conversation.  "Are you saying that Madsen is a vampire? Or is there some other foul way to bring him back? Be a good way to discredit Fisk if somehow Madsen could be discovered and destroyed by daylight or some such thing in front of witnesses. Is he scheduled to debate at some point? That could prove interesting. On the other hand, what if someone is just masquerading as Madsen. You know, with one of those magic devices that changes your appearance. This gets more complicated by the minute."She replies, "Vampire seems like the best bet to me. And it gets even better.  Earp was talking about Monsieur DuMont, Madge's supposed teacher. We both know better than that. The interesting part is that Earp seems to think he's seen DuMont around, teaching magic to some of the miners at the Beatrice mine. He thinks DuMont has disguised himself as someone named Pierce and someone named Murdock before and works for the Cowboy Gang."  Kate closed her eyes and shook her head. "And I was talking with my teacher barely more than an hour ago and it didn't even occur to me to tell him. He needs to know this too.""That might explain things somewhat and give me the tie in to Messier. If Vaughn Palmer, Nick Goudge, and Stephen Murdock are really all the same man and he was indeed Ringo's number two guy then we are starting to get somewhere. It may prove fortunate the Earp has come to believe DuMont is another of his disguises. We just need to plant the story that Madge found out her 'teacher' was not the nice person she thought he was and fled. If Earp believes that and this wizard can be eliminated then Madge could come back if she chose. Feel free to share that little bit of thinking if it seems useful. That would be just speculating on my part since I do not know anything." Jake gives her a wink.Kate replies, "I'm guessing since Earp was looking for you this morning he's sought you out with information before. You might as well know he's been talking to us at the ranch as well, and he's holed up in the caves there once or twice. Since I'm not usually there I don't know how often he's done it. He was the one who told me Thayer's men were watching our place and kept an eye out as to why.   I've been quiet about that because I didn't want to put Chester in a bad situation. But Earp wants the information about Madsen passed onto the Marshals. Chester has been good about not asking where I've learned things, though."Jake replies, "Yes, Earp has. Same deal, I kept it to myself to keep Chet out of it. That and to keep the information coming."    Kate says, “The information was handy too. Mr. Gonzales is going to stay out at the ranch for a few days to make sure Earp doesn't come around again. Conrad saw him there today and we fought about it." Kate rubbed the back of her neck. "So you're likely to be our last connection to him. He said he didn't see anything having to do with this morning's attacks; he was out at the Crazy-8 all night."   Jake nods but does not comment. Maria brought out a loaded plate and Kate began to dutifully eat the dinner without much noticing what it was. "Do you think you could escort Ginnie and I back to the ranch tonight? I don't want to sleep in the school building, but I have to go to the debate and put in an appearance at the rally before I can go and it'll be dark by then."   He replies, "I am not playing tonight. I can do that for you. I wonder if Conrad would want to join us for the ride too? Just to keep me company on the way back of course." There is the faintest upturn of a smile on one side of his face which is otherwise unreadable. Kate became suddenly very interested in her food. "There's safety in numbers. I certainly wouldn't expect you to ride back alone when I don't want to ride out that way. He might be playing tonight, I'm not sure."   Jake says, "If you see him, ask him. Otherwise I am certain I can find someone else to tag along."  Kate nodded but kept her eyes on her plate. "We didn't hear anything from the Vampire hunters today, did we?" Jake answers, "Not I. Things were pretty quiet here after this mornings excitement. Except for Lumley's little announcement that his political party mates were out to do in the saloons that were not supporting Adair's party, it was fairly dull."   She says, "Considering Adair doesn't have a saloon anymore, that would be a trick. There are people in town who just aren't going to frequent the kind of places joined up with Adair. It's not the atmosphere they want. So they either want to legislate you out, or use violence, neither one of which I'd put past them." Jake answers, "I am certain our good Mr. Adair would not limit himself to just those two options if he could find others. If he can be kept busy with other problems and did not have time for us, that would suit me fine. What exactly that might be escapes me just now."   She says, "I'm sure you'll think of something, I have faith in you." Kate's plate was finally empty, and she did feel better for the food. "I should get over to the debate. The sooner started, the sooner done and I can go home." Jake reaches into his pocket and retrieves the pocket watch he won in a card game, "You are almost late. I suppose I should go as well. No doubt the discussion will be all about me." Jake gives her a smirk and rises from his seat. "After you."A grim faced Nakomo slams the door behind him as he enters the house. Minerva peeks her head out from her office. "By the gods, Nakomo be a little quieter..." she strides into the room. "What' s wrong."  "Nothing I haven't dealt with before, Miss Minerva. Those <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /><img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /><img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /><img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /> eyed, empty headed fools just don't like elves is all." He continues to slam around the room. "They would have thrown me off the roof but they thought that I was worth the free labor. Arghh.. I know I shouldn't let it bother me, The Yavapai treated me the same way, heck most of the human kids treated me like dirt too, but I was hoping that things would be different here." His face reddens as he tries to control his emotions. "I just want to be like everybody else.“  He slams down his hat and kicks it. "I sure as heck don't know how Diana expects me to change the black hearts of such egotistical bastards." The Priestess nods in understanding. "Si, It is frustrating. The gods often give us a mission without telling us how to accomplish it. But Diana would not have asked you to do this if you did not have the tools to make it happen. It is for you to find the method, but you must have patience. I doubt that you will convert the entire town over night. Perhaps you should try to win over one <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /><img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /><img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /><img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />-eyed egotistical bastard at a time?" she pauses. "Diana said that you understood both worlds, that you are the best of both worlds. You must discover what those attributes are. Understanding is the first step toward enlightenment. Understanding of yourself as well as the minds of others." she pats his shoulder "I am sure that you will figure it out." "I know that they fear what they do not know. " He sighs. "l will just have to enlighten them by making myself known."  Minerva looks up and down his grimy form. "But for now you need to get cleaned up so that we can go to the debates so that we can become a bit more enlightened about the town council candidates. Hurry now. We do not want to be late. I am sure that it will be quite entertaining as well."  Nakomo gets cleaned up while Minerva makes him a quick meal of meat and cheese. "We cannot wait for Nanuet. Hopefully he will meet us there."  At the time gets toward 7:00 PM many of the people in town make their way over to the Town Hall for the evening's scheduled debate. Chumbley is standing outside selling today's edition of the paper, which has stories about the fire that actually don't contain much more information than is already known. On page two is a glowing tribute to the firefighters including interviews with both Jeff Mills and Judge Lacey.   People gather around in the hundred-or-so chairs that have been set up. In the center of the stage is a podium and nine chairs have been arranged beside it, four to one side, five to the other. Judge Isby approaches the podium and says “Welcome to the first of three debates for positions on the Town Council. The other two Town Council debates will be held the next to nights at the same time and place. Candidates for each debate were chosen Saturday by lot. Each night will feature candidates from all five registered political parties. We will hold a similar debate on Wednesday night for the Town Marshall position and on Thursday night for the Mayoral position." The nine candidates then walk out on stage, each standing in front of their appointed seat, arranged alphabetically by last name. The Judge continues, "Tonight’s debate features from left to right Deputy Marshall Helen Barker who along with her husband owns Barker’s Photography Studio and is with the Unity Party, Zebadiah Cooke who along with his wife owns Cook’s General Store and is with the Law and Order Party, Tector Driscoll who owns Discoll’s Tannery and is with the Freedom Party, Manuel Escobar who works for the Rocking-H Ranch and is with the Unity Party, Roger Fly who with his wife owns Fly’s Boarding House and Fly’s Photography Studio and is with the Integrity Party, Denny Guerin who owns the Rattlesnake Ranch and is with the Liberty Party, Steve Lord who owns the Alhambra Saloon and is with the Freedom Party, Calvin Oldfield who along with his wife owns the Circle-R Ranch and is with the Law and Order Party and Attorney Elihu Upton who owns Upton’s Counting House and Brokerage. Members of the audience are to refrain from speaking directly to the candidates but may submit questions in writing to the Moderator. Written questions should state which candidate the question is for. If a candidate’s answer references another individual on stage or another political party that individual or party’s representative may make a response once the first person has finished speaking. Continued rebuttals on that same point will be permitted until the Moderator feels that the topic has been exhausted." Kate slipped into the room just as Judge Isby was finishing his explanation and found a seat near the back.   Jake enters just after Katherine, and in contrast stands at the back for a minute unconcerned that he is coming in late. After scanning the room and taking in who is there he takes a seat in the middle of the room.   Nakomo and Minerva rush over to the town hall and find a couple of seats at the back of the room just as Zebediah Cook is being asked the first question.The Judge states, “Mr. Cook, the Law and Order Party has listed a party platform imposing curfews upon drinking establishments in town. Do you agree with that decision?” Cook replies, “I do in practice, however I am flexible as to what the specific hours should be, feeling it is something that the elected Town Council will need to decide.” Isby takes another card and reads, “The next question is to Steve Lord. At present the Alhambra is a one-person operation. How is it that you will have time to serve the town or even know what the wishes are the town are when you are always inside your own building?” Lord replies, “If elected I plan to hire a part-time bartender. I am also close friends with both Hez Chumbley, the Editor of the Promise City Mirror and the Western Union Telegraph Operator Dave Melany so am frequently updated by them as to the happenings in town, so do not feel that I am uninformed. For that matter, both of those men have assisted me before with the saloon, so it is not entirely a one-person operation.” Isby says, “The next question is to Tector Driscoll.” He reads, “Your former tannery building was seriously damaged in this morning’s attack by masked hoodlums. How as a member of the Town Council would you help protect the town from future attacks?”   He replies, “I’ll do that by making sure that outlaws know they aren’t welcome here! I’ll also make sure that we have skilled lawmen instead of the incompetent fools we have today!” At that Helen Barker raises her hand to be recognized and the Judge gestures that she may speak. She says, “The Marshall’s Office has been actively working on this case. Mr. Driscoll may not be aware of it but an arrest has been made in the case and the individual will stand trial tomorrow.” Driscoll replies, “Yeah, I know you got the National Bank’s junior teller Jason Snavely, and that his buddy Upton here is his lawyer. But you still haven’t arrested Snavely’s boss Derrick Avery yet! Snavely wouldn’t even consider going to the outhouse without Avery’s permission! It’s obvious to everyone except these idiot lawmen and lawwoman that Avery and his so-called Integrity Party were the ones behind the attack!” Helen states her reply as Integrity Party members Fly and Upton both raise their hands to be recognized. She says, “Other arrests will be pending but as of now there is no evidence that Mr. Avery had anything to do with this! He was with us all in Church when the attack occurred!” Driscoll says, “Sure he was, that was his alibi! Seven riders attacked the town this morning. According to the newspaper, last night when they visited that Dwarf’s mine there were eight of them! Avery was obviously showing the others what to do yesterday!” Isby pounds his gavel and says, “That is quite enough Mr. Driscoll! The details regarding this law enforcement matter will come out tomorrow morning in my courtroom, not today from your unfounded speculation. Mr. Fly, I believe that you wished to speak?” Fly says, “I do, Mr. Driscoll, the Integrity Party had nothing to do with this morning’s attack other than being its victims! Our Marshall Candidate Michael Seawell’s business was destroyed and I lost my photography studio! They also attempted to blow up my boarding house.” Driscoll says, “We don’t really know if that guy was after your boarding house or not since he was stopped first. As for your photo studio, I find it very convenient that you just happened to remove all of your equipment from it last night in advance of the attack. Why would you do that unless you knew it was coming?” Fly replies, “I had no such advanced knowledge! Yesterday’s Wells Fargo Stage brought my brother Buck a crate of new photographic equipment to replace that which he lost in the Tombstone Fire. I brought mine equipment inside the boarding house so that we could make a side-by-side comparison of each and determine what to use until Buck moves back to Tombstone.” Driscoll replies, “Why should we believe one word that you say Fly? You’re even dishonest to your wife! You claim to be a wholesome family man but whenever you visited your brother before in Tombstone you would sneak off and spend hours with the ladies at the Birdcage Theater brothel!”   Judge Isby pounds the gavel and says, “That’s quite enough Mr. Driscoll!” The color drains from Roger Fly’s face. Janet Fly gives off a shriek and then quickly exits the room. Seeing that, Roger Fly immediately leaves the stage to go after her.  Before exiting out the door Roger Fly turns and angrily yells back to Driscoll “If you know so much about my Tombstone activities then you also know I never touched one woman at the Birdcage, all I did there was play the piano.” He slams the door loudly behind him. Upton still has his hands raised but Isby gestures for him to lower it and says, “Let’s move on to another topic.”Kate sighed to herself and thinks That didn't take long, let's hope this whole thing doesn't devolve into an exercise in character assassination.For the next twenty minutes questions are asked to several of the candidates about their philosophy towards town management with get non-inflammatory answers about wanting to do the best for the town. Manuel Escobar gets a chance to talk about how proud he is of the people of Promise City who he welcomes as friendly neighbors to his long-time home. The room becomes a bit heated when Steve Lord’s answer to a question directly attacks the written platform of the Law and Order Party. This leads to exchanges back-and-forth between him and both Zeb Cook and Calvin Oldfield in defense of their party’s platform. Driscoll also raises his hand to be recognized during this although Isby ignores him. Next, Elihu Upton is asked a question regarding his background and he talks of his success in law school and prior experience managing an insurance brokerage. This is followed by a question to Denny Guerin about his availability due to the Rattlesnake Farm’s distance from town. He indicates that he plans to be more actively involved with the town than he has before. The next is a question to Tector Driscoll about his position on firearms being allowed on the public streets. He says, “The wild west is a dangerous place, people should be allowed to carry personal protection. But I support the right of merchants to have gun checks within their establishments to keep their patrons safe.”   Jake becomes bored with the proceedings and moves to stand in the back of the room near the door way.The next question is to Zebadiah Cook and states “The Law and Order Platform calls for the elimination of prostitution within the town. Wouldn’t that have a detrimental impact on the overall business of the saloons?” Cook replies, “No it would not. A number of establishments in this town including Mr. Lord’s Alhambra as well as the Comique and Lucky Lady do not have prostitution and they have been successful.” Lord asks to be recognized and says, “Thank you Mr. Cook, although your answer is somewhat in error. I know for a fact that Lucky Lady Dance Hall and Saloon now promotes prostitution, which is a deplorable situation given that one of the owners is a six-year-old boy.” Helen Barker raises her hand and interjects, “Judge, may I speak? I am the guardian of that aforementioned boy.” Judge Isby says, “Yes, you may.” Helen says, “Mr. Lord is in error. The Lucky Lady does not promote prostitution, that has been its longstanding policy since back when the Whipples owned it as the Lone Star!” Lord replies, “I’m sorry to inform you then that the management’s attitude has changed Mrs. Barker. With the upcoming poker tournament sponsored by the Lucky Lady the owners have made arrangements for several of the players to spend time with harlots, those services being included as a part of the tournament entrance fee. Buying prostitutes for their customers is clearly promoting prostitution. The fact that they have made arrangements for those liaisons to take place at other locations rather than directly under their own roof merely speaks to the hypocrisy of the owners!”   Helen stares towards the back of the room, looking directly into Jake Cook's eyes and replies in a stern voice, “My ward knows nothing of that Mr. Lord and I will investigate further into those allegations.”    Jake stands upright and puts a hand in his trouser pocket. "No, the Lucky Lady does not offer prostitution. The policy of that establishment has not changed. Mr. Van Horne, new to the ownership is sponsoring the tournament. The Lady itself is not the tournament sponsor, we are merely providing the venue for a price. If Mr. Van Horne is including other services in his price of entry, I have no knowledge of it. You can make all the claims that you wish about what the Lucky Lady does and does not promote. The fact of the matter is we do not make judgment on the topic. We simply choose to not offer that service for business reasons. The Lucky Lady is a saloon that caters to its patrons and is not looking to make a political statement about the private lives of citizens. Sorry to disappoint you Mr. Lord." Jake ends with a confident smile on his face.Judge Isby pounds his gavel and says "Mr. Cook, perhaps you did not think I was serious when at the start of the debate I stated that 'Members of the audience are to refrain from speaking directly to the candidates'. I can assure you, I was very serious indeed. Mr. Tomlinson, kindly escort Mr. Cook over to the Arizona Territorial Office Building so that he and I can have a discussion later on what the punishment should be for his inappropriate outburst." Kevin Tomlinson approaches Jake and gestures towards the door.  Jake shrugs, waves goodbye to the crowd and exits the room.Kate says to herself  “Hopefully Judge Isby wouldn't be too hard on Jake tonight.” She doubted he'd heard the original warning, and he was supposed to take her out to the ranch later on.   A debate ensues between Denny Geurin and Helen Barker about the role of women in town after Geurin makes the comment that "Women don't belong on the Town Council, they should stay in the kitchen and bedroom where they belong."  Kate balled up her fists and bit her tongue as she listened to Mr. Guerin spout his offensive and downright crude drivel. And this was supposed to be the quiet debate. Considering how some of the candidates were attacking the others, Kate was very glad she was not running for office.Helen Barker gets the last word on the women’s rights debate when she concludes, "As to the woman's place being in the kitchen, while I admit that there are a number of women in this town who are indeed excellent cooks I consider our town's best cook to be the Silver Dollar Restaurant's Walter O'Reilly." That elicits a laugh from the audience.  Judge Isby says, "By my pocket watch it is now 8:30 P.M. which was the scheduled time for this debate to end. I declare us adjourned." He pounds the gavel. The candidates begin to leave the stage.</blockquote>

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