14 hours

8. Post, rum and ladies

Primrose Town wasn't just a bigger city than Dirt, it had much more convenience. But there were no primroses, although the origin of the name was after the first settlers found a primrose in that place. But it had been the last primrose. One house after another was built and took more and more place.
Bill, Kinski, Stump and Chorizo on their roadrunners needed more than five minutes until they reached the middle of the city. Not only because of the longer street. The streets were full of farmer carts, city people and roadrunners. Stump couldn't resist and waved his hat at few ladies who stood on a balcony.
"Remember," Bill interrupted his joy. "We aren't here for pleasure."
"Yes, yes," Stump muttered with disappointment and tried to distract himself with something other.
Primrose Town was exactly the opposite of Dirt. General stores on both sides, even a toyshop.
Bill raised his arm and waved to the right side. The main post office stood not far away, but it was more difficult to find a place where they could tie their roadrunners.
After a while they found a free standing place and they climbed down.
While they tied the reins, Stump gave Kinski a sidekick.
"Do you believe that he could be hidden somewhere here?" He whispered.
Kinski looked around. "Mm, that could be."
"Stop talking, come on," Bill said and walked along the sidewalk to the post office, which was twice as big the little post house in their hometown.
Kinski took the chance to take a look at his pocket watch.
They had less than 10 hours until midnight.

"Finishing time at last."
The old postman adjusted his casual clothes.
"What a luck that I only have the Dirt route."
He opened the back door of the post office. The old cat had only crossed the door frame, suddenly two strong hands grabbed his shoulders and carried him away.
"What the... HEY!"
His protests were ignored. He was carried off around a lonely corner and they threw him to the ground.
The postman's eyes grew wide when he looked up into a familiar, for him joyless, face.
"No! Twice a day is too much!"
He covered his face when Bill snorted at him.
"Don't babble rubbish."
The Gila monster grabbed him on his jacket and tugged him to his feet. His three companions surrounded the old cat and watched him with some curiosity.
Bill grabbed the postman's front collar and looked at him darkly that everyone could blanch of fear.
"We aren't here to read some love letters. Just answer the question, who gave you the anonymous letters?"
The old man gasped when Bill added his tug.
"What letters?"
The lizard had expected that stupid question and held the two blackmailing letters on his nose.
"Has your brain awoken? Talk!"
The cat had to stand on his tiptoes when Bill lifted him higher.
"I- I really don't know," he stuttered. "I see them for the first time."
The tiptoes almost left the ground.
"Listen, stamp gluer," Bill hissed threateningly. "The letters have no postmark. Only you could have sorted it in the postbag."
"But I can't remember! Somebody must have pursed it into the postbag after I controlled them."
Stump petted over his chin. "In this case the fingerprints are from the person, who threw the letter in the postbag after he left the main post office."
Bill loosened his grip a little. "The blackmailer could be here in this town."
"Can I go home now?" the postman stuttered and lifted his trembling hand. "My wife is waiting for me."
Bill took him closer for the last time. "And you've seen nothing?"
The Gila monster's eyes spoke a clear language, but his expectations were disappointed.
"No," the man shook his head wildly. "Nothing."
Bill let him fall and the cat landed on his bottom.
"Again an impasse," Kinski repined.
"Not quite," Bill muttered.
Together they left the lonely alley and walked to the busy street while the cat stood up with a loud moan and rubbed his hurting back.
"At least we know it happened here." Bill stopped on the sidewalk and stood there with crossed arms. "But who?"
The big lizard narrowed his eyes and gave the impression of to look through the house walls.
"Bill?"
"Mm?"
He turned around to Stump.
"If the blackmailer or the accomplice of the blackmailer, had put the blackmailing letter in the postbag, somebody had seen it maybe."
"Nice, should we interview all people here?"
Chorizo lifted his hand. "Maybe we could make a circular note."
"Are you okay?" Kinski said sarcastically. "Stop your stupid jokes."
"Guys, we can't go on like this," Bill looked to the sky.
Kinski had put out his watch and waved the open housing in the air so that everyone could see the time.
"Time doesn't stop."
The loud growling of Bill let him wince and he put the pocket watch away.
Everyone knew that they needed a new hint immediately.
"Bill?" Chorizo asked with hesitation.
"Yes?"
"I'm thirsty."
"No bad idea, Bill," Stump helped along. "Maybe we could find someone who could give us a little help."
Before Bill could open his mouth, Stump spoke on faster.
"Sherlock Holmes had also visited bars to find out some information."
Bill gave in. "Alright, that had been my next suggestion anyway."

The saloon of Primrose Town was much bigger than the saloon in Dirt. Maybe thrice bigger. And of course with more luxury. And with much more people.
When they entered, a cloud of smoke and loud voices met them.
Men and women were sitting, standing, playing and drinking like they had never seen such an ado in Dirt.
"And now, little genius?" Bill hissed at Stump. "Who of them would Sherlock Holmes ask a question now?"
Stump rubbed his head. "Well, well, maybe we could... let's take a drink first."
With a wide smile he went through the rows of tables.
Bill growled and looked at Kinski and Chorizo.
"I swear, if that is over, I will kill that lizard."
Suddenly somebody grabbed him from behind. Bill twisted around with lifted fist.
"Hey, Billy, old house."
A big lizard, a little smaller than Bill and with a strong, scaly reptile skin, embraced him and clapped on his back. He wore a white, red flat hat, a dirty white jacket and dusty jeans and more dusty shoes.
The Gila monster was still so confused that he needed a few seconds before he realized who was holding him in his arms. "Clark? You here?"

"How long was your last prison stay?"
Clark laughed while Stump's question and poured himself a new glass.
They sat around a table, in a quieter corner of the saloon and the four gunslingers watched the lizard how he emptied the third little glass.
"Several times," Clark said amused. "My last sitting was one year. I sat so many times in prisons, I didn't count anymore."
"Like in the past," Bill muttered to himself and smiled mockingly.
The other lizard laughed.
"Yeah, those were the days where the west was still a west. You were a young boy when we stole our first roadrunners."
Bill snorted amused. "How can I forget? I'm still hearing the loud curses of the followers."
Clark spluttered when he was going to drink a new filled glass. "At least they didn't catch us, otherwise we would hang on trees until today."
Kinski took the bottle what Clark had ordered.
"Rum?"
Clark chuckled. "When I was a little boy, I wanted to be a pirate. But instead it remained a fella in the desert."
"With that hat?" Chorizo eyed the white, red banded headdress.
The spiny lizard took the hat and waved it. "I've found nothing better to steal to protect my head from the sun. I also had to steal that stuff."
He showed on the dirty white jacket.
"But it makes me younger, doesn't it?"
He donned the unusual hat again and took a new glass of rum.
"But why are you landed here?"
Now they remembered why they came here and Bill cleaned his throat with business sound.
"We have a little score to settle. Maybe you could help us."
Clark hesitated to hold the next glass to his lips.
"Can I?"
The Gila monster bent more forward and whispered, just to be sure that nobody else could hear them.
"Do you know something about a... kidnapped chameleon?"
Clark rolled his eyes to the ceiling and thought with a long "Mmmmm..... A chameleon? In the desert?"
"Not a chameleon," Stump added. "But the chameleon."
For a moment, Clark sat on his chair like stone. Then he lighted up his face.
"Oh, oh, ho, ho. You mean your new competitor? I've heard about it. That's so funny. Why do you want to hear... what was the question?"
"Weellllll," Kinski began and crossed his hands on his back of the head. "He is vanished, and we want to find him to... well."
"Just tell us, did you hear anything?" Bill tried again.
But Clark's face didn't show much hope. "Well, I can't refuse you anything, and I know many people in this town, but a kidnapped chameleon?"
He emptied his new filled glass.
"I didn't hear about. And you have to understand... My business is stealing and selling, but kidnapping and murdering, I gave it a wide berth. No offense."
He gave Bill a warm smile. "You have done well in your gunslinger job, but that's not my specialist area. And in my old ages..."
He shrugged his shoulders, but looked around with dismay when he saw the disappointment in his collocutor's face.
He swung the rest of rum in his glass and thought a moment.
"But maybe I could recommend you someone who has eyes and ears everywhere."
He chuckled.
"Oh, I'm sure you will like her."
"Her?" Stump asked with surprise.
"Blacky Mary. It's her alias and she knows her job. Oh, yes. Look at the wellness club."
"A club?" Now it was Bill who sounded surprised.
"Luxurious, with sweat bath, massage, dining area and an apartment with very, very nice ladies."
"What kind of ladies?" Chorizo asked curiously.
"Oh, as if you didn't know..."
"What did you mean with her?" Bill interrupted.
"She knows a lot of men. And knows every newest gossip in the town. Ask for Blacky Mary. Maybe she tells you what you want to hear. Ask her. She knows pretty much. Sometimes too much. I'm sure she could blackmail a lot of men, if she said their wives where they had spent the night. But she is very generous. That's the reason why so many confide one or two secrets to her.... Hey."
Bill had jumped up and went backwards.
"You are looking very young," the Gila monster joked. "We have to go now."
Clark waved the rum bottle. "Don't you want to take a drink with me?"
"We are pushed for time," Kinski said and followed their boss.
"Maybe another time," Stump said to him and left the surprised old lizard.

"Do I have to repeat it again? Or are you deaf?! No entry. We open in the evening again."
The doorman, a big wolf, crossed his arms. He was sturdily built, a hunk of a bodybuilder, who had come out of the back door of the wellness house. Behind him a door with the signs: Entrance. Employees only.
Bill pressed his fists together.
"We only want to talk with her," he asked with clenched teeth, but as polite as possible. "Just some questions."
"Ladies only."
Bill didn't want to challenge that behemoth for a fight and tried it at diplomatic level.
"And I only want some answers - only."
Kinski, Stump and Chorizo stood behind him and looked at the big doorkeeper with some tracks of fear.
"Excuse me, I'm late," a female voice twittered and a young female fox woman in red-black dress, black feather boa and a black hand-held fan appeared next to the four gunslingers.
The doorman's face became friendly immediately and stepped one big step aside.
"Go in."
The vixen eyed the four desert men and gave them a gentle smile.
"Oh, hi." She hid her lips behind the hand fan and chuckled. "I like bad boys."
She lowered the fan and kissed at them in the air.
Stump reciprocated her blandishment with a sheepish childish smile, but Bill rebuked him with a loud hissing.
With amused laughing the woman went through the door. The doorman followed her and was going to close the door.
"Hey!" Bill cried. "We..."
"It's closed."
With that the big bully slammed the door and let them standing there.
Chorizo sighed with deep disappointment. "Bad day for us, guys."
"You say it," added Stump and thought about how the woman would kiss his lips.
"And what now?" Kinski asked and put his hands in his trouser pockets.
The Gila monster was still staring at the door.
A few seconds of silence passed until Bill started to open his mouth with quiet voice.
"Ladies only," he muttered and looked behind at his friends.
"Ladies only," Stump repeated.
Bill nodded with neutral facial expression. "Mmh. Ladies only."
His glance stuck at his three companions and let his eyes wander over their heads.
"Uh, Bill?" Stump asked unsurely. "Anything wrong? You are looking so strange."
Chorizo and Stump realized that Bill's glance stopped on Kinski, who stood back most of them. They didn't understand and turned around to him.
Kinski looked around in confusion.
"What?"
Bill narrowed his eyes and rubbed thoughtfully over his chin. "Some people say, blond hair looks sexy."
Kinski's eyes wandered up and he blew over his blond bangs.
"Thank you."
He forced a smile and stroked over a strand of hair.
Just when Bill didn't avert his gaze from him, he realized that the hairstyle compliment wasn't a compliment to a man.
The rabbit's eyes grew wide. He looked at the wellness house, then back to Bill. He winced and shook his head slowly. "No."
A silence surrounded the four men.
Suddenly Kinski turned around, but before he could make one jump away, he felt Bill's strong hands on his shirt. Kinski fell with his upper body forward to the ground while he was pulled away on his pants.
"Bill! NO!"
The rabbit dug his fingers in the ground, but that was useless.
"Where do you bring me?!"

Clark is an old spiny lizard (Clark's spiny lizard, Sceloporus clarkii).