Chapter 16
It was now Thursday morning at 5:15 a.m., and Josh woke up without Maggie’s bell-ringing alarm clock.
After his morning bath, Josh headed to the Dining Hall for breakfast.
Meanwhile, over in Marshall Fisher’s mansion, Marshall Fisher, Jenny, and Anita ate breakfast in his dining room, where a crystal chandelier hung above the wooden table.
Bernard was a seventy-year-old butler that waited at one of the corners of the room for the Marshall’s orders.
They all had some pouched eggs, French toast, muffins, orange juice, and coffee on expensive fancy China plates.
“We’ll get married at 3:00 on Saturday. I’ve talked with Preacher Stan, and he will perform the ceremony,” Marshall Fisher said then he sipped his coffee.
Jenny picked at her food.
Marshall Fisher noticed Jenny and looked concerned. “What’s the matter, darling?”
“I guess I’m just a little nervous about our wedding,” she replied.
Marshall Fisher chuckled. “There’s nothing to be nervous about. I am the biggest catch here in Paradise.”
Over in the corner of the room, Bernard rolled his eyes over the Marshall’s comment.
Anita looked curious at her father. “Daddy, did you give my idea any thought?” she asked him.
Fisher took a sip of coffee. “I did,” he said, then he ate some French toast.
Anita’s eyes widen with anticipation of a good response.
“I believe it’s the stupidest idea I’ve ever heard in my entire life. Case closed,” he said, then he sipped some more coffee.
Anita looked deeply hurt. “If mom were alive, she would have loved my idea.”
“Well, she’s not here now, and I still think it’s stupid.”
Marshall Fisher drank the rest of his coffee and got up from the table. “Jenny, after we’re married, you’re no longer the town’s nurse. I’ll find someone else to perform that task,” he told her.
“But,” she said.
“It’s final. I need you here in our house raising our children. I’m thinking we’ll have five little Fisher’s running around here,” he said, interrupting her, then he looked at Anita.
“And after the wedding, Anita, I want you back at the Train House monitoring things. You can close it on Sunday and Monday to return to Paradise. But then I want you living back there from Tuesday through Saturday. Do you understand?” he told Anita in a raised tone.
“Yes, daddy,” Anita replied, knowing she wouldn’t win this argument.
Marshall Fisher walked out of the dining room.
Anita sat at the table, looked hurt, and upset with not being able to spend seven days a week with Josh.
Jenny looked miserable with the thought of bearing his children. She then looked determined to find a safe way out of Paradise.
Bernard walked over to the table and picked up the Marshall’s dirty dishes. He looked at the two ladies and felt sorry for them while he walked out of the dining room.
In the General Store, Josh swept the floor, which was almost a continuous job with the dirt streets in the town.
Josh swept the floor and headed to the wooden boxes of whiskey. He looked at them while he recalled the train rides last night and came up with an escape idea.
Cowboys Mitch and Dale walked into the store and to the cash register, where Melvin waited.
“Tell Marshall Fisher that the whiskey for his party is here, and I’ll have my boy deliver it to the mansion tomorrow,” he told the cowboys who nodded they got the message then walked out of the store.
Josh continued to slowly sweep the floor with a smirk.
“I’m going to the outhouse,” Josh called out from across the store at Melvin.
“Okay,” Melvin replied while he sat on a stool by the cash register and waited for a customer.
Josh walked to the rear door, leaned the broom up against the wall, and walked out of the store.
Josh rushed down the alley and went past the row of outhouses.
Josh continued to rush down the alley and headed to Doc Holloway’s Office building.
Doc Holloway walked out of the examination room and walked up to Jenny, who was dusting the central area.
“I’m going over to the Marshall’s Office. We’re going to pick out a new nurse, and it was nice working with you, Misses Fisher,” Doc Holloway said with a smirk.
Jenny continued to dust and watched while Doc Holloway went out through the front door.
Then she heard a tapping sound coming from the window of the rear door and saw Josh outside. She motioned for Josh to go inside the office.
Josh entered the office, and Jenny rushed over to him.
“Marshall Fisher is removing me as the town nurse. He wants me to stay in his mansion and raise five kids,” she said, then her body shivered at the thought of the Marshall’s naked body on top of her body. “He makes my skin crawl!”
Josh put his arms around Jenny and hugged her to show he cared. “I think I know how we can get out of his hell hole,” he quietly told her.
Jenny looked interested in why their bodies separated from the hug. “How?”
He looked over at the medicine cabinet with a smirk. “I think we could spike the bottles of whiskey just before the party, and then while the cowboys and the Fisher brothers are passed out, we sneak into the cave and escape,” he told her with a look of confidence.
She looked over at the medicine cabinet and smiled, liking his idea. “You’re on because I can’t stand the thought of that scum bag impregnating me,” she said, then looked curious. “How will we get the bottles?” she asked.
“That’s easy, Anita got me a job working at the General Store, and the boxes of whiskey are stored there. I can quickly spike them in the middle of the night,” he said.
Jenny thought about his proposal for a few seconds then she looked at the medicine cabinet. “I can come up with something that will react fast,” she replied.
“I also thought we would give some bottles to the Indians so they’ll be passed out,” he added.
“Your plan sounds doable, and it’s our only chance,” she said and looked happy over the thought of getting out of his town.
Then Josh’s look of confidence turned to a look of concern. “But we have one huge obstacle to climb, and that’s obtaining the instructions for the machine in the cave. According to Anita, the Marshall has a copy of those instructions in his mansion,” he added.
Jenny thought for a few seconds. “He probably has them kept in his desk in his den,” she told him.
“I hate to ask you this, but do you think you can write down the instructions in the middle of the night?”
Jenny thought about his request. “It’s worth getting hungover, as I don’t want his old thing inside me,” she replied and looked determined.
“Great!” Now, I better get back to the store before Melvin starts asking too many questions,” he said then gave her a quick kiss on the lips. “Make the concoction and hide it under the bed,” he added while he pointed to the bedroom near the back door.
Josh gave her a kiss on the lips. “We’ll have to meet in the rear of the General Store after I deliver the whiskey bottles, and the cowboys start drinking,” he said then gave her another quick kiss on the lips.
Josh went out the back door, rushed through the alley, and headed to the General Store.
Josh entered the General Store and picked up his broom.
“What took you so long?” Melvin asked from behind the cash register.
“Ah, sorry, there was a line of people,” Josh fibbed.
“Whatever, I’m taking a break,” Melvin said, then removed his apron and headed to the front door. “Take over the register,” he added while he walked out of the store.
Josh leaned the broom up against the wall by the rear door, and he headed over to the front door.
Josh watched while Melvin rushed down Paradise Lane and headed to the Paradise House for his daily dose of one of the whores. “Please don’t let it be Linda,” Josh said under his breath while he watched Melvin go inside the Paradise House of Pleasure.
Then Josh spotted Anita while she strolled down the street, and he gave her a wave to catch her attention.
Anita spotted Josh, waved back, and rushed down the street toward the General Store.
“Hey baby,” Anita said the second she stepped on the porch.
Josh gave her a light kiss on the lips.
“I can’t wait to be your wife on Saturday. We’re going to have a great life!” she said with sparkles in her eyes.
Across Paradise Lane, Harold glanced over at the General Store, and he looked jealous over the sight of Anita and Josh. He moped down the street and headed toward the saloon to drink away his depression over not being able to have Anita.
Josh escorted Anita inside the store, where she stayed with him until Melvin returned from the Paradise House of Pleasure.
After Josh finished working at the General Store, he returned to his hotel room and relaxed for a little while.
Josh ate all by himself at the Dining Hall while Jenny and Anita ate dinner in the mansion. Anita talked to Marshall Fisher, and he agreed to let Josh eat breakfast in the mansion in the morning.
After dinner, Anita rushed out of the mansion and waited for Josh to exit the Dining Hall.
They took a stroll around Paradise, where the music of hammers pounding filled the air while workers built a wooden stage at the far end of Paradise Lane by the Undertaker and Laundry buildings.
While they walked up and down Paradise Lane, Josh saw the kerosene lanterns burning in Doc Holloway’s building. He knew Jenny was inside working on her end of their plan.
After they strolled down the streets, they cuddled while they took a ride on the Paradise Express. All during the trip, Josh checked out the Indians at the cave and in their camp.
After the ride, Josh gave her a goodnight kiss then he told her he wanted to get a good night’s sleep for tomorrow’s party.
She skipped off down the dirt streets and headed back to the mansion.
Josh went into his hotel room, where he relaxed and started feeling a little guilty about misleading Anita.
Meanwhile, Jenny lay awake in her nightgown on top of her bed in her temporary bedroom in Marshall Fisher’s mansion. She stared at the ceiling and listened to make sure everybody was sound asleep before she started snooping around the den.
It had been quiet for the past hour, and she felt the coast was clear since she knew Anita was out in the town, and Marshall Fisher was supervising the construction at the end of Paradise Lane.
She quietly got out of bed and rushed across the wooden floor.
She opened her door ever so slowly and peeked out in the hall. It was quiet, so she tiptoed out into the hall.
She rushed past Marshall Fisher’s bedroom, and the floor squeaked a little, but she didn’t care.
She rushed down the stairs, and the coast was still clear.
She rushed down the first-floor hall and got to the den.
She rushed over to the huge mahogany desk in the center of the room.
She quickly sat down, opened up the top drawer, and saw it contained a Colt 45 pistol, holster, and a box of bullets. She closed that drawer and opened up the middle drawer and saw a bottle of whiskey and a shot glass.
She closed that drawer and opened up the bottom larger drawer and saw a bunch of file folders. She pulled out the file folders and opened one of the folders and saw it contained a copy of a rap sheet for Tony Moore for raping women.
He opened up another file folder and saw it contained a copy of a rap sheet for Butch Harrison for raping young boys.
She opened up the other folders, and they contained rap sheets for all the cowboys for robbery, rape, or assault and battery.
“This doesn’t surprise me,” she quietly said to herself while she placed them back in the bottom drawer.
“No!” a woman’s voice screamed out in the hall near the den.
Jenny quickly ducked under the desk.
“Please don’t!” the woman cried out.
Jenny was curious about that woman’s cries for help, but she also wanted those instructions. She quietly opened up and rummaged through another drawer on the other side of the desk. She found some pages, and her eyes widened when she saw the instructions for operating the machine.
“Oh, please let me go!” the woman’s voice got louder.
Jenny quickly ducked down and peeked around the bottom of the desk.
From the doorway, she saw cowboys Tony, Dave, Bart, and Jesse manhandle Nora Norris, a twenty-nine-year-old beautiful brunette woman down the hall. Nora fought to get freed, but the cowboys were too strong.
Jenny heard Nora’s shoes while they dragged up the stairs.
Jenny quietly got out from under the desk. She folded the instructions and tucked them into the bosom of her nightgown.
She cautiously and quietly walked out of the den.
She tiptoed down the hall and headed to the stairs.
Jenny tiptoed down the hall.
“You can’t do this!” Nora screamed out from a closed bedroom door across the hall from Marshall Fisher’s bedroom.
Jenny stopped and placed her ear on the door to hear what was going on inside the bedroom.
“Shut up!” Marshall Fisher yelled out, then the sound of him slapping Nora was heard from the room.
“Remove your clothes!” Marshall Fisher yelled from the bedroom.
Jenny listened in horror and couldn’t believe her eyes.
“What are you doing?” Anita asked while she walked up behind Jenny and saw her ear plastered to the bedroom door.
Jenny turned around and got nervous when she saw Anita behind her.
“I think your father and some of the cowboys are raping a woman,” Jenny told Anita.
“Yeah, right,” Anita replied and looked suspicious of Jenny. “No way.”
Jenny and Anita both heard Nora’s scream from the bedroom and the sound of clothes being torn while cowboys Tony and Dave ripped her dress off her body.
“Please let me go back to my room,” Nora pleaded from inside the bedroom.
Jenny and Anita heard Nora being slapped a few times inside the room.
Anita couldn’t believe her ears, so she also plastered her ear to the door.
They heard some shuffling inside the room, then it got quiet.
“Go, Eddie! Go Eddie!” cowboy Tony was heard coaching Marshall Fisher.
“Screw that bitch, Eddie,” cowboy Dave was heard from inside the room.
Jenny and Anita listened in horror to Nora being raped inside the bedroom.
“Ahhh!” Marshall Fisher cried out when he had an orgasm.
“I’m next!” cowboy Bart called out from the room.
Anita and Jenny listened while Bart grunted during his raping of Nora, who remained silent.
Anita and Jenny stepped away from the bedroom door, stunned.
Jenny grabbed Anita’s hand and walked her down the hall.
She walked Anita into her bedroom and closed the door.
Anita paced around the bedroom in disbelief. “I can’t believe daddy would do this.”
“I’m sorry to say this, but he’s not the person you think he is.”
Anita stopped pacing and thought for a few seconds while they knew Nora was gang-raped in that bedroom.
Jenny looked hesitant and pondered if she could say be the bearer of more horrible news. “I believe all the women who are pregnant in Paradise were raped by your father and or his sleazy cowboys,” she decided to tell.
Anita thought about that news for a few seconds. “Daddy got out of a rape case five years ago,” she told Jenny while she paced some more then it dawned on her. “He must have bought his way out of it,” she said then thought about that for a few more seconds. “Damn it. I thought he was really innocent,” she added and got pissed.
Jenny looked curiously at Anita. “What happened to your mother?”
“Eddie Fisher isn’t my real father. My real father died in a car accident due to a leaky brake line. Then a few months later, my mom married Eddie. Then she died after being beaten and raped while in a shopping mall parking lot at night. The mansion and her millions of money were from my mother’s family, but she left me fifty-five percent of the estate. Edie got the other forty-five percent,” Anita said while her eyes welled up. “I miss mom.”
Jenny hugged Anita for support, but something about that story was suspicious. “He needs to be stopped.”
Anita thought about Jenny’s comment for a few seconds. “I know, but we don’t have the Calvary to call.”
Jenny thought for a few seconds then she smiled with an idea. “You just never know.”
Anita looked hurt. “Daddy thought my new idea for turning this place into a fantasy vacation spot was stupid.”
“Don’t give up on your dreams just yet. Things can change,” Jenny replied with an air of confidence.
“We could do other historical places. Just make a model, and his machine invention will make it come alive. Medieval times with knights would be awesome,” Anita said with a spark in her eyes on visualizing that dream come true.
Jenny got a smirk while she looked at Anita. “You better get to your room before your father sees you out and about,” Jenny told her.
“You’re right,” Anita said, then walked to the door, quietly left, and headed to her room.
Jenny walked over and got under the covers.
Anita rushed to her bed and plopped down and sobbed into her pillow over the thoughts of her stepfather being a rapist.
Then she heard the commotion of the cowboys taking Nora, who wept, out of the bedroom, and escorted her down the hall.
Anita’s eyes welled up in sympathy for Nora.