Joshua walked over to one of the saloons and peered inside. It was empty, save for chairs and tables and a spotless chandelier that hung from the ceiling causing streams of rainbows to illuminate the wall.
A stairwell on either side led to a second story and Joshua surmised, based on the location of the stairs, that they led to rooms that looked out over main street. He climbed them and hesitantly opened the unlocked door, not knowing what he would find.
Joshua's intuitions about the rooms were correct. He walked into a corner room near the east stairwell and looked out the window that did not face the main street. A storage room jutted out of the main building below him, making for an easy escape, if he needed. The other window looked directly at the General Store. The room was decorated with plush pillows and a goose-down mattress.
"Ritzy," he thought. "Probably a whore's room. Easy to call out to the miners and townspeople walking along the main drag." Joshua searched the room and found a Bowie knife and a pair of throwing knives in the dresser drawer. "Better than nothing," he surmised. Although, not proficient with the knives, he somehow felt safer.
From the window, he could hear a vehicle approaching. Joshua positioned himself from a vantage point where he could see out the window, hiding himself behind the curtains. He could barely make out a black Sedan with tinted windows.
Now, all there was to do was wait to see who this supposed help was.
To be continued ...
