Crossfire

One characteristic of Matt Cordell in the book, Crossfire, by H Edward Hunsburger, is risky. Cordell risks his life by getting into gunfights to help recover the missing merchandise. He also risks the lives of his customers.

Matt Cordell has been noticed before for his outstanding recoveries. He had received a telegram from a woman, Elizabeth Talbert, who requested him to meet her at the Interocean Hotel. She had something important to ask him. When he got there, Mrs. Talbert told Cordell what was so important. She wanted Cordell to find her son, who had left a month ago to paint. She had money stored in a bank in Tucson, but it was never withdrawn. Cordell did not agree with it right away, but with Mrs. Talbert’s persuasive talking, he ended up taking the job. The catch was that Mrs. Talbert would go along, Cordell did not agree with this. The next day, they headed out.

While riding, they came upon a dead man. He had a bullet hole in his chest, and all of his pockets were turned inside out. The body had not been lying there long, and there were still tracks around the body and hoof prints from the horses. Cordell loaded the body onto the horse, and they rode to Benson.

When they got to Benson, they headed to the office of Sam Keaton, the sheriff. Sam was not a nice guy, and Cordell could tell from the beginning that there was something bad about him. Cordell talked to Sam about the killing and asked if Sam would arrange a proper burial.

When Mrs. Talbert and Cordell left, they went to the stable and met Jamie Kilcannon. Later, they went to the hotel and checked in. Cordell told Mrs. Talbert to meet him in an hour, and they would go get something to eat. But instead, Mrs. Talbert snuck out. When Cordell noticed that she was gone, it was already too late. She was in a bar with a bunch of rough men, and Cordell had to fight them to save her. They barely escaped and went back to the motel room.

Late that night when Cordell was sleeping, he heard the scraping of a key in the lock of his door. The person at the door was Meg Demsey, a saloon girl. She told Cordell that she had some information on Paul. She had a drawing of her signed by Paul.