“Fair enough, William. You sound like you’re from Texas.”
“El Paso,” the prisoner said. “And I damn sure wish that I was back there now.”
“You should have thought about that before you started robbing trains and raping innocent passengers.”
“Yeah,” William said, “but it was a lot of damned fun while it lasted.”
“You bet it was!” Jack crowed. “Them last two girls was-“
“Save it for the judge and jury,” Longarm warned. “I don’t want to hear about it.”
Jack’s eyes widened. He was a big man with a three-day-old beard and wild blue eyes. Cleaned up, he would probably be handsome. But now, covered with dirt and trying to sound tough, he just made Longarm sick.
“I’m escaping!” Jack shouted before turning away. “Ain’t no way that I’m going to be hanged like them three last night. I saw how bad they died. The mob didn’t even drop ‘em! They just put nooses around their necks and hauled ‘em up about three feet into the air. Luke got lucky and his neck broke because he was thrashing around so hard, but Joe and Clancy … well, I’d rather take a bullet any old day, Marshal.”
“Yeah,” Longarm said, going over to sit with his feet up on Walker’s desk. “The only promise I can make is that you’ll be properly hanged, not strangled like your friends.” Ten minutes later there was another pounding at the door.
“Who is it!” Longarm called, dropping his feet to the floor.
“It’s Lola.”
“Who?”
“Lola! I have a message from Marshal Walker.”
Longarm remembered that Lola was the beautiful whore that Walker had taken such a shine to that he’d even invited her to come to Auburn. “Just a minute,” he said.
He unbolted the door and opened it a crack. It was Lola, all right, and she looked as pretty as a rose with her black hair and slender but curvaceous body.
“What are you doing here?” Longarm asked, letting the young woman inside.
“I was over at the doctor’s office when Pete woke up. He’s real worried about you and wanted to come over, but Dr. Davis wouldn’t let him.”
“Go back and tell Pete that everything is under control. The best thing he can do is to help get a judge and another marshal here as soon as possible.”
“I will tell him,” Lola said, glancing past Longarm toward his prisoners. She walked around Longarm to stand in the middle of the office. “I heard that these pigs squealed pretty loud last night, eh?”
“Shut up, you whore!” Jack screamed. “If I ever get my hands on you, Lola, I’ll make you scream!”
Lola spat at the man, and Longarm saw pure hatred transform her pretty face for a moment before she turned on her high heels and walked back to the front door.
“I will go to bring you food,” she said, “if you have a little money.”
Longarm had to smile. He thought it very likely that if he gave Lola any money, she would just spend it on herself. And yet he was famished, and curious whether he was right about her or not.
He dug into his pockets and pulled out a few dollars. “Here. We could use a pot of coffee and three breakfasts.”
“The hell with them,” she said. “I bring you food, let them starve!”
“Bring us all something,” Longarm told her.
She dipped her chin. “Okay. I’ll be back soon.”
Longarm let her outside saying, “Give my best to Marshal Walker. Tell him I’ve got things under control here at the jail and just to rest and not worry until he feels strong enough to come and help.”
“He’s very weak,” Lola replied. “The doctor said that he nearly bled to death. That he would have bled to death if you hadn’t known exactly what to do. But he has a good marshal friend in Placerville. Anyway, he’s already had a telegram sent asking him to come over and give you a hand.”
“That’s the best news I’ve heard in a while,” Longarm said. “And Lola, thanks.”
When she smiled, she looked as young, wholesome, and innocent as a schoolgirl. Longarm had a very powerful impulse to touch her, but resisted.
When the door closed, Jack hissed, “So when she comes back with food, why don’t we all screw her for a couple of hours, Marshal! Might as well have ourselves some fun while we wait and see what’s going to happen next.”
“Shut up,” Longarm ordered, returning to his chair.
“She’s good,” Jack persisted. “Lola is just as good as she looks.”
Longarm ignored the Man. He knew that Jack was trying to get him riled enough to go into the cell, where the prisoner hoped to be able to overpower him and make a desperate bid for freedom. Well, it wasn’t going to happen. Maybe that kind of tactic could work with a fool like Marshal Quaid, but not with Longarm.
Nearly an hour passed before Lola returned with a big picnic basket of hot food and a pot of strong black coffee. Longarm divided the food into thirds. Then he and his prisoners ate hungrily while Lola sat and watched.
When they were finished, Lola collected the cups, plates, and spoons and put them back in the empty basket. “Did you get enough to eat, Marshal Long?”
“It’ll hold us until supper. Thanks.”
“You’re welcome,” she said, smiling fetchingly. “Is there anything else you need? Anything at all?”
Longarm thought he would thoroughly enjoy a little dessert in the form of Lola, but that was certainly out of the question given the grim circumstances.
“I guess not,” he said.
Lola shrugged. “In that case, I had better go.”
“Lola?”
“Yes?”
“What is going on in the street? Have things cooled down a little?”
“Yes,” Lola told him, tossing her long black hair and leaning against the door. “I haven’t been into the saloons, but I doubt there will be any more trouble.”
“That’s good to hear. I came west to attend a wedding and to have a vacation. So far, things haven’t worked out the way that I’d planned.”
“They almost never do,” Lola said quietly. “We make plans, have dreams and … well, it is all foolishness, isn’t it?”
There was such sadness in her voice that Longarm did reach out this time and lay his hand on her shoulder. “What happened to your bright dreams, Lola? How did you wind up in some abandoned mining town selling yourself to train robbers, murderers, and rapists?”
Instead of answering, Lola left the office calling out over her shoulder, “Don’t worry, Marshal Long. I’ll be back with something to eat for supper.”
“Then you’ll need some more money!” Longarm reached back into his pocket, but Lola was already striding down the boardwalk.
Longarm watched her hips swing with exaggerated, professional ease. Men riding horses down the center of the street reined up short and gaped. Pedestrians stopped in their tracks, then turned to watch with hungry smiles. Hell, even male dogs wagged their damn tails furiously and licked their lips.
Longarm closed the door and went back to his chair.
“So she’s coming back tonight with supper, huh?” Jack said. “Well, well! Now that ought to give us something to look forward to, huh, Marshal!”
“Yeah,” Longarm said, “it will.”
“Want to play some poker between the bars?”
“No.”
“Then what the hell are we going to do all day?”
“Just wait and see what happens,” Longarm told his prisoner. “And then wait some more.”
“Yeah,” Jack said in a sarcastic tone of voice, “that’s what lawmen have always done best, isn’t it. The rest of the world is working its ass off, and the man with the badge just sits on his ass all day.” Longarm glanced over at the prisoner. “William?”
“Yeah?”
“Tell your partner in crime that if he doesn’t shut up, neither one of you are going to eat again before tomorrow morning.”