Hall looked around at them, his eyes settling on Longarm. “You were recommended for the job. Can you do it?”
“Well,” he answered, hearing the first blast of the whistle announcing the Boston train’s departure, “I’m better at just going after your ordinary murderer or-“
“Can you do it!” Governor Ganzel demanded. “Because, if you have any doubts-“
“He can do it,” Billy Vail interrupted. “If anyone can find the thief, or thieves, it’s Deputy Marshal Custis Long.”
The officials stared at Longarm, who finally nodded. “I can do it,” he heard himself say.
All three of his superiors relaxed. The governor was the first one to ask the question that was on all their minds. “Where do you start and how fast can you put a stop to the production of these bogus bills?”
“I don’t know yet,” Longarm admitted. “I’ll have to be briefed and then pick up a trail and-“
“We can help with that,” Commissioner Hall snapped. “Our in-house investigation has revealed that the plates were supposed to be destroyed exactly ten days ago. We have the signed order saying that they were destroyed.”
Longarm came to his feet. “Signed by?”
“According to our manual of procedures, when plates are destroyed, two signatures are always required,” Hall explained. “Two men were given the responsibility and signed the completion order.”
Longarm glanced at Billy, then back at the commissioner. “All right, where can I find and question them?”
“One is in the morgue,” Billy said softly. “And the other has … vanished.”
“Vanished?”
“That’s right,” Commissioner Hall bristled. “His name is Nathan Cox. He was a six-year employee of the Denver mint and had an excellent performance history. He was already a supervisor and a real ‘corner’ in the organization. He was well liked and dedicated.”
“Dedicated to committing a multimillion-dollar larceny,” Longarm growled.
“Please don’t say that!” Governor Ganzel begged. “Perhaps Mr. Cox has printed only a few hundred thousand. Even Colorado could stand that kind of loss … if it were shared by the federal government.”
“Of course it would be,” Hall said. “At least, I’m sure that the President would recognize that these were federal employees even though-“
“Gentlemen,” Billy Vail said, cutting off the discussion. “These are matters that need not be covered now. What we need to do now is to find Nathan Cox.”
“How did the other signer meet his end?” Longarm asked.
“His neck was broken and witnesses are sure that his last visitor was Mr. Cox.”
“Who has not,” Longarm said, “been seen since.”
“That’s right,” Billy replied. “Federal officers have searched his apartment and found nothing. All of Nathan Cox’s friends have been brought in for interrogating and have not been able to tell us anything.”
“What about relatives?” Longarm asked.
“The man was a loner,” Hall said bitterly. “Cox had a lot of women friends, but he never let them into his apartment or shared his confidences or personal life. Those who have been questioned say that Nathan Cox was very, very slick.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means that he is a ladies’ man,” the commissioner answered. “Here is his picture. You can see that Cox is very handsome. He’s also quite a talker. The women we questioned simply could not believe that Nathan Cox could have committed any crime.”
“With one notable exception,” Billy interjected. “A woman by the name of Miss Diana Frank. She says that she finally saw our thief’s dark side and would not be surprised at anything that he might do—including murder.”
“I’d like to speak with her,” Longarm said. “She obviously saw through this man’s con game.”
“I’ll give you Miss Frank’s address, but she’s already been questioned at some length,” Hall said. “I’d think you’d want to go to Cheyenne, where the first large batch of bogus bills appeared.”
“I will go, but the next train-“
“You’ll have a special train,” the governor interrupted.
“A train of my own?”
“Of course,” Governor Ganzel said, managing a stiff smile.
“One question,” Longarm said. “Why aren’t dozens of men searching for Nathan Cox?”
“They are,” the governor admitted. “But none of them knows why we are so desperate to apprehend the turncoat and destroy those old treasury plates.”
“Why all the secrecy?”
Hall looked at Billy Vail. “You explain it to him. He’s your chosen one.”
Billy nodded. “Custis, with those plates, special paper, and ink, even a marginally talented editor or pressman could run off millions of dollars worth of new hundred-dollar bills.”
“I understand that, but …”
“And,” Billy continued, “if word of what Nathan Cox has in his possession became common knowledge, we fear that Cox would become the most hunted man in America, and many of the hunters would not employ the highest ethical standard.”
Longarm nodded as he began to understand the enormity of the problem. And the fact that he alone had been given this private, potentially explosive inside information made him feel a little overwhelmed.
“I would suggest,” Billy Vail said, dragging Longarm out of his somber reverie, “that you go to interrogate Miss Frank this very hour and then pack and be at the train station within-“
“Two hours,” Longarm said. “I’ll need at least that much time.”
“We’ll give you one and a half,” Governor Ganzel said, jumping to his feet. “And we’ll give you another three days to apprehend Mr. Cox.”
“You can give me three days or three weeks,” Longarm said, “but it may take three months if Cox has already left Cheyenne and is on the run. If he went east it will take me longer to track him down in those big cities.”
“We think he went westward,” Commissioner Hall said.
Longarm folded his arms across his chest. “Why?”
“Because Nathan Cox was raised on a cattle ranch somewhere near Prescott, Arizona. Those we’ve questioned say that he talked constantly about his family’s ranch. Apparently, his father made some very unwise investments a few years ago and the ranch was foreclosed.”
“And you think that Cox intends to go to Arizona and buy back his ranch?”
“It’s a real possibility.”
“A very obvious possibility,” Longarm said. “If the man is smart and ruthless enough to have planned out the theft and then broke his partner’s neck, I doubt he’d be stupid enough to be predictable.”
“Unless,” Billy said, “he does think with his heart as well as his head.”
“I’ll need photographs and a file on everything you can put together on Nathan Cox. I want to know his personal likes and dislikes. How he spends his free time and-“
“He doesn’t believe in free time,” Hall said. “He’s either chasing women or bedding them.”
“Or gambling,” Billy said. “He likes poker and faro. I’ll bet that even as we are speaking, he’s gambling away our money.”
The governor nodded. “Or in bed with a beautiful woman and tickling her with … well, what else but crisp, new hundred-dollar bills?”
Longarm started for the door. “What kind of woman is Miss Frank?”
“A looker, like all the others that attract Nathan Cox,” Commissioner Hall said. “She’s tough, so don’t expect to get her to open up with any new information. I think you’re wasting your time and ought to just leave for Cheyenne.”
“He could save us money by catching the regular train to Cheyenne,” the governor said hopefully.
“No,” Billy Vail insisted. “Marshal Long really does need to interrogate Miss Frank. The savings would be minimal.”