Her eyes narrowed. “What kind of job? On my back?”
He shook his head. “No, not quite. From time to time I’ll need some things written down. That’ll be your job. To write them down.”
“Who in hell do you think you are kidding? You know what I am. Don’t talk to me about writing anything down. I know what you want down, and it’s the underwear I got under this dress. Only you ain’t going to get it.”
He nodded. “I don’t want it. Under other circumstances and other conditions and maybe a different time, maybe yes. But not now and not under this set of circumstances. You savvy? So you can just get off acting like the hard-assed whore with me. You don’t look like you ever put out for money in your life. I think this was your first try and you got scared and jumped ship.”
She was turning pink in the face. She said, “Say, just who in the hell are you? Did I ask you to tell my fortune? I’ve heard of a few folks got by just fine in life by minding their own business.”
“As to who I am, my name is Custis Long, if it makes any difference. And as to business, I’m offering you a job. Do you want it or not? It ain’t got a damn thing to do with your clothes. In fact you will do all your business with me fully dressed. Understand that? Now, you want a job or not? I doubt there are many more around here. And this one pays cash.”
She narrowed her eyes. He noticed they were light blue. “You wouldn’t be trying to offer me charity in a left-handed way, would you?”
He looked at her. She was trying to sit so proud and defiant, and not quite bringing it off. She was wearing a gray dress of some cheap gingham material, but she had a nice lace dicky around her collar. Or it would have been nice if it hadn’t turned gray from the alkali dust. He said, “Listen, Rita, if that is your name, I wouldn’t give you the sweat off a sow’s snout without full return on my money. You’ll welcome charity by the time I’m through with you.”
She didn’t look quite so sure and some of the hardness had left her face. Relaxed, she was quite pretty. She had her hair pulled back in a bun, but he thought it would be about shoulder length and shining if she unpinned it and let it down. She said, “What-what would be my duties?”
He snapped it out. “Woman of all work. I say frog, you jump. Take down notes, fetch and carry, listen to my ideas and give me your opinion. Your duties are whatever I need at the time. Job is on the block. Going, going, go-“
“I’ll take it!”
“Fine,” he said. He reached into his pocket, pulled out his roll of bills, and peeled off a ten-dollar bill. He said, “Your first job is to go get me another drink.” He handed her the bill. She took it hesitantly. “There’s an advance on your salary. When you’ve brought me that drink you are to go look up Mrs. Higgins and buy you some lunch off her. And then-“
She jumped up. “So it was charity. By damn I-“
He reached out a hand and shoved her down. “Look, dammit, I can’t have somebody working for me that is all weak in the knees from hunger. I don’t want no more damn arguments from you. I’m a businessman. I own a large cattle company. I ain’t used to my employees arguing with me. Now, do as you are told.”
She got up slowly and took the glass out of his hand. She had a thoughtful look on her face. He watched as she walked over and went behind the plank bar. She hunted a moment, found the bottle of whiskey, and poured one of the glasses full. Then she looked across at him. “Am I supposed to have another one?”
“You’re on my time now,” he said, trying to sound severe. If the girl wanted convincing she had a job, he was going to be damn certain she got the message. He said, “You don’t drink on my time. You work.”
She nodded, and then brought the drink back across the room to him. As she handed it to him she held up the ten-dollar bill and said, “Am I supposed to pay Mrs. Higgins for the drinks when I buy myself some lunch?”
He shook his head. “I’m running an account with the old man. Besides, that is your money. That’s an advance on your wages. I’m paying you five dollars a day until we get to Phoenix, and then we’ll see what you’re worth. Now go find Mrs. Higgins and see if she knows where that drunken doctor is. I want to get a look at him.”
She gave him an amused look. “Going to give him a job too?”
He gave her a brief glance. “Ever notice how close those two words were? Hire and fire? Just one letter.”
“I’m going,” she said.
He watched with a faintly amused expression as she hurried from the room. But along with the amusement was an appreciation for the way her hips worked beneath the dowdy dress. He wondered if there were any clothes about that would fit her. He would like to see her better dressed. Also, he thought, he would like to see her completely undressed. He’d been out on the desert a long time, and it had been a spell since his last visit to his lady friend in Denver who was in the dressmaking business. He did not, however, think it would be a very good idea to take this Rita to his dress-shop lady and grandly ask her to fix the little gal up.
He remembered his boots, and walked over to where they were sitting by the door. He turned them upside down and a little water ran out. It was still too hot outside to put them in the sun, but he edged them out a little further where they might dry faster. He was getting tired of walking around in his stocking feet, and he figured it was just a matter of time before he picked up a splinter from the rough floor.
He took his drink to the table, and was just settling down to enjoy it and the stump of the cigar Higgins had given him when the door of the living quarters burst open and Higgins said excitedly, “It come. I got you a answer. All the way from Yuma.”
Longarm waved his hand in a downward motion, and Higgins clamped his hand over his mouth. Longarm got up and walked across the room. Higgins said, “I’m right sorry. I jes’ got so excited it burst right out.”
“You got to watch that, Herman. Bursting out ain’t no way to keep secrets.”
“I got the message wrote down in here. I write a fair hand so you ought to be able to figure it Out. Sounds mighty, mighty serious to me. This law work is deadly stuff, ain’t it.”
“Yes,” Longarm said dryly. He followed Higgins into his front room and over to the desk. Higgins handed him a piece of paper with some words printed on it in pencil. The message said:
DEPUTY U.S. MARSHAL CUSTIS LONG
ALL ESCAPED PRISONERS ACCOUNTED FOR EXCEPT CARL LOWE. BELIEVE ONE OR TWO OF THOSE WHO AIDED ESCAPE MAY ALSO HAVE ILLUDED ARREST. RANGERS CONTINUING SEARCH, BELIEVE LOWE MAY HAVE FLED TO THE SOUTH. ADVISE ANY DETAILS YOU MAY HAVE.
It was signed by the warden of the Yuma territorialprison. “Damn!” Longarm said. “Damn, damn, damn! I was afraid of that!” He wadded the piece of paper up and pitched it back on Higgins’s little desk. “I told them he wouldn’t head south! He’s got no business in Mexico. That wasn’t why they broke him out of prison!”
Higgins was standing by with his mouth open and his eyes wide. He said, “It’s bad, is it, Marshal? Real bad?”
Longarm seemed to realize where he was. He looked at the little old man. He said, “Nothing for You to worry about, Herman. It’s just law work. Law work gone wrong.”
“Is they anything I can do?”
Longarm grimaced. “Not unless you can figure a way for me to get up in the Phoenix area. That’s where I think I need to be.”
“But didn’t it say the chase was to the south?”
Longarm laughed. “Yeah, The chase. They’re chasing their tails is the only chase they are involved with.”
Higgins scratched his head. “I shore don’t know no way for you to get north till the stage comes through.”
Longarm shook his head. “You said something about grease, Herman. I need to try and get my boots back on.”