“I’ll come out with you,” Cotton said. “I have to go back to work.”
They walked to the door together and stepped outside.
“Mind if I walk back to town with you?” the sheriff asked.
“No, sir.”
They walked back together, but didn’t talk very much, which suited Shaye. He wondered how the man would react if he told him how controlled he thought he was by Belinda Davis. He also wondered if Belinda was able to manipulate Mrs. Cotton in the same way?
When they reached the center of town, the sheriff said, “Well, I better get back to my office. I’ll meet you there again tomorrow?”
“I know where your house is,” Shaye said. “Why don’t we just meet you there?”
“Fine,” Cotton said. “I’ll see you all then.”
He broke away from Shaye, who continued on to the hotel, where his sons were waiting.
Thomas spotted his father first, walking up the street toward them.
“James.”
James turned his head and saw his father. They both stood and waited for Shaye to reach them.
“Pa?” Thomas said.
“How did it go?” James asked, anxiously. “Is the boy Matthew’s?”
“I can’t tell, boys,” Shaye said. “He’s a big boy, all right, but there’s no way to tell.”
“Maybe we’ll be able to tell,” James suggested. “When can Thomas and me see him?”
“Tomorrow afternoon,” Shaye said.
“Why then?” James asked. “Why not today?”
“Let’s get some lunch, boys,” Thomas said. “We can talk about it while we eat.”
“But Pa—”
“Come on, James,” Thomas said. “Pa’s obviously got somethin’ to talk to us about. Let’s let him tell us.”
“Pa?” James asked.
“Over lunch, James,” Shaye said. “Over lunch.”
28
“So she’s puttin’ on an act?” James asked.
“For the sheriff and his wife, yes,” Shaye said. “Not for me.”
“And the sheriff is buying it?”
“He is,” Shaye said. “I don’t know about his wife. She might be able to see through Belinda.”
“So she’s not the shy, helpless little thing she wants them to believe,” Thomas said.
“I don’t know if they would have taken her in otherwise,” Shaye said.
He’d told both boys the entire story: what he saw and what Belinda Davis had told him.
“So she wants us to protect her from this Collier gang,” Thomas said. “Do you plan to do that?”
“I don’t plan to do anything until you boys have met her and her son,” Shaye said. “We’re in this together. You’ll make your own decisions.”
“Collier,” James said. “I don’t know that name, Pa. What was he in Yuma Prison for?”
“She doesn’t know,” Shaye said. “Maybe I can send some telegrams and find out.”
“What about the sheriff?” Thomas asked. “Don’t you think he should be warned that there’s a gang on its way?”
“Yes,” Shaye said, “I do think he should be warned, even though Belinda doesn’t want to tell him.”
“That won’t make him very happy with her,” James said. “And she’ll be mad at you for tellin’ him.”
“I can’t worry about that,” Shaye said. “I’ve been sheriff in enough towns to know that he needs to be told. I just wanted to talk to you boys first.”
“How do you think he’ll react?” Thomas asked. “Think he’ll put her out of his house?”
“I think his wife will have something to say about that,” Shaye said. “The way she was holding that boy, I know she loves him.”
“Why do you think Belinda wasn’t holdin’ him, Pa?”
“I get the feeling Belinda’s maternal instinct doesn’t match the sheriff’s wife’s,” Shaye said.
“They have any kids of their own?” James asked.
“Apparently not,” Shaye said, “which would explain her attachment to…to Little Matt.”
“If the boy is not Matthew’s, Pa,” Thomas asked, “why would she name him Little Matt?”
“I don’t know. Maybe she was planning this that far back.”
“Makes her kind of a schemer, don’t it?” Thomas asked.
“Oh yeah,” Shaye said, “I think that’s a good word to describe her.”
James pushed his plate away.
“When are you gonna tell the sheriff about this?”
“No time like the present, I thought,” Shaye said. “We can go and tell him now.”
“Then let’s do it,” Thomas said. “Maybe he’ll know who Collier is.”
“I just hope he believes you,” James said.
“If he doesn’t,” Shaye said, “he just has to ask Belinda.”
When Sheriff Cotton looked up from his desk and saw them entering his office, he looked surprised.
“Didn’t expect to see you so soon,” he said. “What’s this about?”
“We’ve got something to tell you,” Shaye said, “and I don’t think it’s going to make you real happy.”
Cotton leaned back in his chair and stared at him. His gun was once again on a hook above his head. Shaye realized he was leaning back to get within reach of it.
“You won’t need your gun,” he told the lawman. “At least not now.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Do you know the name Jeb Collier?” Shaye asked.
“Collier?” Cotton thought a moment. “Collier. I don’t think so. Why?”
“Maybe you’ve got some paper on him,” Shaye said. “He either just got out of Yuma or he’s getting out soon.”
“How long was he in?”
“Two years.”
“Not wanted anymore, then, is he?”
“Maybe not,” Shaye said, “but the word I get is that he might be on his way here with a gang.”
“To do what?” Cotton asked. “What was he in for?”
“I don’t know why he was in,” Shaye said, “but maybe you should ask Belinda why he’s coming here.”
“Belinda? What’s she got to do with it?”
“Sheriff,” Shaye said, “she’s the one who told me about Collier.”
Cotton frowned.
“What would her connection be to a man like that?” he asked.
“Well,” Shaye said, “for one thing, he apparently thinks he’s Little Matt’s father.”
“What? What the hell are you talking about?” Cotton demanded. “When do you claim she told you this?”
“After she sent you into the kitchen to make coffee.”
“She didn’t send me—”
“She sent you, Sheriff,” Shaye said. “That little gal has you wrapped around her little finger.”
Cotton bristled at that.
“What are you saying?” he demanded angrily. “I never—”
“I’m not suggesting anything,” Shaye said. “I’m just saying that Belinda hasn’t shown you and your wife her real self. She’s got you wrapped around her finger—maybe like a daughter might—and I’ll bet that baby has won your wife’s heart, hasn’t he?”
Cotton calmed down a bit. “He has, yeah.”
“Let me explain…”
Briefly, Shaye told the lawman everything Belinda had told him during the man’s absence from the room.
“I’m finding this hard to believe,” the lawman said when Shaye finished.
“Look, Sheriff,” Shaye said. “All you have to do is ask her. If you do that, I think she’ll tell you the truth.”
“If she’s afraid of this Collier and his gang, why wouldn’t she just tell me?” he demanded. “Why send for you?”
“I guess you’d have to ask her that,” Shaye said. He decided to leave the man his pride as long as he could.
“And why are you telling me this if she doesn’t want you to?”
“Because I’m not wrapped around her finger,” Shaye said. “And because I’ve been a lawman and I think you need to know if a gang of outlaws is on its way to your town so you can prepare.”