“What if I do?” Schuler asked. He tossed down the second drink.
“Tell me where to find him,” Matt said.
“I can’t,” Schuler said.
Matt slid the bottle of whiskey toward him. “Forget about the glass. I’ll give you the whole bottle.”
“Not for a bottle, not even for a case of whiskey will I tell. What good is whiskey to a dead man?”
“Schuler, I want you to think about something,” Matt said quietly.
“Think about what?”
“You are afraid of the wrong man. Odom isn’t here.”
“That doesn’t matter. If I tell you how to find him, then he’ll find me.”
“I’ve already found you,” Matt said.
“What?”
“Think about it,” Matt said. “I found Bates, and I killed him. I found Paco, I killed him. When I find Odom, I will kill him.” He paused for a long moment. “And like I said, I found you.”
“I—I’m afraid,” Schuler said, his voice so quiet that he could barely be heard.
“You should be afraid,” Matt said.
“Yeah,” a patron at a nearby table said, laughing. Ever since Schuler had come out of the back room, the patron had been watching and listening to the conversation. “Like the man said, he’s scared of—” the laughter died in his throat when he saw the expression on Matt’s face. It wasn’t one of passion, or even cold fury. He wasn’t sure what he saw—maybe something in Matt’s eyes. But he felt the hackles stand up on the back of his neck as he realized he was looking into the face of death. “My God, Schuler, he means it,” the patron said quietly.
The patron’s words stopped everyone in the room as if there had been a gunshot. A nearby card game came to a halt, the three men at the bar turned around, the bartender stopped polishing glasses, and there was a deadly silence in the room.
The clock ticked loudly.
Schuler’s bottom lip began trembling and a line of spittle ran down his chin.
“Now, I’m going to ask you again, Schuler. And I want you to think about it. And while you’re thinking, I want you to know that I’m here and Odom isn’t. Tell me what you know, or I will kill you where you sit.”
Schuler drew a deep breath and held his hands up. “All right, all right, I was with them, just like you said. But I didn’t know they was goin’ to be a lot of people killed. I wouldn’t of had nothin’ to do with it if I had known there was goin’ to be a lot of innocent people killed.”
“I know. I was there, in the express car, remember? I heard you tell Odom that you didn’t know that he planned to kill anyone. In fact, if I hadn’t heard you talking to Odom, I would’ve already killed you by now.”
“Just so’s you know,” Schuler said.
“Where can I find him?”
“Why you lookin’ for him? Why are you doin this? You ain’t the law, are you?”
“No. This is personal. One of the people killed was a little girl, about four years old. One minute she was riding on the train with her mother and brother, and the next minute the train wrecked and a large stake was driven through her heart.”
“No!” Schuler said. He closed his eyes and began shaking. “I didn’t know about the little girl,” he said. “I didn’t know about any of them.”
“Where is Odom?” Matt asked again.
“You got any money?”
“Why?”
“If I give you any information, I’m going to need enough money to get out of here. My life won’t be worth a plugged nickel if Odom finds out I told you where to find him.”
“How can I find him?”
Schuler poured himself a glass of whiskey before he spoke again. He drank it, then wiped the back of his hand across his mouth.
“It’s goin’ to cost you fifty dollars.”
Matt pulled fifty dollars from his pocket and handed it over. “All right. Here’s you money. Now, start talking.”
“Do you know Odom?” Schuler asked, taking the money and stuffing it down into his pocket. “I mean, do you really know him?”
“No.”
“Well, he’s real crazy,” Schuler said. “I’ve never known anyone before who likes killing, but Odom actually likes it. They say he killed his first man when he was fifteen. They’s been others that’s killed for the first time when they was only fifteen, but the man Odom killed was his own pa.”
“Where will I find him?”
Schuler took another drink of whiskey. The whiskey had a somewhat calming effect, and he put the bottle down, this time without the shakes.
“Did you hear what I said? The first man he killed was his own pa.”
“I heard.”
“You’ll find him in Purgatory,” Schuler said.
“What makes you think he’s gone to Purgatory?”
“The marshal there is a fella by the name of Cummins,” Schuler said. “Him ’n’ Odom is brothers.”
“Brothers?”
“They don’t have the same name ’cause they got different papas, but they got the same mama. And after Odom killed his own pa, he moved in with his mama, Cummins, and Cummins’s papa.”
“Thank you,” Matt said.
“Don’t be thanking me,” he said. “If you are going to Purgatory after Odom, you are going to have to deal with Cummins and all his deputies. And you might find out you’ve bitten off more than you can chew.”
“I’ll take my chances,” Matt said. “I’m going.”
“To face all of them?”
“Yes.”
“That’s bold talk, Matt Jensen,” another voice said.
Jensen? Who knew that he was Matt Jensen?
Turning slowly, Matt saw a big man with gray hair and a sweeping mustache leaning against the wall. The man’s arms were folded across his chest. He, like everyone else in the room, had been listening to the conversation. He let his arms drop by his side, with one hand hovering near his pistol. When he did so, it revealed that he was wearing the star of a U.S. marshal.
Matt moved his own hand into position to draw.
The tension in the room grew palpable, and everyone moved out of the way of what they were sure was an impending gunfight.
“You are Marshal Kyle, aren’t you?” Matt asked. “We met at the train wreck.”
“Yes, we met there,” Kyle said. “But I believe you were telling people your name was Cavanaugh then.”
“My name is Cavanaugh,” Matt said.
Kyle shook his head. “No sense in lying about it now. I know that you are Matt Jensen.”
Matt nodded. “Yes, I am Matt Jensen,” he said. “But Cavanaugh is the name I was born with.”
Kyle chuckled. “Well now, this can be a little confusing,” he said.
“Marshal, I didn’t cause that train wreck, I didn’t kill Deputy Hayes, and I didn’t steal any money,” Matt said.
“Odom killed the deputy,” Schuler said, speaking quickly.
“You say Odom killed the deputy?” Kyle asked.
“Yes.”
Kyle nodded. “I suspected that,” he said. “I appreciate the confirmation.” He looked back at Matt. “You don’t deny killing Deputy Gillis, do you?”
“I killed him,” Matt said, without further clarification.
“Gillis drew first?”
“He tried to,” Matt replied and, inexplicably, Kyle laughed.
“That’s a good way of putting it,” Kyle said. “Now, about your going to Purgatory…” He let the sentence hang.
“I’m going,” Matt said resolutely.
“Oh, I’m sure you are going,” Kyle said. “I’m going with you.”
“Well, Marshal, I appreciate your interest, but I prefer to do this alone.”
“Oh, don’t misunderstand me, Matt Jensen,” Kyle said. “I’m not asking for permission to come with you. On the contrary, I’m giving you permission to go with me.”
“You are giving me permission?”
“Let’s say, I’m asking you to come with me,” Kyle corrected. “As a deputy U.S. marshal.”
“Wait a minute. You are going to make me your deputy?”
“As a temporary thing,” Kyle replied. “Just until we get Purgatory cleaned up.”
“But I don’t understand. What about the other thing?” Matt asked.