The office door opened sometime later and Wainright stuck his head inside. Danner hadn't even noticed his leaving. Corbin was gone also. Danner dropped his arms from around Melinda and she moved away from him, still dazed and grief-stricken.
"Someone saw Tuso in town earlier this morning," Wainright said.
Danner felt his shoulders stiffen. Involuntarily, his hand rubbed against the butt of his Colts. Then he looked down at Melinda.
"Stay here," he said. Then with long strides he crossed the room and the outer office. He jumped off the platform, but hadn't moved two steps when a triumphant voice reached out from behind him.
"Hold it, big man!"
"Tuso?"
"Who else, big man?" Tuso chuckled with delight. From the position of the voice, Danner figured Tuso was hiding under the station platform.
"You didn't think I'd hightail it without settling with you first, did you?"
An itch developed between Danner's shoulder blades. He fought against the temptation to whirl and draw. Tuso must have sensed his thoughts.
"Don't try it yet, big man. This six-gun of mine is all cocked and ready."
"We've been promising each other a shootout," Danner parried. "Is that why you are here?"
"Not quite," Tuso laughed. "No sense in taking a chance when I don't have to. In a minute you'll get tired of this gun pointed at your back. Then you'll turn and draw. I'll kill you, of course, but I'm going to do that anyway. The only question is, how far can you turn before my slug scatters your guts in the dust?" Then he laughed and Danner felt a sinking sensation. Tuso had him. In desperation he cast about for a way out. None came to him. It was like Tuso said. His only choice was to try to turn, draw and fire before Tuso could kill him. And that was a futile hope. He fought for time now.
"Browder died in the fire you set, runt. We killed the others."
"I know, big man. And it's just as well. He couldn't vanish like I can, not with all the weight he packed around."
"You're finished, too. Every bounty hunter in the country is out looking for you right now."
"Sure," Tuso replied, chuckling again. "But I hang tough."
"What about—"
"Come on, big man. Make your try. This gun is getting heavy, the sun is getting hot, and the townspeople are getting curious."
Several people were staring in their direction, but Danner knew he couldn't stall Tuso long enough for them to get curious enough to help him. Bleakly, he decided to start another statement, perhaps catching Tuso offguard, then make his play.
"One other thing, runt. How—" He dropped to a crouch as he spun around.
A shotgun blast sounded from the door of the office, and Tuso was hurled through the air to land face down in the dust. His great chest heaved mightily for a moment, then stilled. The pattern of the buckshot formed a crude circle in the back. Then Wainright stepped out on the platform, clutching the shotgun.
"Maybe that'll square things between us, so that we can start over from scratch."
Danner nodded mutely.
Then Wainright smiled. "And it looks like we've finally closed the Spaulding robbery case," he said. Melinda scrambled off the platform and ran toward Danner. Holstering his Colts, Danner looked up at Wainright quizzically.
"I don't quite follow you."
"Well," Wainright said, shrugging. "I guess Tuso has enough else to his credit to earn the blame for the Spaulding robbery. Certainly there's no reason to leave folks thinking you did it, nor is there any reason to blame it on the Colonel."
Danner nodded, looked at Tuso, then back to Wainright. "You and I should make a pretty good team, Tom."
Wainright smiled broadly. "We might, at that."
Then Danner reached out his arm and encircled the shoulders of Melinda, pulling her close.
"And you and I ought to make a pretty good team, too."
"We might, at that," she smiled back.