“Two others, left this mornin’,” he said. “This third fella seems to be trailin’ them, like you. You alone?”
“No.”
“Good,” the man said. “Y’re a might young to be tryin’ to take somebody alone.”
“I get by,” James said.
He was about to say something else when he heard a noise behind him. He turned quickly and saw Colon entering the livery on foot, leading his horse.
“He with you?” the liveryman asked.
“Yes.”
“Well,” the man said, “you got your choice. Ian’s gonna keep yer man hagglin’ for a while, probably over a jug. You can take ’im there, or here when he comes back for his rig.”
Colon eyed James.
“Our man’s lookin’ for a new horse,” James explained. “Two other men rode out earlier this mornin’.”
“Which way?” Colon asked.
James looked at the liveryman.
“I dunno,” the man said. “I didn’t watch them leave.”
“Describe them,” James said, and listened while the man did.
“That them?” Colon asked.
“One of ’em sounds like Cardwell,” James said. “We’ll wait for Cory, and then go down and take the one in town while he’s hagglin’ over a jug with the horse trader.”
“As you wish, Jefe,” Colon said. “You are in charge.”
“He’s the boss?” the liveryman asked, surprised.
“You got a problem with that?” James asked.
“Me? I got no problems. Uh, am I gonna get paid for takin’ care of this fella’s horse?”
“You’ll get paid,” James said. “Just don’t leave here until we get back.”
“I ain’t goin’ nowhere,” the man said.
James jerked his head at Colon, and they walked their horses outside to wait for Cory.
49
“Then we have a deal?” Ian asked Davis.
“You drive a hard bargain,” Davis said, knowing this was what the man wanted to hear. “Yeah, we got a deal.”
“I’ll jus’ need to take a look at your horse, laddie,” Ian said.
“It’s a sound animal,” Davis promised, “other than the sprain.”
“Why don’t we walk over and take a look?”
“Fine with me.”
“One more pull from the jug, though, lad,” Ian said, handing it over to Davis.
“One more,” Davis agreed, even though the homegrown squeezin’ had already burnt the roof of his mouth, as well as his throat. He had to admit, though, that the fire it stoked in his belly was well worth it. He took a healthy pull and handed it back. Ian took a swig that was twice as long, then wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.
“Be warned, lad,” Ian said, “stand up slow and easy. This stuff will knock you right off yer feet.”
“I can handle it—” Davis said, but as he stood up he suddenly got dizzy and fell back into his chair.
“Told you,” Ian said, laughing.
James, Cory, and Colon decided to leave their horses at the livery and walk over to the horse trader’s corral. Behind the corral was a shack, where they assumed the haggling was going on. As they approached it, they heard somebody laughing from inside.
“How do you want to play this, James?” Cory asked.
“Seems to me,” James said, “the best way would be to wait for him to come out. Goin’ in might spook him, and we want to take him alive. He might know where the others are headed.”
“Okay,” Cory said. “Looks like there’s only one way in, so let’s cover it.”
Davis waited for the room to stop spinning before he tried to stand up again. This time he remained on his feet.
“You okay?” Ian asked.
“What’s in that stuff?” Davis asked.
“That’s a family secret, lad,” Ian said. “Let’s go over to the livery and take a look at your horse.”
“After you,” Davis said.
Ian stepped out of the shack and was immediately grabbed from one side. James shook his head, indicating that it wasn’t the man they were looking for, and he was simply yanked to one side by Colon, who held his finger to his lips. Ian, who wanted no trouble, put his hands in the air and shrugged.
Davis came through the door next and immediately saw James, who had put his badge back on. He reached for his gun, but stopped short when he felt a gun barrel pressed to his temple.
“I wouldn’t,” Ralph Cory said.
Davis didn’t move as Cory plucked the gun from his holster and tucked it into Cory’s belt.
“Step outside,” James said, “slowly.”
Davis came out, lifted his hands in the air.
“I didn’t do nothin’,’ he said. “Who are you guys?”
“I’m a deputy from Vengeance Creek,” James said. “You’re under arrest for robbing the Vengeance Creek bank and killin’ everyone inside.”
“I didn’t kill nobody.”
“You were part of the gang that did.”
“You can’t prove that,” Davis said.
“We’ll prove it,” James said. “You can help yourself by tellin’ us where those other two are headed.”
“What other two?”
“Okay,” James said, “play it that way. Berto, bring that other one around.”
The Mexican stepped back and allowed Ian to come from the side of the shack.
“What’s your name?” James asked.
“Ian McShane,” the man said. “I am a horse trader, just met this lad today.”
“You got law in this town?”
“Sheriff Gibney,” Ian said.
“Any deputies?”
“One.”
James looked at Colon and Cory.
“Let’s take him over to the local lockup,” he suggested. “We can talk to him more there.”
“You can’t put me in jail,” Davis insisted. “I ain’t done nothin’.”
“You’ve done plenty,” Cory said, “and we all know it. What’s your name, anyway? Any paper out on you?”
Davis kept quiet.
“Told me his name was Davis,” Ian offered.
“Let’s go, Davis,” James said.
Cory prodded Davis in the back with his gun and they started walking toward the sheriff’s office.
“Guess he’s not going to be buyin’ a horse from me,” Ian said.
“Maybe not,” James said, “but we might. We’ll need one to get him out of town.”
“Got just the one for you,” Ian said happily. “We can haggle over a jug.”
“Maybe later,” James said, and followed after the others.
50
Sheriff Jarrod Gibney looked up as his office door burst open and four men came tumbling through.
“What the hell—”
“Deputy James Shaye, Sheriff,” James said, introducing himself. “From Vengeance Creek, Arizona.”
“Arizona?” Gibney asked. “Deputy, you’re a little out of your bailiwick, ain’t ya?”
“That may be,” James said, “but I got a prisoner for you.”
“That’s so?” The sheriff stood up, showing that his belly had popped a button at the bottom of his shirt. There was also something on his bushy mustache, maybe left over from breakfast. “What’d he do?”
“He’s part of a gang that robbed our bank and killed everyone who worked in it.”
“Everyone?”
“Every last employee,” James said.
“I ain’t killed nobody.”
“Might be some paper on this one, Sheriff,” Cory said.
“These fellas also deputies?” Gibney asked.
“Posse,” James said. “This here’s Ralph Cory, that’s Rigoberto Colon.”
“Three man posse?”
“Four,” James said. “My brother’s comin’ up behind us. He’s also a deputy.”