small.â
âNot like with Judge Holbein.â
She smiled at that, one corner of her mouth turning up a little more. She had delightful dimples, but Slocumâs resolve didnât weaken.
âHe could order them run out of the county, but I want them punished.â
âI wonât gun them down in cold blood.â
âFind them. Drag them back here. Iâll take care of the rest.â
Slocum considered the situation. He wasnât getting anywhere hunting for the men who killed Isaac Comstock and the rest of his treasure hunting party. And he had no idea where to start in town looking for them, if they were also the ones who had busted him up.
âIâll sweeten the deal.â
âHow?â
âYour debt to me for freeing you from jail will be erased,â Madeleine said. âI can also tell you about the men who abducted you after Eckerlyâs funeral.â
Slocum wondered if she had read his thoughts.
âItâs a deal,â he said.
âDeal,â she agreed. Then she smiled devilishly and added, âThen we can see about other . . . arrangements.â She patted his crotch, then stood and walked across the sitting room, her bustle moving in an enticing bump and grind. At the stairs, one foot on the lowest step, she turned and said, âYou can go now, Mr. Slocum.â
He went.
9
Slocum went into the Damned Shame around noon, after spending some time with Mirabelle, quieting her nerves and convincing her he hadnât shot his way out of jail. She had returned to the jailhouse to find him gone. Somehow, she had missed how angry Willingham was over losing his prisoner. If he had managed to kill Slocum, he would have been happier.
âHeard you was locked up, Slocum,â Beefsteak Malone said. âHowâd you get out so quick?â
âRaised bail,â Slocum said. âOr raised hell. Hard to tell which. Never figured out why the marshal threw me in the pokey.â
âWill can be a nervy sort of fellow,â Malone said. âIâm surprised he let you out.â
Slocum shrugged it off. He had other fish to fry, but he had to ask, âWhyâs he got it in for me? I ought to have been given a reward, not jail time.â
âWill and Madam Madeleine arenât on the best of terms,â Malone said. âMight be he thought you two was hanginâ out together. He canât do much about her, but anyone carousinâ with her is fair game.â
âCould be,â Slocum said. âItâs passing strange, though, the way heâs trying to frame me for a crime I busted up and kept from happening.â
âYou keep the peace inside these here four walls, Slocum,â the bar owner said harshly. âDonât go stickinâ your nose where it donât belong.â
âIn Madam Madeleineâs business?â
For an instant, Slocum thought the barkeep was going to erupt in rage. The red tide rising in his face subsided and Malone laughed insincerely.
âYou got a real sense of humor, Iâll grant you that, Slocum. Thatâs why you keep fights from gettinâ too bad. Time for you to get to work.â Malone pointed to a pair of men at the table near the door, where the trouble had begun last night.
The pair traced their fingers over the sketch on the uncleaned tabletop where Madam Madeleineâs would-be robbers had plotted and planned their inept crime. Slocum went over, pulled up a chair, and sat with his back to the bar.
âHowdy,â he said.
âWe donât want company,â the more belligerent of the two said. âThis is a private argument.â
âDonât care. Bust each other up all you want. If you tell me what I want to know, Iâll even buy you a couple drinks.â
âTo keep me from knockinâ this mangy cayuseâs teeth down his throat?â The man on Slocumâs left half stood, only to be slammed facedown on
Emma Nichols
Tom Cain
James Patterson
April Margeson
Teresa Reasor
Larry Correia
Dorothy Howell
Lori Carson
Mimi Johnson
Nickelodeon Publishing