âAnd can I quote you?â
âUm, no, you canât quote me,â Clint said. âI came here to ask some questions, not answer them.â
âWell, you can understand if Iâm more experienced asking them than answering them.â
âI do understand,â Clint said. âBut my questions are very simple.â
âWell,â she said, âmaybe we can come to an understanding.â
Clint did know why heâd met so many attractive newspaperwomen in his life. Was there something about the job that made the women in it appealing?
âMiss Abbott, I just need to know who the rich men in town are.â
âThatâs it?â she asked. âYou could get that information from any bartender in town.â
âI know that,â he said, âbut I thought while I was here, Iâd have a look at your coverage of the shooting that took place a few months back.â
âThe shooting?â
âFive men shot down a man named Carl Sonnet.â
âOf course. I know what shooting youâre referring to.â
âWell, nobody else in town seems to want to admit to knowing about it,â Clint said. âAt least, everybody claims to have heard and seen nothing.â
âWell, it was a terrible thing.â
âTell me,â Clint said, âwere you able to hear the shooting from here?â
âActually, I didnât hear anything that way.â
âHow could that be?â Clint asked. âThat much shooting would have made plenty of noise.â
âWell,â she said, âthe printing press . . .â
âI see,â he said. âCan I look at a copy of your newspaper from the next day?â
âWe are a weekly paper,â she said, âbut I can show you the issue that covered the shooting.â
âIâd appreciate it.â
âCome in the back with me,â she said. âThatâs what we consider our morgue.â
He followed her to a back door that led to a hallway, then along that hall to another door, which she opened with a key. The interior of the room smelled musty. She lit a lamp and he could see the stacks of newspapers on shelves.
âWow,â he said, âthis is a lot of paper for a weekly.â
âWe started out as a daily,â she said. âFeel free to look through it all.â
âThanks,â Clint said. âWhereâs the most recentââ But before he could finish his question, she was gone, closing the door behind her.
He started leafing through papers . . .
â¢Â â¢Â â¢
When he came out, the printing press was still not running. He reentered the editorâs office, and she turned to look at him from her desk.
âFind what you wanted?â
âI did.â
âWhat did you learn?â
âThat everybody in this town is probably deaf and blind,â he said. âThanks for the look.â
He started for the door.
âWait,â she said.
âYes?â
She walked to him and handed him a piece of paper.
âWhatâs this?â
âThe list you wanted,â she said. âRichest men in town? I included some of the ranchers in the area.â
âOh . . . thanks.â
âDidnât think I was going to come through, did you?â she asked.
âWell . . .â
âLook,â she said, âIâd love to do an interview with you while youâre in town, but thatâs up to you.â
âI appreciate that.â
âI do ask one thing.â
âWhatâs that?â
âIf you come across anything thatâs newsworthy, youâll let me know?â
âMiss Abbott,â he said, âsince youâre the only newspaper in town, youâll be the first to know.â
THIRTY-FIVE
When Clint got to the saloon in his hotel, Sonnet was already there, nursing a beer.
âBeer,â Clint said to the
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