The Gambler by Lois Greiman

laughed. "You're plannin' to collect bounty just fer information, ain't you?"
    "It's none of your affair, Bodine."
    "Huh! That's my boy, Joseph. All them years I thought you wasn't learning nothin'. But it looks like something soaked into that hard head of yours after all. Money! There ain't nothin' like it to make a man feel like a man. Except a woman. In which case money is"—he waved vaguely, quoting his former statement with less enthusiasm—"an insignificant thing." He looked at Charm and shook his head once. "Damn, she's pretty. Well, go ahead. Shoot off them questions."
    "Not tonight." Raven said, seating himself on a nearby log.
    Clancy turned to face him. "That's the thing about you, Joseph. You always was a patient one. The first time I saw you I said, now there's a patient boy. He'll make a fine detective. It'll be a hard task, but I'll teach him all I know."
    "The first time you saw me you said, now there's a sucker. I'll work his ass off and feed him to the crows."
    Clancy threw back his head and laughed. "Ahhh, Joseph, such bitterness. And after you bein' just like a son to me."
    "You're only five years my senior, Bodine. Even with your morals, paternity would be a hard thing to believe."
    "Well, you was just like a brother, then," Clancy said impatiently. "Hey, I'm just tryin' to help you out."
    "Was that what you were doing in Georgia?"
    "No. In Georgia I was trying to make a bundle of money by turning in thieving white trash. Same as you."
    "We're white trash, Bodine."
    "See. I'm impartial. It's a great quality for a detective."
    "The fact that I had decided to go off on my own didn't cause you to set me up?" asked Raven. "Teach me a lesson?"
    "Don't be ridiculous."
    "And the fact that they thought I was aiding the boy's escape instead of turning him in?"
    "I had nothin' t'do with it."
    "You know, you've always been a supreme liar, Bodine. Not as good as her," Raven said, nodding toward Charm. "But supreme, nevertheless."
    "Oh, come now," Clancy said, looking offended. "I must be better. She's so young. Hardly had any time to refine it," he added before changing the subject. "I didn't know they was plannin' t'kill the boy just fer kissin' Miss Annabell Fancypants what's her name."
    "Supreme," Raven repeated.
    "It's true," said Clancy then laughed. "Had I known I'd have insisted on more money. And to get you killed... That would have cost them a fortune. Did you get the kid to safety?"
    "Feeling guilty after all these years, Bodine?"
    "Don't be ridiculous. It's always been obvious who's the honorable one. You know, I think my old man did me a favor. Didn't leave me any illusions. But yours... left too damn soon for you to find out what a bastard he really was. Made you think you might be one of the good guys. Should be a law against it."
    "Shut up," said Raven evenly.
    "All right. I know how sensitive you are. It's time to discuss the really important things anyhow. Like, how do we get out of here with only one horse? What about food? Who does the girl sleep with?"
    Charm's breath caught in surprise.
    "Back off, Bodine," he said.
    "But she don't like you," Clancy said, seeming to address the issue he felt most important. "And who could blame her... the way you've acted. I'm older. A father figure. She'll feel safe with me."
    Charm shifted her gaze nervously from one man to the other. Raven frightened her, but Clancy frightened her more. Maybe simply because she had some history with Raven. Lots of running, pouncing, and tortured breathing. But better than what might happen with Clancy. She'd been reading men's faces for as long as she could recall, and although she usually had the uncertain protection of Jude and a card table between herself and them, a few facts remained constant. You couldn't trust men, and you certainly couldn't trust a man who would tie you up. And she couldn't read Raven's face, unlike Clancy's. So perhaps Clancy was a safer bet.
    He was from a poor southern family. Chances were good he