soon as he entered and now walked back to his table, where he was seated alone. It didn’t matter to him that he had told the deputy that he didn’t know him.
“You’re late.”
“I know.”
“Went to see the woman first, didn’t you?”
“That’s right.”
“The boy yours?”
“Yeah.”
“So what are you gonna do?”
“When we leave, I’m takin’ them with me.”
“And when are we leavin’?”
“After we take the bank.”
“You saw the deputies, right?”
“I see ’em.”
“You hung us out here so you could see the woman without any interference.”
“It didn’t work,” Jeb said unapologetically. “I met a deputy named Shaye at the sheriff’s house.”
“They’re all named Shaye, near as I can figure,” Delay said. “At least, these two are.”
“Father and sons?”
“That’s right.”
Jeb frowned.
“Dan Shaye?”
“That ain’t the half of it,” Delay said and told Jeb about Shay Daniels. He also told Jeb about his conversation with Thomas Shaye.
“You been busy.”
“I’ve had my mind on business, Jeb.”
“Don’t worry, Vic,” Jeb said. “My mind is on business.”
“With all this attention we’re gettin’, you still want to hit the bank?”
Jeb smiled and said, “More than ever. I got a family to support now.”
65
When Sheriff Cotton and Dan Shaye returned to the office, Thad was still seated out front, eager to do what he was told and make up for his mistake.
“I didn’t hear no shots, Sheriff,” he said.
“Good, Thad,” Cotton said. “Just stay out until you do.”
“Sure, Sheriff,” Thad said, “but what do I do then?”
“You’ll figure it out, son.” He turned to Shaye. “Shall we go into the saloon, Dan?”
“I guess that’s a likely next move,” Shaye said.
“What other one could there be?”
“To wait for them to make a move for the bank.”
“And leave them to the bank guards?”
“No, I don’t think so,” Shaye said. “I don’t know the training of the bank guards, but I do know the reputations of Jeb Collier and Vic Delay. They’ve done what they do many times before.”
“You don’t think the guards would be able to handle them?” Riley Cotton asked.
“I doubt it.”
“So if we just keep watching them,” Cotton reasoned, “they won’t be able to make a move.”
“There are eight of them and five of us,” Shaye said. “If they split up, three of them can hit the bank.”
“But if we watch Collier and Delay, they’d have to do it without them.”
“No,” Shaye said, shaking his head, “they won’t be able to do that. They’ll need Collier at least. He’s the brains. And they’ll need Delay, because he’s the killer. So they’ll need both of them.”
“So we’re back where we started,” Cotton said. “Why don’t I just order them out of town? That’ll force them into a move.”
“Yeah, it would.”
“So?”
Shaye turned and looked at Thad, at his bruised face.
“Maybe we got another way to force their hand,” he said, “and change the odds at the same time.”
“How?”
Shaye told him.
Cotton nodded and said, “Okay. Let’s go do it.”
“We’ll take Thad too,” Shaye said.
“Why?”
“He can identify them,” Shaye said, “and he owes them.”
Cotton turned to Thad.
“You wanna go in, boy?”
“Yes, sir!” Thad said eagerly.
“You gonna do what you’re told?”
“Every step of the way, sir.”
The sheriff looked at Shaye and said. “Let’s go, then.”
66
Cotton entered the saloon first, followed by Shaye and then Thad. James and Thomas both stood up straight at the sight of them, knowing something was about to happen.
From the back of the room Delay and Jeb saw the three extra lawman enter and also knew something was in the air.
“Jeb,” Delay said, lacing his hand on his gun.
“Wait,” Jeb said.
“We got a lot of cover in here,” Delay told him. “Lots of people. The lawmen’ll try not to hit innocent bystanders. We don’t have that problem.”
“Just wait, Vic,” Jeb said. “Let’s see what they’re after before we go off half-cocked.”
Delay sat back, moved his hand away from his gun.
“Pick ’em out, boy,” Cotton said to Thad.
The place grew quiet as the lawmen moved among the patrons. At the bar Tanner looked over at Jeb, who shook his head. Ben Collier was standing next to him and also saw his brother shake his head.
Samms and Leslie were playing poker at the same table and didn’t notice anything until the place grew quiet. Samms looked around, noticed all the lawmen in the room, and got nervous.
“Stay calm, boys,” Jeb said under his breath.
It was Wilson and Roberts, though, who were the object of Thad Hagen’s attention. They were seated at a table with drinks in their hands and girls in their laps when the place grew quiet. Now they watched as the lawmen approached them, the young deputy in the lead.
“These are them,” Thad said.
“What is he talkin’ about?” Wilson asked the two older lawmen.
“You ladies move along,” Cotton said.
The two women got up and hurried to the bar, where they huddled together.
Roberts looked over his shoulder to where Jeb and Delay were sitting, but neither man moved or
