“All right,” Dawson said.
Quentin stood on his front porch until Dawson mounted his horse, then started the five-mile ride back to town. After that, Quentin walked across the yard to the bunkhouse. Cole Mathers, his foreman, had a small, private room at the end of the bunkhouse. Quentin, still carrying the candle, opened the door.
“Cole,” he said.
Cole snorted and sniffed, then rolled over in his bunk.
“Cole,” Quentin said again.
Cole opened his eyes and seeing Quentin standing over him, holding a candle, sat up in his bunk. “Yes, sir?”
“You were in town last night, weren’t you?”
“Yes, sir.”
“What time did you get back to the ranch?”
“About eleven or so.”
“Did you know about this?” Quentin asked. He held out the newspaper and Cole looked at it. He read a few lines, then shook his head.
“First time I’ve seen it,” he said.
“It was published last night. I thought maybe you saw it.”
Cole shook his head.
“Where is Cates?”
“He’s staying over at Gillespie’s house.”
“You mean my house,” Quentin said.
“Yes, sir, well, it’s your house now. What I meant was, he’s over at the house that used to be Mr. Gillespie’s house before he left.”
“Go get him, tell him I want to see him.”
“All right,” Cole said. He got out of bed and started getting dressed. “Mr. Quentin, you sure you want Cates workin’ for you?”
“Yes, I’m sure. Why do you ask?”
“Because I don’t mind tellin’ you, that creepy little son of a bitch makes me nervous.”
Quentin laughed. “Good. That’s why I hired him. I want him to make people nervous.”
“Even his friends?”
This time, Quentin’s laugh was louder than before. “People like Cates don’t have friends, Cole, you ought to know that,” he said. “They just have a few people whose name they might happen to know.”
Chapter Twenty
Elmer Brandon’s morning routine never varied. As always, he was Kathleen York’s first customer of the day. His breakfast this morning was the same as it was every morning, one hardboiled egg, one strip of bacon, one biscuit with butter and jam, and coffee.
“Mr. Brandon, I read the editorial in your extra edition,” Mary Lou said as she waited on his table. “I thought it was very good.”
“Why, thank you, Mary Lou, it is nice of you to say so.”
Two other early diners spoke up as well, and their comments were as complimentary as Mary Lou’s.
Kathleen came over to Brandon’s table and poured a second cup of coffee for him.
“What are you having for lunch?” Brandon asked.
“I’ve got a good vegetable soup on,” she said. “But lunch is going to be an hour earlier today. I intend to close the restaurant so I can watch the trial.”
“Oh, good idea,” Brandon said. “And since I’m going to be one of Mr. Murchison’s witnesses, I need to eat an early lunch anyway.”
Just as Brandon finished his second cup of coffee, he saw Smoke, Sally, Cal, and Murchison coming in for breakfast. He stopped by their table on his way out.
“Mr. Brandon,” Smoke said. “I read your article. It was a great piece. No doubt it will be the talk of the town today.”
Brandon chuckled. “Oh, I’ve no doubt it will be the talk of the town,” he said. “But there are a lot of people who aren’t going to be all that pleased with it.”
“Anyone with a sense of justice and fair play will like it,” Murchison said. “The truth is, Mr. Brandon, I believe your article may just guarantee us an impartial jury and a fair trial.”
“I hope so,” Brandon replied. “And I know that I’m looking forward to being a witness for you. Do we need to talk about it before I testify?”
Murchison shook his head. “That won’t be necessary,” he said. “As I understand it, your testimony is going to
