“It’s not on any map,” Smoke said. “And that’s by design. They don’t want anybody to know they’re there.”
“Why, that beats all I’ve ever heard,” Saddler said. “Why would a town not want anybody to know of its existence?”
“It’s what some might call a Robbers’ Roost,” Smoke said. “Men who are running from the law go there, knowing there is little chance anyone from the law will trace them there.”
“You know the town, Mr. Jensen?” Ollie asked, surprised by Smoke’s response.
Smoke had visited the town once when he was on the dodge, going by the name of Buck West. “Yes, I know the town.” He gave no further explanation.
“How is it that you know the town, Ollie?” Frakes asked.
“I wasn’t always an agent for Wells Fargo. At one time in my life I was a different kind of agent.”
“My God,” Saddler said. “You mean you were a road agent?”
“I was nineteen,” Ollie said. “And I fell in with the wrong crowd. I served two years, and I’ve been straight ever since.”
“Does Wells Fargo know about this?” Frakes asked.
“They know.” Ollie smiled. “That’s why they let me handle their money, just as you men are doing in this card game.”
The others laughed.
“I would like to ask you something, Ollie,” Smoke said. “When you say you fell in with the wrong crowd, would that be Bill Dinkins?”
“I don’t have anything to do with Dinkins anymore,” Ollie said.
“What?” Saddler said. “Ollie, are you telling me that you were not only a road agent, but that you actually rode with Bill Dinkins?”
Ollie folded his cards and drummed his fingers on the table for a moment. “If you gentlemen would rather I not play cards with you anymore, I will understand. I don’t want to cause any trouble.”
“We aren’t saying that, Ollie. We aren’t saying that at all, are we, Jim?” Frakes asked the question pointedly, challenging Saddler.
“No, I, uh, didn’t mean to imply anything like that.”
“Mr. Lynch, I don’t mean to be pushy or anything, but I have a personal interest in locating Bill Dinkins and the men who are riding with him,” Smoke said.
“I know you do, Mr. Jensen. I doubt there is anyone in Colorado who doesn’t know that Dinkins shot your wife. It’s been in all the papers. How is she, by the way?”
“She has had a hard time of it. But she’s doing quite well now.”
“I figured she must be, or you wouldn’t be huntin’ for him. You would be back home with your wife.”
“You think he might be in Risco, do you?”
“I can’t be for sure, because I haven’t seen him in over five years. But when I was ridin’ with him, we used to spend quite a bit of time there.”
“May I ask what was the attraction of such a place?” Frakes asked.
“Well, think about it, Al. What is the good of holding up a stagecoach, or robbing a bank, if you can’t spend your money? And if you are a wanted man, you can’t spend it in a town like a normal person would—you can’t even go into a regular town without fear of bein’ recognized.
“So, ever’one winds up in Risco at one time or another. Risco has restaurants, hotels, drugstores, general stores, saloons, gambling halls, and whore houses. In short, ever’thing a man might need. Only thing is, ever’thing costs ’bout three or four times more there than it does anywhere else.”
“Mr. Lynch, I thank you kindly for the information,” Smoke said. “I just don’t know why I hadn’t thought of Risco myself.”
“You’ll be goin’ there, will you, Mr. Jensen?” Lynch asked.
“Yes.”
“Maybe you’re goin’ after Bill Dinkins, and I know why you are. But he ain’t the one you got to worry about. The one you got to worry about is Wes Harley. I reckon you’ve heard of him.”
“Yes, I have heard of him. Cole Parnell told me about him, before he was hanged. Parnell said he was Dinkins’ brother.”
“Yes sir, he is. They got the same ma, but their pa is different.”
“I’m not looking for Harley. He isn’t the one who shot Sally.”
“That don’t matter none. Like as not, he knows you are after them, so he’ll be lookin’ for you now. And here’s the thing. He’s like Dinkins, in that he would just as soon kill you, as look at you. What makes him different from Dinkins is that he is good at it.”
“Thanks for the warning,” Smoke said.
“It’s not goin’ to stop you from lookin’ for him though, is it?” Ollie asked.
“Not for a minute.” Smoke said.
