“Beats me,” Plug said.
This whole thing didn’t add up as far as I could see. It all added up for the court, which is why Judge Nippers sentenced the boy to hang. But there were a lot of questions in my mind, and I sure wasn’t getting any answers.
“Sheriff,” Upward said, “you’re sniffing around the way a dog sniffs at vomit. Why? Just let it go, all right? The whole thing was tried, there were witnesses including me, and the jury convicted King Bragg of triple murder, and the judged sentenced him. Just let her go now, and get back to keeping the peace.”
There sure was an edge to Upward’s voice. Almost like he was commanding me. Almost like he was threatening, even though there wasn’t no threats that I could hear. He was just telling me to lay off, and I guess he was right. The thing had been worrying around in my head for days, and I needed to let it go.
But I knew I couldn’t. Things didn’t seem right. A boy was about to get himself hanged. And time was running out.
“Well, it’s Rocco that interests me,” I said. “I’m just not sure who he was.”
“He was just a drifting bum from back East,” Plug said.
“Why’d you hire him then?”
“For safety. Rocco never wore a gun. You never saw a short gun on him. But he’s the one I’d like to have with me in a saloon. He could cut someone up so fast they’d be dead before they knew they had a knife in ’em.”
“A knifer?”
“The best. You never saw a knife on him either, but he always had two: one sewn into his boot, and the other in a pouch hanging behind his neck under his shirt.”
“Why would Crayfish Ruble want a knifer on his payroll?” I asked.
“Beats me, Sheriff.”
“Castrating bull calves,” Upward said.
“That takes a knife fighter? It didn’t spare him from a bullet from King Bragg,” I said. “Now why’d the boy shoot him too?”
“Let it go, Sheriff.” That was Upward talking, and he was plain irritated.
“So why’d he die?” I asked.
No one said nothing. The question hung there. Plug Parson, he sipped his drink, and Upward, he polished his bar, and me, I just stood there waiting for some answer that didn’t come.
“Did Rocco get crosswise of anyone?” I asked.
Plug Parsons, he swilled the last of the drink down his gullet. “I’m going back to Rosie’s,” he said. “I come here for a good time, nice afternoon, and next thing I know the damned sheriff’s digging up old bones.”
I watched the straw boss hike his jeans up and walk out.
Upward, he got the bottle of red-eye from me, and put it on the back bar out of my reach, and turned his back to me. Things was getting sort of unfriendly at the Last Chance.
I left two bits on the bar and headed into the sunlight of late afternoon. The town was peaceful enough, but all them T-Bar men was keeping it peaceful. Maybe too peaceful. I got to thinkin’ about that little visit. Plug wasn’t even curious when I told him the Jonas brothers had a record. He must have known it. He didn’t ask to see the dodgers either. I wondered if Plug knew they had changed their name from Ramshorn to Jonas. Plug sure was not surprised. Sammy wasn’t surprised. And strange to say, I wasn’t surprised that they weren’t surprised.
Back at the jailhouse and sheriff office, I seen that Rusty had taken over from Burtell and that things was peaceful enough.
“You been running around to bars and cathouses, I hear,” Rusty said.
“It sure was an education. Over at Rosie’s, Crayfish and Rosie were having a horizontal business conference, and over at the Last Chance, Plug Parson and Sammy Upward weren’t very happy when I started talking about them three that King Bragg shot. But I don’t know much else. You know anything?”
“Yeah, King wants to ask you a question.”
“I’ll go talk to him.”
The kid was peering through the bars.
“How many drinks does it take to knock someone out?” he asked.
“I sure don’t know,” I said. “Some fellers, they can drink all night and never even get fuzzy. Other fellers are flat on their ass after a couple.”
“One drink?”
“I never heard of one drink knocking anyone out,” I said.
“I only had one drink of ale at the Sampling Room that night,” he said.
“You sure?”
“One drink. Then I went over to the Last Chance, and Sammy Upward served me.”
“And after that?”
“I was lying on the sawdust. I think I got hit on the head.”
