Jason said, “Lew’s playin’ it up for all it’s worth, isn’t he?”
Abe nodded. “A regular John Wilkes Booth. Far as the actin’ goes, anyhow. I seen him once, in Baltimore, y’know.”
Rafe leaned forward at that. “For real? You get any indication of what was to come?”
Abe shook his head. “Damn good performance, though. Can’t recollect the name’a the play just now. . . .”
Jason waved a hand. “Can we get back to the business at hand, gentlemen?”
They all stared toward Davis’s cell. He was nothing but a dark shadow, sitting in profile to them on the edge of the bunk, hat pulled low, face down, seemingly fascinated with the floor between his boots.
Abe, who had been sitting on the edge of Jason’s desk, stood up. “Gotta think on it, but it may be a case for the U.S. Marshal’s Office. Attempted kidnapping, that is. You boys be up for an answer come the mornin’?”
Jason nodded, and Abe let himself out and soberly walked across the street to Kendalls’ Boarding House.
Jenny was asleep by the time Jason finally got home and settled Cleo in, and he quietly got ready for bed and slid his body between the covers. And the whole time, all he was thinking about was “what next?” He supposed most of it would hang on Abe’s decision, but that would entail Abe having to haul Davis up to Prescott. No matter how you looked at it, that wasn’t a happy plan. There were too many mountains to climb and too many streams to cross, and just plain too many opportunities for Davis to break free.
It wasn’t that Jason mistrusted Abe’s abilities. But he didn’t know what Davis was capable of, and he didn’t like the idea of Abe going out there alone with him.
Finally, after some fitful tossing and turning, he decided to send Ward along. Ward would enjoy the outing, he figured, and Abe would enjoy the company. All this hinged, of course, on Abe’s decision. Taking into account his friendship with Rafe and his swift reaction to Matt, earlier this evening, Jason wouldn’t be surprised if he just dragged Davis up into the mountains and shot him.
He shook his head. No, Abe wouldn’t do that. But then again, he might. It was impossible to tell.
At last, slumber’s beckoning became insistent, and Jason fell fitfully asleep. He didn’t rouse until Jenny woke him the next morning.
But when Jason finally sat down in his office, Abe was nowhere to be found. According to Ward, he hadn’t been by the office, and nobody’d seen him. Sampson Davis, at least, was still in his cell, and silently ate the breakfast that Jenny had made for him—careful to keep it kosher, of course.
Abe finally stuck his head in the door at about lunchtime and apprised Jason that he’d come to no decision as yet.
Jason was both relieved and disappointed, but if anybody had asked him, he couldn’t have said why.
He walked over to the saloon with Abe and rounded up Rafe (prying him loose from a game of blackjack, which he’d been winning all morning), and they all hiked up to the cafe to grab some lunch. Jenny had sent him off to work with a chicken sandwich, but he figured to eat that later on. Talking was more important now.
And Rafe and Abe were both full of talk. Unfortunately, mostly stories about Rafe’s daddy and Rafe’s childhood and Rafe’s growing up, and no speculation about just what the hell they were going to do with Sampson Davis.
Abe seemed in a particularly good mood. Had Jason been so inclined, he might have even referred to him as “high-spirited.” Quite a departure from his usual demeanor. Odd, Jason thought. Very odd.
He finally asked. “Where you been this morning, Abe? Couldn’t turn you up, and I about turned over every stone in town.”
“Reckon you didn’t think to look where I was,” Abe said cryptically.
“Where was that?”
“In the schoolhouse.” Abe grinned. It was a silly grin, almost like a smitten youngster.
“What the heck were you doin’ in school? Hey, you weren’t romancin’ my baby sister, were you?”
Abe held up both hands, palms forward. “Don’t go gettin’ yourself in an uproar, Jason. That Jenny’s a good kid. She took over classes for Electa while we went out back and talked.”
Now Jason was really confused. Even Rafe looked a little taken aback. Jason said, “You went outside with Miss Morton?”
“Ain’t gonna be ‘Miss Morton’ for long,” Abe remarked with a grin that tried to be cryptic, but failed.
Rafe slugged him in the arm. “You old dog!”
It took Jason a little longer, but he finally said, “But you haven’t even met her yet!”
“I was up there yesterday for a spell, and I seen her the day I rode in. Damned handsome woman.”
“But still, that’s hardly a basis for—”
“Jason,” Abe said, “my pa knew my ma for about twelve hours afore they got hitched, and they’re still hitched to this very day. Sometimes, lastin’ love happens fast.”
“Maybe, but—”
“No buts about it.” Abe signaled the waiter. “Three pieces of apple pie—with cheddar. We’re celebratin’!”
“But did she say yes?” Jenny asked again. “My gosh, I sure couldn’t tell anything from the way she acted. I mean, not that she’d just been proposed to!”
“Yes, she said ‘yes’,” Jason replied. He didn’t really understand it himself, yet. “Except she wants him to go ask her father, first.”
Jenny’s hand were suddenly planted firmly on her hips. “Why? I mean, she’s got to be like, forty years old or something!”
