LONGARM AND THE BACKWOODS BARONESS
By Tabor Evans
Synopsis:
Darn shame, thinks Longarm. The normally pleasing odor of the timber country now reeks with the stench of varmint--the lying, cowardly kind. There's a war of sabotage and subterfuge going on between the cowboys and the lumberjacks. Longarm's been sent to settle things down, but he's got a conflict of interest. See, the lumber camp is headed up by a beautiful widow named Aurora McEntire. And on the other land there's a comely cattleman's daughter named Molly Kinsman. Life's just unfair. But then, so's death. 222nd novel in the 'Longarm' series, 1997.
CHAPTER 1
Cheroot clenched between his teeth at a jaunty angle, Longarm marched through the outer office and past the open-mouthed Henry, who called out futilely, 'Marshal Long, just a minute-'
Longarm stalked into the office of his boss, Chief Marshal Billy Vail. The banjo clock on the office wall showed the hour as being just after nine o'clock. It was not unheard of for Longarm to arrive at the Federal Building in Denver this early in the morning, but it was a mite rare. Billy Vail frowned and opened his mouth to say, 'What-'
'I quit,' said Longarm. Vail gaped at him.
Longarm took the little folding wallet containing his badge and bona fides from his inside coat pocket and dropped it on the desk. He grinned at Vail. 'Getting married,' he said. The cheroot waggled merrily.
Vail's mostly bald head began turning pink. 'Damn it, Custis!' he burst out after a moment. 'What in blazes are you talking about?'
'The holy state of matrimony, old son. You've got a wife. You ought to know better'n anybody the joys and privileges o' wedded bliss.'
'But you... you...' Vail sputtered. 'Hell, Longarm, you know the old saying. You're already getting the milk for free, so why buy the-'
Longarm held up a hand, palm out. 'Don't say it, Billy. I've seen the error of my ways. It's time I made an honest woman out of that friendly widow who's been keeping company with me.'
Vail put his hands on his desk and levered himself to his feet. 'That friendly rich widow?'
'Billy, you wound me deeply!' Longarm exclaimed, placing a hand over his heart. 'The fact that she just picked up a tidy little dividend from some of her investments has got nothing to do with my decision.'
With a snort, Vail shook his head. 'To think that I'd lose my best deputy to something so venal as greed.' He picked up a folder from his desk and shook it at Longarm. 'And just when I was about to give you a new assignment too!'
Almost against his will, Longarm found his eyes drawn to the folder in Vail's hand. 'New assignment?' he heard himself repeating.
'That's right. Figured you could handle it better than any of my other men.'
'Is that so?' Longarm sat down in the leather chair in front of Vail's desk and cocked his right foot on his left knee. 'I reckon it wouldn't hurt anything to listen to the details.'
'Oh, no,' Vail said, looking aghast. 'You're not a federal officer anymore, remember? You resigned, turned in your badge.' He sank into his chair and gestured to the wallet Longarm had tossed so casually onto the desk a few minutes earlier. 'I'll just have Henry send word for one of the other deputies to come in. Mike Davis, maybe. He hasn't had an assignment in a while.'
'Davis!' repeated Longarm. 'The reason Davis ain't had an assignment lately is 'cause he couldn't find his ass with both hands!'
'I imagine he can handle this,' Vail said confidently. 'Of course, people are getting killed, and the government's got quite a bit of money riding on things, so I hope he can get this mess untangled kind of quick-like.'
'Damn it, Billy,' Longarm said as he leaned forward and reached for the folder on Vail's desk. 'At least let me take a look at the paperwork. Maybe I could suggest somebody-'
'Get your hands off that folder, Long.' Billy Vail's voice was as cold as the snow and ice that still capped the peaks of the Front Range, despite the fact that it was summer. 'That's the property of the United States Justice Department, and like I said, it's none of your business anymore.'
'But Billy...'
Vail leaned back in his chair and folded his hands across his ample middle. 'Why, if you were to pick up that folder and read the report inside, I'd have to assume that you were rescinding your resignation and wanted to be considered for the assignment. In that case, you'd have to pick up your badge and your identification papers too.'
For a long moment, Longarm stared across the desk at his former boss. Then he sighed and stubbed out his cheroot in Vail's ashtray. With his right hand he reached for the folder, while with the left he scooped up the wallet containing his badge. 'You're a hard-hearted son of a bitch, you know that?' he muttered.
'Damn straight.' As Longarm opened the folder, Vail added, 'Looks like you're going back to timber country.'
'Yeah. Looks like.' Longarm started reading.
A half hour later, as he strode out of the Federal Building with travel vouchers and a copy of the report folded up in his coat pocket, he lit another cheroot and took a deep drag on it. Then he turned and looked through the crystal-clear air at the mountains and felt, as he always did, the irresistible pull of faraway places and new
