The man shrugged his broad shoulders. 'Sure. I don't know why you think I can help you, but if I can, I'd be glad to.'
Callahan was a cool-headed son of a bitch, Longarm had to give him that. He had halfway expected Callahan to pull a gun upon being confronted like this. He had to suspect that Longarm was on to him.
Instead, Callahan turned away and said over his shoulder, 'Come on in my shack, Marshal. We can talk there.'
Frowning in puzzlement, Longarm swung down from the roan and handed the reins to Rory, who reached out for them. 'I'll take care o' yer horse, Marshal,' said the red-bearded logger.
Longarm wasn't sure what was going on here, but he remained confident in his ability to handle whatever tricks Callahan had up his sleeve. He followed the boss logger into a small cabin that evidently served as Callahan's quarters.
The cabin was furnished with a table and a couple of chairs, a bunk, and a sturdy trunk that sat at the foot of the bed. Callahan opened the trunk and took out a bottle. 'Care for a drink, Marshal?' he asked.
Longarm saw to his surprise that the label on the bottle proclaimed it to be Maryland rye, Tom Moore to be precise. What were the odds that Callahan would have a bottle of Longarm's favorite here in the middle of the Cascades?
It had been a long time since he had asked too many questions of such good fortune, however. He could arrest Callahan after they'd had a drink just as well as before. With a nod, he said, 'Much obliged.'
Callahan dug a couple of glasses out of the trunk, blew dust from them, and pulled the cork from the bottle of rye with his teeth. He splashed liquor into each glass, then replaced the bottle in the trunk and held out one of the glasses to Longarm. Longarm was about to toss off the drink when Callahan lifted his own glass and said, 'Here's to Aurora Mcentire.'
Longarm nodded curtly and said, 'To Aurora.' Then he downed the rye, licked his lips appreciatively, and went on. 'You always drink to somebody you're trying to run out of business, Callahan?'
Callahan frowned, taken aback by the blunt question. 'What are you talking about, Marshal? I wouldn't want to hurt Aurora's business.'
'No, you just want to make things so bad for her that she'll sell out to you on the cheap, government contract and all.'
Callahan's blunt fingers tightened on the empty glass he held. 'You're insane,' he said. 'I'd never hurt Aurora.'
Longarm's right hand was close to the butt of his Colt, just in case Callahan decided to try something funny. 'That ain't the way I figure it,' he said coldly. 'You see, I was there a few days ago when you offered to buy her out. You practically admitted you were behind all her troubles. And I saw you meeting on the sly today with her cook, who's been helping you with your scheme.'
For a long moment, Callahan stared hard at Longarm. Then he shook his head sadly. 'You don't understand, Marshal,' he said. 'You just don't understand.'
'Then why don't you explain it to me?' Longarm snapped.
Callahan looked down at the cabin's puncheon floor and heaved a sigh, then said, 'All right. If I have to.' His gaze lifted, and his eyes met Longarm's. 'I don't really want to buy Aurora out. I'm in love with her, and I want to marry her.'
CHAPTER 11
This time it was Longarm's turn to stare in amazement. Of all the things Callahan might have said, that was one of the last ones Longarm would have expected.
'Marry her?' he repeated. 'You don't even like her. Aurora told me how you broke up your partnership with Angus Mcentire because he decided to marry her and you couldn't stand her.'
A look of pure misery appeared on Callahan's face. 'That's what she thinks? I ended my partnership with Angus because I couldn't stand knowing that Aurora was marrying him instead of me. I knew if Angus and I stayed partners, I'd have to see her sometimes, and that was more than I could take.'
Longarm was flabbergasted by this agonized confession on Callahan's part and not sure whether to believe the man or not. He said, 'Didn't you ever tell Aurora how you really felt about her?'
Callahan shook his head. 'She was happy with Angus. I couldn't bring myself to cause trouble for her. I suppose you could say I just... loved her from afar.'
'Maybe you could say something like that,' muttered Longarm. 'I couldn't.' He glared at Callahan and went on. 'What about that fella Eli, that bald-headed cook? Like I told you, I saw the two of you-'
Callahan held up both hands, palms out. 'I know, I know. And I admit that Eli has been working for me. But not because I want to cause trouble for Aurora. I just had Eli there to keep an eye on her, so that I would know what was going on. When I first heard about the problems she was having, I figured it was time to make my move. I offered to buy her company from her.'
'So, you don't want to cause trouble for her, but you don't mind taking advantage of trouble she's already got, is that it?' asked Longarm skeptically.
Callahan grimaced. 'You make it sound pretty bad, Marshal, but you don't know everything I had in mind. I thought it would be better for Aurora if she didn't have to worry about the company anymore. I thought too that if maybe whoever was behind the problems had a grudge against her, he would stop if the company changed hands. Then I was going to... to ask Aurora to marry me, so that I could give the company back to her as a wedding present.'
That was one of the craziest things Longarm had ever heard, but he had to admit that it was just the sort of thing a lovesick fool such as Callahan professed to be might come up with. Still, he wasn't ready to write off his suspicions just yet.
'I heard you tell Eli that you were going to try something new with Aurora, since nothing else had worked, and that old cook said she wouldn't know what hit her. What was that about?'
