and son?”
“I do,” Longarm said. “And now that he has exacted his savage revenge upon Judge Getty, I don’t see any reason for him to remain here in Denver. Why should he?”
“No reason that I can think of.”
Longarm came to his feet. “This secret assassin sure didn’t waste any time moving against the judge, so I’m betting that he also won’t waste any time going after the Marble Gang.”
“That makes sense.” Billy also came to his feet. “Then I guess we both agree that, since we haven’t a clue as to the whereabouts or identity of the assassin, you should go after the Marble Gang. If you find them before the vengeful James Smith, you can set a snare for him.”
“Yeah,” Longarm agreed. “But I’ll tell you this much. I won’t feel too badly if our assassin kills a few of that gang before I can trap him.”
Billy frowned. He picked up a brier pipe and stuffed its carbon-coated bowl with Moroccan tobacco from a polished walnut case. His eyes narrowed and he stabbed the stem of his pipe at Longarm.
“Custis, it’s your sworn duty to protect and serve the supposedly innocent until they are tried and proven guilty. That even includes the likes of Dave and Tom Marble, as ruthless a pair of fugitives as I ever hope to see hanged.”
“Speaking of them, what have we got to go on?”
“We believe that they’ve fled into the Rockies and are hiding in one of the mining towns. Perhaps in Leadville, Cortez, or Durango. I don’t think its inconceivable that they’ve split up and intend to regroup later at some prearranged location.”
“I’ll need every piece of information you can give me, not only on the Marble brothers, but on the other three members of the gang.”
“Jake Mill, Hank Trabert, and Red Skoal. They’re almost as bad as the Marbles,” Billy said. “All three have spent time in federal prison. They’re a bunch of misfits and murderers. They all should have hanged years ago, and would have been if it hadn’t been for judges like the late Franklin Getty.”
“Any of them married or have families?”
“One of them—Red Skoal—is from up around South Park. Trabert is from Leadville, and I don’t have any idea where Jake Mill is from, but he was once arrested over near Cortez.”
“What about the Marble brothers?”
“They were raised in Durango, but ran wild all over the Four Corners area,” Billy said.
“That’s damned rough country.”
“It doesn’t get much rougher,” Billy agreed.
“I’ll need a top horse. Pack mule too. A good rifle and plenty of food and ammunition.”
“It’s already been arranged,” Billy told him. “You just go over to Johnson’s Livery, where everything is waiting.”
“What about money?”
Billy’s eyes narrowed. “How much do you think you’ll need?”
“I have no idea.”
“You can always wire for more,” Billy said, pulling out a drawer and handing Longarm a fat envelope. “This contains all the information we have on the Marble Gang as well as three hundred dollars in travel money. I want you to promise to wire me at least every other day so that I know what to tell my superiors about this case.”
“That’s not going to be possible, Billy. There are no telegraph lines up there.”
“Figure out something,” Billy snapped. “One of your glaring shortcomings is not to keep me informed when you are out in the field.”
Longarm opened the thick brown manila envelope and counted the money while saying, “I’ve heard you had exactly the same shortcoming when you were out in the field doing important work, Mr. Vail.”
Billy snorted, but when he saw that Longarm was smiling, he had to grin as well. “Just get over to that livery, get on that horse we’ve provided, and head for the hills, Custis. And remember that while you are tracking the Marble Gang, James Smith or whatever his name is might also be tracking you.”
“I hadn’t even thought about that,” Longarm admitted. “I just assumed that The Assassin would be between me and the gang.”
“That could be a fatal error in judgment,” Billy told him. “Put yourself in Smith’s place. If you didn’t know where to find the Marble Gang, wouldn’t you at least consider trailing a deputy United States marshal—one you probably already knew a great deal about because you’d secretly worked for this department?”
“I suppose that I might,” Longarm agreed. “But I don’t think that he can shadow me through the mountains.”
“Maybe he’s even smarter than we’ve given him credit for,” Billy suggested.
Longarm folded the envelope in half and jammed it into his coat pocket. Turning on his boot heel, he started for the door, but Billy called out to say, “What was she like, Custis?”
He froze, not daring to turn for fear that his expression would betray him. “What do you mean?”
“The judge’s housekeeper and personal companion. Just how personal was she?”
“Go to hell,” Longarm growled as he continued out the doorway hearing Billy’s laughter.
Longarm had promised Lavinia that he would stop by the judge’s house and tell her what was going to happen
