Pete rolled his cigarette with a grin forming on his lips. When he had it lit, he shook his head. “Nope.”
“Twenty!” Sophie said between clenched teeth.
“How old are you two pretty ladies?” Pete asked, puffing with contentment.
“Old enough,” Molly said.
“That’s what I think too,” Pete said. “I got a fresh stack of straw delivered inside my barn yesterday. Nice clean straw. I’ll close up the place and then why don’t we all go mess it up for a while?”
“You awful old billy goat!” Sophie swore.
“Ain’t 1, though,” Pete said, grinning even wider.
“Shit,” Molly said, leading her horse into the barn.
“You’re going to do it?” Sophie asked with surprise.
“Can’t quit now, can we?” Molly called back, already beginning to unbutton her dress as she walked.
Sophie cussed a blue streak but went on inside.
An hour later, the two women rode out the back of the barn and headed into the mountains. As soon as they were gone, Red Kane, Deke, Gus, and Willard tied their horses behind the livery and out of sight. They entered the barn to find Pete buttoning up his trousers and whistling a happy tune.
“Howdy!” Kane called, waiting until Gus had closed the back door of the livery barn.
Pete forgot about buttoning up his pants. His smile and the whistle died at the same time. “Hello,” he said, eyes flicking back and forth between the four hard-cases. “Can I help you boys?”
“We think so,” Kane said, marching forward and stopping before the man. “We’re looking for Marshal Custis Long.”
“Can’t help you. Sorry.”
Kane’s big fist shot out and he grabbed Pete by the shirtfront. “Think again, you randy old bastard. Where is the marshal and that medicine wagon?”
“I … I don’t know what …”
Kane doubled up his fist and drove it into Pete’s nose, breaking it with a pop.
“Oww!” the blacksmith shouted, trying unsuccessfully to break loose and run.
Kane’s knee slammed into Pete’s testicles, and the blacksmith howled and collapsed to his knees. Kane pulled a long knife out of his boot top. “All right,” he said, grabbing Pete by the hair and exposing his throat. “For the last time, where is the marshal and his prisoner?”
“The prisoner got away!” Pete swore. “Everyone on the street saw that!”
“That’s right,” Kane said, “but what they didn’t see was what happened in here when Ford and a couple of his friends came in here to get his handcuffs removed. Now, what did happen?”
Pete’s eyes fixed on the knife being held at his throat. “I’ll tell you,” he cried. “Don’t kill me! Please, I’ll tell you everything.” Kane dragged Pete erect. “Start talking.”
“The marshal killed them other ones,” Pete stammered.
“All of them?” Gus asked. “We heard that three of Ford’s friends just disappeared.”
“That’s right! They had a big shootout and Marshal Long killed all three.”
“And Ford?”
“He was still handcuffed and didn’t have a chance. The marshal knocked him out cold.”
“Where are all the bodies?” Willard asked.
“We stuffed ‘em in the wagon,” Pete answered. “The marshal lit out for Elko on the eastbound road. It’s the only one going that way and you can’t miss it.”
The four men exchanged glances. Then Kane turned back to Pete and said, “How were they?”
He blinked. “Who?”
“Sophie and Molly, dammit!”
“Oh, those two.” Pete gulped, his throat dry as desert sand. “Not bad. We just talked and …”
“You’re a damned liar,” Big Willard said. “Ain’t he lyin’ to us, brother?”
“He sure as hell is,” Kane agreed. “He screwed ‘em both, I’d bet on it. How were they?”
Pete was pouring with sweat and the blow to his testicles had left him feeling as if he needed to vomit. “All right,” he choked. “They were good. Real good.”
The four men chuckled and exchanged grins. “We’re fixin’to find out real soon,” Kane announced. “But first, we got some unfinished business with you.”
Pete tried to break free and run. He took a wild swing at Kane, but Big Willard was already stepping in behind him and clamping both of his huge hands on the sides of Pete’s face. An instant later, Pete felt a stab of pain at the base of his skull, and then he heard a loud, popping sound as his neck was snapped. After that, he heard nothing.
“Let’s see if he’s got anything worth stealing,” Kane said as his brother dropped the twitching man to the ground, “and then let’s ride after Marshal Long and them two women.”
