She sighed. “All right, but I am sick to death of sleeping on the trail.”
The clerk came around and said, “Folks, it’s too late to start out on the trail this evening.”
“We got a little sunlight left.”
“Why freeze tonight on the ground when you know that you’ll find those people in Flagstaff or Prescott?”
“Good question,” Diana said.
“Of course it is!” the clerk said. “You’d both be a lot better off to stay over tonight, get a good night’s sleep, and then push on tomorrow morning after one of my wife’s big old breakfasts of sourdough biscuits, bacon, and buttermilk.”
“Custis, please?” Diana asked.
“All right,” he said, digging five dollars out of his pants. “I guess it’ll be dark pretty soon anyways.”
“Could rain too,” the clerk said, taking the money and then giving them directions to his house. “Supper is at seven. Wife likes you to be at the dining table on time. She’ll make it worth your while.”
“We’ll do that,” Longarm promised as they started for the front door. “And, Diana, we’ll be leaving early.”
“Then I’ll want a full night’s sleep,” Diana said pointedly.
“Fine,” Longarm told her. “I could use one too.”
The store clerk winked and grinned but had the good sense not to say anything before Longarm and Diana left.
True to his promise, the bed had been soft, the sheets clean, and the food excellent in Purgatory. And after reaching Flagstaff, Longarm found Dr. Osmond, who had very little good to say about Nathan Cox.
“I told them the man was brain damaged and not to expect very much in the way of recovery.”
“It’s that bad, huh?” Longarm said.
“Well, I’m not really a doctor,” Osmond admitted. “But I have read some medical books and seen quite a few men with head injuries. This fella in the buckboard was hurt pretty bad. Most of them like that never fully recover.”
Longarm and Diana exchanged glances, then Longarm turned back to Osmond and said, “Thanks for your information.”
“Good luck catching them, Marshal.”
That same hour they resupplied their provisions and pushed on for Prescott.
A short way south of town Diana said, “You know I’m bitter about the way that Nathan lied and cheated me. But I have to tell you that I feel bad that he might never recover. I just can’t quite imagine him being permanently helpless.”
“It’s sad,” Longarm said, watching a train as it puffed into town. “I’ve never inflicted that kind of damage on anyone, but it happens.”
“If Nathan was in charge, he’d never return to Prescott,” Diana said. “He’d realize Prescott was the first place we’d look for him. This can mean only that Nathan is incapable of making decisions.”
“And counterfeit money,” Longarm added, “which is the only bright side to this sad business.”
“Yes,” Diana said, “I hadn’t thought of that. I know nothing about the subject, but I suppose it’s unlikely that either of the two women or the kid would have the knowledge and skill to make counterfeit money.”
“Completely unlikely,” Longarm agreed. “It would be easy work for a skilled printer, but not for a would-be cowboy and a couple of saloon girls.”
“I almost feel sorry for the way they’ve been caught up in this web,” Diana said. “Must you arrest Swensen and the women?”
“Probably,” Longarm said as they rode out of Flagstaff, “but I doubt that any charges will stick unless they actually try to use the plates. Their obvious defense would be to claim that they didn’t know about the plates or the counterfeit money.”
“But they’ve been spending it.”
“So have we,” Longarm reminded her, “as well as everyone else who has taken in that bogus money. It would be a waste of time to arrest those three. They’d beat any charges filed against them in court.”
“I can’t say that I would feel too bad about that,” Diana confessed.
“No more burning revenge?”
“Not for the kid or the women.”
“What about for Nathan?”
Diana gave the question some thought before she answered. “I can’t forgive him,” she finally said, “but how can you hate someone who has been robbed of their mind?”
“I don’t know. What if the doctor was wrong and he managed a full recovery?”
“Then he’d deserve prison … or worse, for killing his accomplice.”
“I agree,” Longarm said, feeling a sudden icy blast of wind strike him full in the face. Longarm pulled his sheepskin collar up to cover his cheeks and ears. “It’s cold up here in these pines.”
“Is Prescott warmer?”
