As he had been doing all day, Longarm kept an eye out for Guzman, the other Mexican from the cantina. Deputy Bullfincher had been convinced that Guzman would be gunning for him too. Longarm wasn’t quite so sure. Rodriguez had been paid to bushwhack him, but that didn’t mean Guzman had been too. Even if the person who wanted Longarm dead had enlisted Guzman in the effort, Guzman had surely seen what had happened to Rodriguez. Guzman could have returned the money to his erstwhile employer—or else kept it and pulled a double cross by taking off for the tall and uncut. Either way, Longarm didn’t think he had to worry overmuch about Guzman, but he still didn’t intend to take any foolish chances.
When they reached the winner’s circle, Padgett grabbed Cy and O’Malley both, hugging the jockey and the trainer in turn. “God, I’ve never been so thrilled in my whole life!” he said. “When Caesar reached the finish line, I thought I was going to die from the excitement!”
“We all did, Senator,” Mercer said dryly.
Several of the other owners arrived to pump Padgett’s hand and slap his back in congratulation, so Longarm took advantage of the opportunity to slip away and find the Cassidy sisters. They looked excited at Matador’s finish, but nevertheless somewhat disappointed.
“I really thought he’d win today,” Julie said as she stroked the shoulder of the big chestnut. Matador was sweating and his sides were still heaving from the exertion of the race.
“I reckon it was just Caesar’s day,” said Longarm, knowing the words were scant comfort. “You’ll get ‘em next time.”
“I hope so,” Janice said with a sigh. “Coming on this trip was expensive, you know. If we don’t go home with a sizable amount of money, we won’t be able to cover our expenses and make the necessary repairs to the ranch.”
Longarm shook his head. “Wish I could help you, ladies, but I don’t know a damned thing about this kind of horse racing. And on what Uncle Sam pays me, I can’t loan anybody more than whiskey-and-cigar money.”
Both of the young women looked alarmed. “Please, Custis, don’t think we were hinting for any such thing!” Janice said.
“We can take care of ourselves,” Julie said.
Janice took one of Longarm’s hands in both of hers. “We’re just glad you’ve been along for most of the trip, Custis, because having you for a friend has meant so much to us.”
“It’s been my pleasure, ma’am. And I mean that.”
Janice smiled up at him and practically puffed, “It’s been our pleasure too. Quite a few times, in fact.”
Longarm had to grin at her boldness.
The aftermath of the race passed without incident, as did that night at the hotel. The next westbound train would pass through Tucson the following morning, and the circuit would continue. Though there were no races scheduled for California, the route of the group would take them through the eastern part of that state, following the rail line as it curved north and made connections with the Union Pacific Railroad, which would take them to Carson City and Reno. Several days of travel would be involved, Longarm knew. He didn’t mind. He didn’t expect anything to happen while they were on the train—although he would not have ruled out the possibility of another attempt on his life—and the interval would give him time to ponder everything that had happened. A couple of theories had started to take shape in his mind, and he wanted to test them out by taking every fact he could think of and holding it up to scrutiny.
He went to sleep that night thinking about the case, and dreamed about clues that proved too elusive for him to grasp.
Mountains and deserts had a bleak, spectacular beauty to them for the most part, Longarm had learned over the years, but such landscapes got mighty old and tiresome after a few miles, especially when they were viewed from the window of a moving train. It wasn’t like riding horseback through such terrain, when you were moving slowly enough to appreciate all the subtle differences. When he had to do too much traveling by rail, he usually wound up sitting as far back in his seat as he could, hat tipped down over his eyes, an unlit cheroot clenched in his teeth. That was the position in which he found himself a couple of days after leaving Tucson. It would be another day and a half before the group of travelers arrived in Carson City for the next race.
Longarm had done his pondering, then gone through it all again and yet again. He had ideas, but no proof of anything. As darkness settled down on the train while it rolled through the Southwestern landscape, he decided that the time had come to do a little more snooping around …
First, though, he would have to wait until everyone was asleep. He straightened from his half-reclined position, frowning at the twinge in his lower back from stiff muscles, as Senator Padgett announced that he and Mercer were going to the club car for dinner. “I’ll come with you,” Longarm said, placing his hands on his knees and pushing himself to his feet.
“We could bring something back for you if you’d like, Marshal,” Padgett offered. “Don’t feel as if you have to tag along behind me everywhere I go. I think we’ve pretty well established by now that any threat to me is over.” Padgett snorted. “I don’t know why Chief Marshal Vail didn’t relieve you of this job when you wired him while we were in Tucson.”
“I reckon Billy’s got his reasons,” Longarm said.
The main one being that Longarm hadn’t asked to be relieved, didn’t want to be relieved. This assignment wasn’t over yet, not by a long shot, and Longarm and Billy both knew it. In fact, if everything worked out the way Longarm hoped, it was about to start heating up again.
Janice and Julie Cassidy were already in the club car, and they insisted that Longarm, Padgett, and Mercer join them, which the three men did without hesitation. Dinner passed pleasantly, and when it was over, Julie seized a moment alone with Longarm to say quietly, “I hope you’ll come to see us tonight after everyone else is asleep, Custis.”
It was a mighty tempting invitation, the kind that any man, including Longarm, would have been thrilled to receive. But there was something else he had in mind to do first. Maybe if that other business didn’t take too long, he could stop by the sisters’ compartment.
“I’ll see what I can do, Miss Julie,” he promised, hoping they wouldn’t be too disappointed if they had to wait a while. Hoping too that he would still feel like seeing them when he finished his other errand.
