“The skull and other remains have been buried, you see. They were held as evidence until the conclusion of the trial, then transferred to the state archives in Cheyenne, and when they were released from there they were offered to Madelyn for burial. They are, of course, officially presumed to be the mortal remains of her father, Rupert Williams.” Longarm nodded.
“She quite naturally agrese to take possession of them on the grounds that her father is still alive albeit missing.”
“Damn,” Longarm mumbled, already seeing where this was headed.
“Exactly. So the state buried them in a potter’s field outside Cheyenne. And to locate them again and exhume them would require a court order. God alone knows how long that would take, but I can assure you it could not be done before next Monday morning when Madelyn’s husband is slated to die at the end of a hangman’s rope.”
“That kinda looks like that then, don’t it,” Longarm said softly.
“I am loath to agree with you on the point, sir. But yes, I am afraid that that does indeed seem to be that.” Overton spread his hands and, with an apologetic look in Maddy’s direction, said, “I am sorry, my dear, but I fear your deputy friend and I both have done quite as much as it is possible for us to do. The sad truth is that Gary will have to face his Maker next Monday morning.” Maddy, Longarm saw, had begun very quietly to cry.
Dammit. He wished there’d been something he could have done about that.
He stood and extended his hand to Tyler Overton again. There was nothing Longarm knew of that he could fault the lawyer for. The man seemed to have given Gary Bell his very best. The problem was that there just wasn’t evidence to support Overton’s defense claims. And certainly no evidence available to disprove the prosecution theories.
“Good night, sir,” Longarm said, taking Maddy by the elbow and steering her toward Overton’s front door. “Sorry we bothered you s’ late.”
“I only wish your visit had been a more successful one,” Overton said. “Believe me.”
“G’night,” Longarm said again, and pulled the door open, letting a cool breeze sweep into the cozy parlor. He tugged his hat over his eyes and guided Maddy out onto the stoop.
Chapter 1 7
Longarm snapped his fingers and, turning away from Madelyn, reached back and stopped Overton from closing the door behind them.
“Yes, Deputy?” Overton asked. “Is there something you forgot?”
“Y’ might say that. It occurs t’ me, sir, that you could tell me what the teeth on that skull looked like. I mean, since you don’t know how t’ tell the difference between an Indian and a white man, you wouldn’t know how t’ lie to me about it even if you was so inclined.” Longarm smiled. “You see my point?”
“Yes, yes, I believe I do.” Overton pursed his lips in deep thought, then motioned for Longarm and Maddy to return to the warmth of the house. “What is it you want me to describe, sir?”
“The back part o’ the teeth. Not what you see when somebody smiles, like, but the back part that faces the tongue. What did that look like on the skull that was found?”
“Yes, I see. Mrs. Bell, you saw the teeth. Help me with this, would you? As I recollect them, the teeth on this skull were, um, how would one put it … concave. Is that the word I want? I can never remember which is which, concave or convex. One protrudes and the other dishes in.
“An’ which did these teeth do, Mr. Overton?”
“They dished inward. I would say that the backs of these teeth definitely dished inward, much like the hollowed scoop of a shovel. Would you agree with that, Mrs. Bell?”
“I really don’t remember much about what they looked like, Tyler. I hated having to see that horrid thing and didn’t look at it all that much.”
“But would you say the teeth were concave or convex?” Overton persisted.
“I just don’t remember well enough to say one way or the other,” Maddy said, her voice showing a trace of annoyance at the second asking of the same question.
Overton turned to Longarm and shrugged. “My memory is definitely that the backs of the teeth were dished inward. Not a lot, mind. But most definitely inward.”
“Concave,” Longarm said.
“Is that it? Concave?”
“It’s easier t’ remember if you keep in mind that a cave is a hole that goes into the ground. Concave goes in, just like a cave.”
“Ah, a mnemonic device. Thank you.”
“A what?”
“Never mind, Deputy. But thank you. I’ll not forget again which is concave and which convex.”
“Yeah, if you say so.”
“Ah, may I ask if the description has any meaning for you, sir?”
Longarm smiled. “Ayuh, I’d say that it does. What you just described t’ me, Counselor, is the teeth of a dead Indian. No question about it. That skull they found couldn’t have been that of Maddy’s pa, Windy Williams. No way in hell that could’ve been so.”
Maddy looked ready to shout for joy, and even Tyler Overton looked exceptionally pleased.
“In that case, sir, why, we have to report this to the judge. Or somebody. At once. They will have to stop the hanging. They will have to
