“She was a whore. What if her people don’t want her back?”
“Then I’ll see she’s buried.”
“She really got to you, didn’t she?” Parminter said. “I wouldn’t have thought …”
“You wouldn’t have thought what?” Longarm demanded when the mayor failed to complete his sentence.
“Never mind.”
“Fine. So where can I find your local undertaker.”
“Our barber handles that. Do you know where his place is?”
Longarm shook his head, and Parminter gave directions. It wasn’t far.
“Anything else?” Parminter asked.
“I could use some of those cheroots.”
“Sorry. I’m sold out. No, don’t look at me like that. I’m not refusing to do business with you. I’m sold out of half a dozen things that people have started stocking up on. Not just tobacco, either. Matches. Lamp oil. Tinned meats and peaches and tomatoes. A couple other things as well. It’s strange the way folks have begun to worry all of a sudden. Like they think this wind will never quit.”
“This end of Wyoming has a reputation for wind,” Longarm said.
“Totally undeserved too.” The mayor grinned. “I can remember an afternoon in August not three years back when the wind died off completely and didn’t start up again for three or maybe four hours.”
“Look, thanks for the directions. And the other advice too. Not that I can take it. But I do understand your problem. If I can avoid making it worse, I will. Is that good enough?”
“I expect it will have to be, won’t it.”
“Yes, sir, I expect that it will. Good day, Mr. Mayor.” Longarm touched a finger to the front of his cap by way of salute and went back out into the biting cut of the wind.
Chapter 24
Two blocks down, one block over. Finding it was easy. Getting there on the other hand …
Longarm was going into the wind most of the way. He felt like he was swimming in saltwater taffy, having to push and strain for every foot of progress. He huffed and struggled and stayed as close as possible to the buildings he passed, then briefly thought he wasn’t going to make it at all when he had to traverse the open intersections between business blocks.
Still, he did get there eventually, plastered so thick with the wet, heavy snow that he more closely resembled a kid’s snowman than a walking, talking human being. Longarm was quite frankly amazed to discover the barbershop door unlocked. Only a crazy person would voluntarily go out in shit like this. And no, he did not exempt himself from that description. Apparently, though, the barber, like the mayor, had living quarters attached to his place of work. Damned convenient, Longarm figured, although with no jealousy whatsoever.
“Shave and a trim for you, mister?” the barber called from a reclining position in his own chair. Business on a day like this was perhaps understandably slack.
“it isn’t your barbering that I need today,” Longarm said.
The barber sat up and leaned forward to peer closely at his customer, squinting in thought as he did so. After a moment, a light of comprehension showed in his bright blues. “You must be the deputy marshal caught in the layover from that train,” he said aloud. “Which means you came to see me about that little dead trollop everyone says you’re investigating.”
“You got it right, friend. Do you know anything about her?”
“I know she had a soft voice and she laughed easy. I liked the sound of it when Nancy laughed.”
“You knew her then?”
“Sure, A good many of us in Kittstown liked the way that little girl looked. Enough to choose her out once the money was paid and the fun was about to start. I was with her twice myself, and would’ve used her again from time to time. Like I said, she was all right. Not the best I’ve ever had in the sheets, maybe, but nice. I liked her. Damn sure was sorry to hear someone killed her.”
“You’re honest enough about using her.”
“Like I said, Marshal, I liked the girl. It’d please me to see you catch whoever killed her. As for admitting that I go over to Norma’s place a couple times every week, why not. I’m not married and not beholden to anyone. Not ashamed of anything I do neither. If I can’t stand for all the world to know about it, then I expect I shouldn’t do it. And don’t. And I flat don’t give a damn who knows about my nights with Norma and her young ladies of the evening.”
“I wonder if all the gents in town would feel that way about it,” Longarm asked.
The barber/undertaker laughed. “I expect you know the answer to that one already.”
“Yes, I suppose I do at that.”
It had occurred to Longarm before now that he might have to resort to trying to run down all the customers Nancy had had while she was in Kittstown. That would not be an easy thing to accomplish, though. And it would damn sure stir up the reform crowd that the mayor was so worried about. He hoped there would prove to be a better way.
“I don’t suppose you know of anything that could help me find the answer to who the killer is,” Longarm said.
“No, sir, not that I know of. But if I think of anything I’ll come running.”
