“Well, Deputy Long, I hope you’re not offended, but no, the nickname doesn’t mean anything to me.”
Longarm finished his brandy, watching the man over the brim of his glass. He said, “Well, then let me ask you another question.”
Nelson motioned with his hand. “Before that, let me get your glass refilled.”
Longarm shook his head. “Not just yet.” But the servant was already coming forward with the bottle. Longarm waited until the man had splashed a generous portion into his glass and the same into Mr. Nelson’s.
Asher Nelson looked at Longarm. He said, “And what was the other question, Deputy Long?”
“We sent a young deputy down here,” said Longarm, “a few days ago to investigate this matter. He’s disappeared. I wonder if he might have paid a call on you. His name was Ross Henderson.”
Asher Nelson shook his head slowly from side to side. “No, there’s been no one here by that name, and we’d certainly remember if we’d had a visit from a deputy United States marshal, just as we’ll remember your visit.”
“You haven’t seen hide nor hair of a tall young man with blond hair?”
Asher Nelson shook his head again. “No, I wish I could help you, Marshal.” He held his hands out, palms upward. “This is most distressing. This whole affair has gone beyond the point of a joke. Someone has caused your service a great deal of time and trouble.”
Longarm said evenly, “It may have done more than that if I don’t …”
He stopped. Two men had come into the room from the back. They were dressed approximately the same as Asher, but were wearing different-colored shirts. They were all pretty much alike. All of them appeared to be in their forties, about a year or so apart in age. They were all tall, spare, and healthy-looking. Asher Nelson stood up, as did Longarm.
Asher said, “Here’re my brothers now. Maybe they know something. Let me introduce you to them.”
There was no doubting the family resemblance. In fact, there seemed to be very little difference in their ages. Longarm chalked that up to the lives they had led, hard lives in the outdoors. The introductions were made and the other two brothers, Claude and Frank, sat down in the circle of divans and chairs around the low table. They too sent for brandy, and the mozzo, the servant, brought a plate of small sausages that Longarm soon discovered were flavored with jalapeno peppers.
Longarm went over the same ground with Claude and Frank as he had with Asher, and their responses were very much like their brother’s. It all seemed so plausible, the way they reacted and their responses. It also, to Longarm’s ears, sounded very pat. He had a feeling of uneasiness, but he couldn’t put his finger on just why. They repeated over and over that they had never caught sight of anyone answering the description of Ross Henderson, and certainly he had never come to their door.
Claude, who seemed to be the older and perhaps the slimmer of the three, said, “Deputy Long, is there any chance that he may have gotten lost out yonder?” He made a waving motion toward the desolate country that surrounded them. “That’s some very big country out there with very few landmarks. He could have missed us, if he indeed was heading this way, and once you’re lost in this desert, it’s very difficult to find your way back.” He glanced at his brothers. “I think Asher and Frank can tell you that.”
Asher and Frank smiled ruefully. They said, almost at the same time, “I hope we don’t have to tell …” Then they stopped and looked at each other. Asher finished. He said, “I hope Claude doesn’t expect us to tell that story on ourselves.”
“What story?” Longarm said.
Asher said, still smiling ruefully, “We on occasion, to keep ourselves honed, you might say, track each other. I set out as the hound and Frank followed as the hunter. Unfortunately, we both wound up lost. And Claude found us the next morning, very dry, very hungry, and very ashamed.”
Longarm smiled, but it was a duty smile. He had been listening to their voices. They didn’t have any accent, certainly not a Southwestern accent, nor did they have the Yankee accent he had heard on many occasions. They spoke very well in brisk, clipped words. He supposed it was a result of all their travels. But he was determined that the interview was going to produce some results. Knowing he was entering dangerous ground, but also having carefully noticed that none of the three seemed armed, he said, “One thing bothers me, gentlemen, and I’d like you to explain it to me.”
Asher, who seemed to be the leader, said, “And what would that be?”
Longarm looked from one to the other. He said, “I had to beat it out of the sheriff that he had sent Ross Henderson in this direction. At first, he denied having ever seen or heard from him. But we had a telegram from Henderson saying that there was a Nelson family living here, and he also added in the telegram to be careful of the local law. I was. I was very careful. I think the sheriff wasn’t careful enough. He tried to lie to me. Now, would you like to tell me why the sheriff would lie to me about you? Especially when it was a missing deputy U.S. marshal that we were talking about?”
The men glanced at each other. Asher ran a hand over his short-cropped hair. He said, “Well, Deputy Long, I’m sure you understand how the world works. We put quite a bit of money into the community of Santa Rosa. It wasn’t a very thriving place before we arrived. The people there know that we are very protective of our privacy, and that includes the sheriff. I’m not going to insult your intelligence by saying that the sheriff is on our payroll. He’s not, but he does receive gifts from us from time to time. I would imagine that he was motivated to lie to you to protect our privacy and also to protect those little gifts he receives.”
Longarm said slowly, “Uh-huh, yeah. I guess maybe that could be the case. At least it sounds all right.”
Asher spread his hands. “Why would we lie to you about one of your colleagues?”
Longarm said bluntly, “Why would anyone put up a poster offering ten thousand dollars for my capture and delivery to the Nelsons?”
They all three shook their heads. Frank said, “Marshal, we all wish we could shed some light on this unfortunate affair, but we all have told you everything we know.”
Longarm said, “Well, maybe so and maybe not. I ain’t saying you haven’t told me everything you think you know. I just ain’t sure that you might not know some things you don’t know you know.”
Somewhere in the house, a big clock tolled four times. Longarm was surprised that it had grown so late in the day. Asher Nelson stood up and said, “Deputy Long, my brothers and I have some unfinished work. I hope that
