Blackwater gang was captured.'
'Where did they get him? ' 'He was hiding in one of the caverns just
inside the Texas border.
They've taken him over to Blackwater.' Cole went to get a clean cup
from the shelf across the room. He poured himself some coffee, took a
drink, and then asked, 'Is he alive? ' 'Barely, ' Daniel answered.
'The sheriff in Maple Hills put a couple of bullets in him. It was a
piece of luck that the sheriff stumbled on him.
The man was sick as a dog with influenza, but he still put up a
fight.
I hope to God he lives long enough to stand trial. Damn, I wish I were
there now. I can't wait to talk to him.'
You can't believe he'll tell you anything.'
'Oh, yes, I do believe that. He's going to tell me everything I want
to know.'
'Is talking all you plan to do, or did you have something else in
mind?
' he asked quietly.
'That depends on how the trial goes. He isn't going to walk away, '
Daniel said. He shook his head and added, 'Judge Rafferty won't let
that happen. If the man's one of the Blackwater boys, he'll hang. '
'You sound like you know this judge personally.'
'I do, ' Daniel answered. 'Every one in Texas knows him, or at least
has heard of him.
Rafferty has quite a reputation for being hard-nosed.
Folks think he makes Hangin' Judge Cyrus Burns look like a saint. You
don't cross Rafferty and keep on breathing. He's also got a real
personal stake in all of this, ' he added. 'Rafferty lost a good
friend in a robbery up in Kansas. The two of them went way back, and
he took the man's death hard. He wants revenge.'
'Then he's personally involved. A fancy lawyer could argue for a new
judge.'
'Maybe, but he'd lose, ' Daniel said. 'Rafferty's the law in west
Texas.
