he scanned, but saw nothing at the entrance, no movement along the slope of the Little Hope. Nothing in the field beyond.
He caught the glint of silver from the roofs of the mobile homes in the trailer park three miles away. Lowering his sights, he clearly saw Earleen's sister Laurilee step out of her trailor, take a swing from a can of Mountain Dew, and give a holler.
Calling the kids in for supper, Tucker thought absently, and slowly swung the binoculars away. He saw pigs rooting in the pen at Stokey's farm and the wash hanging on the line at the Marches', and a plume of dust toward town that might have been Burke riding out.
But on the fields and flats, nothing stirred. And the silence hung heavy, disturbed only by the stream croaking its way over rocks and mud and a few birds that sang disinterestedly in the hazy heat of the evening.
If Austin was waiting, he was waiting in the dim, dirty shadows of the culvert. There was only one way to find out.
Tucker took time to shove a few extra shells in his pocket, though he sincerely hoped he wouldn't have to use them. Keeping low, his eyes trained on the shallow entrance, he circled the culvert. When he got within five feet, he dropped down on his belly, the shotgun nestled on his shoulder.
'God, if You want to do me one favor in this lifetime, don't make me have to shoot this thing.'
He took a deep breath, exhaled slowly.
'Austin! I reckon you know I'm out here.' It wouldn't occur to him until later that his skin was bone dry, his hands rock steady. 'You went to a lot of trouble to invite me out for a visit.' He bellied his way to the slope of the bank. 'Why don't you come on out and we can talk reasonable, or we can wait awhile until Burke comes along.'
There was only silence from the culvert and the scream of a crow overhead.
'You're going to make it hard on me, Austin. I'm going to have to come in there, seeing as how you tormented that boy. I just can't swallow that. Then we're going to start shooting at each other, and one of us is likely to be dead.' With a little sigh Tucker reached over and picked up a stone. 'I sincerely don't want it to be me.'
He tossed the rock down and waited for the ripping report of a gun. Silence.
'Shit on toast,' Tucker muttered, and slid down the slope into the stingy trickle of the Little Hope. There was a roaring in his head now, a steady wall of sound that was his heart and his fury. He swung the shotgun around and charged the entrance, fully expecting to be dodging bullets.
But the culvert was empty. Tucker stood there, feeling more than a little foolish with his shotgun at the ready and his heart beating like a brass band. He could hear his own rushing breaths bouncing off the concrete. 'Okay,' he said quietly. 'Okay, there was nobody around to see you make an ass of yourself.' He started back toward the entrance, then stopped short.
Could Austin be hiding somewhere? Somehow have found a hole just big enough to crouch in? Was he waiting, just sitting out there for Tucker to come back out so he could pick him off?
That was stupid, Tucker assured himself, took another step, then stopped and swore.
It was better to be stupid than dead, he supposed, and wondered what the hell to do now. He had a ridiculous image of the final scene from
The slick ending didn't fool Beau Longstreet's son Tucker. No indeedy. He knew just what had happened. Guns had fired, and Butch and the Kid had been blown to glory.
He stood in the narrow culvert thinking he was neither outlaw nor hero, but it was mighty hard on the pride just to huddle there and wait. Before he had to make the decision, he heard the rumble of a car, then the quick, sharp slam of doors. 'Tucker! Tuck, you all right?'
'Down here, Burke.' Tucker leaned the shotgun against the wall. 'He ain't here.'
He heard Burke give Carl orders to look around, then the light at the entrance was blocked by the sheriff's broad shoulders. 'What the sweet fuck is going on here?'
'Well, son, I'll tell you,' Tucker said, and did.
'Couldn't understand half of what that boy was saying.' Burke offered Tucker a light for his half cigarette. 'But he seemed damned sure you and his daddy were going to kill each other down here.'
'I'm not sure if I'm disappointed or relieved we didn't have the chance to try. Cy's a good boy, Burke. Austin threatened him with some nasty shit, but he did what was right.' He pulled in smoke, let it out slowly. 'I'm thinking it might be best if he stayed on at Sweetwater for a while. Home's no place for him. If Austin didn't manage to get to him, Vernon will make him pay for this. I swear to Christ I don't see how that boy could be kin to either of them.'
'With any luck Vernon won't hear about it for a day or two. Right now we'd better concentrate on finding his father.' He nodded at Tucker. 'I guess we can say you're already deputized.'
'I'd just as soon you didn't.' Tucker reached for the shotgun. It was then he noticed the scrawl of writing on the wall. 'What the hell's this?' He leaned closer, squinting. 'You're in my light, Burke,' he said, then swore when he made the letters out.
AN EYE FOR AN EYE
'Christ almighty,' Burke murmured as he rubbed his thumb against the first A. 'Looks like he wrote it in blood. I'm going to call up some men. We'll do a house to house. We'll walk every inch of the county, but we're getting that crazy sonofabitch tonight.'
Tucker pressed his fingers to his own eyes as Cy's terrified voice rang in his head. 'I guess I'm going with you. Do I get one of those cheap tin stars?'
Within the hour Burke had fifteen able-bodied and willing men. It gave him some twinges of uneasiness to see Billy T. Bonny and Junior Talbot both standing around with rifles. He had to hope that the excitement of going after a fugitive would put personal feuds on the back burner. For safety's sake, he separated them, sending Junior off with Carl's group and keeping Billy T. with his own. He took a chance and put Jed Larsson, slow but sensible, in charge of a third.
Using a county map, he diced up territories.
'I don't want any hotdogging. Austin's got himself two weapons, and unless he's been taking potshots at rabbits, he's only used one bullet. I'd sure hate to end the day by having to go to somebody's wife or sweetheart and tell her that her man got himself shot by being stupid.'
'We got ourselves more sense than those lard-ass county deputies.' Billy T. was excited at the prospect of shooting something.
There was a lot of good-natured whooping to relieve nerves. Burke waited until it died down.
'The last time Austin was seen was right down there in that culvert. Now he's got at least an hour on us, and he's on foot. But a man who knows this country could find a lot of places to hide. We want him brought in, all in one piece. If you spot him, you give a call on the two-way. Your weapons are for defense only.'
Several of the men slanted sly looks at one another. Austin wasn't a popular fellow.
'If he ends up dead, there'll be plenty of questions some of you might not like answering.' He scanned faces, holding gazes just long enough to make his point. 'You boys aren't going deer hunting, you are duly deputized public servants. Now, move out, and watch your butts.' He turned away to gather his own group. 'And God help us.'
Five of them piled into the cruiser. Burke, Tucker, Billy T., Singleton Fuller, and Bucky Koons. Singleton immediately lit up one of the cigars Happy wouldn't let him smoke at home.
'You ain't called up the county boys, Burke,' he said casually.
Burke's fingers flexed on the wheel. 'No. It's our town.'
There was a murmur of agreement through the curtain of foul-smelling smoke.
At the intersection of Old Cypress and Longstreet, which Burke had designated as Base A, he pulled to the shoulder. The spot had significance for Tucker, who flicked a glance in the rearview mirror. Billy T. met the look with surly eyes.
They separated there, three to go east with the cautious Singleton in charge, and Burke and Tucker to go west.
