She seemed to thoroughly enjoy the look on Longarm?s face.
?I shouldn?t do that to perfectly innocent strangers. I do know better, Mr. Long. Truly I do. But sometimes I simply can?t resist. And you really should have seen the utterly horrified expression you got. It was priceless. My apologies for enjoying your discomfort, sir.? She giggled a bit, sounding not at all apologetic.
Longarm smiled at her. ?I had heard that your husband was an elderly gentleman,? he confessed.
?Oh, I shouldn?t say elderly, Mr. Long. He is only sixty-four. And in an excellent state of health.? She said that with a certain hint of relish that was enough to make Longarm feel damned well jealous of any sixty-four-year-old man?hell, face it, of anyone, any age?who could woo, win, and so obviously satisfy a filly like this one.
?I didn?t mean
?
Mrs. Eugenie Fahnwell laughed again. ?Of course you didn?t. Forgive me for being such a tease.?
Longarm was feeling damn well flustered. This self-possessed young woman was more than just an armful. There was a hell of a lot of female person hiding behind those pretty eyes and that dimpled smile.
?Come along, Mr. Long. You can help me decide if that pie looks nice enough for the table, and we can have a cup of tea while we wait for Morey.?
?Yes, ma?am,? Longarm said meekly. He trailed behind Mrs. Fahnwell while she strode briskly toward the back of the house, not at all breathless any longer and very much in control of the situation.
Chapter Two
United States Marshal William Vail stopped in midsentence and looked toward his office door as his clerk barged in without pausing to knock first.
Vail was busy, interviewing a job applicant, and Henry knew it. Even if no one had been in with the marshal, though, it was most unlike Henry to enter without permission.
?Yes, Henry??
The clerk, whose meek appearance belied his courage, pushed his spectacles higher on the bridge of his nose in a nervous gesture, coughed politely into his fist, and then approached Vail?s desk with a hurried apology. ?I?m sorry to bust in on you like this, boss, but I thought you?d want to see this right away.? He held out a flimsy sheet of yel low paper for Vail to take. ?A messenger just now brought it.?
The marshal for the Justice Department, Denver District, took the telegraph message form and shot a glance toward the visitor who wanted to become one of his deputies. ?If you would excuse me for a moment??
?Sure.? The man made a show of peering at his fingernails, at a framed certificate on the office wall, and at al most everything else except Billy Vail and Henry.
Vail paused for a moment before he looked down at the message that Henry thought so important.
The job applicant, poor man, honestly did not realize that he had no chance of finding employment here. He was short and tubby?no harm in that, of course. Vail himself was none too much for height and his waistline had ex panded since the years when he served in the field, first as a Texas Ranger, and then later as a deputy marshal himself. But the applicant had a look about him that said he was soft, too. Oh, he thought himself rugged enough for the job, that self-opinion based on eight months? service as a railroad detective. Billy Vail was not fooled, though. The man simply did not have what it took to be a federal deputy. Vail could see it in the man?s eyes and hear it in the undertones beneath the blustering, frequently bragging voice. The marshal was only finishing out the interview as a politeness. He had no intention of hiring this one, even if they were shorthanded at the moment.
?Um. Yes. With you in a moment.? Vail ignored both the applicant and Henry and concentrated on the telegram.
He read it through, double-checked the signature at the bottom, and read it through again.
?Damn!? he exclaimed.
?I thought you?d want to know right away,? Henry said.
?Yes. You did the right thing. Thanks.?
Henry remained standing by the desk, waiting for instructions.
Vail, although he knew perfectly well what the date was, checked the calendar on his desk and swore again. ?We don?t have much time, Henry.?
?Three days,? Henry confirmed.
?Where is??
?Vacation,? Henry responded quickly. ?He never said where we could contact him.?
?Smiley??
?He?s already left, boss.?
?You?re sure??
Henry nodded. ?He came by last night to pick up his travel vouchers. I happened to be here, finishing up some work after hours. He stopped in, oh, after nine it would?ve been.? It was common enough for faithful Henry to stay late into the night when there was paperwork to be completed. Vail knew that and appreciated the man?s dedication, even if he seldom said so. ?He said he would be taking a train out at first light.?
?Did he say which line? We might be able to wire ahead and intercept him somewhere??
?No, he didn?t. He?s on his way down to Durango to meet Dutch, and could be taking any of three rail lines out of Denver. Half a dozen different stage connections he might be thinking of making to get there. Smiley?s out. So is Dutch, for that matter. I don?t think we could get him up to Idaho in time, even if there was a telephone connection to Durango and you could talk to him right now.?
