Longarm on the Thunderbird Run

It was three o?clock in the morning, undoubtedly an odd time for the county?s board of supervisors to meet, but Longarm had insisted on having the three men brought to­gether at this hour.

Two of the men he had already met. They had been Paul Markham?s distinguished visitors the evening before, when Longarm broke up Markham?s party by putting the sheriff under arrest. The tall gentleman who was too dignified to consort with whores turned out to the S. Vance Hightower, his companion the previous evening Wellington Jones, and the third supervisor Howie Bright. Among them they rep­resented major ownership interests in the three mines of Thunderbird Canyon?damn convenient, Longarm thought, for the big money to represent all the local politi­cal power too?and Jones owned the Huckman mine out­right.

All of them had been awake in the aftermath of the bank explosion, but none seemed particularly pleased to be called into emergency session now. Charlie Frye sat meekly off in a corner looking nervous and more than a little afraid.

?Thank you for coming, gentlemen,? Longarm told them.

?Better be a damned good reason for this, Marshal,? Bright said.

?There is, sir.? Longarm cleared his throat and reached for a cheroot. Fatigue was making his head ache and thump again, and a shot of rye would have been much more wel­come than a smoke right now, but this was not the time for it. Later would have to do.

?As I am sure you are all aware, gentlemen, Thunderbird Canyon is having a difficult night.?

?That?s one way of putting it,? Bright agreed.

?To belabor the obvious, gentlemen, your bank has been blown up and your payroll funds stolen, presumably by the White Hood Gang. At the same time, your sheriff, under arrest for violation of federal antislavery laws, has man­aged an escape from custody and has disappeared.?

?So we?re told,? Bright said sourly.

?The point is, gentlemen, this is a moment of crisis. What I need from you is a formal declaration of emer­ gency.?

?Toward what end, Marshal?? Hightower asked.

?If you declare a state of emergency, and request official assistance from the federal government, I will be empow­ered to step in and take whatever emergency measures I deem necessary. Without that declaration, I?m afraid I won?t be able to help seek the men who dynamited your bank and stole more than seventy thousand dollars from you.?

?You won?t??

Longarm shook his head. ?I was assigned to this case on the basis of a tip that said the payroll was to be stolen from a mail car on a chartered railroad, gentlemen. Theft from the mails is a federal crime, and it was within my jurisdic­tion to block that if I could. As we all know, that planned crime did not take place. The money was transferred out of the mail car without incident and deposited in your local bank. Correct me if I?m wrong, but the bank here was locally chartered, is that right??

Two of the supervisors nodded. ?We issued the charter ourselves,? Jones added.

?It isn?t a federal crime to steal from a locally chartered bank, gentlemen. Nor, for that matter, is murder a federal violation unless an employee or representative or ward of the United States government is the victim. As far as I know, none of those requirements was met in the bank robbery and resulting deaths this evening.?

?But we need help,? Bright said. He pointed toward young Frye. ?We can?t depend on him to recover our money, you know. And Lord only knows whether the bank carries insurance sufficient to cover our loss.?

?It does not,? Hightower said flatly. ?I happen to be on the board of directors, Howard. Cash on hand in the vault rarely exceeds seven or eight thousand dollars at any given time. We, uh, chose to insure against loss up to

uh?? he looked embarrassed ??five thousand dollars.?

?So between us we could be on the hook for nearly seventy thousand out of our own pockets, Vance??

Hightower nodded unhappily.

?Jesus!? Bright blurted.

?And that is not a federal crime?? Jones asked.

?That?s right, gentlemen. The way things stand right now, I can?t do a thing here but look for my own federal escapees, Paul Markham and the woman known as Jessie.?

?But with this declaration of emergency??

?If you do that, gentlemen, and specifically request fed­eral assistance on an emergency basis, I?ll be able to take whatever steps are necessary to find my prisoners and your White Hoods.?

?And recover our money as well??

?Yes, sir.?

Hightower frowned. ?You say you shall be empowered to take unspecified but presumably necessary steps, Mar­shal. What, exactly, do you mean by that??

Longarm smiled at the man. Hightower, it seemed, was stuffy but not stupid. He had picked up on that unspoken but very large point. ?Things that I can almost guarantee you won?t like at all, sir,? Longarm admitted.

?Such as??

?If you really want me to tell you, I will. But I think the voters around here might be happier with you three gentle­men if you can honestly plead ignorance.? He grinned.

?After I?m gone, boys, I won?t mind a bit if the folks around here cuss an? call me names. It might be better if you can point fingers at me and cuss right along with the rest of them.?

This time Hightower smiled. ?You are no stranger to the realities of political life, Marshal.?