“Yes’m,” the corporal said. “Just one minute.”
He left his desk, opened one half of a double door and went inside. A moment later he returned.
“You can go right in,” he said. His gaze lingered on Cody for a long moment. Colleen noticed it and frowned.
“Who are you?” she whispered.
“Just who I said I am, Miss O’Hara.”
Major Willoughby was a short, fastidious man, who rose up from behind a desk so neat and polished there was but a single paper atop it. There was a map of the territory on the wall behind the desk and a window that sparkled with sunlight, giving a view of the hills and part of the compound. The desk was flanked by an American flag and one bearing the insignia of the Second Cavalry. A man stood in a far corner, his back turned to the room.
“May I see your papers, Mr. Cody?” Willoughby said. “And good afternoon to you, Miss O’Hara. We’ve been expecting you.”
“Thank you, Major,” she said.
“Please sit down,” Willoughby said to her as he took Zak’s wallet and opened it. Zak stood there, looking at the man whose back was turned to him.
“You’ve got some pay here at the post, Colonel,” Willoughby said. “I think Lieutenant John Welch is the paymaster this month. Check with the quartermaster.”
“I’ve got two of your men outside in the coach,” Zak said. “They were with Miss O’Hara.”
“That would be Sergeant Briggs and Lieutenant Coberly,” the major said. “They were her escorts from Tucson. I wonder why they didn’t report with you, Colonel.”
“Because they’re both dead,” Colleen said. She shot an odd look at Cody. “Mr. Cody killed the driver, a man named Jenkins.”
“What happened?” Willoughby’s face had drained of color. It looked as if he’d swallowed a jar of paste and it had oozed out through his pores.
Colleen looked at Zak, but he said nothing.
“We—We were attacked,” she said. “I think by Apaches. But Mr. Cody doesn’t think they were Apaches.”
“Why did you kill Jenkins?” the major asked.
“Because he was going to kill me,” Zak said “Those soldiers were scalped, sir. I don’t think Apaches take scalps.”
The man in the corner turned around.
“You’re right, Cody. They don’t. Cochise doesn’t anyway, and he’s the main thorn in our sides at the moment.”
“Colonel Cody,” Willoughby said, “shake hands with Tom Jeffords. He’s the authority on Apaches in this neck of the woods.”
The two men shook hands.
“I’ve heard of you, Jeffords,” Zak said. “General Crook thinks very highly of you.”
“I’ve heard of you, too, Cody, and the same holds for what Crook thinks of you.”
“I’d like to see my brother now,” Colleen said.
Willoughby froze. His eyes turned to flint.
Jeffords looked at Colleen, his face softening with an expression of concern. “I’m afraid that’s not possible, Miss O’Hara,” Jeffords said. “That’s why I’m here with Major Willoughby. Your brother is missing.”
Zak caught her on the way down as Colleen fell into a deep swoon, her legs collapsing beneath her.
“Damn,” Willoughby said, his voice a raspy whisper. “If it weren’t for the bad news, we wouldn’t have any news at all out here.”
Zak carried Colleen to a chair, looked at Willoughby.
“I’ll get some water,” Jeffords said, and left the room.
“Major,” Zak said. “Don’t call me Colonel. I’m not in the army anymore. You better read those papers in my wallet more carefully.”
“But you carry the rank.”
“Compliments of President Grant and General Crook, sir. But to you, I’m just an ordinary civilian.”
Willoughby gulped and began to read the papers while Zak fanned Colleen’s face. It was the second time she had fainted that day. He wondered that the woman could still go on, and how much more she could take before she’d have to be put in the post infirmary.
Chapter 4
Major Willoughby read the short note attached to the back of Zak’s identity card, which listed him as Colonel Zak Cody, U.S. Army, retired.
