“Well, no, not just exactly. We’ve got ourselves a new informant.”
Nix looked at them speculatively. “Do you indeed? And who might that be?”
“Bee Dunn,” Tilghman replied. “We made a deal with him. All charges will be dropped against him and his brother. Horse stealing. Harboring a fugitive—”
“What?”
“—accomplice to murder. The whole works.”
“Are you addled?” Nix said, flaring. “You can’t just willy-nilly drop such charges.”
“In exchange,” Tilghman went on, ignoring the outburst, “Dunn will tip us the next time Doolin shows at his place. Or let us know anything he learns about Doolin’s plans.”
“You had no authority to make that kind of deal. Good God, you’ve given the man virtual immunity!”
“Arresting Dunn wouldn’t have gained us anything.”
“On the contrary,” Nix said irritably. “His arrest would have shown that we’re capable of putting away Doolin’s cohorts. The newspapers would have loved it.”
“I’m not interested in headlines,” Tilghman said. “With Dunn, we’ve got a real chance at Doolin. I’ll settle for that.”
“What makes you think Dunn will keep his word?”
“No fear of that,” Thomas said with a sardonic half-smile. “Unless he squeals on Doolin, the charges don’t get dropped. He’ll hold up his end.”
Nix scowled. “You place a good deal of faith in a horse thief.”
“I put my faith in him being a coward. He’s more afraid of a hangman’s noose than he is of Doolin.”
“Even so—” Nix paused, his gaze shifting to Tilghman. “I have no authority to authorize this deal. You may have misled Dunn.”
Tilghman stared at him. “U.S. marshals make deals all the time.”
“Perhaps,” Nix said curtly. “But this one requires the approval of the governor and the U.S. attorney general. Otherwise there could be serious repercussions.”
“How so?”
“Because it involves Bill Doolin and the Wild Bunch. I won’t take that responsibility on myself.”
“Even if it means catching Doolin?”
“And if you don’t?” Nix let the question hang a moment. “Then it would put me out on a limb, wouldn’t it? Had you thought of that?”
“What the hell,” Tilghman said, motioning to include Thomas. “We put our necks on the line every time we ride out. Thought you knew, that’s part of being a lawman.”
“Don’t presume to lecture me,” Nix said furiously. “You’ll overstep yourself once too often.”
“Look here,” Thomas broke in before it could go any further. “What we’re talking about is the fastest way to catch Doolin. Am I right?”
When they both nodded, he looked at Nix. “You say you need approval,” he noted. “But all that takes is for you to endorse the deal we made with Dunn. Do that and we’re in business.”
“You expect me to sell the idea, is that it?”
“Yeah, I do,” Thomas said breezily. “Leastways if you expect us to catch Doolin.”
A vein stood out on Nix’s forehead. “You’re quite a pair,” he said in a tight voice. “What I’m hearing sounds vaguely like extortion.”
Thomas waved it off. “We’re just trying to do our job. Why take it personal?”
Nix glowered at them a moment. “All right,” he said, rising from his chair. “For what it’s worth, I’ll have a word with the governor. Wait here.”
Neither of them spoke as he crossed the room. When the door closed, Tilghman shook his head. “Turned out to be just another gutless wonder. He should’ve stuck to the grocery business.”
“Hell, Bill,” Thomas said without rancor, “all politicians are the same. Let somebody else make the decision in case it goes sour. That way your butt’s covered.”
“Guess that’s my problem,” Tilghman observed. “I was never much good at politics. Too slick a game for me.”
“Trouble is, you expect everybody to be on the up and up. Politics is like cardsharps being elected to office. You gotta allow for dealing from the bottom.”
“Tell you the truth, I’m startin’ to wonder if it’s worth it. There’s better ways to spend your life.”
“Name one,” Thomas said, grinning. “You and me, we’re two of a kind, Bill. We’ll be old and feeble when we lay down the badge.”
“Don’t bet on it,” Tilghman said. “One more go-round with Nix might be the last. All he wants are the headlines.”
“I’ve heard of worse bargains. For him to get what he wants, we get what we want.”
“You talking about Doolin?”
“Only in passing,” Thomas said. “Nix and his crowd, they’re after higher office, runnin’ things. We’re simpler, the way we look at it. All we want is law and order.”
“Maybe we’re not simpler,” Tilghman said, unable to resist smiling. “Maybe we’re outright simpletons. We do the work and they get the glory.”
“When the history books get written, things don’t always work out that way. Lemme ask you a question.”
“Shoot.”
“Who killed Billy the Kid?”
“Pat Garrett,” Tilghman said. “So what?”
“When Garrett shot the Kid”—Thomas gave him a sly, sideways glance—“who was governor of New Mexico Territory?”
“I haven’t got the least notion.”
Thomas grinned. “I rest my case.”
“Pretty funny,” Tilghman said, his smile wider. “Guess that means one of us will have to kill Doolin.”
“Don’t worry about it, Bill. One of us will.”
A short while later Nix came through the door. He walked to his desk and sat down in the swivel chair. His expression was curiously benign.
“The governor bought it,” he said in a cheery voice. “In fact, he thought it was a top-notch idea. We have his full endorsement.”
Neither Tilghman nor Thomas missed the use of “we” in his statement. Clearly, with the governor’s endorsement, Nix was now a staunch advocate of the plan. Thomas managed to keep a straight face.
“So what d’you think?” he asked. “Will the attorney general approve the deal with Dunn?”
“No question of it,” Nix said genially. “I’ll draft a telegraph message that includes the governor’s endorsement. We should have approval from Washington by tomorrow.”
Nix was still beaming when they went out the door. On the street, they paused as passersby hurried along the sidewalk. Then, unable to restrain himself, Thomas burst out laughing.
“Whatta world!” he said. “Before long, Nix will think we hung the moon.”
“All the same,” Tilghman said with some amusement, “he’s still a gutless wonder.”
“You clean forgot
