Before anyone could reply, a knock sounded at the door. The man who entered was tall and beefy, with sharp eyes and a commanding bearing. He was attired in a well-tailored suit and a fashionable hat, and there was not a drop of perspiration on him. Nix performed the introductions and got him seated in a chair angled to face the three marshals. Their immediate impression, though unspoken, was uniformly shared. None of them trusted a man who didn’t sweat.
“Well, now,” Nix said, spreading his hands. “You certainly have our interest whetted, Mr. Warner. How did you come to represent such an infamous client?”
“Every man,” Warner said in an imposing voice, “has the right of legal counsel. I was retained to act in that capacity on behalf of Mr. Doolin.”
“So Doolin contacted you directly?”
“I believe that falls under the category of privileged information.”
Nix studied him. “Are you also privileged as to the matter of Doolin’s whereabouts?”
“Come now,” Warner admonished him. “You know I’m not about to discuss such matters.”
“Then let’s move right along. Why are you here, Mr. Warner?”
“To bring an end to the bloodshed and violence. Bill Doolin wants to surrender.”
“Does he?” Nix said blandly. “To be perfectly frank, I’m not surprised. After all, our marshals have dispatched four of his men in the last six weeks. Your client would be wise not to risk a similar fate.”
“I agree,” Warner remarked. “In fact, I’ve advised him to surrender at the earliest opportunity. Naturally, that would be contingent on certain conditions.”
“Such as?”
“All murder charges waived—”
Warner paused for a reaction, and Nix said, “Go on.”
“All robbery charges waived, except for one of your choice. Of course, my client would plead guilty to the one charge. For that, he would receive a maximum sentence of ten years. With assurance of early parole for good behavior.”
“Anything else?”
“No, I believe not,” Warner observed. “Except to say the offer merits your serious consideration. God knows the public would applaud an end to this matter.”
Nix steepled his fingers. “What about the other members of the Wild Bunch?”
“I speak only for Mr. Doolin. However, with his surrender, I suspect the others would listen to reason.”
“Would you excuse us?” Nix rose from his chair. “I would like to discuss your offer with my marshals. Perhaps you could wait in the hall.”
Warner appeared momentarily flustered. Then, with a polite nod, he stood and crossed the room. Nix waited until the door closed.
“Your opinion, gentlemen?” he said, nodding to the three marshals. “Let’s take it one at a time. Heck?”
“Horseshit,” Thomas said sullenly. “I didn’t work my ass off just to see Doolin get a slap on the wrist.”
“Chris?”
Madsen’s face hardened. “The man’s a cold-blooded murderer. I say we kill him, or bring him in and hang him. Anything less would be like selling our souls.”
“Bill?”
“Seems pretty cut and dried,” Tilghman told him. “We’re close, probably closer than we know. Otherwise Doolin wouldn’t be so hot to cut a deal. I vote with Chris and Heck.”
“Excellent!” Nix looked positively chipper. “Anticipating an offer of some nature, I took the liberty of telegraphing the attorney general. In so many words, I suggested that it would be a travesty of justice to dismiss even a single charge. I’m delighted to report that he concurred in full.”
The lawmen stared at him with blank astonishment. For all his grandstanding, they realized that they had misjudged Evett Nix. Whatever his political maneuverings, he was, in the end, a man of some integrity. He would not barter honor.
Warner was brought back into the room. Nix made a point of not offering him a chair. “No deals,” Nix said curtly. “Not now, not ever. Tell Doolin he has twenty-four hours to surrender. Barring that, we will hunt him down and kill him. Have I made myself clear?”
“Abundantly,” Warner said. “You leave me no choice but to take this matter before the governor.”
“Take it wherever you please and be damned! Good day, Mr. Warner.”
When they were alone, Nix briskly rubbed his hands together. He looked invigorated, his eyes bright with newfound resolve. His face creased in a wide grin.
“Gentlemen, in the truest Biblical sense, I demand an eye for an eye. Go forth and do your duty.”
* * *
The next evening Tilghman and Zoe came outside after supper. He was stuffed on pot roast and fresh garden vegetables and a huge chunk of chocolate cake. His belt felt one notch too tight as they seated themselves on the porch swing. He wondered if fat men were as jolly as they pretended.
Zoe saw through him like a gypsy fortune teller. Whenever he came for supper, he was normally talkative, and often related amusing anecdotes. But tonight, at the dinner table, he had been unusually quiet, as though mired in his own thoughts. She knew he was brooding on something, and that worried her. He was not the brooding sort.
After a few minutes of desultory conversation, she saw that his mind was still elsewhere. She decided on a direct approach. “Aren’t you in a mood?” she said in a huffy voice. “I feel like you would rather be somewhere else.”
“You know better than that,” Tilghman said quietly. “Guess I’m just not good company tonight.”
“Well, it’s certainly not my cooking. You ate enough to founder a horse.”
“Got a lot on my mind, that’s all.”
“Why not talk about it?” she insisted. “Keeping it bottled up inside doesn’t solve anything. Unless it’s a big dark secret, why not tell me?”
A jagged streak of lightning split the sky off to the west. Another bolt struck nearby and Tilghman was silent a moment, watching nature’s fireworks. Then, halting at first, he told her about the meeting with Doolin’s lawyer. He ended with Evett Nix’s admonition to get the
