Maybe there was a new girl in town, but if there were she’d have to really be special to take his interest away from Carmen and Rosa.
Moran walked around the town, checking to see if it had changed since he’d been gone. He was glad to see that it hadn’t. There was no sign of progress, anyway.
Progress meant more people, and if more people started coming into San Louisa, he’d have to stop coming here.
“Señor Moran!”
He turned and saw the mayor, Eduardo Felipe, walking towards him. The mayor was a bandy-legged little man with a pencil-thin mustache who bowed and smiled a lot. He remained mayor because no one else wanted the position.
“Hello, Mayor.”
“Señor, I have a huge favor to ask of you.”
“What’s that, Mayor?”
“You have come to San Louisa at just the right time, señor Moran.”
“Why is that?”
“We have had a problem here in the past few weeks, and I know you will be able to help us. You are obviously a very capable man, señor.”
“Mayor,” Moran said, “could you get to the point, please?”
“The point? Ah yes, the point. Ah, we here in San Louisa find ourselves in dire need of a sheriff.”
“A sheriff?” Moran repeated, wanting to be sure that he had heard correctly.
“Si, señor. A sheriff—ah, the man with the star…on his chest? Am I not saying it correctly?”
“And you want me—” Moran said, laughing now.
“Si, señor,” the mayor said, puffing his chest out. “As mayor of San Louisa I ask if you would accept an appointment as sheriff…”
“Señor…?”
“Why are you laughing, señor…?”
“Did I say something funny?”
Moran couldn’t answer. This was so funny, so ironic, that as soon as he could answer—as soon as he could stop laughing—he was going to accept.
Sheriff Red Moran, of San Louisa, Mexico.
Chapter Fourteen
The doctor pronounced twenty-three of the bandidos dead, and three so badly injured they probably would not last the night. There were the three from the livery who were thrown in jail, and Gilberto, who was patched up and tossed in jail with them. Raquel was given the second cell in the two-cell jailhouse.
“If you want me, señor” she told Decker seductively as he put her in her cell, “just come and get me.”
“That’s very tempting,” he admitted.
The doctor had bandaged his shoulder wound—which was not as bad as Juanita’s—and announced that both Juanita and her father would survive.
One of the townsmen had been killed, and one injured.
Decker found Jose sitting behind the desk in the sheriff’s office. He hung the cell keys on a hook on the wall.
“You have a sheriff’s office, but no sheriff?” he asked.
“Well, to tell you the truth,” Jose said, opening a drawer, “before Gilberto and his men…adopted…this town, I was the sheriff.”
To illustrate his point he took a sheriff’s star out of the drawer and pinned it to his chest.
“You gave us back our town, señor, and for that we thank you.”
“Why didn’t you do it before?”
“We needed a leader.”
“You were the sheriff.”
“Ah, yes, but I was never a leader, señor. I knew that. If Gilberto ever thought I was, he would have killed me.”
“So now you’re the sheriff again.”
Smiling, Jose said, “Thanks to you.”
“I get the feelin’ I was used, Jose, and I don’t like it.”
“Señor? I do not understand?”
“Never mind. Enjoy your town.”
“Señor Decker.”
“What?” Decker asked at the door.
“Wouldn’t you like to stay with us—at least until your wound heals?”
“My wound will heal fine in the saddle. I’ve got a man to find.”
“Aman?”
“That’s right. That’s my business, just like yours was taking care of your town—only I take care of my own business…Sheriff.”
“I am sorry I do not meet with your approval, señor. Perhaps I can help you. Who is this man you seek?”
“His name is Moran.”
“I do not know the name. Perhaps if you described him for me?”
Decker did, giving the description that was on the poster, and then he showed Jose the poster.
“Ah, of course. I know this man!”
“You know him?”
“Well, I saw him.”
“When?”
“A week or so ago. He passed through here, stayed for one night.”
“This man?” Decker asked, tapping the poster while it was still in Jose’s hand. “You’re sure.”
“He ate over at the cantina. Even played poker with us. You can ask Paco and Juanita.”
“I will,” Decker said, taking the poster back. “Which way did he go when he left?”
“He continued south.”
Well, at least he had a definite direction in which to go, now.
“Will you be staying in town for the night at least?” Jose asked.
His shoulder wound was hurting, but he didn’t want Jose to know that.
“I might as well give my horse a night’s rest.”
“I will tell the clerk at the hotel that you are not to be charged for the night. The same for the livery.”
“Thanks a lot.”
“It is the least we can do, señor. After all, you did give us back our town.”
Yeah, Decker thought, until the next bandido comes along and asks for it.
Chapter Fifteen
Decker went to the cantina and found Paco back behind the bar, limping back and forth as he attempted to clean the mess of broken glass behind it. Decker could hear it crunching beneath the man’s feet.
“Paco, you should be off your feet.”
“And who will take care of by business?” Paco asked, frowning unhappily. “Look at this mess. Glass, broken wood, and holes in my ceiling…”
He gave Decker a look that said it was all his fault. Maybe having his town back wasn’t worth the mess his cantina was in.
Indeed, the place was a shambles. Pieces of broken tables and broken glass littered the floors. And something would have to be done about the square hatches Decker’d had the men saw in the floors of the rooms above.
“What about your neighbors? Won’t they help you clean up?”
“They are all off somewhere getting drunk, bragging about how they killed twenty bandidos each, so that they won’t have to help me.”
“This town is really a great place to live, isn’t it, Paco?”
Paco scowled and did not answer.
“Where is Juanita?”
“Upstairs in her room.”
“May I go and see her?”
“Si, the second door on the right is hers.”
Decker went upstairs, found the door and knocked.
“Come in.”
He entered and Juanita smiled from the bed.
“I knew you would come.”
“How are you feeling?”
“Fine,” she said, but he knew she was lying.
“That’s good,” he said, “because my shoulder hurts like hell.”
She smiled and said, “Yes, so does mine. Will you be staying the night?”
“Yes. The sheriff has extended to me the hospitality of the hotel.”
“No, you will stay here with us.”
“That’s all right—”
“I insist—and later, during the night, when father is asleep, you can come to me.”
“Come to you?”
“We will make love, no?”
He smiled at her and said, “With the two of us toting these bad shoulders around?”
“We will manage.”
“Juanita—”
“You do not want me because you know Gilberto ha
s had me,” she said, sadly.
He sat on the bed and said, “That isn’t it at all.”
“Then why?”
“I wouldn’t do that under your father’s roof.”
“We can go somewhere—”
“You will stay right in that bed, young lady”
“Then we will not make love?”
“I’m afraid not,” he said, and then added, “not this time.”
She brightened.
“When you come back this way?”
“Perhaps,” he said, “when I’ve finished my job.”
“And by then we will both be healed.”
“Yes.”
“And we will make wild, passionate love.”
He grinned at her enthusiasm and said, “We will see. Right now I think I’ll earn my keep by going downstairs and helping your father clean up.”
“You will be leaving in the morning?”
“Yes.”
“Will you come and say goodbye first?”
“I’ll be leaving early.”
“Wake me.”
“All right,” he said, “I’ll wake you. Get some rest, now.”
Decker went downstairs and offered to help Paco clean up, an offer Paco accepted with his customary frown.
Turning in for the night Decker found himself thinking not of Juanita down the hall, but of Raquel Diaz, sitting in a jail cell.
“If you want me,” she had said, “come and get me.”
What a waste.
Chapter Sixteen
As the new sheriff of San Louisa, Red Moran had the run of the town even more than he had before, if that was even possible.
He moved out of the hotel and into the sheriff’s office, but still intended to use the hotel room for visits with certain citizens.
All of his meals were offered to him for free, as were his drinks, but he continued to pay for them, anyway. It pleased him to do so, and he knew that the townspeople liked his money. Maybe, if he started taking advantage of his new position, they wouldn’t be so happy to have him anymore.
Eventually, he found out something that he had been wondering about: whether or not San Louisa had any new whores in town. Well, he found out in a big way. One of them—a fiery redhead from Texas—caught his eye because he was from Texas, too.
Suddenly, he wasn’t so convinced that the best-looking, best-feeling, best-tasting women came from Mexico.
Carmen and Rosa didn’t like that at all.
The redhead’s name was Crystal, and she was only too happy to service the new sheriff of San Louisa who, she had heard, paid very well.
“I have to tell you one thing,” Red Moran said, watching Crystal get dressed.
“What?” she asked, smiling.
“You really are going to make it hard for the Mexican gals in this town to make a living.”
“That’s a sweet thing to say,” she said, sliding her second stocking up her long leg.
Her pale skin, red hair and green eyes made her the only whore in town that didn’t have dark hair and skin.
“What brought you here from Texas?” he asked.
“I rubbed somebody the wrong way.”
“Who?”
“The wife of a wealthy rancher. She said if I ever showed my face in Texas again she’d shave my—well, I just better not, that’s all.”
She slid her shoes on and stood up.
“So what brought you here?” she asked.
“I come here from time to time. I like it. It’s quieter that the United States.”
“Yeah, but maybe too quiet. Now that you’re the sheriff, though, will you be staying longer?”
“That depends.”
“On what?”
“On how long you’re staying?”
She grinned, walked to the dresser and took the money he had left there for her.
“Ooh, thanks,” she said, after counting it. “I almost feel as if I haven’t earned it.”
“Believe me,” he said, “you have—and there’s more where that came from.”
“You could make a girl stick around longer than she intended,” Crystal said. “See you later.”
“Count on it.”
When Crystal left the hotel it was just getting dark. She started walking to the rooming house in which she was staying.
There was an idea rolling around in her head, one that would take her smarts and Red Moran’s money—if he was telling the truth about there being more of it.
As she passed an alley two girls jumped out and grabbed her, dragging her in.
In the alley she turned to face Carmen and Rosa.
“It is time for you to leave town, puta,” Carmen said in a menacing tone.
“That’s an odd thing for you to be calling me,” Crystal said, indicating that she had some understanding of Spanish. “Tell me why it’s time for me to leave.”
“It is bad enough we had to share señor Red’s mon—bed with each other,” she said, catching herself just in time, “we do not intend to share him with you.” Rosa was trying to match Carmen’s tone, but her voice was just too small and high to pull it off.
“You don’t, huh? Well, now, that’s really funny,” Crystal replied.
“Why is it funny?” Rosa asked, looking confused.
“Well, I wasn’t intending to share him—or his money—with either one of you, either.”
“Take our advice,” Carmen said.
“Leave town,” Rosa added.
“Forget it,” Crystal said, moving to walk past them.
Carmen moved to block her path and Crystal swung her fist and hit the larger woman in the stomach. The blow was unexpected, and Carmen folded up, fighting for air. Crystal turned to face Rosa then, who backed off, her hands held up in front of her.
“When your friend gets her breath back tell her—and the other girls in this town—that you all better be nice to me from now on.” Crystal marched to the mouth of the alley, then turned and added, “You’ll all be working for me, soon. Wait and see!”
Crystal left the alley, knowing that she had just taken a big step towards achieving her goal, the one she had set for herself when she first arrived in town.
All she needed now was Red Moran’s money.
Which, considering her considerable charms and talents, should be easy enough to get her hands on.
Chapter Seventeen
In the morning Decker entered Juanita’s room but decided not to wake her. He leaned over, kissed her on the forehead and left.
“She will be very angry with you,” Paco said as he came downstairs.
“Tell her I couldn’t bear to wake her.”
“I will tell her.”
The place looked considerably cleaner since Decker had swept out all the wreckage and righted the tables. He had even thrown out the batch of food that had been mixed with the ground glass and cleaned out the pot.
Decker went to the livery, collected his horse and paid the kid.
“Oh no, señor. The sheriff he say—”
“Keep it, son.”
“Gracias, señor.”
Decker mounted up and rode out of town—whatever the hell name they were going to pin on it next—and his only regret about his decision to leave it behind him and never return was the disappointment that would cause Juanita.
Still, the whole town made him sick because he knew that the next gunman or bandido who came along with a few men to back him up could have the town for the asking.
They deserved whatever they got.
Chapter Eighteen
That same afternoon Jose heard Raquel calling him from her cell. Since he’d been thinking about her ever since they had put her in the cell, he got up and hurried back.
“It’s very hot, Jose,” she complained. Her shirt was open and he could see her breasts very clearly. They were large and firm and they glistened with her sweat. A large knot formed in his throat.
“I am sorry—”
“Please, if I could just have a bat
h—”
“That would mean I would have to take you over to the hotel.”
“Well, you are the sheriff, are you not?”
“Yes.”
“Then you can do it if you like.”
She came right close up against him so that the bars were all that separated them.
“And since we will be at the hotel anyway, with all those beds.” She lowered her voice and whispered, “I have not had a man in a long time.”
Jose backed away quickly, banged into the wall, hurried out to get the cell key, and then came back in and unlocked her cell.
“I will have to stay with you while you take your bath,” he warned.
She smiled at him, ran her finger along his jaw-line and said, “I would not have it any other way.”
It was two hours later when she finally returned with the cell keys. Although bedding the sheriff had successfully scratched the itch she’d been feeling, she was sorry that it had not been Decker, instead.
“It took you long enough,” Gilberto complained as she unlocked his cell.
“I had to wait until I was in bed with him to catch him off guard,” she said innocently.
“Sure, you just had to see what he had inside his pants before you killed him, eh?”
Gilberto came out of the cell, followed by his other three men.
They all went out into the office and found their guns. Raquel had used the sheriff’s own weapon to kill him. He had been totally unaware of what was happening, because she chose the very moment he had climaxed to pull the trigger. She felt that this was probably a fine way for a man to die.
“What do we do first?” Raquel asked. “Teach the town a lesson?”
“To hell with this town,” Gilberto said, strapping on his gun. “I want that bastard gringo! I want to hang him up by his balls.”
“I would like to see that,” Raquel said.
“I am sure, little sister, that you would—and you will get your chance.”
They left the jailhouse by the back door, went to the livery, killed the boy who worked there and took their horses.
Decker was trailing Red Moran.
The Lawman Page 6
