Jodi Thomas - WM 1

by Texas Rain

  All three of the other Rangers looked at him. Finally, after a full minute, Roy whispered, “Then I guess that makes you at the top of their list, McMurray.”

  No one nodded. No one needed to. Travis knew they were all thinking the same thing.

  Roy finally broke the silence. “So, what’s the plan tonight? I hope there is no fighting or gunplay involved. I’ve been on the trail a month and was hoping to sleep in a bed tonight.”

  Dillon frowned. “One of us needs to get real friendly with a few of the ladies in here tonight and find out if they know anything. If Seth’s been seen, I’d like to know it before I hear a bullet coming at my back.”

  The youngest Ranger glanced around. “Which girl you think Seth likes?”

  Dillon nodded at a thin girl near the bar. “That’s her. I’ve been watching her. She’s about as smart as a cow chip, but she might know something.”

  Travis raised his eyes to study the woman at the bar. She was young, maybe not out of her teens, but she’d been playing this game for several years. She had that hardened look of one who no longer cared about anyone, including herself. He could read her story on her face. She’d probably started serving drinks at fourteen or fifteen, then began taking men to her room a short time later because it paid better. She’d been beat up several times by unhappy customers, and judging from the tobacco stains on her fingers she had more than one habit she was supporting by working here.

  In his early years as a Ranger, Travis had stepped in a few times trying to help the barmaids out. More often than not they’d turned on him, claiming he was interfering with their business. Some were hard and cold, some were sweet and talky, but they were all in it for the money. He’d bet a month’s pay that this one wouldn’t help the Rangers unless she saw some benefit in it for her.

  Mike scooted his chair back. “I’ll go try to talk to her.”

  Roy put his hand on the boy’s shoulder. “She’ll eat you alive, kid. Let me try. I’m used to handling women. Both my wives say I have the magic touch.”

  Dillon shook his head. “You got enough woman trouble, Dumont. Last I heard the one you have on the other side of the border told her six brothers that she wanted to be a widow. She was tired of being half a wife.” Dillon nodded once at Travis. “Let McMurray do it. He’s all dressed up like a gentleman. They’ll never suspect him to be a Ranger.”

  Travis wanted to scream “No!” The last thing he wanted to do tonight was talk with another female. But he knew what Dillon was trying to do. He was giving Travis a chance to be part of the team. If he had any hope of remaining a Ranger, he had to do his duty, but talking to this thin, homely woman seemed impossible.

  He finished off his drink and stood. No use putting it off. There would be pride in trying, even if he failed. The failure would lie in not giving it his best shot.

  He walked to the bar and ordered another drink.

  “Evening,” he said as he stood beside the woman and waited for the bartender to return.

  Her smile seemed painted on. “Evening, fellow. You tired of talking to your friends and want to have a little fun?”

  He glanced back to see the three Rangers leaving. They knew if he learned anything, he’d report in, and for now they’d be wasting their time watching. It looked better if they appeared to be calling it a night, leaving him behind. One man who’d been drinking might look like easy pickings to a girl wanting to make some money.

  “What do you have in mind?” He forced himself to smile back at the barmaid who wore enough paint for a war party.

  “Depends on how much silver’s in your pocket. For the price of a drink, we can talk. A few bits more and I’ll give you a taste of what might be for sale.”

  He placed a few coins on the bar. “A bottle, bartender, and two glasses. The lady and I are going to have a few drinks and get to know each other.”

  She tugged him to one of the back tables where the smoke hung in a gray cloud thick as soup. The bony woman ignored a chair and took a seat on his knee. He wanted nothing more than to toss her off, but instead, he shifted her to his good leg and told her he’d been wounded recently.

  She asked no questions about his wound, but two drinks later she was whining about every injury she’d ever suffered. Her voice reminded him of a violin that was badly in need of tuning. She had a way of never ending a sentence. She just rolled on and on with breaks only when she needed a drink.

  Her friend circled by and helped herself to Travis’s drink. He knew he’d not touch the glass again. She laughed and asked him if he were man enough for two women.

  When he said he was, but his pocketbook wasn’t, she snorted, letting him know that at this hour of the night the price could be negotiated.

  The girl on his knee began to whine about never having enough money to buy a new dress.

  Travis stilled as if the air had suddenly grown frosty. Without a doubt in his mind he knew who he was talking to. Snort and Whiny, the two women Rainey had described in her letter. She said she heard them talking every night. Except for the night they’d whispered about murdering someone, Rainey commented that Whiny always complained and Snort tried to make her laugh.

  He counted houses from the alley and guessed if he went out the back door of this bar he might be directly under the boardinghouse’s third-floor window.

  These women might not know anything about Seth Norman, but they were plotting a murder. The world seemed full of criminals tonight. He studied them carefully, trying to decide if they had been just passing time, or if one or both of them could truly be setting a plan into action.

  “Have a seat,” he said to Snort. “It looks like a slow night, and I’ve enough money to at least buy you a drink.”

  When the older woman plopped down, he filled both their glasses and said with a smile, “Now tell me ladies, do either of you know where I might find a way to make some fast money?” He forced a smile. “I’m not too particular about it being strictly on the up and up.”

  They giggled and eyed one another as only people who share a secret do.

  “You have any ideas?” he pushed.

  “Nothing,” Snort said, obviously deciding not to take a chance on him. “We’re just looking to have some fun.” She leaned close and rubbed her mouth against his throat. She wasn’t kissing him. Her action seemed more that of an animal smelling prey. She had considerably more meat on her bones than Whiny, but unfortunately most of it was flabby.

  Travis fought down a shudder. No matter what else he learned tonight, he knew one thing. He hadn’t been attracted to Rainey simply because she was a woman.

  If a woman had been all he needed, there were two pressing up against him now who seemed more than willing. He stared at the bottle knowing he could never get drunk enough to want to sleep with either.

  The one Rainey had called Whiny let the strap of her dress fall. Her pointy little breast slipped from the faded dress and drooped over the fabric. She looked up to make sure Travis watched. “See something you like?” she whispered in his ear. “I’ll let you hold it for free, if you like.”

  Travis gripped the whiskey bottle so hard he was sure it would shatter in his hand. “No,” he managed to say. “Maybe another time. I have to go.”

  He tossed a coin on the table. “Please, finish the bottle for me tonight, and I’ll see you again when I’m more flush.”

  Whiny shrugged. He’d said the one thing to make her lose interest. He was broke.

  Travis walked out the back of the bar and closed the door behind him. The cold night air hit him full in the face, sobering him completely. Like a deer, he wanted to push a hard breath out and get rid of the smells he’d just breathed in, but the alley was no place to draw more air in.

  He looked up and could barely make out the third-story window. As he’d hoped, it was open. It seemed halfway to the moon.

  “Rainey,” he said as calmly as if she were standing right beside him. “Rainey, I know you’re not asleep. Answer me.”


  After a moment she whispered, “What are you doing down there?”

  “I met your two friends. We need to talk about them tomorrow. They may be in far more danger than you think they are.”

  The alley was silent for so long he feared she might not answer. Then her answer carried on the air. “Where?”

  “The café where we had dinner. Noon.”

  “I’ll try. But I’ll not promise.”

  He smiled. Even if she did promise, he wouldn’t believe her. “Rainey,” Travis said as he started down the alley.

  “Yes?” she asked.

  “Good night, Sunshine.”

  “Good night,” she echoed. “And don’t call me Sunshine.”

  He walked all the way home with a grin on his face. Maybe she didn’t hate him half as much as he thought. After all, she’d almost agreed to see him again. Maybe his brain would be clear enough in daylight to keep him from saying something crazy.

  He crossed the grounds of the capital and entered the side door of the Bailey home. As always, the house smelled of beeswax and roses. He’d heard it said that Mrs. Bailey always kept fresh roses in every room during the summer when she could charge twice as much for a room, and there were plenty who would pay it to have their families close while they did their business.

  When he opened the door to the sitting room he shared with his sister, he found Duck sitting on a short stool by the fire.

  The minute the boy heard Travis, he jumped up and ran to him. As always, Travis swung him up and held him safe and sound.

  The boy smiled.

  Travis hugged him tightly and sat down in the chair beside the fireplace. “It’s all right, Duck. It’s all right. I’m not going to leave you. You will always be safe. If I go out, I promise I’ll come back.” Travis felt like he gave the same speech every time he left the room. Maybe it was not the words, but the sound of his voice that always seemed to settle the child down.

  Sage appeared at her bedroom door with her arms crossed in anger. “He won’t go to sleep without you here, Travis. And I can’t go to sleep knowing he’s sitting waiting.” She walked farther into the room, her new blue dressing gown swishing against the polished floor. She leaned down to the little iron teapot that was delivered every night even though no one ordered it.

  “He’s fine with me while it’s daylight, but as soon as the sun sets, he starts watching for you.” She poured herself a cup. “Tonight he went from window to window waiting for you to come back.”

  Travis didn’t know what to say. He wasn’t sorry for being gone. He hadn’t reported in at dark to anyone since his mother died, and he didn’t plan on explaining his actions now. Not to his little sister, or to anyone else. If he told her he’d been working, she’d want to know details, and if he told her he’d stepped out with a woman, he’d never hear the end to the questions. So he said nothing.

  Sage would calm down. She was like kindling. She fired up fast, but her temper never lasted long.

  She brushed her hand over the boy’s hair. “He’s already asleep. All he needed was to know you were near.”

  Travis smiled down at Duck. “He’ll grow out of it. He must feel pretty lost most of the time.”

  Sage walked back to her bedroom as he lifted Duck down onto the blankets in front of the fire. “Tomorrow,” she started, “Mrs. Bailey and I are going to Sunday services at the chapel. They’re having singing afterward that I think I’ll really enjoy. You and Duck can have some time together.”

  “Will you be back by noon?” Travis looked forward to sleeping in and catching up on reading. He was glad she didn’t ask him to go with her. He’d be fine here with Duck, and she’d be safe with the Baileys.

  “No. There’s a potluck lunch. I helped Mrs. Bailey make bread for it after supper. I should be back by three.” She closed the door without expecting him to comment.

  He opened his mouth to call her back, but what would he say? I’ve got a date to meet a horse thief to discuss a murder planned by two barmaids I saw a little too much of an hour ago?

  A tiny hand touched his.

  He looked down at blue eyes staring up from the blankets by the fire.

  Travis growled.

  The boy growled back, then climbed up in the chair with Travis. Duck put his head on Travis’s shoulder and let out a deep breath as he went back to sleep.

  Travis kissed the top of the boy’s head. “I don’t scare you one bit, do I, my brave little man.”

  He leaned back in the chair and thought of Rainey. “I probably don’t frighten her, either, but if we’re talking honest, son, she about scares me to death.”

  CHAPTER 21

  TRAVIS GOT TO THE CAFÉ EARLY SO THAT HE COULD have Duck settled in a chair when Rainey arrived. For once, he hoped the boy wouldn’t pick up on what the adults were talking about.

  He’d enjoyed spending the morning with Duck. Because the Baileys and Sage had gone to church, Travis cooked a late breakfast of fried eggs over toasted raisin bread, then they’d taken off on a walk about the town. Duck grew braver each day, no longer holding on for dear life every time they passed a stranger. Sage had been right, the trip was good for him.

  She’d bought him a new pair of trousers and a matching coat. The vest he now wore didn’t make him seem so thin, and Travis hoped it would keep him warmer.

  Dr. Bailey gave the boy a top, and Duck found it fascinating to wind the string around the brightly colored wood. Travis showed him several times how to spin it, but for Duck the fun seemed to lie in the winding, which made for a great toy at the café.

  While Travis watched the door, Duck sat close to him winding and rewinding the top. The third time the waitress stopped to ask if they’d decided on one of the three choices on the menu board, Travis ordered for the boy. He wasn’t sure Rainey planned to eat; after all, he’d only said they should met. This way Duck could eat while they talked. If she agreed to join him for lunch, Duck would sit quietly watching the people pass the window while they ate.

  A few minutes later when the waitress delivered Duck’s plate of food, she smiled and asked, “Is Miss Adams joining you again?”

  Travis had to think for a moment who she might be talking about, then he quickly said, “I believe so. That is, if she doesn’t get tied up.” He knew he was pushing it, but he added, “Do you know her well?”

  The waitress laughed. “Not at all, she’s usually in a hurry when she makes her deliveries here. I have had a few people offer me money if I’ll tell them her secrets.”

  Travis frowned.

  She tapped his shoulder. “Don’t worry, even if I knew, I wouldn’t tell. Pies that good should be magical, not just made from a recipe. I thought that was real cute of her to order one of her own creations last night.” She winked at him. “And smart of you to eat both slices.”

  A customer called from another table and the waitress disappeared. Travis pieced the puzzle together, except for one part. Where did Rainey Adams make the pies? She obviously made enough to live on, so she had to bake a great many, but where? Not the Askew House or she wouldn’t have been coming home so late last night. If she had a home, she would be living there and not at the boardinghouse.

  One mystery about his fairy was solved. He now knew how she’d gotten those burns on her hands.

  He smiled, deciding to keep his new knowledge to himself. Let her have her last little secret. He’d learned quite a lot this morning.

  By the time Duck finished his meal, Travis had stopped watching the door. It was almost one o’clock. If she’d planned to meet him, she would have been there by now.

  “Want to do some more walking about town?” Travis asked Duck as he dropped a few bills on the table.

  The boy didn’t answer, but when Travis stood, he gathered up his top and string and slipped his little hand in Travis’s. The Ranger didn’t miss the way Duck always walked on his right side so that he didn’t interfere with the cane. Duck was smart; he’d talk in time.

  They walked one blo
ck after another in no particular direction. He didn’t bother to go past Askew House; she wouldn’t be there. As far as he knew she had no friends, except the few ladies she’d met at the boardinghouse. Somewhere in this town she was probably baking, but he didn’t even know who to ask.

  When they walked past the Ranger station and jail, Travis decided to stop in and see if there were any news about the Norman brothers. He might as well report in on his failure to collect any new information from the barmaid. Maybe Dillon would assign someone else to give it a shot.

  Mike Saddler was the only man in the office and he didn’t look happy. Travis pulled a stool by the window and swung Duck up on it so he could watch folks passing and still feel safe.

  “I’m glad you’re here,” the young Ranger said the moment Travis gave Mike his full attention. “I can’t get the prisoners to quiet down. They keep yelling or asking for things I don’t know if I’m supposed to give out. Dillon left for lunch and told me to be careful around them, but they scare me, if you want to know the truth.”

  “Ignore them,” Travis suggested as he poured himself a cup of the strong coffee they all called Pecos mix because it was as thick as the river bottom mud in the Pecos River.

  “I can’t,” Mike answered. “All my upbringing tells me that wouldn’t be polite. I’m not trained for this.”

  “Throw a bucket of water on them. That usually settles drunks and fighters down,” Travis mumbled as he broke off a hunk of hard bread and dunked it in his coffee to make the bread eatable and the coffee sweeter. It wasn’t much of a meal, but he’d missed lunch waiting for Rainey.

  Mike scrambled his hair as if his head hurt. “I can’t throw water on ladies, but I’m not sure I should give one the brush she keeps asking for, and the other one has told me twice that it’s past teatime.”

  “Ladies?” The young Ranger finally had Travis’s attention.

  “Yeah, one’s a widow and the other is younger but just as pretty. Both of them look so proper you’d think they’d never steal a thing, but Dillon caught them last night red-handed.”