A Time for Vultures (27 page)

Outside the depot was the smell of smoke under the car shed, though the roof was high enough that the smoke wasn't oppressive. Six tracks could be seen under the shed, with concrete walks extending out between them. Four of the tracks were currently occupied, including track number three.

Smoke glanced toward the faces in the windows of the cars in the train on track number two, which was slowly pulling out of the station. He wondered, in passing, if one of them might be Stratton or Potter or Richards.

He had never seen Richards, but Smoke somehow knew he would recognize the man if he saw him. He couldn't explain exactly how—just something in his gut.

He climbed aboard his train and settled into his seat, then stared out the window as the train departed the station, rolled through the city, and finally into the unsettled countryside.

His assignment had nothing to do with finding the three men he had sworn to bring to justice, but the badge would give him more flexibility in his search.

When he asked questions from behind that star, the response was a little quicker and more detailed. The biggest advantage to the badge was that it gave him the freedom an ordinary citizen wouldn't have when taking the law into his own hands.

He didn't have to worry about that. He
was
the law.

 

As Janey drove the surrey down the road toward the PSR Ranch in response to Josh Richards's summons, the clop of the hoof beats, not only of the horse pulling the surrey, but also the one Cecil was riding, built a cocoon of sound around her, allowing her to think without distraction. She considered Flora's offer to come work for her, and she knew that the idea wasn't all that far-fetched. She had worked in such a place before, for a madam in Dallas known as Chicago Sue. Sue had given her the name she had used for a while, Fancy Lil.

It was during that time of her life she had met the man known as Big Ben Conyers, one of her customers who had wanted more than an hour of lust, paid for and promptly forgotten. He had fallen in love with “Fancy Lil,” who was touched enough by his devotion to reveal her real name.

With more between them, Janey had gotten pregnant. When he heard the news, Big Ben had been eager to marry her. He had even taken her to his vast Live Oaks Ranch, north of Fort Worth, and seen to it that she had the best of care until she gave birth to their daughter, beautiful redheaded Rebecca. Janey had promised Ben that they would be married as soon as she recovered from giving birth.

Instead, she had cut and run, unwilling to saddle him with the disgrace of marrying a fallen woman. And she never, ever wanted Rebecca to hear the vicious taunts of other children about her mother being a kept woman. She wouldn't doom a child to that sort of life.

It had been easier to leave, knowing that Ben would raise Rebecca with all the love in his gigantic heart. Easier . . . and at the same time, the most difficult thing Janey Jensen had ever done in her misadventure of a life.

“There's Mr. Richards out on the front porch,” Cecil said as they approached the house. His comment broke her reverie. “I'll put your horse and surrey away, ma'am.”

“Thank you, Cecil.” Janey brought the surrey to a halt, then stepped down and handed the reins to the young cowboy, who led both horses toward the barn. As she approached the porch she could see that Richards was impatient and irritated.

“Well, I see that ignorant cowhand found you.”

Janey climbed the steps to the porch, which extended all the way around the big house. “What do you want, Josh? I told you I was going into town for a while.”

“No doubt to visit with Flora.”

“Flora is my friend.”

“She is also a madam who runs a brothel,” Richards said derisively. “If people see you going there enough times, they'll believe you're one of the same.”

“What makes you think they don't believe that now?” Janey asked. “They all know what I am. It's just that I'm
yours
.”

“You don't have to be. You could be my wife, you know.”

Janey started to reply that she would rather be what she was than be his wife, but she held that response in check and forced a smile. “I know that, Josh. And I appreciate the offer. But let's leave things as they are for now. I enjoy being the business manager for this ranch. It gives me a sense of purpose.”

“But wouldn't being my wife give you a sense of purpose?”

“Not as much. If we were married, I would lose my identity as business manager and just be the wife of one of the owners.”

“The majority owner,” Richards said quickly.

Again, Janey managed a smile. “Yes, you would be the majority owner, but I would still be just your wife. Josh, don't you see that it's better this way? Besides, why do you need to marry me? Don't I share your bed from time to time? And don't you know that wives get headaches a lot more often than mistresses?”

Richards laughed. “By damn, you're right. Anyway, that's not why I had Cecil come get you. I need a paper signed by someone in Denver, and I want you to take it there in person, get it signed, and bring it back to me.”

“I'll need five hundred dollars,” Janey said without hesitating an instant.

“Five hundred dollars?” His eyebrows rose in surprise. “Janey, are you telling me that you are going to charge me five hundred dollars to take a paper to Denver and bring it back?”

“I'm not going to charge you anything to take a paper to Denver. My goodness, if I couldn't do a simple thing like that for free, why, I would be the biggest ingrate you ever heard of.”

“So you aren't going to charge me for delivering the paper?”

“Of course not,” Janey said. “Why would I do something like that? It's like I told you, I'm doing that for free.”

“I don't understand. What is the five hundred dollars for?”

“Darling, you don't expect me to go to Denver and not buy several new outfits, do you? That five hundred dollars is just a gift. After all, I know you want me to look good. And don't tell me you can't afford it, darling, because I do your books, remember? I know full well that you can afford it.”

Richards looked at her with narrowed eyes for a moment, then abruptly laughed. “You know what? A mistress would be a lot cheaper.”

“And a wife a lot more expensive,” Janey reminded him.

He held up his hands in mock surrender. “All right, all right. You got me. I'll give you five hundred dollars for the trip. But I expect you to come back looking more beautiful than ever.”

“You are a dear.” With a smile that produced dimples, she kissed the end of her fingers, then touched them to Richards's lips.