Longarm and the Wyoming Woman (2 page)

“Hey, stop!” Longarm shouted, knowing that the man wasn't about to stop. A moment later, Longarm got lucky when he saw the mugger try to cross the busy downtown street and then get struck by a buggy. The mugger was knocked down, but got up and started limping toward a nearby park in the direction of Cherry Creek. Longarm knew that that was a place where many of the worst dregs in Denver tended to congregate.

“Stop,” Longarm ordered again as he swiftly overtook the mugger. “Stop or I'll shoot!”

The mugger was limping badly and had run as far as he was able. Realizing he was about to be overtaken, he stopped and twisted around. He shouted a curse that was lost in the wind, and then he grabbed an old woman and used her as a shield, holding his gun to her head.

For a moment, everything froze in time. Longarm skidded to a halt, and the most striking thing he noticed was the old woman's eyes, which were filled with terror.

“You go away or I'll blow her damned brains out!” the mugger cried at Longarm. “I mean it! Turn and get away from here now!”

Longarm studied the man's face. It was dirty, scarred, and twisted with anger rather than raw fear or panic. This, Longarm knew from past experience, was a man that had nothing to lose.

“All right,” Longarm said, lowering his Colt revolver until it rested by his leg. “Just take it easy, mister. There's no point in getting anyone else killed. Not over a stolen purse.”

“You shot my friend back there in that alley!”

“We both know that I had no choice . . . it was self-defense,” Longarm said, trying to figure out how he was going to defuse this situation enough to save the old woman and yet still gain the upper hand.

“Are you a lawman?”

“Yes. I'm a federal officer. Drop the gun and you'll only go to jail for a while.”

But instead of surrendering, the mugger cursed and cocked his pistol. The old woman was frightened and she fainted dead away. The mugger had her in a throat lock and the barrel of his gun was pressed tightly to her skull as he shouted, “I ain't goin' back to jail or any prison. Never again! You got just two choices, turn around and go away . . . or watch me blow out this old lady's brains.”

“You win,” Longarm said, realizing that this man would do exactly what he had threatened. “I'm going away, but first let go of that woman.”

“Move!” the mugger shouted.

Longarm turned and walked off expecting a bullet in the back. His heart was pounding when he rounded a street corner, and then immediately turned and pressed himself to the building to see if the mugger was going to do as he'd promised.

The mugger dropped the unconscious woman to the sidewalk, then with his gun still raised in case anyone else planned to interfere, he looked frantically around and started backing in between two buildings. Longarm could see that the man was going to return to the same alley that they'd exited only a few minutes earlier, so he ducked his head and sprinted down the dark corridor between a nearby set of buildings.

A cat that he almost trampled screeched, rats scuttled through piles of garbage, but Longarm was too focused to notice until he came back to the alley. He bent over for a moment to catch his breath, then heard the pounding of running feet and smiled with cold satisfaction. The mugger was coming closer, not moving farther away.

Gun up and with five beans still in the can, Longarm stepped out and the mugger almost collided with him. The light was poor, the air was cold, and the early winter wind was cutting through the corridors of brick and stone and making an eerie, shrieking sound. The mugger cried out in surprise, then tried to reverse direction and run away, but he slipped and fell. Rolling hard with a painful grunt, he turned and tried to get his pistol up and shoot.

Longarm figured that he'd given the fellow enough chances to live another day. The distance being close, he didn't need to aim as he shot the mugger twice in the chest. The man cried out, and then fell back on the dirty alley floor still trying to pull off a shot.

Kicking the gun from the dying man's fist, Longarm held his fire and watched the mugger gasp his last few breaths as the front of his dirty woolen coat began soaking up a large quantity of fresh blood.

“What's your name, mister?” Longarm asked, kneeling beside the dying mugger. “You don't deserve it, but if you have family, I'll do my best to see that they know you're gone.”

The mugger stared up at Longarm, rolling his head back and forth. With bloody froth on his lips, he hissed, “I'll see you in hell!”

“Could be, but you'll be there for damned certain.”

The man tried to spit on Longarm, but instead coughed up blood and then went still.

Longarm collected the young woman's stolen purse and the mugger's pistol. It only took a moment to search the mugger's pockets and, as he'd expected, he found no identification.

Just before leaving the body, Longarm studied the man a moment and said, “Somewhere, you have family . . . and maybe they're even good, churchgoing people who have always loved and forgiven you. . .but I expect that you'd just as soon not have them know that you died in this filthy alley after attempting rape and robbery.”

Longarm reloaded his gun. “Don't worry. Whatever family you and that other sonofabitch came from will never know how you met your sad and well-deserved end.”

And with that, Longarm turned and headed up the alley back toward Colfax Avenue. He would find the beautiful young woman and return her purse and money. Then he would go on to the office and his boss would wonder why he was especially late this cold, bitter Monday morning. Marshal Billy Vail would just naturally assume that Longarm had been delayed by a woman. A young and beautiful woman who would want one more vigorous bout of lovemaking before sending Custis off to work.

Well
, Longarm thought as he holstered his six-gun,
this is one Monday morning that Billy will at least be half right.

“You got my purse back!” the young woman cried, running forward and then snatching the purse from Longarm a moment before she gave him a kiss and a hug despite the pain her split lip must have caused her. “You're my hero!”

Despite the cold wind, a crowd was gathered around the girl, and now they smiled and some even applauded. Longarm was a modest man, and he blushed and tried to make light of his accomplishment. “It wasn't really a problem,” he said to the woman. “Neither one of those muggers could shoot straight.”

She looked up at him with one eye already swollen shut. “Did you have to kill them
both
?”

“I'm afraid that I did,” Longarm admitted. “Miss, I'll take you to the nearest police station because they'll want to ask you a few questions and take a statement about the robbery and my gunfight.”

“Do you know who those two thieves were?”

“No. And it's very possible we may never learn their true identities. Those types aren't likely to carry identification. They could be drifters.”

She opened her purse and peered inside. Longarm followed her glance, and he saw a thick roll of greenbacks.

“I'm sure it's all here,” the woman said with a huge sigh of relief. “Every last dollar.”

“They darned sure didn't have a chance to spend any of it,” Longarm answered.

“No, they didn't.”

Longarm held out his arm. “Miss, can I escort you to the police station?”

“Thank you.”

A well-dressed stranger came up to Longarm and handed him his Stetson. “I saw it blow off your head and then sail into the sky for a few minutes before coming back down on the street. I thought it was the least I could do for someone as brave as you, Marshal.”

Longarm thanked the man and reset his hat firmly. “Does anyone know what happened to the older woman that the mugger tried to use as a shield until she fainted?” he asked, looking up the street.

“She recovered and then was helped off to see a doctor,” someone told Longarm. “Needless to say, she was very upset.”

“I'm just glad she wasn't hurt.”

“Marshal,” a woman told him. “I hope you receive a commendation from the city for your bravery.”

“Thanks, but that's not too likely,” Longarm told her, not a bit interested in a commendation. “I was just doing my job.”

He turned to the woman who'd been assaulted and robbed. “Miss, if you're ready, I'll escort you to the police station. It's only two blocks away, if you feel up to it. If not, we'll find a cab driver and—”

“No,” she said. “My knees are scraped up, but I'm more than grateful for your kindness and the way this turned out. I just wish that those two men hadn't been shot to death.”

“It was their own choice,” Longarm told her. “I gave both of 'em every chance to surrender. They were mean and ruthless, miss. You shouldn't waste much time mourning their loss.”

“I suppose not,” she agreed, forcing a smile that caused her to wince with pain. “I do know you're right and they've probably hurt many others besides myself and that dear old woman.”

“Bet on it,” Longarm reassured her.

“My name is Adeline Hudson.
Miss
Adeline Hudson. But you certainly have bravely earned the right to just call me Addie.”

“Custis Long,” he said, bowing slightly. “The pleasure is mine.”

“No,” she said sweetly, “the pleasure is most certainly all mine.”

It was amazing, Longarm thought, how a beautiful young woman who had only moments earlier nearly been strangled and raped could now appear so joyful and unaffected.

“Have you had breakfast yet, Marshal?”

Longarm shook his head. “No.”

“Then let me buy you a nice breakfast. It's the least that I can do to show my appreciation.”

“We should report in to the local police station first,” he told her. “After all, there are two bodies to be recovered by the undertaker and paperwork to fill out. All that takes time, I'm afraid.”

She looked up at him. “I imagine you know from similar past experiences.”

Longarm nodded, not in the least bit proud of all the men he had killed despite the fact that every last one of the late sonofabitches had earned a well-deserved and swift journey to the nearest cemetery. “I'm afraid you're correct,” he admitted.

Addie suddenly faltered.

“Are you all right?” Longarm asked with concern.

“I suddenly feel rather faint,” she told him.

“Maybe we should get you to a doctor.”

“No,” Addie said. “It's just delayed shock plus the fact that I haven't had anything yet to eat today. I think hunger and the shock are just now catching up with me.”

They were standing outside a café that Longarm often frequented and that he knew was very good. “Then let's go inside and have something to eat,” he decided. “We can't have you fainting and banging up those pretty knees again, now can we?”

She took a deep breath and managed a radiant smile. “So you thought my knees were pretty?”

He blushed slightly. “Well, I couldn't help but notice they were very pretty. As were your legs.”

Now it was Addie's turn to blush. “Modesty forbids a response,” she told him. “But I have to say that I'm glad you thought my legs were attractive.”

He helped her inside. “I have a habit of speaking exactly what is on my mind, Addie.”

“That's good,” she replied, sliding into a booth. “So do I. And that's why I have to admit that I'm very attracted to you, Marshal. You have no idea how much it means to me that you recovered all that money. I must think of some way to repay you.”

“Not necessary,” he assured her as he slid into the booth next to her.

“Oh, but it
is
necessary! You see, that money I almost lost is for my father, who owns a ranch near a town called Buffalo Falls, Wyoming. He's desperately trying to save our land from being taken over by a very powerful and unscrupulous man who wants to have him evicted. The two thousand dollars will be used to hire good lawyers to defend my father's claim.”

“Then I'm glad that I was able to save it for you,” Longarm told her.

“My father will want to thank you personally.”

“That's not necessary.”

“Maybe sometime you could come to see our ranch. It's very scenic and—”

“They keep me pretty busy,” Longarm told her. “Sometimes, I get sent out on assignments on a day's notice.”

“Well, today is almost half over, so I doubt you'll be leaving before tomorrow.”

“I expect not.”

“I'd like to see you for dinner at my place . . . my treat.”

Longarm was interested. By rights, he should have insisted that dinner certainly wasn't necessary. But something told him that more was being offered than a good meal . . . much, much more.

So he merely smiled with appreciation and said, “I'd like that, Addie.”

She reached across the table and squeezed his hand. “You are really something special, Custis. And I want to know all about you.”

“Not much to tell.”

“I don't believe that for a minute.”

They ordered breakfast, and Longarm and Addie lost track of time. When they finally left the restaurant, it was almost noon. That being the case, Longarm decided that he might as well spend the lunch hour with Addie after they reported in to the local police.

His boss would be furious, but when Billy Vail learned that Longarm had saved the lives of two women and rid the city of a pair of vicious muggers and thieves, he would be more than forgiving.