Trail of the Hanged Man (8 page)

The next morning, before the first rooster crowed, Lawless stood with his arms resting on a corral fence watching the sky
lightening
above the hills in the east. It was cold, desert-cold, and a wind blowing up from Mexico tugged at his hair and chilled the back of his neck. Unable to chase Ingrid from his mind, he’d slept little during the night and his eyes felt raw and gritty. Finishing his third cigarette since rising, he flipped it into the empty corral and for the umpteenth time promised himself that right after
breakfast
he would ask Sven to take him into nearby Santa Rosa. There, hopefully he could find some kind of temporary work until he had enough money to buy a horse and saddle, and then head for Arizona.

Footsteps behind him interrupted his thoughts. He turned and saw Ingrid, a basket of eggs on her arm, leaving the barn. She waved to him, took a few more steps toward the house then stopped, turned, and came up to him.

‘Good morning.’

‘’Morning, ma’am.’

‘I hope you got some sleep. Sven’s been meaning to fix those loose boards that bang around when the wind blows, but—’

‘I slept just fine, thanks,’ Lawless said. He noticed she’d left her long tawny hair hanging loose and he couldn’t help thinking how fresh and pretty she looked with the wind blowing through it.

His steady gaze made her self-conscious. She brushed some
loose strands back from her face, saying, ‘I must look an awful mess. But Sven likes it when I let my hair down at night and.…’ Her voice trailed off.

There was an awkward silence. It wasn’t that they didn’t know what to say, just how to say it.

‘He’s a lucky man,’ Lawless said quietly.

‘No, I’m a lucky woman,’ Ingrid said. ‘What Sven said at supper was true: there
were
plenty of other women available in our village. All of them eager to marry him.’

‘Not you, though.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘He said he begged you to marry him.’

‘Oh … that.’ She blushed, as if caught in a lie, said quickly, ‘Sven was just joking. Believe me, he was a truly fine catch.’

‘That why you married him?’

‘I married him,’ she said firmly, ‘because I loved him, Mr Lawless.’

‘Ahh.’

‘You don’t believe me?’

‘Why would you lie?’

‘I wouldn’t.’ She looked away and shifted uneasily on her feet.

Lawless waited for her to continue. But she didn’t and there was another awkward silence.

‘Well,’ she said finally, ‘I must go make breakfast. Sven’s one of those men who can’t start the day without a good meal inside him. I swear,’ she added, ‘you could tell him Geronimo was on the warpath again and he’d say, “Please, Ingrid, not before I’ve eaten”.’

Lawless smiled. ‘I feel the same way about coffee, ma’am.’

‘In that case, I’ll be sure to have a cup waiting for you.’ She turned away, took a few hesitant steps and then looked back at him. ‘You’re leaving us today, aren’t you?’

His tight-lipped silence confirmed she was right.

She hesitated, teeth torturing her lower lip, then said: ‘I know it’s none of my business, Mr Lawless, but may I ask what your
reason is for going so soon?’

‘Got things to do.’

‘Things?’

He nodded.

‘In Arizona?’

‘Yes. How’d you know?’

‘Sven told me. Last night before we went to sleep. Said if Joey hadn’t shot your horse, you’d be in Arizona by now.’

‘I meant, about my leaving?’

‘Oh-h … I … It was something my daughter said.’

‘Raven?’

‘Yes. She’s only a child but she’s very astute that way. I don’t know why, certainly neither Sven nor I are intuitive … but Raven, well, she’s always been able to sense how people are feeling.…’

Lawless didn’t doubt that.

‘I wish you wouldn’t,’ Ingrid said.

He frowned, surprised. ‘You asking me to stay?’

‘Y-yes … Not for me, you understand – for my husband.’

‘Go on.’

‘Last night was the happiest I’ve seen him in weeks, months even.’

‘What’s that got to do with me?’

‘Well, it’s hard to explain, but.…’

‘On account of his penchant for male company?’

‘Penchant?’

‘His love of.’

‘Oh. Yes … you could put it that way.’ She studied him for a moment, wondering who he really was and where he was from, then lowered her eyes and ran her fingers gently over the eggs.

‘I wouldn’t worry about that anymore, ma’am. He has the boy now. He’ll be fine.’

‘I hope so. It’s just.…’

‘What?’

‘He so admires you, enjoys being with you, having you around
to talk to and … I mean … you see it’s a man’s company he needs, not a boy’s. It seems to fire him up. Last night he was talking how he wants you to help him fix things up around here. Of course he’ll pay you. It won’t be much but— Do you really have to leave today?’ she pressed. ‘I mean couldn’t you stay a little longer – just a few days even?’

He looked into her upturned face, her pleading blue eyes, and saw nothing but trouble ahead. But despite the warning, he heard himself say: ‘A few days?’

She nodded, willing to accept any offer that would keep him there.

He shrugged. ‘Reckon I can do that.’

‘Oh, that’s wonderful. Thank you, Mr Lawless.’

‘Ben.’

‘Of course – Ben. And please, call me Ingrid.’ She frowned, suddenly worried, said, ‘You won’t say anything to Sven about—?’

‘No,’ Lawless said. ‘Not a word.’

After breakfast, Lawless helped Sven nail down the loose boards in the barn. A few had rotted beyond repair. With no spare wood available to replace them and Sven’s credit in Santa Rosa all dried up, Lawless suggested they use the fencing from one of the two corrals, keeping the other intact for the horses. Sven was delighted by the idea and they soon had enough wood to repair not only walls of the barn, but a small leak in the roof as well. ‘By golly,’ he exclaimed when they were finished. ‘Will Ingrid be surprised when she sees what we’ve done!’ He slapped Lawless on the back, adding: ‘We make a great team, you and me.’

Lawless grinned, warmed by the big Norwegian’s enthusiasm. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt as happy and relaxed as he did now. But at the same time he knew it couldn’t last, not with the way he felt about Ingrid, and he warned himself not to get too comfortable or content.

After they finished repairing the roof, they climbed down to the hayloft and collected all the old junk that Sven sheepishly admitted he had hidden there so Ingrid wouldn’t know he hadn’t thrown it away like she’d insisted. Among the items were a pitchfork with two prongs missing, a rusted saw with no handle, a surveyor’s tripod with only one leg, and an old harness, its leather so deteriorated it broke when they tried to untangle it. ‘Heaven only knows why I kept all this stuff,’ he said. ‘I knew I’d never use it when I was hiding it here. Guess I’m just a pack rat, like Ingrid says.’

‘I’m the opposite,’ Lawless said. ‘I get rid of things too quickly.’ Including people, he thought.

‘I inherited the trait from my father,’ Sven said as they carried the junk out behind the barn. ‘“Possessions”, he used to say, “are like memories, to be stored away and cherished later”. My mother, on the other hand, was like you. “Out with the old, in with the new”, was her motto.’ He chuckled, adding, ‘Caused some dreadful arguments. “The Battling Bjorkmans” they were known as.’ He paused, saddened by the thought of his parents, then said, ‘I still miss them, Ben. I miss my brothers and sisters, too. I tried to get them to come to America with me, but they wouldn’t. Said they loved Norway too much to leave. Thank heavens I have Ingrid and Raven or my life wouldn’t be worth a tinker’s damn.’

Lawless felt a tinge of guilt, but said nothing.

Returning inside the barn, they lugged an old straw mattress up to the loft for Lawless to sleep on and then stabbed the hay with pitchforks to get rid of any rats. As they worked, Sven asked Lawless if he had a wife and children. Lawless shook his head. How about parents, brothers or sisters? Again, Lawless shook his
head. Sven smiled sympathetically, then broke into a big grin and slapped Lawless on the back. ‘Well, now you’ve got us, my friend. So you’ll never be lonely again.’

Lawless knew better. But not wanting to hurt Sven’s feelings, he kept silent. Finished in the loft, they descended the ladder and let the horses loose into the corral. Sven then grabbed the grease bucket and two brushes and together they began greasing the axles on the wagon. As they worked, Sven told Lawless about what it was like growing up in a village in Norway. In the middle of the conversation he suddenly stopped and looked at the empty stall behind him. ‘All right,’ he said sternly, ‘you can come out now.’

Lawless looked between the spokes of the nearest wheel and saw Raven emerge from the stall. ‘I wasn’t doing nothing,’ she said defensively.

‘Anything,’ corrected her father. ‘If you were doing nothing, you had to be doing something.’

‘I meant I wasn’t listening to what you were saying.’

‘You’d better not be. I catch you eavesdropping and I’ll spank the fur off you.’

‘Have to catch me first.’

‘I’ll do that too,’ Sven said, more amused than angry, ‘and then I’ll double spank you.’ He faked a sudden grab at her, but she was ready and easily eluded him. She made no attempt to run away, though, and Lawless realized this was a game between them. ‘What’re you doing here anyway?’ Sven asked her. ‘Aren’t you supposed to be helping your mother?’

‘Nothing to help her with. That crazy Violet’s doing
everything
. And what she isn’t doing, Joey is.’ Raven frowned, puzzled. ‘I swear, the way they keep following Momma around, asking if they can do this or that, they must love doing chores.’

‘I doubt that,’ her father said. ‘They’ve just been raised
properly
and want to help out – unlike a certain young lady I know.’

Raven made a face. ‘If being a lady means doing chores, I don’t want to be one. Are they going to be staying with us from
now on?’ she added.

‘Until they have their own place to live, yes.’

‘They got an aunt and uncle in Denver, why don’t they go live with them?’

‘I’ve no idea,’ Sven said. ‘Why, don’t you like having them around?’

Raven shrugged. ‘I liked it better without them.’

‘Really? I figured you’d love their company. They’re almost your age, and when Joey’s better you and he can do things together. Then you won’t have to amuse yourself all day, or spend so much time at the reservation.’

‘I like being at the reservation,’ Raven said. ‘And I like being by myself even better.’ She took her slingshot from her back pocket and stretched the rubber strands. ‘There’s rabbits feeding back of the barn. Want me to kill one or two for supper?’

‘So long as you have no chores to do, yes.’

Raven, already halfway to the door, stopped and looked at Lawless. ‘That gunfighter you know – one who shot the sheriff?’

‘Latigo Rawlins? What about him?’ Lawless said.

‘I seen him this morning ’fore sunup.’

‘Saw him, saw him,’ Sven corrected.

‘Where?’ said Lawless.

‘Greenwater Canyon.’

‘That’s in the hills east of here,’ Sven said for Lawless’ benefit. ‘Half of it’s on our property and the other half belongs to the Morgans – or did before the bank stepped in. What was he doing?’ he asked Raven.

‘I don’t know. Didn’t ask him.’

‘Did he see you?’ Lawless said.

‘Uh-uh. He was breaking camp when I come up on him. I watched him for a spell and after he’d saddled up, he started climbing over some rocks, you know, like he was looking for something. Then he rode off.’

Sven frowned at Lawless. ‘Wonder what he was looking for?’

Lawless shrugged, and turned to Raven. ‘Where was he headed?’

‘Santa Rosa, looked like. Want me to show you where I saw him?’

Lawless looked questioningly at Sven.

‘Go ahead,’ he said. ‘I’d like to know what Rawlins was up to myself. Oh, and take the horses. That way, you’ll be back in time for lunch.’

It was a twenty-minute ride to Greenwater Canyon, so named because of the green-tinted water in the creek that flowed out of the steep rocky bluffs on either side. Lawless reined up in front of the narrow rock-strewn entrance, unhooked the safety strap that held his Colt in the holster and motioned for Raven to ride behind him. Obeying, she asked what was worrying him. When he didn’t answer, she said: ‘You think Mr Rawlins doubled back?’

‘Possible.’

‘You worried he might bushwhack you?’

‘Possible.’

‘But you’re his friend. Why would he shoot—?’

Lawless reined up and looked back at her. ‘Let’s get
something
straight: Latigo’s not my friend. He’s not anybody’s friend.’

‘Then why’d he give you your gun back?’

‘To prove he wasn’t taking orders from the sheriff. It’s a sore point with him – like being called Shorty. Both things make him loco.’

‘Mean crazy?’

‘In a deadly way. As for why he’d shoot me, Lefty doesn’t need a reason. With him killing’s like an itch. When he itches, he scratches. Simple as that.’

She looked at him suspiciously. ‘You ain’t making all this up, are you?’

‘I couldn’t be more serious.’ He rode on, Raven right behind him.

They followed the creek as it curved between rocks and
boulders 
that ancient landslides had brought tumbling down from the hillsides. Lawless did not turn his head but under the flat brim of his black Stetson his eyes were constantly moving,
searching
the rocky slopes for any sign of danger. Ahead, a dead piñon tree, bleached white by the sun, lay across the creek like a natural bridge.

‘Here,’ Raven said, reining up by the tree. ‘This is where I saw him.’

Lawless dismounted, waited for her to join him and then told her to show him exactly what she saw Latigo doing. Head down as if looking for something, she walked over the broken rocks and loose shale piled alongside the creek.

Lawless followed her. ‘Did you see him stop anywhere or pick up any rocks?’

‘No … Maybe … I don’t remember.’

‘An Apache would remember.’

Raven thought back, face screwed into a frown. ‘Once, I think. Over there.’ She pointed at some nearby rocks.

Lawless led her to them. ‘You’re sure it was here?’

‘Y-yes. I mean … I.…’ Uncertain, she threw up her hands. ‘It isn’t fair. I’m just a kid, you know. Can’t expect me to remember everything.’

Lawless grasped her arm and pulled her close until their faces were only inches apart. ‘Don’t play that weak sister game with me. You want to be treated like an adult, act like one.’

Raven glared at him. She pointed at the ground. ‘He stopped here, picked up a rock, turned it over in his hand then threw it away and kept looking. I’m sure of it.’

‘That’s better.’ Lawless hunkered down and dipped his hand in the cold, fast-moving greenish water. He scooped up a handful of sandy silt from the creek-bed, examined it then dropped it back in the water.

‘Ain’t no gold here, if that’s what you’re looking for.’

Lawless, deep in thought, ignored her.

‘No silver, neither.’

Lawless picked up a small, sharp-edged rock that at some time or other a man-made tool had split apart. Examining it, he then thoughtfully tossed it from hand to hand. ‘Ever see any
prospectors
here?’

‘Not any more.’

‘When?’

‘Four, five years ago. Miners mostly, from up around Silver City. Pa said they came here after their mines played out.’

‘Your father let them dig on his land?’

‘Only if they agreed to give him a share of what they found. But they never found anything. Here or upstream on the Morgans’ property. ’Least, nothing that made them keep on digging.’

Lawless filed away the information. ‘We’re done here,’ he said. Mounting, he nudged his horse into a walk and let it pick its own way out of the canyon. He deliberately didn’t look back but could hear Raven’s horse following, its hoofs ringing sharply on the loose shale.

Once they were clear of the canyon, Raven rode alongside Lawless. She didn’t say anything but every now and then he noticed her looking at him. It was a probing look, as if she was trying to figure out what made him tick. He let it slide for a mile or so then said, ‘If something’s chewing on you, spit it out.’

She didn’t answer right away. But just when he thought she had decided not to respond, she said: ‘You like my mother, don’t you?’

Hiding his surprise, he said casually, ‘Yep.’

‘No, I mean you
really
like her.’

He looked at her, trying to read her eyes to see if he could figure out where this was leading. But Raven’s dark, innocent gaze gave no inkling of what she was thinking and finally Lawless faced front, saying, ‘Your ma’s a fine generous woman. Gentle and kind, too. Be hard not to like her.’

Raven laughed like she’d uncovered a secret.

‘What’s so funny?’

‘You. Acting like you don’t really care when all along you do, you like her a lot, much more than you’re saying. I know you do ’cause I seen the way you look at her.’

Deciding this should go no further, he leaned over and grabbed her reins, at the same time reining up so that both horses came to an abrupt halt.

‘What’re you trying to say?’

His look scared her. She realized she wasn’t dealing with her father, a gentle loving man whom she adored, but with a stranger, a man she knew nothing about, a man whose cold,
pale-amber
stare warned her that he was capable of killing her and riding off without a trace of pity or guilt. Her bravado and
truculent
insolence, normally a wall of insulation behind which she hid, melted, leaving her naked and alone; vulnerable.

‘N-nothing,’ she stammered. ‘I mean I think it’s nice you like her. Momma needs a friend. She’s always worrying about someone else, me or Pa or our neighbors, and now Violet and Joey, never herself, and sometimes it wears on her, I know it does ’cause I’ve heard her crying, especially when she thinks she’s alone and … and—’ Suddenly she was crying herself, great wrenching sobs that shook her whole body.

Lawless waited, trying to decide if this scrawny little girl who looked like a boy was putting on an act to gain his sympathy, or if he had truly upset her. Sensing it was the latter he pulled her horse close, intending to soothe her. But he couldn’t find the right words. Angry with himself, he rested his hand on her
shoulder
and squeezed reassuringly.

It took a few minutes but finally Raven stopped crying. Lawless removed his hand and smiled at her. ‘Time we were getting back, sprout.’

Raven nodded and dried her eyes with her fists. Then, kicking her horse into a lope, she rode alongside Lawless. She didn’t look at him or say anything for the rest of the ride. But there was new-found respect in her eyes and in her heart she knew that
from now on she would trust this tall taciturn man and obey everything he told her to do without question.