Train From Marietta (15 page)

“If you go, I’m going too. I’m not gonna be here when that madman comes back. I hope he finds that little split tail. Before we get rid of her, I’m going to screw her eyeballs out.”

“Touch her, and I’ll kill you.”

“You’re always saying that.”

Eddy took a clean shirt from his valise, shook the wrinkles out of it, and put it on. Looking into the cracked mirror over the washbasin, he carefully brushed his hair.

“What are you getting all dolled up for? Ain’t none of the women I’ve seen out here so far would know whether your hair was combed or not. I’ve got to have me one of them before we leave here. It would be something to tell the boys when I get home.”

Eddy ignored him. He checked to be sure he had his wallet and anything of value out of his valise before he went out the door and toward the car. Squirrelly followed.

“Okay, hotshot, you’ve stolen enough cars to know how to hot-wire this one, so get at it.”

“What’ll you give me?”

“I’ll knock your block off and have my uncle report to your father what an asshole you’ve been.”

The threat didn’t seem to bother Squirrelly at all, but he opened the door and began to work with the wires under the dash. In a matter of minutes, the car engine was purring and Eddy had to admit that Squirrelly had some value after all.

“Get in,” he said, and slid under the wheel. With a backward glance at the cabin, Eddy drove away.

At the train depot in Muddy Creek, Eddy inquired of the agent if a wire had come for R. Edwin. The agent, who looked at Eddy from beneath his visor cap with piercing eyes, made Eddy uncomfortable.

“You fellas gonna be around here long?”

“What’s it to ya?” Squirrelly replied, and winced when Eddy dug his elbow into his ribs.

“We’ll be here for a few more days. Our company is looking for land to lease around here,” Eddy explained smoothly.

“What for?” the agent asked.

“We plan to run some electric lines,” Eddy said. “Now, did you say you had something for me or not? We’ve got a lot to do.”

The agent reached into a tray and placed the telegram on the counter. “Would save money if you fellas would write letters. Of course, it would take four days to get here from New York.”

“That isn’t the way big companies work.” Eddie picked up the message and walked out.

Out on the station platform, Squirrelly said, “That bastard’s too nosy.”

Eddy dreaded reading the message, but after settling behind the wheel, he unfolded it and read:

THINGS INCOMPLETE ON THIS END. STOP. STICK WITH PLAN. STOP.

“It means he’s not got the money yet,” Squirrelly said.

“Keep your voice down. Do you want everyone in town to hear you?”

“We ought to get rid of the split tail and head for home. I’m sick of this place. There’s nothing here in this town but hayseeds and horse dung.”

“I’ll take care of Kate.”

“You’ll kill her?”

“That’s not any of your business.”

“Maybe Hayden will do the job and save you the trouble.”

Eddy felt a shiver of apprehension at the thought of Kate out in the wilderness with that animal of a man. He regretted not shooting both Hayden and Squirrelly in their sleep and taking off for Mexico with Kate. One thing was sure in his mind: He was not going to let them kill her. Squirrelly interrupted his thoughts by saying, “Is there a greasy spoon in this jerkwater town where we can eat? I’m sick of eating beans and squirrels, cats, or whatever kind of animal Hayden cooks.”

“Did you know for the last two nights you’ve been eating polecat?” Eddy enjoyed the look on Squirrelly’s face.

“I didn’t smell polecat.”

“Course, you didn’t. He took out the scent bag when he skinned it.”

“Ah God, I think I might puke just thinking about it.”

Eddy passed his hand over his face to hide his grin. “At the time, you were sure filling your gut and telling Hayden how good it was.”

Squirrelly reached under the seat, pulled out a billed cap, and slammed it down on his head. “Let’s go to that place down the street that says ‘Mustang Eatery. ’”

Eddy opened his car door. “Come on, then, but keep your mouth shut.”

“I don’t have to,” Squirrelly said angrily.

“You’d better. We’re too near the end of this thing for you to screw up now.”

Squirrelly’s shorter legs worked to keep up with Eddy’s long stride. When Eddy tipped his hat at a lady they passed, Squirrelly tried to imitate it, but his big hat tipped to the back of his head. He swore softly under his breath and made a grab for it. He righted it on his head as Eddy turned into the door of the eatery.

The place was small. There were no booths, but a long counter with stools took up one whole side. You could see through a large opening into the kitchen where a heavyset woman worked at the stove.

“Ah God,” Squirrelly said under his breath.

“It’s not Lindy’s, but it’s all that’s here.” Eddy was enjoying Squirrelly’s discomfort. He knew the little weasel liked to eat at Lindy’s and brag that the maître d’ there knew him.

Eddy removed his hat and hung it on the peg on the wall. He dug his elbow in Squirrelly’s ribs. “Hang up your hat.”

Eddy then straddled a stool halfway down the counter. Squirrelly climbed up onto one beside him and slapped the counter with the palm of his hand.

“Stop it,” Eddy hissed. “We don’t want to bring attention to ourselves.”

The heavyset woman came from the kitchen. “What’ll ya have, gents?”

“Whatta ya got?” Squirrelly asked.

The woman pointed to the chalkboard fastened to the wall behind her.

“It’s there. Can’t ya read?”

“I can read writin’, but not that scribblin’.”

“They’ve got beef stew or hamburgers,” Eddy said. Then to the lady he said, “I’d like the beef stew, please.”

“It’ll take only a minute,” she said, and walked away.

“Hey, what about me?” Squirrelly called.

“I wasn’t sure a high-toned gent like you would want anything.”

“I want the same as my friend here, but I’ll take a cold bottle of beer to drink while you’re gettin’ it ready.”

The woman reached under the counter and pulled out a bottle of beer and placed it on the counter in front of Squirrelly. She slapped a metal opener down beside it and went back to the kitchen.

“She thinks she’s something on a stick, don’t she?”

“This is her establishment. She can think whatever she wants.”

“I’ll be glad to see the last of this place. When I get back to New York, I’ll never leave it again.”

“It’s a good thing,” Eddy growled. “You’d not last a week in this place. Someone would be putting their foot in your mouth. You don’t have your daddy backing you here.”

“My daddy’d take over this place within an hour of gettin’ here. These yokels wouldn’t know what hit ’em.”

“I’m not so sure about that. Folks out here have put up with more than what your daddy could dish out and have survived.”

The lady returned with the steaming bowl of stew and set it in front of Eddy.

“Thank you, ma’am. It smells delicious.”

The woman smiled a toothless grin. “If you want more, just let me know.” She went back to the kitchen and returned with a bowl for Squirrelly. He grunted but said nothing.

“Are you gents passing through?”

“Passing through to where?”

Eddy ignored Squirrelly and smiled at the woman. “We’re doing some work for a company in New York who plans to run electric lines through here.”

“Why would they do that when there are already electric lines?”

“Yeah,” Squirrelly said, “why would they do that when they already have electric lines?”

Eddy nudged him with his elbow. “My friend here is trying to be funny,” he said to the woman.

“We need more electric lines for the folks out on the ranches,” she considered. “Will you be here long?”

“We’re hoping to be out of here by the end of the day.” Squirrelly stopped speaking when Eddy’s knee nudged his.

“We’re not sure,” Eddy explained to the woman. “It could be today, tomorrow, or the next day.”

“If you’re here on Friday, we have all the catfish you can eat for half a dollar.”

“You can get a good steak in New York for forty cents,” Squirrelly said sarcastically.

“You can get a steak here for a quarter,” the woman said. “We have so much beef here it’s a treat to have something else.”

“I enjoy a good steak, but I really like catfish. I hope we’re still here on Friday.” Eddy finished eating, stood, and placed a fifty-cent piece on the counter. “Enough for me and my friend?” he asked.

“Your friend owes me two bits for the beer.”

“Two bits,” Squirrelly said. “Ain’t you a little high?”

“You drank the beer. Give me the two bits, or I’ll call the sheriff.”

“Pay her,” Eddy said, and reached for his hat.

Squirrelly tossed a quarter on the counter.

“Come on,” Eddy said, and went to the door. He waited to be sure Squirrelly was following before he went out onto the street. When Squirrelly joined him, he said, “You are the most stupid person I’ve ever known. I told you we shouldn’t draw attention to ourselves. After the way you treated that woman, she’s going to remember us even a year from now.”

“So what?”

“You just don’t get it, do you? John Tyler notified the Texas Rangers. They could be looking for us right now.”

“How do you know that?”

“I got a telegram yesterday from my uncle.”

“Why in the hell didn’t you say so?”

“I didn’t tell you because you didn’t need to know. Had you been alert like I told you to be, instead of having your mind on what’s in your pants, you would have known someone was lurking about. As it is, you let him get in the cabin while you were trying to rape Kate. You’d better hope Hayden catches up with her and brings her back.”

“What about the other guy?”

“Hayden will take care of him.”

“I’m going back to the train station and find out when the train leaves here tomorrow,” Squirrelly said.

“We’re not leaving from here on the train. We’re going in this car. We’ll drive to Alpine or somewhere else and take the train from there.”

“Hayden won’t let you take this car.”

“It isn’t his. My uncle paid for it.”

“I don’t think that’ll cut any ice with him. I think he’s half crazy anyway.”

“I hate to say it, but I agree with you on that.”

After Squirrelly hot-wired the car again, Eddy drove slowly down the street, being careful not to stir up a dust cloud in his wake. On the edge of town, he turned right instead of left, the way back to the cabin.

“Where you goin’?” Squirrelly asked.

“You think I want someone in town to follow us back to the cabin? I’m going to try to find a roundabout way to get there.”

Eddy was quiet all the way back. He dreaded what he would find when he got there. Had Hayden returned with Kate? Had he killed her? What about that Castle fella he talked about? Was he a match for Hayden, or had Hayden killed him?

If only he knew Kate was all right, he could dump Squirrelly and head for Mexico. It couldn’t be more than thirty or forty miles to the border. He had planned for so long, stashed his money in a bank in Mexico City, and now the only thing standing in his way was making sure that Kate was all right. He never expected to get any of the ransom money. His uncle could have his share. Old William would need it to pay for his legal expenses after Kate exposed him as being part of the kidnapping plot.

As they approached the cabin, Eddy’s eyes searched for a sign of Hayden, but there was none.

Squirrelly was out of the car as soon as it stopped. He stood in the doorway of the cabin and looked back at Eddy. “He ain’t back yet.”

Eddy’s eyes searched for a sign “Maybe he’s found the split tail and is holed up with her somewhere. It’s what I’d do.”

Eddy gritted his teeth and wondered how much longer he was going to be able to stand the idiot.

Chapter 14

J
OHN TYLER SAT AT HIS DESK,
running his forked fingers through his hair. On the desk was the note he had been expecting. It told him to place the money in a paper bag and go to the corner of Tenth and Broadway at ten o’clock that evening. A man would approach him and say the word “Katherine.” He was to give the man the sack, turn his back, and leave quickly. Later he would receive a telephone call at home telling him where to find Kate. If there was any sign of the police at the pickup spot, he could forget about ever seeing his daughter again, alive or dead.

John was worried. What assurance did he have that Kate would be returned after he had paid the money? None, really, but it was a chance he had to take. He got to his feet and walked quickly down the hall to William’s office. After a gentle knock, he opened the door and went in.

William was at his desk. At the sight of his partner, he folded the newspaper he was reading and said, “Come in, John.”

“I received another letter this morning telling me where to take the ransom money.” He laid the letter on William’s desk.

After reading it, William said, “You’re not planning on taking the money yourself, are you?”

“Of course.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” William said thoughtfully, a crease of worry spreading across his forehead. “You should be home where you can take the phone call when it comes. Someone else could deliver the money.”

“Whom do you have in mind?”

“Me,” William said confidently. “I’ll deliver it.”

John felt a flutter of affection. The caring and giving way in which William had reacted to Kate’s misfortune continued to surprise him. How did he deserve such a fine friend? Shaking his head, he said, “I couldn’t ask you to do that. It could be dangerous.”

“I don’t care. Considering how I feel about Kate, it’s the least I can do.”

“It would be a double tragedy if something happened to you.”

“Better me than you. I have no family except for Edwin. But you … you have those two precious girls who need their father. I’ll take the ransom.”

“There’s one catch, William. They will expect me to deliver the money. If it isn’t me, they might panic and leave.”

“I’ll wear your coat and hat and carry the paper sack under my arm. They’ll be looking for a man with a sack.”