Van Arndt looked over at Keno, then he sighed. “Look, just do things my way for a little while longer. We can’t go into Mitchell now, not while we’re draggin’ a couple of women prisoners along with us. We’re not far from Salcedo. That’s where we’re headed.”
“Salcedo? Where the hell is Salcedo? I ain’t never heard of it,” Keno said.
Van Arndt chuckled. “Not many have heard of it,” he said. “That’s why it’s the place we need to be.”
“You know anybody in Salcedo?”
“Yeah, I know someone there. I know the marshal there.”
“Ha,” Keno said. “Like that’s going to do us any good.”
“It may.”
“You want to tell me how, knowin’ the marshal in this town—Salcedo—is goin’ to do us any good?”
“The marshal of Salcedo is my brother,” Van Arndt said.
“Your brother? No shit? The marshal is your brother?” Keno said. He laughed. “Son of a bitch, you had it mind all along to go there, didn’t you?”
Van Arndt screwed the cap back on his canteen, then hooked it back onto his saddle. “Yeah, I did,” he said. “Mount up.”
Chapter Nineteen
The street was dimly illuminated by squares of yellow light that spilled through the doors and windows of the buildings. High above the little town, stars winked brightly, while over a distant mesa the moon hung like a large silver wheel.
“What do you say we get a drink?” Keno suggested.
“Not till we get these women took care of,” Van Arndt said.
“What do you mean took care of? Took care of how?” Jeeter asked.
“I mean find someplace to keep ’em,” Van Arndt said.
“You got someplace in mind?”
“Yeah,” Van Arndt said.
“Where?”
“We’re goin’ to put ’em in jail.”
“Jail? Are you kidding me?”
Van Arndt chuckled. “I told you, my brother is the marshal here.”
“Ha!” Keno said. He rode up alongside Sally, then leaned over. Although the red could not be seen in the moonlight, his face did shine from the smear of lard.
“Well, now, how about that, Mrs. High-and-mighty Sally Jensen?” Keno asked. “I’ll just bet you ain’t never been in no jail before now, have you?”
Sally didn’t answer.
“Van Arndt, I know you said your brother was the marshal here,” Boswell said. “And maybe he will go along with puttin’ these here women in jail. But what about the rest of the folks in town? How are they goin’ to take it?”
“When they learn these two women are a couple of whores who tried to steal from us, why, they’ll take it just fine,” Van Arndt said.
“Whores?” Lucy cried out. “You are going to say that we are whores? No, please! I couldn’t stand the shame of such a thing.”
Keno laughed. “You’re really somethin’, you know that? If things don’t go the way they’re supposed to, both of you women is going to be kilt, and all you are worried about is whether or not you are being called a whore.”
They reined up in front of a small adobe building. A board was attached to the front of the building on which the word JAIL had been crudely painted. A dim light flickered from inside.
Van Arndt dismounted, then looked at the others. Not one of the others had dismounted.
“Come on,” he said. “Get down.”
“Van Arndt, I tell you the truth, I ain’t all that happy about walkin’ into a jailhouse on my own,” Boswell said.
“I told you, there ain’t nothin’ to worry about. Get down. Soon as we get the women took care of, we’ll go get us somethin’ to drink.”
Keno smiled. “Hell, I don’t know about you boys, but that sounds good to me,” he said as he swung down from his horse.
The men tied off the horses, then went into the jail. At first they didn’t see anyone.
“Damn, is the place empty?” Jeeter asked.
“Nah, there he is,” Van Arndt said.
Van Arndt pointed to the back of the room. There, someone was sitting in a chair that was tipped back against the wall. His hat was pulled down over his eyes, and his feet were up on the desk. He was snoring loudly.
“Is that your brother?” Jeeter asked.
“Nah, he must be the deputy. Hey, Deputy!” Van Arndt said, loudly. “Deputy, wake up!”
Startled, the deputy jumped, then he raised his hat and opened his eyes in surprise. Blinking a couple of times, he looked up at all the people standing inside. His eyes grew wider when he saw that the men had two women with them, both of whom were bound by ropes.
“Who the hell are you?” the deputy asked.
“Where’s the marshal?” Van Arndt asked.
“More’n likely he’s down at the saloon. Who are you?”
Without answering, Van Arndt nodded toward the jail cells. “You got a key to the jail?”
“Yeah, over there,” the deputy said, pointing to a key on a ring hanging from a hook on the wall.
“Good. I want these two whores locked up for stealin’,” Van Arndt said, walking over toward the key ring.
“I can’t do that,” the deputy replied.
“Why not?”
“On account of because this here jail has only got one cell and there’s a prisoner in it already,” the deputy said. “I can’t put women in with a man prisoner.”
“Hell, that’s not a problem,” Van Arndt said. He took the key down from the hook, then opened the cell door. “Hey, you, prisoner,” he called out to a man who was sleeping on one of the four bunks. “You’re a free man. Get out!”
“What the hell are you doin’?” the deputy asked. “You can’t do that. This man is a burglar. We’re waitin’ on a visit from the circuit judge.”
“I just found him not guilty,” Van Arndt said. “Hey, you,” he yelled at the prisoner. The prisoner, though awake now, was still confused by what was happening. “What’s goin’ on?” he asked. “Who are you?”
“I’m the judge and I just found you not guilty. You are a free man. Get out of here now.”
“Yes, sir!” The prisoner replied. Grabbing his hat, he stepped out of the cell. He stopped when he saw the two bound women.
“Who is this?” he asked.
“It don’t matter none to you who it is,” Van Arndt said. He pulled his pistol and cocked it. “Get out now.”
“I’m goin’, I’m goin’,” the man said, hurrying for the door.
Van Arndt turned to the deputy. “What’s your name, Deputy?”
“Laney. Jerry Laney.”
“Well, Laney, it’s like I said, you don’t have a problem. Now, get these two whores in that cell.”
“Help us, please!” Lucy said to the deputy. “We aren’t whores and we didn’t steal anything. These men have taken us prisoner. They are holding us for ransom.”
“What?” Laney asked. He turned toward Van Arndt. “What is she talking about?”
Van Arndt laughed. “How long you been a deputy?”
“About two years,” the deputy answered.
“You ever put anyone in jail who didn’t say they was innocent?”
“No, I don’t reckon I have,” he said. “But then I ain’t never put no women in jail before.”
“A woman ain’t no different from a man,” Van Arndt said. “Catch ’em in the act and they’ll lie about it, same as a man will.”
“Yeah, I guess so,” the deputy said. “It’s just, I’m not all that sure about this.”
“I tell you what, if you don’t feel right about it, just go ahead and lock ’em up now, then come on down to the saloon with us. You can talk to my brother about it.”
“Talk to your brother about it? What does he have to do with anything?”
“He has everything to do with it. My brother is the marshal of this town.”
The deputy paused for a moment, then nodded. “Oh. Well, why didn’t you say so in the first place? All right,” he
said. “Let’s go talk to him.”
“You are making a mistake, Deputy Laney. A big mistake,” Lucy said. “My name is Sally Jensen. My husband’s name is Smoke Jensen. These men have kidnapped us and are holding us for ransom. If you go along with them, you will be guilty of collusion.”
“Guilty of what?” the deputy asked.
“Collusion. It means you are just as guilty as they are.”
“Look here, I didn’t kidnap you,” Laney said.
“If you help these men now, then it will be the same as if you did,” Sally said.
“Look, miss, I’ll talk to the marshal about it,” Laney said. “I’m just the deputy here.”
“Good idea,” Van Arndt said.
“You will at least untie us now, won’t you?” Sally asked.
“Untie ’em, Keno,” Van Arndt ordered.
Keno untied Lucy first, taking his time with it and allowing his hands to move all across her body as he did so. She shivered in revulsion, and he laughed at her.
“Honey, you just wait,” Keno said. “Before all this is over, I’m going to show you what a real man can do.”
When he finished with Lucy, he turned to Sally.
“It’s your turn, Sally,” he said. He chuckled. “You don’t mind if I call you Sally, do you?”
“Call me whatever you want,” Sally replied. “Your days are numbered.”
“Ha!” Keno said. “We’ll just see about—” He reached for Sally, but stopped when he saw her remove the rope herself and hand it to him.
“What the—? How did you do that?” Keno asked. He turned to Van Arndt. “Van Arndt, did you see what she just done?”
“Get them in the cell and let’s go,” Van Arndt said.
“But did you see what she did?” Keno asked again. “She got herself untied. Have you been untied all along?” he asked Sally.
“What difference does it make whether she was or wasn’t?” Van Arndt asked. “She’s here, ain’t she? Now, get ’em both in the cell like I told you to.”
“All right, get in there,” Keno said, moving them toward the single cell. The deputy, who had taken the key from Van Arndt, closed the cell door with a clang.
“Deputy, you seen what a slippery bitch she is, so make damn sure the cell door is locked,” Van Arndt said.
“Yeah, I will,” the deputy said, turning the key in the lock, then holding the key up for Van Arndt to see. “It’s locked.”
Not trusting him, Van Arndt walked over to the cell door and tried to open it. When he was satisfied that it was securely locked, he turned to the others.
“It’s always good to double-check,” he said. “What do you say we go have that drink now?”
“You ladies don’t get into any trouble while we’re gone,” Keno called back to them with a high-pitched laugh as the men left the jailhouse.
“Oh,” Lucy said. “Oh, Sally, what’s going to happen to us? I am so frightened.”
“We’ll be all right,” Sally replied. “Just keep your courage up.”
Lucy held her hands out to look at them. “I can’t feel my hands,” she said. “I can’t even feel my arms.”
“That’s because the rope cut off your circulation,” Sally explained. “Don’t worry about it, the circulation will come back. Here, sit on the bed, let me see what I can do to help it.”
Lucy sat on the bed and Sally began rubbing on her arms. Lucy was quiet for a long moment before she spoke.
“He was right, wasn’t he?” she said.
“Who was right about what?”
“Van Arndt was right,” Lucy said. “He said bringing me along would keep you from escaping. You got free from the ropes. That means you could have escaped it if hadn’t been for me.”
“Nonsense,” Sally said. “Just because I got free from the ropes doesn’t mean I could have escaped.”
“But you could escape if it weren’t for me, couldn’t you? I’m holding you back.”
“No, you aren’t,” Sally said. “Believe me, honey, if I see the opportunity to escape, I am going to do it. And when I do, I’m going to take you with me.”
“Oh, I don’t know. I don’t think I could do anything like that.”
“Sure you can,” Sally said. “Most people have a lot more strength and courage than they realize.”
“Sally, are you afraid?” Lucy asked.
“Yes, of course I am afraid. One would be a fool not to be afraid.”
“Thanks,” Lucy said.
“Thanks?” Sally laughed. “You are thanking me for being afraid?”
“Yes. Somehow, I don’t know why, but somehow knowing that you are afraid, too, helps.”
When Van Arndt and the others went into the saloon, Van Arndt looked around the room for a moment. At this time of night, the saloon was filled with customers, most of whom were rough-looking characters. Many, Van Arndt knew, were on the wrong side of the law, and they came to Salcedo because they were able to work out an arrangement with the marshal.
The women who worked the bar were from the very lowest strata of whores and bar girls. Their looks and health had been so ruined by the dissipation and diseases of their trade that a place like this was absolutely the last rung on the ladder for them.
Van Arndt saw the man he was looking for sitting at a table in the back of the room, drinking a beer.
“There’s my brother over there,” he said. “You three go up the bar and have a drink. I think the deputy and I need to talk to him for a few minutes.”
Keno, Jeeter, and Boswell stepped up to the bar and the barkeep slid down the bar toward them.
“What can I get you gents?”
“Whiskey,” Keno said. “Leave the bottle.”
“What kind?”
“The cheapest. We are here to get drunk, we ain’t here to give a party.”
The bartender took a bottle from beneath the counter. There was no label on the bottle and the color was dingy and cloudy. He put three glasses alongside the bottle, then pulled the cork for them.
Keno poured a glass, then passed the bottle down to the others. He took a swallow, then almost gagged. He spit it out and frowned at his glass.
“Goddamn!” he said. “This tastes like horse piss.”
Jeeter took a smaller swallow. He grimaced, but he managed to get it down. Boswell had no problem with it at all.
“It’s all in the way you drink it,” Boswell explained. “This here whiskey can’t be drunk down real fast. You got to sort of sip it.”
Keno tried again, and this time he, too, managed to keep the whiskey down.
“Yeah,” he said. “I see what you mean.”
The three men refilled their glasses, then turned to look back at the table where Van Arndt was having an animated conversation with a man who was wearing a badge. The deputy was there as well, but he didn’t seem to be talking.
“Can you imagine Van Arndt having a brother who is the law?” Keno asked with a chuckle.
“He ain’t his full brother,” Boswell said.
“He ain’t?”
“Nope. They got the same mama, but they don’t have the same papa. The marshal’s name is Craig. Don’t many people know that Van Arndt is his brother. I reckon if folks knew that, it could cause him some trouble.”
“I’ll be damn.”
“I hope they get along all right,” Keno said.
“They get along fine,” Boswell said.
“You’ve met him, have you?” Keno asked.
“Yeah, a few times,” Boswell said.
“What about the deputy? You ever met him before?”
“No, I ain’t never met the deputy,” Boswell said.
“He might give us some trouble,” Keno suggested.
“Why do you say that?”
“I just got that feelin’ is all. I mean, look at him over there. Looks like he’s givin’ the marshal an earful.”
“I wonder what they are talkin’ about,” Jeeter said.
“I don’t feel righ
t about this, Marshal,” Laney was saying. “The woman says she is Smoke Jensen’s wife, and she says she’s been kidnapped and is being held for ransom.”
“Are you crazy, Reece, putting Smoke Jensen’s wife in my jail?” Marshal Harlan Craig asked.
“Who said she is Jensen’s wife?” Van Arndt answered.
“She says she is Jensen’s wife,” Laney said.
“I told you, Deputy, they ain’t nothin’ but just a couple of whores that tried to steal from us. She just told you she was Jensen’s wife. I can’t believe that you believed her.”
“Is that true?” the deputy asked.
Van Arndt looked at the deputy for a moment. “Yeah,” he said. “They’re whores. Look, Laney, why don’t you step up to the bar and have a drink with them other boys while me and my brother talk? We got some business to discuss—family business,” he added pointedly.
The deputy looked at Craig. “Marshal?” he asked.
“Go ahead, Jerry,” Craig said. “If it’s family business, then my brother and me need to talk in private for a few minutes.”
“All right, but I’ll be just over there if you need me,” the deputy replied.
When the deputy stepped up to the bar beside the others, Keno looked down toward the bartender.
“Bring us another glass for the deputy,” he asked. He turned back toward Laney. “We might as well get acquainted with a friendly conversation.”
“I’m all for a friendly conversation,” the deputy replied. “But if it’s all the same to you, I’ll have a beer.”
The barkeep nodded, but said nothing. He drew a mug of beer from the barrel, then set the foaming liquid in front of the deputy.
“What are they talking about?” Keno asked, nodding toward the table.
The deputy blew some of the foam away from the head before he replied.
“I don’t have the slightest idea what they are talking about,” he said. “They said they had some family business to talk about. Then they sent me away.” He punctuated his statement with a long drink of beer. “I want to ask you boys a question,” he said.
“What’s that?”
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