“Fear is excitement without breath.”
-
Robert Heller
Porterville, Wyoming
Immediately after the Lom Trevors returns with the Amnesty offer from
the Governor
Hannibal Heyes stepped out of what was left of the sheriff office his mind working on a thousand different questions barely taking in the organized chaos that was going on around them.
Deputy Harker and Miss Porter had organized an impromptu money gathering group, which was now combing trees and roof tops to get the bills that had never made it to earth after being launched into the air. His men, the Devil’s Hole Gang, were nowhere to be seen, but secretly he felt relieved they probably had escaped with enough money in their pockets to get them back to the Hole with supplies.
He glanced over at his partner, Kid Curry, who still looked a bit dazed and was watching the bedlam with quiet amusement and wonder. Heyes wasn’t sure if it was the amnesty offer or the bank exploding from two ends that had him so bedazzled.
To
the right the saloon, which had caught the backlash of the underground
explosion, burned merrily. A group of
patrons had saved enough liquor to set up a “Watch it Burn’ party across the
street, now as drunk as the flames were high.
Catching
the reins of his horse to obey Lom’s demand that they not stay another moment
in his town Heyes paused as something caught his eye.
In
the alley across from the saloon, a small lone figure of a girl lit up by the
light from the fire. She couldn’t have
been much more than fourteen clad in her flannel nightgown, hair braided down
her back and something familiar about her made him frown until he saw Miss
Porter notice her and start fussing.
Younger
sister, he smiled and getting on his horse he slowly moved past the fire
casting a glance at her as she was being reluctantly led away still looking
back at the fire.
And
what he saw in her eyes made him swallow and kick his horse into a trot.
****************************
The
small boy fell back into the corner clutching a book to him as if it would
offer some magical protection against the flames crackling at the bottom of the
stairs.
Looking
up he swallowed as he tried to make his mind work. The small attic windows were painted over and nailed shut. Besides they were four stories high and even
if he could get out, where would he go?
The smoke was beginning now to close in on him and it made it harder to
think.
Angrily
he tried to make his frozen wits come to life.
Someone would come, Jed, Jed would miss him.
13
year old Hannibal Heyes felt tears forming in his eyes, knowing even if his
cousin had missed him, the fight they had hours ago would have hardly left
Jedediah in a mood to look for him.
He
wiped his eyes with his sleeve. He
hadn’t meant to yell at Jed like that. He had regretted the cruel cutting words as soon as he had said
them. But sometimes, sometimes being
oldest just got too hard. He knew he
was suppose to look after the younger boy, but who looked after him?
Partners,
they had been arguing over who Heyes would make his partner when he left the
Home. It was a stupid meaningless
fight, but Jed had taken Heyes’s declaration that he wanted the best partner in
the world, a partner who could take care of him to heart and had gone off head
down, feet shuffling.
Hugging
himself Heyes startled as the fire became visible at the top of the steps. Wouldn’t be long now before it reached
him. He hadn’t noticed at first. He had snuck up to the attic to read and
escape, something he did a lot, usually when he and Jed had been fighting. How the fire had started he had no idea, but
he had quickly realized it was far enough along to keep him from retreating
down the back stairs.
He
shuddered remembering another fire and its memory terrorized him into
submission.
The
farm, burning behind the bodies of his parents dead on the hard Kansas
landscape. How long had he stared at
it, flinching as the roof crashed in on itself?
He
might have been able to save things, but nothing; nothing could make his feet
move towards the burning structure past his parents. It was like the fire was a living creature taunting him and
trying to lure him in.
With
a sob the boy put his head on his arms. The fire had reached him.
*************************************
Hannibal
Heyes awoke with a start in the rocking chair as he heard the horse ride up.
Swallowing
he unclenched his grasp on the arms of the chair and ran a hand through his
hair trying to calm his ragging breathing as he walked to the door.
It
was Kid Curry, he had been expecting him, but after riding 8 hours straight he
had drifted off reading Lom’s notes about the fires and wasn’t comfortable with
where the descriptive narrative had taken his subconscious. Usually he did a pretty good job at keeping
the past at bay, but that dream had brought it all back too clearly and he was
shaken whether he admitted it or not.
Blinking
he tried to brush off the dream from his face as he stepped out the door.
“How bad is it?” Kid asked swinging off his horse in one swift graceful motion and meeting his cousin’s eyes as he stood at the gate of the small wooden house.
“Still
unconscious too soon to tell,” Heyes said calmly.
But something gave him away
and despite having ridden all night his cousin didn’t miss it.
“You okay?” Kid said
casually pulling off his saddlebags, but his eyes not leaving Heyes.
“Yea, just a little weary,
worried about Lom,” Heyes lied and Kid knew it.
“He
been staying here?” Kid asked looking up at the old house their friend had
lived in before moving to Cheyenne with his family. The haunted look in Heyes’ eyes worried him but he had learned a
long time ago one never got Heyes to tell you anything by going in the front
door.
“No,
Doc thought it best to keep him at the hospital.”
“They
know how it happened?”
“No,
but it seems to be happening a lot,” Heyes said leading him into the house.
Kid
frowned at this cryptic statement. When
he had received the telegram from Heyes that their friend Lom Trevors had been
injured in a fire he had wrapped up the case he was on quickly and taken the
first train out of Denver and rode non-stop to see what help he could be.
The
three ex outlaws had always been friends but had become even closer since the
deal for the Amnesty had finally come through with Heyes acting as best man at
his wedding and Kid being asked to be his son’s godfather.
“You
wanna elaborate a little on that?” Kid said wearily sinking into a chair as
Heyes handed him coffee.
“Four
fires in three months, 2 deaths.”
Kid
whistled, “Don’t sound like accidents.”
“They
aren’t. I’ve been reading Lom’s notes,”
Heyes said sitting back down at the man’s desk. “He’s got evidence all were deliberately set and always when
people were inside.”
“So
this is murder.”
“Yea,
especially when you consider all the doors were jammed not to open from the
outside. The worse part is it doesn’t
look like the person doing it has any plans to stop anytime soon, there was
another one last night.”
“What?”
“Dress
shop, woman and her daughter live above it and barely got out alive.”
“Are
they always at night?”
“No.”
Kid
looked surprised, “And no one has seen anything?”
“Makes
you wonder doesn’t it?” Heyes said leaning back.
Kid
looked up sharply, “You know something.”
“Maybe,
I just got here and it was a long time ago and its still pretty far fetched,
but I think we need to talk to the Porters.”
“You
really think they are gonna see us? I
mean ever since the amnesty came through and they heard the story of who we
were and that night…”
“Yea,
sure was glad Lom was working for the Governor by then. Hate to see him lose a job over us,” Heyes
stood up as a knock came at the door.
“Put your gear in there, you hungry?”
“Starved,”
Kid answer rising with a stretch and picking up his saddle bag and then stopped
at Heyes’s surprise pause as he opened the door, not missing the way he
casually hid unhooking his gun with the door.
“Who
are you?” the well dressed older man huffed with suspicious eyes.
“Who’s
asking?” Heyes said pleasantly.
“Josiah
Porter, where’s Trevors?”
“Hospital,
there was a fire…”
“I
know about that you fool, thought he’d be out by now,” the man moved to brush
past Heyes and enter.
Unfortunately
he was unaware of who he was attempting to brush past.
“Who
did you say you were?” the man said his eyes narrowing at being denied entry.
“I
didn’t, but I’m a friend of Marshal Trevors.”
“All
his friends are outlaws,” the man spat unaware of how he had hit the nail on
the head. “He was doing some work for
me, I want his report.”
“I’ll
give him the message once he’s conscious,” Heyes said dryly.
“You
do not understand I want it now.”
“And
you do not understand I’m not going to give it to you,” Heyes said folding his
arms with a pleasant smile that made Kid close his eyes fearing for the
banker’s life.
“Just
who are you?”
“Detectives,”
Heyes said growing weary of the game.
“Here to check out what happened.”
The
man looked up interested, but Heyes didn’t miss the worry in his eyes as well.
“Then
you might as well work for me, Trevors was.”
“Marshall
Trevors works for the Governor,” Kid said coming over to stand beside his
partner.
The
man stared at the formidable blockade and a little of the air went out of him,
“As a friend he was working for me as a friend. He was trying to find out who was starting those fires. So you want the job?”
“Yea
well were a little choosy about who we work for,” Kid said.
“And
were expensive,” Heyes lied.
“Cost
doesn’t matter, I just want answers quickly and quietly. So you gonna take it?”
“Mr.
Porter we took it the moment we learned our friend had been hurt, what we
haven’t decided is if we are going to include letting you in on what we
find. Now my partner just got here and we
need to go over and see our friend so how about we let you know tomorrow?”
Heyes said dismissing the man with his eyes.
The
man stared at him in amazement.
“Young
man do you have any idea who I am?”
“Actually
I do, I blew up your bank,” Heyes said.
“Good evening.” And shutting the
door turned to look at his partner. “Well that was interesting.”
“I
liked the part about us being expensive,” Kid said looking out the window to
see the banker march away in a huff.
“I
thought the choosy part was nice as well. You know this might be just what we
need.”
“What
Porter’s money? We aren’t hungry.”
“No,
access to that house and family! Kid
let me tell you about that night the bank blew up…”
*****************************
“Heyes?”
the voice asked more weary than anything else.
The
ex-outlaw smiled at the lawman in the bed hiding his concern over the heavy
bandage that covered most of his head.
“Yup,
Kid’s here too, but they only let us in one at a time.”
“I
need to get my files…” his attempt to sit up ended with a wince as Heyes gently
forced him back down.
“Take
it easy you about got your head stoved in,” Heyes smiled and then it ran away
from his eyes. “Who did it Lom? Doc says you were hit by someone.”
“I
was and left to die in that fire. They
know who pulled me out?”
“No,
but they saved your life whoever it was.”
“Heyes
we got someone crazy, they are setting these fires on purpose.”
“Porter’s
daughter?”
Lom
looked up like he was a magician.
“How
the hell did you know about Amelia?”
“Just
noticed something once, Porter stopped by as well, seemed surprised you weren’t
up and around. Offered us a job to work
for him.”
“Porter
offered Heyes and Curry a job? Heyes don’t mess with that man. He owns everyone
in town and they all report back to him.”
“Well
he didn’t know at the time who we were.
Look I’ll come back tomorrow you rest.”
“Heyes
wait, there’s a folder, some notes on all this in my safe, not that it will be
a problem for you…”
Heyes
smiled, “Rest, we’ll find out who did this.”
************************
“You
talk to him?” Kid asked rising as Heyes left the lawman’s room.
“Yea.”
“Well? What did he say?”
“He
wants me to break into his safe.”
****************************
“Heyes
did you sleep at all last night?” Kid asked shuffling into the kitchen and
stretching.
“What? Yea coffee would be great,” he said
appearing oblivious to what had actually been said but in truth didn’t want to
admit he had flinched from sleep and the dreams it might produce.
“How
long it take you to open it?” Kid grinned lighting the stove.
“Two
hours,” Heyes said not taking his eyes off the notes he had made from the file.
“Getting
old,” Kid said with a tsk, tsk.
His
partner spun around to glare at him. “Kid that is a Brooker 606 wall
combination….” He stopped at his cousin’s grin and one of his own slipped out
as he realized his partner had been joking.
“I ever tell you how annoying you are?”
“Occasionally,”
Kid grinned. “Look why don’t you get
some sleep and maybe all this will have jelled by the time you get up.”
“Yea
might have something there,” Heyes stretched and noticed his partner was fully
dressed. “Where are you off too?”
“Do
a little detecting myself. I think it’s
about time I met this Amelia.”
*********************************
Kid
Curry quickly learned that Miss Amelia did not receive visitors. The grand house at the edge of town was
surrounded by a high stonewall connected with an ornate gate that barred
visitors before they even reached the house.
He
had been lucky to catch a maid leaving for her day off and she had been
agreeable to him falling into step with her not immune to either his smile or
his charms.
Letting
her complain about her employers quickly opened the door to questions about
them and he learned a good deal.
Josiah
Porter had inherited controlling interest in the bank and family fortune five
years ago after a tragic fire had killed his older brother and son. Josiah, a widower with two daughters, Susan
who they had met and Amelia had turned around and married his brother’s widow
only after a mourning period of several months.
It
had been seen as a business move as it put her share of the family fortune back
in the control of a Porter. Jessica
Porter had retreated from society at the death of her immediate family and
spent most of her time with her sister and nephew. The nephew, the maid had sniffed, was a lecher and the female
staff spent most of their time avoiding his clammy grasp and ambushes.
Talk
got around to the fires when he learned that Susan Porter had lost her fiancée
in one a month back and had been devastated and was currently on a grand tour
of Europe. Fire it seemed had the
family marked. Some, the girl said with
a catty smile, even said certain members enjoyed it.
Bidding
her good day, much to her chagrin, he immediately turned and walked back to the
house and began walking the length of the wall curious if the gate was the only
way out.
He
was not disappointed in either his presumption or his luck for just moments
after moving around the back he saw a wall of shrubs growing along the wall
push aside and a figure appear.
She
was lovely, dark long hair, willowy built and as she turned and saw him smiling
she gasped in fear and took a step back.
“Hello
Amelia,” Kid said.
****************************
Heyes
was beginning to lose consciousness, the smoke swirling around him covering him
like a blanket, bidding him to surrender.
Just as his eyes began to close the tapping jarred him awake.
*****************************
The
knocking at the front door was persistent enough to get inside Heyes’s sleep
and finally force him to acknowledge it.
Sleepily he stumbled to the door and blinked at the two women standing
there.
They
were early forties, eastern fashion, slender and similar in features so that
his first thought was sisters.
“Can
I help you?” he said with a yawn pushing back his hair and realizing they were
clearly shocked to be met by a man in just his pants and Henley.
“Mr.
Heyes?” the older one said clearly making it known how she was lowering herself
talking to him.
Heyes
took in the measure of her and thought about it and moved to shut the door.
“I
don’t think so.”
“So
Mr. Heyes please, wait I need you help.”
There
was a catch in her voice and she placed a hand on the door stopping him and
forcing him to look at the other woman.
“I’m
Jessica Porter, this is my sister Natalie.”
He
took in the trembling hand and the pale, nervous birdlike movements of the
woman. She was clearly distraught and
when he met her eyes the pain there forced him re-open the door.
“I’m
Hannibal Heyes,” he said. “Come
in. I won’t be a minute.”
He
showed them to the parlor and returned two minutes later fully dressed and
looking every inch an outlaw.
“I
would have thought your husband would not approve of you visiting after our
meeting last night,” Heyes said taking a seat.
“Josiah
does not know I am here,” Jessica said looking down at her hands in her lap.
“I
see,” Heyes said leaning back to study the pair. The older sister met his eyes defiantly. This one is spit and vinegar he
decided. I bet she gives Josiah a run
for his money.
“Mr.
Heyes we want to hire you,” Natalie said and waited for him to be properly appreciative
of the honor.
“And
why is that?” Heyes said with infuriating lack of interest.
“ Josiah came in last night
ranting and raving about you, he said you and your partner are detectives,”
Natalie went on.
“We are,” Heyes said
fascinated. “But I don’t think Mr.
Porter would approve of you seeking to hire us after we turned him down.”
Jessica looked up suddenly
as if he had hit a nerve, “But that’s the very reason we want you Mr.
Heyes! I’ve heard my stepdaughter talk
about you two. She said you were
amazing and resourceful men and the fact you stood up to my husband, well it
says a great deal about your character.
I need men who won’t be afraid to tell me the truth.”
“You think your husband is
protecting his daughter Amelia?” Heyes asked casually.
The two women stared at him
shocked. It was obvious such a thing
had never been suggested aloud, at least not outside the family.
“What have you heard?”
Jessica whispered horrified.
“That Miss Amelia likes
fires, shows up at most of them despite her families best efforts to keep her
inside. She was also there the night
your first husband and your son died wasn’t she?”
“She was just a child,”
Jessica said twisting the handkerchief in her hands into a rag. “Thomas and Stephen were working in their
project room, sort of a shed out back behind the stable. They loved to tinker on inventions. Amelia liked to sit and watch them. The fire just happened so quickly, the men
were only able to get her out…” the woman dissolved into silent tears.
“What we want to know Mr.
Heyes is if Amelia caused that fire and these others,” Natalie said rolling her
eyes at her sister’s show of emotion.
“Honestly Jessica control yourself.”
“Ladies I am going to find
out who did this because it involves my friend and no matter who it
incriminates I am going to make what I learn known to the authorities,” Heyes
said rising.
“You almost make that sound
like a threat,” Natalie spat at him as she sailed past.
“No ma’am, unless a body has
something to fear.”
************************
“Go
away,” Amelia said waving her hand like he was a stray dog. “I don’t want to talk to you.”
“Pretty
clever way of sneaking out you got there ma’am,” Kid said pushing the brush
aside to reveal the small hole in the wall also hidden by brush from the other
side.
“They
don’t let me play!” she said childishly stamping her foot. “Amelia doesn’t like to stay inside.”
“Amelia
likes to be outside,” Kid smiled suddenly understanding what Heyes meant about
the girl’s eyes. They were haunting and
almost frightening in there vacant hollowness.
“Amelia
has secrets,” she said coquettishly hands behind her back swaying back and
force.
“I
bet she does,” Kid said wishing Heyes were there. “I have secrets too, would you like to hear one?”
She
looked up eagerly and nodded.
“No
wait not so fast, you have to tell me one.”
She
frowned and pouted and then finally smiled slyly, “Joey gave Miss Fremont a
baby!”
“Who’s
Joey, Amelia?”
“Just
Joey. He says I can have one too. I like babies, except when they cry, when
they cry they sound like Stephen…Stephen cried. Aunt Jessica cries too.
Now what is your secret?”
“I’m
an outlaw.”
She
frowned, “My secret is better.”
“You
know your right it is.”
“Amelia!”
They
both turned startled to see Josiah Porter, his grounds man and a younger
well-dressed man bearing down on him.
“What
is going on here! Did you touch her!”
Josiah said pulling the girl behind him. “Krager!’ he barked to his grounds
keeper. “Get his gun.”
Krager
considered this and paused on Kid’s look.
He was obvious loyal to a fault, but not stupid.
“No
sir I did not,” Kid said with quiet dignity.
“I caught her going over the wall and thought you might be concerned.”
“Amelia
sweetheart did he hurt you?” Josiah said grabbing her by the shoulders in such
a way that took any warmth from his concern.
“No
daddy, we just talked about babies.”
“I
should have you horse whipped,” Josiah roared motioning his man forward, but
Kid’s gun was instantly in his hand.
“Sir
I told you nothing happened. The lady
was just telling me about someone named Joey and something he offered to give
her, like he had a Miss Fremont?” Kid smiled pleasantly and waited for the
reaction.
“Joseph
my study now!” roared Porter to the
young man.
“But
sir this cad is obviously lying to save himself!”
“You
told!” Amelia said stamping her foot
and sticking her tongue out at Kid.
“Sorry
Amelia, you can tell my secret because I did.”
She
smiled, “It’s all right I have lots of secrets.”
Porter
seeing he was clearly in a no win situation quickly grabbed the girl by the arm
and began dragging her towards the gate.
“I
want you to stay away from my family Curry!”
“Yes
sir I bet you do,” Kid said holstering his gun.
********************************
“Yea
Lom’s got it right here, Miss Fremont, had to leave town suddenly, she was
Amelia’s governess,” Heyes said. “Seems
Mrs. Porter’s nephew is a real lady’s man,” Heyes said disgusted.
“Heyes
I don’t think she did it.”
“What?
Amelia?”
“Yea,
she’s clearly… not well, but I don’t think she’s dangerous.”
“Then
how come she gets to the fires before the fire brigade?”
“What?”
“Lom’s
notes say she’s always first on the scene, just watching.”
“Then
why hasn’t anyone arrested her?”
“No
evidence and who her dad is makes a big difference. So if you believe she’s innocent why didn’t you tell Porter about
her little escape route?” Heyes smiled.
“Because
I’m gonna be watching it tonight, where she goes I follow,” Kid asked.
“Good,
but first we have a date with a lady.”
“We
do?” Kid said interested.
“Yea
I think it’s high time we thanked Miss Birdy Pickett for handing you a certain
flyer.”
***********************
“I
can’t tell you what a delight it is to see you boys again!” the elderly
spinster said happily as she poured tea and the two men tried their best to
relax in the haven for lace doilies and breakables they had entered.
“Well
ma’am we meant to get to you sooner,” Heyes said removing a cat from his lap
for the third time. How did the animals
know he didn’t like them?
“Oh
I always knew that running from the law took up most of your time, but I kept
you in my prayers. Would you like
another cake Mr. Curry?”
Kid
looked at the pink confectionary heart still on his plate. Normally food was not a problem, but the
last one had stuck in his throat and was no in danger of returning back up if
he even thought about adding to it.
“Ah
no ma’am, but thank you, wonderful, just not used to such refinements,” he lied
pleasantly.
Heyes
swallowed a smile and then turned back to the woman who had handed Kid that
amnesty flier so long ago.
“We’ve
been asked by Mr. Porter to help with the fire problem,” Heyes said quietly.
“Oh
my terrible tragedies! He certainly
would know about how that feels.”
“That’s
right he lost his brother and nephew in a fire didn’t he?” Kid prodded.
“Yes
and if only that was the end of it.”
The
two men sat forward.
“End
of it?” Heyes asked.
“Well
I don’t like to gossip,” she lied.
“Oh
well this is just giving us information that might help us with the case,”
Heyes said patting her hand. “You’d be
doing the entire town a service, but then a lady like you is always helping
people just like you did us.”
He
gave her his best adoring smile and she blushed.
“Well
everyone knew, you see Josiah loved Jessica and when she married his brother he
was devastated. He even, they say, had
an affair with her sister Natalie! Well
when Josiah’s wife died Natalie presumed he would marry her, but then suddenly
Jessica was free and to the amazement of all he persuades Jessica to marry
him!”
“You
don’t say?” Heyes said stealing a glance at Kid who was using the moment to
hide his pink cake in the flowerpot beside him.
“Oh
yes! Why some people even say that
Joseph is his and Natalie’s son! Of course Josiah has never owned up to that,
but there is bad blood there mark my words.”
“So
that fire that killed those two Porters, was it an accident?” Kid said.
“No
one knows for sure. Amelia, poor dear
was never the same after it. Kept
screaming to go back in for her uncle and cousin, they had to sedate her for
weeks. She was always a strange child,
but that totally unbalanced her.”
“There
are some people that think Amelia may be starting the fires,” Heyes ventured.
“Oh
lands sake no! Why there has been a
child in every one of those fires.
Amelia loves children, no I can’t believe that.”
Heyes
frowned, “A child? You’re sure?”
“Oh
yes that’s what is so terrible about them.”
******************************
“You
really think that’s important, that kids are always in the building?” Kid asked
as they walked back through the quiet streets to Trevor’s house.
“Well
it might be coincidence, but at least it narrows down possible targets, say we
don’t have to worry about the saloon or the cat house.”
“Shame
I wouldn’t mind guarding them.”
Heyes
gave him a look, “So far its been a dress shop, hat shop, general store and a
confectionary shop….Kid you notice anything funny about all these places?”
“No.”
“Look
at the type of shops they are, all places a woman could go without seeming out
of place.”
“Which
leads us right back to Amelia and Heyes I told you I don’t think she capable…”
“Well
maybe I’ll get chance to meet Amelia,” Heyes said stopping in his tracks.
“Why?”
Kid said.
Heyes
pointed at the smoke rising up into the sky.
It was coming from the Doctor’s office and his clinic where Lom was and
they started to run.
**********************************
“The
doors!” Heyes yelled as they raced up to the burning building and understanding
Kid ran around back as Heyes pulled the wedge against the door free and kicked
it open.
A
huddle of people fell out on top of him and he pulled them out counting as he
did.
“Who’s left?” he demanded of
the nurse.
“The
Doctor and your friend and the Martin boy, his leg is broken,” she gasped
terrified.
Heyes
nodded and seeing a bucket brigade forming dived back inside.
“KID!”
he yelled trying to see through the smoke.
“Over
here!” his partner yelled back and following the voice he stumbled over to a
doorway where Kid was holding a young boy in his arms while trying to lead the
Doctor and Trevors to the door.
“Here
I got him you head out Doc,” Heyes said swinging Lom’s arm over his and retracing
his steps as best he could to the door.
People
were waiting to help him and Heyes was quickly relieved of his burden and
turned to make sure Kid and the Doctor were safe.
“That
everyone?” Kid coughed at the medical practitioner.
“Yes,
yes, we couldn’t get the doors open,” he said in shock.
The
two cousins looked at each other.
“Same
as before,” Kid sighed grabbing a bucket. “Always jams the doors so people
can’t get out.”
“Come
on lets see if we can help them save it,” Heyes said and as he turned he caught
sight of her. Just off beyond the alley
across watching with those same haunted eyes.
“Amelia!”
Kid said catching up to her as she turned to run. “I want you to meet a friend of mine.”
She
turned and looked at Heyes, eyes large and empty.
“I
see what you see,” she said quietly and turned and walked away.
*****************************
Two
hours later darkness was beginning to fall and the two men wearily made their
way into the café deciding despite how bad they looked they were not up to
going home to clean up first. The one
room restaurant was crowded, but room was made for them with several offers of
thanks for what they had done.
“So
what do you think?” Kid asked quietly about Amelia after their food was
brought.