Longarm and the Train Robbers (9 page)

Longarm leaned
forward across the desk.  "Earl, you know that I'm not a wealthy
man but that I am generous."

"You have always
been very generous to us.  You are one of my favorite guests.  I
mean that in all honesty."

Longarm knew that
this was going to cost him thirty or forty dollars, but if the
broken horseshoe proved to be a dead-end trail, this was his only
hope and it was no time to be pinching pennies.

"I'll continue to
be generous," Longarm said, patting Earl's shoulder. "Now, if I
could have a room and a hot bath?"

"At once.  At
once!"

Longarm dined in
the hotel that night and he ate very, very well. Buffalo steak,
sourdough bread, fresh trout sauteed in mushrooms, asparagus, and
a peach cobbler with cool, sweet cream.  Longarm even allowed
himself to finish off the meal with a good cigar and two glasses
of French brandy.

"I haven't eaten
so well," he confessed to the waiter, "since I was here last. 
Compliments to Chef Pierre."

"He knows it is
you, Mr. Long, and so he made everything extra
special."

"He did
indeed."

The waiter beamed,
and Longarm settled back with contentment.  He'd been shaved, and
was wearing a fresh change of clothes and underwear.  He almost
felt civilized, and was in no hurry to leave the warm and
pleasant surroundings where he had spent many a happy
evening.

"Hello!" the woman
purred, leaning over the table so that the upper portions of her
large breasts dangled like overripe melons.  "My dear, dear
deputy.  I didn't expect you to be back so soon!"

"Well, Milly," he
replied, "neither did I.  But there was this train wreck on the
mountain just to the east of us, and ever since my life has sort
of gone to hell."

"You look pretty
happy right now."  Milly slid into the chair and laid a familiar
hand on Longarm 's muscular thigh.  "I think that I can make you
look even happier with almost no effort at all."

"Milly, you
vixen!"

"Buy me a
drink?"

"Sure."

Longarm ordered
them both brandy, and then he told Milly about the train wreck,
Eli Wheat's escape, and the manhunt.

"And you think
they are hidin in Laramie?"

"At least some of
them, but probably not all."

"If they have
money, they might be coming my way," she said.  "Tell me how I
would know they are the ones you want."

Longarm told her
the same things that he had told Sheriff Cotton and Earl.  "You
need to keep a sharp eye out for that cigarette paper and for the
money."

"I always watch
for money, you know that."

"Yeah, I know. 
That's why I've always wondered why you waste time with a poor
federal lawman."

Milly's hand
slipped higher until it rested over Longarm's flaccid manhood. 
"You know why I don't think spending time with you is wasted.  Or
do I have to remind you right now?"

"Stop it."  He
laughed, feeling himself start to swell.  "I'm not up to that
tonight and you need to be circulating.  The men I seek might
well be just passing through.  I can't catch them if I'm making
love with you."

"What a shame." 
Milly sighed.  "Well, then I had better get to work. There are
guests here tonight who have both time and money."

"Look for those
Royal Crown cigarettes and let me know what you find."

"I will," Milly
promised.  "But I can't imagine some rich Englishman riding with
a gang of train robbers."

"No," Longarm
conceded, "that does not sound very likely, but one never knows. 
I've seen people I thought to be rich as kings turn out to be
thieves. We all put on a little show--even you,
Milly."

"Show?" She
laughed and brazenly cupped her breasts.  "They're not show,
Deputy.  You of all people know that they're for real--or do you
need to be shown all over again right now?"

"Stop it, Milly!"
he said in mock anger because he knew that she was simply trying
to tease and embarrass him.  Milly was actually a very educated
and well-read woman, and that was why she of all the women was
the only one allowed in the Outpost Hotel to mingle with the rich
Eastern guests.

"Bye, honey,"
Milly said, "I just saw another gold mine come waddling in the
door."

"Sure," he
said.

Milly, hips
swaying provocatively as she crossed the dining room, turned
every man's head in the place, even those with wives and
girlfriends.  Longarm watched with admiration as Milly targeted
an older, corpulent man who had all the appearance of
wealth.

Longarm shook his
head with wonder.  Milly had once told him that she had a bank
account that was large enough to buy a small cattle ranch or a
ten-room whorehouse decked out like a doll cottage.  And now,
watching Milly ingratiate herself with the rich old man, and
seeing the way his nose began to twitch with all the excitement
of a bird dog, Longarm was a believer.

CHAPTER
7

Longarm went to bed
that night thinking that he had plenty of baited hooks in the
water and wondering which one would land the first fish.  It felt
wonderful to drop off to sleep in a feather bed with clean sheets
and not have to worry about getting rained on in the night or
waking up with a stiff back.

He was sleeping
like the dead when he was suddenly jarred awake by a loud banging
at his door.  Longarm reached for his holstered Colt hanging from
the headboard.

"Who is
it?"

"It's
me!"

Longarm relaxed. 
"Aw, Milly, go away!  I'm still asleep."

"Too asleep to
talk about an Englishman who smokes Royal Crown cigarettes and
has a lot of money to spend on pretty women?  Well, if you can
find me, we can talk about him sometime.  Night,
night!"

Longarm blinked
rapidly in the darkness.  "Wait a minute!"  he called, bounding
out of the bed and staggering to the door.  When he finally got
it unlocked, Milly was already descending the stairs to the
lobby.

"Milly, dammit,
come on back here!"

She turned and
looked up at him with a loose smile of amusement.  He could see
that she was a little tipsy and her hair and lipstick were
mussed. Milly had been working and was not in the mood for
insults.

"Milly, I'm
sorry," Longarm said.  "It's just that I've got a lot of sleep to
catch up on and I was... I was dreaming of you."

"Aw, bullshit! 
Come on, Longarm, I'll bet you can do better than
that!"

Longarm knuckled
his eyes.  "What time is it?"

Milly shrugged. 
"Who cares?  I guess it will be daylight pretty soon, but I'll
manage to be asleep by then and thankfully avoid it."

Longarm yawned. 
"Would you come on back and talk to me?  Otherwise, I'd have to
hunt you down and wake you up in a few hours."

"And risk getting
shot?  That wouldn't be a very smart thing to do,
honey."

"Come on," Longarm
said, "this is a respectable place.  I can't stand out here
begging in my almost natural state."

"Say
please."

"Please."

"Say that you'll
reward me handsomely."

Longarm yawned. 
"I'll reward you handsomely."

"And scratch my
back and kiss me to sleep and-"

"Milly!"

"Oh, all right. 
I'll settle for the handsome reward," she said, coming back up
the stairs and giving Longarm a kiss before she took his hand and
led him back into his room.

Milly wasted no
time talking, but quickly undressed and climbed into bed with
Longarm.  She slipped her hand down his flat belly and tickled
his privates.

"Come on, Milly!"
Longarm said with another yawn.  "Don't distract me."

"I want to
distract you," she said, rolling over to nibble on his
earlobe.

"Business before
pleasure.  Who smokes the Royal Crown cigarettes?"

"Like most men,"
Milly said peevishly, "your mind is only on one thing. But in
your case it's outlaws.  Every other man I go to bed with is
obsessed with my body."

"Milly," Longarm
said, gently pushing her back.  "You know how much I enjoy being
with you.  You're a beautiful and passionate woman."

"Don't stop.  Tell
me more."

"Dear goddess of
love, I need to know about this Englishman who is throwing money
around and smoking Royal Crown cigarettes.  And I need to know
right now because a lot of fine, innocent people were killed and
injured on that train."

"All right," Milly
said wearily.  "I can feel this big scab on your skull and I
suspect that you were one of the injured."

"I was," Longarm
said, "and I'm lucky to be alive.  Now tell me about the man who
smokes Royal Crowns."

"I didn't sleep
with him tonight.  He wanted me to, but I decided to find you
first.  So you cost me money."

"I'll make it up
somehow."

"You dam sure
better," Milly said, kissing his cheek.  "The man who smokes
those tinny yellow cigarettes is an associate of the one that you
saw me greet when I left your table this evening."

"An associate of
that fat old man?"

"Yes.  The old man
was English and rich.  He was also very randy for someone his
age.  When we were doing it, I thought he was going to burst a...
well, never mind.  Later, we went down for some drinks and I met
the young one."

"The man who
smokes Royal Crown cigarettes?"

"Yes.  He is the
old man's nephew and seems to do little more than buy and sell
cattle and horses.  He talked a lot about traveling on the
railroad between Omaha and Sacramento doing business.  I gather
he also has a stable of thoroughbreds in Reno,
Nevada."

"Interesting,"
Longarm said, "but I doubt that he's a part of that train-robbing
gang."

"Why?"

"The man I seek is
probably not wealthy.  Perhaps comfortable and able to afford a
few luxuries like premium cigarettes, but not
wealthy."

"But you don't
know that."

"That's true." 
Longarm pulled Milly close.  "What is this man's
name?"

"Blake
Huntington."  Milly giggled.  "Isn't that a high-sounding hoot?
The old rich man I entertained is named Clarence
Huntington."

"And where is
Blake staying?"

"About four doors
down the hall in Room 207," Milly said.

"Are you going to
meet him anyplace tomorrow?"

"He invited me to
lunch at noon."

"I hope that you
accepted."

"I did," Milly
replied, starting to sound impatient.  "And I can guess where you
will be at that hour--turning his room upside down looking for
clues."

"That's exactly
right.  But I won't leave anything that would give away the fact
I made a thorough search.  I'll be in and out in less than
fifteen minutes."

Milly winked.
 "Don't spend a lot of time.  From the way he was looking at me
tonight, I expect that we will have a very quick meal and then
he'll rush me upstairs in order to get much better
acquainted."

"Describe the
man."

"Blake is about
six feet three, slender, darkly handsome, and he speaks with a
slight British accent.  He sounds very distinguished.  He's well
mannered and well dressed.  He's a real gentleman,
Longarm."

"I'm sure." 
Longarm curbed his annoyance.  "If Blake is such a prize, why
don't you try to snag him into marriage?"

"I might just do
that except..."  Milly's voice trailed off and she looked
away.

"Except
what?"

"I don't know.  A
professional lady develops a sixth sense about men. She can
generally cut through the pretense and look into a man's heart to
see if he is honest and kind or unkind."

"And this man
is...?"

"Blake Huntington
is very unkind," Milly said without hesitation.  "There is
something very hard and scary about him.  And the more Blake
tries to cover that something up, the stronger I sense him as
being dangerous.  That's why I thought you need to investigate
this man, because something about him just does not ring
true."

"then don't let
him get you alone," Longarm warned.

"Oh, I don't
actually think he'd be foolish enough to hurt me.  I mean, he
must know that it would discredit him with his rich old uncle. 
And I'll tell you something, Blake is after his uncle's money. 
He fawns all over that dottering old Englishman.  It's really
rather sickening."

"This whole thing
does not make sense," Longarm said.

"What doesn't make
sense?"

"That Blake
Huntington could be a train robber.  He sounds more like a
fortune hunter to me."

Milly pushed
herself up so that her exposed breasts were practically hanging
in Longarm's face.  "Let me tell you something else about Blake
before we put each other into a state of bliss."