Made in Spades by Guy Brewer

Author:Guy Brewer
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group

24

Dex’s chum, buddy, pal and now co-worker Ambrose Clay was clearly pissed off. And Dex knew why. Clay obviously would have preferred to spend the night at the Victoria Cross as a guest of Sir David Francis Manchester. No doubt the lawyer wanted an opportunity to abuse some young black serving girl or boy—what did Dex know about the man’s tastes, and he would believe anything of a lawyer—but was unable to do that when Dex said he wanted to drive back to town instead.

Of course they could have compromised. Dex could have borrowed a horse and ridden back on his own, but when Clay suggested that Dex expressed a fear that he might lose the way and become lost in the desert. Never mind that this was not really desert and forget the fact that the road was well enough traveled that it would have been difficult to stray from it. The truth was that Dex was feeling more than a trifle peeved with Clay and just plain wanted to ruffle the man’s feathers. Something to do with Clay having assumed that a Yancey would be as venal and unprincipled as he.

Well, it was working. The drive back to town was undertaken in a sullen silence on Clay’s part while Dex, just to be perverse about it, nattered and prattled the whole distance, running on at the mouth about everything and about nothing, relating incidents from his childhood and bedroom exploits without end—all of which he made up on the spur of the moment. But any of them could have been true. More or less.

Eventually they came to a halt in front of the hotel where Dex climbed down to the ground with effusive thanks, concluding with, “You know, Brose, I’ve been thinking while we were on our way back. If I’m going to get the job done for Sir David, I can’t let the Espinozas know that I have a side to take in this thing. I’d guess from the way Anselma and Paco accepted your help, the family doesn’t know about your involvement either.”

“That’s right,” Clay grudgingly conceded, uttering the first words he’d contributed to the conversation in probably a half hour or more, “I’ve kept that quiet, just in case.”

“Right. But I don’t want to take any chances. After all, Ben Turlock and his men report to you. Someone might see or hear something and make the connection. I think it would be better if you and I weren’t seen to be openly friendly from now on. Just in case. What d’you think?”

“If that’s what you think best. Sir David said I’m to take direction from you, after all.”

Ah, Dex thought. That was rankling the man, too. It wasn’t just a missed chance to fuck a pickanniny. Clay didn’t like being made to play second fiddle now that Dex offered Manchester a Trojan horse inside the walls ot the Espinoza hacienda.

“Right. If it’s all right with you then, Brose, we’ll kind of keep our distance, at least in public.

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