Brazos by Cameron Judd

Author:Cameron Judd
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: St. Martin's Publishing Group

17

“Three head a month?” Weyburn asked, scratching his chin and leaning back in his chair. He was in his office, and across the desk from him sat Floyd Fells, holding a document that bore the imprints of the U.S. Army and Fort Cade. “I see no problem in meeting that demand.”

“Neither do I.” Fells dropped his voice. “And seldom, I think, will it be necessary to even touch our own herd. We can easily cut three beeves a month out of neighboring herds, dispose of the hides to hide the brands, and deliver the meat to Fort Cade without lifting any eyebrows.”

“Yes, but be careful,” Weyburn replied. “There’s Till Cooke and his ilk already breathing down my neck. They’ll be looking for anything they can find against me. Now that I’ve let Wyeth make his escape, there will be trouble enough for us.”

“It would be convenient if our former sheriff met with an accident, don’t you think?” Fells ventured.

Weyburn jerked forward, pounding the bottom of his fist on the desktop. “No! You’re talking like Wyeth now. There’s already been enough killing, and it doesn’t sit easily with me. There are lines I don’t like to cross.”

“Yes,” Fells said coldly. “I know.”

“Don’t worry about Cooke. I have a plan to discredit him in the public eye. Now, let me see that contract.”

Fells handed the paper to Weyburn, who studied it for a minute, then signed. He had just handed it back to Fells when the front door burst open and Jed Keller stomped in. Ignoring Fells, he went straight to the side of Weyburn’s desk, leaned over on his palms and looked the sheriff in the face.

“I hear that Cutter Wyeth escaped this jail last night.”

“Yes. He overpowered one of my deputies and forced his way out. Believe me, I regret it deeply.”

“I’m sure you do, Sheriff Weyburn,” Keller said mockingly. “Overpowered your deputy, you say? There’s no reason for that ever to happen. I know a little about the jail business, you know. A properly trained deputy never puts himself in a position to be overpowered by a prisoner.”

Weyburn’s eyes flicked to Fells. “Floyd, perhaps you should go now.”

Fells stood, looking at Keller like the man had just tangled with a skunk and neglected to clean himself. “Later, David.” He waved the contract. “I’ll go deliver this paper.”

“Weyburn, you and I both know that Cutter Wyeth didn’t escape from this jail. You let him walk out.”

“That’s a serious charge to bring against a legally elected peace officer. Do you have any evidence to support it?”

Keller hesitated. “No,” he said. “But sometimes a man knows what he can’t prove.”

“That carries no weight in a court of law … if it’s your plan to go that route.”

“I have no plan. But there are others who might not be so lenient. And they don’t require the kind of proof a court demands.”

“You’re talking about the so-called Old Boys, I take it? You’re treading thin ice, Keller. I might take that comment as a threat.

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