Cold-Blooded by William W. Johnstone

Author:William W. Johnstone [Johnstone, William W.; Johnsto]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kensington
Published: 2017-02-28T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER THIRTY

A shaken Gideon Thurgood jumped the next train out of Forth Worth and left Gabe Steel to look after his interests. Jasper Dunn was not pleased by this arrangement.

“Can I depend on the hangman to deliver as he promised?” he asked Steel.

“He told me to assure you that the shipments will arrive on time,” Steel said. “He’ll wire ahead to let you know.”

“I’ve sold all the product he sent me,” Dunn said. “I need more.”

“It will be forthcoming in the next day or two,” Steel said. His right cheek was bandaged where it had been laid open by the front sight of Hartline’s Colt. “When you move against Kurt Koenig and Luke Short I’m to give you any assistance I can.”

“You mean gun assistance?” Dunn said.

“Just that,” Steel said.

Dunn’s forefinger flicked to the man’s bandage, “You didn’t do much good against Hartline.”

“Had he lived, I would have killed him,” Steel said.

Loco Looper, who was standing close to Dunn’s desk, sneered, “Big talk is easy.”

“I can back it up,” Steel said. “Maybe you’d like to try me sometime.”

“No cross talk. Time for that after we take this town,” Dunn said. “Real or not, legend or not, Hartline was a big loss. We needed his gun.”

“He was fast on the draw,” Steel said, with grudging admiration from one draw fighter for another. Then, “Have you put together a plan yet, Mr. Dunn?”

Ford Talon had been sitting on the edge of his cot, but now he got to his feet and stepped closer to Dunn’s desk.

“Kurt Koenig will be a tough nut to crack,” Dunn said. “He’s fast with a gun and he’s got the backing of the Panther City Boys and probably the sheriff.” He took time to light a cigar then said, “Luke Short is the easier target. Apart from a couple of Irish bouncers he’s on his own.”

“How do we play it, boss?” Talon lashed.

“We move in on him, demand ninety percent of his business, he refuses and we run him out of town or kill him, whatever is the more convenient at the time.”

“When?” Talon said.

Dunn frowned. “A questioning man, aren’t you, Talon?”

“I like to be ready,” Talon said.

“The walls have ears,” Dunn said. “When the time is right, I’ll tell you. But it will be soon. I mean within the next couple of days soon.”

* * *

“He was a pimp, ran maybe three or four girls,” the landlady said. Her name was Mrs. Orpha Brown. “This is how I found him this morning.”

“What was his name?” Jess Casey said.

“Archie somebody or other. He kept to himself, paid his rent on time and I never asked for his last name.” She crossed her arms under her plump bust and said, “Well, I’ll leave you gentlemen to it.”

The late Archie, dressed in pants and a shirt, sprawled across his bed. There was no sign of a struggle and nothing to suggest that the man had committed suicide.

Jess was visiting Nate Levy in his hotel room and Dr. Arthur Bell was in attendance when Mrs.

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