Longarm 233 - Longarm and the Branded Beauty by Tabor Evans

Author:Tabor Evans [Evans, Tabor]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780515122787
Google: gicKAAAACAAJ
Amazon: 0515122785
Publisher: Jove
Published: 1998-05-01T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 9

“Marshal Long, open up! It’s Lola!”

“Go away!” he shouted.

“I have food! Open up!”

Longarm could see another mob gathering in the street, and he was afraid that some drunken fool might mistake Lola for Stella and open fire, killing her at his doorstep. “All right,” he said, unbolting the door and opening it just enough for Lola to squeeze inside. “You shouldn’t have come here.”

But Lola wasn’t listening. Her eyes were on Stella. The two women studied each other for a long moment. Then Stella said, “Why did you risk your life coming here?”

“To be with Custis, of course.” Lola stared at the bloody bandanna that Stella was holding to her neck. “Have you been shot?”

“I thought that you were Pete’s friend,” Stella said, ignoring the question.

Lola shook her head, and then she turned and gave Longarm a brilliant smile. “This is the man I really want.”

Longarm stepped between them. “Stop it, the both of you,” he said roughly. “Lola, you’re the only one that doesn’t need to be here in case things get really ugly. I want you to leave.”

Lola shook her head, then motioned to the rifle rack. “I can shoot a pistol or rifle. Maybe you need my help.”

“No,” Longarm told her. “But if you really want to help, then you should go tell Marshal Walker and Dr. Davis what is happening. See if there is help on the way. Send another telegram. If we don’t get some help here pretty soon, I’m afraid that that lynch mob is going to just get drunk again and make another attempt to storm this jail.”

“I’ll go,” Lola said, starting for the door. “If necessary, I’ll send a telegram for help myself, although I do not know anyone to send it to.”

“There must be a judge and some lawmen closer to Auburn than Sacramento. See if you can find them! Tell them that we’re going to go down fighting before I’ll allow Stella or my last two prisoners to be lynched.”

“I’ll tell them,” Lola promised, setting another basketful of food on the desk and starting to leave. At the door, however, she stopped and turned. “Miss Vacarro, who really killed your fiance?”

“I don’t know.”

“They say it was your knife that was buried in his back. They say it was a double-edged stiletto.”

“That knife was stolen from me almost six months ago,” Stella said. “Maybe by the one who murdered poor Noah, maybe by someone who just happened to sell it in a pawnshop or saloon. I have no idea, but I did not—could not—ever murder the man I loved enough to marry.”

“Then you don’t love Marshal Long?”

Stella started to answer, but then changed her mind. “Why don’t we see if we live long enough to have a nice, long talk someday? All right?”

“All right,” Lola said with a nod before she slipped back outside.

When Longarm bolted the door again, Stella said, “You attract women like bees to honey, Custis. You always have.”

“Can we talk about something serious?” he asked shortly. “There’s a lynch mob starting to gather outside.

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