Longarm and the Blackmailers by Tabor Evans

Author:Tabor Evans
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group

Chapter 9

“Hello, boys,” Braddock said. “How did it go?”

The sombrero-wearing pistolero who had invited Braddock into the camp spat in the fire and said, “All dead except one.”

Braddock frowned. “Which one?”

“The tall man, the one who looked like a gringo.”

“Son of a bitch!” Braddock burst out. “El Gordo’s not going to be happy to hear that.”

Out in the brush where he crouched watching and listening, Longarm’s brain was spinning in confusion. Not only was it shocking enough to see Peter Braddock here below the border acting like one of the gang, but obviously Braddock had some connection with Gordo Harrigan, too. What the hell was going on here?

“There was nothing we could do,” the Mexican protested. “That big one, he is a slippery bastard.”

Braddock hunkered on his heels next to the fire and intercepted the bottle of rotgut as it went around the circle of killers. He tipped it up and let some of the fiery stuff gurgle into his mouth. When he had lowered the bottle and passed it on, he said, “I know. I thought I’d killed him more than a week ago. Drop a man off a cliff into the rapids of the Rio Grande and the least he could do is have the common courtesy to go ahead and die.”

Longarm’s jaw was tight as he listened. He felt anger welling up inside him. He wanted to march into the camp and knock that arrogant smirk right off Braddock’s face. But doing that wouldn’t accomplish anything except to get himself killed. With an effort, he reined in his temper.

One of the other gunmen asked, “You think this big gringo is after you, Senor Braddock?” The tone of deference in the man’s voice told Longarm that Braddock was an important fella in this neck of the woods.

“I don’t know why he’s down here,” Braddock replied. “Like I said, I figured he was dead. If he’s got any sense, he lit out for the border when he got away from you boys.”

The frown on Longarm’s face deepened. Braddock hadn’t referred to him as a deputy U.S. marshal, and Longarm couldn’t tell if the others knew he was an American lawman or not. But if Braddock had told them other things about Longarm, why would he have withheld that particular bit of information?

And how had Braddock found out that Longarm was going to be riding toward the border with some of Don Manuel’s vaqueros today? How had he even found out that Longarm was still alive?

Too damned many questions, Longarm thought. And it didn’t look like he was going to get any answers anytime soon, because the men around the fire started telling bawdy stories and passing around another bottle of tequila. Before long, they would all be dozing off into a drunken slumber.

Even so, there were too many of them for Longarm to risk making an attempt to capture them. It made more sense, he decided, to try to find Gordo Harrigan’s ranch and do a little scouting around there.

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