Shadow Killers by Matt Braun

Author:Matt Braun
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: St. Martin's Publishing Group

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

THE NORTHBOUND pulled out of Santa Fe at eight o’clock the next morning. Braddock was on board, still posing as a Texas cattleman. His eyes were grim, and he watched the town fall behind with a sense of reluctance. Some dark premonition told him he’d made a mistake.

Earlier, he’d hedged his bet with Mitchell. Before leaving the hotel, he penned a note, signing it Elmer Boyd, and hired a bellboy to run it over to Mitchell’s office. The note stated he’d been called back to Texas on ranch business and would return shortly. Whether or not the bogus check bounced before he returned was a moot point. He’d covered himself for the moment, providing Mitchell with a plausible excuse for his sudden departure. He doubted anyone would bother to check the story.

Lise was another matter entirely. He’d allowed himself to be persuaded by the logic of her argument. Still, he couldn’t shake the feeling that he would regret the decision. He was haunted by a vision of Ellen Nesbeth. The similarity was like a nightmare repeating itself. The ring had killed one woman to stop her from testifying, and it could easily happen again. However careful, Lise was nonetheless a tyro in outwitting sharks like Mitchell and Elkton. He thought the odds were in her favor; otherwise he would never have agreed. Yet he was far from sanguine about the outcome. There was no way to hedge the bet where she was concerned. And that preyed on his mind.

The train chugged into Raton late that afternoon. A night’s layover enabled Braddock to resurrect the Reverend Titus Jacoby. When he emerged from the hotel the following morning, he wore the muttonchop sideburns and the turned-around collar of a minister. He retrieved his horse from the livery stable, where he’d rented a stall the previous week. Then he turned the swaybacked dun onto the wagon road toward Cimarron. The long day’s ride allowed him to consider the knotty question of Orville McMain. He was duty bound to save McMain from the ring’s assassins. Yet he was equally determined to convert one of them—preferably Florencio Donaghue—into a star witness. Only then would he have the testimony to corroborate Lise’s story. And that one thought was still uppermost in his mind. Whatever the cost, her safety superseded all else.

Dusk was falling as Braddock rode into Cimarron. The plan he’d formulated was tricky and dangerous. Somewhat refined, it was a variation of the dodge he’d used to mousetrap the ring’s hired guns in Cimarron Canyon. He was prepared for resistance on the part of McMain. There was every likelihood the publisher would simply refuse to go along. In the event reason failed, Braddock would then resort to some more drastic means of persuasion. He was also reconciled to the fact that he would have to deal with Buck Colter. The cooperation of McMain’s bodyguard was essential, for without him the plan would never work. Braddock had him slated for a key role.

Orville McMain was again working late.

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