"I'll see you ladies later." "Now when I get to be mayor next election," "I'm going to get better accommodations for you ladies." "Get on outta here, you old drunk." "But I will." "Why don't you watch where you're going, buddy?" "Hello, mayor." "Mr. lawler!" "How are you?" "All right, I guess." "Looks like you're doing a lot better than I am." "Hello, mayor." "Play you a tune?" "Right." "It's a little early to be getting a face full, isn't it, Caleb?" "I was just playing a game of cards, ambrose." "I'm as sober as a proverbial judge." "Well, I've yet to meet a sober judge." "Where are you off to now?" "I thought I'd go down to barrell top for a cup of coffee." "Well, I sure hope it's coffee." "Your breath smells like the inside of a bottle." "Don't leave too quickly there, doctor." "You almost forgot to pay the house for that unfortunate run of cards you just had." "Well, Mr. Pritz, I, well," "I assumed my good credit would stand today." "I'll make good tomorrow." "You know this good credit you keep talking of?" "It's getting less and less by the hour, doctor." "I suggest you don't let it run out." "You remember that discussion we had just the other day?" "How are we doing today, gentlemen?" "Just passing the time, sheriff, just passing the time." "I could see that, Mr. Pritz." "You okay, doc?" "Of course I am." "If you'll both excuse me." "Damn it, Harlan, why you gotta call him out in public like that?" "And in front of mayor Taylor, for god's sakes?" "Does the where and the when really matter, Tom?" "It just don't look right." "I mean, you know, doc moss might not be much, but, you know, he is a council member." "Which is the only reason why he's ain't walking around on sticks right now." "He owes me plenty, Tom, and my Patience is wearing thin." "So cut him off from the table." "That cash cow?" "Not a chance." "Sooner or later, I'm gonna get my due." "Remember, sheriff, the more money I make, the more money you make." "Afternoon, ambrose." "Pete." "Sheriff, sorry I didn't speak to you back there." "I was, in a bit of a hurry." "Yeah, so I saw." "Glad to see you finally made it here to keep Pete company." "So business that slow, Pete?" "You're looking pretty comfortable in that chair." "Claire can take care of business." "Now ambrose and I are..." "Ahem!" "Mayor Taylor." "Pardon me, mayor Taylor and I were discussing the agenda of the next town council meeting." "I think that's just about as important as selling candy and dresses." "Almost anyways." "You got it all figured out, do you?" "Yeah, well, Pete's making it more complicated than need be as usual." "I was just saying it's about time we appoint a real treasurer." "For goodness sakes, ambrose, you got enough to do without trying to balance the town books, too." "And about them books." "Pete, I agree." "We should have a treasurer." "But until we do, I am more than capable of doing it my..." "Sheriff Ramey!" "Sheriff!" "What is it, Henry?" "There's been a shooting at my hotel." "What?" "Who's shot?" "Just come quick." "I have to get back." "Camille's room." "Camille?" "Who?" "Camille Tammery." "Danny holt's done shot her husband." "Pete, go get doc moss, quick." "WESTERN WORLD" "Subrip:" "Pix" "Two." "Cards, doc?" "Give me three." "Call." "Call." "Doc, in our out?" "I'm out, damn it." "Doc, maybe you ought to quit betting for a while." "At least until you get some money to bet with." "I assure you..." "You've assured me for the last time, Caleb moss." "Take your business down to Harlan Pritz." "He doesn't seem to give a damn, but I don't want you getting any deeper..." "Doc, someone's been shot at Henry's hotel." "I don't know what I'm gonna do with you." "Damn." "Check on that man, Caleb." "Hand me the mirror off that table there, Henry." "Is he dead?" "Who is he?" "According to Mrs. Tammery there, his name is George." "He's my husband." "Well, my condolences, Mrs. Tammery." "He's a dead husband now." "What the hell were you thinking, boy, being in that woman's room?" "We love each other." "And then her husband..." "Quiet." "You stay quiet, you hear me?" "Don't say a word to anyone." "Let me figure this out." "I'm the only hope you got, Danny." "I'll get you out of this if I can." "Well, good morning." "How'd you sleep?" "Like a rock as always, al." "You got anything for me?" "Yes, sir." "Just came in from laramie." "So we're here one night, and gone again this morning?" "Well, it appears so." "Thank you." "Is there a reply?" "Yeah." "Tell 'em I'm headed to dogwood pass." "I'll get this right out." "All right, thank you." "See you next time." "I expect so." "Evening." "Can I stable my horse here for the night?" "Sure." "Just for tonight?" "More than likely." "Name's Jeremy Carver." "This is my place." "Your name?" "Moses white." "Elizabeth?" "Take this man's horse inside and bed him down." "Yes, sir." "Would you like him brushed down?" "It's only for a penny extra." "Sure." "I'll tell you what." "You do a good job, I'll give you two pennies." "Thanks." "Quite the little businesslady you got there." "Well, she did learn from the best." "Now, you'll be staying at Mr. Mannors' hotel tonight?" "Well, if that's Mr. Mannors' place, I guess I will." "I'll see you in the morning around breakfast time." "I'll be here." "What do I owe you?" "We can settle up in the morning." "Well, you're a trusting soul, Mr. Carver." "Well, somebody in this town has to be." "All right, then." "We'll see you in the morning." "You don't have to go no further, mister." "We got bed and bath for you right up here." "Whiskey, too, and the prettiest damn girls in the whole territory." "I guess we didn't tickle his fancy." "I'm to tired for a fancy tickling tonight anyway." "All right, sir." "Have you got this?" "I can slow it down if you want." "Now, don't you worry about me." "I'm quick as a snake and I got eyes like a hawk." "All righty, then." "Which is it?" "I got you this time." "Care to try again?" "Hell, no." "I'm done." "Would you care to try, sir?" "Are you as quick as a snake with eyes like a hawk?" "All righty, then." "It's a very simple thing really." "Just follow it as closely as you possibly can." "No trickery here, just some old peas and a little old pebble." "It's the middle one." "This one?" "That's it." "Would you care to add to your bet and try again?" "You want to try?" "Come on." "How about you?" "What more evidence do you need?" "Everyone just be quiet for a minute." "I just don't understand." "I said quiet, damn it!" "Well?" "We're waiting." "Well, look, now I understand everyone's upset by all that's happened." "After all, it's not every day a fella gets himself shot in Henry Mannors' hotel." "But we've gotta keep cool heads, see things the way they are." "Tom, we've gone over this." "There's nothing more to consider." "Ambrose, would it kill you to call me sheriff Ramey during official proceedings?" "Are these official proceedings?" "Well, we're in my jail discussing a murder, so I would say yes, these are official proceedings." "Fine, then call me mayor Taylor and not ambrose." "Sweet Jesus." "Must you men argue about names?" "My husband is dead, after all, and I would like to see some sort of resolution before old age dictates that I join him." "My apologies, Mrs. Tammery." "Both ambrose and I, we're determined to..." "Ahem." "Both mayor Taylor and I, we're determined to resolve this matter with the utmost urgency." "We've got young Danny holt locked up in that cell right there." "He's just 19 years old, and he's waiting for a U.S. Marshall to come and take him to laramie to stand trial, so I'd like to make reasonably sure" "I've got the right suspect in custody." "And, well, that demands closer examination of the facts." "You and I both saw him in the room with Mrs. Tammery, her unfortunate husband dead on the floor." "What more proof do you need?" "And besides, we've already sent for the Marshall to take him to laramie for a trial." "You did that, ambrose?" "After I asked you not to?" "I told you I wanted to look into it more." "Look into what?" "The boy is guilty." "You just have to accept it." "He's the one..." "Can I help you?" "You the town sheriff?" "I'm sheriff Ramey, yes." "Well, I suppose you can help me." "I'm Moses white." "Now hold on a moment, sheriff." "Whatever business this man may have, it can wait." "No offense, stranger." "We've got more important issues here we need to discuss." "We need to continue to discuss them." "Henry has a point." "We shan't be interrupted in this." "Look, I'll handle this." "Mr. White, is your business urgent in nature?" "Well, I supposed that depends on your notion of urgent." "Well, by urgent, I mean severely urgent." "Has there been an immediate killing or robbery, for instance?" "'Cause that's about the only thing that could possibly take precedence over the business we're presently discussing." "Well, no, not immediate as in just this second." "Okay, well, would you mind having a seat then till I can talk to you?" "Or you can leave and come back later, your choice." "Shouldn't be long." "Chair's fine, I suppose." "All right, then." "Now look, let's recount what happened." "I just need to hear it again, 'cause I need to put my finger on what's bothering me about it, what I'm missing." "So, Mrs. Tammery, you were in your room conversing with Danny holt?" "That is correct." "I had hired Danny to drive my buggy for me so that I could look at a plot of land that I was considering for purchase." "When we returned, I asked Danny to come up to my room so that I could pay him for his time." "And that's when Mr. Tammery arrived at the hotel?" "Yes, Tammery came in and introduced himself as Camille's..." "Mrs. Tammery's husband, who then inquired as to whether or not she was at the hotel, so I of course directed him on to her room." "And he went directly to your door?" "Yes." "He came right in and he grabbed me." "Took me rather by surprise." "George and I had separated, as I had told you earlier." "He followed me here from rawlins with the intent on reconciling." "And you argued?" "Yes." "Like I said, George wanted me to return with him to rawlins." "But I had told him, and in no uncertain terms, that I was no longer in love with him." "And the two of you discussed this right there in front of Danny holt?" "George was so intent on his purpose that I do not think he even saw Danny standing there in the corner." "I admit, I almost forgot about him myself." "And when I did think of him," "I decided that it was probably a very good idea that he was there." "As a witness." "A witness?" "Yes." "George was excitable." "He had been physical with me before when his temper was high, something that I had told you before in confidence, Henry, and yet you saw fit to send him to my room." "I'm very disappointed in you." "Very disappointed." "I'm sorry." "I didn't think." "No, you did not." "What happened then, Mrs. Tammery?" "I have told you this." "Must I go through this questioning again?" "Well, once more, if you don't mind." "George became enraged, as he was wont to do." "Danny shouted for him to stop and grabbed at his arm." "George was much larger than Danny and easily threw him off." "He grabbed me and threw me to the floor." "He advanced on Danny and..." "Danny shot him." "I screamed, and I think I may have swooned." "Twice?" "No, once." "Who swoons twice?" "No, I mean, Danny holt shot him twice." "Yes." "I suppose he must have." "Yes." "Camille Tammery saw Danny holt shoot her husband dead." "You and I found Danny at the scene ourselves, his gun in his hand." "I know, but something doesn't feel quite right about it." "What'd he shoot him with?" "Excuse me?" "The weapon, what was it?" "It was a Colt .45" ".45 caliber?" "Yeah, so?" "Where were you at this time?" "Down at the desk in the lobby." "Just downstairs from where Mrs. Tammery lost her husband?" "That would be correct, yeah." "And you, you heard the shots?" "I beg your pardon?" "Help yourself." "You'll have to forgive me, Mr. Mannors." "The smell of fresh coffee got the better of me." "I wondered if you'd, heard the shots from where you were down in the lobby." "I heard the commotion." "There were screams." "But you did not hear the reports from the young man's pistol?" "I don't know." "I..." "The, Colt .45" "is very a powerful handgun, yet you didn't hear the reports just a floor below Mrs. Tammery's room." "Well, I might have." "I'm not sure." "Why are you so interested in this anyway?" "As far as I'm concerned, this affair is none of your business." "Who was the first person in the room after the shots were fired?" "Would that be you also?" "Yes." "I own the hotel." "I went up immediately." "When you heard the commotion, not the shots." "I don't remember hearing the damn shots!" "What the hell?" "Who is this man?" "Well, I'm the Marshall y'all are waiting for." "Well, that can't be." "We just wired the Marshall's office in laramie yesterday." "I didn't come here from laramie." "I came from rawlins." "It's much closer." "Excuse me?" "Well, you all wired the Marshall's office in laramie, and they wired me in rawlins knowing I'd be there, and, well, I came here." "Simple." "My apologies." "I just didn't expect..." "Look here, you could have identified yourself as soon as you got here." "Well, you told me to take a seat and wait my turn, so I..." "I did." "Besides, I wanted to hear the story." "Well, you have." "Almost." "I wonder what your prisoner has to say." "I hardly heard him breathe since I've been here." "Well, so far Danny holt hadn't said a word about it." "Not a single word." "Ain't that odd." "You know the boy, sheriff?" "He been much trouble before?" "No, just the usual boy mischief." "You surprised he killed a man?" "Very." "I mean, he's had a hard life by some standards, having no folks and all, but, you know, he does odd jobs, stays out of trouble." "Odd jobs?" "What sort of odd jobs?" "Well, he runs errands, deliveries, you know, that type of thing." "Does more around here to help the sheriff than anyone." "Sweeps up, looks after the place when Tom's on his rounds." "Even brings meals to the sheriff and any prisoners." "You've taken him under your wing?" "The sheriff is to be commended, Marshall." "Danny holt never knew his father." "As his mother, Molly holt, never put a name to him before she died in childbirth." "Molly herself, well, she was one of Harlan Pritz's, working ladies." "She was one of his whores." "Just say it, ambrose." "That's enough of that, Caleb." "Harlan Pritz?" "The owner of the dogwood saloon." "There's a half dozen men could have been Danny's father." "A dozen more she never knew the names of." "Look, I believe the Marshall understands." "Danny holt isn't saying what's happened, and that's the long and short of it." "Well, let me ask you this, sheriff, where were you when the killing took place?" "Well..." "I was, across the road from the hotel making my rounds when I..." "I saw ambrose here." "Mayor Taylor..." "At your service." "As I was saying," "I was making my rounds when I saw mayor Taylor sitting out in front of the mercantile, so I just stopped to pass a few words with him." "You heard the shots?" "No, come to think of it..." "Mr. Mannors ran out from the door of his hotel to us and shouted." "And, we rushed over there." "You and the mayor?" "That's right." "And you were in, Mrs. Tammery's room within moments and nobody could come or go without you seeing them first." "Right again." "And, well, you sent for the doctor, of course." "Well, yeah, we sent Pete, the owner of the mercantile, to fetch doctor moss." "Yes, doctor moss at your service." "So, doctor, Pete found you in your office and brought you back to the hotel?" "Yes." "We found the good doctor at the barrell top saloon, in the middle of the day, I might add." "For the love of..." "Just stating the facts." "In any case, doctor moss, you were on the scene in short order and examined the deceased." "I was, and I did, and he was dead." "Dead as hell." "With two bullet wounds?" "To the chest." "From a. 45 Colt?" "What?" "The bullet wounds, they were from that particular model of Colt pistol?" "Well, yes, I assume." "Danny holt was standing there with a pistol in his hand." "Which was missing two rounds." "I checked." "So, what you're saying is, you didn't see the need to examine the bullet wounds, what with the boy standing there with a fired weapon and all?" "Well, it seemed pretty obvious." "It does, doesn't it?" "I don't suppose you examined the slugs either?" "I mean, isn't that what you'd normally do, though?" "Examine the..." "What the hell for?" "I mean, good god, man." "Yes, I would normally examine those slugs, but in this case, we had a eyewitness to the shooting, a dead guy on the ground with two bullet wounds in his chest, and Danny holt standing there with a pistol that had been fired twice," "meaning it was pretty obvious." "I mean, normal procedure be damned." "To examine those slugs would have been a waste of my time and taxpayer money." "All right, very good, very good." "I'll ju..." "I'll..." "The body's at Roman's." "Give me 15 minutes and you'll have your damn slugs." "Roman's?" "Roman Pearl, the undertaker." "There's a great immediacy to this, Caleb." "Don't stop at the saloon along the way." "You don't need any more to drink today." "And lord knows, you could use some time away from them gaming tables." "I heard how your luck's been running lately." "Mayor, why don't you accompany the good doctor just to make sure everything's done all proper like?" "No, I want to do this myself, damn you all." "Come on, Caleb." "You had me and the sheriff witness your postmortem examinations before." "I'd rather you didn't." "Let's just go." "The sooner we end this nonsense, the sooner we get the whole matter behind us." "Do resolve this matter quickly, doctor." "We wouldn't want any unnecessary investigations holding things up, now would we?" "So what do you think of this here, Marshall white?" "He's becoming a damn nuisance, if you ask me." "This whole examination is pointless." "Danny holt shot that man and with that Colt .45" "of his." "I agree with you, I certainly do." "But I suppose this can't hurt." "Just as an assurance, you understand?" "For the courts, you know." "Gentlemen, what can I do for you?" "I was about to close down services for the evening." "Well, Roman, we're here about the unfortunate Mr. Tammery." "By unfortunate, you mean deceased?" "He means the dead guy on this pine door here." "What about him?" "Well, as unlikely as it seems," "Caleb here has to take a look at the deceased." "Really?" "To what ends?" "I promise you, your healing powers, however formidable you may hold them, will do Mr. Tammery no good tonight." "Just let me look at the damn body, Roman." "He's all yours." "He's not going anywhere tonight." "I see you don't have him boxed up yet." "I'm saving that boxing up for in the morning." "He's being shipped back to rawlins, I suppose?" "That is the plan." "And how's the lovely widow?" "Grievous in her mourning, I suppose?" "Um, well, I suppose." "She is a striking lady." "I should visit her at the hotel and express my condolences." "Well, she's not in the hotel just now..." "May I use your instruments, Roman?" "Of course." "Whatever is he up to?" "Well, we need the slugs out of the body for evidence against Danny holt." "I assumed his guilt had already been established." "Well, not to the satisfaction of the U.S. Marshall that's come to remand him to the court in laramie." "You should find whatever you want to work with there, Caleb." "I doubt if your patient will have any complaint over precision or technique." "Are you two gonna get out of my way or are you planning to dig around in his chest yourselves?" "Well, get in there." "While we're here, ambrose," "I wonder if we might discuss finances." "Finances?" "Whose finances?" "Mine, specifically." "Well, what about yours, specifically?" "The town normally pays me for my services." "Well, if there's no next of kin," "I naturally assume that Camille Tammery had made arrangements for her husband." "Naturally, and in this case, you are correct." "Mrs. Tammery has provided for the arrangements for her husband." "Quite stingily, I might add." "Well then, what?" "Well, there's the teamster who tumbled from the wagon a week ago." "The young man found dead behind the dogwood saloon two weeks prior." "I provided services for both." "Well, the bare minimum..." "The bare minimum is all that the town provides, and I have yet to be paid." "Well, yes, there are some circumstances that, may defer payment, just for a short time, you understand." "Is there a shortage in the tax coffers, ambrose?" "Well, not a shortage exactly." "It's, simply, money is tight, you know?" "Should I approach the town treasurer?" "That's exactly what I would do." "That's a great idea." "Take it up with him, and..." "Ambrose?" "Yes?" "Aren't you the acting town treasurer until one is appointed?" "Yes, well, I'll look into it." "Damn it, Caleb!" "How long does it take to remove two slugs out of a dead man?" "Well, I'll be damned." "Those aren't from a Colt .45 pistol." "Should they be?" "Well, that's what Danny holt was holding." "I'd say there's a problem." "My, but it has grown stuffy in here." "Henry, I should like some air." "Of course." "Just a minute, please." "I prefer we all stay put until the doctor returns." "Well, I should think that I would be allowed to come and go as I please." "Some special consideration should be given, don't you think?" "You do remember that I am a grieving widow?" "Well, a widow anyway." "Now just what in the hell do you mean by that?" "Easy now, Henry." "See?" "Here's what's been eating at you, sheriff." "The fact that nobody can remember hearing them shots." "If that .45 caliber had been fired up in Mrs. Tammery's room, twice in fact, well, you and the mayor probably would have heard it across the street." "And Mr. Mannors here, well, he certainly would have heard it down in the lobby." "Well, by god." "Yeah, see, your instincts were good." "Your guts are just bothering you about the detail, but you couldn't put your finger on why." "So what are you saying?" "What he's saying, Henry, is that a different gun killed George Tammery." "That's why we need to see those slugs." "That is correct." "But Danny holt's gun had been fired twice, and we have Camille's testimony." "Well, that gun's important for another reason." "If Danny had shot Mr. Tammery because the man was advancing on him, a single slug from that Colt .45 in the chest from a foot away would have sufficed." "It'd have thrown Tammery back across the room and put him down quick." "So why the second shot?" "Well, yeah." "I mean, one shot from a gun like that would have been self defense." "Yeah, but two shots from that gun?" "Well, that's just plain murder." "So, what does all this mean?" "I am sure that I do not understand anything this Marshall says." "You're a beautiful woman, and that's a fact." "She ain't pretty enough to hang for, boy." "Tell me, Danny, how'd you come to fire them two shots from your pistol?" "You own your hotel outright, Mr. Mannors?" "I do." "I assume Mrs. Tammery knows that." "Now, Marshall," "I certainly understand what you're saying about the gun and all, no questions there, but you're losing me again." "Exactly what is it you're implying now?" "Yeah, help us out here, Marshall." "It seems to me from what I've seen in the short time that I've been here, that, Mr. Mannors and Mrs. Tammery have become, quite familiar with one another." "What with him taking her hand and calling her Camille and all." "Hell, he's become downright protective even." "Well, yes, we have become close." "What of it?" "Become close how fast?" "Just how long have you been here in town, Mrs. Tammery?" "Well, just a little over a week." "Is this important somehow?" "Maybe." "Maybe." "Seems awful short time for you two to become sweet on one another." "My." "I do love the way you express yourself, Marshall white." "It makes you seem so..." "Simple." "You know, now that I think of it, maybe..." "Maybe a week's not too short a time for cupid's arrow to strike, not when one party's intentionally trying to make that happen." "Your point, sir?" "My point, Mr. Mannors, is that I did not just happen to be in rawlins when I got the telegram telling me to come here to look into a lady's husband being murdered." "In fact, I was on the trail of a young woman by the name of Lucy silver." "Who?" "Lucy silver." "She's an ex-saloon girl who's made a short but colorful career of, marrying or sometimes just romancing men of financial substance and absconding with their money." "Now, generally speaking, she just leaves 'em." "But occasionally," "she leaves 'em dead." "The hell you say." "Even before she left the saloon, she was no one to be crossed." "She once shot a fella during an argument in medicine bow in a saloon she was working in then." "Shot him right in the leg, right in front of the medicine bow mayor." "Lucy, don't." "Don't what?" "Damn it, Lucy." "But she does sound like a handful." "She is." "One man has already met his maker under suspicious circumstances, and at least three more have been robbed blind." "So when I heard that a woman meeting her general description had fleeced a fella in rawlins and let out for parts unknown, well, I hurried there right quick." "But by the time I got there, well, the fella had already left town in pursuit of the aforementioned lady." "And you missed 'em both." "Yeah, yeah." "But then, by god," "I got a wire from laramie telling me a stranger had been killed right here in dogwood pass in his estranged wife's hotel room." "Marshall, what was the name of that fella from rawlins, the one that got fleeced?" "I think you already figured that out, sheriff Ramey." "George Tammery." "George Tammery did not come here to reconcile with you, Lucy." "He came here to get his money back." "Things got rough." "You killed him." "And you'd already started working on Mr. Mannors here for his money and property." "Nonsense." "Yes, I left George in rawlins." "I had already admitted that." "And of course I took a little money with me." "Now, I wouldn't run out into the wild with nothing but the clothes on my back and an old buggy, now would I?" "And as for this "Lucy silver,"" "I have never heard of her." "Well, let me educate you on her." "She's about your height and weight, got your same beautiful auburn hair, and she's smart enough and pretty enough to win men over in short order." "And since leaving the saloons and going out on her love 'em and leave 'em games, she's been accused of killing one man with a Pearl-handled silver-plated .32 derringer." "She's carried it in a box since her saloon days." "They say she never goes anywhere without it, hence the moniker "Lucy silver."" "Now that is a charming story, Marshall white." "Almost as charming as worrying a poor, defenseless young widow who only just lost her husband." "My, but the Marshall service must be proud of you." "I think I'll be going to my hotel room now, sheriff." "Henry, I left my buggy out front." "Would you be a dear and put it in the livery for me?" "Of course, Camille." "Good god, look what we have here, Marshall." "Show him, Caleb." "Here's your damn slugs, Marshall." "Damn sure not a .45 slug." "Damn sure not." "It's more like .32 caliber I'd say, wouldn't you?" "Well, what does it all mean?" "Well, the Marshall here, he believes our Camille Tammery is actually an ex-saloon girl named Lucy silver who's been getting men to fall in love with her and taking off with their money." "She's also been known to carry a silver-plated derringer, one she's used more than once." "I'll be damned." "Did you hear that, Caleb?" "Yeah, yeah." "Ma'am, I'm gonna have to ask you to reach in your bodice and if anything's there," "please produce it." "I will do no such thing." "And you certainly will not go in there yourself, sheriff." "No." "No, I won't." "But doc moss will." "It's all right, ma'am." "I'm a physician." "Well, I'll be." "Sheriff, I'm ready to talk." "Finally got something to say, Danny?" "She told part of the truth." "He did push his way in, and he was talking awful mean to her." "George Tammery?" "Yes, sir." "Did he strike her or shove her to the floor?" "No, I guess not." "He was just talking mean." "He didn't want her back, did he?" "He just wanted his money." "That's what he said." "And then what happened?" "He yelled." "She pulled her piece." "She shot him." "Why didn't you tell me?" "She'd been talking to me a lot since she came to dogwood, saying she liked me a lot more than she did Mr. Mannors there." "She said she'd have his money as soon as she could get her hands on it and that her and me would go away together." "Well, I guess I can see how you'd fall for it." "I did." "I guess I love her." "So when Tammery came after her and she'd killed him, she convinced you to take the blame." "Told you to trust her and keep your mouth shut, something like that?" "Yes, sir." "Just like that." "She said her plan would make it sound like I had to shoot him to protect both of us." "She said even if I did go to jail, it wouldn't be for long." "And she'd wait for me as long as it took." "And I suppose she quickly told you this while Mr. Mannors ran out of the hotel room for help." "Yes, sir." "And you believed her?" "Still do believe she meant it, even just a little bit." "Well, don't you believe it." "She's smart, and she's fooled older and wiser men than you." "She wanted us to believe you did it with your gun." "That way her fancy little derringer wouldn't enter into it, nor the possibility that she did it herself." "Pretty much the way you figured it." "Just one thing I can't figure, though." "What's that?" "Well, Danny's gun had been fired twice." "Why and how, without being heard?" "Well, we were out for a buggy ride." "She asked to shoot my Colt, saying that she never shot one before and wanted to see what it was like." "And you figured you'd just reload it later." "You know George Tammery's on his way into town when you shot that pistol, Lucy?" "Hell no." "That was just good luck." "Marshall, I'm about to let Danny out of that cage." "Should I put her in it or do you want to take her to laramie right now?" "Well, I gu..." "I...!" "Get your goddamn hands off me, you lecherous bastard!" "We're going to take a little buggy ride, you and me." "If you're real good and these boys here don't do anything stupid, you might just live through the night." "Marshall white, you knew so damn much all about me and my pretty silver little toy." "Too bad nobody told you about the pistol I keep strapped to my leg under my skirts." "It sure is." "That a new practice, Lucy?" "New enough it seems." "Don't forget you owe me money, Caleb." "Go." "Hurry it up." "Take the reins, old man." "You're gonna drive and I'll keep this pistol in your ribs." "Don't you men even think about following us." "If I see you behind us, I'll kill him." "I believe you, Lucy." "You can't let her get away." "She'll kill him as soon as she's clear." "What the hell?" "You pulled the king bolts out of the buggy." "Yep." "Did you rig my buggy, Marshall white?" "Yes I did, Lucy." "God, I hate you." "I imagine so." "So, you could only have done it before you went into Ramey's office." "Right again." "So you knew all along?" "Well, I suspected, but I figured I'd better play it safe." "So why let all of that go on in the office?" "Why not just call me out right away?" "Well, like I said, I only suspected that you were Lucy silver." "And if it turned out to be the case, which it did," "I couldn't be sure that you did the shooting." "I had to let things play out." "As it turned out, it was you and with another fella's money on the run again." "And a damn fine buggy." "And a damn fine buggy, which I'm gonna have to ask you to step down out of now." "My!" "Marshall white!" "Are you trying to see how far I'll go to negotiate my freedom?" "Pardon me, Lucy, my hand slipped." "Sure it did, Marshall white." "Or should I call you Moses, now that we're becoming somewhat intimate?" "You know, Lucy, they told me you had a sense of humor." "I guess they weren't lying." "I'm just a laugh a minute, Moses." "You should keep me around and find out." "You all right, doc moss?" "You ain't hurt, are you?" "No, I'm not hurt." "I'm startled, certainly." "Damn woman scared the wits out of me." "Not hurt, though?" "No." "No, thank god." "Good." "Sheriff," "I suggest you lock up Lucy here and the good doctor." "Did you say lock up doc moss?" "What the hell are you talking about now, Marshall?" "Well, it bothered me a little when Lucy hiked up her skirts and produced that weapon without any of us seeing it, like it just appeared in her hand." "So just now when I was helping her out of the wagon," "I made sure to get a real good feel of her leg." "Yes, you did, Marshall white." "Maybe you ought to be arrested for that." "And I found that she is not wearing a holster on her leg." "She lied to us about that." "Well, then where'd she get the pistol?" "She probably pulled it off of doc moss here when she fainted into his arms, which was planned for our benefit." "She probably pulled it out from underneath his vest." "Henry Mannors could have given her that gun." "I mean, he was beside her the entire time." "And he is, after all, her lover." "I did no such thing!" "Well, somebody gave her that gun." "My gun, to be exact." "Roman?" "That's right, ambrose." "After you and Caleb left my office," "I noticed my pistol was missing from my desk drawer." "So you see, Marshall, either mayor Taylor or doctor moss could have passed her that gun." "Well, that's a damn lie, and a crazy one at that." "Why, Henry Mannors had more reason to help her than any of us, being he's in love with her." "I certainly would, if I was he." "Just look at her." "My god." "Not you, too." "She's so lovely." "Alive?" "You probably don't see much of that." "Marshall, why do you say doc moss passed her that gun?" "I mean, why would he do it?" "Money, sheriff." "Money to pay off them gambling debts I heard y'all mention." "The same reason he didn't want to produce those two bullets that killed George Tammery after he'd been asked." "He wanted us to believe that Danny had done the shooting with his gun." "See, if we all believed that he killed her husband, well, then Lucy would appear to be a grieving widow who stood to acquire all of George Tammery's holdings." "And not just the money she took when she left town, but all his property and business, and she could afford to pay the doc a pretty penny to keep her in the clear." "Mayor Taylor needs money just as much as doctor moss." "To replace the funds he skimmed from the town's tax coffer." "That's a lie!" "Then where's the money gone to, ambrose, if not into your pockets?" "Stop it, men!" "I said stop it, before you hurt each other!" "Not much chance of that, sheriff." "I've seen better catfights between tired old whores." "Councilman, all of you, you've let this woman's influence reduce you to fighting in the street." "You can't blame me for all of this." "It seems as though your town has had its share of dirty little secrets before, starting with these little councilmen of yours." "Marshall, I understand your reasoning, but when would Lucy silver and doctor moss" "have arranged such a deal?" "Think about it." "There must have been some time when they were alone." "Yeah, after the shooting." "I was questioning Danny and looking through her room and doctor moss went in the other room to examine her 'cause George Tammery had roughed her up, and she had swooned, after all." "Yes." "Yes, she did." "Just like she did in your office this evening." "Of course, the doctor didn't find any injuries, but it did give her an opportunity to make an offer of money." "So why'd she lie about the gun being holstered to her leg?" "To protect doctor moss?" "Well, she had to have us believe that he was her hostage so that we wouldn't try and stop her escape." "Other than that, she don't give a damn about him." "Damn right about that." "Did doctor moss know you had that pistol in your drawer, Mr. Pearl?" "Yes, he did." "I showed it to him the other day in hopes of him buying it." "I'm that short of cash." "The doctor couldn't afford to pay you for that pistol, could he?" "No, he could not." "How am I supposed to have any money?" "You know how the people in this dirt town pay me for my services?" "They pay me with pies and fabric and grain." "Mrs. potts paid me for treating her husband's broken foot with a chicken." "What the hell am I supposed to do with a damn chicken?" "Ended up selling it to Annie's eatery for a few pennies, that's what I did." "What money you do get, you drink and gamble away." "Yeah, I owe the saloons in this town." "But the barrell top won't let me in the main door anymore and the owner of the dogwood threatened me." "Threatened you how?" "With bodily harm, damn it!" "He promised to break one of my fingers if I didn't give him any money this very week." "And then continue to break bones until my debt's paid or I'm dead." "Well, there you have it, sheriff." "It's probably about time you take Danny holt out and put Lucy and the doctor in, don't you think?" "I suppose so." "Let's go." "And what about my gun?" "Well, I suppose it's evidence, isn't it?" "I mean, we have to hold on to it." "I suppose we got enough witnesses here for depositions about what's happened." "It hasn't been fired." "I don't seen any reason why we can't give him his piece back." "Well, that's that, then." "Lucy, what should I do?" "Go home, you damn fool." "Thank you for everything." "I know you didn't want them to take me." "Go on, now." "We'll talk later." "About time we did." "I guess I know why you were set on" "Danny holt not going to laramie to stand trial, and it had nothing to do with what gun had been used, did it?" "I mean, if you'd thought of that, you'd have said so." "Truth is..." "You really thought Danny holt had done it." "You had me fooled on that one, sheriff." "You're right, I thought he had done it." "I was so sure, I told him to stay quiet and I'd get him out of it somehow, but damn fool I am, I almost got him hung." "Well, you didn't know about Lucy silver." "You gonna arrest me, too, Marshall?" "After all, I was protecting a suspect" "I thought was guilty as hell." "No, I don't suppose I will." "I don't expect I can arrest the whole damn town on one night now, can I?" "Well, that's a relief to hear that." "I don't know if you're a bad man, sheriff." "Probably not." "A better man might have acknowledged the boy, though." "I got a wife, Marshall white, and standing in the community." "I just couldn't lose all that." "I just couldn't, so I just tried to help him in little ways." "What the hell are you two talking about?" "Well, I'll be damned." "The high and mighty sheriff is Danny holt's shameful daddy." "Come on." "Well, ain't that a laugh?" "Don't put me in there with her." "She's already put a gun to my head." "Doc, it's just for the night." "I won't bite..." "Much." "Well, you don't seem too concerned with the fix you're in." "Hell." "I've gotten out of worse than this, Moses, and you have me now, and, yes, you'll take me to laramie tomorrow." "But you'll see me again." "You put up a good front, Lucy, I'll give you that." "But if you weren't scared, you wouldn't have risked everything to try and escape." "And you and I both know that, well, you're facing either prison or the noose in laramie." "I hate to say it, but that's the truth." "You can go straight to hell, Marshall white." "So can you." "Why me?" "'Cause." "I'll be at Henry Mannors' hotel if anybody needs me." "Marshall, thank you." "Danny'd still be in that cell if it wasn't for you." "All right." "Hey, what can you tell me about the dogwood pass saloon?" "Nice place." "Liquor, games, music." "Got two pianos." "What about the owner?" "Harlan Pritz, he's a hardcase, but, you know..." "Do you believe he threatened doctor moss?" "I don't know about that." "You don't?" "Would you know if he ran a crooked game?" "I've heard rumors of such, but I haven't seen any evidence." "Afraid that's all I can tell you." "All right, then." "See you in the morning." "Good night, Marshall." "Good night." "You have a good evening, Marshall." "Well." "Decided to give it another try, I see." "Smart man." "You know, the more you do it, the better your chances." "Place your bet, my friend." "All right." "Now you just focus on the one with the little pea in the middle right here." "Shouldn't be too hard." "All right." "Unh." "Well!" "We have a winner." "Congratulations." "And that goes for everybody out there." "Y'all can win this game." "I thought you were in Sheridan." "I was." "Now I'm here in dogwood pass looking for you." "Doesn't look like you're looking for me." "It looks like you're drinking your dinner." "Checked the hotel." "You weren't there." "Figured you'd make your way here sooner or later." "Well, you were wrong." "I was on my way past to the hotel." "But now you're here, so I was right." "You look tired." "Have a seat." "Wade, you don't know the half of it." "I got into town this evening..." "After running all the way from rawlins." "Come here to pick up a murder suspect to take to laramie." "Damn if I didn't walk into a hornet's nest." "Yeah, first off, there's this mayor that I'm pretty sure is skimming off the town coffers." "Then there's a doctor that's so desperate to pay off his gambling debts that he's willing to help a murderess escape." "And then there's the sheriff himself, who got a shameful secret, and he's trying to protect someone he's pretty sure is a killer." "Sounds like the pillars of the community have their feet anchored in the sand." "Well, they surely do." "They surely do." "And it was brought about by one devious woman who's trying to keep her neck out of the noose as well." "My god, Wade, I don't think I've seen a more desperate group of people in my entire life." "Been a long time since I've seen you so frustrated." "Have a drink." "All right, just one, and then I'm wanting some bed." "You had a glass waiting for me." "Told you I was expecting you." "Seems like I know you better than you do." "Yeah, they did this earlier." "Both are good." "Watch the girl." "How does she do that?" "Don't know, but she does it." "I couldn't do that right side up." "Me neither, which would explain why they're not applauding for us." "That is a hell of an act." "It is." "This is quite a saloon." "Yeah." "Gaming, liquor, whores." "It's about everything some fellas would want." "I heard the owner's a real hardcase." "Strong-arm type." "Been threatening people." "I suppose you want to get into that." "I wouldn't mind." "He got a name?" "Harlan Pritz." "You boys need anything else?" "Harlan Pritz, he here tonight?" "He's in the office." "You know him?" "I'd like a word with him if possible." "Well, I'll see." "So, before Mr. Pritz gets here and you ruin his night, mind telling me about this prisoner you gotta transport?" "Well, the prisoner is this young fella, only it turns out he didn't do the killing." "See, I was on the trail of Lucy silver when I was in rawlins." "I knew that, too." "Wade loveless, U.S. Marshall and fortuneteller." "Well, why don't you tell me what I'm gonna do?" "You're touchy tonight." "Tell your story." "Well, long story short..." "Boy, that would be nice for a change." "Well, it turns out Lucy's in town." "She's here under the name of Mrs. Camille Tammery." "There a Mr. Tammery?" "Well, there was." "He'd be the dead husband over in the undertaker's place." "Lucy killed him?" "Yep." "I'm Harlan Pritz, the owner here." "You asked to see me?" "Mr. Pritz, it's a mighty fine saloon you got here." "I know." "What can I do for you?" "You can start by running straight games, and you can stop threatening people that owe you." "And if somebody's losing and can't afford to pay, then you throw them out." "You don't keep stringing them along and running up their debt." "What the hell are you guys?" "Name's Moses white." "This is my partner, Wade loveless." "Yeah." "Yeah, I heard about you guys." "You got quite a reputation throughout the territory." "We've heard a bit about you, too." "Now here's what's what." "We're going to start sending ringers in here to try your games." "And if everything pans out to be straight, well, then all will be well." "But if it doesn't," "Marshall loveless and I will come back and clean house." "And you'll be the first to go." "You savvy?" "That's simple enough, I guess." "Well, we made it simple just for you." "People don't normally talk to me the way you fellas are because most people know better." "Well, I guess we don't." "Why don't you just go on now?" "You send the boy down to the sheriff's office right away and bring Tom Ramey up here on the double." "Where'd I leave off?" "Lucy silver." "Where's she at now?" "She's over locked up." "I'm going to take her to laramie in the morning, her and her accomplice." "Nope." "What?" "Lucy and her accomplice will have to sit for a couple of days." "Marshall bird's coming through to transport 'em." "Well, he's coming through to transport one prisoner, but I figure he can take two, right?" "Why is that?" "Because you and I have to hightail it to donner." "You going to tell me why we need to go to donner?" "Well, some fellas, they robbed a bank there." "A good sum of money." "Shootout ensued." "Sheriff Bixby and a deputy got killed." "Lucas Bixby's dead?" "Afraid so." "That's a damn shame." "He was a good man." "Damn fine lawman, too." "Yeah, he was." "Anyway, the boys that, killed 'em, they got killed themselves." "A few of 'em got away." "We are supposed to go post haste to see if we can pick up their trail." "Post haste?" "That means right away." "I know what it means." "Then why'd you ask?" "What's the emergency, Harlan?" "They are, Tom." "Moses white?" "You know that bastard?" "He's the Marshall that came to pick up the prisoner." "I don't know the other fella." "The other fella's a Marshall, too, Tom." "His name's Wade loveless." "They've got quite the reputation in the territory." "So what's the problem?" "So the problem is, they just threatened to close me down." "Why?" "Apparently someone's been saying bad things about me." "Have any idea who that might be?" "Marshall white was asking some questions, but I put him off as best I could." "Your best ain't good enough, Tom." "Well, they're leaving in the morning." "They're taking Lucy silver to laramie to stand trial." "Lucy silver?" "Who's that?" "What trial are you talking about?" "It's Camille Tammery's real name." "Turns out she killed her husband herself." "So, you end up getting your son off after all." "He didn't do it." "Tom, what the hell is going on here?" "I heard about the council members having a fight out in the street." "And what, now doc moss is in jail?" "Well, he tried to help Lucy escape." "And it turns out he's so scared of you he was gonna take money from her to pay you off." "Well, how can he pay me if he's in prison?" "What?" "You want me to just write off that debt?" "Is that it?" "Harlan, you need to slow down." "You know how you get when you're drunk." "Besides, with the marshalls here, we don't need any trouble right now." "You don't tell me what we need, Tom!" "You don't have the first goddamn idea!" "You've lost control of this town." "We got a murder in the hotel, we got councilmen fighting in the street." "We got doc locked up in jail with my money in his pocket, and now these goddamn marshalls coming here threatening me?" "Me, Tom!" "And everything I've built!" "Well, let me tell you this, Tom." "I'm not gonna go down alone." "If I go down, you're going down." "Don't think I ain't gonna blab about how you've been padding your pockets while I'm running my game." "You can't do that." "It'll ruin me." "My wife..." "It's what you deserve, Tom." "Ever since this dead husband business, this whole town's gone to shit, and you've let it." "Harlan, I've got things under control." "Like hell you have!" "But don't worry, Tom, I'll get us back to square." "Give me that six-shooter." "Them marshalls is getting ready to leave." "You grab that ten-Gauge and you follow me out back, all right?" "Harlan, those are U.S. marshalls." "Are you crazy as well as drunk?" "You just can't..." "Tom, we do not have any choice." "They are gonna tear down everything we've built here, if not now, then later." "They are gonna come back, Tom." "Marshall white as much as told me so." "You are the sheriff in this town." "You can cover up anything that we do tonight and no one in this town is gonna dare oppose me." "We could do this and we can get away with it." "Now come on." "Harlan, just listen to me." "No, Tom, you listen to me." "You're in this as deep as I am." "Now it is time for you to man up and show me what you got." "Or not." "Come on, let's go." "Marshall!" "I'd have a word with you!" "Harlan, don't." "Sheriff Ramey!" "I don't know what your part in all this has been, but you do not have to die tonight." "Don't go out like this." "Better listen to him, friend." "No matter what you've been, you're still a lawman, damn it." "Make the right choice." "They sure are dead." "Yeah, well, I just happen to know the undertaker." "You weren't lying." "This is one hell of a town." "Thank you, Mr. Carver, for your excellent service." "You're more than welcome, sir." "You come back anytime." "No offense, Mr. Carver, but I sincerely hope not." "Marshall." "Ma'am." "That was a mighty fine breakfast." "Mr. Carver sure runs a pretty tight business." "That's about all I could say for dogwood pass." "I am not sorry to be quit of it." "No need to check on the prisoners, I guess?" "Hell no." "No, they can stay in that cell till Marshall bird gets here to take 'em to laramie." "I want nothing more to do with that lot." "What about sheriff Ramey?" "Well, I'm not sure what to do about him." "He's been up to mischief, that's for sure." "But I'm not sure exactly what." "We could just let him be and let the chips fall where they do." "I don't things are gonna turn out too nice for him anyhow." "I can't believe you, you son of a bitch!" "Tell you one thing, he ain't a happy man right now." "So you don't want to deal with him either?" "I'm leaving you!" "Nope." "Yep, unfortunate situations in this town, that's for sure." "Yeah, it's probably been that way since the first two boards were nailed together." "Just took Lucy silver's husband to bring it out." "Go home, Henry, you're drunk." "Hello, Henry." "Camille?" "It's Lucy, you damn fool." "Now, where's my buggy?"