Blackjack

48

“And did you also learn Ruth Ann’s husband knew about the two of you?”

“Oh, yeah... sure I did.”

“How did you find that out?”

Black laughed.

“She told me.”

“And how did you react?”

“Oh, I did a goddamn jig...” Black said.

Black’s eyes narrowed.

“Listen,” he said. “I was mad as hell.”

“And what did you do with that madness?”

“What?” Black said, as if he were just snapped back to being present in the moment.

“Did you act out in any way?”

“What do you mean?”

“Did you tell her to leave, did you walk out, did she run off crying, did you hit her, did—”

“That is what we had the fight about at the goddamn inn that night.”

Juniper made a note. Then leveled a look at Black.

“If you did not kill Ruth Ann—” Juniper said.

“I didn’t,” he said with a snap.

Juniper nodded.

“Okay... Who do you think did?”

“I don’t know.”

“Do you have any idea, do you know anyone who would have a motive to kill her?”

“Hell, goddamn, for all I know she has a slew of men with a motive... I’m telling you she was crazy.”

“Do you know if there were others she was doing the ‘obvious way’ with besides you?”

“I don’t know but I damn sure would not put it past her... but I don’t think so.”

“Why?”

“’Cause she was obsessed with me.”

“Do you think perhaps it could have been her husband that murdered her?”

“Well... ya know,” Black said with a sarcastic tone, “it damn sure could have been.”

“Do you know if he ever hurt her? Physically?”

“Not that I know of, no... But being around her for any length of time would make most men want to do something to her physically, that is how she liked it. Don’t think she was comfortable unless there were chips on the table. Taller the stack the better, and now that I think about it, the more players the better. Maybe there were others like me that had anted up.”

“But did she say anything, did you learn anything specifically about her husband, in respect to you?”

“She told me he was mad as hell. She played him, I’m sure, like she was playing me. She’s a sharp if I ever saw one.”

“What else did she tell you about him.”

Black shook his head.

“Nothing, really... other than she said he was not the type to do anything about it.”

“The following day, after her murder, you left Denver?”

“Yes.”

“How do you know she was murdered, then? It was not until many days later her body was discovered.”

“Well, I am just... I don’t know, assuming.”

“For your sake and mine, Mr. Black, let’s avoid assumptions altogether.”

Black nodded.

“When was the last time you saw Ruth Ann?”

“The night of the argument,” Black said. “At the Bloom’s Inn?”

“Bloom’s Inn?”

“Yes,” he said. “Where I was staying.”

“What happened, did she just walk out? When and where exactly did you last have eyes on Ruth Ann?”

“That night, we argued. I told her to leave. She was angry as hell and she stormed out.”

“What time?”

He shook his head.

“I say about eleven o’clock in the evening.”

“And you never saw her again?”

“No.”

“You are certain?”

“Yes.”

“Did she leave out the front door or the rear door of the inn?”

“I don’t know,” he said. “She left my upstairs room and that was the last I saw of her.”

Juniper glanced to us then looked back to Black.

“Then, the following day you departed Denver, for... where?”

“Here,” he said. “To get ready for the opening of the new hall here.”

Juniper looked at his notes.

“But you were in Las Vegas prior, were you not?”

“Well, yes, I had a few weeks in between, some time off, I had been working nonstop for a long time and I like Vegas, I have friends there, and yes, I was there.”

“And that is where you met with Truitt Shirley and Ricky Ravenfield?”

“Yes.”

“And you hired them?”

“I did.”

“Why?”

“I felt, I knew, my life was in danger.”

“Danger from whom?”

“There was a bounty on my head.”

“How did you know this?”

“I received a wire from Denver that Ruth Ann had been murdered and I was the prime suspect and that the chief of police had put a bounty on my head.”

Black looked to Virgil and me.

“I’ve been in this part of the country for a long time,” Black said. “I’ve spent a good amount of time elsewhere, Saint Louis, Frisco, Boston, and the like, but I know these parts... Santa Fe, Las Cruces, New Mexico. And I know about bounty hunters and I knew I was being set up.”

“Set up?”

“Yes, somebody was out to get me,” he said. “Ruth Ann’s husband, his father, I don’t know exactly, but somebody.”

“So you hired Truitt and Ricky?”

“I did.”

Juniper jotted down a few notes, then nodded, looking at his notepad for a moment. He looked back to Virgil and me, then looked back to Black.

“It would be a good idea if you spiffed up a bit for the proceedings,” Juniper said. “Not too much, but some. I will see to it you have your proper clothing and grooming supplies.”

Black nodded.

“Thank you...”

Juniper got to his feet and turned for the door, but then turned back to Black.

“One more thing...”

“Yes?” Black said.

“Who was it that told you you were the prime suspect in this murder and that there was a bounty on your head? How did you find that out?”

“One of Mr. Pritchard’s employees sent me a wire.”

“Who?”

“Ms. Angel,” he said. “Daphne Angel.”