Bounty on a Baron

Chapter Four

When Decker reached the saloon he found the front door open. They weren’t open for business, but the bartender was inside, just starting to take the chairs down off the tables.

“What can I do for you?” he asked Decker coldly.

“I got an invitation from Rigger for breakfast.”

“Oh yeah,” the bartender said. “He’s waiting for you upstairs. Tell him I’ll send breakfast up.”

“I’ll tell him.”

Decker went up the stairs and knocked on the door of Rigger’s room. It was opened by Viola.

“Well,” she said, putting her hand on her hip, “don’t we smell pretty.”

Decker stepped past her into the room.

“Decker, glad you could come! Viola, go down and tell Carl—”

“Carl said he’d send breakfast up.”

“Great.” Rigger looked at the girl and said, “Okay, get lost.”

“Sure you don’t want me to stay?”

“I’m sure.”

Viola looked at Decker, then turned and left.

“That any way to treat a lady?” Decker asked.

Rigger laughed.

“If she were a lady, she sure wouldn’t be working here,” he said. “Besides, she loves it when I treat her like that. She thinks it means I love her.”

“Do you love her?”

“I love all my girls,” Rigger said, spreading his arms magnanimously. “Come on, Decker. Let’s go inside and have a seat. Breakfast’ll be here soon.”

Rigger led Decker into another room, where a large, round table was set up with everything you’d need for breakfast—except breakfast.

“Have a seat. You’re gonna love the food. Carl does things with eggs nobody else can.”

“I’m sure. Could we get to the discussion at hand?”

“Hmm? Oh, you mean what we talked about last night.”

“Right. The Baron.”

Rigger scratched underneath his chin and looked like he was concentrating on something.

“Yeah, I guess I could give you some idea of where to look. I can’t say he’s there, mind you, but you could start looking.”

“Where?”

“Up north. Montana.”

“Montana? Why would he be holed up in Montana?”

Rigger shrugged and said, “He likes the cold. Is it cold in Russia?”

“I don’t know,” Decker said.

“Well, the way I hear it, when he’s between jobs he goes up Montana way.”

“Where? Does he have a spread up there?”

Rigger shrugged and said, “Beats me. I guess you’ll have to go up there and find out.”

“I guess I’ll have to.”

“Montana’s a big place.”

“It’s a place to start.”

Decker stood up just as the door opened and Carl entered with breakfast.

“You ain’t leaving before you eat, are you?” Rigger asked.

That had been Decker’s intention, but suddenly he was hungry. Must have had something to do with the smell of bacon and eggs and biscuits and fried potatoes.

“After Carl went to all this trouble?” he asked. “Hell no.”

“Good!” Rigger said. “Set it right down, Carl. You got a couple of hungry hombres here.”

Over breakfast they talked about anything but the Baron. Rigger spoke about El Segundo and why he liked it there.

“It’s peaceful,” he said. “I make my living with my gun, Deck, but I’m pretty sure I ain’t gonna have to use it here.”

“Isn’t it a little dangerous?” Decker asked.

“What?”

“Having one place where you stay between jobs. You here in Texas, the Baron in Montana.”

Rigger shrugged.

“Not many people know where to find me,” he said.

“I knew.”

“You’re in the business.”

“Not your business.”

“Well, then, you know me. You don’t know the Baron, that’s why you had to come to me.”

“It still sounds dangerous, always returning to the same place.”

“Everybody’s got to have a place to stay, Decker,” Rigger said. “A place to relax, let down their guard.” Rigger leaned forward and said, “Don’t you have a place, Decker?”

Decker stood up and shook his head.

“I never let my guard down, Joe. Thanks for the breakfast, and the information.”

“I’m glad we got our old…argument cleared up, Deck. I’d like to think of you as a friend.”

“Why’s that?”

Rigger smiled and said, “I never kill friends.”

“I guess I should find that encouraging. Give Carl my compliments.”

“I’m almost tempted to come along with you,” Rigger said to Decker’s retreating back.

“Why don’t you?”

Rigger thought a moment, then shook his head.

“It wouldn’t do. Word might get out that I went after the Baron because of—”

“Jealousy?” Decker asked.

Rigger shrugged.

As Decker turned to walk to the door, Rigger called out, “Hey, Deck!”

“Yeah?” Decker said, turning with his hand on the doorknob.

“Um, anything I tell you stays between you and me, right?”

“Sure.”

“I mean, I wouldn’t want it to get around that I told you where the Baron was.”

“You don’t have anything to worry about. Besides, when you get right down to it, you really haven’t told me where he is, have you?”

Rigger smiled. “Try a town in Wyoming called Douglas, near the North Platte River. Look for a man named Calder.”

“Calder? Who’s he?”

“He’s the man you go to see when you want to hire the Baron.”

Surprised at the information—and that Rigger would be willing to give it—Decker gave the other man a small salute and left the room.

Downstairs Decker didn’t see Carl, but he did see the girl, Viola. She was dressed for work, even though it was early. She wore a silver dress with a deep, plunging neckline and probably thought she looked sexy as all hell. Decker still thought she was a little too innocent-looking for this line of work.

“Are you and Joe finished?” she asked.

“All done,” Decker said. “He’s all yours.”

“Not yet,” she said, cocking one hip, “but he will be.”

“Good luck, honey—you’ll need it.”

Joe Rigger didn’t love anybody but Joe Rigger. Viola was going to have to learn that the hard way.