Broadway Bounty

Chapter Thirty-six

Rosewood drove Decker from his hotel to the train station the next day. Decker, had another bandage on, this one on his left side where the bullet had dug a furrow.

“You could wait a while to travel, until you heal,” Rosewood had said when he picked him up.

“No,” Decker had said, “I’ve got to leave now.”

When they reached the train station, Lieutenant Tally was there, waiting.

“Come to see me off, Lieutenant?”

“Here,” Tally said, giving Decker an envelope.

“What’s that?”

“That will make sure you can collect the bounty on Ready.”

Decker looked down at the envelope in his hand, considered giving it back, then decided that he had earned it. He’d earned it with more blood then he’d ever lost on one hunt. Dover wouldn’t mind.

And he’d lost a lot more than blood on this one.

“How is she?” Decker asked.

“She’s still unconscious,” Tally said, “but she’s going to be all right. The bullet missed her heart.”

“That’s good,” Decker said. He was responsible for her being shot, but at least he wasn’t responsible for her being killed.

“She’s going to ask for you when she wakes up, you know.”

“I know.”

“What do I tell her?”

Decker looked over at his train and saw that it was moving.

“Tell her…tell her I said goodbye.”

Decker started running for the train, then turned and shouted. “Hey, whatever happened to Bookman’s man Largo? I thought he wanted a piece of me before I left town?”

Tally grinned and shouted back: “I guessed he changed his mind.”