Crow Bait

Forty-three

As Lancaster entered the saloon, he had his gun in his hand. Dan was standing behind the bar with a rag over his shoulder.

“Beer?”

“Come out from behind the bar, Dan,” Lancaster said.

“What for?” Dan asked. “They’re all dead, right? It’s over?”

“You got a gun back there?”

“Nope.”

“I’ve gotta ask you to come out from behind there with your hands up.”

“Okay, Lancaster, okay,” Dan said. “Take it easy.”

Dan raised his hands and walked out from behind the bar.

“What’s goin’ on?” Lancaster asked. “What was that about?”

“What? Oh, that? You mean outside?” Dan shrugged. “I just didn’t want the boys to back down.”

“You wanted me to kill them,” Lancaster said.

“Well, yeah,” Dan said. “It was my only way out.”

“So now they’re dead,” Lancaster said, “and what have you got?”

“Me?” Dan said. “I’ve got everythin’.” He spread his arms. “It’s all mine.”

“Yeah, all three buildings,” Lancaster said. He decided Dan was no threat and holstered his gun.

“How about that beer? On the house,” Dan said.

“Sure, why not?” Lancaster said. “And then I’ll be on my way—unless you’re gonna tell me you got some law here.”

“Now that it’s just me,” Dan said, going around the bar, “I’m the law, so don’t worry about a thing.”

He drew a cold beer and slid it over to Lancaster.

“Hermione give you what you wanted?” the bartender asked.

Lancaster took a swallow and then said, “She claims I should go to Flagstaff, says Cardiff said he was going there to meet Sweet.”

“Maybe she was tellin’ the truth.”

“How likely is that?”

“Not very,” Dan admitted. “She was a liar, but maybe you had her worried enough to tell the truth for a change.”

“Wait a minute,” Lancaster said. He put his beer down on the bar. “You told me you didn’t see any strangers in town.”

“I ain’t.”

“But Cardiff was here.”

“Cardiff’s been here before,” Dan said. “He wasn’t no stranger.”

“What about Adderly?”

“Well, okay,” Dan admitted, “but he was Cardiff’s friend.”

“He was still a stranger.”

“Okay,” Dan said, “so I lied about that, but I knew it would come down to you or them.” The bartender leaned on the bar. “See, I recognized your name. I knew they picked on the wrong man to try that toll business with.”

“Come on, Dan,” Lancaster said, “you must know something that can help me.”

“Well,” Dan said, “I do know somethin’.”

“What?”

“Finish your beer and then come out back with me and I’ll show you,” Dan said.

“What’s out back?”

Dan smiled and said, “You’ll see.”