Texas Bluff

CHAPTER 45

Sutherland had to pick a new place to meet with the men he’d chosen. Normally, it would have been the Bloody Spur, but with both its owner and bartender having been killed, the place was now boarded up.

He chose a saloon called the Black Pearl, and had three men meet him there. He bought them all beers and they sat at a back table.

“What’s on your mind, Sutherland?” Lenny Randolph asked.

Randolph and Harry Spills were partners, did everything together. They were notoriously cheap, and had even been known to share the same whore. They were both in their mid-thirties.

The third man he’d chosen was Andy Dennis, a loner in his early thirties who was known to do anything for money—the right amount of money.

Sutherland didn’t know how much money he had to pass around. He had plans to break into the Bloody Spur, where he knew Ed Cramer kept cash in the office. He only hoped that Zeke hadn’t already found it.

Of course, he could share the bounty on Butler with his “friends.” There was plenty to go around, providing he gave them each just a taste.

He could string them along for the money for a while. But first he had to find out if they were willing to work with him—or for him.

“You don’t usually need help with your jobs,” Andy Dennis said. “What gives?”

“I’ve got two things going, so I may need help with one of them.”

“What’re these deals?” Randolph asked.

“Does this have anything to do with Ed Cramer, over at the Bloody Spur?” Spills asked.

Everyone went silent.

“What about Cramer?” Sutherland asked.

“Uh, well, you used to work for him, is all,” Spills said. “I was just wondering if this was a job for him that you’re finishin’ up?”

Sutherland sat quietly and stared at Spills.

“I didn’t mean nothin’ by it,” Spills finally said. “I was just askin’.”

“This has nothin’ to do with Cramer,” Sutherland said. “This is all me.”

“Okay,” Spills said.

“Let me explain…”

“I don’t think we have a choice,” Butler said.

“We have to confront Al Newman. If he’s an honest man, he’ll help us catch Sutherland.”

“And if he’s not?” Short asked.

“Then he’ll try and set us up for Sutherland.”

“And how will we know which way he’s going?” Short asked.

“We’ll have to use our instincts, Luke,” Butler said. “Our poker-playing instincts.”

“You think we can succeed if we apply those away from the table?”

“It’s already worked for me a couple of times,” Butler said, “maybe more. Anyway, I really don’t have the time or patience to wait, do you?”

“Hell, no,” Short said. “I want to get on with my life.”

“So do I,” Butler replied, “so let’s go and talk to him.”