The Lawman

Chapter Twenty

“What do you mean ‘we lost him’?” Raquel demanded. “We have been following his trail for better than four days, how could we lose him?”

“I am not a trailsman,” Gilberto said, testily “I have sent Juan, Martinez and Orlando on ahead to try and pick up the trail again.”

“Ha!” she laughed, derisively. “We will be lucky if they can find their way back to us.”

“Raquel, there are times—”

“Just remember the times that I have gotten you out of jail, my brother, and forget about all the other times. If it wasn’t for me, you would be sitting in a jail cell right this minute.”

That was hard to argue with, so Gilberto simply sat and sulked.

When they were alone there was an amazing switch in personalities. In the company of their bandido band there would never have been any question that Gilberto was the dominant sibling, but if anyone had ever seen them alone there would have been no doubt that Raquel dominated him. Although Gilberto was the older by almost five years, it had been Raquel who had brought her older brother up after their parents died.

It was Raquel who was taking charge now.

“We will stop studying the ground in vain and simply travel south. We should be able to find out whether he has passed through the next town or not.”

“And then?”

“And then the town after that!” she snapped, testily. “We will find him, ’berto, and then you can play big tough bandido leader again—unless some chubby puta pushes herself in your face again.”

“Raquel…” Gilberto said, feebly.

Sometimes Raquel thought that her brother should have perished in the same fire that claimed their parents. They might both have been better off.