The Lawman

Epilogue

Moran and Crystal were both brought to the town doctor, and then laid up in a hotel room each. Decker arranged with the mayor and the town council to have each of them guarded. In Crystal’s case it was unwarranted. She died barely an hour later.

Later, in the mayor’s office, the mayor said, “Señor, we are in your debt for ridding us of these two…undesirables.”

“I’m sure, Mr. Mayor, that if you and your town had been benefiting from their whorehouse they would have been much less undesirable.”

The mayor cleared his throat and found that he had other work to do.

Later Decker and Anne had dinner in a café near the hotel. Tomàs had taken a hotel room and had turned in for the night. He and Decker would talk about the punch in the nose in the morning. In truth, Decker felt it was worth the punch to see his friend back on his feet again. “Does it hurt?” Anne asked.

“What?”

“Your nose. It looks very red.” She leaned over and touched it, and he winced.

“It’s all right. Tomàs throws a pretty good punch. It’s a good thing he’s lost weight lately though. He didn’t have all that much to put behind it.”

“Why did he hit you?”

“That’s a long story. I’d rather not talk about that now. Instead, let’s talk about what we are going to do,” he said.

“About what?” she asked innocently.

She was dressed much more discreetly than she had been that first night he’d seen her at the Palace, this time in a simple blue dress, but she was no less lovely.

“About Moran.”

“What about him?”

“Stop playing games, Anne. Crystal’s yours, you came all this way to get her.”

“You came all this way to get Moran.”

“That’s true, but you got him first.”

“That’s true, but then he got me and would have killed me if it wasn’t for you.”

“That’s true.”

“So what do we do about it?”

“That’s what I was asking you.”

“Well, I suppose we could split his reward,” she said, stirring her coffee. “Then we’d both at least get something for the hardships we went through.”

“What hardships? I tracked that man all the way from Colorado.”

“And I tracked her all the way from Texas. Besides, he almost killed me. You don’t think that’s a hardship?”

“Well, sure—”

“You don’t think I should get something for being scared almost to death?”

“Well, yeah, but—”

“And besides, he would have shot you dead when you came through that door if it wasn’t for me.”

“Well…yeah…” Decker said, grudgingly.

She put her hand out and said, “Partners, then?”

He frowned, but finally figured that half a pie was better than none.

“All right, partners.”

They shook hands but when he went to withdraw his she held on to it.

“How about we go up to your room and seal the bargain?” she asked, frankly.

He was surprised, and stammered.

“Uh, well, I, uh—”

“Decker,” she said, surprised herself, “you’re embarrassed.”

He felt his face flush.

“Well, Anne, to tell you the truth, I’m not all that much of a ladies’ man—”

“Well,” she said, standing and pulling him to his feet, “for tonight, anyway, you’re this lady’s man.”