Longarm thought for a moment. “Then maybe I might need somebody to follow Miss Lily Gail back to where she came from that she don’t know.”
Fisher gave him an eye. “You’re talking about taking up a considerable amount of my time, Longarm, running around chasing that female of yours. Do you know how much I can make in here a night playing poker with some of these big-monied ranchers that have more money than they have sense?”
Longarm said, “No, but I know how much you can lose when you get cold. How’s your luck been running here lately, Fish?”
“Now, Longarm, you know luck ain’t got nothing to do with poker playing.”
Longarm gave him a slim smile. “I’m not really sure that you’ve learned that yet, Fish. You’re still kind of a streak player. Sometimes you’re hot and it’s fine, but I’ve seen you get cold and still bet against your luck.”
Fisher laughed. “You’re never going to let me forget those few times that you’ve basted me at a poker table, are you? I hate to disappoint you, Longarm, but I play different than I used to. I play now for the money. I believe those people at the table have what is rightfully mine and they’ve held it long enough.”
Longarm nodded. “I’ve heard those words from men who dress a lot nicer than you do, Fish, although I have to admit, you’re looking mighty dapper tonight. Where did you get that shiny leather vest? And that’s a pretty fair pair of boots that you’re wearing there. Also, that would appear to be a diamond ring on your finger. How is it that’s not in a pawnshop?”
Fisher said, “Same old Longarm. Don’t hurt yourself giving me too much credit now. You don’t want to reach in your pocket and count money with me, do you, and see who has the most? The one with the most takes the other one’s pile?”
Longarm grinned. “You wouldn’t be trying to set me up for a sucker bet, now would you, Fisher?”
Before his friend could answer, three men came into the saloon, walked past them, and went to a table in the corner where two other men were sitting with a deck of cards, waiting. The men began pulling out rolls of bills, stacking them on the table in front of them. Longarm nodded his head their way and asked, “Is that your game?”
Fish pulled a face. “Not that bunch. That’s a bunch of gut-cinch players. They don’t bet unless they’re damn certain they have the winning hand. You can sit there half the night buying the ante, and then all of a sudden you’ll run into a full house or worse and get your brains beat out. I don’t play in that game. Mine don’t generally crank up until around eleven. We’ve got some pretty stiff players and we attract a few that aspire to play with the big boys, and we’re only too willing to let them do so. But getting back to your problem. I might be willing to help you out on this matter, considering the fact that you haven’t mentioned that you’ve saved my bacon on a couple of occasions. I’m surprised at you, Longarm. Are you losing your touch?”
Longarm smiled his thin smile. “I thought it would be more effective to let you remind yourself of it.”
Fish said, “So you think it would be a good idea for me to follow that lady back to Raton and see who she meets there?”
“That might be a good way to start this business.”
Fisher Lee got out a cigarette and lit it. “One thing we might be overlooking here, Longarm. I’ve never laid eyes on any one of the Gallagher brothers. Now, there is Rufus and Clem left. Rufus is the oldest and Clem is the youngest and Vem, the one you killed, was the middle one. Is that right?”
“That’s the way I get it.”
“Well, I’ve never seen them. Have you?”
“Now that you mention it, I haven’t. Not at close range, anyway. I’ve seen them over rifle sights but not in range. No, I’ve got to agree with you. If you were to put a gun to my head and cock it, I couldn’t tell you what any of them look like.”
Fisher said, “That whole damn bunch is so inbred that half of the cousins are their own uncles. Hell, how are you supposed to know who you’re talking with?”
Longarm said, “Maybe they’ve got some sort of distinguishing marks about them so that we can tell who is who.”
“How are you going to find that out?”
“Well, I thought I’d ask Miss Lily Gail Baxter, the widow of a well-to-do haberdasher.”
“However you want to play it, Longarm. I’ll give you all the help I can. To tell you the truth, I probably need a vacation away from the table. I ain’t just been tearing them up here lately. Have you any general plans of how you might go about this business once we make certain who we are dealing with?”
Longarm pushed his hat back and scratched his head. “I’ve been thinking about that. What I calculated was that I would make them a proposition. One of the brothers comes in, stays with you, and I’ll go out and see the other brother, and in case I don’t make it back, we’ll just propose to put a bullet in the ear of the brother that you’ve got.”
Fisher gave him a look. “What if the brother you’re meeting will be happy to be done with the brother that I’m sitting with? That ain’t going to do you a hell of a lot of good out there if he don’t care if the other brother makes it back or not.”
Longarm frowned. “Hell, Fish. The chance to get up close to either one of those Gallagher brothers is just too damn good of an opportunity to pass up. I’ve got to take a chance on this. All I’m trying to do is cut down on the risk.”
Fisher shook his head. “I’m with you all the way on this, partner. But I’ve got to tell you, you’re playing the other man’s game and he is setting the odds. You and me both know that ain’t no gamble—that’s a good way to lose.”
Longarm stood up. “You still got a room above this joint?”
“Yeah, when I’m in the room, which ain’t too damn often.”
“I need some more information, that’s what I’m hurting for right now. Let me talk to that silly girl again and see what more I can find out, but the more I think about it, the more I’m convinced that the only safe way is to have one of the brothers in here with you while I go talk to the other one. Maybe you’re right, maybe they won’t care that much what happens to the other one. It appears that I’m betting my life on it and that ain’t real smart, but dammit, Fish.”
“I know. It’s just too good a chance to pass up. I’ve stayed in some hands where the pot got so big that I couldn’t fold just because it was so big, and all I did was throw good money after bad money because I didn’t have the winning hand. Just because the pot is big doesn’t mean it’s going to be yours. But I hear what you’re saying and I’m willing to do what I can to help, even if it means following that damn girl into Raton tomorrow.”
Longarm rubbed his jaw. “Yeah, but like you said, that might not do much good. Even if the Gallagher brothers are both in Raton, you don’t know what they look like. I don’t know what you’d do about it even if I could get you a good enough description. They’re slick customers, you know that, Fish.”
“Hell, yes. How many years have they been operating?”
“Six, seven, hell, I don’t know. It just seems that the only thing that I’ve heard about in this part of the country is the damn Gallagher brothers. What they haven’t done ain’t worth doing. Listen, I’ll check in with you by ten or eleven o’clock in the morning. Will you be awake by then?”
Fisher shrugged and pulled a face. “That depends. The way these players have been treating me, I might get in bed early tonight and be up having breakfast well before then. I’ll arrange to be somewhere handy around ten o’clock, but if things go right I may still be sitting over there at that table.” He nodded toward a table in the other corner. “They ought to be showing up pretty quick.”
Longarm nodded. “All right, let me go see what I can get out of her. Of course, you know what it is going to cost me.”
Fisher nodded with mock sympathy. “You’ll just do anything in furtherance of the law, won’t you, Longarm? Including using your body? You’re a hell of a fellow. Has anybody ever told you that?”