Brodie addressed Longarm. "I own a little cattle ranch just outside town. Don Luis and my father were close friends. My father worked for Don Luis for many years before the man sold him a little land on credit. I owe much to his memory."
"And," Longarm said, "you want to marry his widow."
Brodie blushed. "I didn't mean to say that. Really I did not. It just ... well, it just came out." He looked up at Lucy. "I'm sorry if I embarrassed you in front of all these people."
"That's all right," she said. "Can we just get out of here?"
"Sure," Longarm said as he picked up his Stetson and used it to bat the dust off his clothes. He struggled back onto his horse and looked down at Brodie. "Lead the way."
Brodie nodded and went for his own horse. A moment later they were trotting out of town, and Longarm was left with a thousand questions about this man and his motives.
"You never said anything about him," Longarm said under his breath when he thought that Brodie was far ahead enough not to overhear his words.
"You never asked," she said. "Besides, I always knew that Hal liked me, but I didn't realize he would ever want to actually marry me."
"Well, surprise, surprise," Longarm said drily. "Maybe he'll want to accompany us to the Yuma prison."
Longarm immediately regretted that caustic comment because he saw the pain it caused. "I'm sorry," he told her. "I didn't need to say that."
"No, she agreed, "you didn't." After that, the three of them rode together in silence.
CHAPTER 9
Hal Brodie's ranch wasn't especially big by Arizona standards. Just a shade over ten thousand acres, but much of it was valley land and well suited for raising cattle. The house he lived in was a small well-built adobe and the barns were maintained, giving Longarm the impression that the operation, like the man himself, was very functional.
Little was said until they were inside the adobe. Hal motioned them to a seat as a maid appeared. "How about something to drink?" he asked his guests.
"A whiskey for me," Longarm said.
"Tea or lemonade would be nice," Lucy answered.
"I think I'll have a whiskey myself," Brodie said, easing down in a big horsehide chair and crossing his legs. After the maid left the room he looked from Longarm to Lucy and smiled. "Lucy, for a woman on the run, you look remarkably good."
"Thank you," she replied. "But given the circumstances, I don't see that we have a lot of reason for cheer."
"Maybe," Brodie said, "and maybe not."
"What," Longarm asked, "is that supposed to mean?"
Brodie's smile faded. "I was in Tucson buying some Mexican cattle on the night that Don Luis was shot and killed. By the time I returned, Lucy had been arrested and then escaped. I felt... helpless. Lucy, I knew that you could not have killed your husband, and yet I read the newspapers and saw the overwhelming evidence stacked up against you."
"Evidence in the nature of three witnesses who admit that they did not even see the shot fired!" Lucy said hotly.
"Exactly." Brodie steepled his fingertips and leaned forward. "The witnesses were Juan Ortega, your husband's brother and closest living blood relative, Manuel Padilla, a nephew, and Renaldo Lopez, a distant uncle."
"That's right," Lucy said.
"And guess who inherits all your husband's properties after his death?" Brodie asked.
"I suppose I will."
"Yes, but if you are killed, mentally incapacitated, or deemed morally incorrigible, then the properties would go to his brother, Juan Ortega."
Longarm blurted out, "Morally incorrigible?"
"That's right," Brodie said. "Defined in Arizona law as someone who has committed a serious felony--like murder."
Longarm took a deep breath. "Then we have a brother with a strong motive," he said. "But if Juan Ortega and the other two were outside when the shooting occurred, do we have a murder suspect?"
"I think we do," Brodie told him. "I was wrestling with this very same problem when I received a note. It is in Spanish, of course, but I will recite it in English. 'The senora did not shoot her husband. I know this and will tell you so for one hundred dollars.'"
"Let me see the note," Lucy said, "I can read Spanish."
Brodie went over to a desk, opened a book, and pulled out the note. He handed it to Lucy, who read it quickly and passed it over to Longarm, who had a fair knowledge of border Spanish.
Longarm looked up. "No signature?"
"No," Brodie admitted. "But I knew that whoever wrote that would come to me sooner or later. And she did."
"Who was it?" Lucy asked quickly.
"It was a young house servant, Maria Escobar. She came sneaking over to my ranch one night, very frightened. I brought her inside and, after she calmed down, I interviewed her. Maria said that she saw your cook, Miguel Rivera, fire the shot that killed your husband."
"Will she testify to that?" Longarm asked quickly.
"Not here in Prescott," Brodie said. "She's afraid for her life, and frankly I don't blame her. She says that she has seen Miguel talking to Marshal Haggerty and she knows they are all guilty of a conspiracy."
Longarm took a cheroot out of his shirt pocket, and this time he actually lit the thing. "We'll pack Maria off to Yuma where I know a good judge. When he hears her testimony and yours, I'm sure that I can make the arrests of those three relatives as well as Haggerty."
"Without proof?"
"You may have a point," Longarm said. "At the very least, we can get Lucy's name cleared and get Miguel Rivera convicted of murder. As for the others, I don't know. If we make Rivera talk, we'll have a solid case."
"Is Maria still working at my husband's ranch?" Lucy asked.
"As far as I know," Brodie replied. "But the poor woman is scared half out of her mind. I was trying to figure out what to do when you and Deputy Long showed up today. It was clear that they did not want you poking around at your husband's ranch, digging up evidence that would blow this murder conspiracy wide open."
"Yes," Lucy said, "it makes a lot of sense now." She turned to Longarm. "So what is our first move?"
"We get Maria out of Prescott and take her directly to the judge in Yuma. After she testifies, I come back and arrest Rivera for murder and see if I can get him to inform on his accomplices and avoid a hangman's noose."
Both Lucy and Brodie were nodding their heads. Brodie spoke first. "What can I do?"
"Nothing," Longarm said. "If you suddenly disappeared, it would sound the alarm."
"But he can't stay here without protection!" Lucy exclaimed. "Not after what he did to Marshal Haggerty's deputy today."
"I'll be fine," Brodie said. "I've got six good cowboys that all know how to use guns."
"Stay off the open ridges," Longarm advised. "Don't let yourself be ambushed by a sharpshooter."
"I'll be careful. That Deputy Wilson is a crack shot and has quite a reputation as a gunfighter. Haggerty, well, he's too lazy even to ride out this far. I don't Worry about him. It's Wilson that I'm concerned about."
The maid brought their drinks, and when she was gone, Longarm said, "Now, Hal, tell me how we are going to steal Maria away from under the eyes of those murderers."
"I'll just offer her a better job," Brodie said.
"Just like that?" Lucy asked, eyebrows raising in a question mark.
Yeah, just like that. I'm not worried about being shot by any of Don Luis's worthless relatives. Even his brother, who stands to inherit the ranch, hasn't the guts to pull a trigger."
"Maybe I should go with you," Longarm suggested.
"I'm afraid that would really put them on alert," Brodie reasoned. "It would be better if I went with a few of my men. I'll pretend that I am returning a stray horse or cow, then go inside and talk to Maria. She'll leave with me."
"All right," Longarm said. "But we'll be waiting close by, just in case there is trouble."
"Fine," Brodie said. "When would you like to do this?"
"How about first thing tomorrow morning?"
"Suits me," Brodie answered. "We'll leave after an early breakfast."