Kinman rode around the house, swung out of his saddle, and walked over to an outhouse that leaned partially against a tree. The narrow shack wasn’t quite as tall as Kinman, himself, and was decorated with a star pattern cutout in the door. Stopping with his hand on the knotted rope threaded through the door, Kinman peeked through the star-shaped hole.
Lester looked right back at him.
“You done in there?” Kinman asked.
Although Lester glared intently at Kinman, he didn’t even try to make a sound. After all the screaming he’d done already, he knew well enough that the bandanna that had been stuffed into his mouth was more than enough to keep him from being heard.
Kinman pulled open the door to admire his handiwork. Lester was just as he’d left him: both ankles bound tightly together and both arms tied to up and stuck between his legs. Using his boot to shove Lester’s legs aside, Kinman double-checked that the rope was also still looped through the hole he’d knocked in the commode. Sure enough, if Lester wanted to go anywhere, he would have had to drag the entire outhouse along with him.
“Damn, Lester,” Kinman said with a wince. “What the hell have you been eating?”
Lester glared silently at Kinman over the bandanna hanging from his mouth.
“Anyone been around here since I left?”
When he saw that Lester wasn’t moving a muscle, Kinman placed his right hand upon his holstered pistol and used his left to pull the bandanna from Lester’s mouth.
“Are you out of your goddamn mind?” Lester snapped the instant he was able. “This whole town’s going to hell and you decide to take off and stretch your legs?”
“Not just stretch my legs, Lester. I turned a pretty profit as well.”
“Doing what? Setting fires? I’ve been smelling smoke the whole time I was in here. You know those flames we saw when our train was stopped? I think they’re still burning somewhere.”
Kinman’s grip tightened around the bandanna he’d used to silence his prisoner, but his spirits were too high for him to put the dirty cloth back into use. “You’re gonna have to be quiet, now. There’s something I need to talk about.”
“Now you wanna be polite? Now you wanna be neighborly? Why don’t you start off by untying me and then we’ll see how polite and neighborly I can…” Lester’s words trailed off when he heard the subtle brush of iron against leather and found himself looking down the barrel of Kinman’s gun. “You were saying?” Lester squeaked.
Leaning against the outhouse door, Kinman announced, “I’ve acquired a partner for our little venture into the Badlands. His name’s Nicolai Graves.”
As much as he wanted to respond to that, Lester found himself without enough breath to utter a single word. Filling his lungs was difficult work. It was also not very rewarding considering where he was sitting. “You mean the same Nick Graves who used to ride with Barrett Cobb?”
Kinman nodded.
“This is the Barrett Cobb whose grave we’re going to see,” Lester pointed out. “You do realize that?”
“Oh, I sure do realize it. And it just so happens that Graves the man might turn out to be every bit as valuable as the grave we’re out to find. Whatever you say is buried in that coffin—”
“It’s in there,” Lester said quickly. “I swear it!”
Kinman nodded and patted the air as if he was calming a frantic child. “We’ll see about that when we get there. But whatever it is, it’s the same as what it was when that last bit of dirt was thrown on top of it. Over the last few years, the price on Nick Graves’ head has only been getting better.”
Lester squinted and cocked his head to one side. “Why? I hear that Graves was nearly killed when he was run out of Montana. Lord knows he ain’t been leading no gang like he used to.”
“I don’t give a rat’s ass if he pissed off Jesus Christ himself, and all three wise men are the ones putting up the money. All I do care about is that the money’s being put up by some very reliable sources. Even if I can’t coax a bit more out when the time comes, the reward is pretty damn good as it stands.”
“Wait a second,” Lester said as he suddenly hopped up as if he meant to stand. Before his legs could straighten, he found the limit of the rope tying him to the commode and was jerked right back down again. Even as his ass bumped against the splintered wood, the smile remained upon his face. “You wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for me. Shouldn’t I get a percentage of the reward, too?”
Despite Kinman’s good humor, there was no way for him to hide the murderous glint that came into his eye. “You telling me you had something to do with those crazy fools blocking the railroad tracks?”
“No.”
“Then maybe you had some way of making certain Graves and I crossed paths once we were both stuck in this mess?”
As much as he wanted to say otherwise, Lester shook his head. “Nope.”
“Oh. Then shut yer damn mouth and count yourself lucky that I haven’t put a bullet through your skull and dragged your carcass in for the reward.”
“Where’s Graves now?”
“Headed to the Badlands.”
Lester looked at Kinman and waited for a few seconds. When he realized there wasn’t anything else coming, he asked, “You let him go?”
Kinman nodded. “I’ll catch up with him as soon as I get you out of here.”
Tugging at his ropes, Lester strained to get up. “Then what are we waiting for? If he gets too far ahead, he may—”
“He may get an extra couple of hours on his own before I catch up to him again.” Tapping the side of his nose, Kinman added, “I got his scent now, just like I got yours. I know where he’s headed and there ain’t too many ways to get there from here. My only question now is whether you’re comin’ along as a partner or as baggage.”
“Things would be plenty easier if I came along as a partner.”
Kinman narrowed his eyes and smirked. “You really think so?”
“All right, but I can be a good partner. I’ve got no reason to cross you.”
“Don’t take me for a fool, Lester. I don’t like it.”
“I’m not taking you for anything. I can help!”
“That’s what I want to hear. You tell me how you can help and maybe I’ll see my way clear to letting you leave this shithouse alive.”
Lester’s eyes widened. Suddenly, he looked around at the dirty walls surrounding him as if he’d found himself inside of a coffin. As his brain seized up under the pressure, he saw Kinman slowly lift his pistol and begin rolling the cylinder against his other palm.
“I’m waiting,” Kinman said quietly.
“I…uh…I can keep an eye on Graves when you’re not around!”
“Don’t need that. I keep track of slippery cusses like that one for a living.”
“I can watch your back in case Graves decides to take a shot at you.”
Kinman chuckled under his breath. “You’d work extra hard to make sure I don’t come to any harm so I can drag your ass in for the reward? I already told you I don’t like being taken for a damn fool. In fact, I don’t know if there is a reason why I should keep you alive.”
Lester laughed uncomfortably at first, thinking that Kinman was just turning the screws a bit tighter. Then he saw the bounty hunter’s eyes become as cold as two chunks of ice as he pointed his gun again, and Lester knew there wasn’t an ounce of bluff in what he’d said.
“I can find that grave!” Lester spat out. “I can take you straight to it in case things go wrong and you lose sight of…” Seeing that he wasn’t getting anywhere with that one, Lester added, “You could kill Graves any time you want! Let him get you close and then shoot him. He can be the baggage and I can take you the rest of the way! I could even work on him to give you a better shot at him!”