Pearl River Junction Page 20

  “You let me worry about that,” Jeb said.

  “But are we gonna leave Clark and Dave in jail?” Ben asked.

  “At least for tonight, Ben,” Jeb said. “The rest of you get some sleep and meet me back here in the morning.”

  “The place won’t be open,” Leslie said.

  “Just meet me out front.”

  As the men started to get up to leave, Delay put his hand on Tanner’s arm to stay him. Jeb allowed Ben to go back to the hotel. He’d talk to him later.

  Once the men were gone, Tanner asked, “What’s the deal?”

  “You, me, Vic, and Ben are gonna take the bank tomorrow mornin’,” Jeb said.

  “The four of us?” Tanner asked. “We don’t even know if they got guards or how many people work there.”

  “I do,” Jeb said. “I know how many employees, how many guards, and where they’re placed, and now I’m gonna tell it to the three of you, so listen up.”

  Bill Samms and Roy Leslie walked back to the rooming house they were staying in.

  “We gonna leave Dave and Clark in jail overnight?” Samms asked as they approached the house.

  “That’s what we been told to do,” Leslie said. “What’s the difference? They ride with Collier, not with us.”

  “How long you reckon Vic is gonna let Collier call the shots?”

  “Don’t rightly know,” Leslie said, “and I don’t care, just as long as I don’t have to call them.”

  “Amen to that, I guess,” Samms said.

  Cotton and Shaye entered the house and found Marion sitting on the sofa, holding the sleeping boy.

  “Where’s Belinda?” Shaye asked.

  “She went out.”

  “You know where?”

  “No,” Marion said, “she didn’t say, but she said she’d be back.”

  Cotton and Shaye exchanged a look.

  “She either went to Jeb or to Alvin Simon.”

  “Simon?” Cotton asked. “The owner of the hardware store? Why would she go to see him.”

  “Well,” Shaye said, “he’s in love with her and he claims she’s in love with him.”

  “What?” Marion asked.

  “Where did you hear that hogwash?” Cotton asked.

  “Thomas and James heard it from Simon,” Shaye said. He went on to explain how.

  “Why didn’t you tell me that before?” Cotton asked.

  “What difference does that make to what we’re doing?”

  “Well, it makes a difference now,” Cotton said. “We don’t know which man she went to see.”

  “Doesn’t really matter,” Shaye said. “We can just wait here for her to get back.”

  “Marion,” Cotton said, “why don’t you put the boy to bed and make some coffee?”

  “I’ll make the coffee,” Shaye said.

  “No,” Marion said, “that’s all right.” She stood up. “I’ll put the baby down and then make coffee. It’ll give me something to do until Belinda gets back.” She started from the room, then turned back. “I assume we’re going to get the truth out of her tonight?”

  “We’re gonna try,” Shaye said.

  68

  Shaye and Cotton were sitting in the living room with coffee cups when the front door opened and Belinda came in.

  “Well,” she said, “nice of you to wait up for me. I’ll be going to bed now.”

  “Don’t you want to check on your son?” Shaye asked.

  “I assume Marion has put him to bed. Good night, gentlemen.”

  “Sit down, Belinda,” Cotton said.

  She stopped short.

  “We’ve got some talking to do, Belinda,” Shaye said. “Do like the sheriff said and take a seat.”

  She turned, stared at them defiantly for a few moments, then dropped her shoulders and walked to a chair. She sat prim and properly, with her hands in her lap. She was wearing a dress Shaye had seen her wear once before.

  “Where’ve you been?” Cotton asked.

  “Out walking.”

  “All this time?”

  “I had a lot to think about.”

  “I’m thinking,” Shaye said, “that you went to talk to Collier or Simon. Which was it?”

  “Simon?”

  “Yeah, we know about Alvin,” Cotton said. “He says he loves you. What do you say?”

  She shrugged. “He’s well fixed. He’d make a good husband.”

  “But you don’t love him,” Shaye said.

  “No.”

  “How could you marry a man you don’t love?” Marion asked, entering the room.

  “It’s not like I have a lot of choices, Marion.”

  “You’re young,” Marion said. “You’ve got your whole life ahead of you.”

  “Who’s gonna want a girl with a child?” Belinda asked.

  “What about the child’s father?” Shaye asked. “It wasn’t Matthew, was it?”

  Belinda hesitated, looked away, then said, “No, it wasn’t.”

  “Did you ever know my son?”

  She smiled.

  “I met him once,” she said. “He was nice, gentle. We hardly spoke, but I remembered him, remembered his name and who is father was. So when I knew I needed help…”

  “You lied to this man and his sons and made him come hundreds of miles?” Marion said. “To fight for you?”

  Belinda lifted her chin and said, “Yes.”

  “And you’re proud of it?”

  “Well…I’m not sorry.”

  Marion stared at Belinda, shaking her head, and then said, “I don’t know you at all, do I?”

  “Nobody does, Marion,” Belinda said. “Nobody ever has. I’ve been on my own since I was fifteen. I have to look out for myself first.”

  “And what about your baby?” the sheriff’s wife asked as Cotton and Shaye sat back to watch and listen. “Don’t you think you should think of him first?”

  “Why should I?” Belinda asked belligerently. “My mother never thought of me first. When is it my turn?”

  “You give up your turn when you have a child!”

  “How would you know?”

  The two women were shouting at each other now, so Shaye got between them.

  “Okay, that’s enough,” Shaye said. “Belinda, did you see Jeb Collier tonight?”

  “No.”

  “What do you intend to do about him?” he asked.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Is he your baby’s father?”

  “I—I don’t know.”

  “Apparently he thinks he is,” Cotton said. “Are you willing to leave here with him—with your baby?”

  “I don’t know,” she said. “I might be willing to leave with him, but I don’t know if I should take the baby.”

  “Don’t take him,” Marion said. “Leave him here with us. We’ll raise him right, Belinda.”

  “I don’t even know if I’m going!” Belinda shouted. “Maybe I’ll stay and marry Alvin—if Jeb doesn’t kill him or me.”

  “Jeb’s not going to kill anyone, Belinda,” Shaye said. “We’re not going to let him.”

  “That’s what you say,” Belinda said. “How do I know you can stop him?”

  “You don’t know,” Shaye said. “None of us do, for sure.”

  “Can I go to bed now?” Belinda asked. “I’m tired.”

  “Are you having breakfast with Jeb in the morning?” Shaye asked.

  “I think I should, don’t you?” Belinda asked, getting to her feet. “I have some decisions to make.”

  “You wanted protection from Jeb Collier,” Cotton said. “How could you even consider leaving with him?”

  “I have a lot of thinking to do, Riley,” she said. “I have to decide what’s best for me.”

  “Go on to bed, Belinda,” Shaye said. “We’ll talk tomorrow—after your breakfast.”

  Belinda left the room without saying good night to anyone.

  “I don’t understand her,” Marion said.

  “And you’re
a woman,” Shaye said. “If you don’t understand her, how do you think we feel?”

  69

  Thomas was awake when the sun came up the next morning. James and Thad were both upstairs in empty cells, sleeping. He stood up from the desk, stretched, and walked to the front door. He opened it and took a deep breath, wondering what the day was going to bring. What he wanted was for this whole business to come to an end so he and his brother and father could get on with their lives. They all had decisions to make when they left Pearl River Junction, which couldn’t happen soon enough to suit him.

  Sunlight came through the cell window and a stripe of it struck James right in the eyes. He woke and sat up on the pallet, rubbing his face vigorously. In the next cell Thad was snoring. Across from them, in another cell, the two prisoners were also sawing wood.

  James pulled his boots on and stood up. It was Thad’s responsibility to go to the café and get breakfast for the prisoners, but James decided that since he was awake and Thad was not, he would do it. He could also bring back breakfast for everyone else.

  He made his way out of the cell and down the stairs without waking anyone.

  “Thad up?” Thomas asked as James came down.

  “No,” James said, “but that’s okay. I’ll take a walk to the café and bring back some breakfast for all of us.”

  James came up next to his brother at the open door and they stared out at the street together.

  “What do you think is gonna happen today?” James asked.

  “I can only tell you what I hope will happen.”

  “Yeah,” James said, touching his brother’s shoulder, “me too.”

  He stepped outside and headed for the café.

  Belinda woke early for her breakfast with Jeb Collier. Nobody was going to tell her that she shouldn’t think of herself first. She’d gone to bed with that thought and woke up with it also. It was time to make the final decision and everyone else could pay the consequences for her decision. She was tired of always paying. It was time for her to collect.

  As she prepared to leave the house, she could hear that someone else was up, probably the sheriff. It was going to be a big day for him too.

  A big day for everyone.

  Shaye woke in his hotel room, stood up, and walked to the window. From there he could see the sheriff’s office across the street, where his two sons had spent the night. He was proud of both boys, wondered what they’d decide when this was all over. Stay with him or go their own ways? There was no point in even thinking about it, though, until they were ready to leave Pearl River Junction.

  He was about to turn away from the window when the front door of the office opened and James stepped out. He crossed the street and walked out of sight. Shaye assumed he was on his way to the café to pick up breakfast.

  This time he did leave the window. He walked to the dresser, where there was a pitcher and basin. He poured water from one into the other and began to wash, hands, face, neck, chest, armpits. When he was done with his whore’s bath, he picked up a towel and walked back to the window. He saw Belinda walking down the street, past the sheriff’s office, where she crossed over. She was probably also on her way to the café for an early breakfast and that meant that Jeb Collier would be there also.

  Shaye hurriedly dressed, strapped on his gun, and left the room.

  James was waiting for Connie to bring out the food when the door opened and Belinda walked in. She stopped short at the sight of him.

  “Oh, James,” she said.

  “Good mornin’, Belinda,” he said, trying to ignore the usual flutter he felt in his stomach when he saw her. “I’m pickin’ up breakfast for the jail.”

  “I see.”

  Connie came out of the kitchen with a tray she had covered with a towel.

  “Oh, Belinda,” she said. “Good morning. Take any table and I’ll be with you in a minute.”

  “Thank you, Connie.” The place was empty, so Belinda had her pick.

  “This should feed all of you,” Connie said, handing the tray to James.

  “Thanks.”

  He tried balancing the tray with one hand, but realized it would take two to get it across the street to the jail. At that moment the door opened again and Jeb Collier stepped in. Like Belinda, he stopped short when he saw the deputy.

  “Well, Deputy,” he said. “We ain’t met.”

  “Jeb Collier,” James said. “I know who you are.”

  “And you’re Shaye,” Jeb said, “or one of them.”

  “He’s James,” Belinda said.

  “Thank you, honey.”

  The two men faced each other. James knew if Jeb Collier drew on him at that moment he’d have to drop the tray before he could go for his gun. He figured he’d be dead before the tray hit the ground.

  Connie, sensing the tension, backed into the kitchen.

  “Jeb…” Belinda said.

  But it wasn’t until the door opened again that the tension was broken. Dan Shaye stepped into the room, closing the door behind him.

  “That the food for the jail, James?”

  “Yeah, Pa.”

  “Better get it over there, then. I’m sure Mr. Collier wouldn’t want his men to starve.”

  “My men?” Jeb asked, stepping aside to let James by, at the same time turning to look at Shaye. “I never said they were my men.”

  “You didn’t have to,” Shaye said. He opened the door for James without taking his eyes off of Collier. “Have a good breakfast.”

  “Thanks.”

  Shaye backed out, pulling the door closed.

  Outside he caught up to James and walked alongside him.

  “Don’t ever have both hands occupied like that, James.” Shaye thought the world of his youngest son, thought he was very smart. If he went to college, he’d do very well in life, but wearing a badge, living by the gun…this just wasn’t something James was as quick to take to as Thomas was.

  “Pa…the tray…”

  “You should have brought Thad with you.”

  “Yes, Pa.”

  “Collier wasn’t going to draw on you anyway,” Shaye said. “That would ruin his plan.”

  “What plan is that, Pa?”

  “I don’t know, James,” Shaye said. “If I knew that, then we could ruin his plan.”

  After both Shayes left the café, Jeb turned and sat down with Belinda. Connie came back out of the kitchen nervously.

  “Nothing to worry about, waitress,” Jeb said. “My sweetie and I are hungry, though. We’d like to order.”

  “Yes, sir,” Connie said. “What can I get for you?”

  Alvin Simon woke, feeling excited and frightened. Belinda had come to see him the night before and he was supposed to meet her at the bank this morning when it opened. She’d told him that she was ready to marry him, but she had to be sure that he had the money he said he had.

  “A girl has to make sure she’s secure, Alvin,” she’d told him.

  “How do I do that, Belinda?” he’d asked. “How do I show you that I can make you secure?”

  “That’s easy,” she said, putting one hand on his chest and kissing his cheek. Her lips were like velvet on his face, her scent heady enough to make him dizzy. She pressed her lips to his ear then and said, “Show me your money.”

  So that was what he was going to do this morning. Take her into the bank and prove to her that he had enough money to take care of her and her baby and keep them secure.

  70

  Samms and Leslie woke, but not well. Both had drank too much the night before.

  “Come on,” Samms said, “we got to meet in front of the saloon.”

  Leslie groaned. “I hope it’s open. I’m gonna need a little hair of what bit me to get goin’.”

  “Just think about the money we’re gonna take out of that bank,” Samms replied. “That should get you going.”

  Samms started pulling his pants on.

  “We got enough water to wash?” Leslie asked, pointing to th
e pitcher on the dresser.

  “Never mind,” Samms said. “There’ll be plenty of time to wash later. Just get dressed and let’s get going.”

  When Cotton arrived at the jail, Dan, Thomas, and James Shaye were all there and awake, as was Thad. There’d been enough food on the tray to feed the prisoners and the deputies, including Shaye.

  “You fellas all look well-fed,” Cotton said.

  “There might be somethin’ left on the tray for you,” James offered.

  “That’s okay,” Cotton said. “I had something before I left home. Belinda was gone when I left.”

  “She’s in the café with Jeb Collier,” Shaye said. “James and I saw them a little while ago.”

  “What about the rest?”

  “No sign.”

  “Thad,” Cotton said, “Why don’t you and James take a turn around town, see if you spot them?”

  “Yes, sir,” Thad said.

  James put down his empty coffee cup and followed Thad out the door.

  Samms and Leslie sat on chairs in front of the saloon, waiting.

  “Where’s everybody else?” Leslie wondered.

  “Overslept,” Leslie said. “Relax, they’ll be here.”

  Leslie put his head back, closed his eyes, and fell asleep.

  It didn’t take long for Thad and James to spot the two men seated in front of the saloon.

  “I’ll watch them,” James said, “you go back and tell the sheriff about it.”

  “Think they’re waitin’ for the others?”

  “Looks like it,” James said. “Go ahead.”

  Thad nodded and headed back to the office.

  Jeb and Belinda enjoyed a leisurely breakfast—at least, Jeb did. Belinda picked at her bacon and eggs until Jeb started eating from her plate. Picking at her bacon with his fingers.

  “Nervous?”

  “Yes.”

  “But this is what we’ve waited for,” he said. “This is what you wrote to me in Yuma about, taking this bank.”

  Belinda was a contradiction, even to herself. Yes, she’d written to him about the bank in Pearl River Junction, but she’d also written to Dan Shaye, to try to convince him to come to town and protect her—and Alvin Simon, for that matter. Once she met him, she thought his money was her way out and didn’t want Jeb to kill him. As for Jeb himself, she really wasn’t sure what he would do when he got there. It wasn’t until he came to the house to see her and her son that she knew he wasn’t going to kill her. That’s when she decided to throw in her lot with him.