Between Hell and Texas (17 page)

Cray Dawson took his time now, stepping a bit to one side and looking around at the deputies as he
spoke. “Anybody who knows me, knows that Somos Santos is my home,” Dawson called out to the crowd, focusing on Lematte and his deputies. “I want to be able to come here without any trouble from anybody.” The ax handle streaked through the air and struck Snead across the small of his back. Snead snapped upright, then started to fall slowly forward.

“You all know that I live with a woman right out there off the Old Spanish Trail,” said Dawson, giving a nod out across the rocky land. With a quick step forward, he swung the handle again, this time stooping slightly to make certain it hit Henry Snead just below his ribs, sending a gush of air from his bloody mouth. “I won’t tolerate anybody coming around uninvited.” Snead’s gold tooth hit the dirt at Dawson’s feet.

“We’re putting a stop to this,” said one of the deputies. But before he made a move, a pistol barrel nudged against the side of his cheekbone. Mike Cassidy stood bare-chested beside him.

“You’re not going to do anything but
behave
yourself,” Cassidy warned him, cocking the pistol.

In the dirt Snead buckled forward, his arms wrapped around his stomach, his cheek on the ground, his behind in the air. Dawson raised his boot and shoved the helpless man over onto his side. Snead groaned pitifully. “Does everybody here understand what I’m saying?” said Dawson. He looked back and forth at the faces of the deputies, the cowboys, and the townsmen. A silence set in. The only sound on the street was that of Snead groaning. Cray Dawson pitched the ax handle atop Henry Snead with disregard and walked to where Martin Lematte stood with his cigar in his mouth.

“Sheriff Lematte,” said Dawson, “I want to report a robbery.”

“A robbery?” Lematte looked surprised, and worried.

“That’s right,” said Dawson. “The last time I was in Somos Santos I had four hundred and eighty dollars in my shirt pocket. After I left the Silver Seven it was missing.” His gaze narrowed and riveted on Lematte. “I’m counting on you and your deputies clearing this thing up for me. I’m getting my money back before I leave town this evening.”

Lematte looked stunned. “Dawson, I hope you don’t think I had anything to do with Snead doing what he did to you here the other day!”

“He’s wearing a deputy’s badge,” Dawson said firmly. “He’s one of your boys.”

Karl Nolly cut in, saying, “That’s right, Snead is a deputy, Dawson! That means you just beat the hell out of a deputized lawman!”

“Nolly! Shut up!” Lematte demanded. He looked past Dawson at the crowd growing closer around them. “Everybody break it up now!” he shouted. “Go on home! There’s nothing else to see here!”

“About that money, Lematte,” Dawson said flatly.

“I’ve been hoping you’d show up, Dawson,” said Lematte. “I want to talk to you about that money.”

“I’m here,” said Dawson. “Start talking.”

“Excuse me just a second,” said Lematte. As the townsmen drifted away, leaving only the deputies and Gains Bouchard and his drovers, Lematte turned from Dawson and called out to two men who were dragging Snead out of the street. “As soon as that bum is able to ride,” said Lematte, “stick him on a horse and run him out of here.”

Turning back to Dawson, Lematte said, “I hope you never thought that I had anything to do with what happened to you in the Silver Seven.”

“The thought never entered my mind,” Dawson said with a trace of sarcasm.

“Good,” said Lematte. “I’d like for you and me to be friends, Dawson.”

“What about that money?” said Dawson.

Lematte stared at him for a moment, seeing that he wasn’t going to let up on the subject. “All right, Dawson,” he said. “It just happens that someone found a handful of dollars in the street the night after you left here. I counted it and it came to exactly four hundred and eighty dollars. If you say it’s yours, feel free to pick it up at my office.” He nodded toward the sheriff’s office down the street, where a large wooden star hung above the door.

“I will,” said Dawson.

“But I meant what I told you,” said Lematte. “I do want us to be friends. There’s a lot we could do for this town, working side by side, Dawson.”

“I doubt it,” said Dawson. He glanced around at the faces of Bouchard and his drovers, giving Bouchard a look that said everything was under control.

Gains Bouchard jerked his head toward the saloon, saying to his men, “Come on, boys, I’m going to set us all up a drink.” He said to Dawson as he and his men moved toward the Silver Seven Saloon, “Crayton, you’ve got one coming too, soon as you can join us.”

“Obliged, Mister Bouchard,” said Dawson.

“Don’t turn me down without even thinking about it,” Lematte said to Dawson.

“I already have turned you down,” Dawson replied.

“But surely there’s something I can do to change your mind, Dawson,” Lematte coaxed.

“I’ll be by to pick up my money,” said Dawson. He started to turn away. But he stopped abruptly at the sight of Suzzette standing on the boardwalk out front of the saloon. Their eyes met and Suzzette offered a slight smile.

Lematte saw the way they looked at one another and said quickly, “Dawson, that’s Suzzette…one of my new girls. I bet you and she would hit it right off. She’s a Texas gal. Quite a looker if I might say so.”

“Suzzette…” Dawson murmured almost to himself, still surprised at seeing her in Somos Santos.

“That’s right, Suzzette,” said Lematte, misreading the look on Dawson’s face. “Go on over and say howdy to her.” He grinned and called out to Suzzette, “Sweetheart, I’ve got somebody here I want you to meet. Why don’t you take him upstairs and pour him a
private
drink.”

Cray Dawson just looked at Lematte, speechless.

Lematte slapped him on the back, saying, “Well, go on, Dawson. What are you waiting for? This one is on the house. Call it an offer of friendship from me to you.” He leaned closer to Dawson and said, “And don’t worry about your money; it’ll be waiting for you at my office. Come get it when you please.”

Cray Dawson walked to the boardwalk slowly, not taking his eyes off of Suzzette.

Beside Lematte, Karl Nolly said, “Sheriff, I don’t like this a bit. These two act like they know one another.”

“Maybe that’s good,” Lematte replied in a lowered voice. “This whore might have come along at just
the right time. Snoop around some. If you find out there’s anything between them, let me know first.”

“What are you thinking, Sheriff?” asked Nolly.

“You saw what was going here,” said Lematte, “the way Bouchard and the Double D boys were ready to back Dawson’s play? We can’t afford to have all of them against us, not if we’re going to run this town the way we want to.” He dropped the cigar to the ground and crushed it under his boot heel. “They’ve all just about worn out their welcome with me.”

“Cleveland Ellis and Moon Braden said they’re both itching to take Dawson on,” said Nolly. “Think we ought to sic them on him, see if they might get lucky?”

“Sic them on him,” said Lematte. “Just make sure he doesn’t see that it’s us standing behind them.”

Inside the Silver Seven Saloon, Gains Bouchard and his cowhands stood with their drinks in hand and watched Suzzette Sherley lead Cray Dawson up the stairs and through the door to her room at the end of the hall. Sandy Edelman raised his drink toward Dawson in acknowledgment, but Dawson never gave him a glance. “Well”—Edelman grinned—“I reckon he’s got his head on right. I wouldn’t be paying no mind to nothing else either if that little gal had me by the reins, leading me to the barn.” He and the others laughed and threw back their drinks.

“Give him a few minutes,” said Gains Bouchard. “He’ll be down here picking pillow feathers out of his hair.”

Upstairs, Cray Dawson closed the door to Suzzette’s room and turned, facing her. “Oh, Cray!” she cried out, throwing herself against him in an embrace.

Dawson returned her greeting, but after a moment had to tactfully hold her back at arm’s length. “Suzzette, it’s good to see you,” he said. “I never expected I’d see you in Somos Santos.” Glancing around the room, he said, “But I see you didn’t quit the business after all.”

“No,” Suzzette sniffled, touching a dainty kerchief
to her eye. “My circumstances took a bad turn right after you left Eagle Pass. I
couldn’t
quit…at least not right then. But now I’ve got to quit. I’m getting desperate.”

“I don’t like seeing you work for Martin Lematte,” said Dawson, letting her last few words slip past him. “I think he’s a dirty dealer.” Then he stopped and backtracked over what she had said. “Desperate? How do you mean?” he asked.

She hesitated, studying his eyes, as if wondering whether or not to tell him. But then she let out a sigh, saying, “Cray, I’m going to have a baby.”

Dawson looked stunned. “A baby?” A short tense silence set in. Then Dawson said, “But how do you know? It hasn’t been long enough to—”

“Cray, it’s not your child,” Suzzette said, interrupting him. “I was afraid I might be pregnant when you and I were together. But I wasn’t certain yet. Now I am.” Her hand touched her stomach idly.

“My goodness, Suzzette,” Dawson said quietly. “You can’t go on doing this.” He gestured around the room.

“I know,” she answered quietly. “But right now there’s nothing else I can do. I’m setting aside all the money I can get my hands on. I can’t have this baby in the street.”

Looking into her eyes, Dawson had to ask himself if this was the reason she’d wanted to stay with him. Had she only been turning to him for help? Had he stayed with her much longer would she have told him this was his child? He brushed the questions aside. It made no difference what she might have done, or why she did it. This was the only way she had known to deal with her situation. He couldn’t
blame her. She had been as honest as she knew how to be. The fact was, she had seen him through a tough time. Now that she needed his help, he had to make the offer.

“You won’t have your baby in the streets, Suzzette, I promise you,” he said, wanting to hold her, to comfort her, but knowing it might not be a good idea.

“Cray,” she said softly, “I didn’t come here to cause you any trouble. I heard what you said out there a while ago…that you have a woman living with you. I don’t want to interfere.”

“Suzzette, you’re not interfering,” he said. “I am living with someone. But that has nothing to do with this. I’ll help you find a place to live. I’ll help you through this. But you’ve got to leave here right now. You can’t be doing this in your condition.”

“I’m not getting on the bed with anybody,” said Suzzette. “Lematte pays me to oversee the other girls. The deal is, unless it’s a special customer or one that I choose to be with, I don’t have to service anybody. So far I’ve been lucky. I’ve kept myself busy and stayed out of Lematte’s way. But I know that, sooner or later, he’ll require more of me.”

“Then we’ve got to get you out of here,” said Dawson, “the sooner the better. I’ll see about getting you in at a boarding house.”

Suzzette reached out and placed a hand on his cheek, saying quietly, “Cray, no boarding house is going to take me in. If they did, I’d soon be the only guest there.” She offered a sad smile. “Don’t forget what I am. I’m a whore. The world isn’t going to change what it thinks of me just because I’m carrying a baby. To them it’s nothing but a bastard child.”

“Don’t talk that way about yourself and your baby,” said Dawson.

But she continued, saying, “Most folks would wonder why I didn’t pay some blackleg doctor to gouge this baby out of me.”

“Stop it, Suzzette!” Dawson said. “I won’t listen to you talk that way.”

“Cray, I’m just being honest about it,” Suzzette said. “The fact is I started to get rid of it when I first found out. But I couldn’t. Something just told me not to…that this baby was meant to get here. So it looks like I’m going to have it. The rest I’ll have to figure out as I go along.”

“That’s right,” said Dawson. “And I’ll help you figure things out, until you get back on your feet.”

“Thanks, Crayton,” Suzzette said, stepping forward, putting her arms around him again, this time resting her head against his shoulder. “It’s good to know I’ve got a friend here.”

This time Dawson didn’t resist. He held her and stroked his hand down her hair. “Don’t mention it, Suzzette,” he said. “I’m here for you, just like you were for me…for as long as it takes.”

They stood in silence for a moment, then Suzzette said, “Cray, this woman you’re living with…is she someone you met after you left me in Eagle Pass?”

“No,” said Dawson, “I knew her before. But I never mentioned her because there was nothing between us then. It’s only, when I came here she and I decided to—”

“Shhh,” Suzzette said, cutting him off. “I’m not asking for any explanations. I just wanted to know if she came along after me.”

“I knew her before,” Dawson said quietly. “This is not something I had planned. It just happened.”

“Has she replaced the woman you told me about, the one who died?” Suzzette asked.

Dawson had to think about it before answering. It was a question he had asked himself lately, but not one that he had yet answered for himself. “I don’t know, Suzzette. She’s a good woman…so are you. But it’s still not the same.” He held her against him, thinking it over.