“He’s a savage! He trespassed on my estate, battered my employee, and assaulted me… in my own home. He’ll hang. You just wait and see if he doesn’t!”
“Well, I’ll keep an eye out for him, sir. Now, if you’ll excuse me.”
Pew launched into another tirade, but Sully turned his back and strode off.
Will Bentley had returned. This was a complication Sully hadn’t seen coming, a complication that put him at risk but also presented interesting opportunities… the chance to have his revenge and finally put to rest any fears of that other, unfortunate matter ever coming to light and ruining his name.
Again, he would have to take his time, plan carefully, and act decisively… just as he must act decisively to save this day.
Walking straight past the doctor’s office, he patted the breast pocket where he felt a comforting lump: the money his father had given him to bribe the new Union officer, Captain Culp.
Reaching the hotel, Sully was stopped by a pair of rifle-toting negros in Union blue.
Most of the occupational forces were black men. Every Texan knew this was a taunt to former slave owners, salt in a still gaping wound.
But Sully smiled genuinely, thinking how angry the men now demanding to know his business would be if they knew all the things he had done to his slaves, the things he was still doing to the so-called servants still living on his plantation.
“Good morning, gentlemen,” he said. “Is the captain available?”
After answering some questions and surrendering his weapons, Sully was led inside, where he waited for a short time before being escorted into the office of the new post commander, Captain Alexander Culp, a cadaverous man with a hard face and suspicious eyes.
“What is it?” Captain Culp demanded.
Sully introduced himself.
Culp was not impressed. “Why are you here?”
“I have something of value to you,” Sully said, and thought of the many drinks and women he might buy with the money hidden inside his clothing.
“Something of value, eh?” Captain Culp said. “Let me be straightforward with you, Mr. Weatherspoon. I know your name. I knew it before I assumed this post. And if you think you can bribe me…”
“Bribe you?” Sully said, feigning shock.
Which, truth be told, wasn’t difficult.
Because Sully was surprised. How did the captain know his name? What would this mean over the coming months? And most concerning of all, was Captain Culp bluffing, hoping for bigger paydays than his predecessor, or was he actually that rarest and most detestable of things: an honest man?
The notion confounded and alarmed Sully, but he shoved it aside for later consideration. Because regardless of the captain’s true nature, his words had played perfectly into Sully’s plan.
And now, it was time to save the day.
“Captain, you have figured me all wrong. I am not here to bribe you.”
Culp looked dubious. “Nothing you can say will save your cousin, Mr. Weatherspoon. And yes, I am aware that Carter Weatherspoon is your cousin. We will bring him to justice, and he will pay for his crime. Under my watch, Mr. Weatherspoon, no one is above the law.”
Sully didn’t like the sound of that. But he smiled nonetheless. “I’m happy to hear that, sir, because I am here to help you. Carter Weatherspoon is gravely wounded and hiding in the back of Gleason’s Café. The owner, a woman named Alma, hid him in the root cellar beneath a stack of crates.”
The captain’s suspicious eyes narrowed further. “You’re turning in your own kin?”
“Yes, sir,” Sully said with what he intended to be an ingratiating smile. “I stand with you, Captain Culp. I stand with law and order… always. And please tell your men to be cautious. Carter has a revolver and might try to shoot his way out of there. He’s desperate and delusional.”
CHAPTER 13
“You two sure you don’t want to join us?” Will asked.
“No thanks,” Rose said. She was slumped at the table, nursing a cup of coffee. “Guess the whole thing is finally catching up to me. I feel like going back to bed.”
“And I’ll stay here with her,” Mama said with a smile. Was that an amused glimmer in Mama’s eyes? “You two have fun.”
