“How old were you?”
“Old enough.” He heard her make a sound that indicated she wasn’t satisfied with that answer. “Twenty. I was twenty. There were lots of boys younger than me, all of us looking for adventure and glory. Like I said, fighting woke us up.”
“My brothers were older, but I don’t think that matters. Is anyone ever prepared?”
“Not in my experience.”
“George enlisted first. When he came back, Martin went. Couldn’t be talked out of it, so my father went, too. He had some idea that he could watch Martin’s back. It didn’t work out that way. Martin saw fighting. My fathersaw the aftermath. He worked in the medical tent, collecting sawn-off limbs and mopping up blood. None of them talked much about it. My father said the worst part for him was waiting for the wagons to bring the wounded in and living with the dread that he’d see his son among the bodies.”
“Hard to bear,” said Call. “Nothing about the war was ever easy, but some things were harder to bear than others.”
“Mm-hmm.” Laurel didn’t trust herself to do more than murmur agreement.
Call judged it was the right moment to leave. She deserved privacy for her thoughts. The truth was that he wanted the same. He dropped his legs over the side of the swing and sat up. It rocked gently in response to his movement and he dug in his heels to stop it. “It’s been a pleasure, Miss Morrison.” He caught his hat as he stood and returned it to his head. “Good night.”
Laurel nodded. She continued staring straight ahead and didn’t spare him a glance. She did not trust the darkness to keep him from seeing that her eyes were damp.
8
The morning stage came from Stonechurch. Call thought Brady might be driving, but it seemed he was still holed up in the mining town waiting for the Pharaoh to give him leave to go. Mr. Stonechurch did not appear to be entirely confident in Brady’s innocence because after that first night he kept finding excuses for the driver to stay. It was a reminder to Call that he had a job to do for Stonechurch and couldn’t linger at Morrison Station without talking to Rooster and the Booker boys.
After breakfast, Call had an opportunity to question Rooster alone while the man was fitting one of the mares with a new shoe. Call made himself useful grooming and feeding the animals while Rooster worked so conversation was more natural than a sit-down interrogation.
“Can’t say that I knew the man all that well,” said Rooster as he examined the available shoes for one that would fit the mare. He tried several before he found the right one. “Josey talked but didn’t say much if you know what I mean.”
“I do,” said Call. “Was he friendly?”
“He wasn’t unfriendly. He was real good with the animals. Spoke to them more than he did to me. Found them more interesting, I suspect.”
“Would you say he was close to anyone here?”
“No.”
“Anyone in town?”
“Never heard that he was. You looking for someone who might have helped rob the stage?”
“Helped him or knew something about his plans.”
“Well, I can tell you that someone ain’t one of us. Mrs. Booker would lay her boys out flat if she even thought they were involved. She’s a real gentle woman until her back’s up then you gotta back up. Far.”
A glimmer of a smile crossed Call’s face at this description of a fierce mother. He was not unfamiliar with the type. “You’re telling me Dillon and Hank wouldn’t dare.”
“That’s right.”
“And you?”
“I guess you had to ask outright, but it’s still an insult.” Rooster tapped a nail into the shoe and the mare’s hoof. The animal didn’t stir. “I got a conscience I have to live with. Listening to it has served me just fine all these years. So, no, I didn’t have anything to do with the robbery in the planning or in the doing. Whether or not you’re inclined to believe me, that’s up to you.”
Call was so inclined and he told Rooster that. “A couple of men at Sweeny’s told me Pye spent more of his free time at the brothel than the saloon. Does that sound about right?”
“Can’t say. I wasn’t with him and he didn’t talk about it.”
“So you don’t know if there was a particular woman he saw there, someone he might have talked to more than anyone else.”
Rooster shook his head. He finished shoeing the mare and dropped the animal’s hoof. Straightening, he put a hand at the small of his back and stretched. “Like I said, wasn’t with him and he didn’t talk about it. Did you ask the boys?”
“Not yet.”
