Black Ransom (13 page)

“And you got the plan,” Jess said, a note of doubt in his voice.

Ehron Lee gave his head a slow nod. “Had plenty of time to come up with ideas. Most wouldn't work. But this is one plan where we might have a chance. And it was Ward who came up with it.”

“Good ol' Ward,” Randy drawled.

“Fifty-fifty odds?” Brad said. “Or are we talkin' somewhat less?”

Ehron Lee merely responded with a slight smile.

“And tell us ag'in how
you
come into this?” Brad next asked with a suspicious edge.

“I know the layout. Know the routine,” Ehron Lee answered patiently.

Brad's lips pressed into a thin, grim smile.

“And d'yuh also know 'bout the Indians that's s'posed to be scoutin' them hills?” he said archly.

“Ain't been no Indian trouble,” Ehron Lee said assuredly. “Ain't seen none in the five years I been there.”

“We been livin' with the prospect of trouble from the Chiricahua all the time we been hidin' out here, and I ain't seen a-one of them red-bellies,” Jess said with an unconcerned shrug.

Randy lighted his smoke with a match against his boot heel, and with the cigarette slanted from the corner of his mouth, he began to drum the fingers of his left hand against the tabletop.

“Them mountain Chiricahuas they talk 'bout is just a legend,” he said confidently in a slow drawl. “But reckon it's a legend that's served us well. Keeps anyone from gettin' inquisitive and crossin' Border Pass.”

Jess tried to sound optimistic. “Well, we just been layin' 'round here since our last job. Maybe we could use a little excitement.”

“I'm all for some excitement,” Brad said. “But sounds like there's more risk.”

“You boys take chances every time you ride out to rob a bank,” Cora curtly reminded them.

“Yeah, but we
know
that kind of risk,” Brad said with a sardonic grin.

“What happens after?” Jess asked Ehron Lee. “That is, if we pull it off.”

“Likely we separate. You go your way, we go ours.”

“Y'mean
you
separate, amigo,” Brad said. “We ain't goin' nowhere.”

Ehron Lee cast a quick glance over at Cora and noticed the flicker of disappointment that crept across her features.

“You and Ward teamin' up?” Jess said.

Ehron Lee was reluctant to answer. But he finally said, “We got some plans.”

“Simple,” Randy said with a derisive shrug.

“One other thing I forgot to mention,” Ehron Lee added casually.

All eyes turned to him, daggering Ehron Lee with their curiosity, and still maintaining suspicion.

He said, “We're gonna need some spendin' money. 'Course that's kinda owed to Ward, as well, don't yuh reckon?”

“You're talkin' a lotta years, pal. We spent that money long ago,” Brad uttered, smiling caustically out the side of his mouth.

It was Cora who voiced her opinion, and not too timidly.

“You boys scored not long ago and I ain't seen much of that money bein' spread 'round,” she said.

Brad's temper flared.

“Shut up, Cora!” he snapped at his sister.

Cora wasn't intimidated by her brother's tough guy attitude and she spoke with disdain. “
You
shut up, Brad. You all lived pretty well offa the money that Ward done time for. If you can't come up with a coupla hundred dollars now . . . well, all I can say is, I ain't never seen a bunch no lower than you three.”

Ehron Lee remained silent, but he was impressed. Cora was proving to be a valuable ally.

“We can stake him,” Jess said blankly. “We'll put in from each of our shares.”

In just the short time he had been among them, Ehron Lee had formed definite opinions about these men. It appeared that it was Jess Colfax who had the final say. Randy was quiet and seemingly complacent. Brad could be the one to worry about as he was the youngest and seemed to be a complainer, possibly reckless as well. The type who felt the need to prove himself.

After they ate supper, the men sat around the table sharing corn whiskey that they swigged from a jug. Ehron Lee declined; he wanted to keep his head clear. Instead he got up from the table and went over to the stove to pour himself some leftover coffee. It had cooled, and Cora offered to heat it for him, but Ehron Lee said he didn't mind his coffee cold. It was inky black and strong tasting and Ehron Lee added three heaping spoonfuls of sugar to mellow its bitterness. He'd noticed how Cora regarded him with a look that he interpreted as pleasant approval when he refused to partake of the corn whiskey. He understood. In Cora's environment it was rare and perhaps refreshing to see a man not guzzle back alcohol.

Ehron Lee was a little concerned about the way the others were drinking; he didn't know their personalities when drunk, and wasn't eager to find out. But he knew it wasn't his place to comment and just hoped there would be no trouble. He sensed these men possessed volatile temperaments.

Cora sat in a rocker in the next room, knitting. Ehron Lee thought it a rather odd display of domesticity given the girl's rough-grained character.

While Cora sat quietly, not offering any of her own thoughts or opinions to the matter being discussed, she listened attentively as Ehron Lee outlined the plan that he and Ward had worked out. Using cigarette stubs and broken matchsticks, he had laid out a primitive map of the prisoner work site to illustrate an approximation of where the eight supervising guards were stationed.

By the time Ehron Lee was through, the outlaw trio had looks on their faces that suggested less apprehension at the plan.

“Can see it workin',” Randy offered as he rolled a fresh cigarette.

“Shoot and scatter,” was Jess's comment.

Brad sighed. “Well, so long as we can get away without gettin' shot, shouldn't be no one who can tie us in with this. Reckon we can thank Ward for that. For keepin' his mouth shut 'bout us.”

Ehron Lee nodded. “It's gonna be a few days' ride. Probably smart if we throw in an extra day to rest up. Wanta hit the grounds shortly after sunup. Countin' on the guards not bein' too alert at that hour.”

“You said they're pretty good with their rifles?” Brad said grimly.

Ehron Lee nodded again. “That's why we gotta hit fast.” He twirled his index finger around the cigarette butts he'd laid out in a curve design. “We circle 'round the canyon from the north with long-ranges and we should have the advantage. They all keep themselves in the open.”

“Like shootin' targets,” Jess said.

* * *

It was a hot night with an uncommon humidity that had developed following a late afternoon rain and that had lingered into the night. It permeated the air inside the cabin, and Ehron Lee had trouble sleeping. The hour was almost midnight and he was wide awake. He had lain out in a bedroll on the floor in the front room listening to the cacophony of snores and snorts that went on in the room where the three outlaws slept.

Realizing he was fighting a losing battle, he finally decided to get up and step outdoors, hoping a walk in the night air might aid him in getting some shut-eye. It seemed a trifle cooler outside, and as Ehron Lee started to walk around the small property, breathing easily and feeling the sweat start to evaporate from his body, he realized of a sudden that he was a free man. It was odd but the fact really hadn't occurred to him until this moment. Perhaps prison had become too much a way of life; maybe part of him believed that his leaving Rockmound was only a temporary reprieve.

But he
was
free. Of course it wasn't the freedom he had envisioned and desperately sought those five years ago. He had hoped for a much different outcome. He certainly had never expected to become the person he now was: hardened, vindictive, devoid of most of the feelings he once had possessed. He had survived both the bloody carnage of the war and the brutality and cruel conditions of Hell's Doorway but realized he had paid a bitter price.

Ehron Lee leaned himself against the straight fence that bordered the south side of the property, behind which stood the weathered old railings forming a circular corral where stood four quarter horses, and as he stared out at the shadowed and serrated mountain peaks of Brimstone Canyon reaching skyward beyond the horizon, he contemplated all that was to come. He had a lot going through his brain, but he remained firm in his determination. He couldn't turn back from what was ahead even if at that very moment Melinda appeared and came rushing into his arms. The damage had been done and it was irreparable.

Yet he knew he couldn't do it alone, and that was why he agreed to help Ward Crawford. He needed a man beside him who carried the same hatred that consumed him. The same determined thirst for revenge. Ehron Lee's conviction strengthened once he'd recognized that he and Ward Crawford shared a strange bond in their past and perhaps had been brought together at Rockmound specifically for that reason.

He was deep in thought when soft footfalls approaching from behind snapped him back to awareness. He turned around and saw Cora walking toward him. She was wearing a cotton robe, which she had open over her nightgown, and looked as feminine as Ehron Lee had yet seen her.

The night was dark and inked with clouds, but the moon was bright. Cora walked to where her face caught a splash of moonlight. The subtle glow seemed to soften features that earlier had looked both weather-worn and strained.

Because she'd been living with three outlaws, Ehron Lee could well understand why she appeared older than what likely were her years.

She smiled at him. “Those boys' snorin' is shakin' the whole house.”

Ehron Lee smiled back tentatively.

“So hot, can't see how no one can get any sleep,” she added, stepping a bit closer to Ehron Lee and resting her arm against a fence post. “Then I reckon those boys drank 'nuff to put out the lights on a horse.”

Ehron Lee held his smile and lowered his head a bit. He could tell that she was trying to make conversation. He wasn't much in the mood for talk and was hoping to have a few moments of solitude, but Cora had been friendly to him and he wasn't about to respond to her kindness with rudeness.

Still, he wasn't sure of what to say. It had been a long time since he'd last spoken to a woman. And the words he'd said to that girl had been tender and exclusive.

“Must be kinda different for yuh, livin' with three—”

Before he could finish, Cora cut in. “Outlaws?”

“Was gonna say ‘men,'” Ehron Lee clarified.

Cora allowed herself a smile and gave her head a mild shake. “No, not particularly. Lived with men all my life. After my ma died, was just my pa and Brad. Then after Pa died and Brad ran off with his bunch—Ward and Jess and there used to be some others—well, I just up and trailed after 'em. Reckon that's why I don't exactly come across like a girl should.”

“Wouldn't say that,” Ehron Lee offered kindly.

Cora appeared slightly embarrassed by his comment.

“Aw, I don't know much 'bout all that,” she said, kicking her toes in the dirt. “Dolls and frilly things. Don't think I ever smelled no perfume . . . or even put on a fancy dress.”

“Well, you look just fine to me,” Ehron Lee told her.

Cora sighed. “But I'd be tellin' yuh that I sure miss Ward. All these years it's gotten awful lonesome without him. Can hardly believe it's been so long since I last seen him.”

Ehron Lee was silent. He inherently felt that Cora wanted him to tell her if Ward had talked about her, perhaps expressed some feelings, or just that he missed her.

None of which Ehron Lee could truthfully say that Ward had so much as hinted at.

Cora spoke pensively, and it was as though she were speaking to herself. “Reckon knowin' the type of man Ward Crawford is, he wouldn't say too much 'bout me.”

“Didn't have much time to talk . . . 'bout personal matters,” Ehron Lee said gently, attempting to smooth over her disappointment.

Cora sighed again, a heavier exhale of breath. “Six years in that place. Maybe he forgot.” She paused then spoke with emphasis. “I hope he makes it. Hope he gets out and gets clean away.” She paused, then looked directly at Ehron Lee. “Can you be tellin' me where you two will be ridin'?”

Ehron Lee lowered his eyes and shook his head. “Can't.”

Cora eyed him skeptically. “Can't?”

Ehron Lee breathed out. “Truth is . . . I don't know. Ward's been workin' that out.”

Cora nodded and said resignedly, “Not surprised. Ward was always a man who had to follow his own path. Reckon the one thing I do know is that if he ain't in jail, in time he'll end up dead. He ain't ever gonna ride honest.”

“Guess you also know that what we're plannin' ain't gonna be safe for none of us, including your brother,” Ehron Lee said.

Cora's attitude perplexed him.

“Brad's been ridin' into a bullet ever since the day he hooked up with Jess and them others,” she said dispassionately.

Ehron Lee regarded her curiously.

Cora looked straight back at him, meeting Ehron Lee's puzzled stare with eyes that had become cold and intense.

“I come to accept that outcome a long time ago,” she said harshly. Then her attitude softened and she looked almost apologetic. “He ain't nothin' like Jess or Randy. He pretends to be of their type and I know he's got bad blood, but the real truth is that he just ain't never growed up. Can't be no good end for someone like that.”

“Guess what I can't figger is why you stay, if'n yuh know that.”

Cora shrugged and said neutrally, “What else is there for me? I don't know no other life. Never had any schoolin' . . . and Pa never gave me much thought. He worked some . . . and drank more. Didn't do much fatherin' with Brad neither—which is why he took to the life he has.”