Longarm and "Kid" Bodie (9781101622001) by Tabor Evans Read Free Book Online

shootings.”
    â€œHe’s right,” Longarm confessed. “I’ve been so busy hunting for Bodie that I just haven’t taken the time.”
    â€œWell, do it as soon as you leave this office,” Billy suggested. “We’re feds, and we have enough trouble dealing with the local authorities without you rubbing the sheriff the wrong way.”
    â€œHe’s worthless and isn’t going to get reelected. In a couple of months Clyde Miller will be just a bad and fading memory.”
    â€œThat is probably true,” Billy agreed, “but even so I’d like to be able to say that we kept our end of the bargain when it came to being cooperative.”
    â€œI’ll go see him right away,” Longarm promised.
    â€œSo where do you think this kid has gone?”
    â€œI don’t know. Bodie could have left Denver, but I don’t think so.”
    â€œWhy not?”
    Longarm shrugged his broad shoulders. “Just a hunch. I believe that Bodie really wanted to see his grandmother and aunt. And I think he’ll do that before he leaves town.”
    â€œAre they aware that the kid might pay them a sudden and unexpected visit?”
    â€œThey are.”
    Billy frowned. “I’ve heard rumors that the grandmother, Mrs. Ida Clark, is in very poor health. A boy with blood on his hands might be enough of a shock to put her in the ground.”
    â€œI know.” Longarm came to his feet. “Billy, I’ve been everywhere and I’ve told everyone that they need to let me know the minute they spot the boy and his dog. Trust me . . . they both stand out and will show up in a day or two at the most.”
    â€œI do trust you, Custis. And you need to file a report in my office regarding your role in the shootings. Have you done that yet?”
    â€œNo.”
    â€œThen please do so before you go to visit Sheriff Miller.”
    â€œOkay,” Longarm said, hating any kind of paperwork.
    Billy Vail suddenly relaxed. “Custis, it may cheer you up a bit to know that I’ve learned that the pair of men involved in the shootings were hardened criminals. They’d been in and out of Nevada, Arizona, and Colorado prisons for years. I don’t know a thing about the late John Stock, but I suspect he was simply a random victim and that the kid and the dog were caught up in the gunfire. However, I still find it hard to understand how a boy that young could shove a derringer into someone’s chest and pull the trigger. I’ll try to reserve my judgment until after I’ve read your report and talked to the boy.”
    â€œI was there, and after watching what happened to John Stock, it isn’t so hard to understand. If you’d also seen it, you would have done exactly what Bodie did . . . kill the son of a bitch.”
    â€œAll right,” Billy said quietly. “Write your report and then go and do whatever you have to do to smooth Sheriff Miller’s feathers.”
    â€œI absolutely can’t abide that man.”
    â€œNeither can I,” Billy replied, “but as you said, he isn’t going to be reelected, so just do what I’m asking.”
    â€œOkay.”
    Longarm left the office and went to his desk. There were three other deputies in their small offices, and all of them nodded in greeting but were wise enough not to pester him with questions about the shootings. Longarm sat down at his desk, picked up his pen, and began to write out the official office report. Finished, he read over his words, decided that they were adequate, left the report with a secretary and then headed for Sheriff Miller’s office.
    * * * 
    â€œSo,” the sheriff said when Longarm walked in, “you’ve finally decided to pay me a visit. What a big fucking honor!”
    â€œCut the bullshit.”
    Longarm didn’t wait to be invited to sit and pulled up a chair, while noting that the other two