Slocum and the Three Fugitives by Jake Logan Read Free Book Online

shivered and gooseflesh appeared to mar her smooth skin. Putting her hands on his shoulders for balance, she hopped down, bent, and retrieved her blouse. As much as he hated to do so, Slocum knew he had to get dressed, too.
    As she pulled the blouse back down over her head, she mumbled to herself. When she was decent again, Annabelle said, “Tom worried about something before he left for Denver.”
    â€œWhy go all the way north to buy whiskey? Couldn’t he buy it here? How hard is it to distill alcohol and then spruce it up?”
    â€œTom always liked to give the customers a choice between rotgut that would rip out their throats and good stuff from Tennessee and Kentucky. He used to buy it from whiskey peddlers, but they stopped coming by a few months ago.”
    â€œWhy?”
    â€œI can’t say. Tom always took care of supplies.”
    â€œAnd hiring?”
    â€œI never liked Pierre, but Tom insisted on keeping him. He’s a good barkeep, but he always treated me with contempt.”
    â€œHis loss,” said Slocum. “You need to be treated in an entirely different way.” He ran his fingers through the hair at the back of her head and pulled her close for a quick kiss.
    â€œOh my, yes, his loss.” A shy smile danced on her lips. “My gain.”
    â€œYou have enough stock to keep the bar going, even after a couple cases of whiskey were broken?”
    â€œI need to see what was damaged. But why would anyone bust it up when they could steal it?”
    They returned to the back room. Annabelle lit a kerosene lamp and started to move closer to the stacks of boxes when Slocum held her back.
    â€œThe fumes might cause the whole saloon to go up if they catch fire.” He went to the rear door, saw how it had been pried open. The crowbar they used lay in the dirt where it had been discarded. He used the crowbar to prop open the door to air out the storeroom.
    He looked around the alley but finding the men would be impossible. They’d had plenty of time to hightail it. Stepping back in caused glass to crunch under his boots. Annabelle already swept the broken bottles toward the door to clean up but missed the smaller shards.
    â€œA couple cases are damaged. You must have caught them just as they started.”
    â€œYou say the whiskey peddlers you used to buy from stopped coming to town a few months back?”
    â€œI heard Pete from over at the Santa Fe Drinking Emporium complain about running low, but that was weeks ago.”
    â€œDid he close up?”
    â€œNo,” she said. “He has plenty of liquor. Wonder where he gets it. I can’t see him riding to Denver to buy from dealers there.”
    â€œWould his saloon still be open?”
    â€œHe runs all night long and only closes up at dawn. Why?”
    â€œI have a couple questions to ask.”
    â€œI’ll close up,” she said, walking over to the back door, removing the crowbar, and slamming the door shut.
    Slocum waited for her to leave the storeroom then secured the inner door the best he could without a lock, and returned to the main room. Walking past Annabelle, he went out into the street in front of the Black Hole. She joined him in a minute, carefully locking the front door.
    Annabelle grinned. “I still have the keys. Unless you want to take them.” She smiled coyly and dropped the keys down her blouse between her breasts.
    â€œI’ll hunt for the keys later,” Slocum said. His mind wandered to other things.
    Annabelle cupped her breasts and bounced them. A tinkling sounded as the keys bounced against her silver and turquoise necklace.
    â€œSure you don’t want to carry the keys?”
    â€œWhere’s Pete’s bar?”
    â€œWe can open a case of the best whiskey left. Tom had a good palate for buying bourbon. There’s even a decent bottle of brandy that’s hardly been touched behind the bar.”
    He took her by the elbow and steered