Anatomy of a Lawman Read Online Free Page B

laughed.
    “I’m gonna be leavin’ tomorrow with Jack, Clint,” Foster said. “You’re gonna have to find yourself some allies in this town.”
    “I’ve got Buck,” Clint said.
    “He’s young.”
    “He’ll do,” Clint said. “And he’s gonna help me find some others. Come to think of it, Doc. You got any suggestions before you go, I’d like to hear them.”
    “Suggestions?”
    “For men who’ll fight,” Clint said. “Or for men willing to fight.”
    “I’ll give it some thought and let you know in the morning,” Foster said.
    “Good,” Clint said. “I’d appreciate it.”
    “I’ll stop in here first thing.”
    “Can I come by and see Jack?”
    “Let him rest,” Doc said. “Why don’t you wait until mornin’, when you come to help move him?”
    “Okay,” Clint said. “What time?”
    “Whenever the stage comes in,” Foster said. “It’ll be stoppin’ right in front of the hotel.”
    “See you tomorrow, then.”
    Doc Foster nodded and left the office. Clint leaned back in his chair and put his feet up on the desk. There wasn’t much else to do at this point.
     
    Twenty minutes after Doc Foster left, the door opened a third time. Mrs. Henry Dennison entered, looked around, and paused when her eyes fell on Clint, who was standing at the stove, waiting for a pot of coffee to be ready.
    “Mrs. Dennison,” Clint said. “Don’t tell me you’ve come to take the badge away from me?”
    “Hardly,” she said, closing the door behind her. “I just thought I’d come by for a little . . . talk. And my name is Lucy.”
    Clint stood up. Lucy Dennison had returned home first, put on a new dress, and fixed her hair and makeup. He had originally thought her a handsome woman of about forty. Now she was an attractive woman in her late thirties.
    “Besides, they’d never trust me with anything so important,” she said. “I’m just filling my husband’s chair until his term of service is over.”
    “Then what brings you here?” Clint asked.
    “Like I said,” she answered, “I just wanted to . . . talk.”
    Twice she had hesitated before saying the word “talk.” Clint had the feeling the woman had more than that on her mind.

TEN
    “Can I get you a cup of coffee?”
    “I suppose that’ll do for a start,” she said. “May I sit?”
    “Take the chair at the desk,” he said. “It’s more comfortable.”
    She sat down, draping the shawl she’d been wearing over the back of the chair. Her dress was simple, blue, but it just barely covered her shoulders, and showed a shadowy valley between her breasts. It fit tightly, showing her to have a body that had probably once been trim but, as she got older, was filling out nicely.
    He poured two cups of coffee, handed her one, and then perched a hip on the desk so that he was looming over her.
    She tasted the coffee and said, “It’s very strong. I like it.”
    “I’m afraid I’m used to making coffee on the trail,” he said.
    “No, no, it’s fine,” she said, putting the mug down on the desk.
    “What did you want to talk to me about?”
    “Well,” she said, “if you’re going to be our sheriff for a while, I just thought we should get acquainted. I rather enjoyed the way you handled the members of the Council earlier today. You’re quite right that none of them intends to lift a finger to try to defend this town. They expect you to do that.”
    “That’s usually what people expect when they hire a sheriff,” he said, “but sometimes it’s not that easy. A sheriff and his deputies can’t always do these things themselves. Sometimes they need help from the town.”
    “Oh, I’m sure you’ll find men willing to fight,” she said. “Just not from the Council. They’re businessmen and politicians.”
    “I understand that,” Clint said. “What was your husband like?”
    “Oh, he was like them,” she said. “We owned the General Store, and Henry sat on the Town Council for years. I’m afraid most of the