Elmore Leonard - Raylan

“You get along with her?”

“We discuss different aspects of life as they apply to surface mining… the kind of complaints the company gets. She wants to know about any new ones she hasn’t heard.”

“Ask her,” Raylan said, “why she told you to shoot Otis Culpepper.”

Boyd looked tired shaking his head. “Man, heed tired you always get on me, don’t you? The old man was firing his scattergun before I got off a round.”

Raylan was showing a faint grin.

“You saved Carol’s life?”

“She says I did.”

“Where was she when Otis fired at her?”

“As I recall, by the trailer, havin come out the door.”

“He shoot up the trailer?”

Boyd said, “Hey, come on. All I know is he didn’t hit Ms. Conlan. All this on account of the old man’s fishpond, the pond dead, Otis claims, from all that gob the mine poured into the streams. I said, ‘Otis, don’t fish get old and die, like everybody else?’ He wouldn’t listen to me.”

“Carol here yet?”

“She’s stayin at a home in Woodland Hills, one this fella has a piece of the company owns and lets her use. Casper Mott, you remember him?”

“Little guy,” Raylan said, “living on top of a mountain.”

“M-T bought it off him. He held out, said he was puttin in a bridle path and rent out horses. M-T wanted his mountain so bad they gave him stock in the company. Casper turned from nature boy to coal company showboat and got rich. He likes Ms. Conlan, so he’ll be at the get-together.”

Raylan said, “You know when I go to work?”

“In the mornin,” Boyd said. “I pick you up and then get Ms. Conlan. She wants to talk to you, make sure you’re what she wants.”

Art stepped up while they were talking, Boyd giving him a nod, then saying to Raylan, “Got your boss watchin out for you; good,” and looked at Art again. “See he don’t shoot Ms. Conlan, now he’s got a feel for shootin women.”

“I recall,” Art said, “he shot you one time. You’re mouthin off at Raylan, your gun right there on the table.”

“Havin supper Ava fixed for me that time,” Boyd said. “Yeah, Raylan shot me dead center, but the Lord made him miss my heart by a hair and I survived it.”

Art said, “I bet the Lord’s havin second thoughts.”

“Hey, come o n,”, cd tBoyd said, “me and Raylan are buddies now, both workin for the coal company.”

I n the SUV again, circling down the bare mountain, Art said, “I admire your control. He made that remark about shootin the nurse, you didn’t deck him.”

“I am practicing self-control,” Raylan said, “for when I’m with Ms. Conlan. Boyd’s right, I’ve shot a woman, but I’ve still never hit one with my hand.”

She came out of the tall pillars across the front of the Colonial in Woodland Hills and walked up to Raylan and Boyd waiting by the limo. She didn’t look at Boyd. She offered Raylan her hand saying, “Carol Conlan.”

Raylan, his expression pleasant enough said, “Ma’am,” touched the brim of his hat and gave her hand a squeeze. “I’m Raylan Givens.”

“I know, I’ve been reading about you, the one who shot the nurse.”

Raylan waited.

“The write-up in the paper called you brave. Are you?”

“I try to be whatever’s required.”

“Would you give your life to save mine?”

That took him to the heart of his job here. Raylan paused.

“It would depend on the situation.”

“What does that mean?”

He said, “Carol… once I’m dead and gone to heaven, how do I know I’ve saved your life?” There. If she didn’t care for him calling her Carol, fire him.

But she seemed to let it go. What she said was, “Raylan,” in a mild voice, “wouldn’t heaven know if you saved my life or not?”

He had to smile saying, “You got me.”

Carol said, “Let’s get in the car.”

Boyd, way up in front at the wheel of the stretch, couldn’t believe it. The two buddy-buddy already. He watched them in tes he rearview mirror, next to each other on the backseat; Ms. Conlan, her legs crossed in expensive-looking tan slacks, a preppy black sport coat, sunglasses. Raylan sitting up straight but looked at ease, still wearing his cowboy hat, Ms. Conlan going easy on him, not scaring the shit out of him yet. Boyd looked at his controls now and turned the speaker on back there-to tell the driver what you wanted without raising your voice-and kept it low, both their voices coming to him, Ms. Conlan asking Raylan about the nurse who stole kidneys, saying she read about it in the paper.

Y ou know what I’ve wondered?” Carol said. “If you ever got it on with Layla. She was attractive, wasn’t she?”

“You’re askin me,” Raylan said, “since she’s good-looking, did I try to get her in bed?”

Carol paused. “Did you?”

“By the time we met I was on to her.”

She wouldn’t let go of it. Now Carol said, “But if you didn’t know what she was up to…?”

“My boss asked me the same thing. He said if I hooked up with her, not knowing what she did, I’d be laying in an alley missing my kidneys.”

“So you set out to arrest Layla the transplant nurse and shot her instead.”

Raylan waited. It wasn’t a question.

“What was it like,” Carol said, “shooting a woman? Was it different?”

“I can’t say you get use to shooting any body. As a rule, women aren’t into crimes where they’d get shot by people in law enforcement. So we don’t get that many opportunities to shoot women.”

Let her chew on that.

She didn’t seem to mind it, saying, “With Layla, did you hesitate?”

“I had, I’d be dead,” Raylan said.

She seemed done with shooting women and said, “You’ve worked as a coal miner.”

He didn’t answer and Carol said, “Isn’t that true?”

“My boss told me not to open my mouth unless you asked me a question. Yeah, I dug coal, when we weren’t on strike.”

“Do you still think like a coal m linfoiner?”

“I don’t have his problems, finding work, getting pushed around by the company.”

“Your attitude about the companies hasn’t changed.”

“I think miners’ complaints are all real. A miner’s injured on the job, he keeps working or you fire him.”

Carol held up her hand to Raylan and said in a quiet voice, “Boyd, where’d you put the Cokes?”

Raylan watched him look at the mirror.

“They’re on the other side from you, by Raylan.”

Carol said, “Turn off the speaker.”

“Oh, was it on?”

She said to Raylan, “He lies, doesn’t he?”

“It’s his nature,” Raylan said. “I’m looking at him for shootin Otis Culpepper.”

Carol said, “You know I was there.”

“I understand you told the authorities you were by the trailer,” Raylan said, “when Otis fired his shotgun at you.”

Carol nodded, brushing her blond hair away from her face. She said, “I was coming out,” and started to smile. She knew what he was about to tell her but Raylan said it anyway.

“No buckshot hit the trailer where you were standing. There aren’t any marks or dents in it.”

She said, “Then he missed, didn’t he?”

“From thirty feet, where Boyd drilled him.”

Carol said, “Raylan,” and put her hand on his knee. “Your job is to look out for me. You don’t investigate a matter that would bring me in as a witness, I don’t have time. Just watch my back, all right? I think this meeting could become physical.”

She was through talking about Otis, Carol looking out the window now.

“It’s so green… the trees in the hills come so close. Like they want to envelop us.”