Elmore Leonard - Raylan

“You come due to own a mountain,” Dewey said, “they’s all kind of people askiof — usng about it.”

He hung back now watching Raylan approach the two company thugs in the yard.

K id,” Raylan said to the middle-aged guy, “tell me what you’re doing here.”

“Mine company business,” Billy the Kid said. “It sure ain’t none of yours.”

Raylan said, “You come armed?”

“One I’m licensed to pack. So’s Wayne here.”

Carol called to Raylan, “Leave them alone. They’re my security people.”

Raylan said, “You afraid of Pervis?”

She didn’t bother to answer. Raylan watched her turn and walk toward the house, Boyd still facing Raylan until she stopped and looked back at him.

“You coming?”

The company thugs turned and followed Boyd.

Pervis stood on the porch waiting, Rita close by, hands on her hips, slim brown legs coming out of her shirttails.

Carol, turning to Pervis said, “You going to invite me in?”

“What for?” Pervis said.

“Talk about mineral rights.”

“I’m not sellin none today.”

Billy the Kid was facing Raylan again. The Kid turned his head to say something to his partner and now Wayne, wearing dark sunglasses, was looking this way like he’d just now woke up. The Kid seemed alert but anxious, loosening the hat on his head, an old businessman’s Stetson, and setting the curled brim over his eye again.

Pervis said, “You want to talk business-” and stopped, the company woman looking at Raylan. Pervis said, “Miss, I’m talkin to you,” and waited for Carol to look up at him.

He said, “You come to talk about buyin my mountain, tell me why you bring these thugs along?”

Carol said in her nice tone of voice, “Mr. Crowe, I represent M-T Mining. I come to Harlan, I know full well I’m not gonna win any popularity contest.”

“You sure aren’t,” Pervis said, “puttin on that West Virginia voice. Case we forgot your dad mined.”

The Kid said, “Grampa sees how it is. Talks hard to us, huh, in front of his nigger puss.”

Raylan saw Rita’s hands ease down to her thighs.

He said, “Pervis, why don’t you and Rita step in the house while we finish up here.”

He said to Carol, “Pervis is thinking how you did business with Otis Culpepper and what Otis got out of the deal.”

“They musta got Otis drunk,” Pervis said, “and shot him he’s got his eyes closed. That’s what I think of this company girl’s story.” He said to her, “Honey, you want to talk bout a mountain I’m leavin to my kin? He swears he’ll honor my wishes and never sell it.”

He looked out at Dewey standing across the yard, not close to anybody, and waved to him.

“Come on up here, boy. Show this girl we standin together on this.”

Raylan said, “Go on up there,” getting Dewey out of the way. Watched him edge around the gun thugs heading for the porch. Watched Dewey step up there as Pervis put his arm around his shoulders.

“Tell this little girl,” Pervis said, “a time comes I ever pass, you ain’t sellin. Remember what I said about my gravestone?”

Dewey standing small under Pervis’s arm, people in the yard watching him, said, “You want it up on top of Big Black.”

“Laid to rest in the trees,” Pervis said.

“Yes sir, you don’t want no trees cut down.”

“You don’t either,” Pervis said, “or any coal taken out of your mountain.”

Raylan watched Dewey hesitate, a look of pain on his face. He said, “No matter how much they offer me.”

“Mr. Crowe,” Carol said, “if I thought for a moment Dewey was your heir, I wouldn’t be here to make you an offer, would I?”

“Since I’m never gonna sell it,” Pervis said, “I believe you’re thinkin of puttin a gun to my head and have me sign a deed over to you. Then have the Kid shoot me and make up a story how it happened.”

Raylan saw the Kid adjust his hat again as if he was taking a bow, the Kid acting like he was in a movie.

They were getting to it now.

Raylan said to Boyd, “You have a gun stuck in your pants? I like to know who’s in this and who’s watchin.”

It was the Kid, not Boyd said to Raylan, “You got one way to find out,” sliding his hand down to his belt.

What Raylan did, he pulled his Glock, raised it and shot the hat off the Kid’s head, saw him look stunned, dropping a chromed-up revolver in the dirt, his hand going to the top of his head, then looking at his palm to see if there was blood, Raylan doubting he saw no more than a speck, his hair parted clean. Wayne, at this time, was working to get a gun cleared of his coat, finally drawing another chromed-up piece as Rita stepped off the porch pulling the old man’s. 38 from under her shirttails and swiped the barrel across Wayne’s skull. Wayne stumbled, dropped his piece and stood in the yard looking bewildered. What Rita did next was put the. 38 on Carol saying to Raylan, “You want, I can shoot her.”

“Hey, come on,” Carol said. “I came here to talk business and Raylan pulls a gun.”

“On your two thugs,” Rita said. “I could shoot you and put a gun in your cold hand.”

“We’re done,” Raylan said, looking at Boyd again. He hadn’t moved. “You thinking about the time I shot you and you rose from the dead? It only happens once in your life.” He turned to Carol again and she said:

“Were you actually aiming at his hat?”

“I hit it, didn’t I?”

Raylan looked at the two gun thugs, both sitting on the ground now, wobbly.

“You gonna take these two with you?”

“They’re fired,” Carol said, and took a moment before saying, “you know I grew up in coal camps-”

“You keep reminding us.”

“To make the point,” Carol said, “I know hill people are a different breed, strange to outsiders. But you’ve been something of a new experience for me.”

“Anything happens to Pervis,” Raylan said, “I’ll come lookin for you.”

Carol said, “You promise?”

She walked off-not looking at Boyd-walked to the limo and got in and made a U-turn in the yard, skinned past the pickup and the Audi and got out of there.

Raylan turned to Boyd.

“I guess you’re fired too.”

“You asked me a question,” Boyd said, “what side I’m on. What did I say? Nothin. Was this scudder answered you, I didn’t. You don’t know what I was gonna say, do you?”

“Doesn’t matter,” Raylan said. “You pulled, I’d of shot you. I think you believed that, so you decided to watch.”

Boyd said, “Raylan… I don’t hold ill feelings against you, even for shootin me that time. I admit, it was in my mind to shoot you but only if I saw it comin to that.”

“Boyd, you told me that time it was your in tent ion,” Raylan said. “I let you watch today, so now we’re square, all right? You need a ride, put the Kid and the other one in their truck and take ’em home.”

Boyd said, “Raylan…?”

“We’re through talking for now,” Raylan said, walking up to the porch. He looked at Pervis. “You ever see Carol again, call me, and I’ll get marshals on her.”

“She don’t worry me none,” Pervis said. “I got Dewey here lookin out for me.”

“I’m devotin my life to it,” Dewey said.

Rita had come up by the porch. She said, “I told Pervis he ought to be ashamed of himself, Dewey has to wait till you pass. What if the mountain, it turns out, ain’t worth diddly, the coal Dewey’s been waitin for years already dug out?”

Pervis said, “I always tried to be optimistic in life.”

Dewey looked from one to the other.

“But everybody says it’s full of coal. Ain’t it?”

“Everybody prayin for a job,” Rita said. “Hoping for work.” She looked at Pervis. “I don’t think it’s fair, leaving a dead mountain to your only kin.”