William Johnstone - Snake River Slaughter

“Thank you,” Matt said.

“Señor,” Frederica acknowledged with a nod of her head.

“Thank you, Frederica. I can handle it from here,” Kitty said.

Frederica let herself out of the room and shut the door behind her.

“How did I get here?” Matt asked.

“You don’t remember?”

“The last thing I remember is starting to ride away from the saloon.”

Kitty dipped the spoon into the soup, then held it out for Matt. He hesitated.

“It isn’t too hot,” Kitty said. “I let it cool a bit before we brought it up to you.”

Matt took the spoonful, swallowed it, then nodded.

“Oh,” he said. “That is good. That is very good.”

“Thank you. It’s a duck soup that I made myself,” she said. “I even made the noodles.”

Matt took another swallow and smacked his lips appreciatively. “It is very good,” he said again.

He picked up the piece of bread and tore off a piece, then stuck it in his mouth. “Good bread too,” he said.

“So the last thing you remember is riding away from the saloon?”

“Yes. I don’t remember riding out here at all.”

“Not surprising that you don’t remember riding out here, since you didn’t do that.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean you didn’t get very far,” Kitty said. “You got only as far as the school before you fell off your horse.”

“I fell off my horse?” Matt said incredulously. He shook his head. “No, I don’t think so. That’s not possible.”

“Don’t get your feelings all bruised. Maybe I worded that poorly. What I should have said is that you passed out from loss of blood, then you fell off your horse.”

“All right, that explains that part of it. But if I didn’t ride out here, how did I get here?”

“Millie brought you here.

“Millie?”

“She works in the saloon. It seems you made quite a good impression on her. Should I be jealous?”

“Jealous?”

“I’m teasing. Evidently, you were pretty badly hurt when you left the saloon, and Millie was worried about you, so she stepped outside to see how you were doing. You weren’t doing very well, you were weaving back and forth in the saddle as you rode away. Then, when she saw you fall from your horse, she ran down to you. She said that, at first, she was afraid you were dead. But when she saw you move, she went to get Mr. Gilmore. Mr. Gilmore rented a buckboard for her, and helped her get you onto it. She drove it out here by herself.”

“Gilmore didn’t come with her?”

Kitty laughed. “Are you serious? A whore comes to his house in the middle of the night, and you think his wife is going to let him go with her?”

Matt laughed as well.

“Well, I owe her my thanks. Not just for bringing me here, but for warning me I was in danger. Because of that, when I stepped out of the saloon last night, I was on my guard. Of course, I have to admit, I didn’t expect a knife attack.”

“It wasn’t last night,” Kitty said.

“What?”

“It wasn’t last night, it was two nights ago. You were out all day yesterday, and all night last night.”

“You’re kidding.”

“No, I’m serious. You have slept, if you can call what you were doing sleeping rather than being unconscious, for two days and two nights.”

“No wonder I’m so hungry,” Matt said.

“Now, I don’t know if you actually like my soup, or if you just like it because you are hungry,” Kitty said.

“Couldn’t it be both?”

“I suppose it could.”

“Katherine. Who undressed me?”

“Millie and I both did. And we put on your bandage,” Kitty replied. She chuckled. “Are you embarrassed?”

“No, I reckon not. It’s not like I’ve never been seen by a woman before.”

Kitty laughed out loud. “Then we are even, Matt. It’s not like Millie nor I have never seen a naked man before.”

“Where is Millie?”

“She had to go back into town yesterday. She said next time you come into town, be sure to drop in to the Sand Spur and say hello.”

“I’ll do that,” Matt said. Again, he looked around the room. “I’m sorry I put you out of your room.”

“You didn’t put me out.”

“What do you mean?”

“I spent both nights right here, with you,” Kitty said.

“Oh?”

“Don’t worry, Matt, I haven’t been compromised.” She laughed, heartily. “As if someone like me could be compromised. But you have been drifting in and out of it so much that I thought you needed someone to keep watch over you. Although you are welcome to share my room, and my bed, for as long as you want, you could probably go back to your own room now if you feel up to it.”

“I appreciate the doctoring, and I appreciate you watching over me,” Matt said. “But it would probably be better if I went back to my own room.”

“Don’t get me wrong, Matt. It was delightful to feel you in bed beside me, the truth is, right now you are all I have to protect my investment, so keeping you healthy is more important than anything else,” Kitty said. “I don’t have a choice. I have to watch over you.”

Matt felt up to getting out of bed later that afternoon and Kitty said he could move to his room, but she insisted that he stay in bed at least one more day. To keep peace, Matt agreed to do so, and he did not get up, dress, and come downstairs until noon on the following day. He had eaten nothing but soup for the last two days so when he came downstairs, even though he was in the parlor, he smelled something cooking.

The aroma, which was very enticing, promised a meal that was a little more substantial than soup, so his mood improved considerably.

“Smells good down here,” Matt said.

“I had Frederica tell Maria to put a roast beef on this morning,” Kitty said, explaining the aroma. “I thought you might be ready for some solid food.”

“I’m more than ready,” Matt said. “Truth is, I believe I could eat it whether it was cooked or not.”

Kitty laughed, but her laughter was interrupted by someone banging the front door knocker.

“Wait here, I’ll go see who it is,” Kitty offered and, nodding, Matt walked over to have a seat in the rocking chair.

A moment later, Kitty came back into the parlor with Marcus Kincaid trailing behind her.

Matt stood up.

“No, no, don’t get up on my account,” Kincaid said, holding his hand out. “I heard about your—uh—trouble the other night. I wouldn’t want to be the cause of you tearing something open.”

“I’m fine,” Matt said without further elaboration.

“I must say, you are the talk of the town,” Kincaid said. “I mean, here, two knife-wielding ruffians tried to rob you, and you not only survived, you managed to kill Garcia.”

“Garcia?”

“Carlos Garcia. He works down at the—that is, he did work down at the depot in the feeder lot. The other one who attacked you had to be Lopez. They were a couple of Mexicans who worked together and roomed together down at Mama Sanchez’s boardinghouse.

Anyway, the next day, Marshal Sparks went down to the feeder lot to talk to Lopez, but Lopez was gone, and his boss said he hasn’t been seen since it happened.”

“They weren’t trying to rob me,” Matt said.

“Of course they were trying to rob you. What other reason would they have for attacking you like that?”

“They were trying to kill me,” Matt said. “They came out of the dark with their knives and they attacked me without a word. If they had been trying to rob me, they would have asked me for money.”

“Why would they be trying to kill you? Do you know them?”

“They tried to kill me because someone paid them.”

“What makes you think that?”