Free Imposter by William W. Johnstone Page A

breakfast.”
    â€œI ain’t mopping no damn floor! Hell with you, Morgan!”
    Frank pushed him back into his cell and slammed the barred cell door. “Then you’ll stay in there until you decide to clean it up.”
    â€œPa!” Little Ed hollered.
    â€œClean it up, boy,” Big Ed said sourly.
    â€œYou mean that, Pa?”
    â€œI said it, didn’t I? Now damnit, clean the mess up and let’s get out of here.”
    Frank unlocked the cell door and pointed to a bucket of water in the runaround area. “Get busy, boy.”
    â€œI’m gonna get you for this, Morgan!” Little Ed said.
    â€œI keep hearing that. Over and over. Can’t you two think of anything else to say?”
    Big Ed and Little Ed glowered at him and remained silent.
    Frank motioned Big Ed into the office and told him how much the bond would be. The rancher tossed some money on the desk and Frank wrote him out a receipt.
    â€œAre we free to go, Deputy?” Big Ed sneered the words at him.
    Frank smiled at him. “Any more grease on those words and you’d have to get a bucket for the overflow.”
    â€œA lousy damn gunslick totin’ a badge,” Big Ed said. “I never heard of such.”
    â€œYou were a fast gun, Ed,” Frank said softly.
    Big Ed clenched his teeth and balled his fists. “Prove it!” he growled.
    Frank shrugged his shoulders. “It’s nothing to me. As a matter of fact, I envy you for walking away from it. I’m not going to tell anyone.”
    â€œYou can’t prove a damn thing, Morgan. It’s dead and buried.”
    â€œGood. I’m glad for you. And I mean that.”
    Big Ed stared at him for a moment; then his expression softened and he sat down in a chair beside the desk. “I got out in time, Morgan.” He spoke the words quietly, so his son could not hear. “You never will. It’s too late for you.”
    â€œI know it.”
    â€œSomeday somebody will come along that’s faster than you, and it’ll be over.”
    â€œI know that too.”
    â€œThat someone just might be me.”
    â€œI doubt it, Ed.”
    â€œJohnny Vargas might be the man.”
    â€œHe’s fast, for a fact.”
    â€œI’m ready, Pa,” Little Ed shouted from the runaround. “I done cleaned up this crap.”
    Big Ed stood up. “Come on,” he called. Then he looked down at Frank. “You and me, Drifter. We’ll meet again.”
    â€œProbably. But the next time, only one of us will walk away from it.”
    Big Ed snorted his contempt and he and his son stalked out the front door.

NINE
    Marshal Wright and the posse rode back into town about midafternoon, without Alberta.
    â€œLost her trail,” Tom said, dismounting wearily. “That woman is tricky.”
    â€œShe is that,” Frank agreed. “And crazy as a lizard in a locoweed patch.”
    â€œYou know her better than me, Frank. Big Ed and son?”
    â€œPaid their bond and gone.”
    â€œBig Ed give you any trouble?”
    â€œJust a lot of mouth.”
    â€œThat’s normal for him. But you be careful, Frank. Big Ed is a dangerous man, and you made a fool out of him. He won’t forget.”
    Frank nodded his understanding, and Tom led his tired horse to the livery, leaving Frank standing alone on the boardwalk. Quite an eventful past few days, Frank thought as he rolled a cigarette. From facing a hangman’s noose to being a deputy marshal . Life sure takes some strange twists and turns.
    â€œDeep in thought, Frank?” The woman’s voice jarred him out of his musings.
    Frank turned around and gazed into the eyes of Lara Whitter. She had changed from the outfit she’d been wearing that morning. Now it was a high-collar, very form-fitting pink dress.
    â€œI reckon I was, Lara. I do that occasionally.”
    â€œCare to share your thoughts?”
    â€œThey might not be anything