Free The Sunshine Killers by Giles Tippette Page A

“Hey, Letty, all right for us to come on now?”
    â€œNot yet,” she said. She turned to go, then turned back and yelled across to Barney. “And goddammit, ya’ll had better be shaved and you better be clean!”
    â€œAw, Letty,” he answered.
    â€œI mean it!” she insisted. “Anybody comes over here smelling like a pig they ain’t going to get in.” With that she turned and entered the house.
    Saulter lay in the darkened room. He appeared asleep, but as the door opened, his eyes flashed and his hand instinctively came out from under the covers with his pistol. Then he saw it was Letty and he lowered the gun and smiled. She was carrying a bowl of broth. Steam rose from it in the chill of the room.
    â€œHow you feel?” she asked.
    â€œBetter,” he said. “What time is it? Morning or night?”
    â€œNight,” she said. “You’ve slept all day.” She sat down on the side of the bed by him and started to feed him the broth. But he turned his head slightly.
    â€œWait,” he said, “I want to find out a few things.”
    â€œNot now,” she answered briskly, and insisted with the spoon to his mouth. “I haven’t got time. I want you to eat this and I’ve got to hurry.”
    She forced the food on him, cramming the spoon rapidly in his mouth. He protested. “It’s hot!”
    â€œThat’s all right,” she said, “you’re tough.”
    â€œStop,” he commanded. He took the bowl out of her hand, set it on his chest, and took the spoon. “I can feed myself.”
    â€œAll right. But you be sure you eat it all.” She stood up. “I’ve got to go and get dressed. Listen, they’re coming over tonight. You stay awake if you can. I’m going to lock this door, but if some of them should insist on coming in you’ve got to make it into that wardrobe.” She indicated a big clothes chest standing against the wall. As if to illustrate, she gathered up his gear, swung back the door of the chest, and crammed his stuff inside. “Do you think you could make it over here if you had to?”
    â€œYes,” he said, looking at her.
    She went back over to him. “Let me look at you.” She took up the bowl of soup and swept back the cover with one hand and studied the bandage. Just a trace of blood had seeped through. “Looks all right. Not too tight, is it?”
    â€œNo,” he said, his eyes holding at her face.
    â€œI’ve got to go,” she said. But once again he caught her wrist. For a long second he looked in her eyes.
    â€œWill you be with them?” He jerked his head toward the window.
    â€œWhat the hell you think my job is?” she asked harshly. Then she jerked her hand free and went out the door, shutting it behind her. Saulter heard the sound of a key turning.
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    It grew late. Downstairs, they were well warmed up. Barney was playing a harmonica and Billy was dancing with one of the girls to Buffalo Gal, Won’t You Come Out Tonight? The two other killers were kissing and mauling two of the other girls. Only Tomlain was aloof. He sat in a chair, drinking straight out of a bottle of whiskey and glowering across at Letty, who was sitting alone in a chair. She was elegantly, though gaudily, dressed yet she didn’t really seem to be a part of the scene. The men whooped and hollered and drank whiskey and the girls laughed and giggled. Occasionally one of the men slipped off into a side room with a girl.
    Upstairs, Saulter lay in the semi-darkness, his eyes open, listening intently. He had his pistol out on top of the cover and he idly cocked and uncocked it, being careful to let the hammer down gently with his thumb. The sounds of the party came distinctly, if distantly, into his room.
    Downstairs the party had grown louder and wilder and more drunken. Tomlain was still sitting across the room from Letty. Only now he was