long.â
âOh,â Ida said, âand why is that?â
âTomorrow me and the marshal are goinâ to get on a train and ride all the way to Reno, then take a stage or a wagon on to Virginia City. Iâm going to find out if my mother is still alive or not . . . but it donât look too promising.â
Idaâs hand fluttered to her mouth and she looked away for a moment, struggling to gain her composure. Longarm touched her on the arm and said, âBodie means that his mother wasnât feeling too well the last time he saw her.â
âI see,â Ida managed to say. âBodie, we would like to help you out in any way that we can.â
âA good meal for me and Homer and some cash would be appreciated, maâam.â
âOf course,â Rose said quickly. âWould you please come inside and make yourselves comfortable. Ida and I have made some freshly squeezed lemonade.â
âThat would be nice,â Longarm said, wishing he were someplace else.
Bodie told his dog to wait on the front porch, and once inside the house he was obviously impressed. âYou sure have a nice place here,â he told the two women. âNicer than anything Iâve ever seen before.â
âWe like it, and we have an extra bedroom all made up and ready for you . . . of course, after youâve had a bath and tried on some new clothes that we bought.â
âYou bought
me
new clothes?â
âThatâs right. The man at the store had seen you in the street, so he had a good idea of your size. I hope you like what weâve bought for you, Bodie.â
âAnything would be nicerân what Iâm wearinâ now, maâam.â
*Â *Â *Â
An hour later, Bodie was getting along just fine with the ladies. Heâd talked them into giving his dog a hambone and some scraps, and heâd taken a bath and put on the new clothes, which fit well. With his clean face and hands and his hair slicked down, the boy looked almost handsome, and Longarm could see that he was quite the talker as he told his grandmother and aunt, without being too graphic, all about the wild mining camps heâd been brought up in. Nothing was said about the shoot-out and his role in it, and for that Longarm was grateful.
When Rose led Bodie to a bedroom that had been prepared just for the kid, Longarm took a moment to speak privately to Ida.
âWhat do you think?â
âI can see a lot of my daughter in that boy,â Ida said quietly. âAnd I see a lot of sadness, too.â
âBodie has had a hard life,â Longarm reminded the older woman. âHe looks like a boy, but he already thinks like a man. Heâs had to grow up very fast.â
âWhy are you taking him back to Nevada?â Ida asked. âHasnât he seen enough of all that?â
âItâs complicated, but necessary,â Longarm assured her. âYou see, there was a letter that was found on John Stockâs body, and it told us some very good things and some very troubling things about Bodieâs mother.â
âI canât take any more strain right now,â Ida confessed. âSo just tell me the good things.â
âYour daughter found religion and quit her wild and dangerous life to marry a good and respectable man named Mr. Burlington. Apparently, they were very much in love and Mr. Burlington was quite wealthy.â
Ida took a deep breath and smiled. âThatâs a miracle! Whatever could be bad about something like that?â
âIâm not sure that anything is,â Longarm said, unwilling to tell her about the bloodstains on the letter. âBut Bodie has to go back to see his mother and meet her new husband.â
âThen we will probably never see the boy again.â
âAgain,â Longarm hedged, âIâm not sure. All I know is that Bodie needs to go with me to Virginia City. He has some