“Oh, Justin. Pa’ll be so pleased!”
Justin. She called him Justin. Damn her.
“That’s great, Sheriff. I’m innocent, so I’m just gonna be leavin’ now if you don’t mind.”
“No, Morgan. There’s more.”
Bobby let out a heavy sigh. “What the hell is it?”
“The wire. From Bessie. Said the U.S. Marshal had been at the camp and there was a bounty you could collect on a man named Irving Hennessey.”
“I don’t know any Irving Hennessey. I been chasin’ bounties for over ten years, so if I ain’t heard of him, no one has.”
“He was a southern war criminal. Been wanted down there for years. He disappeared in sixty-four without a trace. He was thought for dead, I guess, but evidently he was still around.”
“I told you, I don’t know him.”
“Irving Hennessey. Also known as Ike Hawkins.”
Ike? Bobby’s mouth dropped. “Ike Hawkins is...er was...a foreman for the railroad. He’s been at the camp at Little Oak, east of here, for a while. I met him a while ago, passin’ through.”
“Yup,” the sheriff said, “he’d been hidin’ in plain sight for years. But the bounty’s still good, Morgan. Fifteen hundred dollars.”
“Fifteen hundred dollars?” Bobby shook his head. “What the hell did he do down south?”
“I got a list back at the office that you are free to peruse. After readin’ it, I’m damn glad you took him out.”
Bobby grimaced. He didn’t much care what was on those papers. Ike had deserved much worse than he got for hurting Naomi.
“Bobby?” Naomi’s voice was tentative, inquiring.
He heard the question she didn’t ask. Did this change anything for them? Would he stay with her?
It changed nothing. Her safety was still paramount.
“Let’s go, Stiles, back to your office. And you can tell me how to go about collectin’ this bounty.
* * *
Three hours later, his nerves skittering, Bobby put down the list of Ike’s alleged crimes. Damn. Stiles was right. Ike Hawkins had been one evil son of a bitch. Naomi would have never gotten away from him alive. His skin froze and his heart thudded. Bobby prided himself on his ability to read people. Ike had crept right under his brick wall. He’d entrusted him with something far more precious than gold.
Thank God he’d gone back for Naomi.
Thank God she was now safe with people who would care for her as she deserved.
The world was better off without Ike Hawkins. Bobby had done society a favor. Just like he always did.
Still, this was his last bounty.
He was tired. So tired. He’d find a farm somewhere in a remote area. Maybe claim a homestead under that act of Lincoln’s. He’d head farther west, away from Naomi. He couldn’t stay here and watch her be courted and wed to someone else. Probably the damn sheriff.
He’d raise some corn, some beef, and he’d grow old. And die.
Alone.
“That’s about it, Morgan,” Stiles said. “I’ll wire the authorities down south and your money should be here within a couple weeks.”
“I won’t be here then.”