The Perdition Score (Sandman Slim 8)

“Your turn, sunshine,” he says, and hands me the telescope.

“Did you see anything?”

“Just that woman. She drove away and came back in an hour with maybe some papers in her hand. And she only took two guards with her. I think you were right. These people feel above petty things like bushwhackers.”

“That’s good news. I’ll take it from here.”

“That gal of yours is something special,” he says.

“She is indeed.”

“She’s not quite human, is she?” he says.

“Neither am I. Is that a problem?”

“It’s not commentary. It’s an inquiry into her nature.”

“She’s a Jade. Do you know what that is?”

He chuckles.

“Oh my, yes,” he says. “I met a load of those ladies once on a trip to the Barbary Coast. San Francisco. They were guarding a Chinese merchant ship in port. Six little gals no bigger than her. And no one dared step toward ’em. An old sailor told me that their types guarded Chinese emperors and rode with Genghis Khan and Alexander himself.”

He half turns toward me.

“I’m not averse to a tall tale here and there myself, but what those men said had the ring of truth. Those gals were different. Mythological. Fierce and loyal.”

“That describes Candy.”

“Then we’re lucky to have her on our side.”

“I tell myself that every day.”

“Good. Vagabonds such as we need good sorts, human or otherwise, to watch our backs. If I’d had a gal like Candy with me in Deadwood, things might not have transpired as they did. I can still remember that pair of aces I was holding, and the pair of eights, but I’m goddamned if I can remember the fifth card. The assassin Jack McCall shot the memory clear out of my head. I’d be very pleased to someday have it returned. But I’m not counting the days on that.”

“Someday, Bill. Someday, you’re going to meet someone who was in the bar and sober and then you’ll know.”

“And how will I track down this benefactor?”

“I don’t know, but you have all of eternity to figure it out.”

He curls his lip at the thought.

“Eternity passes slowly when you’re alone. That’s why you need to be good to young Candy there. I haven’t had much luck with that kind of companionship, back home or here.”

“Don’t worry. I’d kill for Candy.”

“Oh hell, boy. She’s your friend and companion. That means I’d kill for her too. That’s not enough.”

“What is enough?”

“If I knew that, I might not be sitting with a numb bunghole talking to a young fool about the vagaries of love.”

He looks at me.

“You do love her.”

“Of course.”