Blake Ordle's Arc

Chapter 2 of 6

Blake and Titus rode back to town at dusk. The fresh horses at the switch point gnawed at Blake. Someone had staged those mounts. Someone close had helped. Without that name, the trail died in the mud. Blake needed a place to think, so he went to his sister's restaurant. Ellie met him at the door in her long pink dress, wiping flour from her hands. She had grown up hearing every rancher and drifter in the county talk over her tables. She helped her brothers when she could, and Blake trusted her ears more than most deputies. "You look like you lost them," Ellie said. "They switched to fresh horses," Blake said. "Good ones. Somebody had them saddled and waiting." Ellie set down her rag. "Fresh horses aren't cheap. Whoever sold them wanted paying." She thought a moment. "A man came through two nights ago. Ate fast. Paid in coin, not bills. Ugly beard, mean eyes. He bragged about a stock deal he'd set up." Blake leaned forward. "You catch a name?" "Brick," she said. "Brick Malone. He asked which ranches sold spare mounts." Blake stood. He knew the name from a wanted flyer. Brick Malone ran with robbers. If Malone bought the horses, Malone knew who led the gang. "Where'd he sleep?" Blake asked. "The room above the feed store," Ellie said. "He's still here. I saw his horse this morning." Blake rode Ellie's white mustang to the feed store with Titus behind him. The blue saddle creaked as he swung down. He climbed the outside stairs slow, gun drawn. Titus took the back. Blake kicked the door. Brick Malone lurched up from a cot, thick beard matted, eyes hard as flint. His hand went for his belt. "Don't," Blake said. He held the gun level. "You bought fresh horses for the men who robbed the bank." Malone spat on the floor. "Prove it, boy." Titus stepped in the back window. He dropped a saddle blanket on the cot. "Your horse carries the same brand as the mount they left in the creek. You bought the pair." Malone's jaw tightened. Blake pressed him against the wall and took his pistol. "You supplied the escape. That makes you part of it." They walked Malone across town to the lockup. Blake shoved him through the barred door and turned the iron latch. Malone gripped the bars. "You think you got somebody," Malone said. "You got a horse trader. The man who drew that map won't ever let you see his face." Blake stopped. "So you know who drew it." Malone grinned through the bars. "I know he pays better than you. And I know he's already three towns ahead of you." Blake locked the outer door. He had his first witness. But Malone would not talk for free, and the outlaw was moving faster than Blake could ride. He needed to break Malone before the next bank fell.