Red-handed.” Sheldon bounds around the corner of the roadhouse, his voice booming.
Ruby’s heart judders. Has someone intercepted Perce? Or worse? She puts down her washing and takes a clothespin from her mouth. Her eyes remain red-rimmed as the night of the fire, and not from the blistering sun, although it suits her to let everyone think that. It’s been a week since the fire. A week since she sent Perce packing with no plans to see him again. A week since she’s gone to Sheldon’s bed.
“What the hell?”
“Burton. He must’ve set the fire.”
“To his own store?”
“Motive is everything, Ruby. I couldn’t sleep thinking on it. Man’s always in debt. And just took out insurance on the store, after ten years of scraping by without it.” Sheldon snaps his fingers. “All of sudden, it clicked. When I went to investigate, I got more than I bargained for. Look what I found.” Sheldon tips the box he’s carrying so Ruby can peer inside. “Found these bloomers in Burton’s chifferobe, singed by the fire. Stash we found would have shamed a whore.”
“You mean …”
“In all sizes and shapes, I might add.”
“Not Mae’s?”
“Certainly not. She was as surprised as we were. And swore at him like a mad cowhand. Words I never heard come from a woman. Not even you.”
Ruby thinks back to the day Burton lurked near her bedroom door, his hands stuffed into his trouser pockets.
“Suspect he took yours, the ones Wink found,” Sheldon says. “Right off the line. Probably ordered crates of them from the Sears & Roebuck, too, or from the drummers. All I know is he could have opened up a ladies shop instead of that grocery of his.”
“Or maybe he took them from my bedroom.”
“What the devil?”
“Saw him coming out of my room a few months back, was mad as a hornet but didn’t think much of it after. Said he was looking for me. Seems like he was looking for something else.”
“Damn.”
“Seen it before, Sheldon. There were some oddballs in the carnival. Stick, for one. This once, I had just had my pie—I got an extra slice of pie every night, Big Sue, our cook, she never denied me—and the tall man—Stick was his name—he pinched my behind. Right under my skirt. I think he would’ve taken those drawers right off if I’d let him. He was right handy.”
“Did he …”
“No, not me. But he had his hands all over other girls, and not just Big Sue, his sweetheart.”
“Takes all kinds, Ruby. Me? If I were to have a collection, it wouldn’t be undergarments.”
“Maybe a bottle,” Ruby says. “Never met a shot of hooch I didn’t like.” She motions toward the inn. “Come in a minute, won’t you?”
Sheldon and Ruby pass through the kitchen. Ruby takes two mugs from the sideboard and pours coffee, still warm on the stove. Even though it’s been a week, the smell of smoke still pervades the kitchen. Ruby has wrung out rag after rag scrubbing soot. Still the stench lingers. There won’t be any guests coming her way soon. Ruby nods to Sheldon and they head to the parlor. Sheldon sinks into the large couch, his long legs in front of him.
“Boy, do I wish Divina were here. She would love all this.”
“You miss her.”
“Bad.”
Ruby uncorks a bottle of whiskey and pours a liberal amount into her mug. “You, Sheriff?”
Sheldon puts up his hand. “It’s what, 10 a.m., Ruby? Can’t say as I never have a nip on duty. But I make sure it’s past noon.” He clears his throat. “I’ve been waiting for an excuse to come see you, anyway. There’ve been no knocks on my door these last seven nights.”
“You’ve been counting?”
“I have.”
“I’m not coming by again, Sheldon.”
“Can I ask why?”
“You can ask until Kingdom Come, but you won’t get an answer. I just can’t.”
“You have another fella?”
“I do.”
Sheldon drops his eyes. “This is going to kill me, Ruby.”
“You’ll never see him.”
“And how is that possible in this town? You’re not making any sense, Ruby.”
“Let me lay it out square for you.” Ruby places her palms on the table. “I’m in it up to here”—she motions to her neck—“with someone I can’t be with, this side of Hell, anyway.”
Sheldon puts down his mug. “Mr. Washington?”
Ruby nods.
Sheldon whistles.
“He’s gone, Sheldon. Lit out of town the night of the fire. But it’s not fair to you to keep coming to your bed.”
“I can live with it.”
“I can’t, Sheldon. I’ve told too many lies in my life and I’m coming clean here with you. I don’t love you.”
“You like me well enough.”
“And that will never change.”
“If you change your mind …”
“You’ll be the first to know.”
Sheldon drains his mug. “I just don’t understand you, Ruby.” He unfolds himself from the divan. “If I can, I’ll stop by again later and take you up on your offer.”
Ruby looks at Sheldon sideways. Like a day off the drink, just making it to the next day, Ruby is weaning herself off Sheldon.
“For the whiskey, Ruby.”
A few minutes later, Ruby checks her pride at the door and walks to Judd’s. Confound that Penny. Hadn’t Ruby told Willa to have the girl come by? But has she? No. She’s as stubborn as Ruby.
Ruby peers around the back of Burton’s—the very place Bugg rammed her up against the siding. She gauges blackened boards and broken windows and sidesteps a heap of trash outside the back door. Only a corner of the Cream of Wheat mural is visible. Sam won’t get a job after school here anytime soon.
Ruby continues across Jefferson. A wagon swerves to avoid a pack of stray dogs, raising a fog of dust. Ruby coughs. She picks her way through the street, skirting dung. Two men sit outside the tavern, one whittling and the other playing a mouth harp. The whittler takes his knife and picks at his teeth. The harmonica player nods his head, but doesn’t tip his hat.
“Ma’am,” the whittler says.
Neither of them stands.
Ruby sweeps past the men into the dim interior of the tavern. Just the smell transports her back to the last time she was inside Judd’s, looking for Willie, the day before she took up her pistol. It smells as sour as she remembers it, sweat and beer and dirt and men all mixed together.
Ruby approaches the bar. “Penny?”
The young woman gives Ruby the sly eye.
“I want to talk to you.”
“I ain’t got anything to say. Least of all, sorry.”
“It’s me that’s sorry, Penny.”
The barmaid puts down her cloth. “Well, that’s a surprise.”
“I’m sorry for throwing you out.” Ruby clears her throat. “It’s not like I haven’t had an indiscretion or two.”
“I’m not coming back, if that’s what you’re asking.”
“Noted. But the door is open, Penny. That’s all I’ve come to say. I made a mistake tossing you out. If you’re ever needing a job, come on over. Or just come on over and have a glass of cool tea sometime. We’re not so unalike, you and me.”
On the way back to the inn, Ruby darts past the charred remains of Burton’s General Store. Mae is gleaning through debris, her shop apron blackened.
“Heard about Harvey up and leaving,” Ruby says. “I’m sorry to hear it.”
“Are you? I’m not. Harvey was no businessman. And a worthless husband.”
“Well, that would explain it. Sheldon thinks Harvey set the fire. Harvey is probably in Tucson now collecting on that insurance.”
“Everyone says the fire was started by that colored, the one you carry on with.”
Ruby heart almost stops. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You most certainly do. And I’m sure Dog Webber would be interested.”
“That’s blackmail, Mae.”
“That’s business, Ruby.”
“You wouldn’t dare.”
“Wouldn’t I? Speaking of Sheldon, I have something on Sheldon and you, too. Saw him coming out of your place the morning after you dispatched your husband. Quite early, I might add. And you’ve been going to his place nights. I’m not a night owl for nothing.”
“It’s nothing, Mae.”
“You can’t prove it.”
“Maybe not. But I have something on Harvey. He’s a cheat and a thief. And I have a sneaking suspicion he”—or you, she thinks—“may have left a rather unsavory item under my window. Not too many other people dispatching hogs in this town.”
Mae looks away.
I knew it.
“Won’t find me chasing that swine,” Mae says, avoiding Ruby’s accusation. “The shop is in my name. Insurance, too.” Mae smiles wryly. “Not born yesterday.”
“You set the fire?” Ruby cocks her head to the side. After just telling me Perce set it? And risking all of Jericho?
“That’s for the law to decide,” Mae says. “I have my livelihood to think of. And my girls. And my reputation.”
“What do you want from me, Mae?”
“Now we’re getting to the heart of the matter. A little extra cash might keep me from talking.”
“The same goes for me, Mae. I’ve got as much on you as you’ve got on me.”