CHAPTER 40

Jan wore a nice dress on that cold day in November on the second floor of the Federal Building in Dallas, Texas. Someone held her lined winter coat as she stood beside him while they swore Long in as a U.S. Marshal. He finished the oath and thanked them.

“May I kiss my bride?”

Others in the room laughed. He did it, anyway, after they pinned the silver shield on his coat.

Then he reached inside his coat and took out the warrant for John Q. Blaine. It was a secret grand jury warrant for him to be arrested and held without bond for his involvement in the ranch raiding and murders in Bexar County, Texas. A slow smile crossed his face. He had the badge and the warrant.

Three more marshals were to meet him at two p.m., outside the Lone Star Bank, which housed Blaine’s office on the second floor. U.S. Deputy Marshal Long John O’Malley would make his first official arrest in three hours. He could hardly wait.