On her doorstep, Nadine Jensen turned and said, “I feel very lucky to have been seen to my door by three such gentlemen.”
Clint had already told her at the restaurant that he would not be going into her home with her, not with Matt and Sly outside.
“Are you concerned about my reputation?” she asked.
“Hell, no,” he said, “I’m worried about mine,” Making her laugh.
“Good-night,” she said. “I’ll see you all in the morning.”
“One of us will be here to take you to the gallery,” Clint said.
“All right,” she said. “Thank you.”
As she went inside the three men turned to face each other.
“Okay,” Sly said, “she’s home safe. You think Bates will send anyone after her here?”
“I don’t know what the man has in mind,” Clint said.
“Well,” Matt said, “there’s no harm in us taking shifts and watching her overnight. I’ll go first. I’m used to working late.”
“Suits me,” Sly said.
“If we’re going to do this, we might as well do it right,” Clint said. “We’ll cover the front and the back.”
“I’ll take the back, then,” Sly said.
“I’ll spell Matt in three hours, he can sleep three, and then spell you.”
“Sounds fair,” Sly said.
“If anything happens,” Clint said, “I’ll be at the hotel.”
As the three men started to separate, Sly spoke up again.
“I just had a thought,” he said.
“What?’ Matt asked.
“The gallery’s empty,” he said. “What if they break in, wreck it, maybe even set it on fire? Shouldn’t one of us watch it?”
“I doubt they’d burn it,” Clint said. “After all, Bates wants it intact, he doesn’t want to destroy it.”
“But that doesn’t mean they won’t break some windows, do some damage,” Matt said.
“Okay,” Clint said, “that may happen, but probably not tonight. Which one of you can get us another man or two, just to keep watch?”
“I know somebody,” Matt said.
“Me, too,” Sly said.
“We’ll have to pay mine,” Matt said.
“Mine, too,” Sly added.
“No problem,” Clint said. “I’ll take care of it. But that’ll be tomorrow. For tonight all we can do is watch this place.”
“Okay, then,” Matt said. “See you in three hours.”
They split up.
~*~
Silas came back out to the patio with Maggio in tow.
“Maggio,” Bates sad, “I want you to meet Al Conroy. He’s joining our little band.”
Maggio looked at the seated man, who stared back up at him with dead eyes.
“Another black?” Conroy asked. “How many more?”
“Obviously,” Maggio said, “there’s somethin’ about black you like.”
Conroy stared at Maggio for a few seconds. Bates didn’t know which one was going to explode, but he was waiting for it to happen. Then, to his amazement, Conroy began to laugh. It was something he’d never seen.
“I like this guy,” Conroy said. He stood up and extended his hand to Maggio. “Good to meet you.”
Maggio stared at him, then took his hand and shook it.
“You want a whiskey?” Conroy asked, as if he was the host. He looked at Silas. “Why don’t you get our big friend a whiskey?”
Silas looked at Bates, who nodded.
“Yes, suh,” Silas said, and went back inside.
“What’s your part in this?” Conroy asked Maggio. “If I’m bein’ brought in to handle the Gunsmith?”
“Mr. Bates is payin’ me,” Maggio said. “My part’s whatever he says it is.”
“He’s payin’ you that much?”
Maggio didn’t answer.
Conroy sat and said to Maggio, “Join us.”
Those were words Bates had never spoken to him. He looked at his boss, who nodded and gestured to one of the other chairs. As Maggio sat, Silas came out and handed the big man a glass of whiskey.
“Who else you got?” Conroy asked Bates.
“My nephews.”
“Those two idiots still alive?”
“They are.”
“Okay,” Conroy said, “so maybe I need two more men. I know where to get them.”
“You come here from out West, like Adams?” Maggio asked.
“I’m like you, Maggio,” Conroy said. “I go where the money is.”
“And you can handle Clint Adams?”
Conroy pulled his jacket open to show Maggio the gun in his shoulder rig.
“I can get this thing out slicker than snot,” he said. “The Gunsmith has had his day.”
Maggio sipped his whiskey.
Bates watched the men talk and nursed his own drink. Maybe these two would actually be able to work together.