oooOOOooo
Carlotta stepped down from the train and smiled in delight at the little group waiting for her on the platform. Great nebulous puffs of steam dissipated in patchy billows from her field of vision until she could get a better view of Bill and Scarlet waving enthusiastically. Gabe and Charlotte bustled forward. There was no denying that they were a stunning couple; Gabe’s Viking-blond hair and sharp cheekbones were the perfect counterpoint to Charlotte’s gentle blue eyes and honey-colored hair. They were going to have very beautiful children.
“You’re home,” breathed Charlotte, tossing both arms around her sister’s neck. “Welcome back.”
Carlotta’s stomach gave a little flip at the strangeness of the concept of a new home. “Home? San Francisco?”
“Surely that’s wherever we are together,” Charlotte planted a kiss on Carlotta’s cheek. “I’ve been so looking forward to seeing you again. How did it go?”
“Not well, but it could have been a lot worse,” Charlotte shrugged. “There’s a lot to tell you but nothing that can’t wait until we get back to the hotel.”
“Where are Heyes and Curry,” asked Gabe. “Are they gone?”
“Sssh! Someone will hear.” Carlotta’s eyes darted around. “They’re getting the trunks from the baggage car.” Her eyes warmed. “Oh, I have bought you the loveliest things for your trousseau, Charlotte. You will be the most beautiful bride this town has ever seen. I can’t wait to show you.”
“You have? How exciting. Has Angelique had her baby yet?”
The light fell away from Carlotta’s eyes. “Possibly, but not by the time I left.” She laid a soft hand on her sister’s arm. “Don’t get upset, but we might never know. She’s cut us off.”
Gabe’s brows gathered at his fiancé’s dismay. “Hey, now. Don’t take on so. We’ll find out. Pa’s got ways of doin’ most anythin’ when he puts his mind to it.”
Scarlet and Bill strolled over. “Here, what’s all the fuss about?” The tall man’s hirsute brows rose. “This should be a happy time. You’re back for the wedding.”
“Angelique turned her away. We’ll never know our niece or nephew.” Charlotte’s eyed glittered with tears. “We’ll not even be told if it’s a boy or a girl.”
“I told her that you’ll know someone who’ll be able to find out,” Gabe replied. “You will, won’t you, Pa?”
“In Denver?” Bill mused on the point. “Sure I can. A couple of telegrams’ll do it. I ain’t sure I’ll get more’n a name though. I ain’t no pastor, so don’t count on me reunitin’ a broken family.”
“You promise?” sniffed Charlotte. “It’s the first baby from a sister…”
“Sweetie, I promise you anythin’ I can do for you in this world for as long as you draw breath, and that sounds like a real easy one.” Gabe turned to his prospective sister in law and linked arms with both women. “And that goes for you too, Lottie. We ain’t got much, but what we got, we share. You’re my sister now.”
“Some families are better stayin’ broke if you ask me,” Scarlet’s shrewd eyes examined Carlotta. “Just ‘cos you come out the same womb, ain’t no reason to stick around if they don’t act decent. Some family trees need cuttin’ down to make room for new growth.”
Carlotta nodded, appreciative of Gabe including her in this moment of intimacy. “You do, don’t you? You really do share.” She pulled back her shoulders defiantly. “Well, I brought a few things from back home and I’m going to share them to make sure we all have a stable future.”
Carlotta turned to her sister. “What things?”
“I went to the bank and emptied the safety deposit box. I have the jewelry, as well as a few other things.”
Charlotte clapped her hands in delight. “You do? I never thought I’d see them again.”
Scarlet’s eyes lit up. “Jewelry?”
“Yes,” Charlotte nodded. “My mother had some wonderful pieces. The pearls? Were they in the box?”
“Yes. That’s why I waited for two men to escort me back. I didn’t want to carry all that on my own. It was too valuable.” Carlotta raised her head as gazed back down the length of the train. “Ah, here they are.”
A pair of hats, one brown, one black, were headed their way, threading their way through the crowd, flanking a porter pushing a trolley laden in trunks, bags and parcels. Heyes caught the eye of the tall ex-outlaw by Scarlet’s side and nodded a greeting to Bill. “Hi there. How have you all been?”
“Good thanks. How’d your trip go?”
“Could’ve been better,” Heyes shook Bill’s hand. “Carlotta got what she went for though.”
The Kid tipped his hat to the ladies. “Scarlet, Charlotte. Lookin’ as lovely as always, ladies.”
Gabe stretched a protective arm around his intended. “Yeah. I hope you treated Carlotta like a lady. I didn’t like her headin’ off with you two one bit.”
“They were just fine,” Carlotta stepped forward to examine the trolley. “Yes, two trunks, six bags, and six, seven, eight parcels. That’s everything. Shall we go?”
“That’s all yours,” Scarlet exclaimed. “Did you clear out the whole house?”
“The shops,” Carlotta smiled. “And don’t you worry. I got you something very lovely too. It was the least I could do to say thank you. You could have just thrown us to the wolves, and I have no idea what would have happened to us without you. I think they call it tough love, but you took the time to give rather than take.” She gulped, her hard crust cracking slightly. “I want to thank you.”
Scarlet smiled, but it was a measured rather than enthusiastic. “Thanks, darlin’. But if you want to repay me the best thing you can do is fill your life with things that make you happy. You’re too serious. Take some time to have some fun. Live a little.”
Their eyes locked in a moment of understanding. “That’s exactly what I’ve spent this journey thinking about, Scarlet, but let’s get back where I can tell you everything.”
“It’s a good job we brought the wagon,” Bill propped his hands on his hips and looked over the laden trolley. “This woman shops the way a hungry coyote strips out a henhouse. She left with one bag. Look at this lot.”
“Tell me about it,” the Kid replied. “Real protective of it all, too. She had us check it at every stop. What’s a trousseau anyway and why can’t a woman get married without one?”
Bill’s eyes glittered wickedly. “Search me. All Scarlet and me needed was a ladder and a horse faster’n her pa’s. I hope it ain’t nothin’ too exotic. I ain’t sure Gabe’s worldly enough to appreciate it.”
oooOOOooo
Carlotta laid out an impressive array of sparking trinkets and ornamental regalia spread over the bedspread making Scarlet’s eyes light up with acquisitive embers of delight. She reached out a hand to finger the sapphire necklace and the diamond brooches which sat within reach. “Well, I knew you girls had money. I had no idea how much.” She picked up the string of pearls and stretched them across her expansive décolletage. “What’d ya think, Bill? Do they suit me?”
Bill leaned back against the wall. “Honey, nothin’ you wear’ll ever be as fine as the woman underneath. You don’t need them, but they sure look good on you.”
“That’s kinda handy, huh? Seein’ as we could never afford it,” she chuckled as she dangled them from her hard-working hands and watched them gather in a pearlescent pool on the quilt.
“I had no idea you were carrying this much,” Heyes’ eyes fixed in on the valuables strewn all over the bed. “You should have told us.”
“Should I?” Carlotta snorted. “Tell two notorious criminals that I’m carrying a small fortune? Are you mad?”
“You told us you were fetchin’ some jewelry,” the Kid replied. “We knew.”
“But not this much,” Carlotta pointed at Heyes, “and just look at his face. The greed is just pouring out of him. I’m sorry, but I didn’t trust you. I wanted to wait until Bill and Gabe were around.”
“Carlotta, if we wanted to rob you we’d have done it.” A scowling Heyes folded his arms. “You wouldn’t have known what hit you.”
“But we wouldn’t,” the Kid cut in hurriedly, glaring at his partner. “We don’t steal from our friends. We went to Denver to help you, not to use you. Besides, the whole idea is that we help you to move on, be happy, and forget all about us. That ain’t gonna work if you’re still mad at us.”
“How much is all this worth?” asked Bill, lights of cupidity dancing in his eyes.
“A lot. I want Charlotte and me to work out which pieces we’d like to keep then we sell the rest to start a family business.” Carlotta looked around at her new-found family. “I was thinking of something like a little hotel, somewhere a lot busier and more respectable than Sweatless. How does that sound?”
“A hotel?” Scarlet sat upright.
“Well, I thought that was what you liked doing. If not a hotel, then what?”
Scarlet and Bill exchanged a glance before he spoke. “We’d always hoped to start a little ranch somewhere. And when you’ve ever been wanted it ain’t a great idea to have random strangers passin’ through all the time.”
Scarlet nodded. “Ain’t you and your sister wanted for stealin’ a train? It ain’t a good idea to put yourself out there too much.”
Carlotta sighed in agreement. “What did you have in mind?”
“I was lookin’ at a little parcel of land up near Sacramento. It’s gets cold in the winter, but it’s real sweet in the summer. The land’s fertile too and they’re growin’ a lot of fruit up there.” Bill cast out a hand towards the women. “No hard work for you women. Gabe and me can do that, and hire of some hands. It’s real beautiful country. What d’ya say?”
“Tending house isn’t my thing. I thought more of being a sleeping partner,” Carlotta replied.
“You can lay in,” Scarlet asserted. “You’re providin’ a lot in the way of money.”
“A sleeping partner is one who doesn’t get involved in the business,” Charlotte explained. “She means that whatever she finances, she’ll leave us to get on with.”
“Kinda like some outlaw leaders I know,” chuckled the Kid. His eyes widened in faux innocence at his leader’s glower. “What? I didn’t say it was you.”
“I ain’t here to wait on you, Carlotta.” Scarlet folded her arms. “All this money is all well and good, but I’d rather make my own way and not have you as my boss. I don’t work well with people lookin’ over my shoulder.”
“I can testify to that,” grinned Bill. “If she was in the army they’d describe her as ‘not amenable to discipline’.” He scratched his head. “I can’t hardly think of anyone less amenable to it now I start to think on it. She’s her own woman, that’s for sure.”
“I won’t be your boss. I won’t even be there,” Carlotta announced. “I’m happy to put my share up to give Gabe and Charlotte a home. All I ask is that when I get back from my travels they keep me a room so I can visit.”
“A room,” Gabe stammered.
“Get back?” Charlotte exclaimed. “Where from?”
“I know I’m not the artist you are, Charlotte, but I was starting to enjoy our cover story of doing pictures of women in the West.” Carlotta gave a weak smile. “I want to go and do that.” She raised a hand to dismiss Charlotte’s protests. “You’re getting married and you want to spend time with your new husband.” She glanced over at a relieved-looking Gabe. “I’ve always wanted to do something of my own. You know that. I never knew what, but I think I found it. I want to learn photography.”
“Photography?” Gabe blinked in surprise. “Takin’ folks’ pictures?”
“Yes. I want to go and learn how to do it well, and then open my own business. People are always wanting portraits done. It’s perfect for me. Respectable but interesting.”
“I suppose,” Charlotte mused, “but women in the West? You want to take photographs?”
“Yes, a kind of social commentary. Women do things out here you never see further east. It’s interesting and I want to do something for me. I want a small business instead of depending on a man.” Carlotta smiled at her sister and her intended. “And I don’t want to be a spare wheel in your life either. I’ll have my own home. I’ll also have the freedom to go off and enjoy various projects as they occur to me. I’ve given this a lot of thought and it’s the first thing I can remember being excited about in years. I’m going to become a photographer. There’ll be plenty of money to help set you up with a ranch too. We all get the fresh start we want, dependant on nobody; especially not the Burdons. I’m sure they’ll expect us to come begging when they stop our trust funds, but we won’t. We don’t need them ever again.”
“Well, you seem to have thought it through and it all sounds fair enough to me.” Scarlet stood and nodded towards the jewels. “The sooner we get that stuff locked away, the happier I’ll be.”
“Oh, I carry it with me. I made a large pocket to wear under my skirts.” Carlotta stood and started to gather the trinkets in a linen pouch with ribbons attached. “If anyone wants to take these they’ll have to take me with them. I’m not leaving them out of my sight for a moment.”
“Right, time for dinner,” the Kid opened the door. “Do you want us to wait and escort you down, Carlotta?”
“No, I’m sure I’ll be fine. I’ll see you down there.”
He looked over at a pensive Heyes. “Come on. I’m hungry. Whatever’s eatin’ you can do it at the dinner table.”
oooOOOooo
Carlotta smiled at the fair gunman as she twisted the key and unlocked her door. “Thank you. I’m in now and perfectly safe. Thanks for escorting me back to my room. You’re a gentleman.”
“You’re welcome, darlin’. I’d best go and see if Heyes is alright. He doesn’t usually turn in early.”
She nodded, stepping into the room. “Yes, he did look tired. Hopefully he’ll be better after a good night’s sleep.” She smiled once again and closed the door behind her.
“Hello, Carlotta. I’ve been waiting for you.”
She gasped and swirled around to face the intruder. Hannibal Heyes leaned over and turned up the oil lamp, the light flooding his face with sinister shadows. His eyes seemed darker than normal, clouded in intensity and more than a little anger. He tossed a bundle of banknotes on the dresser and folded his arms. “Care to explain this to me?”
She gulped hard, suddenly reminded of the outlaw leader she had encountered in The Devil’s Hole. “It’s my money.”
A sound at the door had Heyes grab his gun, only to find himself staring down the wrong side of the Kid’s Colt as he burst into the room. “Heyes? What are you doin’? I thought I heard someone.”
“Put that away, Kid. Carlotta was just about to tell me where she got the small fortune she’s been carting around with her.”
The Kid holstered his gun. “Fortune? She told us all about the jewelry from the safety deposit box. What’re you talking about?”
Heyes strode over to the largest trunk and flipped it open. It took no more than a few seconds to clear the few clothes covering the stacks of cash concealed beneath them. “You had nothing more than the clothes you stood up in when I met you, Carlotta. Sure, you got your bags back from Scarlet, but I doubt you carried this amount of money with you. Where did it come from?”
The Kid’s eyes widened. “How much money is in there?”
“More than twenty thousand,” Heyes muttered, “but probably nearer to thirty.”
The gunman lifted a bundle of notes, turning it in his hand. “Right, Carlotta. What’s goin’ on?”
Her hair glinted gold in the light as she turned from one to the other defensively. “What? It’s my money.”
“I thought you were worried about that trunk because it had all the jewelry in it,” Heyes propped his hands on his hips. “As soon as you told us you were carrying it in a pouch under your skirts it got me wondering why you had us protecting that trunk all the way here. You had us go and watch it every time the train stopped.”
“That’s why you came upstairs early?” demanded the Kid. He tossed the wad of banknotes back into the chest. “You knew she was lying about somethin’.” He looked down at the loot and gave a low whistle. “And what a somethin’.”
Carlotta raised her chin defiantly. “If you try to steal it, I’ll scream. I’ll create the worst fuss this hotel has ever seen.”
The Kid grinned as the men exchanged a silent amusement in a glance. “Ya think?” He gave her a warning glint. “Don’t try it, Carlotta. I want us to part on good terms.”
“You robbed the bank, didn’t you?” Heyes pressed.
“I didn’t steal anything. It’s mine.”
Heyes sighed. “Look, our reason for taking you to Denver was to make sure you had enough money to be secure for the rest of your lives. It wasn’t to turn you into a criminal.”
Her cheeks started to color with emotion. “So we’d forget about your reward money, you mean.”
“Whatever the reason, we want you to be secure.” Heyes stepped forward and grasped her by the top of her arms. He pushed gently. “Sit down. Relax. We’re not going to take your money. Not a penny. We’re just annoyed that you had us involved in carrying stolen money and didn’t tell us the truth.”
“Why should I? You didn’t tell me the truth about the train robbery.”
The Kid dropped his head to hide a grin. “That was for your own good.”
“Well, so was this.”
“Carlotta, we didn’t rob that bank, but nobody would believe that if we’d been caught with the money. Is it fair for us to do twenty years inside for something we didn’t do?”
She pursed her lips. “Is it fair for you to walk away from all the crimes you did do?”
“Yeah,” the Kid replied. “If we don’t get caught we don’t do the time. That’s the rule.”
“Rule?” She threw out her hands. “Rules mean nothing to you two.”
The Kid’s brow creased. “I wouldn’t say nothin’. We’ve got standards, even if they ain’t the same as yours.”
“They’re exactly the same as hers, Kid. She’s a bank robber. How’d you do it, Carlotta?”
“Do what?” she stared defensively down at her hands.
“Rob the bank,” Heyes hissed.
She sat with downcast eyes, hesitating before she eventually spoke with tense knuckles whitening to pearl. “It’s my money; mine and Charlotte’s. I needed it to make sure we had a fresh start and could be independent. It’s wasn’t hard. I knew Guthrie kept his keys in the coat he hooked behind the door. He always made the junior person lock up because he only wore the coat when it was really cold. As long I swapped them for another set so it felt the same in the coat, he’d never know the difference especially if I changed them back when I picked up the trunk from his office the next day. He only ever patted the pocket to check they were there. I watched him do it for years.”
“So you used keys?” Heyes asked. “I guess that makes sense.”
“I knew their routine, so I waited until they left and used the keys to get in almost immediately. I thought if I was caught I was a Burdon, using keys, and entering the bank in broad daylight. I could talk my way out of it.” She paused. “I knew about the alarm, and I guessed James wouldn’t have changed the combination on the safe either. He’s lazy, and I was right. He hadn’t.”
“So you just waltzed right in and emptied the vault?” The Kid sat on the bed beside her. “How’d you get the money out?”
“The trunk.”
“The trunk was searched,” Heyes shrugged. “More than once.”
“It was,” Carlotta was warming to her subject. She pointed over to the two trunks in the room. “Do you notice anything about them?”
“What are you talking about? What did you carry the money out of the bank in?” demanded Heyes.
“One of the trunks is slightly smaller than the other, but identical in every other way. They sit inside one another like Russian dolls. The smaller one fits perfectly inside the other. I filled the littler one with shopping and gambled on nobody noticing that it was suddenly slightly smaller than the day before. Men never notice anything unless it affects them. I left the smaller trunk behind for them to find as a diversion. If they searched it they’d see it was packed with shopping and nothing else. That gave me the larger one to fill with money.” She suddenly became more upright, seemingly proud of her achievement. “All I had to do was reset the alarm and leave through the side door. I hailed a cab and let them load the trunk for me. I went to three different hotels, trying to throw off anyone who might follow me, but it didn’t seem necessary. I also had a couple of changes of coats and hats inside to change the descriptions. Nobody even seems to have thought about a woman leaving the area with a trunk around six o’clock.” She cast out her hands in a gesture of acceptance. “Nobody. I simply walked away with almost everything in the vault. I checked it in as left luggage at the railway station in case anyone wanted to search my room, and then I came back to the hotel.”
The Kid’s jaw firmed. “So you had already robbed the bank by the time…”
“By the time the other robbers showed up?” Heyes cut in. “I hate to say it but it wasn’t too crazy an idea. James tried to do the same thing, but you got there first.”
“James was going to rob his own bank!?” Carlotta exclaimed. “How do you know?”
“Just a hunch,” Heyes deflected. “I questioned the waitress in the restaurant across the street. He was in there watching the place for hours. I confronted him about it.”
“And you didn’t tell me?” Carlotta demanded.
“We didn’t want to upset you, but we know he did more than try,” the Kid asserted. “He was right inside. So it was you who got there first?”
“Yes. I thought it best just to brazen it out if anyone challenged me,” Carlotta’s eyes gleamed. “I suppose he thought the same.” A thought struck her. “What if he’d caught me in there?”
“It wouldn’t have happened. He waited until after dark,” Heyes replied.
“But why set off the alarm?” mused Carlotta. “Did he do that to make it look like some real amateurs robbed the place to cover his tracks?”
The gunman rubbed his face. “Probably.” He glowered at Heyes. “You’d have to be real dumb to try to rob a bank with an alarm when you know nothin’ about them.”
“Yeah, well. It looks like Carlotta was long gone by then,” Heyes replied.
“Yup, you’d have to be as smart as a bucket of bait to do somethin’ like that,” the Kid mused.
“We don’t know anything about anyone else who went into the bank,” Heyes growled.
“Except that the most their ideas man has up top is nose hair….”
“Will you give it a rest, Kid? We’ve got the idea.”
The Kid folded his arms. “I hope so, Heyes. We all know that you’d have to have your chimney clogged to try to rob an alarmed building.”
The brown eyes shimmered with irritation but he turned back to an oblivious Carlotta intent on moving the conversation on. “You were really stupid to do that alone. If that’s what you wanted to do we could have helped.”
“We could?” asked the Kid. He caught another glare from Heyes. “Yeah, I guess we could’ve.”
“I didn’t need your help,” she insisted. “You’d be none the wiser if you hadn’t gone poking around in my luggage. Charlotte and I are set up comfortably for life. Angelique can have the bank and the house. I think it’s a fair division.”
“Maybe not,” Heyes arched a brow. “It seems that your father was married before and never got divorced. His daughter by that marriage is claiming everything. I think James was desperate.”
“No!” she gasped. “It’s not possible.”
“It’s not only possible. It’s true,” the Kid agreed. “It looks like your trust fund would have been gone soon anyway.”
“Oh,” Carlotta’s brow furrowed as she mulled over the news. “Well, she wasn’t worried about our welfare when she cut us off. She’ll land on her feet.”
“Are you sure? Last time I saw her, she couldn’t even see her feet.” The Kid hated the idea of a lady in distress, especially a really large pregnant lady no matter how mean she was.
“Believe me my sister knows how to take care of herself. When we were children, she would come up with the most outlandish ways of stealing our allowances. If there is money to be had, you can rest assured Angelique will find a way to get it, but she’s not getting my money.”
“Like I said,” Heyes snorted, “just like us. There are always ways to make stealing the best option when you put your mind to it.”
“It’s not stealing. It’s my inheritance and she was ready to steal it from me!”
“Maybe not. Maybe it’s the inheritance of the legitimate daughter,” the Kid suggested.
She shook her head. “I can’t worry about that. For the first time in my life I’m putting myself and Charlotte first, and it feels good. Really, really good.” She stood in the lamplight, her shoulders back and her eyes radiating a vitality and energy which had previously simply smoldered under a layer of shame. Life seemed to beam from her clear blue eyes, lighting up her face and making her blonde hair gleam with a spirit which dissipated into the shadows. “I now know why you two do this. I was driven to act to survive, but who knew it made you feel so alive? Every nerve was alight. Every sense was heightened. And the relief when I got out of there? There’s nothing like it.” She stared from one to the other. “It’s like drug, it really it is. I was so elated I didn’t sleep all night.”
Heyes dropped his head into his hands, rubbing away his concern. “You got lucky, Carlotta. That feeling drops away fast when you meet someone who wants to turn you in. No matter how high you get, there are pits even deeper. It’s not a great life.”
“Yeah, we’ve been runnin’ from your old man for years, not to mention the railroads and the law and we gotta keep on runnin’.”
Heyes smiled. “Uh, remind me to tell you about that little errand I ran yesterday.”
“Not now, Heyes.”
“But that feeling of power as I sat eating dinner in the hotel pretending to be like everyone else,” her smile had a lick of wickedness cutting through the purity. “But I wasn’t like them. I dared to be different. I didn’t just let life happen anymore, I made the changes.”
The Kid watched her chest rise and fall in excitement and shook his head ruefully. “Well, you’ve done it now. It’s over. You never need to do anything like that again, huh?” She stared back at him, still with a sphinx-like smile on her face. “Carlotta. This is serious. You’ll end up in jail.”
Her smile widened with a tinkling laugh. “I know. I just understand how you got into this life, is all. The excitement has given me quite a lift, and I needed it so much. I’ve finally found myself.”
“So you’re going to calm down and live a quiet life?” asked Heyes.
“I’ll live my life as I please for the first time in my whole life.” She crossed over to the door. “Now, if you don’t mind I’d like to get to bed. It’s none of your business if I decide to have a little adventure now and again.”
“Adventure?” Heyes stood. “Exactly what kind of adventure, Carlotta?”
“None of your business. You have managed to achieve what you wanted. We’re not going to continue the vendetta, we have enough money to be comfortable for the rest of our lives, and I am in no position to go to the law.” She turned the knob and opened the door. “It occurs to me that works both ways.” She smiled the warmest beam they had ever seen from her in all the time they’d known this complex, brittle woman. “You leave in the morning, and your work here is done. I’m genuinely grateful to you and you have nothing to worry about as far as the female side of the family is concerned. Go in peace, and if our paths ever cross again I hope we can meet as equals and friends.”
Heyes crossed over to the door, pausing to allow her to drop a light kiss on his cheek. “Carlotta, tell me you’re not going to turn to crime for a cheap thrill.”
She held his gaze, her smile widening. “All right, I won’t.”
“Won’t turn to crime or won’t tell me?”
Carlotta turned back to the gunman and kissed him too. “Goodnight.”
“I want an answer,” pressed Heyes.
She ushered them out of the room until she was addressing them through a crack in the door. “I know.”
The door closed in their faces.
“Kid, I think we might have created a monster.”
“I don’t know about that, Heyes, but at the very least we might have created a rival.” Earnest blue eyes fixed on the outlaw leader. “What are we going to do?”
“Nothing we can do but turn in,” Heyes shrugged. “We’ve got a long journey back to The Hole ahead of us tomorrow.”
The Kid nodded and turned, walking back towards their room. “I got a feelin’ we ain’t seen the last of Miss Carlotta Burdon.”
“Me too, Kid. Me too.”
THE END