Raylan_ A Novel - Elmore Leonard [44]
Carol announced to the crowd, most of them standing now, “Let’s take a break, all right? We have refreshments waiting in the front hall. Then we’ll come back and have at it again, okay? Meanwhile I’ll have a talk with Raylan, let him know he’s supposed to protect me, not step on my lines.”
The hill folk probably wouldn’t get it. They weren’t listening anyway.
She saw Raylan talking to miners gathering around him and turned to Winona sitting by her steno machine. Carol walked across the stage toward her.
“Winona? Hi, I’m Carol. We’re so pleased we could get you for this meeting.”
“I wasn’t sure why you wanted me,” Winona said. “Other than I was married to Raylan at one time and you’re curious about him.”
“My,” Carol said, “you speak right up, don’t you?”
“I wondered why you wanted a court reporter for this. Because it’s what I do and you can ask me about Raylan? Or because you like reading transcripts?”
Carol walked away, got her chair from the middle of the stage and dragged it over. She sat down saying, “Which do you think?”
“You’ve heard all the complaints before. I think you’d like to know about Raylan. From a woman once married to him.”
Carol said, “Did he fool around?”
“Not once in six years.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“He’d walk in the house and if he had, it would be on his face, but never was.”
“He left you, didn’t he?”
“I left him. We’re in bed he’d start talkin about offenders. I had different moves I’d have to put on him.”
“You’re married to a real estate man now.”
“Sorta. I can’t say the marriage was made in heaven. I thought I needed security.”
“It’s obvious you don’t,” Carol said. “You want a job?”
“I’ll never in my life go to work for a coal company,” Winona said. “I’m surprised you did, your dad a miner.”
“He died,” Carol said. “I was at Columbia and switched my major from English lit to mining management and joined the company.”
“And save your love for your dog?”
“I have a cat. That’s what I call her, Cat. ‘Hey, Cat, whatcha doin, huh?’ She never purrs.”
“I don’t blame her.”
Carol said, “What kind of moves worked best?”
“On Raylan? All of them. Being seductive wore me out.”
Carol said, “You’re after him again, aren’t you?”
“I’ll bet what you owe me,” Winona said, “you don’t get him in bed.”
Carol said, “What about in the limo?”
Raylan got away from the miners grinning at him, telling him he ought to run for judge, and walked over to Boyd and Ava by the wall.
Boyd straightened. He said to Raylan, “I believe with hope in my heart you’re gonna arrest that Mayfield hick. You’re standing there, you heard him threaten me. Tell me you are so I can go sit down.”
“He didn’t threaten you,” Raylan said, “he called you a liar.” He turned to Ava saying, “Ms. Crowder,” with that hint of a grin he put on, “you’re a double-dip ice-cream cone in that yella dress.”
Ava said, “Raylan, I’d let you have a lick, but I’m with Boyd. We’re seein how it goes right now before our relationship becomes serious. If you know what I mean.”
“Well, you’ve had a taste of Crowders,” Raylan said. “Married Bowman and had to shoot him. I’m not criticizing you. You believed he had it coming.”
Ava said, “Thank you.”
Boyd said, “Hey, leave us alone, all right?”
“I’ll tell you,” Raylan said, “I’m lookin at ways to bring you up for shootin Otis, Carol telling you to do it. Bring her into it, you might get your plea down to second degree. Only have to do twenty years.”
Ava took Boyd by the arm saying, “I don’t want to hear this.”
“He’s lyin,” Boyd said, “accusing me of a premeditated act, so he can get at you when I’m gone. Force himself on you.”
Ava seemed to hesitate, losing a step, dragging Boyd toward the door now. She turned her head past his shoulder to look back at Raylan.
Chapter Nineteen
The morning of the day of the meeting, God told Pervis he ought to use Dewey Crowe as honey to attract the insects.
Pervis had sat almost bolt upright in bed. God’s message was in his head, so he knew who the bugs were: Casper Mott and others who wanted his mountain,