Slocum's Breakout - Jake Logan [72]
He hiked to the village and walked in, leaving his horse hidden in the hills. Slocum looked around for any sign that Bernard had followed Harriman’s lead and had posted deputies to watch for escaped prisoners.
Procipio Murrieta came from his house, stopped, and stared when he saw Slocum. His mouth opened, then he clamped it shut.
“Took a spell for me to get back,” Slocum said. “I had to wait for the sheriff to leave. He giving you any trouble?”
“He and I have come to an agreement. He cares nothing for what happens in San Quentin. Still, I chose to stay away while he searched.”
“I got that feeling he wasn’t inclined to do Harriman’s work for him,” Slocum said. “So he’s not looking for me?”
“He still believes you are the one who robbed the bank.” Murrieta cleared his throat, then said, “And yes, he seeks you here. You must go immediately. The sheriff is like a dog with a bone. He will never stop gnawing. That makes it dangerous for you—and the village—if you remain any longer.”
“I need to talk to you about that,” Slocum said. “But I want to see Maria first.” He saw the play of emotion on Murrieta’s face and tensed. “She wasn’t hurt, was she? Wilkinson or Harriman isn’t using her to catch Atencio?”
Murrieta shook his head, then reached out and took Slocum by the arm, walking him to the town plaza, where the well provided a gathering spot.
“She is . . . not here. She has become frightened and ran away.”
“What scared her?”
Slocum saw the new play of emotion and knew whatever Murrieta said would be a lie.
“I frighten her with new plans. I seek to arm my people. We must fight. We . . . we are planning to revolt against the laws that oppress us.”
“Where’d she go?”
“Away. Far away. I do not know where. Perhaps south to Mexico.”
Slocum looked past Murrieta’s shoulder and saw Maria and Atencio across the plaza. They had their arms wrapped around each other and had eyes only for the other.
“Who is Atencio to her?”
Murrieta paused, licked his lips, and finally said, “You have been a good man and have done much for me and my people. I do not want to lie to you.”
“Then don’t,” Slocum said coldly.
“Atencio is her husband. They have been married for almost a year.”
“Happily?”
Murrieta nodded.
“She carries his child.”
More words wouldn’t come.
Slocum saw Maria and Atencio disappear into a small house on the far side of the plaza. A light inside extinguished, and the door closed with a loud slam. He imagined laughter—Maria’s—as Atencio took her to bed. Their bed. Their marriage bed.
“Take care,” Slocum said.
“Please, do not go away angry at her. She had no other way to get him free.”
“They shouldn’t stay here. Even if the sheriff looks the other way when Harriman or Wilkinson asks about escapees, he’s likely to arrest Atencio eventually.”
“That is so,” Murrieta said.
Slocum shook the man’s hand, turned, and went into the twilight to find his horse. Riding back to San Francisco for the ferry would be dangerous. Skirting the Bay to the south and then entering Oakland that way would take a day or two, but he wasn’t in a hurry.
He had a lot to think over as he went to retrieve the gold he had hidden. Wherever he went after stashing it all in his saddlebags had to be far, far away. Far from San Quentin, from the Valenzuelas, and especially from Maria.
Watch for
SLOCUM AND THE FOOL’S ERRAND
394th novel in the exciting SLOCUM series from Jove
Coming in December!