Read Blood Trail for Free Online Page A

“but we could go back there anyway.”
    â€œWell,” she said, “then follow me this way . . .”
    He crossed the floor and followed her through a doorway into a back room filled with bolts of cloth of every color. As soon as they crossed the threshold, he grabbed her by the shoulders, turned her around, and gave her a kiss. Her mouth opened beneath his and they kissed avidly.
    Clint didn’t want to waste any time. He suddenly wanted her very badly. He lifted her, sat her on top of a crate, reached beneath her dress, and removed her underwear. Then he removed his gun belt and set it within reach, followed by his pants, which hit the floor. And then he was inside her, and she was gasping and clutching at him. This time, he had no concern for her pleasure, only for his own. He was going after a killer, and when you did that, the outcome was always uncertain. You never knew what lay ahead of you, or what you had to do to bring the killer to justice.
    So he slammed in and out of her, over and over again, until finally she screamed and he exploded into her . . .
    * * *
    She straightened her clothing while he pulled his pants back on and strapped on his gun.
    â€œMy God!” she said. “What got into you?”
    â€œI have to leave.”
    â€œToday?”
    â€œIn the morning,” he said. “I have to leave to hunt for a killer.”
    â€œThe murderer Sheriff Bullet mentioned this morning?” she asked.
    â€œYes.”
    â€œIt’s all over town today that the murder was very . . . gruesome,” she said, cringing.
    â€œIt was.”
    â€œSo it will be dangerous,” she said. “Why do you have to go?”
    â€œThe sheriff’s a friend of mine,” he explained, “and he has no deputies.”
    â€œBut you’ll come back.”
    â€œOf course.”
    â€œHow can you be sure?”
    â€œI always come back.”
    â€œBut . . .”
    â€œBut what?”
    â€œOne day you might not.”
    â€œNot today, though,” he assured her. “Come on, walk me out.”
    They left the storeroom and went back to the shop. She walked him to the front door, where he turned the sign from CLOSED to OPEN .
    He opened the door.
    â€œCan I come to your hotel tonight?”
    â€œNo, not tonight,” he said. “We have to get ready. I have a feeling I have a lot to learn.”
    â€œWill you come to me when you return?” she asked.
    â€œI will,” he said, “but even when I come back, I won’t stay. It will be time for me to move on.”
    â€œI understand,” she said. “I just need . . . one more time.”
    He smiled, said, “We can do that,” and left.

FOURTEEN
    He returned to the hotel, found Frederick Talbot in his room.
    â€œFind anything?” he asked when the man opened his door.
    â€œNo,” Talbot said, “the killer is not in town.”
    â€œThe killer,” Clint said. “You don’t say he or she, just the killer.”
    â€œCan we eat?” Talbot asked. “I am very hungry.”
    â€œSure, we can eat,” Clint said. “Come on.”
    He took Talbot to a nearby café. Again, to him it was a small place to eat, but to Talbot it was a place for a feast.
    There were others dining who gave them odd looks as they entered. Two strangers and a murder in town. Maybe they were involved.
    People didn’t know how right they were.
    As they sat, Talbot put his bag down on the floor between himself and the wall. The waiter came over and they both ordered steak dinners.
    While they were eating, Clint asked, “Okay, what’s in the bag?”
    â€œJust some items I will need.”
    â€œYou said you had a gun, but needed a rifle. What kind of gun?”
    Talbot hesitated, then said, “After we finish eating, I will show you.”
    â€œWhy all the secrecy, Talbot?” Clint asked. “Why