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he looks like someone else I used to know. You
wouldn't be a Kimmler, would you?"
    "Yes,
Vic said as he took his lemonade. He was a bit surprised. "Did you know my
father?"
    "Everyone
knew Darwin. Sorry to lose him, too. He was a good man."
    "Excuse
me," Nolan said.
    "Ain't
five yet," Jinx snapped. He turned back to Vic. "I heard you were
comin' out, but I didn't know anything about these two precious little
darlin's. Darwin never spoke of 'em, and I can't imagine why. You're just a
couple of cuties, aren't you?"
    Christa
frowned and looked away from him. "You want a drink of my lemonade, Uncle
Nolan?"
    "No
thanks," Nolan said. "It's five o'clock and I believe I'll have a
beer."
    Jinx
looked at him for the first time. "Are you kin to these folk?"
    "Coors,
if you have it," Nolan replied.
    Vic
heard the warning note in his voice. Nolan was about to get pissed.
    "I'll
have one too, Jinx," Vic said. "It's been a long drive."
    Reluctantly,
Jinx moved down the counter to a top-loading cooler and withdrew two bottles of
Coors.
    "You
headin' straight out to Darwin's place from here?" he asked Vic.
    "We
planned on it.”
    "Well
say hello to Myra and Cal for me. I haven't seen 'em in a while."
    Vic
reached over to hand his beer to Nolan when it looked like Jinx wasn't in a
hurry to move that way. Jinx promptly handed him the other beer.
    "Who?"
Vic said.
    " Myra and Calvin
Callahan. They live in a trailer on your dad's place. He never told you about
'em?"
    "No,"
Vic said. "Did they work for him?"
    Jinx
leaned against the counter. " Myra 's husband did. He got kicked in the head and died about a
year and half ago. Darwin kinda took her and the boy under his wing after that.
Believe Myra kept house for him—" He paused to wink "—if you know what I mean.
Hear he left her a tidy little sum as well. She's been havin' some trouble out
there lately, though. If Ed Kisner knows what he's talkin' about, she fooled
around and let someone get off with the horses, every last damn one of
'em."
    When
Vic's intake of breath was judged sufficient, Jinx leaned even closer.
"Ed's the elected law around here, and the way he tells it, she wasn't
near as upset as he reckoned she shoulda been. He's suspectin' some kind of
conspiracy. Once she collects that twenty grand, we all figure her to be gone.
And who knows? Maybe there'll be some horses where she's goin'…if you know what
I mean."
    Vic slid
off his stool and dug into his hip pocket for his wallet. "How can I find
this Ed Kisner if I need to talk to him?"
    Jinx
smiled. "Just go in for a haircut. He's the barber."
    “And
probably the circuit judge too," Nolan said.
    "Pardon
me?" Jinx said. "You sure like to talk, young fella. I don't believe
I caught your name."
    "Nolan
Wulf," Christa volunteered. "He's our friend."
    The
muddy brown eyes behind Jinx's glasses narrowed. "So you ain't no
kin?"
    Nolan
smiled. "You sure like to snoop…old fella."
    Vic
lifted his wallet. "How much do I owe you, Jinx?"
    "Seven
dollars even, Mr. Kimmler."
    Nolan's
hand dropped to his pocket, but Vic left the money on the counter and told him
to come on. Once in the car, the two men sat and stared at the windshield.
Finally Nolan said, "Nosy old bastard. What do you think about his story?
Gossip or gospel?"
    Vic
shook his head. A pounding had begun in his temples. "I don't know what to
think. If those horses are gone I won't be able to…  Dammit, Nolan, can't anything
ever…does everything have to…” His shoulders sagged and he dropped his head
back against the seat. He felt as if his legs had been kicked out from under
him before he'd even learned to stand.
    Nolan
started the engine. "I'll tell you what I think. I think we should go see
this gold-digging bitch and find out what the fuck she's up to."
    "Watch
your language," Christa murmured from the back. She scooted forward to lay
a comforting hand on Vic's arm.
    Andy
sighed. "Does this mean we don't have any horses? Is that what Mr. Jinx
said, Daddy?"
    Vic took
a