Read Broken Star (2006) for Free Online Page B

friend.
    The sheriff brought up the subject of Gloria now, as Raya’s first aid came to an end. Holding the bowl of water in which Raya had constantly rinsed the cloth she was using, he said, ‘I reckon as how you were mistaken about that woman, Fallon. Hiram says some woman did open an account yesterday, but her name was Carmel Morrow.’
    ‘That’s right,’ Raya agreed. ‘I met her yesterday . Carmel and her brother are looking to buy a place around here. She seems a very nice person.’
    ‘I’m sure that the woman I saw coming out of the bank was Gloria Malone,’ Vejar protested.
    ‘It couldn’t have been her, Fallon.’ Harker was adamant. ‘Hiram required certain documentation before he would agree to opening an account, and the paperwork produced by the woman was in the names of her and her brother, Carmel and Alan Morrow.’
    ‘That’s the way Klugg works,’ Vejar sighed. ‘He plans every job meticulously. The time Gloria would have spent doing that business in the bank, means she took every detail of the place away with her.’
    Packing her utensils into a bag, Raya enquired, ‘Is there something going on that I don’t know about?’
    ‘Nothing that you need to know, Raya,’Harker assured her. ‘It’s something Fallon mentioned that I felt that I should keep an eye on.’
    Satisfied by this, Raya shyly bade Vejar farewell. Thanking her for tending his injuries, he turned away to avoid seeing her raise up on tiptoe to kiss Harker on the cheek. Closing the door behind her, Harker returned to stand looking down at Vejar.
    ‘In a couple of days you’ll have recovered, be fighting fit,’ the sheriff predicted. ‘You’re sure that you won’t stay in Yancey to help me and my six cowboys fix that band of outlaws real good?’
    Causing himself pain by shaking his head, Vejar said, ‘Sorry, amigo , That’s something I just can’t do.’
     
    It was late afternoon and the sun had lost its ferocity as Raya Kennedy made her way home from the jailhouse. Welcoming the new coolness , breathing fresh air deeply, she was paying little attention to her surroundings until her name was called.
    ‘Raya! We meet again.’
    Smiling delightedly, Carmel Morrow had opened the door of Wu Chua’s staid little teahouse from the inside and was standing in the doorway.
    ‘Carmel, it’s good to see you back in town,’Raya responded, walking towards her recently acquired friend. ‘Have you and your brother found a place?’
    ‘Not exactly. Let me get you a cup of tea, and I’ll tell you all about it.’
    Accepting the invitation, Raya went in and the smiling Chinese proprietor pulled out a chair for her to be seated across a little table from Carmel, It surprised Raya that, up close, Carmel’s beauty was based on the irregularity of her features. She had a high-bridged nose, cheekbones that were too pronounced, a mouth that was exceptionally wide, too long white teeth, and lips that were provocatively but unusually thick. But this was a stunning combination.
    ‘How are you, Missy Raya?’ the Chinese man enquired.
    ‘I’m very well, Mr Chua, thank you,’ Raya answered. ‘And how is your good self.’
    ‘Mighty fine, Missy Raya, mighty fine.’ The Chinaman used an Americanism in reply as he left to fill the new order placed by Carmel.
    She smiled across the table at Raya. ‘You are obviously well known and very respected in Yancey.’
    ‘As I said, Carmel, I have lived here all my life,’
    ‘Nothing to do with being betrothed to the sheriff?’ Carmel questioned, with a twinkle of amusement in her dark-brown eyes. She was afun person. ‘After all, he must be an important person in a thriving town like Yancey.’
    This time it was Raya who chuckled. ‘Hardly. Possibly because of George’s reputation, the town has very little crime. He runs things single-handed , unless his only deputy, a frail old man, is taken into account.’
    ‘Nevertheless, he can surely call on volunteers in the unlikely event