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until you saw him again.
    He said, “Nice to see you again, Chief. Yeah, I got it, and I was glad. I was waitin’ on an excuse for me an’ Magpie to head west again. I’m afraid Chicago an’ them other cities back East—they just aren’t for this old redskin.”
    â€œDaughter?” Billy was staring at Magpie, the skin above the bridge of his nose wrinkling. “Say, I heard about you havin’ a daughter, War Cloud. That’s right—she’s why you left the service. Say . . . that’s some girl you got there, mister . . .”
    â€œDon’t try to shake her hand, Chief,” Longarm advised, standing back by the hat tree near the Apache princess. “She might crack a bone or two.”
    Billy nodded as he continued to study the girl, obviously impressed by her, as any male—even a chubby, balding, long-married, middle-aged one—would be. The chief marshal sighed and glanced between Longarm and War Cloud, “Well, I’m glad you two ran into each other—or did you just get here at the same time?”
    â€œOh, no, Chief,” Longarm said. “We sorta ran into each other last night.
Late
last night. In my flat over on the raggedy side of Cherry Creek. Good thing ole War Cloud still remembered where it was.” The deputy’s tone was ironic.
    War Cloud grinned. Longarm thought he heard Magpie give a snort. A barely audible snort but a snort just the same though she didn’t look at him.
    â€œOkay—well, anyway,” the chief marshal said, obviously a little confused but seeing no point in having the matter clarified, which was just fine with Longarm. The chief marshal clearly had more important things on his plate. “Why don’t you two come on into my office, and I’ll give you the one-two-three. Nasty business down in your home country, War Cloud. That’s why I was hoping you’d come.”
    â€œHad a feelin’ that was why, Chief.”
    As Billy turned to walk into his office, he glanced over his shoulder. Magpie was walking toward him, a few steps behind Longarm. “She might as well stay out here with Henry,” Vail said. “She wouldn’t have no interest in hearin’ about this mess.”
    â€œShe might as well hear about it, Chief,” War Cloud said, holding the door open. “She’ll be comin’ with me an’ Custis. Me an’ Magpie are heading home and, besides, I taught Magpie to be every bit the tracker her old man is. She is, too. And her eyes are sharp as an eagle’s.”
    â€œShe’s right good with a bowie knife, too, Chief,” Longarm wryly interjected, not bothering to explain the matter of the three dead men over at the Black Cat Saloon.
    Billy looked at the girl once more, speculatively, nodding. “You don’t say. Well, all right. I have only one chair, but you fellas can sit on the floor.”
    Vail chuckled at that as he walked on into his office. But when they were all inside, Magpie ignored Longarm’s gesture for her to sit in the chair and sat on the floor, her back against the door, arms crossed on her breasts. War Cloud shrugged, then grinned as he himself took the chair.
    Longarm stood against the room’s outside wall, arms crossed on his chest, one boot cocked over the other, the cold cigar still angling from his mouth. He wasn’t sure why, but he suddenly had a bad feeling about what his next assignment was going to be. It was probably because he’d learned he’d be heading into the searing Arizona heat at high summer.
    That was like heading to hell with the fires still burning.
    Also, his old friend War Cloud had been called in special. That likely meant Apache trouble. And Apache trouble was usually the worst kind of trouble of all.
    Yes, he had a bad, bad feeling . . .

Chapter 6
    Chief Marshal Billy Vail regarded Magpie skeptically where she squatted against his door,