“Bet you could do that. By the way, I met a
fan of your books.”
“Another retired gunman?” she teased.
“A lady from Boston.” He told her how he’d
met Mrs. Windsor and why he’d come to ask Cole’s help for her.
“My, that is something of a coincidence,”
she said.
“What’s that mean?”
“Nothing.”
Cole came back into the parlor and poured
himself a shot. “The name didn’t register with Jace. If he came to Tucson, he
didn’t check in with the sheriff’s office or so far as he knew not the
marshal’s either. Jace has a friend though in the Boston police department. He
will know about detectives working there at least, but it might take a while.”
“Hopefully this is not a problem needing to
be taken care of right away.” The trouble was, he was getting that itch that
told him something about this wasn’t how Frederica Windsor thought it was.
“Will she be here through Christmas?” Willy
asked.
“Until her daughter comes back with Grace, I
guess.”
“Then she is spending it with us.” She
smiled. “I must meet a woman, who is actually a fan of my books.” She gave a
little laugh when Cole gave her one of his looks, the ones Jeremiah had seen
all too often from his son.
“She’s gonna write a new one,” Jeremiah
said.
“Happiness is. Who does Taggert kill this
time?”
Jeremiah chuckled. “Gotta give them a
happily ever after, don’tcha?”
Cole let out a sigh. “When’s dinner going to
be ready?”
“Soon. Don’t look so glum I haven’t actually
started writing anything. Your father was pulling your leg.” She giggled.
“Should that phrase mean something to me?”
Cole asked with a crooked grin.
“Came across it in research. It relates to
criminals in England.”
“And it means?”
“Well, basically fooling me. The criminals
in England would string a wire and it would trip their prey. When he fell,
they’d grab his valuables.”
“No guns for the victims, I take it,”
Jeremiah said with a chuckle.
She took a sanctimonious pose, which on such
a beautiful woman made him want to smile. “Of course, not. England was
civilized.”
“Other than the criminals.”
“Other than.”
“Maybe you should base your next book there,”
Cole suggested.
“I think not. I like Western outlaws
better.” She rose and headed for the kitchen.
