Wild Country (The World of the Others #2)- Anne Bishop Page 0,96

easily fit in the car. Some cash and jewelry that couldn’t belong to anyone living in that town. A couple of handguns and a rifle, along with ammunition. Clothes and cans of food. Sweeney wanted to do a bit of crazy and smash windows, make a mess, but Charlie calmed him down. Said if they left quiet, they could slip back into town and clean out another house.”

“Good thinking on Charlie’s part.” Parlan dealt cards, not even asking if Judd wanted to hit or stay. “Is Sweeney becoming a problem?”

“Might be. But not yet. I’ll deal with him when the time comes.”

Parlan nodded. “Did Lawry have a look at those?” His brother, Lawry, was their jewelry expert—and their jewel fixer. Lawry always knew which stones could be popped out of a setting and replaced with paste with the mark none the wiser, and could make the switch in the time it took to fix a broken clasp.

“Not yet. He and Dalton went off in a different direction. Heard some rumors about abandoned ranches.” Judd gave Parlan a sharp smile. “Rustling isn’t much fun when there’s no one around to notice the stock is missing.”

“Not practical either unless we already have a market for the animals. Besides, that’s not really our line of work.” Parlan tossed the deck on the table and sat back. “I’ve squeezed dry everyone I can squeeze on this train, and I don’t have the feeling that any fresh marks will be boarding tomorrow. I’ll make arrangements to have my car hitched to the eastbound train with an eye to changing to a southbound line before I reach the Midwest Region’s border.”

“You’re thinking the people coming out here to live might have some cash?”

“No, I’m thinking it’s time to take off the gambler duds, put on my suit, and charm some of the businessmen’s wives by gallantly offering to make up a foursome for bridge. Some of those women have been traveling with their husbands on business for weeks now to escape whatever was happening in their hometowns and are desperate for fresh company. They’ll be a likely source of information about towns that have become nothing more than stops for the train and which ones might have potential for us.” Parlan walked over to a cabinet and opened the drawer that held maps. Taking out the map for the Midwest Region, he returned to the table and opened it.

Judd came around the table to stand beside him. “Not a lot of choices.”

“Not a lot,” Parlan agreed. Some he already knew weren’t more than the station with a few houses and a couple of stores for the railroad employees. And some didn’t have even the employees anymore, despite the hazard pay that went with manning such a place. “Here.” He pointed to a town that had been of modest size before the war and might still be. Not every human place had been decimated, and there was something about that town … “We’ll meet up here.”

“Why?”

“It has an east-west connection right across this half of the Midwest. A northern line begins there as well and looks like it runs all the way to the east-west line we’re on now, near the High North border. That kind of loop could be useful to us. And it has roads that will give us even more access to any towns around the area.” Parlan ran his finger along the westbound track to the town located at the northern end of the Elder Hills. “I have a feeling this is where our luck will change.” He tapped the town’s name.

Bennett.

CHAPTER 21

Moonsday, Messis 20

Jana stared at the ceiling, then looked at the clock on her bedside table. Stared at the ceiling. Looked at the clock.

Too early to get up. Humans weren’t being held to a dark-to-dawn curfew within the boundaries of the town, although no one was guaranteeing their safety if they went out when it was dark. As a deputy, she didn’t have to heed any curfew when she was on duty. But those howls she’d heard yesterday had come from beings that were way too close to her house, and she had no desire to cross paths with one of them just because she couldn’t sleep.

“If you’re not going to sleep, do something useful.” Patting the bedside table until she found the scrunchie she’d left there, she pulled her hair back into a tail, shoved her feet into the sandals she was using in lieu of slippers, and headed for