Echo Burning

lead.
    The air was unnaturally cold and thick with beer fumes and smoke and noise. The jukebox was near the pool table, and beyond it was an area with small round lounge tables surrounded by stools padded with red vinyl. Billy held up three fingers to the barman and got three cold bottles in exchange. He carried them laced between his fingers and led the way toward the tables. Reacher stepped ahead of him and got there first. He wanted his choice of seats. Back to the wall was his rule. All three exits in view, if possible . He threaded his way in and sat down. Josh sat to his half-right, and Billy sathalf-left. Pushed a bottle across the scarred surface of the table. People had stubbed cigarettes on the wood. The sheriff came into the room from the rear, from the direction of the rest rooms, checking that his pants were zipped. He paused a second when he saw Reacher, nothing in his face, and then he moved on and sat down at the bar, on the unoccupied stool, his shoulders hunched, his back to the crowd.
    Billy raised his bottle like a toast.
    “Good luck,” he said.
    You’re going to need it, pal, Reacher thought. He took a long pull from his own bottle. The beer was cold and gassy. It tasted strongly of hops.
    “I need to make a phone call,” Billy said.
    He pushed back from the table and stood up again. Josh leaned to his right, trying to fill the new vacant space in front of Reacher. Billy made it through the crowd and went outside to the lobby. Reacher took another sip of his beer and estimated the passage of time. And counted the people in the room. There were twenty-three of them, excluding himself, including the barman, who he guessed was Harley. Billy came back inside two minutes and forty seconds. He bent and spoke into the sheriff’s ear. The sheriff nodded. Billy spoke some more. The sheriff nodded again. Drained his bottle and pushed back from the bar and stood up. Turned to face the room. Glanced once in Reacher’s direction and then stepped away and pushed out through the door. Billy stood and watched him go and then threaded his way back to the table.
    “Sheriff’s leaving,” he said. “He remembered he had urgent business elsewhere.”
    Reacher said nothing.
    “Did you make your call?” Josh asked, like it was rehearsed.
    “Yes, I made my call,” Billy said.
    Then he sat down on his stool and picked up his bottle.
    “Don’t you want to know who I called?” he said, looking across at Reacher.
    “Why would I give a rat’s ass who you called?” Reacher said.
    “I called for the ambulance,” Billy said. “Best to do itahead of time, because it comes all the way from Presidio. It can take hours to get here.”
    “See, we got a confession to make,” Josh said. “We lied to you before. There was a guy we ran off. He was knocking boots with the Mexican woman. Bobby didn’t think that was appropriate behavior, in the circumstances, what with Sloop being in prison and all. So we got asked to take care of it. We brought him down here.”
    “Want to know what we did?” Billy asked.
    “I thought we were going to the feed store,” Reacher said.
    “Feed store’s up in San Angelo.”
    “So what are we doing all the way down here?”
    “We’re telling you, is what. This is where we brought the other guy.”
    “What’s this other guy got to do with me?”
    “Bobby figures you’re in the same category, is what.”
    “He thinks I’m knocking boots with her too?”
    Josh nodded. “He sure does.”
    “What do you think?”
    “We agree with him. Why else would you come around? You’re no horseman, that’s for damn sure.”
    “Suppose I told you we’re just good friends?”
    “Bobby says you’re more than that.”
    “And you believe him?”
    Billy nodded. “Sure we do. She comes on to him . He told us that himself. So why should you be any different? And hey, we don’t blame you. She’s a good-looking piece of ass. I’d go there myself, except she’s Sloop’s. You got to respect family, even with beaners. That’s the rule around here.”
    Reacher said nothing.
    “Her other guy was a schoolteacher,” Billy said. “Got way out of line. So we brought him down here, and we took him out back, in the yard, and we got us a hog butchering knife, and we got us a couple of guys to hold him, and we pulled his pants down, and we told him we were going to cut it off. He was all crying and whimpering and messing himself. Begging and whining. Promising he’d get himself lost.