Shoot Angel! by Frederick H. Christian Page B

pocket and waved it under
Cranford’s nose. ‘I said things had gone too far. This time we went
and hung ourselves!’
    ‘ Calm
down, Phil, before you wet your goddam pants. Just tell me what it
is that’s got you excited.’
    ‘ I told you I was
worried about that Angel feller. More I thought about him the worse
it got. So I did some checking, Amos. Sent a couple of wires to
people I know.’ He shook the paper he was holding. ‘I got this back
from a feller I know works in the federal building in the capitol.
He owed me a favor and by God he’s paid me in spades! Frank Angel,
the man you sent out to Trench’s camp, the man you figure to have
killed—he ain’t no drifting hard case, Amos! He’s a special
investigator for the Justice Department. Works out of Washington
for the goddam Attorney General! Jesus Christ, Amos, we’re way out
of our depth this time!’
    Cranford remained silent while
he absorbed Sherman ’s news. He glanced across the desk, smiling inwardly as he
studied Sherman’s wet, flushed face. The man was coming apart, he
thought. Sherman was close to absolute panic. Cranford realized
that his earlier decision to get rid of Sherman had been the right
one. The matter was even more urgent now. Sherman could split the
whole damn affair wide open if he was left to his own devices.
Scared the way he was Sherman might simply walk out and start
talking to the first person willing to listen. Critical as the
situation might appear, Cranford still considered it possible to
come out on the winning side. But not with Sherman
around.
    ‘ Well?’ Sherman demanded. ‘You just going to sit there and
play games?’
    ‘ Just
thinking ahead, Phil.’ Cranford smiled. He stood up. ‘Look, Phil,
let’s just take things easy. I don’t think we have anything to
worry about.’
    ‘ Is
that supposed to make everything all right? Because you figure we
ain’t got problems?’ Sherman laughed harshly. ‘Let me give you the
news, Judge. We’ve got more trouble than you ever saw. This time it
ain’t some saddle tramp we framed and tossed in jail. This time it
isn’t going to be so easy to forget. Christ, Amos, this is the
government we’re playing with. Angel’s a federal agent!’ Sherman’s
voice began to rise. ‘Anything happens to him this town’s going to
be crawling with Justice Department people. I seen those boys at
work once before an’ they don’t ever let go once they got you
tabbed!’
    ‘ Give
me a chance to think this out, Phil,’ Cranford suggested. ‘Don’t
worry. I’ll work on something. You go back to your office. Just
carry on like it was a normal day. Later tonight come back. Take
the back way. Fewer people know what we’re doing the
better.’
    ‘ We’ll
have to be smart to get out of this, Amos,’ Sherman said, slightly
calmer now that Cranford seemed to be taking control of the
situation.
    ‘ Leave
it to me, Phil. I won’t let you down. We’re not finished yet.’
Cranford came around the desk. He put an arm across Sherman’s
shoulders as he guided the sheriff out of the room, towards the
front door. ‘You leave this to me. I’ll see us through.’
    Cranford closed the door after
Sherman had gone and leaned against the frame, his face set, eyes
cold, his thin lips drawn in a bloodless line. Damn the man!
Sherman was a stupid animal! Ready to cut and run at the first sign of trouble.
It always boiled down to the same thing. You could never trust
people. Get involved and you had to depend on the strength of those
around you. All it took was one weak link in the chain and
everything was suddenly threatened. Cranford made his way back to
his office. He sat down behind his desk, staring at the blank wall
on the far side of the room.
    First, see to it that Sherman
was silenced. That was a matter to which Cranford would attend
personally. After that it would be Angel ’s turn. And then … ? Cranford didn’t
plan any further ahead. He considered it better to take one step