I wanted to give him a tongue-lashing for talking to me like I was a child, but I resisted the urge.

“Grissom here has it on good authority that well number eighty-eight—you recall I showed it to you, the one that’s being drilled by O’Hanlon and his partner, Hans Humboldt—will be capped in the next few days. Harris, here, tells us they have drilled down three thousand feet and have only hit rock.”

Harris nodded.

“Grissom tells us they’re almost out of money, and their lease on that land expires the end of this week. Seems they’re in a pile of trouble, bless their hearts.” Kearney shook his head, as if in sympathy. “So, we need you, darlin’, to approach the landowner in question and get the lease renewed to S&K.”

“But why? If there’s no oil, what good would the lease do us?”

Kearney grinned. “Well done, Miss Sweeney. Such a good question. The thing I haven’t told you yet is that Harris is confident there is oil elsewhere on that land, in fact quite close to where number eighty-eight has been drilled.”

“And you believe him?”

The words were out before I could stop them.

“Yes, of course,” Kearney went on smoothly. “We don’t just have Mr. Harris’s say so, but several other geologists agree with him.”

I pressed my luck. “But if that’s the case, wouldn’t O’Hanlon and his partner know that? Wouldn’t he have dug other wells besides this one?”

Kearney gave me an exasperated look, as if I was a child with too many questions. “Of course they did, but their problem is they have no money to invest in more drilling. Must be real frustrating for them, real frustrating.”

I took in all that Kearney had said. If I could get this lease signed over to S&K, it would surely put a nail in Aidan O’Hanlon’s coffin. A sudden spasm of pain cut through my stomach.

“Mr. Sullivan is very anxious you get this done darlin’,” Kearney continued. “There’s a mighty fine bonus in it for you. After that, we won’t need you any longer, and you’ll be free to go back to New York, or wherever you wish.”

I should have been relieved that after this last assignment I would be free of Sullivan, but instead I felt used. And I had another feeling too. I recognized it as shame.

Delia

Delia

As we rode out to Shotgun City, some of the heaviness I had been carrying lifted from my shoulders. I was finding strength I didn’t know I had—strength to forge my own destiny. And as for Aidan’s anger toward me, this time I was not going to run away. Hans and I said little as we drove, and I was left to my thoughts.