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He cleared his throat.
“Off the record, I will say to you, Elizabeth, that they seemed to consider it a good bargain to keep her here, distant from the rest of the family. Well, not all that distant since at least two of them have bought places near Jackson. But separated.”
Yeah. Cottonwood County definitely was separate from Jackson, even if not very distant.
I considered him.
After that daring foray into off the record, he’d returned firmly behind the line, perhaps even farther back from it than usual.
Sometimes, a new angle can open up a source.
“I recently heard that your last name has been spelled Longabaugh with an ‘a’ in the middle at times and that your ancestors came from Pennsylvania. And that the Sundance Kid’s real last name is mostly spelled Longabaugh, but sometimes Longbaugh without the ‘a’ in the middle and he came from Pennsylvania. Spill, James. Are you related?”
His mouth compressed. Not in anger, but to contain a grin. “I can neither confirm nor deny a connection.”
“Oh, come on, James—”
“Truly, Elizabeth. I don’t know. On one side, you can say it’s not that common a name. In addition, as you said, my grandfather’s people came from Pennsylvania originally, as did Sundance’s. Some old family papers do show the spelling with the ‘a’ in the middle. On the other side, no family papers or census records confirm a connection.”
“So you did check into it.”
“Sure, wouldn’t you?”
“Absolutely. Did you ever talk with Keefer Dobey about his research into his family?”
His expression took another giant leap back from the off-the-record line.
“He mentioned his interest in the topic casually.”
“Did he bring up specific names?”
“He mentioned Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.”
That was like reporting Keefer Dobey used the word the in a sentence.
“Anyone else? Less well-known, perhaps?”
“Elzy Lay. However, his life and family after he got out of prison is quite well documented.”
“Uh-huh. Okay, I’ll quit fencing—” In the hope he would, too. “—and say I know he was hopeful that he could track his lineage to Oscar and Pearl Virtanen.”
“Did he have success doing that?”
“You’re asking me?” I let my full disbelief at the reversal show.
“Yes,” he said.
Narrowing my eyes, I asked, “Did Keefer Dobey come to you for information or help or advice about his possible connection to Oscar and Pearl Virtanen?”
“He did not.”
“Have you or your firm at any time represented or held any material concerning Oscar and Pearl Virtanen or their estate or holdings?”
I’d surprised him, at least a little. And he took a moment. I suspected considering each aspect of what I’d asked.
“No.”
Darn.
