"Please."
I poured three cups. Takala wiped her hands and sat down, her posture straight and alert. Quinn settled into his chair with a sigh. "I'm here officially," he said.
"Fort Stanton sent word. They're looking for an Apache boy, son of Chief Kuruk. He was shot by some men claiming he attacked them. You know anything about that?"
I drank my coffee and considered my answer. Quinn and I had history. Back in 1870, when he was a young private who'd made the mistake of deserting during a campaign, I'd found him hiding in a supply wagon. I could have turned him in.
Instead, I'd helped him get back to his unit and coached him through a story about getting separated during a skirmish. It had saved his career, maybe his life. He'd never forgotten it. But favors only stretch so far.
"The boy was here," I said. "He'd been shot. I patched him up. He went back to his people."
"Did you see who shot him?"
"Three men. One wearing a cavalry coat. They were going to finish him off when I interrupted."
Quinn's face darkened. "Can you identify them?"
"Not well enough to swear to it. But I'd recognize the big one if I saw him again."
"And you're sure the boy went back to his tribe?"
"His father came for him about a week ago."
Quinn absorbed this. His eyes flicked to Takala again, lingering this time. "And the woman?"
"Chief Kuruk's way of paying a debt. She stays here of her own accord."
"Her own accord?" Quinn's tone was carefully neutral. "Silas, you know what people will say. What the army will say."
"I know. I don't much care."
He sighed and rubbed his face. "You should care. Captain Hollis at Fort Stanton, he's not like the old commanders. He's ambitious."
"He wants to make a name for himself, and the way you make a name on the frontier is by putting down Indian troubles. If he can tie you to harboring Apache fugitives or keeping an Apache woman against regulations, he will."
"There are no regulations against it."
"Not yet. But there are army policies about fraternization with hostiles, and there's talk in Washington about new laws regarding Indian relations. The Dawes Act, they're calling it."
"It's supposed to help Indians assimilate, but it's going to come with restrictions. Mark my words."
Takala spoke for the first time. "What kind of restrictions?"