Chapter 31

They met with Ranford in his Senate office on the last Monday in October at two-thirty in the afternoon of a mild fall day. There had been no word from Cowboy but Malik was determined to press on. The half-hour walk to the Capitol was through a colorful array of leafy trees in their autumn finery. They noticed little of it. Gabriela had her gun in a leather handbag. Malik carried a hunting knife on his belt, in the small of his back.

They were ushered into Ranford’s office after only a ten minute wait. The Senator looked every bit his title. He was a tall man of medium build with a ruddy face and a full head of smoothly-combed, silver hair. He offered Malik a hearty handshake and a hail-fellow-well-met greeting. With Gabriela, he assumed the persona of a courtly gentleman, bowing slightly and bringing her hand to his lips, where he actually kissed her fingers and took a barely audible sniff. Gabriela had not minimized the chances of his interest, as she had worn one of the dresses she’d purchased in New York. That dress, with a matching corset hidden beneath, gathered her partially-exposed upper bosom into enticing mounds and fit snugly at her waist until it flared at her hips.

Still bent, he brought his eyes to look up at her and said, with a provocative smile, “It is women like you who are the backbone of Arenoso.”

He rose and gestured with his arm. “Please, come sit over here, we’ll be more comfortable.” He led them to a corner of the large office where it was furnished as a sitting area, with an overstuffed settee and two overstuffed arm chairs. The seating was gathered near a fireplace with an ornate mantle and pilasters, a fire there alight. Gabriela chose the settee while Malik lowered himself into the deep cushions of the chair Ranford indicated. Ranford chose to sit in a padded wooden arm chair that he drew from a nearby table; the seat put him at a height advantage.

Gesturing to a crystal decanter and three snifters on a silver tray atop a low table in front of them, the Senator said, “May I offer you a brandy? It is imported especially for me from France.” Without waiting for an answer, he poured some into the bottom of each snifter, then handed one to each of them. He lifted his own and began to swirl the liquid against the sides of the snifter, which was cupped in his right hand.

He said, “You may have noticed Mister Macready standing by the corner over there. He is my confidential secretary and seldom leaves my side. Perhaps you know his brother? He is the foreman of a ranch down your way, the B-Bar-L, if memory serves. Isn’t that right Mister Macready?” The hulking man made no acknowledgment. Ranford said, “Yes, I’m certain that’s the name of it. I should be, I’m one of the investors.” He laughed at his joke while Malik and Gabriela smiled wanly. “That makes me a rancher there much the same as you are.

“Ah, yes, I made some inquiries. I wanted to be able to be able to discuss things with you in the proper framework. Saves time in getting down to brass tacks. I also learned that both of you are widely influential. Calling you community leaders wouldn’t be far off the mark. So I am happy to welcome you to discuss whatever is on your minds.”

“Thank you, Senator,” Malik began. “We have felt nothing but welcome in our visits here in Washington City. We missed Representative Mortonson, but Senator DeBray was most gracious and I was able to drop in on an old schoolmate in the Attorney General’s office. I still have appointments with people at the Departments of Agriculture and Interior, but I have no reason to expect they will be any less cordial.”

“Of course, of course. This town belongs to the people of this country. Everyone here works for you and every other citizen. But may I ask your concerns with the Interior and Agriculture Departments? Perhaps I can be of assistance.”

“You may very well be. For one, I am concerned with the policy that requires reservation children to be educated in boarding schools, denied their own customs, and punished for speaking their own language.”

“Ah, yes, I see. I, too, was dismayed when I heard of some of these policies. But I’ve since learned...”

The remainder of the meeting, at least the business part, was a lesson in political obfuscation. Ranford could say absolutely nothing in a dozen different ways and finish each discourse with phrasing that might lead one to believe he was in full accord with you.