The green woman turned to Sheriff Arnie. “Is she always so ornery?”
“From what I can tell.”
“Lord.” The green woman took out a hand fan and opened it with a loud “snap!” She waved it against her sweaty neck and looked Violet up and down. “Still. I suppose some of the clients wouldn’t mind the challenge.”
“Oh, I got more than a challenge for ‘em! You force any man on me and I’ll cut ‘em up good and proper—!” Her arm suddenly jerked, and Violet was brought down to her knees. Mei, who had kept crouched, spoke softly and quickly.
“Go with them,” she said. Violet’s jaw dropped in horror, but Mei continued. “You get out of this cell, and you get a chance to make a run for it. You got a better chance of it than any of us. Go.”
Violet, with a heavy heart, knew that Mei was right. Her eyes tea
