by Neil Hunter
As far as Linc Fargo was concerned the whole damn congregation could die if they got in his way. The statue of San Felipe was just so much gold to him. He saw it as a way to big money. There were plenty of men who would pay a fortune to get their hands on something like the San Felipe statue. Collectors of fine art who would hand over cold cash so that they could take the statue and hide it away in order to sit and stare at it. Linc Fargo figured them to be nothing short of crazy, but as long as they paid the money he didn’t give a damn if they took the thing to bed with them. Everybody had their own way of having fun.
He glanced down at the naked Mexican girl, sprawled in the dust. Keller had finished with her. He was already on his feet, buckling his belt, leaving the moaning girl exposed, her gleaming body a tender invitation.
‘She say anything?’ Fargo asked.
Keller, his face running with sweat, confirmed. ‘Only thanks.’
Fargo scowled. He knelt beside the girl and snatched a handful of her thick black hair. ‘Listen you bitch,’ he spat, ‘we ain’t got all day to play games! You tell me where that statue is or these boys are going to screw you right into the ground!’
The girl’s face rolled towards him. Then she peeled back her lips and spat in Fargo’s face. He yelled in anger. Letting go of her hair he hauled himself up and smacked her across the face. The girl grunted in pain, her head bouncing from the impact of Fargo’s hard hand. Fargo hit her a couple more times. Blood began to trickle from the corner of her month.
‘Hey, Linc, leave her in one piece ‘til I had my turn,’ Snake pleaded. He was on his knees in front of the girl, excitedly jerking open his pants. He fell across the girl’s heaving body, grunting with unconcealed lust. His powerful hands clutched at the soft flesh as he jerked frantically between her tensed thighs.
Linc Fargo stood up, and walked away from the bunch of men surrounding the terrified girl. He wandered over to where the limp, bloody form of Father Ignacio hung against the wagon wheel. After a minute Jubal Keller joined him. He glanced at Fargo, puzzled.
‘Something wrong, Linc?’ he asked, aware of Fargo’s restlessness.
Fargo stroked his face. ‘I don’t like this place,’ he said.
A low chuckle rose in Keller’s throat. ‘You superstitious or something?’
There was a moment when wild anger showed in Fargo’s cunning eyes. Then it faded. ‘I just don’t want to hang around here too long,’ he snapped. ‘The law ain’t going to be sittin’ on its ass. Every badge will be out lookin’ for us and they won’t be coming to talk. Know what I mean, Jubal?’
Keller nodded. He had no illusions as to their status in the eyes of the law. The whole bunch of them were open targets. He stretched lazily, stared up at the empty sky, then said, ‘The girl’ll talk, Linc! When the boys are through with her she’ll tell ’em everything they want to know!’
The girl held out for over an hour. By that time she had been subjected to numerous indignities. Her body was marked and bloody, her face a mass of ugly bruises. She had been violated over and over again by the entire bunch of men, Linc Fargo included, until her numbed flesh was unable to take any more. And then she talked, telling them all they needed to know about the statue of San Felipe.
The seven men took to their horses and rode off, leaving behind a silent mission, a half-dead priest and a young girl who, after a long time, crawled to her feet, went inside the mission and searched for a sharp knife. Then she walked back outside, calmly knelt in the dust and slashed both her wrists, bleeding to death in the bright sunlight shining down on the peaceful, slumbering Mission of San Felipe.
Piccadilly Publishing Catalog
BODIE THE STALKER by Neil Hunter
1: Trackdown
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About the Author
Neil Hunter is, in fact, the prolific Lancashire-born writer Michael R. Linaker. As Neil Hunter, Mike wrote two classic western series, BODIE THE STALKER and JASON BRAND. Under the name Richard Wyler he produced four stand-alone westerns, INCIDENT AT BUTLER’S STATION, THE SAVAGE JOURNEY, BRIGHAM’S WAY and TRAVIS.
