Righteous Kill

by G. Michael Hopf

  Al took it with his trembling hands.

  “You’re sure about this?” Joseph asked.

  “Would you still take me if I changed my mind, after knowing I don’t have any money?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Liar. Now get, go,” Al said.

  Joseph tipped his hat and said, “See you on the other side.”

  “Goodbye, Joe.”

  Joseph mounted his horse and took off without taking a second glance back. He raced down the trail to the south, unsure where he’d go next. After ten minutes of hard riding, he exited the trees, and before him were grass-covered hills. He didn’t know where to go. He could keep heading south, but go where? He was disappointed that he’d come all this way with hopes of getting his hands on Al’s money only to come up empty-handed. His disappointment soon turned to anger that after so much trouble and effort, he was leaving worse than when he started, having lost his father’s pocket watch at the house back in Great Falls. A strong temptation to go back and get it gripped him. He knew the dangers entailed in doing something like that, but it would most likely be the last place they’d look for him. Then again, he could be found. The safer bet was to keep heading south, but this was Killer Joe, and playing it safe wasn’t his modus operandi.

  ***

  Seeing the wagon in the road ahead, Billy cried out, “Hold up.”

  Amherst and Rob pulled back on their horses hard.

  With twenty feet now separating them from the wagon, Billy said, “Something isn’t right here. Keep your eyes peeled.”

  “Rob, advance and see if anything is in the wagon,” Amherst ordered.

  Nervous, Rob gulped but did as he was told. He trotted forward enough to eye the back of the wagon. “There’s a man lying in the back. He’s not moving.”

  Billy advanced, stopping where Rob was. He looked and said, “It’s Al.”

  “Well, is he dead?” Amherst asked, still at the spot where he’d stopped.

  “I’ll go find out,” Rob said, riding up until he was alongside the wagon.

  “Be careful,” Billy said, his pistol now in his hand.

  Rob pulled his pistol and cocked it. He rode once around the wagon, but he didn’t see any movement. “He doesn’t look like he’s breathing.”

  “Where’s Joe?” Billy asked, his eyes scanning the wooded area.

  Amherst made his way up to Billy and said, “He could be anywhere now that he’s on a horse.”

  “Damn!” Billy grunted.

  “Let’s see if there’s anything in the wagon,” Amherst said, moving towards the wagon. “Rob, get down and search it.”

  Rob dismounted and went to the edge of the wagon. He looked inside and began shifting through the few items in it. He reached towards Al but stopped in horror when Al opened his eyes and raised a cocked pistol at him.

  “Hello there, Deputy,” Al said, then pulled the trigger.

  Rob’s head snapped back when the .45-caliber round passed through it, blowing out the back of his head. He dropped where he stood.

  Amherst’s horse reared and almost threw him off.

  Al sat up, cocked his pistol, aimed at Amherst, and fired.

  The round struck Amherst in the side and was enough to topple him off his horse. He hit the ground hard with a thud.

  Al wasn’t done. He cocked the pistol again and hollered, “Die, you son of a bitch lawman.” He took aim on Amherst, who was scrambling on the ground, and fired. Like his other shots, this one was accurate too. It hit Amherst in the top of his head and nearly took off his scalp.

  Amherst grunted then fell over dead.

  Pivoting to engage Billy, Al cocked the pistol once more, but before he could fire this time, Billy had sent a round towards him.

  The .45-caliber round from Billy’s Colt penetrated Al’s upper chest and exited between his shoulder blades.

  The pain was excruciating. Al coughed heavily and spat out blood.

  Unafraid, Billy advanced, his pistol cocked and ready. He closed in on Al, his pistol leveled at him, and just before he pulled the trigger, he said, “I’ve been waiting to do this.”

  Al was choking on blood, his eyes wide with terror, as he knew this was it, this was how he was going to die.

  Billy saw that Al wasn’t going to fire anymore, so he drew closer until he was a few feet away. “Die, you son of a bitch!” Billy said, pulling the trigger.

  Al’s head snapped back when the round blasted through it. He let out a grotesque groan and fell over, his head hitting the side of the wagon.

  The heavy sounds of a horse riding up on him struck fear in Billy. He imagined it was Joseph coming to kill him. He cocked his pistol, spun around, and pointed towards the sound of the horse. With his finger on the trigger applying pressure, he gazed over the top of the barrel and saw it was not Joseph but Alice. He lowered the pistol and called out, “What the hell are you doing here?”

  She rode up, surveyed the scene, and asked, “Are they dead?”

  “Yeah, all of them,” Billy replied. “Now tell me, why aren’t you caring for those boys?”

  “They’re fine. I needed to come. I’m so close to killing another man who was responsible for what happened to my family,” she explained.

  “I told you to stay with the boys, make sure they’re taken care of, not follow us,” Billy barked.

  She rode over to the wagon and peeked inside. “Is this Al Cummins?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then the last person we need to get is Joseph Paul King.”

  “There’s no we in this. You need to go home.”

  Alice shot him a harsh look and said, “You need me. Look at you. You let one man kill two lawmen.”

  “I didn’t let anyone do anything. He looked dead.”

  Alice smirked and said, “So he played possum, huh?”

  “This isn’t funny,” Billy said.

  “Where’s Joseph?”

  “I have no idea. He could be anywhere now,” Billy said, his frustration showing through.

  “What are we waiting for? Let’s go after him.”

  “Go where? He’s on horseback, with a twenty-minute or more head start. He could literally be anywhere now.”

  “But we have to try.”

  “Where should we go? You choose,” Billy said, clearly annoyed.

  “Maybe he’s going…” she said, looking around. “He wouldn’t head back to town, that wouldn’t make sense, so he could be…”

  “Going anywhere else, north, south, west, and, yes, he could be doubling back east and going back around town then off to Canada.”

  “You’re the marshal. Where would he go?” Alice asked.

  “I don’t know. I don’t know who he is; I don’t know anything about him. I’ve got a dead sheriff and deputy, and Al Cummins, the man I was escorting back to the authorities in Canada, is also dead. This entire thing has been a damn nightmare.”

  “You’re saying we should give up?” Alice asked, shocked.

  “No, I never give up,” he said, taking a breath. “Let’s head south.”

  “So I’m coming with you?”

  “Yes, on account that you being with me is safer for you than not. Now let’s ride,” Billy said and took off at a full gallop.

  A smile stretched across Alice’s face. She was officially a member of a posse; at least that was what she’d describe it as. Happily she raced off to catch up to him.

  SOUTH CASCADE COUNTY, TWENTY-TWO MILES SOUTH OF GREAT FALLS, MONTANA

  Billy slowed his horse to a stop. He scanned the rolling hills to the south, the shadows of the trees and shrubs growing long as the sun closed in on the western horizon. They’d ridden for miles and miles yet found no sign of Joseph, meaning they would probably never find him. Frustrated and tired, he pulled out a canteen, pulled the plug, and took a drink.

  Alice rode up alongside him, wiped her brow with her sleeve, and said, “This is the furthest I’ve ever been from home.”

  Handing her the canteen, he
said, “Congratulations.”

  She took the canteen and tipped it back.

  “I normally wouldn’t suggest this, but I think we should turn around and head back,” he said.

  “So we’re giving up?” she asked.

  “I don’t have a choice. He’s liable to be anywhere. Just one deviation off his trail and the farther we go past that puts us miles and miles away from him.”

  “I don’t want to go home, not yet.”

  “I need to get you back to your mother or I’ll be arrested for kidnapping,” he joked.

  She took another drink from the canteen and handed it back to him. Laughing, she said, “My ma will probably try to have you arrested.”

  “I’m sorry we couldn’t find him.”

  “I’m sorry we couldn’t find him, either,” she said. “It’s just not fair that he gets to murder and rape and not face consequences.”

  “He’ll get his one day, I know that, but I hear what you’re saying,” Billy said, stowing the canteen back in his saddlebag. He rubbed the neck of his horse and said, “How about we give the horses a break, feed them, and then head back?”

  Not hesitating, she dismounted and stretched. “I hurt all over.”

  “If you’ve never been this far, then I suppose you would be sore,” he said, climbing down off his horse. He took a stake from his saddlebag and shoved it into the ground. Taking the reins of his horse, he tied them around the stake then removed the saddle.

  She followed what he did.

  He took a feedbag from his saddlebag and secured it to his horse’s head. “I’ll have him feed for a bit; then we’ll get your horse fed.”

  She nodded. Seeing a large boulder a few feet away, she walked over and sat down on a flat part of it.

  He walked over and sat next to her. “I didn’t tell you, but I lost my father too.”

  “What happened to him?”

  “He got sick. It happened right after we moved to Idaho.”

  “You’re not from there?” she asked, genuinely curious.

  “No, I was born in Ireland. We moved when I was fourteen.”

  “You’re from Ireland? How come I don’t hear an accent?”

  “On account that I didn’t think a US Marshal should sound like an Irishman,” he confessed.

  “Say something with your accent,” she urged.

  “I’m not even sure I can anymore.” He laughed.

  “Please.”

  He cleared his throat and said with a thick Irish accent, “Top of the mornin’ to ya.”

  “I love it.” She squealed with laughter. “You should sound like that more often.”

  “I don’t think so. No one really knows me that way except my family, and I don’t think it’s a good idea to confuse them,” he explained.

  “I’d love to go to Ireland. Heck, I’d love to go anywhere but Montana,” she said. Opening her arms wide, she continued. “I want to see the world. I’ve read about the ocean. I’d love to see it. Have you seen it?”

  “Of course I’ve seen it. I sailed across it to get to America.”

  “That’s true. How was it?”

  “Vast, I didn’t see land for two weeks,” he replied.

  “I so want to see it, walk on a beach, get my toes stuck in the sand.”

  “One day I’m sure you’ll do just that,” he said. Seeing his horse shake its head, he went to it, removed the feedbag, and tossed in more. He slung it over her horse’s head and returned to the rock.

  Alice was now lying down staring at the darkening sky. The sun had set on the far westerly side of the mountains.

  “We can leave as soon as your horse has eaten,” he said.

  “Speaking of food, do you have any?”

  “I think so.”

  “I’m so tired. Could we sleep here tonight then head back?” she asked.

  While sleeping close to her was tempting, he said, “I need to get you back.”

  “I don’t think I’ll be able to make the ride, especially at night. I’m exhausted.”

  “I’m sure your mother is already concerned. I don’t want to keep you out here any longer.”

  “Won’t we get lost?” she asked.

  He looked north and thought that could be a possibility but didn’t want to say it.

  “Can we please just sleep here, get the rest we need after this long day, then head back in the morning?” she asked. “I want to sleep under the stars. I don’t want this adventure to end.”

  “You think this is an adventure?”

  “Yes, if you had lived my life, you would think the same way.”

  The hours of riding through the night didn’t sound appealing, and he was also very tired and his side was aching badly. He could use the rest, and if they left just as the sun was rising, they’d reach her house by midafternoon.

  She yawned loudly.

  He gave her a smile and said, “Fine, we’ll sleep here tonight, but we need to head back first thing.”

  “We’re really going to sleep here?” she asked, sitting up, a look of pure excitement on her tender face.

  “Yes, but we need to leave just before dawn.”

  She leaned over and hugged him. “Thank you.”

  Feeling uncomfortable yet enjoying the embrace, he said, “You’re welcome.”

  “I don’t have a bedroll.”

  “You can use mine. Go ahead and get it while I gather wood for a fire,” he offered.

  She raced to his saddle nearby.

  He felt a surge of excitement about the idea, not because he had an ulterior motive, but he liked seeing her happy.

  She returned with the bedroll under one arm and a small satchel on the other.

  “You weren’t lying, you don’t want to go home,” he said, amused by her excitement.

  “If you had experienced what I had growing up, you wouldn’t want to go back either.”

  “Maybe so.”

  “I can’t thank you enough for first allowing me to join you,” she said as she cleared a spot to lie down.

  He stacked some wood and went to get his flint so he could start the fire. He returned to find her sitting on the bedroll, her legs pulled tight and humming a song. He was tempted to tease her, but he also found her behavior had an innocence that he found attractive. “I look at you sitting there, and I don’t see the girl who just killed a man hours ago.”

  Her smile disappeared. “I’m not a girl, I’m a woman. I may not be eighteen yet, but soon I will be.”

  “Fair enough, but you don’t seem disturbed by what happened earlier today.”

  She thought about his comment as she watched him get the fire going.

  Silence fell over both of them as the fire caught and began to crackle. They stared at the dancing flames as the dark of night cast over them.

  He opened his saddlebag and removed a canvas sack of hardtack and gave her a piece.

  She took it and bit down. As she chewed, she kept thinking about his last comment. It struck her that it was an odd way of coping. She’d been through so much lately, yet she could still find a way to exude happiness, even innocent joy at the idea of sleeping outside, even though they were in the middle of pursuing a murderer.

  “You’ve been quiet,” he said.

  “So have you.”

  “Was it what I said?” he asked, leaning back against his saddle.

  “It was. I’m sure it seems quite peculiar that a young woman could easily kill a man.”

  “I’ve been thinking, and I suppose it’s not so peculiar. What you did was justified in my eyes. He was guilty, so you did what would have happened if he’d been taken in.”

  “Some would say I murdered him, wouldn’t they?” she asked.

  “Some would, but who’s ever going to know,” Billy said. He took a bite of his hardtack and gave her a smile.

  “I had to kill him, I can’t explain it, but I didn’t even look at him as a human being. He was an animal that needed to be put down,” she said. “Whoever can do th
e things he did isn’t a person but something worse. I don’t regret it and never will; I just need to find one more.”

  “I told you we had a lot in common; well, we have a lot more than I let on,” he said. “My ma too was raped. I saw the men leaving our house and followed them into town. There I confronted them and shot them both. Like you, I never had an ounce of regret. Never once have I thought back to that pivotal moment in my life and would take it back. Men who do those things are evil and need nothing short of killing.”

  “I’m glad you told me that.”

  “I understand your need to get every single one of the men who hurt your family, I do. But you must understand that I also have an obligation as a sworn lawman.”

  “What are you right now? Are you the man or the lawman?” she asked.

  “Being that I’m out here against the orders of my superiors, I’d have to say I’m just a man.”

  “Will you go back to being a lawman?”

  “Of course I will. This is just a detour,” he said. “I’ll be able to explain this without concern. It’s horrible to say, but having the sheriff and his deputy dead is a good thing. No one but you knows I came out here against orders.”

  She crossed her heart with her finger and said, “I’ll never say a word. Your secret is safe with me.”

  “I know it is,” he said. “Listen, you’d best get some sleep. Dawn will come mighty fast.”

  She lay back and covered herself with a small wool blanket. Seeing that he was still sitting up, she asked, “What about you?”

  “I’m going to stay up a bit. I’ve got a lot of thinking to do.”

  She gave him a smile and closed her eyes.

  Billy stared into the flames, but his mind wandered. With his one chance gone at quickly finding Killer Joe, he’d have to regroup after taking Alice back home. But where should he begin looking? He didn’t have an answer to any of the questions that troubled him, and didn’t know when or if he ever would. The one thing he did know was that he’d never stop searching, no matter how long it took.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  JULY 14, 1895

  TWO MILES SOUTH OF GREAT FALLS, MONTANA