Robert J Randisi

by Bounty on a Baron (v5)

  “Shit!” he said between his teeth.

  He had almost allowed himself to be suckered into standing in front of the window.

  Cautiously he moved to the window on his knees, avoiding the broken glass, and peered up over the window ledge. He was in time to see Brand retreating toward town.

  Decker grabbed the note off the window and sat with his back to the wall to read it.

  DECKER,

  MEET ME IN TOWN FOR A HOT TIME

  THE BARON

  It was an invitation he couldn’t refuse.

  Chapter Thirty

  Decker left the house knowing that Brand had turned this entire contest to his own advantage. He had waited for Decker to move inside the house, and then had left by the front door, closing it behind him. He probably hadn’t expected that trick with the note to work any more than Decker had expected his trick with the hat on the end of the gun to work.

  Now Brand had moved the battle to the streets of the town, where he would probably assume that Decker would be concerned with the welfare of innocent bystanders.

  If Brand was not concerned, then he had obviously given up all chances of saving his life in Broadus.

  Now he was only trying to save his life.

  Brand was undecided.

  Initially he’d wondered if he wouldn’t be foolish not to go to the livery, saddle up, and ride out, but he knew that all that would do was postpone this showdown between him and Decker. He knew Decker’s reputation as a bulldog. He hunted one man until he caught him, no matter how long it took.

  That kind of man would have to be taken care of now, when he had the chance.

  Now he was undecided as to whether he should stay on street level or move to the rooftops. He had the whole town to play with, having effectively put Decker at a disadvantage.

  It was then that he realized he was actually enjoying this.

  With the whole town at his command, he was like a kid in a candy store.

  Where should he go first?

  Josephine only heard the shots because she had been listening for them. There was one shot, then a long silence as she sat hardly breathing until she heard the second one. After that she stood up and moved toward the batwing doors.

  She stopped there. It took her a few seconds to become aware that the bartender, Potts, was behind her.

  “You don’t want to go out there,” he said gently.

  “Yes,” she said, “I do…but I won’t.”

  She didn’t want either man to be killed because each was watching out for her.

  Or would either one of them even be worried about that?

  Chapter Thirty-one

  Decker, his rifle held in his left hand and resting on his shoulder, his right hand dangling by his cutdown, walked along the boardwalk on Main Street like he owned it.

  The town was beginning to come to life, people walking on both sides of the street as well as in the middle, wagons clattering past, stores opening. Decker was alert for attack from either side or from the rooftops as he made his way to the livery stable. He still believed Brand wouldn’t run, but now he wanted to make sure.

  When he reached the livery the old man was sitting in a chair out front.

  “How you doing, old-timer?”

  “Fine, mister.”

  “And my horse?”

  “Your horse is jest fine.”

  “That’s good. Uh, you know a fella named Brand?”

  “That fella that lives with Miss Josephine?”

  “That’s him.”

  “Ladies in town don’t approve of that, I kin tell you,” the old man said.

  “I guess they wouldn’t. Does he keep his horse here?”

  “He sure does. It’s that roan two stalls down from your gelding.”

  “He hasn’t been here this morning, has he?”

  “Nope.”

  “I want you to do me a favor, old-timer.”

  “What’s that?”

  “I want you to lock up for a while.”

  “If I lock up, folks won’t be able to get their horses out.”

  “That’s the general idea,” Decker said. He took out some money. “Let’s just say I’m renting the whole place for the morning, horses and all.”

  The old man looked at the money in his hand and said, “Yes, sir, whatever you say!”

  “Go get yourself some breakfast—and make it last.”

  The old man stood up, padlocked the livery doors, then ambled away, counting his money.

  Decker had effectively cut Brand off from his horse. Now the only way he’d get out of town was on foot or by stealing someone else’s horse.

  From the rooftop of the Feed and Grain, Brand saw what Decker was doing, and he admired him for it. He’d managed to lock away both of their horses, and since, at this time of the morning, there weren’t that many animals on the street, Brand would have limited opportunity to steal one—not that he had any intentions of doing so. The only thing on his mind right now was getting rid of Decker.

  He picked up his rifle and sighted down on the bounty hunter, who was standing in front of the locked livery. Brand knew he was a better shot with a handgun than a rifle, but he decided to give it a try, anyway.

  Decker heard the shot and the sound of the bullet as it whizzed past his ear and embedded itself in the livery door. As he ducked for cover he realized that the shot was too damn close to be a deliberate miss.

  Brand was playing for the whole pot now.

  Decker couldn’t see where the Baron was, but the highest point he could have fired from was the Feed and Grain. It afforded him the best view of the livery. That meant that Brand knew he was locked into town.

  Decker moved around behind the livery, then along the back of a block of stores in order to get to the Feed and Grain. He knew Brand would be gone by now, but it would give him a starting point.

  He’d never tried to track a man through a town before, but there was a first time for everything.

  Josephine heard the shot and jumped in her seat.

  “That was a rifle, wasn’t it?” she asked Potts.

  “Sounded like it.”

  “Decker has a shotgun, doesn’t he?”

  “He does, but if he’s worth his salt, he’ll have his rifle with him too. That shotgun’s not gonna do him much good from across the street.”

  “Were those shots fired from one gun or two?” Josephine demanded apprehensively.

  “One, ma’am, but my guess is Decker won’t fire until he knows he’ll hit what he’s shooting at.”

  “I see.”

  “Can I get you something else, ma’am?”

  “Yes,” she said. “I want another glass of whiskey.”

  Brand had left the roof of the Feed and Grain just moments before Decker arrived on the scene. He was in front of the building while Decker was in back.

  Brand was looking around, trying to gauge his next move, when he noticed that the Broadus House was open.

  Why would the saloon be open this early? he wondered.

  He headed that way to find out.

  Decker was on the roof of the Feed and Grain when he saw Brand go into the saloon.

  “Shit!”

  Chapter Thirty-two

  When Brand entered the saloon he saw Josephine seated at a table, drinking a glass of whiskey.

  “Josephine!”

  She looked up and saw him, and her eyes went wide. She wasn’t afraid any longer, though. She’d had very little liquor in her life, and two shot glasses had begun to make her feel giddy.

  “Well, if it isn’t the notorious Baron,” she said, raising her glass to him. “Decker proving to be an elusive target?”

  “What are you doing here?” Brand demanded. “Why aren’t you at the store?”

  “Don’t wanna be at the store,” she said. “Don’t wanna be anywhere but here.”

  Brand moved to the table, put his rifle down, and grabbed her by the arm.

  “Come on—”

  “L
et go!” she shouted.

  “Hey!” Potts said.

  Brand glared at him and said, “You stay out of this, bartender!”

  “She may be your woman, Brand,” Potts said, “but that ain’t no way to treat her.”

  Potts started around the bar and Brand reacted through reflex—the reflex that had become part of the Baron’s life.

  He drew and fired.

  Josephine watched in horror as the bullet struck Potts in the center of the chest. Potts stopped in his tracks, a puzzled look coming over his face. He opened his mouth as if to say something, and blood trickled from it.

  He fell forward, dead.

  “No!” Josephine shouted.

  She ran and knelt by the body of the dead man, throwing an accusing look at Brand.

  “You killed him!” she screamed. “You killed him for no reason!”

  “I thought—” he said. “Bartenders usually have a shotgun behind the bar. I thought he was—”

  “You didn’t think,” she said. “You just reacted the way a killer reacts. You’re a killer, just like Decker said.”

  “Decker!” Brand shouted. “And what do you think Decker is? A saint?”

  “He’s an honorable man. He knows what he is and what he does and he doesn’t try to hide it. He doesn’t go off and kill and then come back and hide behind a woman.”

  “Is that what you think?” he said. “That I was hiding behind you?”

  “Yes,” she said. “I think you’re a coward, Brand—or Baron, or whatever you call yourself! A coward, damn you!” she shouted, and she started crying.

  Brand thought she was crying for the bartender or for Decker or for herself. It never occurred to him that she might be crying for him, for the man she had thought he was.

  “All right,” he said, looking at his rifle. “All right, then.”

  As if on cue, from outside came Decker’s voice.

  “Brand! You in there, Brand? Or did you duck out the back door?”

  “I’m here,” Brand called out, looking at Josephine. “I’m coming out, Decker.”

  Josephine looked up at him then, her face streaked with tears, and said, “Don’t’—”

  “Don’t kill him?” he asked. “That’s just what I’m going to do, Josephine. I’m going to kill him!”

  As Brand went out the batwing doors, Josephine said in a low voice, “No, I mean…don’t go.”

  Decker waited out in the street for Brand.

  So, it would end this way after all.

  Chapter Thirty-three

  BLAM!

  Josephine knew that was no rifle, that could only have been a shotgun.

  “Once,” she said to the dead Potts. “He fired once, just like you said.”

  Epilogue I

  When Decker rode into the logging camp trailing a horse with a body slung over it, he drew a lot of attention. Dani Boone came out to meet him, as did Frenchie.

  He did not see Jeff Reno.

  “Decker, welcome back,” Frenchie said heartily. He looked pointedly at the body on the horse and asked, “Get what you were after?”

  “I did,” Decker said, dismounting.

  Looking anxious, Dani said, “Did he kill my father?”

  “To be honest, Dani, he died before I could ask him.”

  She compressed her lips and then said tightly, “You mean you killed him before you could ask him.”

  “That’s true,” Decker said, “but I don’t believe he did it.”

  “How can you—” she started, but Frenchie put his hand on her shoulder.

  “Let the man talk, honey.”

  “Are you missing any men?” Decker asked.

  “Yeah,” Frenchie said, “as a matter of fact we’re missing two. I understand there’s also a man miss ing from one of the other camps. Why?”

  “They trailed me and tried to kill me.”

  “Why would they do that?” Dani asked.

  “Because they were paid to.”

  “By who?”

  “By the man who killed your father and then tried to pin it on a professional killer called the Baron.”

  “Who are you talking about?” Frenchie asked.

  “Who first brought up the Baron’s name?”

  Decker knew the answer, and as he watched Frenchie he saw the truth dawn on him, also.

  “Reno.”

  “Jeff Reno?” Dani said. “But why?”

  “Maybe he figured he’d take over once your father was dead,” Decker said.

  “But he didn’t. I came along. Why not try to kill me?”

  “He couldn’t,” Decker said. “He had to first find out if I was dead or if I had reached the Baron. He couldn’t kill you and blame the Baron if the killer had been caught or killed himself.”

  “Reno,” Frenchie said from between clenched teeth.

  “Where is he?” Decker asked.

  Dani looked at Frenchie.

  “He’s on the south slope,” Frenchie said.

  “Show me—” Decker said.

  “Wait,” Frenchie said. “He won’t have a gun there, Decker. Let me handle it.”

  “Are you sure?”

  Frenchie smiled a terrible smile and said, “I’m very sure.”

  He walked off, and a bunch of men trotted after him, not wanting to miss the fight that was sure to follow.

  “Dani, Reno’s pretty big—”

  “Don’t worry,” she said. “Frenchie’s never been beaten, and he won’t be beaten by Jeff Reno.”

  “Still—”

  “Come inside and have a cup of coffee,” she said. “Do you want to spend the night?”

  He looked at her face, but she had asked the question in total innocence, unaware of how it had sounded.

  “I guess,” Decker said. “I’ll have to get started early in the morning, though. Do you want me to take Reno with me?”

  “We heard that the marshal will be here at the beginning of the week,” Dani said. “We can hold Reno until then.”

  A man took both horses from Decker, and he followed Dani to her cabin.

  “Tell the marshal I’ll be glad to come back if he needs me.”

  She stopped at the door, and before opening it, turned and said, “How about if I need you?”

  He wondered if that had been said with the same innocence as her previous remark.

  Epilogue II

  Decker pulled his horse up in front of the sheriff’s office in Douglas, Wyoming. He dismounted and tied off the horse that was hauling the Baron’s body.

  The bounty hunter mounted the boardwalk and pounded on the door. Moments later Sheriff Calder came rushing out.

  “What the hell—” he said, and then stopped short when he saw Decker.

  “I brought you something,” Decker said, jerking his thumb in the direction of the second horse.

  Calder looked at him, then walked over to the horse and held up the dead man’s head so he could see him.

  “You ever meet the Baron?” Decker asked.

  “Once,” Calder said, studying the dead man’s face.

  “Is that him?” Decker asked.

  Calder dropped the man’s head and said, “That’s him, all right. You got him.”

  “I got him.”

  “And you brought him all the way down here to me?”

  “Yep,” Decker said.

  The sheriff mounted the boardwalk, and Decker looked him right in the eye.

  “I want signing my chit for the bounty on the Baron to be your last official act as sheriff of Douglas, Wyoming.”

  a cognizant original v5 release october 04 2010

  High Praise for Robert J. Randisi!

  “Randisi always turns out a traditional Western with plenty of gunplay and interesting characters”

  —Roundup

  “Each of Randisi’s novels is better than its entertaining predecessor.”

  —Booklist

  “Everybody seems to be looking for the next Louis L’Amour. To me, they need look n
o further than Randisi.”

  —Jake Foster, author of Three Rode South

  “Randisi knows his stuff and brings it to life.”

  —Preview Magazine

  “Randisi has a definite ability to construct a believable plot around his characters.”

  —Booklist

  Other Leisure Books by Robert J. Randisi:

  Thrillers:

  COLD BLOODED

  BLOOD OF ANGELS

  EAST OF THE ARCH

  CURTAINS OF BLOOD

  BLOOD ON THE ARCH

  IN THE SHADOW OF THE ARCH

  THE SIXTH PHASE

  ALONE WITH THE DEAD

  Westerns:

  GALLOWS

  BEAUTY AND THE BOUNTY

  THE LAWMAN

  DOUBLE THE BOUNTY

  THE MONEY GUN

  BLOOD TRAIL TO KANSAS

  TRAPP’S MOUNTAIN

  BACKSHOOTER

  THE FUNERAL OF TANNER MOODY

  LANCASTER’S ORPHANS

  MIRACLE OF THE JACAL

  TARGETT

  LEGEND

  THE GHOST WITH BLUE EYES

  Copyright

  A LEISURE BOOK®

  December 2009

  Published by

  Dorchester Publishing Co., Inc.

  200 Madison Avenue

  New York, NY 10016

  Copyright © 1988 by Robert Randisi

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