As Wyatt considered the news, Landau appeared with a man under his gun. From across the street, Lynette herded a second one their direction.
‘Jail is getting pretty full,’ Jared remarked. ‘I think we ought to hang these three.’
‘Attempted murder is not usually a hanging offence,’ Wyatt replied. ‘We’ll put Lafferty in with his loser cohorts and let the three of them take turns sleeping on the two cots. Reckon these rustlers can do the same. I’m guessing they will serve some time for cattle theft. Plus, we can add this foiled ambush to their sentencing.’
Jared sighed dejectedly. ‘Be a sight easier all around to string ’em up.’
‘If ever you get tired of being the hunter for the family, you can sure enough become a professional hangman.’
Landau took over watching Lynette’s man and gave her a stern look. ‘You were supposed to send . . .’ (not wanting to mention his name aloud) ‘that friend of yours to take care of this sidewinder.’
‘He would have been too late,’ she informed him curtly. ‘I didn’t dare waste time looking around for someone else to help out.’
‘We’re beholden to you, Miss Brooks,’ Wyatt spoke up. ‘One or both of us might be dead if you hadn’t taken a hand.’
‘I’m the one responsible for starting this conflict,’ she said. ‘Helping you is the least I can do.’
‘Better get back to your office,’ Jared told her. ‘Someone might have overheard the shooting and be worried about you.’
Lynette gave a bob of her head and hurried off in the direction of her newspaper and apartment.
‘Looks like your undercover work is out in the open,’ Wyatt told Landau. ‘Round up a couple townsfolk and get these two bodies off of the street. We’ll put these three in a cell and hope the circuit judge arrives before we arrest anyone else.’
Landau accepted the order without question. ‘You’re the boss, Wyatt. I’ll check in with you after we plant these two in the cemetery.’
Lynette arrived to discover Mason fully dressed and sitting on the chair she had been using at his bedside. He was in the process of pulling on his second boot. She glowered at his efforts and gestured with the gun in her hand.
‘You get back to bed this instant!’
Mason grimaced at the effort but rose to a standing position. ‘Miss Brooks, I’m not going to sit by and let you risk your life in my place. What did you think you were doing, taking my gun and running off that way? What was the shooting I heard?’
She took a moment to replace the pistol in his holster before answering. ‘It was nothing. Your cousins needed a little support to deal with the Markum gang. Wyatt and Jared had to kill two of them.’
Mason moved to stand closer, regarding her with a severe stare. ‘You might have gotten hurt.’
‘Had I not have acted in your place, one or both of your cousins might have been killed.’ She was unapologetic. Nevertheless, her expression softened, as she gazed into his eyes. ‘I was in no danger.’
‘But it’s my job, not yours,’ Mason maintained, struggling to keep his voice austere. ‘It’s up to the man to do the fighting, to protect the women and children.’
‘I’ve not had anyone take care of me since I was a child,’ she murmured.
‘Well, you hadn’t met me yet,’ he replied awkwardly. ‘I’d like the honour of taking care of you. And, in return, you can take care of me too.’ Then he frowned. ‘But, when it comes to handling a gunman or rowdy – that’s my job.’
Rather than argue the point, Lynette rose up on her toes and placed a gentle kiss on his lips. ‘I won’t do it again. I promise.’
‘Miss Brooks . . .’ he attempted to speak. ‘I have to—’
‘Lynette,’ she whispered, kissing him a second time. ‘Call me Lynette.’
Mason prided himself with being as tough as most any other man, but this girl . . . this delectable, charming, beautiful young woman. . . .
Durned if her kisses aren’t sweeter than honeycomb, he thought.
When her arms went around him, he responded in kind and forgot everything but her.
It was a council of war meeting between Rutherford, Dealer and Baron. The mood was not a jovial one.
‘Who would of thought the Brooks woman would interfere?’ Baron complained. ‘And who the hell was that other guy?’
Dealer answered: ‘Bernie said the fella was looking for work, but he was in Brimstone when the Valerons cowed the entire town. He must have taken their side in the fight because he knew them.’
‘The good news,’ Rutherford said, ‘is that Markum never mentioned any of us. He and his men were intent on getting even for the death of the Barkley boys. That means we are in the clear on this.’
‘Yeah, Rudy,’ Dealer said thickly, ‘but it don’t change anything about you altering the contracts and upping the interest rates on all of the deeds you’re holding.’
‘Plus, there’s also all of the new taxes we collected,’ Baron joined in. ‘When that new badge arrested Mike, he told him there would be a case against him for fraud. I don’t have to tell you, Mike ain’t gonna go to prison all by himself!’
Rutherford rubbed his temples, trying to think of a plan. The other two held their silence, because he was the leader, the man who made every key decision. He had never gotten them into a situation he couldn’t handle; this would be no different.
‘Baron,’ he said, after a few moments of contemplation, ‘you keep an eye on the goings-on at the jail. Let Mike know we won’t let him stand before any judge. We’ve got a few days yet. All we have to do is get rid of those two troublemakers. And maybe,’ he added, ‘we’ll also tend to the other guy who stuck his nose in this too.’
‘Scraps is still out of any fight,’ Baron warned. ‘He’s got some cracked ribs and can hardly open his mouth wide enough for a spoonful of soup. The doc said it would take a month or more for him to heal. Mason actually fractured his jaw with one of his punches.’ He shivered as if he had a cold chill. ‘I told you, that guy hit harder than any man I ever seen.’
Dealer snorted his contempt. ‘Yes, and your being too yellow to face him brought these two Valerons to town.’
Baron stiffened his back and hissed through his clenched teeth. ‘I didn’t hear you offering to take him on!’
‘We hired you because you claimed to be a fast gun,’ Dealer fired back. ‘If you had killed Mason in a fair fight, no one would have blinked twice.’
‘How was I supposed to know his relatives were a bunch of vengeance-seeking vigilantes?’
‘Enough!’ Rutherford commanded. ‘We can’t change what happened. They are here now and we have to deal with them. Baron, you get out there and keep an eye on those two lawmen. Make sure Mike gets the word to keep his mouth shut too.’
Baron glared at Dealer one last time, then left the room.
‘Big talking blowhard,’ Dealer spat out the words. ‘Never did see him go up against anyone but a plowboy or wandering tramp. Bet he’s never faced a real hard-case in his life.’
‘We still need him . . . for the time being. Once this is behind us, we might want to trade up. I don’t like the way he questions orders and then makes his own decisions. The act of cowardice – shooting Mason in the back – is what put us in this hole.’
‘What happens if the judge arrives before we get rid of those two?’
‘We’ll play this hand a while longer,’ Rutherford suggested. ‘I promise you one thing, no matter what the cost, not one of us is going to end up in prison!’
‘Where are you taking my men?’ Mike Lafferty protested the removal of Sandoval and Connor from the cell. ‘It’s almost midnight!’
‘Stay quiet or you go hungry tomorrow!’ Wyatt warned the man.
Lafferty muttered under his breath, as Wyatt and Jared bound the hands of the prisoners behind their backs and led them out into the night. Richard remained at the jail with his shotgun handy. He locked the door for security when the four of them left the office.
Outside, the small group made their way out of town and walked through the dark to the location Jared had selected. It was far enough away from the nearest house that a gunshot would not be heard over the music and raucous noise from the saloon.
Sandoval and Lafferty were both tough nuts and would be hard to crack, but Connor’s picnic basket was short a sandwich or two. He would be their best chance to get a confession . . . if properly motivated.
‘Game’s over,’ Wyatt spoke up, stopping inside the chaparral. The moonlight allowed the prisoners to see a small coulee, which had formed from rain and snow runoff at the base of three hills that came together at one edge of the cove. On all other sides was brush and cedar.
‘What are we doing way out here?’ Sandoval wanted to know.
Jared used an icy cold tone of voice. ‘You’re going to tell us what happened to the banker, or else you’re going to wind up as coyote bait.’
‘You can’t do that!’ Sandoval jeered, looking at Wyatt. ‘You’re wearing a badge!’
Wyatt displayed an insolent grin. ‘I’m a local sheriff. I have no jurisdiction outside of Deliverance itself.’ He purposely glanced around. ‘Appears we’re well outside of town.’
‘You’ve got one chance to live,’ Jared threatened. ‘Tell us which of you shot our cousin in the back and who killed banker Walters. Next, you tell us where you buried the banker’s body. Do that, and we won’t leave you lying dead in the gully.’
Sandoval grunted his contempt. ‘We ain’t saying nothing.’
‘Suit yourself,’ Jared said. Then he proceeded to shove a rag in the man’s mouth and secured it with a strip of cloth. Sandoval tried to curse them, but the gag muted his words so the sounds he made came out more like muffled oinks.
Wyatt took hold of Connor, as Jared led his partner over to the rim of the wash. Wyatt jerked Connor around to face him, getting right in his face.
‘Your pal has made his choice,’ Wyatt hissed menacingly. ‘Time to make up your mind.’
‘We don’t know nothing!’ the man blubbered, ducking his head to avoid Wyatt’s dreadful glare.
Taking him by the shoulders, Wyatt spun him around, forcing him to look at Jared and Sandoval’s dark forms. The two of them were standing at the rim of the gully, some fifty feet away. Even as they watched, Jared pulled his gun and pointed it at Connor’s partner.
‘Last chance,’ Wyatt warned.
‘I ain’t got nothing to say.’
Jared called to Wyatt: ‘He ready to talk?’
‘No, he prefers to die too!’ Wyatt replied.
Jared pointed his gun at Sandoval and pulled the trigger on his Colt!
The bound man crumbled to the ground and lay still. Jared holstered his weapon and callously used the toe of his boot to nudge the body over the edge of the wash. Then he walked calmly back to them.
‘Did I hear right?’ Jared had a simper on his lips. ‘Is Connor ready to join his murdering pal?’
Connor began to tremble, his eyes rolled back and he shook his head fearfully.
‘Well?’ Wyatt demanded. ‘You want to tell us what happened to Banker Walters, and who shot Mason, or do we shoot you too?’
The man held out, unwilling to talk . . . until Jared took hold of his arm. ‘Come on, loser,’ he scoffed. ‘I’m not going to drag your lifeless body all the way over to the coulee.’
‘No! Wait!’ he wailed, digging in his heels. ‘Me and Sandoval didn’t kill nobody, see? We only did what we was told.’
‘And what was that?’ Wyatt prodded.
‘Baron was the one who shot Mason!’ Connor cried, nearly babbling with terror. ‘He’s also killed Walters. Me and Sandoval only buried the banker’s body. That’s all we done. I swear, we never kilt no one!’
‘Who gave the order to kill the banker?’
‘Dealer and Rutherford give all of the orders. Baron and Mike does what they say, and me and Sandoval do what Mike tells us to.’
‘Where did you bury the body?’ Jared asked.
‘Yonder,’ Connor replied, tipping his head back in the direction of town. ‘Not far from the cemetery, in an empty field.’
Jared ordered: ‘You lead us to the spot – right now. If you’re lying to us, we’ll come back here and leave your dead carcass to rot alongside your partner. You hear me?’
Connor bobbed his head up and down, then started off down the trail they had used. He was walking fast, hurrying, as if running for his life.
Soon as the two were moveing away, Wyatt called to Landau: ‘You can get up now and take Sandoval back to the cell!’
The man appeared, rubbing a tender spot on his ribs. ‘Jared like to stuck his toe right through me. Next time, he can pretend to get shot!’
Baron appeared at the house as Dealer and Rutherford were getting ready for breakfast. He didn’t bother to knock, walking in unannounced.
‘We’re treading deep water now,’ he told them both. ‘Those lawmen found the banker’s body.’
‘What?’ Rutherford yelped. ‘How the hell—’
‘Connor,’ was the single word he used to cut off the question.
Dealer swore. ‘How did that happen? The man was in the same cell with Lafferty and Sandoval. He knew to keep his mouth shut.’
Baron explained: ‘Some kind of trick, I think.’ Then he explained how he had seen the two Valeron boys take Sandoval and Connor out of the jail. He hadn’t dared follow them in the dark and maybe give himself away. ‘I heard a single shot a short while later,’ he went on with his story, ‘and thought one of our boys might have tried something.’
‘So what did happen?’
‘After a few minutes, I see some joker – looked like the same guy Bernie knew, the one who helped against Markum’s men. Anyway, he was herding Sandoval back to the jail. A half-hour or so later, Connor and the two lawmen show up. It was strange as could be. Anyway, I slipped over to check where I’d had them bury Walters and, sure enough, his body was lying there next to a hole. I was almost seen, because one of the Valeron boys and the Brooks guy showed up. They carted the banker’s body off toward the doctor’s place.’
‘That tears it,’ Dealer said. ‘We’ve got to pack up, grab what money we can, and set fire to our horses’ tails!’
‘What about Lafferty?’ Baron wanted to know. ‘He’ll crow like a rooster at first light if we leave him behind. That means having our faces on wanted posters all over Colorado!’
Rutherford was thoughtful for a full minute. When he spoke, he had a crooked smirk on his lips. ‘Remember how we handled this same type of situation in Cactus Creek?’
‘Yeah,’ Dealer replied. ‘But we had half-dozen other men with us. With Lafferty and his boys locked up, there’s only four of us left . . . and Scraps ain’t up to any kind of fight.’
‘There are six men sitting in jail,’ Rutherford reminded him. ‘I’ve an idea how to spring them all, kill the Valerons, and take every dime from this town. We’ll be able to start over anywhere we please.’
‘I’m listening,’ Dealer said. ‘You’ve always figured a way out before. You tell us what to do and we’ll get it done.’
‘Count me in too,’ Baron joined in. ‘What’s the plan?’
Chapter Ten
‘Dad-gum!’ Shane blurted unhappily. ‘Look where we are!’ He laughed without mirth. ‘We could have had a nice warm bed and a hot meal last night.’
Cliff groaned. ‘Ain’t that the truth! We weren’t but a couple miles from Deliverance, only we didn’t know it.’
‘Yeah, I’ve never been here before and had no idea how far we’d come in the dark. Besides, it was near midnight when we camped for the night.’
‘Five more minutes,’ Cliff continued to gripe. ‘Maybe one more hill, and we’d have seen the lights from town.’
‘Good thing we didn’t waste time fixing breakfast. We can hit the café first thing and get a good meal. Then we can find your brother and our cousins.’
‘This is how it ough
t to be,’ Cliff said. ‘One member from each of our families – well, at least all three Valeron families, along with us Masons.’
‘Unbeatable combination,’ Shane agreed. ‘Let’s mosey on down and strap on the feedbag.’
‘I’m with you,’ Cliff said. ‘I’m hungry enough to eat my own cooking!’
Shane chuckled. ‘Thankfully, I’ve never been that hungry.’
Landau had been on watch all night, so Richard relieved him at first light. Jared and Wyatt had spent the night in Landau’s room, as they were both in dire need of sleep. Their first stop was to visit Julia’s to see if there was a bullet to be found in the banker’s body. If so, did it match the one from Rod Mason’s back? That would tie the two shootings together – added proof for a judge, as to who the shooter was.
‘Long night,’ Landau welcomed Richard. ‘You keep the shotgun handy. Wyatt thinks Rudy’s Renegades might pull something today. They are running out of time.’
‘I’ll keep the door locked,’ Richard promised. ‘You better get a couple hours sleep, in case there is some trouble.’
Landau left the jail and headed for the hotel. Richard was watching as the two Valeron cousins appeared on the street. The three of them stopped to talk for a minute, then Landau continued off toward the hotel, while Wyatt and Jared made their way to the doctor’s house.
Richard felt a tingle of apprehension. He was involved in an adventure beyond anything he had ever imagined. His entire adult life had been spent looking over account books, ledgers, and counting other people’s money. Before Lynette’s cry for help had rocked his world, he had been solitary, living like a hermit, a mousy sort of person to all who knew him. Since joining up with Mason, he had been in a fight, nearly kidnapped, and was now guarding six outlaws by himself. He wondered: Am I more of a man now? Or am I risking my life for nothing more than the male ego?
‘When’s breakfast, Glasses?’ Sandoval demanded to know.
The Valeron Code Page 11
