The sun was just lifting over the far horizon as The Laredo Kid and Belle Bonner rode into the town of Plainview. The streets were already beginning to bustle with activity. People were already getting ready for a new day of festivities. Business men were opening up their establishments early. The saloon down the street was already open for the day, unless it had never closed the night before.
Belle and The Kid had waited out the darkness of the night before heading back to town. At first break of gray dawn the two were in the saddle and had ridden for two hours, before entering the main street of Plainview.
The Kid knew he was taking a chance by riding in bold as brass and reigning up at the rail outside the courthouse, but so far no one had taken notice of him. Chances were that none of the townspeople knew what had happened to Sheriff Logan yet. Probably, his only real worry was being spotted by a lawman; especially Clay Shaw. So far, so good. None were around.
Judge Isaiah Caine was sitting behind his bench in the courtroom when The Kid and Belle entered. “What…….? What the Devil….?” His eyes were wide as saucers and he struggled to jump up from his chair, his robe tangling in the effort.
“Just stay where you are, Judge,” The Kid ordered flatly. The hammer of his pistol clicked back under his thumb. The door slammed shut behind him and Belle. “Sit right back down.”
The Judge eyed the Colt’s muzzle. The surprise had left his face and was replaced with fear and rage. His eyes twitched nervously. “You’ll never get away with this,” He growled. “You’re a killer. You murdered our sheriff and you’ll hang for it. And for this too.”
“Not in your court, your so called honor, I won’t. You’ll already be waiting for me in Hell when I get there. Now do as I told you and sit down.” He lifted the revolver and aimed it at Caine’s face.
The judge cringed as he looked into the bore. Sweat was beading on his brow. Then, slowly, he lowered himself back into his chair without a word.
The Kid took a step forward. Out of the corner of his left eye, he could see Belle Bonner take a step forward, almost beside him. Not quite, but close enough. Without any warning move, The Kid’s left hand snaked out and lifted Belle’s pistol from her holster. He tossed to the far corner of the courtroom.
She flinched with surprise, reaching as if the pistol was still in her holster. “What…? What’s this….?”
“Take it easy, Belle,” The Kid said. “Just a precaution. I have something to say to the judge, here, and I don’t want you getting excited and doing something we’d both be sorry for.” His revolver was still trained on The Judge. He showed no animosity toward Belle.
“Now, your not so honor, I want you to listen to me.” It came out as a hiss. “First of all there’s a boy in your jail waiting to be hanged. Only, you’re not going to hang him, because you’ve got the wrong man. You think you’ve got The Laredo Kid, but you haven’t. All you got is a boy named Cliff Allen who’s not guilty of anything but trying to impress some damn fool girl.”
“You’re crazy,” Caine blustered. “Of course we got The Laredo Kid. My deputy…. Well, he’s my new sheriff now, he caught The Kid himself.”
“Clay Shaw caught a nobody. He knows it too. Logan told him. That’s why your boy Clay shot him. He wouldn’t get the reward if it had gotten out that he didn’t have The Laredo Kid.”
“Clay Shaw?” The judge exclaimed incredulously. “Shot Him? Shot who? What in hell are you talking about?”
“Sheriff Logan. That’s what I said. Shaw murdered the sheriff to shut him up. It didn’t hurt none that it opened up an opportunity for promotion, either. Obviously, it worked. You just admitted that you already pinned the sheriff’s star on him.”
“Clay Shaw?” The judge repeated. “You’re crazy. He wouldn’t shoot anyone, unless of course he was an outlaw or in self defense. You‘re just trying to blame him for what you did. You killed Sheriff Logan yourself. Clay told me that he saw you kidnap him. You took him out of town and shot him. Left his body lying there on the trail.”
“I suppose he saw me shoot him too?” Laredo said sarcastically.
“Yes, he did.”
“Then why didn’t he bring me in?”
“Because you got away. He fired a couple of shots after you before you disappeared into the darkness. He wasn’t sure if he had gotten you or not. It was too dark to go after you. He thought it wise to bring the sheriff’s body back and report to me.”
“You may think your confidence in Shaw is admirable, but it just goes to show you how gullible you are.”
“Gullible?” Caine scoffed. “Me, gullible. Why I’ve hanged men for lesser insults than that.”
“Yes. I know. That makes you even worse scum than Shaw.”
“I don’t have to take this from you.” the judge growled.
“Yes, you do.“ The Kid took a step closer, the pistol close to the jurist’s nose. The bore of the barrel seemed to grow larger. The judge’s Adam’s apple bobbed up and down as he gulped. He nodded slightly with understanding.
“Now you listen to me,” The Kid said warningly. “I came here for one reason and one reason only. To keep you from hanging an innocent boy. And by God, you’re going to see to it that he goes free. That’s the only way I’m going to let you live. If that boy hangs, he’ll be the last one you ever hang.”
“Now, I don’t care whether you believe Shaw or not. All I care about is that you don’t hang that kid. He is not The Laredo Kid. Sheriff Logan knew that too. He was on his way back here to tell you when Shaw shot him.”
“How could Logan have known that we didn’t have The Laredo Kid?” The judge scoffed.
“Because I told him,” Laredo said flatly.
The judge forced a laugh. “Because you told him? Why would he believe you? And how could you know anyways?”
“Because,” he paused and looked at Belle Bonner, waiting to see the expression on her face. “I am The Laredo Kid.”
No surprise registered in Belle’s face. She remained impassive
“Damn,” Laredo thought to himself. “She did know all along. I was a fool to trust her. I never trust anyone and the one time I do, I’m wrong. I should have known better.”
“So you say,” Caine chided. “I have no reason to believe you are The Laredo Kid. If you were, why would you come here and admit it? You’d never get away without a rope around your neck. Besides, a known outlaw like The Laredo Kid would never risk his neck for some fool kid. No. I trust my Sheriff. He’s a capable man and I’m sure he got the right man.”
“You’re wrong there, Judge,” Belle Bonner spoke up. “This man is telling you the truth. He is The Laredo Kid. I’ve been trailing him for quite sometime. When I met up with him, I pretended I didn’t know who he was. I figured it would be easier to get him back to town if he didn’t know I was actually going to turn him in.” She turned toward The Kid, her eyes slanting downward so as not to make direct contact with his. “Sorry, Kid,” she said apologetically. “I had to play it that way.”
The Kid’s jaw clenched, anger rising. “I should have known better than to trust you,” he said bitterly.
“Yes, you should have,” she countered coldly.
Then to the judge she said, “Remember, I’m the one who brought him in. The reward’s mine.”
Judge Caine eyed her carefully. His left eye squinted a little as he said. “You’re sure then that this man really is The Laredo Kid?”
“Positive,” she said emphatically. “There’s no way I could mistake him. I saw him up close five years ago in Abilene.”
“Five years ago in Abilene?” Laredo thought. Five years ago another man was called The Laredo Kid, not him. Was Belle just backing him up to convince Caine of Cliff Allen’s innocence? Or had she in fact been hoping to cash in the reward for him.
“I am entitled to the reward, aren’t I judge?” Belle insisted.
“If you can prove it, of course it’s yours.”
“I’m sure there’s a picture of him some where. That will b
e proof enough won’t it.?”
“Of course. Of course it would.”
“Then the reward is mine?”
“Before you go counting that reward money, Miss Bonner,” Laredo said sardonically. “Let me remind you that you don’t have me. I have you.”
“But, you’ll never get away,” the judge warned.
“Maybe I will,” The Kid said. “Then again, maybe not. In which case somebody’s going to die; Clay Shaw, or you. If that’s the way you want it. Makes no difference to me. Except I would like you to be around long enough to let Cliff Allen go free.”
“Why is that so important to you?” Caine asked. “Why do you care?”
“I already have the blood of three young men on my hands. Boys that I hung for you. I don’t want another life on my conscience, especially when I know for certain he’s innocent. I don’t want him to die in my place. I’m just not worth it.”
The judge had no retort. He just stared at The Kid. If Laredo didn’t know better, he might have thought he saw a hint of sorrow in the old man’s eyes.
“Now,” Laredo said. “I’ve said what I came to say. You may not believe me about what I told you about Clay Shaw killing Sheriff Logan, but it’s true. I’m leaving now. I know you’ll send someone after me, but I hope you will do the right thing and let Cliff Allen go.”
The Kid waved the pistol toward Belle Bonner. “Now! The two of you. Into the chambers,” He ordered.
Reluctantly they both shuffled forward into the adjoining chambers. The door had been left standing open.
“All the way over to the outside wall,” Laredo instructed. He reached around to the inside of the door and retrieved the key that protruded from the keyhole, as his prisoners did as they were told.
When they reached the wall, they turned in time to see the door swing shut. They heard the key click in the lock.
Belle raced to the door, gripped the doorknob and pulled hard. Again and again, she pulled. The door wouldn’t budge.
Meanwhile, Judge Caine scurried to his desk, pulled open the center drawer and fished around inside it for a few seconds until he found his spare key.
Belle was kicking at the door when the judge came up beside her. He held the key high so she could see it. “Out of the way!” He shouted. “I’ve got a key!”
Belle didn’t seem to hear him. She shoved him aside and picked up a chair. She chopped at the frosted glass in the top half of the door. Shards of glass splattered all over the floor, mostly on the outside with some falling inside, crunching under foot as she reached through the opening, searching for the key on the outside.
The judge tried to push her aside, still shouting, “You fool. I’ve got a key”
Ignoring him, Belle shouted, “He didn’t leave the key in the door. He tossed it away on the floor.” She already had one foot through opening, stepping on the floor outside and starting to pull the other foot after her.
“You fool!” The judge was still shouting. “What are you doing I’ve got a key. You’re in my way.”
While Belle and the judge were struggling to get out of the chamber, Laredo had managed to descend the stairs and rush out onto the board sidewalk. He untied his horse and was just starting to climb into the saddle when he heard a familiar voice shout, “Hey!”
Reins still in his hand and fingers coiled around the saddle horn, The Kid twisted to his right. Instinctively, his right hand flashed downward and he pulled his Colt with lightning speed and fired.
The voice had sounded from down the street and it belonged to Clay Shaw. As The Kid turned, he recognized him. He was with Sue Logan and as he spotted Laredo and shouted, he had pushed Sue aside and fired, flame stabbing from his Colt‘s muzzle.
His shot had been hurried and went high; the bullet crashing into the courthouse clapboard siding above and behind The Kid’s head. He was already moving as The Kid turned and fired. Laredo’s slug bored into the side of a water trough as Shaw dived behind it. Water streamed through the gaping hole.
“Sue! Get out of the street!” Shaw called as he rolled up against the side of the trough.
She threw a hand to her face and ran off in terror.
Shaw slid around to the end of the water trough, peering around the corner, extending the pistol in his right hand along the wooden side.
The Laredo Kid was already in the saddle, twisting the horse’s neck savagely with the reins. The animal fought the suddenness of being spun in a tight circle and half reared on his hind legs; his forelegs lifting off the ground by a foot and a half.
Shaw had fired again just as the horse reared. The bullet meant for The Kid burned across the horse’s right shoulder, cutting a wide gash. Blood spurted and the animal dropped his front hooves to the dirt. He kicked up his heels and bucked as Laredo fired back.
Wood splintered from the side of the water trough and flew into Shaw‘s face as the bullet took off a corner. Shaw flinched, ducking backward. Then clearing his eyes, he peered out again. The Laredo Kid was riding hell bent for leather away down Main Street.
Shaw pushed himself to his feet and darted out into the middle of the street. His gun hand was held high and extended. He took a direct bead on the middle of The Laredo Kid’s back. His trigger finger squeezed, taking up the slack and then letting the hammer fall forward to fire.
The pistol roared, echoing in the street. Smoke drifted up from the barrel as it pointed upward. The bullet had gone high and wide of its target. Clay Shaw was surprised. Not quite sure what was happening. Something had slammed into him, jerking him sideways on his feet, making him stumble.
That something was not a something. It was a someone.
Belle Bonner had come barreling out of the courthouse door just as Clay Shaw readied to fire. She slammed into his side, her own gun already in her hand. “He’s mine!” She shouted as she fired.
She had fired a second time and had just squeezed off a third shot as Shaw recovered. She missed all three times. The Kid was bent low in the saddle, his feet drumming the horse’s sides, putting distance behind him. Shaw raised his pistol again to fire, but refrained. It was useless. The Kid was already out of range and disappearing in a cloud of dust. He grimaced as he let the hammer down slowly with his thumb and sheathed the weapon.
“You stupid, bitch,” he snarled at Bell Bonner who was still watching The Kid ride off. Her pistol was still in her hand. “You let him get away.”
“He was mine,” Belle protested. “If you hadn’t got in my way. I’d’ve had him.”
*****
Chapter Nineteen
Alias: The Hangman From Hell Page 19
