The Revenge of John W: Desert Intrigue, Daring Prison Escape: Thrilling Action (Unlimited exclusive, Joe Corso Book 1)

by Joe Corso

  Also by Joe Corso

  The Starlight Club

  The Starlight Club 2: The Contenders

  The Starlight Club 3: The Vendetta

  The Starlight Club 4: Marilyn

  The Time Portal (With Deborah McCarthy)

  The Time Portal 2: Escape in Time

  The Time Portal 3: The Princess

  The Time Portal 4: The Inquisition

  The Old Man and the King

  The Revenge of John W

  Engine 24: Fire Stories

  The Adventures of The Lone Jack Kid

  6 Short Stories

  The Revenge of John W

  By Joe Corso

  The Revenge of John W

  Joe Corso

  Copyright 2012 by Joe Corso

  Published by

  Black Horse Publishing

  Cover Art by Marina Shipova

  Edited by BZHercules.com

  Black Horse Publishing

  www.blackhorsepublishing.com

  This novel is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination, or, if real, used fictitiously. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the express written permission of the author or publisher, except where permitted by law.

  All Rights Reserved.

  Acknowledgements

  I would like to thank my cover designer, Marina Shipova; beautiful job, as always!

  Thank you also, to Jason Sweeney, for allowing me to use his name for a like-minded and fitting character.

  “How did I escape? With difficulty.

  How did I plan this moment? With pleasure.”

  Alexandre Dumas, The Count of Monte Cristo

  THE REVENGE OF JOHN W

  PROLOGUE

  CHAPTER 1

  CHAPTER 2

  CHAPTER 3

  CHAPTER 4

  CHAPTER 5

  CHAPTER 6

  CHAPTER 7

  CHAPTER 8

  CHAPTER 9

  CHAPTER 10

  CHAPTER 11

  CHAPTER 12

  CHAPTER 13

  CHAPTER 14

  CHAPTER 15

  CHAPTER 16

  CHAPTER 17

  CHAPTER 18

  CHAPTER 19

  CHAPTER 20

  CHAPTER 21

  CHAPTER 22

  CHAPTER 23

  CHAPTER 24

  CHAPTER 25

  CHAPTER 26

  CHAPTER 27

  CHAPTER 28

  CHAPTER 29

  CHAPTER 30

  CHAPTER 31

  CHAPTER 32

  CHAPTER 33

  CHAPTER 34

  CHAPTER 35

  CHAPTER 36

  CHAPTER 37

  CHAPTER 38

  CHAPTER 39

  CHAPTER 40

  CHAPTER 41

  CHAPTER 42

  CHAPTER 43

  CHAPTER 44

  CHAPTER 45

  CHAPTER 46

  PROLOGUE

  Wikieup is a small, unincorporated community located on U.S. Route 93 in Mohave County, Arizona. It is located approximately 37 miles south of Interstate 40 and approximately 124 miles northwest of Phoenix, Arizona. In 2000, the population of Wikieup was 305.

  When Abigail married her husband, John, she was a beautiful woman, twenty years old, with a shapely figure. She was forty-seven years old now and she looked sixty. Three days short of her thirtieth birthday, she had her only child. They named him John Wesley Hardin after her husband. Her husband told her - and she believed him, because she wanted to believe him - that the famous gunfighter John Wesley Hardin was a distant relative of theirs. He told her that a cousin on her husband’s side was married to Hardin’s attorney brother, Joe. At least that was the story that was handed down from father to son and it was what her husband told her - and he was an honest man who never told a lie - so she believed him. She hesitated at first to name her son after the gunfighter because she didn’t want the taint of his name and reputation associated with her son, but in her life, she could be proud of very few things. She loved her son and deep down inside her, the one thing she could be proud of with certainty was they were related to a famous man.

  When her husband died suddenly of a heart attack, they lost their sixty acres of land because she had no way of keeping up with the mortgage on the property. William Hayes was the man who held their mortgage and he was tortured by having to evict the mother and son from their home. Hayes was an upstanding Christian man who felt genuinely sorry for her and the boy. He spent sleepless nights thinking of a way for them to keep their home and property, but it was to no avail. Hayes was fifty-seven years old with thinning hair and the beginning of a paunch. He made the tough decisions in his business and this one was the toughest decision of all. His sleepless nights continued as he tried to find a solution. But none came. Then after a night of tossing and turning, he awoke in a sweat with a solution to their problem. It came to him clearly in a dream. He looked through his red-rimmed sleepless eyes at the alarm clock on his night table: 5:10 a.m. He wanted to call Abigail right now, but he knew he’d have to wait. He made a feeble attempt at falling back to sleep again but he was too excited. He got up, and showered and shaved. When he was dressed, he went down to the kitchen, made himself a breakfast of bacon and eggs, and chased them down with hot black coffee. With time to kill, he read his papers. Time passed slowly, but finally the clock on the kitchen wall signaled 8 a.m. He put aside the newspapers, picked up the phone on the kitchen counter, and called Abigail Hardin. When she picked up, he asked her to come to his office at her earliest convenience.

  Mrs. Hardin parked her husband’s old Ford F 150 pickup truck by the curb in front of Hayes office. They entered the store and Mr. Hayes greeted them as if they were royalty. Hayes knew that the Hardins were poor but proud people, so he was careful not to embarrass them by reminding them of their misfortune. Mrs. Hardin wore the one decent dress she owned. She wore her pretty blue dress at funerals and weddings, not that she was invited to many weddings these days. Nor was she invited to any in the last twenty years. The last time she wore this dress was last year, at her husband’s funeral.

  When they were seated, Mr. Hayes asked if they’d like coffee, or if, because of the heat, they’d prefer a refreshing cool soft drink. The Hardins politely refused his offer, not wanting to spend any more time in his office than necessary. Hayes could see that they were uncomfortable, so he decided it would be better for all concerned if they got this over with as quickly as possible. He knew he couldn’t keep skating around the issue. He had to get to the point, and that’s what he did. He was quiet for a moment, trying to build up his nerve. Finally, he nodded to himself and he confessed to Mrs. Hardin that he hated taking their property from them and that it ate away at him just thinking about it. Especially when John Sr. came into his office as proud as a peacock, and with sad eyes, he paid the loan every month with his last dollar. All of his hard work took its toll and one day, John Sr.’s body finally gave out on him and he died with a shovel in his hands. Mrs. Hardin could tell by Mr. Hayes’s expression how he felt about her situation. What she didn’t know was that Hayes was trying to recall the dream he had, which was now fading from his consciousness, and then work it out. But he had to figure a way to do it for them, he
had to do something that would ease their pain and the pressure they were feeling. Hayes knew from his dream that he had the answer but he couldn’t see it clear enough to recall exactly how to make it happen, but he knew he would do something for them, after all he saw it all in his dream.

  Mrs. Hardin gave him a sad, tired look, knowing that he was suffering from having to take their land from them. She also knew that he told her the truth when he said he was trying to work something out, but for the life of her, she couldn’t figure out what he could do for her and her son.

  Hayes stroked his chin, lost in thought for a moment trying to recall his dream. Then it came to him, and he punched his right fist into the palm of his left hand. It was clear now. It had solidified and he marveled at its simplicity. The solution was obvious. It had been staring him in the face all the while, and he wondered why he hadn’t thought of it before. He shook his head, feeling stupid for not thinking of it sooner.

  “Look,” he said. “You lost your property. We get that. But what I neglected to take into consideration, was that you had equity in that property.”

  This revelation surprised her because most men would just gloss over that fact, reclaim the property, and then sell it again. Profit was profit - and wasn’t that was what business was all about? She lost her property legitimately and now it was his to sell again. However, William Hayes was not that type of man. He could never do that to someone. He waited for her to absorb what he just told her.

  She understood what he said, but she looked questioningly at him. “We’re not looking for charity Mr. Hayes.” She took a deep breath. “It is impossible with one income to try to keep up with the notes. I have no recourse but to give the property back to you. My son and I will just have to figure out a way to get by. But make no mistake about it, Mr. Hayes, we will get by.”

  She had grit, and he looked at her with admiration. Then he looked at her young son sitting there. He noticed for the first time that the boy had tears in his eyes. He had been concentrating solely on Mrs. Hardin and he hadn’t realized until now how hard this was on the boy. Hayes looked at the boy and when the boy turned his face from him to wipe a tear from his eye, Hayes felt terrible for the embarrassed, hurting boy. The Hardins were sitting in front of him like two beggars, wondering where their next meal was coming from and pretending they knew.

  “Look, I just thought of something,” Hayes said. “So please be patient for a moment while I search my files for something.” He opened the top drawer of his filing cabinet and began searching through his files. Nothing. He opened the second drawer and searched rapidly through those folders until he exclaimed happily, “Aha! Here it is. Here’s what I was looking for!” He opened the file, took a sheet from it, and waved it in front of them. “This paper might just be the answer to your problems!” he said excitedly.

  Mrs. Hardin’s eyes lit up. “What is that paper you’re holding in your hand, Mr. Hayes? And what do you mean it might be the answer to our problems?”

  “It’s simple,” he said. “I’m going to use the remaining equity in your sixty-acre property and swap you out for a piece of land that, to be honest with you, is not worth much, and it will never be worth anything. But it’s forty acres of desert land and the good part is, it has a small miner’s shack on it where you can live. It will give you a roof over your head, and it will be yours completely paid for, with no mortgage to worry about. Now let me find the deed to this property and draw up the papers for you to sign.” The mother and son looked at each other hopefully, praying that Mr. Hayes might have thought of a way to help them after all.

  Hayes spent the next fifteen minutes typing out an agreement. When it was completed, she signed it and handed it back to him. He checked her signature to make sure she signed in the right places. Satisfied, he smiled. “There’s no running water or electricity in the house, but there is a well. There’s no bathroom, but again, there’s an outhouse. The beautiful part is this property is now yours free and clear. You don’t have to worry about another monthly mortgage payment. It’s not the prime sixty acres of land like you lost, but this land is desert property located at the foot of a mountain. Your property is quite a ways off the beaten path with only a dirt road to get you there. But, I can’t stress it enough: it’s all yours.” He looked up at them with sad, sympathetic, red eyes. “I want you to know that I never meant for this happen to you folks. I feel like Scrooge, throwing you out of your home on Christmas Eve. I know how hard you, your husband, and your son worked to eke out a small living on that land and how hard it was for you to come up with the mortgage payment each month.” He hung his head down and said softly, “The last thing I wanted to do was to throw you off of your land. It was the hardest chore I’ve ever had to do, and it made me real sad doing it, Mrs. Hardin. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me.”

  Mrs. Hardin saw the same pain and sadness in his eyes that she saw before. “Don’t fret, Mr. Hayes. You did us a right kindness, one that John and I will never forget. I know that we aren’t in any position to return your kindness right now, but maybe someday we’ll be in a position to help you. If that time ever comes, we will be there for you and you have my word on that.” She turned and looked at her son. “Now, John, you remember Mr. Hayes’s kindness to us and what he did for us today. Never forget it, John. And when you grow older, if Mr. Hayes is ever in trouble and he needs you for anything, I would be obliged if you honored my wishes and helped him in whatever difficulty he may be in. You hear me, boy?”

  John was surprised at the depth of his mother’s conviction, but he knew how proud she was. “Yes, momma, I understand.”

  “Understanding isn’t enough, son. You have to promise me that you will honor my promise to Mr. Hayes.”

  “Now, now, Mrs. Hardin. There’s no need to put that burden on the boy.”

  “No, you don’t understand, Mr. Hayes. You saved us. You gave us hope when there was no hope, and we Hardins don’t ever forget a kindness when it’s given to us. Since there are no men folk left but John here, he has to be the man in the family and keep his promise.”

  She waited expectantly with a tinge of impatience for her son to acknowledge her request. Finally, to her relief, he said, “Yes, Momma, I promise.” He turned to Mr. Hayes and put out his hand. “Mr. Hayes. From this moment on, we are in your debt. I want you to know that I will be there to help you in your time of need, if it is in my power to do so.” That was a lot of words for a young man to say and Mr. Hayes was impressed by it.

  The meeting ended and Abigail Harden took Mr. Hayes’s hand in hers and shook it, and then she impulsively kissed him on the cheek. Embarrassed by her unintended act, she demurely bowed her head and whispered, “Thank you for your kindness, Mr. Hayes, and may the good lord look over you and yours for all the days to come.”

  Abigail and her son, John, opened the door and were about to leave when Mr. Hayes called out to them, “Hold on a minute, folks. Don’t leave yet. I have something I want to ask you. Do you have any way to make a living? Do you have any kind of income? Can you support the property? I know it’s yours and you paid for it, but you still have to eat and dress yourselves. Can you do that?”

  Mrs. Hardin thought for a moment before answering. “Well, we have a milking cow and some chickens. We have some seed and John’s old Ford pickup. We’ll make do somehow.”

  Mr. Hayes shook his head. “That’s not good enough, Mrs. Hardin. You can’t survive on one milking cow and some chickens.” Hayes walked over to John and looked him over without saying a word to him. Finally, he walked back to his desk, sat down, and asked them to close the door and take a seat. “I told you I have something I want to ask you.”

  Abigail couldn’t imagine what it was that he wanted to ask her now that their business was concluded, but she came back in and dutifully took a seat.

  “My business is growing, Mrs. Hardin, and I was thinking of hiring someone to help me. I keep putting off hiring a man but now that you’re here, I was won
dering if maybe John would like to come and work for me. He knows the desert like the back of his hand, he’s personable, and I think he would make a good salesman if he put his mind to it. What do you say, John? Would you like to work here in this office with me?”

  John looked to his mother for support but her face showed nothing. No reaction, no emotion, and no support.

  “It’s up to you son,” she finally said. “Mr. Hayes is giving you the opportunity that I could never give you. But it’s up to you. You must decide if you want to work here, or work on our property.”

  John scratched his head, and then unconsciously he rubbed his chin while thinking of Hayes’s offer. Then he smiled for the first time that day. “Sure, Mr. Hayes. I think it would be swell working here with you. But only if you think it can work out good for you. If I don’t do good, if you tell me that I’m not cuttin’ the mustard, and you have to let me go, you won’t be hurtin’ my feelin’s at all.”

  Mr. Hayes smiled. He liked this boy. He was sincere and he could tell that he didn’t have a bad bone in his body. “Tell you what. You come in tomorrow morning at nine and we’ll start you off by having you answer the phone. Then when you’re comfortable working here, I’ll have you show some properties and we’ll ease you into the sales end of the business. I think you’ll like working here. All you have to remember is to be yourself. If you can sell yourself to a customer, then you’ll sell them the property they want. If they get the idea that you’re trying to put something over on them, then we’ll not only lose the sale, we’ll also lose a customer. I make it a point to be upfront and honest with all of my customers. That’s why my business is growing. People know when you’re trying to fool them. But they also can tell when you’re being honest with them. As long as you are honest, and tell the truth, we’ll get along just fine.

  “Now come over here and look at the map of the county.” He pointed to a spot on the map and circled it in red. “Here is your property.” He pointed to the door. “You go right when you leave this office. Drive down along Rt. 93 until you get to the Wikieup Post Office, you’ll see the trading post near the motel. You make a left on Huenga Drive and follow the dirt road for about ten miles. You’ll take that road in the direction of the mountains, until you come to a fork in the road. Make a right turn at the fork and keep on that road until you come to an old abandoned mine. That mine is part of your property. Continue past the mine for one quarter of a mile. Look for a tree split by lightning; it’ll be on your right. Beside the tree is a ‘for sale’ sign alongside a dirt road. Make a right, and take the dirt road for about a half-mile, until you come to the mine workman’s shack.