Pearl River Junction

by Robert J. Randisi

  “Roy,” Bill Samms said.

  “I see ’em,” Roy Leslie said.

  “Whatta we do?”

  “Just move slow, Roy,” Leslie said, “slow and easy.”

  “This is a crap plan.”

  “Yeah,” Leslie said, “I know, but it’s the only one we got.”

  “We shoulda went and grabbed the kid.”

  “Jeb wouldn’t let us do that,” Leslie said. “We got to play it as it lays, Bill.”

  “They’re not doin’ nothin’,” James said.

  “Give it a chance,” Thomas said. “They’ll panic.”

  “And then what?”

  “And then,” Thomas said, looking at his brother, “we’ll plant ’em.”

  “Put him down, Vic,” Jeb said and suddenly the other guard was on the floor. Delay’s knife had fresh blood on it, so he leaned over and wiped it on his own pant leg.

  “Okay,” Jeb said, “we’re goin’ out. Belinda, get over here. Tanner, you take the manager.”

  “Right.”

  Jeb put his arm around Belinda from behind and said, “Don’t worry about nothin’. Just open the door.”

  There was a man’s arm across Belinda’s shoulders. As they came out the door, Shaye could see it was Jeb Collier’s. Belinda didn’t look scared, but she looked puzzled. Then, behind them, came the bank manager, Brown, with Lou Tanner right behind him. Jeb’s last move before leaving the office had been to club Alvin Simon into unconsciousness. He’d decided not to waste a bullet.

  “You!” Jeb hissed to the lone vault guard. “Drop your gun.” Shaye figured Jeb was trying not to be overheard by the front guard.

  The guard turned, pointed his gun, but then realized there were two hostages.

  “You heard me. Drop it!”

  Shaye couldn’t see the guard, but heard his rifle hit the floor.

  “Now call the other guard,” Jeb said, “and then we’ll have the tellers start filling bags with money.”

  Shaye heard a man call out, “Hey, Jack!”

  Shaye looked at the guard next to him, who nodded.

  “Answer him.”

  “Whataya want, Lew?”

  “I—we—need ya back here.”

  The guard lowered his voice, “What do we do?”

  “We’ll have to call them out,” Shaye said. “If you go back there and they disarm you, we’ll be at too much of a disadvantage.”

  “Jack!” The guard’s voice sounded strident.

  Shaye drew his gun and called out, “Jeb, can you hear me?”

  He was greeted by silence.

  “Shaye?” he called back. “Is that you?”

  “It’s me,” Shaye replied. “It’s all over, Jeb. Put your guns down and come on out.”

  “What do we do?” Lou Tanner hissed.

  Jeb waved a hand impatiently. This should have gone smoother. They should have been able to get away before the law and Shaye knew what they were doing. Or maybe he just hadn’t planned it as well as he should’ve. Had he gone soft in prison? If so, he was about to find out if it was fatal.

  “We’ve got hostages, Shaye,” Jeb said. “We’ll kill them.”

  “Who are you kidding, Jeb?” Shaye said. “We know Belinda’s in on this with you.”

  “We got the bank manager,” Jeb said. “I’ll put a bullet in him.”

  “That won’t do you any good,” Shaye replied. “You can’t get out.”

  “Oh, we’ll get out, all right,” Jeb said. “Just stay where you are. You might be right about Belinda, but she’s still a woman. I’ll put a bullet in her. You wouldn’t want that.”

  “Jeb!” Belinda said, catching her breath. She’d made her decision and thrown in with him. Her plan all along had been to get them all into place—the Shayes, Simon, Jeb—and then make her best play. Finally, the lure of the bank money had overwhelmed her. She’d been willing to leave town with Jeb and the money, leaving Little Matt to either the sheriff and his wife or to the Shayes, whoever wanted him. She just wanted to get out of town with the money. She hadn’t expected Jeb to use her, though. She was supposed to be the one using him!

  “Shut up,” he told her. “Bank Manager, you better get that vault open…now!”

  “I—I can’t,” the man said, “it’s on a time-lock.”

  “Right,” Jeb said, “and the lock would be set for the time the bank opens, so you can do business. I ain’t stupid, manager. Open it!”

  “Get the manager over to the vault, Lou,” Delay said.

  “Vic?” Shaye called. “You want to die in this bank today? How about you, Tanner?”

  “I don’t plan on dying, Shaye,” Delay said. “I plan on killin’ you, though.”

  “You’ll have to, to get out,” Shaye said, “’cause we’re not letting you out.”

  Tanner turned to Jeb.

  “We can still go out the window.”

  “Not without the money,” Jeb said.

  “Vic?” Tanner asked, looking at his boss. “It’s too late, Vic. We gotta get out!”

  “We’ve got the back covered, Jeb,” Shaye said. “You can’t make it out that way.”

  “There’s only one way out of here, Tanner,” Jeb said, ignoring Shaye, “and that’s through the front door, with the money.” He released Belinda and pushed her into a corner, then pointed his gun at Brown. “Open it…now!”

  75

  Jeb looked at Delay.

  “You gotta kill him,” Jeb whispered to Delay.

  “How?”

  “Face him,” Jeb said. “Man to man.”

  “He won’t agree to that.”

  “Sure he will,” Jeb said, “and while you’re doin’ that, we’ll get as much money from the vault as we can. Once he’s dead, we’ll be able to get past the rest.”

  Brown was working on the vault, but he was sweating so much his fingers were slick.

  “Talk to him,” Jeb said.

  Delay nodded, holstering his gun.

  “Shaye!”

  The guard looked at Shaye, who waved at him to be quiet.

  “What is it, Delay?”

  “You and me, Shaye,” Delay said. “I want out and I’m comin’ through you—unless you’re scared.”

  Shaye thought about it. If he could put Delay down, it might make Jeb think differently about the whole thing.

  “Who is this guy?” the guard asked. “Can you take him?”

  “I guess I’ll have to see.”

  “If you agree,” the man said, “he’ll step out and I can gun him.”

  “No,” Shaye said, “if I agree, then I’ll face him—one on one. If he beats me, you’ll be on your own—unless you want to leave now.”

  The guard considered the offer.

  “You’ll have to put your gun down,” Shaye added. “If I agree, this is not a good situation for you. If you want to leave, I’ll understand.”

  “Is it just you and me?” the guard asked.

  “The sheriff is around back,” Shaye said, “and there’s three more deputies outside.”

  The guard started to sweat and for a moment Shaye thought he’d take him up on his offer.

  “Okay,” the man said, “I—I’ll stay.”

  “Good man.”

  “Shaye! What’s your answer?” Delay shouted.

  “You step out, Vic,” Shaye said. “We’ll do it.”

  Shaye didn’t know what he’d do if Delay told him to come back there, instead. If he agreed, there’d be two other guns back there and he couldn’t depend on them to play fair. But he figured Jeb would send Delay out, so he could start on the vault.

  “Okay,” Delay said. “I’m comin’ out. I’m gonna take you at your word, Shaye.”

  “I give you my word.”

  Shaye holstered his gun, motioned the guard to move out from behind the tellers’ cages, and then followed. There was room for all of them back there, but he wanted more.

  Then, as an afterthought, Shaye turned to the people against the wall and said,
“Everybody out—now!”

  They didn’t wait to be told twice. The employees and the only customer ran for the door, shocked into movement despite the fear that had them frozen in place.

  Samms and Leslie began to slowly walk up the street in the direction of the bank. Across from them Thomas and James kept pace. All four knew that the minute one of them stepped into the street it would be time for guns.

  “What are we doin’?” James asked.

  “We’ll just follow them,” Thomas said. “Just keep up with them and see what they’re gonna do.”

  “What if they try to go into the bank?” James asked.

  “That’s when we’ll stop them.”

  So they all kept moving—until they were within sight of the bank. Thomas and James could see the bank from their side of the street. Samms and Leslie could not. And the guard on the roof couldn’t see the outlaws, just the lawmen, but still had no reason to think anything was amiss.

  And then all of them saw people running from the bank.

  76

  Shaye heard the shots from outside just as Vic Delay stepped out from the vault area. He was still partially hidden by the tellers’ cages.

  “Tell the guard to put his rifle down,” Delay said.

  “Do it,” Shaye said.

  The guard set his rifle down on a nearby desk.

  Delay came out from behind the cages, his gun in his holster.

  “Sounds like some excitement outside,” he said. “Your sons?”

  “Probably taking care of the rest of your gang.”

  “Or bein’ taken care of,” Delay said. “Wanna check?”

  “I’ll check,” Shaye said, “after we’re done here.”

  Delay was trying to distract Shaye from the task at hand, gain a little edge.

  “Come on, Vic,” Shaye said. “You’re the one with the big rep as a killer. Let’s see if you deserve it.”

  “I deserve it,” Delay said and drew…

  Outside, as soon as the people ran into the street, Samms and Leslie reacted by drawing their guns.

  “What the hell—” Leslie said.

  When they drew their weapons, Thomas and James stepped into the street and produced theirs. They thought the two outlaws were going to shoot at the fleeing people.

  “Hold it!” Thomas shouted.

  The two men turned to face them and the four guns began to blaze. Having learned a valuable lesson once before, James moved before he fired. He stepped left, dropped to a knee, and fired two shots at Leslie. Both struck home, putting the man on his back in the street. On his back Leslie pulled the trigger of his gun twice, firing harmless into the dirt.

  Thomas drew easily, standing fast, and put a bullet in the chest of Bill Samms. The outlaw pulled the trigger of his own gun once, but he was dead before the bullet struck a building across the street.

  At the sound of the shots, Jeb Collier turned and shot Lou Tanner in the head. One less person to share with.

  “Wha—” Belinda snapped, not believing her eyes.

  The bank manager turned from his task of filling a money bag and Jeb shot him as well, grabbing the bag of money.

  “Jeb—” Belinda said.

  He turned to her and said, “This is for not tellin’ me about my boy.”

  “No!” she screamed. Belinda put her hands up, but they were no match for the two bullets he fired. One went through her palm and into her chest, the other hit her in the abdomen.

  Jeb ran for the bank manager’s office.

  Inside the bank Shaye drew his gun very deliberately. In his haste to beat him to the punch, Vic Delay’s first shot went wide. Shaye, slower but more accurate, shot the killer in the chest.

  At that moment he heard the shots from the vault area and the girl’s scream.

  “Come on!” he said to the guard.

  Behind the bank Ben Collier heard the shots from inside. He ran to the window and at that moment Riley Cotton stepped into the open with his shotgun.

  “Right there!” he said.

  Ben turned, saw the sheriff, and went for his gun. Cotton triggered both barrels and Ben was flung away from the window, landing in a bloody mess several feet away. The horses, spooked by the shooting, ran right over the body in their haste to get away.

  Jeb Collier entered the bank manager’s office carrying one bag of cash in his left hand and his gun in his right. He saw Ben looking in the window, but before he could say a word his brother disappeared in a red mist. Jeb figured his only chance was to get out, so he ran and leaped head first out the window.

  Cotton lowered his now-empty shotgun and started walking toward the body, but before he took two steps, a man came flying out the window. He rolled, came up on one knee, and pointed his gun at Cotton, who figured he was dead. In that split second he thought of his wife, then dropped the shotgun and grabbed for his pistol, even though he knew it was too late.

  Shaye came through the door in time to see Jeb dive out the window. He ran to it, saw Jeb on one knee pointing his gun, and fired twice. Both bullets struck the bank robber. His blood sprayed the cash bag, which fell to the ground a second before he did. It spilled its contents and Jeb fell onto a blanket of cash.

  Shaye stuck his head out the window, looked both ways, and saw Cotton to his right.

  “You okay?” he asked.

  “Thanks to you. Inside?”

  “They’re all dead,” Shaye said. “You better come in.”

  Instead of using the window, Cotton went around to the front of the bank, where he ran into Thomas and James.

  “Where’s Pa?” Thomas asked.

  “Inside,” Cotton said. “He’s fine. You boys?”

  “We got the other two,” James said.

  They all went inside.

  “Back here,” the guard called.

  They entered the vault area and found Shaye standing over Belinda’s body.

  “What happened?” James asked.

  “I guess Jeb wasn’t so forgiving, after all,” Shaye said. “He was going to use her to rob the bank and then kill her anyway.”

  “Looks like he didn’t want to leave any witnesses,” Cotton said, looking at the dead bodies of Tanner and Brown, “and didn’t want to share the money.”

  There were two other bags of cash on the floor near the bank manager, as Jeb had only been able to handle one.

  “Speaking of witnesses,” Thomas said, “where is the hardware store guy?”

  They all went back into the manager’s office and found Alvin Simon hiding underneath the manager’s desk. He was alive…

  77

  Shaye looked down at the coffin that contained the body of Belinda Davis, then across the graveyard at the small group gathered around the bank manager’s resting place.

  Thomas and James were beside him and across from him was Sheriff Cotton and his wife, Marion holding the child in her arms. They had already decided to adopt the baby and to keep the name Matthew.

  When the first shovel of dirt struck the casket, Shaye turned and started walking away. He could still hear his own handful of dirt as it landed on the coffin of his wife—and later Matthew. The pain of their deaths never seemed to go away.

  Thomas and James followed, then came the sheriff and his wife.

  They walked back to town, where their horses were already saddled. It had been two days since the shooting in the bank. The town was grateful to the sheriff and his deputies for saving the deposit money. Cotton was hailed as a hero who led his men against the bank robbers.

  Their horses were waiting in front of the sheriff’s office. There they said good-bye to Marion and to Little Matt. Just the night before, James had asked Shaye, “Do you think she ever really even knew Matthew?”

  “It really doesn’t matter, James,” Shaye replied, “does it?”

  Now they turned and each shook hands with the sheriff as Marion returned home with Little Matt.

  “I can’t tell you how much I appreciate what you all did,” the sherif
f said. “It’s ironic how it was Belinda who brought you here.”

  “I don’t think she really knew what she wanted,” Shaye said, “and because of that she brought us all to this place to meet.”

  “What will you do now?” Cotton asked. “Go back to your ranch and try to make a go of it?”

  “Only to sell it,” Shaye said, looking at his sons. “We’ve decided to find someplace that needs a sheriff and a couple of deputies. Wearing a badge gets into your blood.”

  “Well, I wish you luck, wherever you end up,” Cotton said. “If you ever want to come back here, I’ve got three badges waiting for you.”

  They all mounted up and looked down at Sheriff Cotton.

  “Try to make a lawman out of young Thad,” Shaye said. “Tell him we said good-bye.”

  “I will.”

  They turned their horses and rode out of Pearl River Junction. There had been no grandson, but since they had decided once again to uphold the law, the entire trip had not been such a waste.

  About the Author

  ROBERT J. RANDISI is the creator and writer of the popular series The Gunsmith, under the pseudonym “J.R. Roberts.” He has written many other Western novels under his own name.

  Books by Robert J. Randisi

  The Sons of Daniel Shaye

  PEARL RIVER JUNCTION

  VENGEANCE CREEK

  LEAVING EPITAPH

  Copyright

  This book is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogue are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  PEARL RIVER JUNCTION. Copyright © 2006 by Robert J. Randisi. All rights reserved.

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