by Jake Logan
Tommy reloaded his shotgun and headed for the end of the block. Slocum turned and went the other way.
In the alley, Melvin had gone to his left when he went out the back door. The other cowboy had gone right. Red had been moving along behind Melvin, but he came to a stairway that led up to the roof of one of the buildings. He went up there, thinking that he would get a good look around the town that way.
Down below, Tommy rounded the corner to the alley just as Melvin appeared. Both men were startled and shouted out. Tommy raised his shotgun and fired before Melvin could pull his six-gun. The blast sent Melvin flying back through the air. He splattered on the hard ground. He was unrecognizable.
At the other end of the alley, one of the Bartlet cowboys heard the shotgun blast. It scared him back against the wall. Someone had scurried around to the alley. He had no idea how many. He did not think that there were any more than Slocum and his deputy, but he wasn’t sure.
“Hey, cowboy,” said Slocum. “Drop your gun and step out here.”
The cowboy felt cold fear. He started trembling. “You’ll kill me,” he said.
“You drop your gun like I said, and I won’t shoot you.”
“We didn’t think you’d shoot Gabe,” said the cowboy. “We never thought your fucking deputy would shoot us, neither.”
Things started coming together in Slocum’s mind. He’d had his suspicions, but now he was just about sure. “I didn’t think so, either,” he said. “I won’t shoot you. You have my word.”
The cowboy unbuckled his belt and let it drop to the ground. Then he stepped out of the shadow.
“What’s your name?” Slocum asked.
“They call me Slender,” said the cowboy. “My name’s Chester McGee.”
“Well, Slender,” said Slocum. “Tell me what you meant about Tommy—my deputy. What did you mean you didn’t think he’d shoot you?”
“Red had a deal with him,” Slender said. “He said they could come in and get that Sammy Hyde out and us boys as well, and he’d be looking the other way.”
“He said that, did he?”
“That’s what Red told us he’d said.”
“Where’s your horse, Slender?”
“I don’t know. I was in jail.”
“If I walk you to a horse, what would you do?”
“I’d mount up and ride the hell out of here—north.”
“Pick up your gun, Slender, and let’s go.”
Slender hesitated an instant, then picked up the rig he had dropped. Slocum motioned him toward the street, and they walked together around to the front of the building. Slender gestured toward two horses tied in the street.
“Those’re Bartlet horses,” he said. “Must be the ones Red and Melvin rode into town.”
“Come on,” said Slocum. He walked Slender to the horses. Slender mounted up. “On your way, boy,” Slocum said, and Slender turned the horse to ride away. Mayor Church came running up.
“What is this?” he said.
“No charges against this boy,” Slocum said.
Slender turned the horse and started riding out of town. Up on top of a building across the street, Red looked over the edge of the false front. He was astonished to see Slocum allowing Slender to get away. He stood up to see better, and Tommy, having just returned to the street, happened to look up. He spotted Red. Tommy raised his shotgun and thumbed back the hammer. Mo Diamond stepped out the front door of the Fancy Pants saloon, pulling his Colt as he moved. He fired one shot into Tommy’s back. Tommy fell forward in the street, dead.
Slocum ran over to the body and checked it. He stood up and faced Diamond.
“What the hell you do that for?” he asked.
Diamond pointed to the figure on the roof. Red was standing there with his hands in the air. “Your deputy was about to blast that man there,” he said.
Slocum looked up at Red. “Come on down here,” he said.
When Red came down, he confirmed the story Slocum had been told about Tommy. In Slocum’s mind there did not seem to be any more to do. He pointed at the other Bartlet horse. “If you head out now,” he said, “you might be able to catch up with Slender.”
Unbelieving, Red mounted up and lit out. Slocum explained things to Church. Then he took the badge off his chest and handed it to the mayor.
“Are you sure you won’t stick around, Slocum?” asked Church. “Be an easy job now.”
“Church,” Slocum said, “I can’t get far enough away from the stink of this place or fast enough away from this goddamn job.”
It took him a few minutes to get his horse from the stable and his gear from his room. He had not been in Shit Creek for near a month, and he did not even bother collecting any salary from Church. As he rode south out of the town and away from the memory of the distasteful job, he hoped that no one outside of the wretched place would ever hear of the episode. He did not want his reputation to be stained beyond repair.
Watch for
SLOCUM AND THE WIDOW’S RANGE WARS
345th novel in the exciting SLOCUM series from Jove
Coming in November!
