A Gideon Johann Boxed Set Book 1 - 4 (A Gideon Johann Western 0)

by Duane Boehm

  “Hank, let me go in there and get it. I can’t endanger the Oakes family and I won’t pull anything and risk my own family,” Gideon said.

  “I’m afraid we can’t do that,” Hank said.

  “You have to promise me that we will sneak in there and not disturb Ethan and his family. They have nothing to do with this and can’t come to harm,” Gideon said.

  “Fine by me. You have my word. I just want to save my daddy. I don’t cherish killing anyone, not even you. You should’ve just left well enough alone. A few whores that never had a life beforehand anyway weren’t worth dying for,” Hank said.

  “Who is going to kill Cal?” Gideon asked.

  “Eddie likes the money. I’m paying him extra. When we are done with you, he is going to slip into town and kill Cal. Maybe he’ll get lucky and not have to kill your deputy, but I doubt it. That Irishman seems like a likeable fellow,” Hank said.

  They rode cross–country, avoiding any roads until they reached Ethan’s property. Gideon directed them to a tree line behind the barn. The double doors on each end of the barn were open to allow airflow and no one was in the structure.

  “It’s in the barn. Someone needs to check the yard to make sure no one is out in the yard. They should be eating about now,” Gideon said.

  “Eddie, work your way down the trees and have a look. It’s better for all of us that we not be seen. It could get one of us killed,” Hank said.

  Eddie returned in a few minutes. “No one’s outside and there’s smoke coming out the stovepipe. I’m guessing they’re eating. There’s a dog on the porch,” he said.

  “Damn dogs,” Hank said. “Maybe he won’t notice us coming in from the back.”

  The five men walked from the trees through the open gate and entered the barn from the rear. The dog started barking as they did.

  ∞

  As Ethan dried his hands before sitting down to the meal, he heard the dog. Looking out the window, he saw nothing but the dog standing on the porch barking towards their big cottonwood tree and the barn. “Chase must be barking at the squirrels again. They like to taunt him. We need to have us squirrel some night and put an end to this,” he said.

  “If you want squirrel you are going to have to cook it yourself. A squirrel isn’t nothing more than a rat with a bushy tail. I had to eat them as a girl and I’m not about to do it now,” Sarah said.

  “I’ll just do that. Benjamin and I can eat them and you can fix what you want,” Ethan said.

  ∞

  “Where is it?” Hank whispered.

  “It’s up in the loft,” Gideon answered.

  “Eddie, you go up there first and keep an eye on him,” Hank said, motioning with his gun at the ladder.

  Eddie climbed the ladder and then Gideon followed. As Gideon climbed the stairs, his mind raced to decide what to do. He was torn between trying to save his own life at the cost of endangering Ethan and his family and accepting his fate of sure death. Reaching the loft, he realized that his nature would not allow him to die without putting up a fight. Otherwise, his life would have ended a long time ago.

  “Get it and make sure that I can see what you are doing,” Eddie said.

  Gideon began raking hay away, making sure that Eddie could see, until the ledger came into view. He picked the book up with both hands, wrapping his fingers around the butt of the concealed gun as he did. Keeping the gun shielded, Gideon moved to hand the ledger to Eddie. “Here it is,” he said, cocking the gun at the same time and firing. The bullet tore into Eddie stomach and he was still screaming when Gideon dropped the ledger and shot him in the heart.

  Hank shouted for Eddie as Gideon tried tiptoeing away from where the body had crashed to the floor. Gideon kept his eyes on the floor opening, ready to shoot if a head appeared while he tried to figure out what he would do. He knew that sticking his head through the opening and shooting it out with the other three would be suicide.

  ∞

  Ethan was giving the dinner blessing when the two shots rang out, startling them all badly and causing Benjamin to bump his plate and spill his glass of water.

  Instinctively, Ethan knew that Gideon needed him. He shouted, “Benjamin, hide in your room. Sarah, get the shotgun and if anybody comes through the door shoot them with one barrel and save the other for more.”

  Grabbing his rifle, Ethan dashed into the yard. He saw the three men standing in the barn hallway forty yards away. One of the three spotted him and the three began firing their guns. Ethan did not flinch but raised his rifle. He took careful aim and squeezed the trigger. One of the men flopped backward. From the time that he and Gideon had first started shooting, he had always been the better rifle shot. He had no doubts in his ability with a rifle. Unmindful of the shots fired upon him, he took aim on a second man and fired. Another one dropped.

  Gideon realized that Ethan was involved and made a run for the loft entrance. Diving, he slid across the hay covered floor and stuck his head and arm through the hole ready to fire. As he did, he saw Hank Starks fall on top of the other two men.

  “Ethan, it’s me,” Gideon shouted before bounding down the stairs.

  Two of the men were already dead and Hank Starks took his last gasp of breath. Ethan walked into the barn and looked at the carnage he had committed.

  “I’ve never shot anyone before,” Ethan said as viewed the enormity of his actions.

  “Ethan, I’m so sorry I caused this. I should have never hid the ledger here,” Gideon said.

  “I better go tell Sarah that we’re okay,” Ethan said, oblivious to Gideon’s remarks. He walked trancelike towards the house.

  As he neared the cabin, Sarah flung the door open and came running out into Ethan’s arms. “Are you hurt?” she cried.

  “No, I’m fine. I think I killed three men,” Ethan said.

  “What happened?” Sarah asked.

  “Gideon was in trouble. I think I killed three men, but I’ll explain later. We’d better check on Benjamin. He’s probably scared to death,” Ethan said.

  Sarah took a step back and looked at her husband. His face had a blank expression and she realized that he was in shock. She then saw bullet holes on either side of his shirt where the material bunched at the waist. “You have bullet holes in your shirt,” she whimpered.

  Ethan looked down and found one of the holes, sticking his finger in it. “At least it missed me this time,” he said before taking Sarah’s hand and walking into the cabin.

  “Benjamin, everything is okay. You can come out,” Sarah shouted.

  The boy came running out of his bedroom and wedged himself between his two parents. “I thought that you were dead,” he mumbled into his father’s leg.

  Ethan realized that Benjamin needed him and snapped out of his lethargy. Patting his son on the shoulder, he said, “Everything is fine. I just had to help Gideon. Bad men were trying to hurt him, but it’s all over now. You just need to stay in the house with your momma. There are things out there that you don’t need to see.”

  Gideon appeared in the doorway. His face looked ashen and he seemed unsure of whether he should enter the cabin. “I’m so sorry that I brought you into this. I should have never done it,” he said.

  Sarah spun around and glared at him. “Gideon, for God’s sake, what have you done? Ethan has bullet holes in his shirt. He could have been killed,” she yelled.

  “I hid the ledger for the trial here and told Ethan where it was in case something happened to me. I didn’t think about the danger it could put you all in,” Gideon said.

  “You didn’t think about it? How in the hell could you not? You should have known that this could happen,” Sarah shouted.

  Ethan held his hand up to bring a stop to the yelling. “Sarah, it all turned out okay. Everything is fine,” he said.

  “No, it is not. Benjamin and I are still shaking. We’ve all been through enough before this and now you have to live with killing three men. You are not the type of man that can do that easily
,” Sarah said.

  “No, you are wrong. I defended my family and my friend and I did nothing wrong in the eyes of the Lord. I didn’t stand there and let someone try to kill me this time. I fought back,” Ethan said.

  Sarah collapsed into a chair and covered her face. Great sobs escaped her and she mumbled, “I don’t know how much more I can take. Things have to get easier.”

  Ethan squatted down to Benjamin’s level and said, “Benjamin, I know that you are upset, but there’s nothing to be scared of now. It’s a terrible thing to have to kill men, but I had no choice. It was either kill or be killed and they would have killed Gideon, you, and your momma too. You are safe now and I will keep you safe. Okay?”

  Benjamin nodded his head, but watched his mother as he did so. He moved to her, patting her on the back and reassuring her.

  Gideon walked into the cabin and dropped into a chair beside Sarah. Doubts about his abilities as sheriff were filling his mind and he was devastated that he had failed to comprehend the risk to the family by hiding the ledger in the barn. He had overestimated the weight his threat upon Henry Starks’ life would carry. His was a profession where glaring mistakes could result in tragic results. This one almost had.

  Sarah popped up from her seat. The spilled water still dripped from the table to the floor. She grabbed a towel and began drying the mess. As she neared Gideon, she put her hand on his shoulder. “Go do what you need to do. I forgive you,” she said.

  Her words brought some sense of relief to Gideon. He didn’t feel absolved of his mistake by any means, but was grateful that he had not destroyed his friendship with Sarah. With such a small circle of friends, he couldn’t imagine not having her in his life.

  “Ethan, do you think that you could come outside to help me?” Gideon asked.

  Ethan seemed eerily self–composed now. His change in demeanor had been decisive as if his sense of being the head of the family had overridden any emotional turmoil that he felt. “Let’s get it over with,” he said.

  Gideon retrieved the horses from behind the trees and walked them to the barn. Feeling the need to apologize again, he said, “Ethan, I’m so sorry to have brought this upon your family.”

  “I could have told you no. We underestimated Henry’s desperation. He is the one that will suffer the most once he learns that he cost his son his life. Benjamin and Sarah will both be fine in a couple of days. This isn’t anywhere near as bad as Benjamin’s kidnapping and we all got through that,” Ethan said.

  “What about you?” Gideon asked. Ethan had never had the temperament for violence and was much calmer than Gideon could imagine.

  “I’m at peace with myself. They gave me no choice but to shoot them. I hope I never have to do it again, but I don’t feel powerless anymore. I defended us. Let’s get the bodies loaded,” Ethan said.

  Once they had the bodies tied across the saddles, Gideon strung the horses together. “I better get back to town. So much for that fried chicken I was promised tonight,” he said.

  “I’ll harness up the wagon and take the family to tell Abby what happened. It will probably be good for all of them to be together anyway,” Ethan said.

  Dusk was settling in as Gideon rode into town. Tying the horses to the rail in front of the jail, he walked into the building and grabbed the cell keys. Unlocking the cell that housed Starks, Gideon said, “You need to come with me.”

  Gideon walked Starks outside and said, “See what you have done.”

  Starks ran to his son and lifted Hank’s head before falling to his knees. “My God, what have I done?” he cried.

  Chapter 27

  A voice called out to Finnie. It sounded muffled as if coming through a wall and he thought that he was dreaming. As he slumbered in the jail, he tried to ignore the shouting until he jumped with a start, realizing that the voice was real. Finnie opened his eyes to see the first gray light of day barely illuminating the room. He ran to the cell room door and threw it open. Cal Simpson was the source of the disturbance.

  “Henry hung himself,” Cal yelled. “He was hanging there when I woke up.”

  Finnie saw the body hanging at the window and ran to grab the cell keys. Opening the door, he walked cautiously up to the body, half expecting the prisoner to yell boo. The color and appearance of the face told him otherwise. He touched the skin on Starks’ arm and found it cool to the touch.

  Cal hollered, “Get him out of here.”

  “Oh, shut up. He’s not going to do you any harm now,” Finnie said before walking out of the room and shutting the door.

  Ignoring his inclination to wait for Gideon, Finnie walked over to the doctor’s office and pounded on the door. Doc, in his housecoat, eventually trooped to the entrance.

  “What is it?” Doc asked.

  “Henry Starks hung himself,” Finnie said.

  “Is he dead?” Doc questioned.

  “He’s already cool to the touch,” Finnie answered.

  “Well then, what do you want me to do about it? I’m a doctor, not an undertaker. If he is already cool to the touch, only God is going to revive him and I think He has better things to do than waste his time on Henry Starks. He can hang there until Gideon gets in. I’m going back to bed,” Doc said and shut the door.

  In spite of the situation, Finnie burst out laughing. “I hope that I don’t get that crotchety in my old age,” he said aloud to no one.

  Walking back to the jail, Finnie decided to go back to bed. Gideon would not be in for at least another hour and nothing else could be done. He wasn’t keen on sleeping with a dead body in the next room, but he soon dozed. Doc revenged his awakening by doing the same to Finnie a little over an hour later.

  Gideon arrived at the jail later than usual. The aftermath of the evening before had taken most of night to resolve. Abby had still been upset when he got home despite Ethan and Sarah doing their best to reassure her that everything was fine. Calming her had taken what seemed like forever and then he had trouble going to sleep. He lay in bed listening to Abby breathe for hours before drifting off to sleep.

  Hanging his hat on a peg by the door, Gideon said, “Good morning. I sure hope today is better than yesterday.”

  Finnie looked at Doc in hopes that the doctor would break the news, but Doc strategically sipped his coffee and refused making eye contact.

  Clearing his throat before speaking, Finnie said, “Starks hung himself last night.”

  “Oh, Christ. That’s just what we needed – more deaths. I guess the guilt over getting Hank killed proved too much for him. That might make me do the same thing. I don’t cherish riding out to tell Mrs. Starks that her husband and son are both dead,” Gideon said.

  “He’s still hanging back there. I thought that you should see him first before we moved him,” Finnie said.

  Gideon walked into the cell room with Doc and Finnie in tow. “You lift him and I’ll unfasten his belt,” Gideon said to Finnie.

  “Nothing like hugging a dead man first thing in the morning. I’ll probably be seeing his ghost in my sleep tonight,” Finnie said as he bear–hugged the body and lifted.

  They laid the body on the bed and Gideon said, “Finnie, will you go get the cabinetmaker and have him get the body out of here.”

  After Finnie had left, Doc said, “Greed is a funny thing. It can turn a successful, well–respected man into a raving lunatic. Henry Starks had everything and now the only thing he’ll have is a pine box. It’s hard to understand.”

  “And it about got me killed on three different occasions. I would like to see my baby born,” Gideon said.

  “You will. You’ve got more lives than a cat,” Doc said. “I have to go.”

  Gideon waited until the cabinetmaker removed the body before retrieving the ledger from his saddlebag and walking to see District Attorney Kile. He walked into the office and sat the ledger on the desk.

  “I had to kill Hank Starks, Henry’s son, last night. He tried to get the ledger. Henry Starks hung himself in his c
ell sometime during the night. Apparently he was overcome with guilt for causing his son’s death,” Gideon said.

  Kile gazed up at Gideon, disappointment etched on his face. “I really wanted to prosecute this one. It would’ve been high profile and could’ve launched my political career. I guess he just ended up hung a little earlier than he would have anyway. We can go after Cal Simpson now. I won’t have to honor the deal I made with him.”

  “I would’ve liked to have seen Starks convicted too. He caused me enough grief,” Gideon said.

  “I would say so. I’m still going to try to get the money from those accounts and the sale of the Lucky Horse for those girls. I don’t know if the judge will go for it, but I’ll try,” Kile said.

  “That would be a good thing. Those girls were robbed of their lives and it would help give them a new start,” Gideon said.

  “You did good work, Sheriff. I’ll talk with you before the trial,” Kile said.

  Gideon walked to the jail and mounted his horse to ride to see Mrs. Starks. He found himself holding Buck back to as slow of a pace as possible. The thought of telling Mrs. Starks that her husband and son were dead filled him with dread. Imagining his own grief if presented with such news, he wondered if he could find the strength to carry on in such a circumstance.

  As Gideon rode into the yard of the ranch, he noticed that the ranch hands were doing their best to ignore him. He suspected that they were well aware of Hank’s death. Tying the horse, he walked up to the door and knocked. The same maid as before answered the door.

  “I need to see Mrs. Starks,” Gideon said.

  Mrs. Starks entered the room before Gideon had finished his sentence and the maid made a hasty retreat.

  “What do you want, Sheriff?’ Mrs. Starks asked.

  “Mrs. Starks, I’m afraid that I have some bad news. Your son was killed last night trying to take a ledger that was to be used for evidence. Henry was told of this last evening and sometime during the night, he hung himself. They’re both gone, Ma’am,” Gideon said.