Imposter

by William W. Johnstone

  “I guess we’ll see, won’t we?” Frank said, reining up in front of the office. Dog immediately plopped down in the shade of the raised boardwalk, a tired canine.

  “Welcome home, Frank,” Marshal Wright said.

  The warmth behind that greeting and the words themself hit Frank hard. Home had a real nice ring to it.

  “Good to be back, Tom. Mighty good.”

  “Welcome home, Frank,” Lara said, walking up to stand beside Tom.

  Frank smiled at her. “Hi, Lara. You look mighty pretty today.”

  “Kind words, Frank. I know I look a fright. It’s this heat.” She fanned herself.

  Lara couldn’t look a fright if she went to a costume party wearing a worn-out flour sack.

  Frank helped Little Ed down from his horse and led him into the jail, shoving him into a cell. Only then did he remove the cuffs, while Tom stood careful watch in the runaround, the Greener at the ready.

  “You’ll get word to my pa?” Little Ed asked after Frank had slammed the door and locked it.

  “We’ll make sure he knows you’re back, boy,” Tom told him. “But I can tell you this. There will be no bail for you. You’re locked down until your trial.”

  “We’ll see about that, fatso!”

  Tom smiled. “Or maybe I’ll get lucky and you’ll run.”

  “Lucky?” Little Ed asked. “What do you mean by that?”

  Tom lifted the Greener.

  Little Ed got the message. “You’d like to shoot me, wouldn’t you, tubby?”

  “It would be the high point of my year, punk.”

  Little Ed walked over to a bunk, sat down, and stared at the wall.

  Out in the office, Frank poured a cup of coffee and sat down. “I imagine someone in town will get word to the Simpsons.”

  “Oh, you can be sure a rider is already on the way. There were ES hands in town when you brought in Little Ed.”

  Frank brought the marshal up to date on all that had happened since he had ridden out after Little Ed and his hands.

  “And Big Ed said he wouldn’t interfere?” Tom asked. “Really? The man just may have a decent streak in him after all.”

  “I think he and his wife both do,” Frank said, further startling the marshal.

  “Well, they’ve damn sure managed to hide it right well for years,” Tom replied.

  “No doubt about that,” Frank said, standing up and stretching. “I’m going to stable the horses and feed Dog, then go get me a long hot bath, a shave and a haircut, and a change of clothes. My horse and dog smell better than I do.”

  Tom laughed. “Well . . . now that you mention it!”

  On his walk back from the livery, after stabling Stormy and feeding Dog, Frank paused in front of the offices of the local paper to read a notice on the bulletin board. The opera company was coming to town that weekend. Frank made a mental note to have his new suit ready for that event, and to get his boots cleaned and polished. He went on to the barbershop and bathhouse and made arrangements to get cleaned up, then went to the hotel to pick up a few things.

  An hour later, with two weeks of trail dust scrubbed off him, and sporting a fresh shave and haircut, Frank walked over to the Blue Bird for something to eat. Doc Evans was there, having a piece of pie and a cup of coffee. He waved Frank over to his table by the window.

  “I just saw Ed and Elsie come into town,” the doctor said. “They went straight to John Whitter’s office.”

  “I knew something would come along to spoil my good mood,” Frank said, sitting down.

  Doc Evans laughed at Frank’s expression. “Well, they weren’t cussing or fighting with each other.”

  The waitress walked over and Frank ordered coffee and a meal. “John will probably try to get bail set for Little Ed.”

  “Any chance of that?”

  “I don’t think so. Although they might try to buy off the judge.”

  “That won’t happen,” the doctor said firmly. “Not with Judge Bledsoe. That judge can’t be bought.”

  “I hope not.”

  “Tom’s been looking around, trying to learn who slipped that gun to Little Ed.”

  “Any luck?”

  The doctor shook his head. “No. He figures it was an ES hand. You noticed the fence by the side of the jail?”

  Frank nodded his head.

  “Town ordered that built. Makes it harder for anyone to get to the cell windows. Tom scattered tin cans and bottles on the ground in the area. Anyone gets over the fence now, they’ll make a racket trying to walk.”

  “Good thinking on his part. I’m going to bunk at the jail until the trial is over. I’ll move some of my gear over this afternoon.”

  Doc Evans smiled. “Good idea. That should definitely make it more diffficult for anyone to break jail.”

  “When is the judge due here?”

  “I think Tom sent a wire today. Soon as you brought Little Ed in. Judge should be here in a few days.”

  Frank ate his meal and chatted with Doc Evans, occasionally glancing out the window. He was waiting for Big Ed and Elsie to make an appearance. He was just finishing his pie and coffee when the couple came walking up the boardwalk.

  Doc Evans spotted them at the same time. “Here they come,” he said. “Just in time to aid indigestion.”

  “That’s one way of putting it.”

  Big Ed walked up to the table, Elsie trailing along behind him. Both of them greeted Frank and the doctor very respectfully.

  “Can I see my son, Morgan?” Ed asked politely.

  “Sure, Ed,” Frank replied. “I was just finishing up. But I’m sure Tom is in the office.”

  “Well ...” Big Ed hesitated. “Tell you the truth, I’m sort of ashamed to face Old Tom. Ashamed of what my son did.”

  Frank stood up, reached for his hat, and dropped some money on the table. “Come on, we’ll go see your son.”

  “Is he hurt at all?” Doc Evans asked. “Do you need me to look at him?”

  “He isn’t hurt,” Frank said. “I, ah, persuaded him to come along peacefully.”

  Doc Evans raised an eyebrow at that, but said nothing.

  “Thanks for that, Morgan,” Ed said. “We both appreciate it. Me and the wife.”

  “You feel all right, Ed?” Doc Evans blurted out, sure there had to be something wrong with the man since he was behaving in such a civil manner.

  “I feel all right, Doc. Just sort of down about my son’s situation, that’s all.”

  “That’s understandable,” Doc Evans said. He looked at Elsie. “Elsie?”

  “I’m all right, Doc. Like Ed, I’m sorta down in the mouth about Little Ed, for actin’ so damn stupid.”

  “Me and Elsie talked it over on the way into town,” Ed said. “We both know Little Ed is goin’ to do hard time for his crime. Don’t neither one of us like that, but it’s fittin’ for what he done. And ...” He paused, “it’s mainly my fault for not bein’ a better father. I failed bad with Little Ed. Now he’s gonna have to pay for my failure.”

  “And mine,” Elsie said.

  Both husband and wife were well aware that the café had fallen silent, every patron listening to them.

  “Thank God,” Elsie said, “we have two good kids back East.”

  “And we have some apologizin’ to do to them,” Ed said. “A lot of apologizin’. And we plan to do it real soon.”

  “Glad to hear it, Ed,” Doc Evans said. “Congratulations on you both rejoining the human race.”

  “I reckon we deserved that, Doc. Hell, I know I did,” Big Ed said.

  “Me too,” Elsie said. Then she smiled and jabbed her husband with a thumb. But not too hard. “But him, more than me.”

  Ed laughed. “She’s right about that.”

  Doc Evans shook his head at the change in the two. A very welcome change.

  “Come on,” Frank said. “I’ll let you in to see Ed.”

  “Mind if I tag along?” Doc Evans asked.

  “Not at all,” F
rank told him.

  Tom was just walking out of the office onto the boardwalk when they arrived. Tom hesitated for just a second, then stuck out his hand to Big Ed. Ed immediately took the peace offering and shook it.

  “I can’t tell you how sorry and ashamed I am, Tom,” Ed said after staring at Tom for a few seconds.

  “That goes for both of us,” Elsie said.

  “It’s all right, Ed, Elsie,” Tom said. “It’s behind us and it’s a brand-new day. Oh, Little Ed is anxious to see you both. I was just on my way to get you.”

  The elder Simpson grimaced. “I reckon we have to see him. But I’m not looking forward to it. I’ve arranged for John Whitter to represent him.” Again he grimaced. “For all the good it will do.”

  “Go on in, Ed,” Tom said. “The cell block door is open. We’ll wait out here. Help yourselves to coffee. It’s fresh. I just made it.”

  “Thanks,” Big Ed said. He took a deep breath and pushed open the office door. He and his wife stepped inside, closing the door behind them.

  “What a change in those two,” Tom said, sitting down on the bench.

  “I couldn’t believe it myself,” Doc Evans said. “But sometimes, a family tragedy will do that to people.”

  “I think it’s a miracle,” the marshal said.

  “How’s your head feeling?” Doc Evans asked.

  “Just fine, Doc. When can you take off this big bandage?”

  “Today, if you like. I want to look at the wound anyway.”

  “Suits me. I been missin’ wearin’ my hat.”

  A single shot cracked from inside the jail.

  “Oh, hell!” Tom yelled, jumping up just as Elsie screamed.

  TWENTY

  Precious seconds were lost as the three men jammed each other up trying to get inside the office. When they did manage to get in, they ran into Elsie, almost knocking her down.

  “Big Ed’s been shot!” Elsie squalled. “Little Ed grabbed his gun and shot him. He run out the back door. The little shit shot his own father! I can’t believe it!”

  Frank ran around to the side of the jail and cussed. The new fence blocked him, and of course there was no gate. He ran back around to the front and down the small alleyway, finally reaching the rear of the jail. Little Ed had vanished into the thick timber that lay only a hundred or so yards all around the town. In many places that timber and its underbrush were very nearly impenetrable.

  “I’ll get a posse together,” Tom said, walking up behind Frank. “For all the good it will do. That timber is thick. With dozens of places to hide. A mile further on they’s caves. Doc’s with Big Ed. I’ll see you, Frank. Take care of things.”

  Frank met Doc coming out of the office. “He’s hard hit, Frank. I don’t want to move him just yet. Stay with him. I’ve got to get some things from my office.”

  Big Ed motioned for Frank to kneel down beside him. “You’re gonna have to kill him, Frank. I see that now.”

  “Don’t talk, Ed. Save your strength.”

  “No. Listen to me. The boy’s half crazy. He’s kill-crazy. I’ve seen it in other men, and so have you. I should have seen it sooner. But he was my son. You understand, don’t you, Frank? Don’t you?” he pleaded.

  “I understand, Ed. I really do.”

  Elsie was sitting on the floor next to her husband, weeping into her hands.

  “Don’t give him no chance at all, Frank,” said Ed, “If you do, he’ll kill you. He can’t be trusted. Boy that would shoot his own father . . .” He coughed and grimaced in pain. “I never dreamed he’d try to grab my gun.”

  Elsie turned to her husband just as Doc Evans entered the office. “Don’t you die on me, you big bastard!” she sobbed. “I love you, and you know I do.”

  “I know, baby,” Ed whispered. “I know you do, and I love you.” He tried to laugh. “We sure picked some funny ways to show it, didn’t we?”

  “All that is gonna change, Ed. I promise you, it will. I need you, Ed. We need each other. Don’t we?”

  “We sure do, baby.”

  “Elsie,” Doc Evans urged, “get out of the way. I’ve got to work on Ed. Go make me a pot of hot water for these instruments.”

  Elsie got up and sniffed a couple of times. She wiped her eyes and her nose with the back of her hand. “Right away, Doc.”

  “Get me some blankets, Frank. I’ve got to work on him right where he is. I don’t want to move him. I’ve got to probe for that bullet.” He looked at Frank. “And you’ve got to hold him down while I do so.”

  Frank nodded his head. “I’ve seen it done before.”

  “I imagine you have.”

  It was a nerve-racking and very painful next few minutes. Big Ed finally, mercifully, passed out from the pain. Doc Evans located the bullet and extracted it from Ed’s chest, then leaned back and wiped his sweaty face, laying aside his bloody instruments.

  “Will he live, Doc?” Elsie asked.

  “He’s got a chance, Elsie. A small one. I won’t lie to you about that. But Ed is strong as a mule, and that will work in his favor. In a few minutes, we’ll get some men in here and move Ed to a bunk here in this building. I don’t want to move him around any more than is absolutely necessary. Not for the next twenty-four hours, at least.”

  “I’ll stay right with him all the time,” Elsie said. “I promise you I will not leave his side.”

  “I know you won’t, Elsie.”

  “How about some coffee, Doc?” Frank asked.

  “Sounds good. I think I could drink a whole pot.”

  Big Ed was moved into the small room where Frank was going to sleep, and made as comfortable as possible in the bunk. A rocking chair was brought over by Jack O’Malley for Elsie. Frank made another pot of coffee and, while the grounds were settling, stepped outside to sit on the bench and roll a cigarette.

  Lara walked over from the hotel to sit beside him. “Is Big Ed going to make it?” she asked.

  “It’s touch and go right now.”

  “Very difficult for me to believe his very own son shot him.”

  “Ed admitted to me that Little Ed is crazy. Told me I’d have to kill him. And don’t give him any chance at all.”

  “How awful!”

  “Yes. Especially about your own son.” Frank shrugged his shoulders. “But this mess has sure brought Ed and Elsie close together.”

  “I heard. And that is also hard to believe.”

  Frank smiled. “It was a shock to me and Tom too.”

  “It’ll be dark soon. Tom and the posse should be riding in any time now. I hope they found Little Ed.”

  “I’d bet they didn’t. That’s rough country Ed took off in. Lots of places for a lone man to hide.”

  “That means you’ll have to go after him, doesn’t it?”

  “Probably.”

  She touched his arm with her small hand. “I hate that. I worried about you every day you were gone.”

  “It’s good to know somebody worried about me. It’s a good feeling, but not a feeling I’m accustomed to.”

  “Get used to it.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Frank replied with a laugh.

  The two of them sat close together on the bench in silence for a few moments, enjoying the coolness of twilight time. The town was closing up and settling down for the evening. Over at the Purple Lily, a woman laughed at something, the shrill sound drifting to the couple seated on the bench.

  “I don’t think that was a very happy laugh,” Lara said. “It sounded . . . well . . . rather sad to me, I suppose.”

  “Paid laughter, Lara. A drink of bad whiskey. A silver dollar given for a few moments of company.”

  “That makes it even sadder.” She looked at him in the waning light. “Have you ever paid a woman for company?”

  “No. I always figured that would be very questionable company at best.”

  “I’m glad” was her only reply.

  Frank looked up the street. “Here comes Tom and the posse. I don’t believe
they found Little Ed.”

  “That means you’ll go after him. When will you leave?”

  “If I go, probably in the morning.”

  “If you go?”

  “I’ll tell Tom my thoughts on it. And they are that it will be useless to go after him. Little Ed will show up around here. I don’t think it will be long either. He’ll come back for clothes and food and money. But he’d better not count on his mother giving it to him.”

  “What do you mean? You think she’ll turn him in?”

  Frank shook his head. “I think she’ll shoot him.”

  * * *

  Big Ed rallied early the next morning and opened his eyes. Elsie called for Frank to please go get Doc Evans. She didn’t want to leave her husband’s side.

  “How do you feel, you big ox?” Doc Evans asked, sitting down on the side of the bunk.

  “Like a man who’s been shot, you old quack,” Ed replied, his voice low.

  Doc Evans smiled at that. “Now that sounds like the Big Ed I know. Let me take a look at that wound.”

  Doc Evans looked at the wound and clucked his approval. “No signs of infection. I think you’re going to be all right, Ed.”

  “Oh, I’m going to make it, Doc. I want to kick the snot out of that worthless son of mine and then turn him over to Tom.”

  “After I get done kickin’ his ass,” Elsie said.

  “Now, now, Elsie,” Big Ed told her. He looked at Frank. “Morgan, I want you to know I never sanctioned no hangin’. That was all Little Ed’s doin’s. I run off some nesters, yeah. I admit that. But I never shot none, and I damn sure never hanged none.”

  “Both of us talk big, Morgan,” Elsie added. “But mainly it’s just talk. There’s been a lot of rumor about us, and that’s mostly all it is, rumor.” She shook her head. “Except for our runnin’ around on each other. I got to admit, that’s pretty much true.”

  “Done out of spite,” Big Ed said. “Pure stupid spite against each other.” His voice was getting weaker. “I got to rest some. Don’t leave me, Elsie.”

  “I won’t, Ed. I promise you I’ll be right here when you wake up.”

  Frank walked outside with Doc Evans. “Really baring their souls in there, aren’t they, Doc?”

  “Sometimes getting real close to death will do that, Frank. I’ve seen it happen more than once. Whether it’ll stay with them after Ed gets on his feet is another matter.”