Killer Take All

by William W. Johnstone; J. A. Johnstone

  “What is it? What’s funny?”

  “I’m sorry. It’s the way you talk. You have a lingua elegans that one wouldn’t expect from a lady who works as a saloon hostess.”

  “I have a what?” Kay replied, her tone of voice reflecting some irritation from the remark.

  “I’m sorry. Please, I meant the comment to be a compliment. I was referring to the sophistication of your language.”

  Smiling, Kay affected a heavy Southern accent. “Well, honey, just ’cause I’m a Southern girl from Jackson doesn’t mean I don’t know a subject from a verb.” Dropping the accent, she continued. “I attended the University of Mississippi for two years, dropping out to come marry Lieutenant Andrew Knox. You know the rest of the story.”

  “Yes, ma’am, I do. Kay . . . may I call you Kay?”

  “Of course you may.”

  “Kay, I’m sorry you have put yourself in danger, but I’m glad that you came. From what you have just told me, I feel much more confident about my future, which, under the circumstances, will also be your future.”

  “I’m glad you feel so confident about it. Your confidence makes me somewhat less afraid.”

  Jake reached out to take her hand. “And I don’t mind telling you, I appreciate the company.”

  “All right,” Kay said with a chuckle. “But when we get back to Chugwater, you owe me a drink of tea.”

  “Which I will gladly buy,” Jake said, sharing the laugh.

  Chapter Twenty-nine

  “What do you mean one of the saloon whores is out at the cabin? How did she turn up there?” Collins asked.

  “According to what she said when she rode up, she was just out ridin’ ’n seen the cabin ’n got curious,” Hawken said.

  “Is she still there?”

  “Yeah, I mean, she’s seen the real Poindexter, so it ain’t like we could let her go. Butrum’s watchin’ her now. Hell, he’s watchin’ both of ’em there at the line shack.”

  “That’s true. As long as she’s alive, she is a threat to us all.”

  “You said as long as she’s alive. What if she ain’t alive?” Hawken asked.

  “Yes, if she . . . no, wait. She may be a threat to us, but she might also offer an opportunity. We’ll keep watch on both of them.” Collins cackled a ribald laugh. “A man and a woman put together in drastic circumstances, who knows what will happen?”

  Cheyenne

  It had taken two days for Roy Streeter to find men to do his job. He was in the Bella Union Saloon with the three men he had picked. As they were sharing a beer, he compiled a mental resume for each of them.

  Simon Newcomb got his nose bitten off in a fight with another inmate while was incarcerated in the Arizona Territorial Prison. Because of that, his nose was little more than two holes just above his lips. The result was one of the ugliest man Streeter had ever seen. A few years ago he had seen Newcomb shoot and kill Orson Dumas, who was himself a deadly shot. Streeter didn’t know how many men Newcomb had killed, but he was sure it was more than one.

  Clarence Rand, the second of the three, had dark brown eyes, black hair, and a beard. Rand had served ten years in prison for bank robbery. He was tried at the same time for the murder of a deputy sheriff, but because there were no witnesses to the killing and only circumstantial evidence, a slick lawyer got him off the murder charge.

  The third man, Doc Wilson, was clearly the most dangerous of the three, but he had never served a day in prison. It was said of him that he had killed twelve men, and Streeter was personally aware of at least three of Doc Wilson’s victims. Though he was called “Doc,” Wilson was neither a physician nor a dentist, but got the name because he had almost surgically dissected the body of more than one of the men he had killed.

  “When’s this here train sposed to get to Cheyenne?” Rand asked.

  “Tomorrow.”

  “Where’s the money?” Doc Wilson asked.

  “I don’t have all of the money with me,” Streeter replied.

  “Why not? Didn’t you say we would get a hunnert dollars apiece for the job?”

  “Yes, and you will, after the job is done. I’ll give each of you fifty dollars now, ’n you’ll have to trust me for the rest.”

  Doc Wilson chuckled a low, growling type of chuckle. “You don’t understand, do you, Streeter? It ain’t that I have to trust you. You’re goin’ to have to trust me.”

  “What do you mean?” Streeter was made somewhat uncomfortable by Doc Wilson’s comment.

  “’Cause after we kill these two fellers you’re a-wantin’ us to kill, if you don’t give us the rest of the money, I’ll kill you. ’N you can count on that.”

  “No, you won’t kill ’m,” Newcomb said.

  For a moment Streeter thought he had an ally.

  “Iffen he don’t give us the money he owes us, we’ll kill ’im,” Newcomb added as a humorless smile spread across his lips.

  “I don’t know what you men are a-gettin’ all hepped up about,” Streeter said, trying to reassert some control over the situation. “It’s a simple enough job. We’ll pick us a good place on the road between here ’n Chugwater ’n when we get the chance, we’ll shoot’em down. After we’ve kilt both of ’em, I’ll take the three of you to the place where I’ve put the money, ’n I’ll give each of you the rest of the hunnert dollars.”

  “Sounds like a simple enough job to me. ’N an easy enough way to make a hunnert dollars.” Rand smiled. “’N I got plans for that money.”

  “Plannin’ on spendin’ it all on whores, are you?” Newcomb asked with a laugh.

  “You got any better ideas on how to spend it?” Rand replied.

  The other three men laughed, though Streeter’s laughter was more from relief that they were no longer talking about killing him.

  On board the Union Pacific “California Special”

  The conductor came walking through the Pullman car. “Folks,” he called out. “It’s seven o’clock. We’ll be arriving in Cheyenne at eight o’clock. If any of you are plannin’ on eatin’ breakfast in the dining car, now would be the time to do so.”

  Traveling through the car, he repeated his call three more times before he exited through the back door.

  Although they had abandoned the private car in Chicago, Duff, Meagan, and Elmer were still traveling first class thanks to Preston Poindexter’s largesse.

  Meagan heard a tap on the door of her roomette.

  “Meagan?” It was Duff’s voice.

  “Go away. I’m still sleeping.”

  “Lass, you’ve not long left before—”

  Meagan, who was fully dressed, jerked the door open and laughed.

  “I thought you said—”

  “I’m a fast dresser. I’m also hungry.”

  “I’ll gather the other two,” Duff offered.

  As it turned out, Elmer and Pete, like Meagan, were already up and dressed so the four walked through the intermediate cars that separated them from the diner. Luckily they were among the earliest diners and were able to find a table they could share. Duff and Meagan sat on one side, and Elmer and Pete sat on the other.

  “We left our horses in Cheyenne, but we’ll have to buy or rent one for you,” Duff said.

  “I would prefer to buy a horse.”

  “Can you ride, Cap’n?” Elmer asked. “Or maybe you’d rather rent a buggy.”

  “I’m not what you call an accomplished rider, but I am certainly capable of staying in the saddle. I have no wish to rent a buggy.”

  Elmer chuckled. “Well, all you have to do is stay in the saddle long enough ’n you’ll get where you’re going.”

  Their breakfast was delivered then and for the next several minutes their conversation was subdued as they ate.

  Cheyenne Depot

  Streeter, Newcomb, Rand, and Doc Wilson waited at the depot but not in the waiting room, or even on the platform. Waiting there would put them in plain view of the arriving passengers. They were actually just outside the freight off
ice, from which position they would be able to see the detraining passengers without exposing themselves.

  “You’re sure they’ll be on this train?” Doc Wilson asked.

  “Yeah, I’m sure. The information I got was that Poindexter left the train in Chicago, ’n MacCallister ’n Gleason come on by their ownselves. Well, not quite by their ownselves, seein’ as I reckon the woman is still with ’em. So they’ll be here unless they decided to get off the train somewhere between here ’n Chicago, which ain’t very likely.”

  “Will you recognize ’em?” Rand asked.

  “Oh yeah. I’ve seen ’em both a bunch o’ times, comin’ into town like they was kings or somethin’,” Streeter said. “I’ve seen the woman too, so they ain’t likely to get by without—” He for a moment, then he continued. “There! There them sons of the devil is.”

  “Which ones?”

  “Them two right there with that woman.”

  “She bein’ there don’t matter none,” Doc Wilson said. “We can kill her as easy as we can MacCallister ’n Gleason.”

  “You won’t go cuttin’ her up though, will you, Doc?” Newcomb asked. “Leastwise not right away.”

  “Who’s that other man with ’em?” Rand asked.

  “I don’t have no idea. More ’n likely it’s just someone they met on the train. He ain’t our problem.”

  “What if he’s with ’em?” Newcomb asked. “What I mean is, what if he’s also goin’ to Chugwater ’n decides to go along with ’em?”

  “Then we’ll kill him, too.”

  * * *

  “I’ve been thinking about it,” Duff said to Pete. “’N ’tis thinking I am that we should be for taking you to my ranch before we go into town. You’ll be safer there.”

  “Yes, I think that’s probably a pretty good idea,” Meagan said.

  “Safe? Why should my safety be an issue? I’m in no danger. My son is the one who is in danger.”

  “May I remind you that your son was not on the train coming from New York, and yet we were fired upon? Someone tried to kill you,” Meagan pointed out.

  “Yes, I guess that is true, isn’t it?” Pete replied. He turned toward Duff. “All right. I hereby place myself under your command until all this is over, and as such, I will follow all your instructions.”

  Elmer chuckled. “Hell, Cap’n, you sorta been under his command ever since we left New York.”

  Pete laughed as well.

  * * *

  “Right here,” Streeter said. “I picked this place out when I come up to Cheyenne yesterday. Doc, you ’n Newcomb get over on the other side of the road behind them rocks. That way they won’t nobody that’s a-comin’ up from the south that’ll be able to see you.” He pointed to the opposite side of the road. “Me ’n Rand will be over here.” He figured Rand was less frightening.

  “Iffen you seen this place yesterday ’n figured out this is where we was goin’ to wait to kill ’em then I reckon this is where you got the rest of the money hid, ain’t it?” Doc Wilson asked before anyone got into position.

  “No, it ain’t here, but I got it somewhere safe,” Streeter said.

  “Is it easy to get to?” Newcomb asked. “Reason I asked is, after we get the job done we ain’t a-goin’ to be wantin’ to wait around for a long time a-fore we get the rest of what’s comin’ to us.”

  “It’s close by.” Streeter pointed across the road. “Now go on over there ’n get in position. They only got eight miles to come ’n we prob’ly didn’t get that much of a head start on ’em. I don’t reckon it’ll be that long before we see ’em comin’ down the road.”

  * * *

  Duff and Elmer were riding in front while Meagan and Pete were bringing up the rear.

  “Duff, stop,” she called.

  The little group of riders came to a halt.

  “What is it, lass? Why do you wish to stop?”

  “This is where it happened before.”

  “Where what happened before?” Elmer asked.

  “This is where I got shot.”

  “Aye, ’twas here that Creech ’n the brigand with him ambushed us.”

  Meagan frowned. “I’ve got a feeling, Duff. Something isn’t right.”

  “It’s prob’ly just cause you was shot here is all,” Elmer said.

  Duff stood in his stirrups and looked down the road. He hadn’t experienced any apprehension before, but now that Meagan had brought it up, he too was feeling a bit disquieted.

  Elmer noticed Duff’s reaction. “You think maybe there’s somethin’ to it, Duff?”

  “Aye, there could be. Meagan, you and Pete get off the road ’n wait in the same ditch you and I did the last time we were here. Elmer ’n I will ride on through. If we are nae fired on, I’ll call you on through. If we are attacked, the two of you wait here.”

  “Mr. Poindexter can wait here, but I’m also armed,” she said. “And if shooting starts and you are greatly outnumbered, you’ll need my gun.”

  “Nae, lass,” Duff said authoritatively. “Your job will be to get Pete to safety.”

  “Duff’s right, Meagan,” Elmer added.

  Reluctantly, Meagan turned and started toward the ditch that paralleled the road. “Come along, Mr. Poindexter.”

  Pete followed her lead without protest.

  * * *

  “What the hell?” Rand said when he saw Meagan and the older man pull away from the others. “What’s goin’ on? Why are they doin’ that?”

  Streeter had seen the same thing. Cupping his hands around his mouth, he called across the road, modulating his volume so that he hoped only Doc Wilson and Newcomb would be able to hear him. “Doc, somethin’s gone wrong. We need to call this off.”

  “I ain’t walkin’ away from this,” Wilson called back, making no attempt to modulate his volume.

  Immediately following his shout, he and Newcomb stepped out into the road and started shooting.

  “That’s a dumb thing for them to do!” Streeter said. “I’m getting the hell out of here!”

  “Me too!” Rand said as he and Streeter scrambled to their horses.

  * * *

  “Duff!” Elmer shouted as the two men appeared in the road in front of them, blazing away.

  Duff wasn’t hit, but he could hear pops of the bullets as they passed by.

  Although Wilson and Newcomb shot first, they didn’t shoot accurately. Duff did shoot accurately and it required only two shots to bring the attackers down.

  As the echo of the last gunshot faded away, Duff and Elmer sat quietly on their horses, holding guns at the ready.

  Meagan came riding up behind them.

  “Meagan, go back. Wait until ’tis all clear,” Duff ordered.

  “It’s clear. There were two more, but I saw them riding away, fast.”

  Duff, Elmer, and Meagan approached the two men who lay on the road about thirty yards in front of them. Elmer dismounted, then turned both of them over with his foot.”

  “This one is Simon Newcomb,” Elmer said. “I know for sure who that ugly demon is, seein’ as his nose was bit off ’n I’ve seen him before. I don’t know this other ’n though.”

  “Hmm. Neither of them are with the C and FL,” Duff said. “I wonder why they attacked us.”

  “None of the people who attacked while we were on the train were with the C and FL either,” Meagan said. “But there’s no doubt that they were doing it for the C and FL.”

  Duff nodded. “Aye, lass, I see your point. These two were probably sent by the C and FL to do what the other attackers weren’t successful in doing.”

  “What are we gonna do with Newcomb ’n this other feller?” Elmer asked.

  “We’ll pull them off the road, then tell Marshal Coats about them when we get to Walbach,” Duff said. “Meagan, if you would be for bringing Pete up, we’ll resume our journey.”

  “All right,” Meagan said.

  As she rode back to get Poindexter, Duff dismounted to pull one of the bodies off th
e road. Elmer took care of the other one.

  Chapter Thirty

  They reached Sky Meadow in the early afternoon and were welcomed by Wang Chow. He told them of the visit they had from some of the railroad police. “They said they were looking at land that they would soon take,” Wang said.

  “I don’t know who those men are, but they are not railroad police for the C and FL,” Pete said. “I never use railroad police to enforce any land acquisitions. I have always done it by negotiation until we reach a mutually agreed-upon settlement. And I have authorized no one to act as railroad police for the C and FL.”

  “I didn’t think you would,” Elmer said. “That’s what made me think there was somethin’ fishy ’bout this whole thing, ’n that’s why we come to New York to talk to you in the first place.”

  Cong Sing came up to where Duff and the others were and, putting his hands together prayerlike, he made a slight dip of his head. “It is good to see that you have safely returned, Xiangshen MacCallister.”

  “Thank you, Cong Sing.”

  Duff introduced Pete to Cong Sing, telling Cong Sing that Pete was the father of Jake Poindexter. Then he told him that he was certain the man who was passing himself off as Jake was an imposter.

  “I’m not quite sure what is happening out here,” Pete said, “but I intend to get to the bottom of it, put a stop to it, then build a railroad that everyone here, whether urban or rural will be well served and happy with the result.”

  “W rènwéi t knéng shìgè horén,” Cong Sing said to Wang Chow.

  “Thank you for saying I am a good man,” Pete said. “I will try to live up to your expectations.”

  “You speak our language,” Cong Sing said, surprised by the fact.

  Pete smiled. “W zài hishàng de shíhòu, W du cì fngwèn Zhongguó

  “What did you just tell them?” Meagan asked.

  “I told Mr. Cong that when I was at sea, I visited China many times.”

  “I’m quite impressed,” she said. “Duff, I thank you for taking me to New York with you. I feel privileged to have met Mr. Poindexter. I loved visiting the city and I loved seeing your cousins Andrew and Roseanne star in the play, The Way Home. Every moment of the trip was very exciting, though I must confess that I could have done without some of the excitement.” She smiled at her comment.