"Why did he come back?"
"Zeke wanted to give the gold to the orphanage to keep it running. What I made at the whorehouse was a drop in the bucket compared to what they need. He always was a smart one, that Zeke Morrisey." Abigail smiled wanly. "Now the orphanage will close, Zeke is dead and...what are you going to do with me?"
"You didn't steal anything and there's no bounty on your head that I know of. It's legal to be a whore in Fort Worth, if the house pays the license fee to the marshal."
"I suppose Miss Purdy paid up." Abigail sounded skeptical. Kate didn't blame her for such doubt. Rather than money changing hands, the marshal or whoever else collected the fees might take it out in service provided by unpaid girls.
"If I told you just to walk away, where would you go?"
"Back to the orphanage. I have a job there. Or I will until the place closes."
"And then?"
Kate watched her closely in the dark. Resolve hardened Abigail's tender face.
"Me and a couple of the girls will strike out on our own. We'll find a way to keep going." She turned and looked even more resolute. "I don't mean going back to Fort Worth and selling ourselves, either. We'll find something to do. We'll get by just fine, no matter how hard it is."
Kate believed her. Just as she believed J.D. would be back any time now.
* * *
The sun stood directly overhead when J.D. dismounted and staked his horse to a low bush to keep it from wandering off. He kept a low rise between him and Davis, sure that the man had located the rest of the money from his illegal activities. Making his way up the hill took a while since he walked carefully, every step certain not to break a twig or crush dried grass under his soles. At the crest, he dropped low and scouted the area near a rapidly running stream. Only a few trees grew but the undergrowth made approaching Davis difficult.
The robber had tethered his two horses at the edge of the stream, allowing them to drink while he thrust his face into the cold water. He shook off the water, then stood and turned in a full circle, taking his time. His sharp eyes hunted for any sign that he had been followed or had come on other travelers. J.D. froze, hardly daring to breath when Davis stared straight at him. Then he spun about, as if to catch someone creeping up on his from behind. He had missed seeing his real danger.
He was alone and finally accepted the fact. He threw back his head and laughed long and hard, then pulled his horses from the stream and walked them toward a limestone outcropping a ways upstream. As he walked, J.D. took the opportunity to close the gap between them. When Davis stopped at a slab of limestone, J.D. was only a few yards away.
The outlaw dived under the overhang and burrowed about for a full minute before drawing back. He dragged a strongbox out into the sun. With a flourish he threw back the lid and grabbed a handful of scrip. The greenbacks fluttered a little in the autumn wind, pleasing Davis because he laughed again.
The laugh died when he realized he wasn't alone. He dropped the money into the iron box and swung around, getting his feet under him. With his hand hovering over the six-gun on his hip he faced J.D.
"Son of a bitch, how'd you sneak up on me like that? I'm better at trackin' than you."
"Might be we let you think that."
"You never knew I was close enough to spit in your coffee every morning," Davis said. For a moment he stayed in the gunfighter's crouch, then slowly straightened. "There's no need for us to get nervy about this. There's plenty here for both of us."
"It would have to be a three-way split."
"Three?" Davis squinted. "You mean your missus gets a full cut? There's more for you if we go fifty-fifty."
"Maybe that's not such a good idea. You almost shot her. Or was it me you were aiming at back at the doctor's office?"
"I hit what I aimed at. If I'd wanted you dead, you wouldn't be here dickering for a bigger cut."
"That's right. You wanted us to find the girl and the gold from the robbery. What's that in the strongbox?"
"Wichita Falls wasn't my first robbery. I've been saltin' it away so I can take my leave down in Mexico. The law's gettin' too close."
"Another bank? A train? Maybe a stagecoach?"
"You don't need to know where it came from if you're cuttin' yourself into my poke."
J.D. saw the way Davis' right hand twitched slightly.
"Why don't you come over and take what you want and—"
Davis' hand flew for his six-shooter. He was fast, as fast as any gunman J.D. had ever seen. But he wasn't fast enough. J.D. cleared leather, got off a first shot and had his Colt cocked for a second when he realized there wouldn't be any need to waste the ammo. His first shot had struck Davis just under the badge he had stolen from the real deputy marshal. For an instant Davis stood, pistol half out of his holster, looking down at his chest. He likely never saw the blood begin to blossom above where the lead had ripped through his heart. His legs turned to water, and he dropped bonelessly to the stream bank.
J.D. approached slowly. He had an instinct about how accurate a shot was. This felt right on target. The sight of the bloody splotch confirmed his accuracy. He kicked the gun from Davis' limp fingers, then sat and counted the money in the strongbox. When he finished, he let out a low whistle and said, "You've been one bad hombre. Real bad."
Then he closed the box and secured it to the pack horse. When he was certain nothing would fall off, he hoisted Davis' corpse belly down over his horse and secured him to the saddle. He made the return to find Kate slowly so as not to tire out the horses with their burdens.
He found her and Abigail in the stand of trees near the stock pond at sundown the next day.
Chapter Thirteen
"There's close to four thousand dollars in greenbacks in that box," Kate said, eyes wide. "With the gold from the bank robbery, we're looking at quite a pile."
"I can't imagine there's any way to tell where the scrip came from," J.D. said, riffling through a stack of bills. "Some of this is almost worthless, soaked from water and other bills are brittle from too much sunlight. The gang—or Davis—has been working quite a spell to accumulate so much."
"It's safe to say that this is the spoils from quite a few robberies. There's no way we can find whose it is and return it."
"The stash is at least a year old, is my guess. That means we should keep the money since we're not likely to get much for cutting down the entire gang, unless we can convince that Marshal Fredericks we got the man who killed his deputy."
"It's wrong to keep calling that Henry Davis." Kate spat the words. "He killed the real Henry Davis, who took him on alone. Abigail thinks his name might be Nesbitt. We can use that as a place to start, to find out if there is a reward on his head."
"He wasn't anywhere near as smart as he thought. In truth, he was downright foolish. He should never have hired a pair of shootists, maybe a husband and wife team, to do the hard work for him." J.D. lounged back and looked knowingly at Kate. She laughed and he felt good, damned good, about everything that had happened.
Then Abigail spoke up and ruined the mood.
"What are you going to do with me?"
J.D. glanced at his wife, then said, "There's nothing you did against the law. You weren't in on the robbery. That was all Zeke Morrisey's doing. If anything, you deserve some sort of reward for bringing him to justice."
"And Three-fingers Frank Bell," added Kate. "You were the bait that drew them."
"But you did know the gold wasn't Zeke's and that he'd stolen it. He told you where it was, so that makes you an accomplice."
"Nobody," Kate said, quickly seeing the horror on the girl's face, "need know that. We return the gold to the bank, deliver Davis'—Nesbitt's—his—body," she corrected, looking at the corpse slung over the horse, "to go with the rest of the gang, and the law is happy. The Wichita Falls marshal isn't going to come after you. He didn't even put out a posse to find his dead deputy."
"So I can go?" Abigail moved hesitantly toward the horse carrying the gold and green
backs. "That's not my horse. That belongs to the orphanage. You've got it "
"We can make it on back to Fort Worth with our horses and his." J.D. went to the horse and pulled the outlaw's body off, letting it crash to the ground. "Go on and take it. This one's better than the nag carrying the loot."
"J.D., a word." Kate took his arm and led him out of Abigail's earshot.
"What are you thinking? I'm not sure I like it, and I'm not even sure what it is." He stared at her, knowing what she intended. It wasn't far from what went through his own mind.
"We'll make plenty off the reward for the bank loot. With some determined argument, we can get rewards off Bell and the other two. It might not be much, but there must be some reward to bring in the killer of a deputy marshal."
"You're saying we don't need the money other than the gold?" He sucked his gums for a moment as he thought, then said, "Without that money, we wouldn't have enough to take a vacation at Manitou Springs. No soaking in those sulfur baths. You liked Navajo Springs. And the Barker Hotel serves the finest food we've found west of the Mississippi. You'll give it all up?"
He read the answer in her broad smile.
"What if she takes the money and rides off? We don't know she didn't take a bigger part in the robbery."
"Her word seems good to me."
"She was working as a whore, and a bank robber trusted her enough to tell her where he hid the gold—after he double-crossed his partners. She had to know Morrisey was up to no good."
"It was for the orphanage."
"So she says." J.D. took a deep breath and came to a conclusion.
They walked back to where Abigail nervously shifted from one foot to the other. She held the horse around the neck, as if they intended to take it from her. J.D. saw the effects of living in an orphanage in her behavior, in spite of her claims that the orphanage had treated her and Zeke well. Or as well as any institution could.
"What would you do with the money? The greenbacks?"
Abigail's eyes went wide.
"It would be more than enough to save the orphanage. It...will you let me take that money?"
"The horse is yours—or it belongs to the orphanage. We'll keep the gear, but you can take the money," Kate said. She handed the heavy box to the girl. "Here. I'll help you secure it to the horse. You obviously can ride without a saddle since you got this far bareback."
"There were only a couple saddles at the orphanage. I never rode on one until I was fifteen." She threw her arms around Kate and hugged her. Then she turned to J.D. and duplicated the action. She pulled back a few inches. He saw something born in her eyes but wasn't quick enough to avoid the big, juicy kiss she planted on his lips. She hastily released him and smoothed her skirts. "Thank you, thank you both. You don't know what this means."
She pulled herself up onto the horse, balanced the strongbox in front of her, waved jauntily and rode away.
J.D. and Kate watched until she disappeared over a rise.
"How long?" Kate asked.
"Another ten minutes ought to do. Now how can we spend the time?"
"Well, I'm not kissing those lips." She wiped his mouth with her sleeve. Only then did she kiss him.
After a few minutes, they parted and looked silently at each other. As Kate got the horse ready, J.D. heaved the body of Deputy Davis' killer onto the pack animal. If they claimed the horses, they had two sturdy mounts to sell and fatten their poke, along with Nesbitt's gear. J.D. stepped up. Kate was already in the saddle. Depending on how the next few hours went, they might have even more money, making the trip to the Manitou Springs spa possible.
They rode until twilight.
"She's hitching up the horse onto the buggy."
"And heading toward the foster home," Kate said. "That doesn't mean anything."
They trailed Abigail until she got to the orphanage's front door. She secured the horse, then cried out. An old man and a younger woman came out. Abigail took them by the arms and steered them to the buggy. From their cries of joy, they saw the box filled with money. The woman hugged Abigail, the old man steadied himself against the buggy. Then the three hugged.
"He must be the founder," Kate said.
"Yeah. They're taking the money inside." J.D. felt a small glow of satisfaction as more and more lights came on in the building. When a large cheer echoed out, followed by those same voices joining in a hymn a few minutes later, he turned his horse's face toward Fort Worth. Kate trotted alongside.
"It'll be snowy and cold up in Manitou Springs. I don't cotton much to the cold."
"But the springs would be warm. And the bed at the Barker is mighty soft."
"It gets warm if there are people moving around under those covers."
J.D. thought a moment, then said, "It might be a week or so settling accounts with the Wichita Falls marshal. We might see if the covers on that bed in the El Paso Hotel warm up the same way."
"Or better than the ones in the Barker Hotel. We can see if it's not better." Kate grinned at his approval of such an experiment.
"Race you to the hotel!"
Riding all night, they reached the hotel—and the bed—well before sunup.
BLAZE!
The All-New Adult Western Series
BLAZE! by Stephen Mertz
J.D. and Kate Blaze are two of the deadliest gunfighters the Old West has ever seen. They also happen to be husband and wife, as passionate in their love for each other as they are in their quest for justice on the violent frontier!
BLAZE! is the first novel in a thrill-packed, all-new Adult Western series created by bestselling action/adventure author Stephen Mertz. J.D. and Kate find themselves facing a deadly ambush by Apaches, then they're hired to track down a gang of ruthless outlaws led by the beautiful, savage bandit queen Rosa Diablo. It's gun-swift excitement all the way in this gritty tale from Stephen Mertz.
BLAZE! #2: THE DEADLY GUNS by Robert J. Randisi
Husband and wife gunfighters Kate and J.D. Blaze are hired to track down a gang of rustlers, but what they don't know is that they're going to find themselves in the middle of a three-cornered war, playing each side against the others. If they're lucky they'll collect three payoffs instead of one...but will those payoffs be in gold—or hot lead?!
Legendary Western author Robert J. Randisi, creator of The Gunsmith, joins the Blaze! team with this fast-action novel of treachery, revenge, passion, and blistering gunplay. From the finest hotels in Denver to a savage showdown in a ghost town, The Deadly Guns is adventure all the way!
BLAZE! #3: BITTER VALLEY by Wayne D. Dundee
J.D. and Kate Blaze, the Old West's only pair of husband-and-wife gunfighters, just want to enjoy their vacation in a beautiful Colorado valley, calling it the honeymoon they never had. But a runaway buggy draws them into a deadly vendetta that threatens the life of one of J.D.'s old friends. Belle Braeden, once a San Francisco soiled dove, is now the wife of one of Colorado's richest ranchers, a fact that the man's spoiled children don't appreciate. When murder strikes, Kate and J.D. have to track down a killer and fight for their own lives against a gang of deadly bushwhackers!
Wayne D. Dundee, one of today's bestselling and most acclaimed Western authors, spins a lightning-fast, action-packed yarn in BITTER VALLEY, the third book in the all-new BLAZE! series. Trouble always seems to follow J.D. and Kate Blaze, and they answer with hot lead!
BLAZE! #4: SIX-GUN WEDDING by Jackson Lowry
The only thing J.D. and Kate Blaze planned to do in the settlement of Wilderness, Wyoming, was attend the wedding of one of Kate's friends. Instead outlaws launch a bloody raid on the church in the middle of the ceremony and kidnap the groom. It's up to J.D. and Kate, the wild West's only husband-and-wife gunfighters, to track down the gang, rescue the groom, and find out the reason behind the shocking violence.
Acclaimed Western author Jackson Lowry (THE SONORA NOOSE and WEST OF THE BIG RIVER: THE ARTIST) spins a colorful, action-packed yarn in SIX-GUN WEDDING, the fourth book in the bestsell
ing Adult Western series BLAZE!
BLAZE! #5: AMBUSHED by Michael Newton
It was one of the most brutal crimes Nevada had ever seen—a stagecoach and everyone in it chopped to pieces by a hail of bullets from a Gatling gun. Now husband-and-wife gunfighters J.D. and Kate Blaze are on the trail of the mass murderers, determined to bring them to justice and discover the motive for this savage slaughter. Before they find the truth, though, J.D. and Kate will have to pit six-shooter and Winchester against the terrible fury of a killing machine!
Award-winning Western writer Michael Newton joins the BLAZE! team with an action-packed novel rooted in the bloody history of the Old West. One of the most popular and acclaimed authors of Western, crime, and adventure novels for the past 30 years, Newton spins a compelling tale of violence and deadly secrets in AMBUSHED!
BLAZE #6: ZOMBIES OVER YONDER by Stephen Mertz
It's the wildest BLAZE! adventure yet, as J.D. and Kate investigate the mysterious death of a mine owner and find themselves facing a danger unlike any they've ever encountered. From bloodthirsty outlaws to cold-blooded killers to marauding Indians, they thought they had seen it all—but the looming castle atop a ridge near the settlement of Yonder, Arizona, holds something new and deadly. It's the Old West's only team of husband-and-wife gunfighters versus a sinister count and his walking dead minions—and hot lead may not be enough to stop them!
Legendary action writer Stephen Mertz spins a fast-paced yarn filled with suspense, horror, and non-stop action in ZOMBIES OVER YONDER!
BLAZE #7 HATCHET MEN
War erupts in San Francisco, and Kate and J.D. Blaze are caught in the middle! With the hatchet men of the Chinese tongs on one side and the gamblers and outlaws of the Barbary Coast on the other, the streets of the city by the bay will run red with blood if Kate and J.D. can't uncover the sinister truth behind a wave of kidnapping and killing. It'll take all their cunning—and their deadly skill with their six-guns—to put a stop to an unholy scheme!
Blaze! Hell's Half Acre Page 10
