Bullets & Lies (Talbot Roper 01)

by Randisi, Robert J.

  “I still don’t know—”

  “What I’m talking about, I know,” he said. “That’s why I’m telling you. You told me these men would sign affidavits to the effect that your husband earned his Medal of Honor. Well, they’re not signing. Do you know why? They don’t know anything about your husband being wounded in the war.”

  She stared at him.

  “Why the lies, Mrs. Westover?” he asked. “Why set these men up to be killed, and why would you want me to find them dead? Why send me traipsing around the country for weeks—months—for apparently no reason?”

  “I’m afraid that was my doing,” a voice said.

  They all looked toward the doorway, saw a man standing there with a gun in his hand.

  It was Howard Westover.

  “Now why doesn’t this surprise me?” Roper asked.

  “This is wrong,” Kilkenny suddenly said.

  “What do you mean?” Harwick asked.

  “I’ve been stupid,” the killer said. “Roper’s not comin’ in on the train.”

  “Why do you say that?”

  “Because I wouldn’t,” Kilkenny said.

  “But you said—”

  “I know what I said,” Kilkenny said, cutting him off, “but I’ve changed my mind.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I would suspect—and expect—an ambush at the train station.”

  “So then what is he doing?” the lawyer asked.

  Kilkenny thought a moment, then said, “He got off the station before this and is ridin’ in the rest of the way with the men. He might have even sent one man in by train to check out the station.”

  “To go where?”

  “I’ve got to get my men,” Kilkenny said, ignoring him. “Come on!”

  “Where?”

  Moving away from Harwick, Kilkenny said over his shoulder, “To see your client.”

  59

  Actually, Roper was surprised to see Westover up on his feet, holding a gun, only because the man had seemed so frail when he’d last seen him. But the fact that there was a double cross like this didn’t surprise him at all.

  “I thought he was flat on his back, dyin’,” Wilkins said.

  “I guess that’s what we were supposed to think,” Roper said.

  Victoria Westover walked to her husband and placed her hand on his chest.

  “Let’s get the word from the man himself,” Roper said. “Why do you want all these men dead, Howard?”

  Westover didn’t answer, and his three colleagues all looked away.

  “Wait a minute,” Roper said, looking around. “How stupid am I? I’m the only one who doesn’t know the answer, right?”

  “Put the gun down, Howard,” Templeton said. “You can’t get all of us.”

  “I can get some of you,” Westover said. Watching him, Roper could see that the man was indeed ill; he just wasn’t as close to death’s door as they wanted him to think.

  “What did you all do?” Roper asked. “During the war. What happened?”

  “Well,” Wilkins said, “for one thing, it was Gerry Quinn who gave Westover that festering wound.”

  “I’m glad, at least, that he’s dead,” Victoria said, standing beside her man. The hand holding the gun was not steady, and she seemed to be adding to her husband’s strength.

  There was so much tension in the air, it felt like electricity. Templeton was wearing a gun on his hip; Wilkins and Hampstead were both holding rifles. At any moment the air could be filled with hot lead, and Roper was ready to hit the floor if that happened. Obviously, there was no love lost between Westover and these men.

  “You boys better put those rifles down,” Westover said.

  “I don’t think so,” Templeton said.

  “Then somebody’s going to die today,” Westover said.

  “Now hold on,” Roper said. “Before you fellas start killing each other—or me—I want to know what this is all about.”

  Westover, his wife, and the other three men all exchanged glances.

  “Wow,” Roper said. “Whatever it is, it’s a big secret. Even now, with two of you dead and the rest of you about to shoot each other, you don’t want to talk about it.”

  Roper decided to speak directly to Howard Westover.

  “Why do I think this is partly about you losing your medal?”

  “Medal,” Westover said dismissively. “What good does a medal do anyone?”

  Roper wondered if he was so in the dark that everyone, including even Donald White in Washington, knew what had really gone on among these men.

  Outside Sally Bando walked over to Tommy Dexter and asked, “You see what I see?”

  “Yeah,” Dexter sad. “Dust cloud. Better go inside and let the boss know.”

  Bando nodded and went to the door. When he tried to open it, it wouldn’t budge.

  “Door’s locked,” he said.

  “Knock on it!”

  Bando knocked, then knocked again more insistently.

  “We’re locked out,” he said, trying the doorknob again, “and I don’t like it.”

  “These riders are gettin’ closer,” Dexter said. “See if you can find a window that’ll let you see what the hell is goin’ on.”

  In the rear of the house, Prince decided nobody was going to come running out the back. He started to move around to the side of the house, hoping to see inside. In doing so, he ran into Bando.

  “What’s goin’ on?” he asked.

  “Riders comin’,” Bando said. “I’m tryin’ to tell Roper, but the front door is locked. How about the back?”

  “Locked, too.”

  “You better go to the front and stand with Dex,” Bando said.

  “Right.”

  As Prince continued on to the front of the house, Bando looked at the window in front of him, said, “Aw, shit,” took his gun from his holster, and used it to smash the glass.

  At the sound of the breaking window, Westover’s finger tightened on the trigger and he fired off a shot. Everyone ducked and went for his own gun, or brought up his rifle.

  “Stop! Stop!” Roper shouted, waving his hands.

  Everybody froze.

  “Roper?”

  The detective said, “That’s my man. Sally! In here!”

  Bando appeared behind Westover, one of his hands bloody, the other holding his gun. He reacted immediately and stuck his gun in Westover’s back.

  “Drop it.”

  Westover dropped his gun, and then slumped to the floor. It was as if all his strength was in that gun.

  “Howard,” Victoria said. Unable to hold him up, she went to the floor with him.

  “What happened?” Roper asked Bando.

  “Riders comin’. Lots of them, judging from the amount of dust they’re kickin’ up. The front door was locked so I had to break a window to get in.”

  “You all right?”

  “Yeah, just a cut. Who’s this jasper?” He indicated Westover.

  “Our host,” Roper said.

  “I don’t understand,” Bando said. “I thought he was dyin’.”

  “So did I.” Roper looked at the other three. “I still don’t know what’s going on, but we better get outside.”

  “All right,” Templeton said, while Hampstead and Wilkins nodded.

  “What about Howard?” Victoria said. “You can’t leave him here.”

  The three ex–Union soldiers looked down at their former colleague, then stepped over him to get outside.

  Roper looked down at Victoria and said, “Right now, this is probably the safest place for him.”

  Before he left the room, he picked up Westover’s gun.

  Outside, Roper felt like an ass.

  Not only was he now in a position to be in a huge firefight, but he had gotten Bando and Dex into the same position. All because he had made a bad decision, based not only on Westover’s condition and his wife’s pleas, but on the money she was paying as well.

  “What’s wrong, boss?�
� Bando asked.

  “I’m sorry I got you—uh—into this.”

  “What the hell,” Bando said. “We all gotta do it sometime.”

  Leave it to Sally Bando to put it all in its proper context.

  60

  When Kilkenny came within sight of the house, he reined his horse in. His men followed.

  “What’s wrong?” Harwick asked. He was astride a horse for the first time in a long time.

  “On the porch,” Kilkenny said. “They saw us comin’.”

  “Whataya wanna do, boss?” Eric Striker asked. Striker was Kilkenny’s number two.

  The killer turned in his saddle. He had about thirteen men with him, not counting the lawyer. On the porch he counted about half as many.

  “Eric, take half the men and circle around. I want you to come from the back.”

  “When do we go?”

  “When you hear the first shot,” Kilkenny said. “I’m gonna ride up to the house and talk to Roper.”

  “What for?” Harwick asked.

  “Well,” Kilkenny said, “for one thing, I wanna meet him.”

  “What the hell—” Dexter said.

  “What is it?” Roper said. He had just come out the door with Templeton, Wilkins, and Hampstead behind him.

  “One rider coming, sir,” Prince said.

  “That’s a big man,” Bando said.

  “Yeah,” Roper said. “Kilkenny.”

  As the rider came closer, Roper could see his pale skin and red hair and knew that this was the hired killer, Sean Kilkenny.

  “You wouldn’t happen to know this fella, would you?” Roper asked Prince.

  “No, sir. Why would you think that?”

  “Wouldn’t be the first time the Secret Service employed a killer to do their dirty work for them.”

  “Well, sir, as far as I know, that’s not the case this time.”

  Kilkenny rode right up to them and reined in.

  “Talbot Roper?”

  “That’s me,” the detective said.

  “You’re pretty good,” Kilkenny said. “Took me a while to figure out you wouldn’t be on the train.”

  “And now that you’ve got it figured?”

  “Well, I’ve got a job to do,” Kilkenny said.

  “Yeah,” Roper said, “you’re getting paid to kill these three.”

  “That’s true,” Kilkenny said, “but my job don’t include these other three. You fellas can mount up and ride out.”

  “You’d like that, wouldn’t you?” Roper said. “That’d leave just the four of us.”

  “That’s okay,” Bando said to Kilkenny. “I’ll stay.”

  “Me, too,” Dexter said.

  “And me,” Prince added.

  “You’re outnumbered,” Kilkenny pointed out.

  “So what do you expect us to do, just sit here and let you kill us?” Roper asked. “We’ll take some of you sons of bitches with us.”

  “Probably you among ’em,” Bando said.

  Kilkenny looked at the seven men on the porch. He knew Hampstead wouldn’t be much good with the rifle, but the other six were probably competent.

  “Well, don’t say I didn’t give you a chance.”

  “Whataya got, a dozen men?” Bando asked.

  “More than that.”

  “That’s okay,” Dexter said. “We’re ready.”

  “Got your boss inside,” Roper said.

  “That a fact?”

  “We could make sure nobody’s around to pay you,” the detective said. “Then you’d be risking your life for nothing.”

  “I start a job, I finish it,” Kilkenny said. “I got half my money up front.”

  Damn, Roper thought, they had to run into a killer who had pride in his work.

  “Well,” Kilkenny said, “I’ll give you boys some time to think it over before we come in. Mr. Roper, it was a pleasure meetin’ you.”

  “Mr. Kilkenny,” Roper said, “you got that lawyer out there with you?”

  “Yes, sir, I do.”

  “Why don’t you send him on in?” Roper said. “We’ll let him talk to Mr. and Mrs. Westover, and maybe we can solve this without bloodshed.”

  “Well, sir,” Kilkenny said, “I wouldn’t mind that as long as I still got paid. I’ll send him on in.”

  “Thank you.”

  “I kill for money, Mr. Roper,” Kilkenny said. “There’s nothin’ personal in it.”

  “I understand.”

  “I thought you would.”

  Kilkenny wheeled his horse around and rode back to his men.

  61

  “Prince?”

  “Yes, sir?”

  “Take Templeton and go and have a look in the back.”

  “You thinkin’ he’s gonna split his men into two groups?” Bando asked. “Come in from behind?”

  “That’s what I’d do.”

  “Come on,” Prince said to Templeton, and the two of them went around to the back of the house.

  “You really think that lawyer fella is gonna come ridin’ in here?” Bando asked.

  “I think if Kilkenny tells him to, he will.”

  “You two got yourselves a little admiration society there, don’t ya?”

  “I respect a man who’s good at his job,” Roper said, “even if that job is killing.”

  “You believe that young soldier that Kilkenny ain’t workin’ for the government?”

  “I believe that he believes he’s not.”

  “You want me to what?” Harwick asked.

  “Ride in there and talk to Roper.”

  “B-But…he knows I’m with you?”

  “He does.”

  “How?”

  “Well, I told him.”

  “What?”

  “He asked if you were with me, and I said yes.”

  “Why did you do that?”

  “There wasn’t no reason to lie,” Kilkenny said. “So go on, ride in.”

  “I—I can’t.”

  “You can, and you will,” Kilkenny said. “I said you would.”

  “I think I should go back to—”

  Kilkenny cut him off. “Don’t make me tie you to your horse and send you in there. Besides, you’ll want to talk to your clients. Roper wants to try and settle this with no bloodshed.”

  “And you’re okay with that?”

  “As long as I get paid,” Kilkenny said. “I’m not bloodthirsty, lawyer, but I am money hungry. Now go!”

  The lawyer swallowed hard, but he knew Kilkenny was serious. He would tie him to his saddle.

  Harwick started his horse moving toward the house, briefly considered making a run for it, but he didn’t relish the thought of both Kilkenny and Roper being after him.

  He maintained his course and rode for the house.

  “Here he comes,” Bando said.

  “And he don’t look happy,” Dexter added.

  “Sally,” Roper said, “why don’t you go inside and see how our hosts are doing?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Bando went inside as Harwick reached them.

  “Y-You, uh, wanted to talk to me?” he asked Roper.

  “Don’t be nervous, Harwick,” Roper said. “I’m always suspicious of lawyers, and I was always suspicious of you. So you’ve done nothing to surprise or disappoint me.”

  “Um, all right,” Harwick said. “What do you want with me now?”

  Bando came out of the house. “They’re right where we left them.”

  “Mr. Westover is still alive?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Roper looked at the lawyer.

  “Dismount, Harwick.”

  “Uh—”

  “You heard the man,” Bando said. “Dismount before I drag you down.”

  Harwick hurriedly dismounted, wondering why everybody was threatening him. He’d only been doing his job all along.

  “Go inside and talk to your clients,” Roper said. “Tell them to call off their killer, and pay him off in full. It’s all over. T
here’s no reason for anyone else to die.”

  Harwick started to put his foot on the first step, then hesitated.

  “Well, go ahead,” Roper said. “Nobody’s going to stop you.”

  He came up the steps warily, eyeing the men and their guns, and then went into the house.

  “Hopefully,” Roper said, “by the time he comes out, this will all be over—as far as Kilkenny’s concerned, that is.”

  62

  Harwick walked into the house and saw Victoria Westover sitting on the floor next to her prone husband.

  Her dead husband.

  She looked up at Harwick and said, “He stopped breathing about a minute ago.”

  “Victoria—”

  “I want them all dead, Edward,” she said, tears streaming down her face. “I want them all dead, do you understand?”

  “Yes,” he said. “Yes, I understand, but—”

  She stood up and got right in his face.

  “I don’t know why they sent you in here,” she said, “but you go out and tell them they’re all going to die. And you tell Kilkenny I want them all dead.”

  “Victoria—”

  “I will double his fee.”

  “I don’t know—”

  “And I’ll double yours.”

  He studied her face and knew there was no talking her out of it.

  When Harwick came out, Roper looked at him.

  “Well?”

  “Mr. Westover is dead.”

  “Well, that’s too bad,” Roper said. He looked at the others. Wilkins and Hampstead didn’t look all broken up about it.

  “What about Victoria?” Roper asked.

  “She wants you all dead,” the lawyer said. “She said she’ll double Kilkenny’s fee—and mine.”

  “Is that a fact?”

  “And I guess you didn’t try to talk her out of it, did you?” Bando asked.

  “I did try,” Harwick said. “It was no use.”

  Roper looked at the three Civil War vets and asked, “Doesn’t Westover being dead end it? Huh?”

  They stared back at him, but before one of them could answer, Dexter said, “Whatever it means to them, it ain’t over for Kilkenny. Not as long as she’s gonna pay—and double!”

  “But he doesn’t know that,” Roper said. “He doesn’t know she’s going to pay him double, does he?”

  “Well,” Harwick said, “I have to go back and tell him. He’s expecting me.”