Good Day for a Hanging (Book Two of the Western Serial Killers series)

by Hestand, Rita

  "I hope not, he's the only doc we have."

  "Yeah…I know."

  Ruby looked into his anguished brown eyes as concern laced her word. "You don't seriously think the Doc had anything to do with it, do you?"

  Jim shook his head. "No…of course not. Granted he is capable of cutting someone up like that, but I don't think his mind runs in that direction. I don't think he could hold up to that kind of torture. But whoever did it, could be a doctor. And if the town ever had a piece of evidence, God help him and me both, they might try to waylay the doc. It'd be a lynch mob."

  "There's a lot of people that can slaughter cattle pretty well. That leaves them open too. Could even be one of the ranchers, themselves."

  Jim looked surprised. "I wouldn't have thought about that, but…I could check some of them around here out. Smitty and I aren't through warning everyone yet, anyway."

  "It would be a start. You haven't ruled out a woman, have you?"

  "Pretty much, why?"

  "Well, a woman can cut a chicken, not much difference if you think about it." Ruby laughed, trying to tease him into a better mood.

  "That's not funny, honey. I've considered it, but she would have to be powerful strong to lift the body and carry it around, besides, the nails driven into the scarecrow were solid. I don't think a woman can handle a hammer that well."

  She shook her head with a smile, indulging him his fantasy that women were weak. "Just trying to lighten your mood. Look, you won't solve this tonight, so you might as well relax and have a beer." Ruby offered.

  "Alright, maybe one would wash out the dust." Jim smiled sexily at her.

  Ruby went to the bar and brought back a mug of beer.

  "I been missing you coming in, but I knew you were busy." Ruby's glance met his and his eyes darkened. More than anything, he wanted to make Ruby his wife, but with the murders hanging over him, the time wasn't right.

  "I want you to keep your ears open Ruby. Anything that doesn't sound right let me know. Will ya?" Jim asked bending closer so he could kiss her cheek.

  "I will. You know I will." She blushed at his bold move, but from her smile he knew she liked it.

  "Has there been much talk around here?"

  "About the murders?"

  "Yeah."

  "You might as well know, everyone is speculating. No one talks about it aloud. They whisper their suspicions. It's like people are scared or something. Even all the talk about the cattle being sold somewhere else has died down. People come in, order a drink, and usually leave. No one seems to want to start a ruckus or anything. I personally think the town is spooked. Never seen them like this before." Ruby went to the bar to get some coffee. She brought it back and sat even closer to him. "Gives me the willies just thinking about it."

  "And it's only gonna get worse as time goes on, if I don't catch them." Jim replied.

  "Don't you have any clues?"

  He scoffed at that. "Me and the doc have narrowed it down to a cowboy, undertaker, doctor, or butcher and maybe even an undertaker."

  "That's a lot of people."

  "I know, that's the problem. But my daddy always told me that people like this slip up after a while. They get too comfortable with getting away with it, or they want to be caught in the first place."

  "He was a wise man."

  "Smitty and I rode out the other day and warned several of the ranchers. Most have moved their families to town."

  "Do you think the killer would harm women and children?" Ruby asked her brow furrowing.

  "Right now, I have no idea. I don't know what I'm looking for, Ruby. I came in here to relax and try to get my head to work again. I've done nothing but think about this since it happened. I haven't gotten much sleep. I gotta be alert if I want to catch this monster. Of course seeing you does stir my blood."

  "Why don't you go up to my room and rest for a while. No one will bother you there." Ruby suggested.

  "I can't, honey. I've got to wire around, see if anything like this is happening anywhere else. No time for rest right now. Besides, with this hanging over me, I couldn't rest well anyway. But thanks for the offer."

  "You be careful Jim…" Ruby put her hand over his.

  "I'm gonna try. See ya later." He smiled and left.

  Seeing Ruby helped, and he wasn't sure why. She always had a way of making him feel special. He loved Ruby but he hadn't said as much. The day would come for him to speak of such things, if he lived that long.

  And no one in town knew that!

  He walked over to the office and picked up information so he could send some wires out. Maybe he wasn't alone in this kind of thing. Maybe the killer had hit other places.

  Smitty was talking to some town folks when he went into the telegraph office. He told Sid, the telegraph operator that he needed the answer as soon as they arrived.

  "I'll get right on it, Sheriff."

  "Thanks…"

  On his way out Jim stopped to talk to Smitty.

  "Heard anything?"

  "Nope, been pretty quiet."

  "What did they want?" he pointed to the small group of town council that Smitty had talked to.

  "Just wanting to know what you were doing about all the murders. I told them investigating."

  Jim shook his head with his vexation so evident in his movement. "They have a right to worry. I'm worried. I don't have much to go on. I don't have anything to go on, if the truth were known. But I'm gonna start talking to some people around. I need you to stay in town, and get word to me if you hear of anything."

  "Will do. A lot of the town council are talking about the doc."

  "Already? You see any signs of them forming a mob, or talking about hanging, let me know, and fast."

  "You expected them to?" Smitty asked.

  "Yeah, he's the most likely candidate. But I'm almost sure he didn't do it."

  Smitty looked puzzled. "Why?"

  "For one thing, I saw his face when he recognized Mr. Perkins. Even the doc was squeamish. You can't kill someone like that and be squeamish Smitty. It takes a hard kind of person. But I knew the doc would be under suspicion. I wish I could make people understand that this is going to take some time to solve. And I need the doc to help me with the bodies. What's worse, I may even have to lock him up for his own protection. I hope it doesn't come to that, but you know how mobs are."

  "You are right, you might have to take him into custody, just to save him…"

  "Smitty, do me a favor, watch out for the him, will ya?" Apprehension flickered between them.

  "Sure Jim."

  He nodded and walked back toward the office.

  Chapter Six

  Sadie and Elmer

  "I wonder if Elmer got me some meat?" Sadie Martin stirred her big pot of stew. She wiped the sweat from her brow with the back of her small hand. She stopped a moment to pin back her unremarkably brown hair then went about cooking again. She glanced about for the salt, then doctored the stew. She tasted it from the big spoon she stirred with. It was just right. She was pleased, her face mirrored her delight.

  This morning her mind wandered back to the days when she was closer to Elmer. The times they shared in sorrows and grief, and…love. It was a sin. Her mind repeated silently. But a secret part of her longed to indulge her fantasies once more. The hunger for him sometimes made her so weak she could hardly stand it. Elmer, her brother was the only man that had ever touched her. They met each other's needs. "The devil's got a hold of me today." She whispered aloud.

  She loved Elmer with all her heart, she just wished he was more ambitious.

  She grinned when Frank Stephen's came into her café. She'd been feeding the hungry of Cross Timbers for ten years now. She wasn't about to stop now. Frank had come on to hard times long ago when his family was murdered by Indians. He was a loner, as he'd moved here to work in the silver mines, but the mines played out and so did the work. Now he scrounged in his older age to survive. If it hadn't been for Sadie, he might have starved.
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br />   "Mornin' Frank," Sadie waved with a smile.

  Frank had at one time been quite handsome, but time hadn't been good to him, Sadie reflected. He'd worked outdoors too long and was wrinkled like an old man. Although he had no wife, he showed no signs of wanting one. Sadie had given up thinking anyone but her brother would ever love her, and she was content knowing they had each other.

  Elmer came through the back door, as the wind kicked up, and the door didn't close. Elmer scoffed and slammed it. He saw Frank and he nodded, then went to talk to Sadie.

  "I got you some meat, Sadie. Where do you want it?"

  "Is it beef?" She asked.

  "Nah…it's wild turkey. A little one to boot." He replied, shuffling his feet and looking away from her as she eyed him.

  "I wanted beef. Cain't you ever do as I say Elmer?"

  "Beef costs money. Unless I stumble across some strays."

  "One or two wouldn't. If you did what I told you and rode further north."

  "Look, I done good to get it. None of the ranchers will sell me any beef for what I got to offer. Their greedy and stingy and I can't always get beef. Now hush up, the customers will hear you. I gotta go cut it up for you. I'll get you beef when I can."

  "You just got here, you don't have to run off." Sadie stopped stirring the pot and looked at her brother. She pulled him away from the window and looked at him. She reached up to move his hair back out of his face. On impulse she kissed him on the cheek. He looked at her strangely, then bent to touch his lips to hers. She squeezed him hard and he smiled.

  Elmer stared at her long and hard. Now what was she up to? Didn't she know what that did to him?

  "Do you gotta tell me what to do all the time?" He asked, impatient that she demanded so much of him, and gave so little of herself. And yet when she kissed him he held himself very still to see if there might be more. When there wasn't, he decided kissing her back was fair.

  "Well, it ain't like you got a life, Elmer. I cain't imagine what you do with yourself all day long. Sit down and have some stew, it's nearly all gone." Sadie directed him. "And remember, you made your bed this morning?"

  "Yeah, so?"

  "The stripes weren't even. You need to take the time to do her right, Elmer. So when you finish eating, go make your bed and then cut the meat up for me."

  "I thought I might grind it up, since it's a small bird."

  "That would be fine, I can make turkey sausage with it." Sadie smiled at him.

  As they walked into the dining area, Sadie shook her head. "You're still a growing boy, you need food, Elmer. You eat your fill, hear me."

  Elmer frowned, wishing she would hush about the food. It's true he had lost a few pounds, but he found he moved around better without all the weight about him. He didn't feel well today. And he didn't want to talk about food. He wanted to get as far away from Sadie and her nagging as his old horse, Betsy would take him. It's all she ever talked about, cooking, and food, and feeding the hungry. She didn't have any idea how hard it was to find that food. She hadn't a clue what he'd been up to, and that pleased him secretly. At least there were a few things he could keep to himself.

  Sadie was a saint to most people in Cross Timbers, but not to Elmer. Although Elmer knew he loved her, he hated her in the same breath.

  His twin sister drove him crazy. Always wanting him to find food. Well, he didn't know how to shoot that well, he never had a daddy to teach him those kinds of things. His father had run off with another woman just after he was born. He'd come back a year or so later but it seemed he was never around.

  And now Sadie insisted he had to bring her food so she could feed everyone in this God-forsaken community. Why people stayed here was beyond Elmer's thinking. The mine had played out years ago. The land was barren of water, so much so that things wouldn't grow well. He thought of the trough he'd built to water the garden with from the spring, at least Sadie's garden would grow without help.

  There was no prosperity in Cross Timbers. Yet some did stay and barely made ends meet.

  Why didn't Sadie go out and shoot something herself? Let him take care of the café every once in a while.

  Sadie treated him as though he didn't have a mind of his own. Well he did. He figured out how to keep her in meat for a long time. He figured out how to get water to her precious garden. And Sadie would never know of his daring deeds, either. No one would. She had no idea how clever he'd become.

  Then the memories came back to haunt him. Memories he hated. He started sweating, and shaking and wishing he'd never thought about it again. But the nightmares wouldn't leave him alone. Now it happened in the day time too, and he couldn't explain it to Sadie.

  He didn't want to think on what he'd done. It was over, and he had gotten meat for Sadie's kitchen, that was all that he needed to worry about.

  As he sat there at the table, eating his stew, memories of his mother came to mind. Just like Sadie, his mother had demanded he do everything for her, and it had to be perfect, just like the bed was to Sadie. He had been just a kid.

  But one day, she'd complained and nagged until he got this headache and went into a rage. He picked up the ax with the intention of scaring her. He only meant to scare her enough to shut her mouth. But it didn't work the way he planned.

  Her eyes bulged.

  "Put that down, you little brat. I'm your Ma and you don't treat your Ma that way."

  Elmer grabbed his head and before he knew what he was doing, he had axed his mother to death. Blood ran all over the floor as he continued to hack her into pieces so as no one could recognize it was a human body lying on the floor.

  Sadie had found her, and strangely had comforted Elmer from the tragedy. After all, Sadie had no idea who did it. Elmer claimed it was Indians, and Sadie never questioned him for any other answer. Only Indians would cut people up that way, she had reasoned aloud.

  From that day on, Elmer soaked up the comfort she gave him and tried to please Sadie in every way he could.

  As the years passed Elmer and Sadie indulged in sex with each other. It was so much more a relief than his masturbating, that Sadie found so disturbing. He figured she probably needed him as much as he needed her.

  Sadie was a great lover, her thin body had blossomed early and Elmer was about thirteen the first time he noticed the round bulging of her breast. They had slept in the same bed for years, but that morning had been special, Elmer recalled. That morning he noticed Sadie had breasts, and the urge to touch and kiss them hit him. After all, Sadie was changing in some way, and he wanted to explore it. Gently he had scooted close so as to cuddle, his nose coming up against one small mound, as one hand went inside her gown. Sadie hadn't minded, she knew he was coming into his manhood and they sought comfort in each other. They'd lived with each other, slept with each other for years and it seemed natural to want each other. And over a period of time they had become bonded to each other.

  He'd masturbated in front of her several times after the first time he took her and she had watched with indignation. But he saw the sparkle in her eyes when she scolded him for it. He somehow knew she enjoyed watching, and was fascinated.

  One day, she decided to end this fascination he had with his body.

  She left the top few buttons on her gown loose so he could see her small but pouting breast. And he had eyed them with keen interest. The first time had been great, and he longed to touch her again. He cuddled against her, bringing her close to him, folding her into him. Then he scrunched down in the bed. His nose touched them first, fascinated that the nipples that perked at his touch. His hand reached to touch the soft mound below. She responded with a smile and a coo. She cuddled against him, allowing him freedom to explore her. He pleased her, and she pleased him and that was enough for the two of them.

  She kissed him first, seeing his bulge in his pants told her he was plenty old enough to indulge, that and the fact that his masturbation had gotten a little out of hand in front of her sometimes was reason enough to let him have
her.

  Sadie had never married, but Elmer had to admit, he did love her. She was the only woman he ever loved. If only she would quit fussing about food.

  But as they aged, Sadie had dedicated her life to the poor and hungry, forgetting her brother. Now, she was the image of his mother, and she had learned an art of nagging that drove Elmer into fits of rage. She no longer found it amusing to kiss and fondle her brother. She'd become a Christian and would not touch Elmer again as she knew it was a sin.

  Elmer hated the fact that she went to church, and gave up the life they had together for it. He had come to almost hate Sadie for that very reason, but he couldn't kill her, they were twins, it would be like cutting off his right arm. Besides, Sadie was the only one he had. Sadie did love him, but her nagging was a cruel reminder of his mother. He had to leave before he flew into a rage with her, many times. Still every now and then, he still wanted her, and while she slept in the same bed, she had man times refused to be a part of it. Only while she slept did he attempt to love her. And sometimes she allowed it. He wondered on those occasions if she was really asleep, or pretending for she would moan every now and then and smile when he'd had taken her.

  Sadie had been a great teacher too, making sure he could read and write, just like she had learned in school. And Elmer had been happy those years they shared together. Elmer never had a chance to go to school, he'd been too busy trying to support his Ma and sister.

  The cruel truth was, he still wanted Sadie.

  ~*~

  The idea had come to him a few months back when he nearly got shot by a rancher, stealing his cattle. He only took a few head at a time, but it sure made Sadie happy, and when Sadie was happy she didn't nag him. So he was happy too.

  But that night, when Old man Perkins came out to see what the ruckus was, Elmer got a dandy idea. He didn't like Mr. Perkins anyway. It wouldn't matter what happened. Perkins was a greedy old man who never gave an inch when it came to his cattle.

  Killing his mother hadn't been that hard. He'd been twelve then. That's why butchering came so easy to him. Now he planned on killing Mr. Perkins. He'd knock him in the head like he killed cows before butchering them, then take him to the smokehouse some of the ranchers had let him use. It was close enough that he wouldn't have to ride all the way home to finish the deed. He cut his arms and legs off. He'd have to drain the blood, or Sadie might see it and have a fit. He couldn't do this meat any different than his game.