by Neil Hunter
Kris Lubbock was rocked back by the multiple shots that slammed .45 caliber slugs into him. Blood was welling from the multiple holes in his chest as he went down, a long, shuddering final breath escaping from his body as he lay there. And died there.
Bodie saw Lubbock fall as he was hit himself. The pain in his thigh had become less as it was overtaken by the stronger one from the slug that had embedded itself in his side, cracking at least two ribs. The ragged furrow it made sent blood soaking through his shirt, all the way down to his pants. Dazed he slumped back, half sitting as he stared around him, half expecting another challenge until he realized he was the only one still alive.
Bodie realized he could hear his own breath because it had become so quiet after the gunfire. He could smell the drift of powder smoke. He felt suddenly very tired and let himself slide down to the ground. Warm sunlight filtered through the foliage. The air was cool and the mountain breeze stirred the greenery around him. He lowered the guns he was still holding in his hands.
There was a sudden crackle of small explosions coming from the cabin. That would be from ammunition overheating in the fire. He noticed too, that Dawson had stopped screaming.
Right them Bodie wasn’t too concerned. He knew he should move. Do something about the wounds he’d received. But right then he was unable to raise the energy to it. He was feeling comfortable. Warm. And the day around him was slipping away…Bodie felt his eyes closing…didn’t have the strength to resist. It felt good where he was, so he decided he would simply rest for a while…just for a while…
Chapter Eighteen
Everything was soft. Under him. Around him. Even the pain was reduced to a respectable level. Bodie was reluctant to open his eyes because he knew when he did he would be back in that basin with the dead lying around him and the smell of burning wood and human flesh. So he stayed in the darkness and it was comforting and he was wondering if he was dead too and this was what it was like.
No, he decided, he couldn’t be dead because if he was there wouldn’t be anything to feel…
Bodie figured then if he wasn’t dead, just where was he?
Then he heard the voice of an Angel, something again he didn’t believe in, so if it wasn’t an Angel it had to be something close. And the voice sounded just like…like Ruby…but Ruby was back at Elijah Kramer’s trading post and he was halfway up the Bighorn Mountains, lying in the dirt with his blood soaking into the ground.
‘Bodie…’ the Angel voice was calling his name. ‘You’re awake at last.’
A gentle touch against his cheek. Soft and silky.
‘Hey, Bodie, I’m here.’
That damned Angel again.
He struggled to open his eyes, reluctantly drawing away from his dream world.
Light hit his eyes and he screwed them up. Let the light fade, then took another look.
Ruby’s face swam into sharp relief as she stared down at him. Eyes concerned. Those soft lips parted slightly. He smelled soap. A fresh-washed smell. Then the gentle hand again, stroking his face.
He tried to speak but all that came out was a croaking sound.
‘Here, drink this.’
She slid a hand behind his head and raised it. Held a cup to his dry, parched lips. Cold, fresh water. It hurt his throat to swallow but he managed it until the cup was drawn away.
‘Not too much yet,’ she said. ‘You need to take things easy.’
Bodie reached up with his own big hand and grasped her wrist, aware of how weak he felt.
‘Where am I? How long?’
‘Elijah’s trading post. Over a week—well nearer two weeks—since we brought you down off the mountain.’
‘How the…?’
‘We waited a day after you left, then we left Elijah’s people here and he rode with me. Elijah sent for a Crow tracker and he followed your trail. Took us a couple of days. I thought we were never going to find you. The Crow found where you went into the escarpment and we rode through the cleft. It brought us into the outlaw’s camp. And we found all those dead bodies…’ her voice faltered. ‘Then we found you. Unconscious. You had lost so much blood but being who you are there was enough life left to keep you alive. We stayed there for three days after Elijah took out those two bullets. The Indian used Crow potions to help with the healing as much as possible before we brought you back here. They made a travois and hitched it to your chestnut…’
‘You brought me back down the mountain?’
‘Yes. It was not easy but we did it. Brought you here and put you to bed. Bodie, you had a fever for days. I thought you were never going to get through. Oh, we brought the horses as well. They’re all in the corral outside.’
‘Our young lady did it,’ Kramer’s voice said and Bodie looked around and saw him. He was standing at the foot of Bodie’s bed. ‘She has barely slept since you got the fever. You had it bad. Day and night she looked after you. Washed you to cool you down. Changed your sheets when they got wet. Kept your wounds clean as well. Refused any help.’
‘Don’t make more of it than there was,’ Ruby said, her face colored with embarrassment.
‘I’ll try and find the words to say…’ Bodie told her.
‘No need. After what you did getting me to safety I owed you my life.’
‘I’d say we were even then.’ He caught her hand and held it in his own large fist. ‘Thank you, Ruby Kehoe.’
‘You are welcome, Mr. Bodie,’ she said and compounded her words by leaning forward to kiss him soundly.
~*~
Elijah Kramer proved to be a competent stand-in doctor over the next week or so. With Ruby he tended Bodie’s healing wounds and made sure his patient was given all the rest he needed. When he wasn’t around, looking after the business side of the trading post, it was Ruby who administered nursing qualities, which she did with flair.
Bodie regained his appetite under all this treatment. From the bowls of hot soup he progressed to solid food and with the passing days his strength began to return. Included in Bodie’s aids were frequent doses of medicines brought by the Crow Indians who worked for Kramer. They spoke very little but made up for the silence by bringing him tribal concoctions Kramer told Bodie would help him. Under Ruby’s stern gaze he took them and hoped they were actually doing him good.
‘It doesn’t matter what is in them as long as they help,’ she said. ‘Bodie, you have to trust they know what they’re doing.’
‘Yes, ma’am,’ he answered. He had realized it was simpler to just agree with her. Truth be told he didn’t have the strength to argue.
~*~
‘You don’t seem in any hurry to get back home,’ he mentioned a few days later.
‘I suppose I am putting off the evil hour. Having to inform family that Grant is dead. With that in mind I have realized I no longer have my job.’
‘That going to mean you won’t be able to earn the money he paid you?’
‘Grant didn’t pay me. After all he was family. I worked with him because I enjoyed it…Bodie, I don’t have to work. We are a wealthy family and I stand to inherit a considerable sum from my late grandfather in a few years.’
Bodie had no answer to that. He had never been in that kind of position. He was just glad for Ruby.
‘Nice to be rich,’ he said.
Ruby sobered and said, ‘This talk of money has reminded me about your reward money for…for dealing with the Gallman gang. It was Elijah who told me you might have problems claiming the bounties because of not being able to produce the bodies.’
Up until she mentioned it Bodie hadn’t given a great deal of thought to the matter. He saw the possible difficulty now. No proof—no bounty was the norm. By the time he was fit enough to go looking for those bodies there would be nothing left except bones and tattered clothing.
It wouldn’t be the first time he’d lost out on a bounty. It didn’t happen often but Bodie wasn’t too pleased when it did.
‘I can see you’re not too happy about missing out
,’ Ruby said. ‘So Elijah and I have come up with a solution. We have composed a letter, giving all the details about the wanted men and how you tracked them down. We have signed it as witnesses and when I return to New York my father’s lawyer will also witness it. Do you think that will be sufficient to prove your claim?’
‘He a good lawyer?’
‘Oh, yes, one of the most prestigious in the city. Charles Bainbridge is an extremely influential man.’
‘Sounds like it might do the trick.’
Ruby perched on the side of the bed.
‘Will you go on another bounty hunt when you’re well enough?’
‘It’s what I do. A job that I have the skills for.’
‘And that is what worries me, Bodie. That you go after these violent men. Risking your life to bring them in.’
He was about to say something lame along the lines it was a dirty job but someone had to do it, when Ruby leaned in very close and placed her mouth over his. It was a powerful kiss and took him by surprise. A pleasant surprise, especially when accompanied by her soft body pressing close, and Bodie decided he was still too weak to fight her off.
So he didn’t and for once Bodie didn’t do much in the way of protesting.
~*~
Three weeks later they were in Laramie, ensconced in the most expensive hotel the town had to offer. Bodie was close to having recovered but under Ruby’s close eye he was still taking it easy. After a leisurely breakfast Bodie was taking a slow walk to the livery stable where their horses were being well looked after. The horses brought down from the outlaw lair had been presented to Kramer as payment for all his help. He had made a protest, but Bodie had seen the look in his eyes as he assessed the value of the animals. Ruby kept the black she had been riding.
The day was calm, the sun warm. He felt at peace with the world for the moment, thought there was a restlessness growing in him to move on. Not from Ruby, who was proving to be the best female company he had ever known. He needed action. Something to feed his brain and allow him to exercise his skills. The soft living in Laramie was getting to him. He was wearing new clothing and Ruby had persuade him to have his shaggy hair cut and groomed. It pleased her and that pleased him. Yet he still needed something to occupy him.
He was on his way back to the hotel, wondering where she was, when he saw her hurrying down the street to meet him, an expectant look on her face.
Long gone were the dirty range clothes she had worn before. Now she had on a dress and all the feminine accessories to go with it. Her face was still beautiful and her hair flowed behind her, shiny and neat.
‘Bodie,’ she called, unmindful that young ladies were not expected to call out in the street. She was waving her hand at him, clutching a buff telegram paper. The last time she had brought one of those it had been to confirm that her father’s lawyer had negotiated with the authorities and Bodie’s claim for the reward for the Gallman gang had been approved. Lawyer Bainbridge lived up to Ruby’s promise and he was able to pick up his money from a bank in town.
‘I’d ease off there,’ Bodie said. ‘You’ll bust right out of that damned dress if you’re not careful’
Her smile was almost dazzling. ‘What—right here on the street? Mr. Bodie what are you suggesting?’
He didn’t pursue that line of thought.
‘I take it you have something to tell me?’
She nodded, her face shining with excitement.
‘It’s a message from Lawyer Bainbridge. He has an offer for you. Not exactly a bounty hunt. He asks if you would look for someone who has gone missing. The young daughter of a Chinese friend in New York. An extremely important and wealthy man named Chin Yi Soong.’
‘Hold on there. Try speaking slowly, Ruby. Remember I’m just a simple feller from the west.’
Her laughter seemed to fill the street, attracting curious glances.
‘That is the last thing you are, Bodie. Now are you going to listen to me?’
‘Yes, ma’am.’
‘There will be money on offer, Bodie. I made certain that would be part of the offer. But it is important. Jasmine is a friend of mine as well. A beautiful young woman. She had gone to visit relatives on the west coast. She had been there for almost two weeks when she simply vanished. No one can find her. It appears she was taken off the street. I believe she has been kidnapped. Jasmine is not a foolish young woman. She would not do anything risky, or fail to keep in touch – unless she could not.’
‘Has there been a letter demanding money? Anything like that?’
‘Nothing. Her family is distraught, Bodie. Their daughter has disappeared on the other side of the country and they don’t know what to do…’
Bodie took her arm and led her back up the street to the telegraph office.
‘Send a message to the lawyer. Ask for everything known about your friend. Description. Any identifying marks. Whatever her family has. Send it now. Then we go and sit down at the hotel and you tell me all about this Jasmine. And I mean everything.’
When they stepped out of the telegraph office Ruby clung to his arm.
‘Thank you,’ she said.
‘Once we have the information I need you to head back to new York. You stay close to the family. I’ll contact you through Bainbridge. No games this time, Ruby. I don’t expect to turn around and find you behind me in…hell, you said the west coast. But where?’
‘Oh, I thought I’d said…it’s San Francisco…’
~*~
And it was in the city by the bay a week later when Bodie, already into his search for Jasmine Yi Soong, met up with the man who would for the second time, partner up with him…
…and his name was Jason Brand.
BODIE will be back in his second team-up with JASON BRAND
When they meet in
TWO GUNS WEST
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