John King Bounty Hunter

by Robert J. Gossett

  The next morning John went to see Sarah at the hospital. Sister Hortense met him at the door excitedly saying, “John please rush in to see your sister! She is awake, but I don’t know for how long.”

  John rushed to Sarah’s bedside, kissed her on the forehead and asked her, “How do you feel?”

  “Dizzy,” she replied.

  “Sarah, try and remember, do you remember who did this to you?” John asked.

  Sarah weakly replied, “I think I saw four men.”

  “Did you know them?” he asked.

  “No, but one was black, one was a Mexican, and two were white,” she told him.

  Then she sank back into unconsciousness.

  John was anxious to share this information with Chief Ward, so he hurried toward the door. Sister Hortense stopped him and asked him for a minute to talk to him.

  “Sister, I’m in a big rush to see Chief Ward right now. Can it wait until I come in the morning?” he asked.

  “I suppose so,” the Sister said.

  “Then, see you in the morning,” he told her and hurried to the police station.

  He saw Chief Ward sitting at his desk so he rushed to him, saying, and “Chief, Sarah woke up long enough to tell me who her attackers were!”

  “Did she know them?” Mike asked.

  “No, but she did say one was black, one was a Mexican, and two were white.”

  Mike deflated him a little by saying, “Well, that’s a start, but not a hell of a lot to go on.”

  “Is it OK if I look through your wanted posters to see if I can find anyone who might fit the bill?” John asked.

  “Sure, here they are,” Mike said and handed him a stack of posters several inches high.

  John spent the entire afternoon looking through the posters. He found a lot of pictures of Mexicans, several pictures of blacks, and lots of white men. He was discouraged that there were so many, but he was also amazed that so many men had such large bounties on their heads. He told Chief Ward he found nothing, said “Adios,” and went home.

  He had missed lunch so he was hungry. Lisa had pork chops, applesauce, and beans ready for him. Again he enjoyed a glass of brandy and retired early.

  Again the next morning he ate an early breakfast then headed for the hospital. He was anxious to continue his conversation with Sister Hortense.

  As he walked into Sister Hortense’s office, she greeted him, “John, I am so glad you came while Dr. Seidman is still here. He is one of the best experts on head injuries, traumas, and comas.”

  “Hello,” they both said as John shook his hand.

  Sister Hortense continued, “Dr. Seidman has just finished examining your sister, and I’ll let him give you his opinion.”

  Dr. Seidman said, “John, I’m afraid your sister’s prognosis is not good. She has one of the worst head injuries I have ever seen, and her chances of regaining a productive life are slim to none.”

  John winced, and Sister Hortense patted his arm.

  “What does that really mean, Doctor?” John asked.

  “I’m afraid it means we will not be able to do much more for her here,” the doctor replied.

  Sister Hortense interrupted, “John, we both think you should consider moving her to a private facility where she can get constant care. The Carmelite nuns have one here in town, called Saint Agnes.”

  “That is a good facility,” Dr. Seidman commented. “I do visit patients there. It is a lot less expensive than here, and frankly, she will be better cared for.”

  “Where is it?” John asked.

  “Not far from your home. And if you like I can give you directions and a letter of introduction to Sister Ruth,” Sister Hortense told him.

  “That would be nice of you. I’ll go see it this afternoon,” John said.

  John had been thinking all morning about the wanted posters he saw earlier. His photographic memory recalled the two black men in the pile of posters. The first one, Ricky Johnson, was wanted for armed robbery of a bank. The second one he looked at featured Willie Washington, who was wanted for burglary, rape, and murder. John decided he would be a good suspect to start with.

  On his way to St. Agnes, he stopped by his dad’s old office to visit with David Samuels.

  “Hello, John,” David greeted him.

  “Hello, David. I need your help,” John said.

  “I’ll do whatever you ask, but John, if you don’t mind, I’d like to tell you how much you have changed,” David commented.

  “How is that?” John asked.

  David replied, “You have completely changed. You used to be a happy-go-lucky guy, and now you are a serious man who gives orders very easily.”

  “I’ve had to change, and in a hell of a hurry. I have huge responsibilities, the most important being discovering who killed my parents,” John answered him.

  “I understand, John, but how can I be of assistance?”

  “I need you to set up a trust fund, the Jacob and Helen King Memorial Fund. I am to be the head administrator and you are to be the secretary who issues checks. I won’t have to co-sign every check, only ones over $1,000. I know you won’t cheat me because the consequences would be too severe for you to handle.”

  “Sure, I will get busy on that right away,” David replied, a little shocked by the implied threat.

  Without the usual amenities, John left for St. Agnes following the very detailed map Sister Hortense gave to him. When he arrived at St. Agnes and met Sister Ruth, he was taken aback by her looks. She was the complete opposite of Sister Hortense.

  Sister Hortense was past middle age, tall, plump, and an always sober-faced.

  Sister Ruth was petite, young, with a beautiful face she tried to disguise with horn-rimmed glasses. John guessed she had a beautiful figure judging from her large breasts that she tried to conceal under a loose fitting habit. John studied her for a minute. Then he thought to himself, I wonder what she would look like naked.

  Then his mind told him, “John, you should be ashamed of yourself for mentally undressing a nun.”

  John introduced himself and Sister Ruth said, “Oh, yes, Mr. King, Sister Hortense told me about you and your sister. What a terrible thing to happen to both of you.”

  Then Sister Ruth took him on a tour of the facility. John was impressed with the cleanliness and order he found there.

  “Are you Catholic?” Sister Ruth asked.

  “No, but my sister is,” John replied.

  He didn’t like the fact that one wing of the hospital was reserved for insane people, or “mentally deficient,” as Sister Ruth called them.

  He mentioned this to Sister Ruth, but was reassured that they were completely isolated from the rest of the hospital. Sister Ruth explained to him the hospital charged $5.00 per day, plus the cost of any medicines they had to administer.

  John agreed to the price and told Sister Ruth they would receive a check monthly from the Jacob and Helen King Memorial Fund.

  Sister Ruth told him she would arrange to have Sarah transferred the day after tomorrow. John said good-bye and left for the police station.

  Chief Ward met him and said, “John before you ask, we don’t have any new developments in the case, but we are all working our asses off on it.”

  John told him, “Mike, I have been thinking all day about one of the wanted posters.”

  “Which one?” Mike asked him.

  “That Willie Washington. His poster says he is wanted in Nacogdoches for burglary, rape, and murder. Can you find out and more about him?” John asked.

  Mike Ward told him, “Sure I can. I’ll get a wire off today to Nacogdoches. Check back with me in a couple of days, and I’ll share the information with you.”

  John told Mike, “Thanks, Mike. You are a good friend,” and left for home tired from the day’s activities.


  A large glass of brandy made his dinner taste even better. The beef brisket, potato salad, and baked beans’ aroma reminded him he had missed lunch, but he made up for it by eating twice as much for dinner.

  The next day John did not visit Sarah as he thought they would be moving her to St. Agnes. Instead he rode to his dad’s favorite gunsmith, Oscar Tyler.

  As he entered the store Oscar greeted him, “John, it is so good to see you. I am so sorry about what happened to your family.”

  “Thank you, Oscar. I think I would like your help selecting some weapons,” John replied.

  “Glad to help you any way I can,” Oscar said.

  “Well, I figure on hunting for the killers, and I’ll need a full arsenal of weapons to take with me,” John explained.

  “What will you need?” Oscar asked him.

  “I have thought a lot about it, and I’ll need a Colt Peacemaker in .45 caliber with a 4-inch barrel; a Smith and Wesson top break revolver in .44 caliber with a six-inch barrel; a Remington double-barrel Derringer in .41 caliber; a Colt Lightening in .38 caliber; a Sharps carbine in 45/70 caliber; and a Winchester rifle in .44/40 caliber.”

  “And a bowie knife,” Oscar told him.

  “That’s some arsenal, but I think I have all of them in stock. How about leather for them?”

  Yes, I’ll need a quick draw holster for the Colt, a cross-draw holster for the Lightning; a shoulder holster for the top break, and a pocket in the cartridge belt under the quick draw holster for the Derringer; and scabbards for the two rifles and knife. And I want all of them in black with a silver crown inlaid in them,” John instructed them.

  “That’s a tall order. I have a leather worker I use sometimes. He is expensive and slow but he does fine work. I think I can have it all ready in three or four days,” Oscar told him.

  “See you then,” John said and left for the police station.

  Chief Ward told him, “I have a wire from Joe Jones, police chief in Nacogdoches. Keep it if you wish,” John scanned the wire, which read,

  To Mike Ward—Chief of Police, Houston, Texas. Willie Washington is wanted here for robbing and killing Mr. and Mrs. Bob Barrett, President of Citizen’s Bank. Missing was cash, guns, jewelry, and silver. Believe he acted alone. No sign of him in over a year. We believe he fled to Arkansas. Good luck in finding him. Reward is $2,000 dead or alive. —Signed, Chief Jones

  First John quickly scanned the wire, then reread it carefully and folded it and put it in his shirt pocket.

  Saying “Thanks” and “Adios” to Chief Ward, John set out for St. Agnes to visit Sarah. When he arrived he looked up Sister Ruth, who led him to Sarah’s room.

  “Did she wake up at all?” John asked.

  “I’m afraid not,” she answered.

  John went in to her room, kissed her on the forehead, but no response at all.

  “Sister, do you think she will ever wake up again?” John asked her.

  “Only God knows, but if she does we will notify you instantly,” Sister Ruth replied.

  “Thank you, Sister,” John answered, and left for home and another of Lisa’s delicious meals.

  After dinner over coffee, John sat down with Lisa and Maria and told them, “In a few days I will be leaving on a long trip. I might be gone three weeks or longer. Maria, I would appreciate it if you could pack me a valise with some clothes and fix me a bed roll with a sleeping pad, and wrap it in my poncho. And Lisa, please fry me up some food I can take along. I will be taking a pack mule, but pack it light. I hope you will both stay on here. I’ll add some money to the household money and include your wages in it.”

  “Where are you going?” they asked in unison.

  “Well, hopefully I will be on the trail of one of my family’s killers. I’m convinced if I catch him, he will tell me who the rest of the killers are.”

  “Oh, John, do be careful,” Maria said.

  “Yes, come home to us,” Lisa added.

  Chapter 3

  The Chase Begins

  “Don’t worry, I will be careful, and I will be back,” he promised. In a few days his weapons were ready. John left to pick them up. They were all laid out on a table waiting for him. Oscar quoted the price, and John paid him. Oscar said, “Because you didn’t haggle over the price, I am going to throw in a box of ammo for each of the guns, and a saddle bag to hold all of it. Your dad always haggled over the price, and he usually got me down in price. He was a good haggler.”

  John laughed as he said, “He loved to haggle. Just put all of these in a feed sack, I’ll put them on later.”

  John then rode to St. Agnes to see Sarah. There was no change in her condition. He explained to Sister Ruth, “I will be out of town for several weeks, so if there is any change, please tell Chief Ward. He will know how to get in touch with me.”

  Then he went to see Mike Ward and told him he was leaving town for a spell but would wire him of his progress.

  Mike Ward’s face turned stone cold as he told John, “You be careful, and don’t do anything illegal or I’ll have to arrest you.”

  “Don’t worry, Mike, I’ll stay within the law.”

  They shook hands and John left to visit David Samuels.

  He explained to David he had a lead on one his parent’s killers and was going to East Texas to check on him. He instructed David to pay St. Agnes once a month, and to check on Lisa and Maria once in a while to make sure they were OK.

  David agreed, and then John, satisfied he had made arrangements for his departure, rode home for dinner and to examine his purchase.

  That evening after dinner he went to his room to examine his purchase. He carefully loaded his firearms and put the balance of ammunition in his saddle bags.

  The next morning John was up early, had a light breakfast, and told Lisa and Maria “Good-bye.” Both of them hugged him and instructed him to be careful.

  After three hard days of riding he arrived in Nacogdoches and went directly to the police station.

  Chief Joe Jones met him at the door. Chief Jones had red hair and red bushy eyebrows. He was short in stature but had a muscular build. His face was highly suntanned, and that along with deep squint lines betrayed his spending a lot of time in the sun. He wore a white western shirt, blue jeans, and a Colt Peacemaker in a tied-down holster.

  Chief Jones said, “You must be John King. I had a wire from Chief Ward to expect you. What can I do for you?”

  John told him, “I am looking for Willie Washington. He is wanted for questioning in the murder of my parents and the rape of my sister.”

  “Well, he shouldn’t be hard to find. He is six feet, six inches tall, big-boned, with huge hands and feet. I originally thought he fled to Arkansas, but since then he has been sighted in Lufkin,” Chief Jones said.

  “Can you tell me about him?” John asked.

  “Well, we want to talk to him about the murder of a bank president and the rape and murder of his wife. Personally, I doubt he would rape or murder. He is just a thief. I think he had a partner who did the rape and murders.”

  “Has he been in trouble before?” John wanted to know.

  “Yeah, but only for being drunk and petty theft. We always tried to cut him some slack because of his childhood. He was born into slavery and worked in the fields since he was 16 years old. I would describe him as a gentle giant and a little dim-witted. He told me once that the overseer used to beat his mother for trying to protect him. One of my officers described him as not having a full cartridge belt,” the chief explained.

  “What makes you think he was in on the banker’s murder?” John asked.

  “We had reports he was at the flea market trying to sell silver candle sticks and a silver tea set that were missing from the murder scene,” Chief Jones reported.

  “Is he dangerous?” John asked.

  “I don’t think
so. In fact, I would already have him in custody if we weren’t so busy chasing hijackers who were stealing shipments of oil headed to our refinery here in town. They robbed two straight loads of oil from Bigelow Oil in Dallas, and the last one they robbed they also killed the driver, who was a woman. That got the mayor on my ass because the governor is on his, so we have to catch these guys,” Chief Jones reported.

  “I can understand that,” John agreed.

  “Oh, yes, one more thing; Willie likes to drink Shiner beer. And he chews Mail Pouch tobacco,” John added.

  “Well then, I think I’ll just ride up to Lufkin in the morning and look around,” John told the chief.

  Chapter 4

  Willie Washington

  John rode toward Lufkin, stopping in every small town or wide place in the road that as yet was not a town.

  He was amazed there were so many black people in East Texas. One local finally explained that many freed slaves did not understand what being free meant since they had never before known freedom. If they had been slaves under a benevolent master they stayed on and worked for wages, at the same farm where they had been slaves. Those who had masters or overseers who beat them moved on to other places, willing to face the dangers of the unknown. That was the case with Willie Washington. John had to feel a certain amount of sympathy for him.

  For three weeks John wandered from place to place. When he found a saloon he would order a Shiner beer. If the bartender said they had none, John would make some excuse and leave. He figured Willie would not hang out in a place that did not serve his favorite beer. His next stop would be a diner where he would order a cup of coffee and inquire if anyone knew Willie. Finally after two weeks of failure and frustration he arrived in Lufkin. After spending the night in a very dirty rooming house, he rode to a diner to have a much-needed breakfast.

  The waitress was a cute girl named Linda. She was not a young girl anymore but well preserved with a young-looking face. John guessed she was in her thirties, and she wore no wedding ring.

  He decided to eat there and stay and talk to Linda.

  She said, “Why all the crowns on everything?”