“That’s because I am a King—John King,” he replied.
“That’s clever,” she answered. “You’re not from around here, are you?”
“No, I’m from Houston, looking for someone,” he answered her.
“Who might that be?” she asked.
“His name is Willie Washington. Do you know him?”
“I might,” she teasingly answered.
“What do you mean, you might?” John asked her.
“That depends on who you are and what you want with him,” she said.
John lied, “He loaned a friend of mine some money and I’m here to pay him back.”
“Well, in that case, he is a dishwasher here, but he doesn’t come to work until five this afternoon.”
John thought, I can’t believe I finally got lucky.
Then he said, “I’ll be back this afternoon for dinner. Will you still be working?”
“Sure. I don’t get off until eight, so I’ll see you this afternoon,” Linda told him
“Good, see you then,” John answered, and then went to find a place he could wait and watch the front of the diner.
Luckily there was a saloon across the street from the diner. John went in, ordered a beer, and sat at a table by the window where he could watch the front of the diner.
Time passed slowly, and he kept checking his pocket watch. After slowly sipping three beers he spotted a very large black man walking towards the diner. It was four-thirty.
John walked casually across the street as if he intended to enter the diner, then he intercepted Willie. He allowed him to pass, then drew his Colt and pushed it against Willie’s back.
“Willie, you are under arrest. Don’t resist or try to escape or I’ll kill you,” John warned him.
Willie was very surprised and said, “Don’t shoot me Mistah! I ain’t got no gun, and I ain’t goin’ to fight.”
John put manacles on Willie’s wrists and felt Willie’s pockets. There were no weapons.
“How come you’re restin’ me, and who might you be?” Willie asked.
Being careful not to impersonate a police officer, John answered, “I’m John King from Houston. Does the name King mean anything to you?”
“Nevah heard of you,” Willie answered.
“Well I’m trying to find the men who murdered my parents and raped my sister and turned her into a vegetable.”
Willie answered, “I nevah killed or raped nobody.”
“I almost believe you, so we’ll let the law sort it out,” John said.
Seeing the commotion, Linda came out of the diner and screamed, “John, what in the hell are you doing to my friend Willie?”
“Just taking him back to Nacogdoches to answer some questions,” John replied.
“Miss Carol, he thinks I keeled somebody,” Willie blurted out.
Carol said, “John, you son of a bitch—you lied to me.”
“Sorry, but I had to find Willie,” John said.
Carol blurted out, “Poor Willie would never hurt anyone. He is a harmless, gentle man who would never hurt a fly.”
“After seeing him, I almost believe you, but he still needs to answer some questions back in Nacogdoches,” John explained.
Still upset, Carol spun around abruptly and went back into the diner.
During the ride back to Nacogdoches they talked a lot. Willie admitted he had been at the King house during the attack but hurt no one. He identified a man called Indian Bob, and two brothers called Caleb and Carl Keegan as the rapists and killers. He claimed he only robbed while the violence went on. John thought to himself, I actually believe him. He doesn’t seem the type who would hurt anyone. Under other circumstances they might have been friends.
John handed over Willie and was given a hearty handshake and a voucher for $2,000 from the city of Nacogdoches. He endorsed the voucher and handed it back to the sheriff, saying, “After spending a lot of time with Willie, I don’t think he is capable of killing anyone. Please use this money to hire him a good lawyer, and when he is free, give him money to get back to Lufkin. He has a good friend there.”
He was also handed a telegram from Chief Ward telling him to come home immediately. There was another emergency. John’s adrenaline kicked in, and he pushed Diablo and the pack mule to the limit and reached home in two days. He went instantly to police headquarters and met with Chief Ward.
Mike told him, “Sit down, John, so I can give you some terrible news.”
“Did something happen to Sarah?” he asked.
“No, she is fine, but about to be thrown out of St. Agnes,” Mike told him.
“How can that be? Isn’t Samuels sending them a check every month?”
“John, that’s how I first learned that something was amiss. Sister Ruth and some guy called Murnahan came here to file a complaint against you for non-payment of a hospital bill. I know you told me Samuels would pay them monthly. Anyway, I went to see Samuels about it, but the only thing in the office was an empty safe.”
“But where is Samuels?” John asked.
“That’s just it. Samuels is gone, and so is everything you owned. Your house, the office, and all of the furnishings were sold, and the money paid to Samuels,” Mike explained.
“Holy shit,” John blurted out.
“Do you know what was in the safe?” Mike asked.
“I sure as hell do. There was over a million dollars worth of stocks and bonds, and deeds to the office building and my home,” John said.
“That dirty bastard Samuels. I will kill that son of a bitch,” John angrily commented.
“First things first. Let’s start out by going to St. Agnes and square things there. I had to guarantee to pay her bill so Sarah wouldn’t end up in a county charity hospital,” Mike said.
“Let’s go there now,” John said.
“OK, but first take off those damned black chaps. Dressed the way you are you look like something that just stepped out of somebody’s worst nightmare,” Mike told him.
“How about my bank accounts?” John asked.
“That money is still yours. Apparently Samuels tried to get it, but the bank refused to change it over,” Mike explained.
“How about the ranch?” John asked.
“Oh hell, I forgot about the ranch. After St. Agnes we’ll go to the land office and check on it,” Mike suggested.
During the ride to St. Agnes John said, “At least we’ll get to see that pretty sister Ruth.”
“Oh, you noticed that too,” Mike said.
At the hospital they met with Sister Ruth who asked Murnahan to join them in her office.
Sister Agnes spoke first. “Young man, you should thank Chief Ward. Without his payment guarantee, we would have had no choice but to move your sister to the county charity hospital. We have had several cases where people have dropped off relatives here, just to get rid of them, and then just disappeared.”
“How much is the bill now?” John asked him.
Murnahan spoke up, “Well, let’s see now, $35.00 a week times seven weeks; that comes to $245.00.”
“John took out a pile of money from his money belt and handed it to Murnahan saying, “Here is $500.00. Just post the rest to future bills, and I’ll come back later with more.”
“Thank you,” Murnahan said, and he gave John a receipt.
Then John asked Sister Ruth, “How is my sister? Any change?”
“I’m sorry to say there has been no change. We have to force feed her, and even then there is no response,” Sister Ruth explained.
John wanted to check on Sarah for himself. He bent over; he kissed her on the forehead and whispered in her ear, “Sarah, I am so sorry this happened to you. I promise you I will get everyone responsible. I will either kill them or make sure they are arrested and brought to trial.”
> Then he kissed her again and patted her hand. Then John returned to Sister Ruth’s office where Mike had waited so he could spend time alone with his sister.
John reported there had been no change. He was unable to get any response from her.
“I promised her I would make every one of her attackers pay with their lives.”
Sister Ruth winced. Saying their goodbyes, Mike and John took their leave.
“Mike, I will never be able to repay you for what you did for me.”
“Just take me on a hunting trip sometime at the ranch—that is, if you still have a ranch,” Mike told him.
They felt a little better after learning the ranch was still in the King family name.
“I guess the bastard forgot about the ranch,” Chief Ward said.
“He probably wasn’t aware of it. Dad always kept that as a separate entity, completely self-sufficient, and independent from his legal business,” John explained.
“So what do you think I should do now?” John asked Mike.
“Well, the first thing you should do is swear out a warrant for Samuels’ arrest for grand theft and embezzlement.
“Second, if you were anyone else I would suggest hiring an attorney to recover your property,” Mike suggested.
“I know who I can hire, if he will agree to do it. My old college professor named Professor Moriarity has the best legal mind I know of, besides my dad,” John replied.
“Sounds good. Now let’s go back to my office and get the ball rolling. I also will have to get the names of your parent’s murderers, so I can start looking for them,” Mike said.
At the office John gave Mike the names of Indian Bob and Caleb and Carl Keegan and everything he knew about them.
Then John told Mike, “I’m going to be out of town for some time. I have to go check on Maria and Lisa. Then I’ll go to the ranch to see Juan Ortiz and go to Austin and see if I can hire Professor Moriarity,” John told him.
“Just be careful and check in with me when you get back,” Mike warned.
His first stop was at Maria’s house, and it was empty with a “For Rent” sign on it. Then he went to Lisa’s house and was greeted at the door by Maria and Lisa.
“Oh, John, how good to see you,” Maria said.
Lisa added, “Thank God you are safe. What in the world happened?”
“Well, Dad’s former partner, David Samuels, stole everything from me,” John replied.
“And how is Sarah?” Lisa asked.
“Still no change. She is still in a coma, and what is worse, Samuels never paid a penny for her hospital care. If it hadn’t been for Mike Ward they would have moved her to the county charity hospital,” John reported.
“But how are you two?”
“We are surviving. We received no notice or severance pay. We couldn’t find another job so we moved in together to save money,” Lisa reported.
John spoke next, “It is terrible what an evil man can accomplish in just six weeks, but I will make sure he is punished one way or another.”
“Just be careful. We will survive, but we need for you to be safe,” Maria said.
John told them, “I will be OK. I was able to take some cash from Dad’s safe, and that will tide me over until I get my property back. He opened his money belt where he kept the money from the safe. Then he handed each of them two ten-dollar gold pieces, saying, “I hope this will hold you over until I get back on my feet again.”
“You are a generous young man. Thank you so much,” Lisa said.
Saying “You’re welcome,” John left for the ranch.
John arrived at the ranch by early evening and was greeted warmly by Juan Ortiz.
“John, boy, I’m so glad to see you. I have been wondering what happened to everyone. I heard what happened to your mom and dad and Sarah, but no one was able to tell me anything about you.”
John sat down with Juan, drank a beer and filled him in on everything that occurred over the past two months.
“Mucho malo,” Juan said, “What happened to Lisa and Maria?”
“They’re living together at Lisa’s house and can’t find other jobs.”
“Well, I could sure use them here. The cook is so terrible the ranch hands are complaining about the food. He is a gringo and can’t cook the Mexican food the men like. Also I have been doing without a cook and housekeeper. I have been eating with the hands at every meal, and that is not good. After a while they think I am just one of them and won’t take orders from me,” Juan reported.
“I understand,” John said.
“Give me their address, and I’ll take one of the hands with me and move them here tomorrow,” Juan told him.
Juan made them both sandwiches, which they ate, drank another cerveza, and went to bed.
The next morning John left early and headed for Austin. He had to wait until class was finished then met with Professor Moriarity.
John greeted him, “Hello, Professor Moriarity.”
“John King, is that you?” Moriarity surprisingly asked.
“Yes indeed,” John answered.
“What happened to you? The last time I saw you, you were dressed like a college student, and now you show up here looking like a hired killer.”
“Sorry to surprise you, Professor,” John said. “Can you spare some time for me?”
“Of course, but only if you call me Marvin. I am not your professor anymore,” he replied.
“Yes, sir,” John agreed.
They sat down in Moriarity’s office, and John filled him in on what had happened since he left school.
“I’m sorry about your problems, son, but how can I be of assistance?” Moriarity asked.
“You can use your great legal mind to help me get my property back.”
“You mean you want to hire me as a lawyer?” Moriarity asked.
“Yes sir, that is exactly what I mean,” John answered.
“How much money is involved?” the professor wanted to know.
“Over one million and slightly under two million,” John answered.
Moriarity whistled softly and said, “You know the usual recovery fee is ten percent.”
“Yes sir, I am aware of that, and I am willing to pay that to get you,” John said.
Moriarity said, “In that case, I accept. I can take a sabbatical, move in with a lady friend I know in Houston, and meet with you next Monday morning. Where can we meet?”
“Thank you, sir. I’ll meet you at the Houston Police Station in Chief Ward’s office at eight in the morning on Monday,” John said.
The deal done, they shook hands, and John left the campus. He thought to himself, As long as I’m in Austin, and I don’t have a home in Houston to go to, I might as well look up my old girlfriend, Lola.
He rode to Lola’s apartment and knocked on the door. She answered wearing a loose-fitting house frock.
“Is that you, John King?”
“In the flesh,” John answered.
“Then get in here and kiss me,” she said.
John gladly obliged, and then he had to tell his story again to eager and anxious ears.
“You poor thing. I am so sorry for your problems, but thanks for sharing them with me,” she said.
She fixed both of them a drink, and told him, “I am so glad you’re here. Life has been so boring without you.”
“Well I’m here for a couple of days and I’ll try and make sure you don’t get bored,” John teasingly said.
“Where are you staying?” Lola asked.
“Here, if you’ll let me,” he answered.
“That would be heavenly. I hope you will stay with me,” she said as she began pulling of his boots.
As she did John enjoyed the sight of her exposed small breasts peering out from the house frock. He began to get ar
oused. It had been a long time since he had been with a woman.
It had been a long time for her, too. First she removed his vest, then his shirt. John helped by removing his gun belt and she began tugging on his jeans to get them off. Then John started pulling the frock over her head and discovered she was wearing nothing underneath.
“Damn, you look good,” he blurted out.
“So do you,” she said and began kissing him all over his body.
After that they made love right there on the sofa, both of them too anxious to even make it to the bedroom.
It was a brief lovemaking session. It took hardly any time for both of them to be satisfied, they both having been so horny for it. When they were finished, John whispered, “Oh, Lola, thank you so much. That was so wonderful.”
“Don’t go thanking me yet; this class is not dismissed yet! This will be the longest class you were ever in,” Lola answered.
Lola then got up and made them both another drink, without bothering to put on her smock. John admired her graceful body as he thought, My luck is rapidly changing for the better.
Before they had even finished their second drink, Lola whispered in John’s ear, “Make love to me again darling, and I’ll fix us a light supper.”
“It’s a deal,” he said as he took her by the hand and led her into the bedroom.
They did make love again, but this time it took a little longer but was just as satisfying. This time Lola took him by the hand and led him to the table. She said, “You sit here, I’ll fix you another drink, and while you are drinking it I’ll fix us something to eat.”
In what seemed no time, Lola had fixed two plates of macaroni salad and tuna sandwiches. They both ate ravenously, their appetites aroused by the horizontal exercises. After their hunger for food was satisfied, they returned to the sofa to talk.
John asked, “What do you have to do tomorrow?”
“Absolutely nothing. If I had classes, which I don’t, I would cut them and stay here with you,” she replied.
“Then how about if we get drunk tonight, sleep late, and make love all day tomorrow?” John asked.
“I’m game if you are,” she replied.
They didn’t get drunk, but they did have one more drink, went to bed, made love again, and then slept until eight o’clock in the morning. Lola let John sleep a few minutes longer as she got up, made coffee, and took a cup to John while he was still in bed.
John King Bounty Hunter Page 3