Last Breath (A Gideon Johann Western Book 5)

by Duane Boehm

  Finnie came galloping up, having left the herd at the sound of the gunshot. “You okay?” he asked.

  “Yeah, I’m fine. Put that horse out of its misery, if you will,” Gideon said.

  A single shot again ruined the peacefulness of the night. The cattle moved about in an agitated state, but made no attempt to stampede.

  “I better go tie up the other one before he comes to his senses,” Finnie said.

  “Bring his rifle back. We’ll smash the stocks out of his and Kurt’s to make a splint. His arm is a mess,” Gideon said.

  Finnie returned shortly with the rifle. He unloaded both weapons and slammed them into the ground until the wooden stocks gave way. Kurt had begun to breathe normally, but he looked to be in shock and didn’t speak. As Gideon set the arm, Kurt let out an ear–piercing scream that seemed louder than the gunfire had. Finnie retrieved some leather strips from his saddlebag and began binding the barrels along Kurt’s arm as Gideon held the limb in place. The outlaw made a pitiful moan as they tended to him, but offered no resistance. All the fight and flight had been knocked out of him.

  “We got one dead and two injured and one horse between them,” Finnie remarked.

  “We’ll have to leave the dead one until morning. How is the other one?” Gideon asked.

  “Lacey’s coming around, but I think you might have hit him too hard. He’s pretty out of it,” Finnie said.

  “Great. Doesn’t sound like they’ll be able to ride together. We’ll tie Lacey onto his horse and put Kurt on Buck and I’ll ride behind him,” Gideon said.

  “Better you than me,” Finnie said.

  “Did you check the brand on the cattle?” Gideon asked.

  “Yeah, it looked to be a circle around a HF,” Finnie answered.

  “I thought they were Hollander’s herd,” Gideon noted.

  Getting the two outlaws onto the horses proved challenging. Lacey could barely sit upright on the ground and kept his hands wrapped around his head. Gideon pulled and Finnie pushed to get the outlaw onto his horse. After he mounted, they tied him onto the saddle to make sure he didn’t fall off the horse. Kurt acted slightly more alert, but was in considerable pain and shock. He managed to pull himself onto the saddle with a push from Finnie. Gideon climbed aboard the horse and sat behind the saddle cantle with his arms around Kurt like riding with a child.

  “Let’s go home,” Gideon said as he nudged Buck into walking.

  They rode back to town at a slow pace, arriving just before five o’clock in the morning. Stopping in front of the doctor’s office, Gideon pounded on the door until the doctor groggily appeared.

  “I got you some business,” Gideon said.

  “I don’t need business. I need some sleep,” Doc grumbled as he eyed the two injured men.

  “Doc, I’ve been up all night. Please be nice,” Gideon pleaded.

  “Well, get them in here. I should retire and start fishing with Sheriff Fuller. I’m getting too old for this nonsense,” Doc said before retreating into the office.

  Chapter 27

  After Doc finished treating the two outlaws, Gideon locked them into their cells before dropping onto the cot. He felt as exhausted as he had in his days of fighting in the war and his limbs seemed so heavy that he doubted that he’d ever be able to get off the bed again. Sleep came before a single other thought crossed his mind.

  Two hours later, Finnie gently tried to rouse Gideon. The sheriff appeared comatose until Finnie called Gideon’s name loudly and shook him. Gideon jumped and flailed his arms, smacking the deputy in the chest.

  “Damn, you scared me,” Gideon said as he tried to clear his mind.

  “You nearly made me piss my drawers when you jumped and whopped me,” Finnie responded.

  The two men looked at each other and laughed.

  “We’re getting to be like an old married couple. I guess two hours has gone by,” Gideon said.

  “Yeah, I thought the same thing when Mary woke me. She’s in a fine mood that this camping out at night is through for us,” Finnie said.

  “If you’ll go get a buckboard and tarp from Blackie, I’ll check on the prisoners. We’ll have some breakfast and then get on are way,” Gideon said as he climbed off the cot.

  The prisoners appeared as tired as Gideon still felt and never stirred when he entered the cell room. He walked out without bothering to awaken them.

  Gideon and Finnie each ate a huge breakfast of eggs, bacon, and biscuits washed down with a pot of coffee before climbing onto the wagon to head out to retrieve the body. They arrived at the spot, finding the cattle scattered about rummaging for grass. After extracting the corpse out from under the horse, they wrapped Danny in the tarp and placed him in the back of the wagon along with the tack from the two horses.

  They made a stop at Hollander Fields’ ranch on their way back. The rancher seemed as irritated that he had to go retrieve his cattle as he was relieved that they weren’t stolen. Neither lawman felt especially appreciated for their work as they departed from the ranch.

  Once back in town, they left the body with the cabinetmaker and returned the wagon. Both men were fading as they walked back to the jail.

  “If you’ll make sure those two get supper tonight, I’m going to head home. Get some rest and we’ll get a fresh start tomorrow,” Gideon said.

  Finnie stretched out on the cot. “That I can do. I think I’ll nap here. No need getting disturbed by Sam,” he said and closed his eyes.

  “Sweet dreams, dear. I’ll see you in the morning,” Gideon teased as he walked outside.

  Gideon arrived home to find Abby’s mood similar to that of Hollander Fields. She seemed about as upset for having worried and not known where he had been as she was relieved that he returned home safe and sound. After she explained to him the trials and tribulations of being a sheriff’s wife, she seemed to notice how tired he looked. He felt too exhausted even to care when she crawled into his lap and began pampering him, but he played along anyways. When she stood up, her spirits seemed lifted and she started cooking an early supper. Gideon’s appetite nearly matched his fatigue. He devoured his food, pulling a mouthful of meat off the chicken leg and receiving a reprimand for setting a bad example for the children. When he finished eating, Gideon walked straight to the bedroom and dropped into the bed. He never even realized that Abby joined him later that night.

  In the morning, Gideon climbed out of bed feeling like a new man. He had breakfast with the family and stayed around long enough to get the kids worked up into a frenzy with a wrestling match. Winnie giggled continuously as they roughhoused and Chance let out shrill squeals of joy. Before he exited out the door, Gideon gave Abby a kiss and a wink that left no doubt of his intentions for that evening.

  “Maybe if you’re lucky and a good boy,” Abby teased.

  “Oh, I feel real lucky. I don’t know if I’m a good boy or not, but boy am I good,” Gideon responded.

  Laughing, Abby pushed him out the door. “I’ll be the judge of that,” she said.

  Riding to the jail, Gideon found Finnie sitting at the sheriff’s desk smoking a cigar with his feet up on it. A cloud of low hanging smoke filled the room like a storm front moving through the jail.

  “Top of the morning to you,” Finnie said, making no attempt to vacate the seat.

  “Good morning. You must be feeling good,” Gideon said.

  “Nothing like a good night’s sleep to cure what ails you. Little Sam slept the whole night,” Finnie boasted.

  “How are our prisoners?” Gideon asked.

  “I’ve already gotten them fed, but they’re a sorry looking pair. Both of them are still in considerable pain. I’m sure the good doctor will be over to check on them,” Finnie said.

  “I’m going to walk over to District Attorney Kile’s office and see how he wants to handle this. We’re going to have a hard time charging them with anything more than rustling and Kurt for possession of stolen property unless we can get somebody to talk,” Gideo
n said.

  “I’ll hold down the fort,” Finnie said, taking another draw on his cigar and puffing the smoke into the ever–growing cloud.

  Gideon found the always impeccably dressed D.A. Kile sitting at his desk making notes on a ledger. The sheriff liked the young district attorney and found him honest to deal with even if the D.A. did wear his future political ambitions on his sleeve a little too boldly for Gideon’s liking.

  “Sheriff Johann, what brings you here?” Kile asked as he stood and shook Gideon’s hand.

  The sheriff explained the situation to the district attorney. Kile listened intently and made notes as Gideon talked.

  “So you think Kurt Tanner is the ringleader?” Kile asked when Gideon finished talking.

  “I do. I don’t know that he did the killing, but I would bet on it. I don’t think Lacey was even part of killing Colin Young,” Gideon said.

  “Let’s go down to the jail and you can try to rattle them and see what happens. I’d make a deal with Lacey if it meant getting a murder conviction. He’d be smart to keep his mouth shut, but I’ll put the fear in him all the same,” Kile said as he stood.

  The two men walked to the jail finding the door propped open as Finnie aired out the place.

  Gideon sauntered into the cell room. “I’ve talked to the district attorney and you boys are going to be charged with the murders of Colin Young and Reese Calhoun. Sounds like I’ll be building a gallows,” he boasted.

  Lacey took his hands off his head, straightened his neck, and walked to the cell door. “I’ve never killed anybody in my life. Danny and me weren’t even part of killing that sheepherder. That was all Kurt. Both of us wanted to call off stealing that herd the ranch hand was guarding, but Kurt shot him,” he said.

  “Keep your damn mouth shut,” Kurt yelled.

  Unlocking the door to Lacey’s cell, Gideon said, “You come with me.”

  Gideon walked the prisoner into the office and shut the door to the cell room. He motioned for Lacey to take a seat and gave a nod to the district attorney.

  “Lacey, I’m District Attorney Kile. I’m willing to make a deal with you. In exchange for you telling me what you know and testifying to everything about the rustling and the murders of Colin Young and Reese Calhoun, I’ll agree only to charge you with two counts of rustling. You’ll probably get five years and be out in three with good behavior. If you chose not to cooperate, I’ll do my best to get you two hanged,” Kile stated matter–of–factly.

  The rustler didn’t seem near as concerned about his headache. His face betrayed fear and his hands trembled as he scooted around in his seat trying to get comfortable.

  “I’ll tell you whatever you want to know. Danny and I didn’t have anything to do with killing that sheepherder. Kurt had a couple of friends come through and they helped him with that. Kurt bragged about shooting the old man in the back of the head after they beat him enough to know that there wasn’t any money. He kept his ring. On the night that the ranch hand got killed, we spotted him before he saw us. Danny and me wanted to turn around and forget about it, but Kurt snuck up and shot him. I might be a thief, but I didn’t want no part in killing somebody. You can’t take that back,” Lacey said.

  “What did you do with the cattle?” Gideon asked.

  “We drove them to the Alamosa railyard. The clerk there is Kurt’s cousin. He took care of the paperwork for a cut of the money and paid the railroad detective to look the other way,” Lacey answered.

  Gideon couldn’t help but smile as he envisioned arresting those two assholes.

  “How many herds did you rustle?” Kile asked.

  Lacey thought for a minute and used his fingers to count. “Six counting the one we got caught stealing,” he said.

  “Do I have your word that you will testify to all this in court?” Kile asked.

  “Anything to keep from hanging,” Lacey answered.

  “If I were you, I wouldn’t talk to Kurt from here on out,” Gideon said to Lacey before leading him back to his cell.

  Gideon walked back and sat down at his desk. He pulled Colin Young’s ring from his desk drawer and handed it to the D.A. for safekeeping. “What now?” he asked.

  “You had the railroad part all figured out. Go ahead and arrest them and I’ll get a subpoena to get the railroad’s books. Make me a list of all the dates that cattle were reported stolen. With Lacey’s testimony, we can’t lose. You two did a fine job. Good day, gentlemen,” Kile said as he stood.

  Gideon grinned and glanced at Finnie. “We’ll arrest those two with pleasure,” he said.

  After the district attorney had gone, Finnie asked, “Are we going today?”

  “Sure. I was sitting here debating whether to take a wagon to Alamosa or bring a couple of extra mounts with us. I think we’ll get a couple of horses from Blackie. It’ll be quicker and beat riding on a buckboard,” Gideon said.

  A heat wave had moved into the area and the day had already grown warm by the time Gideon and Finnie departed from Last Stand. Each man had an extra horse tied to a lead rope following behind him. Gideon planned to be home at a decent time and he pushed the pace. The horses worked up a lather and the two men found themselves continuously mopping their brows with their shirtsleeves. They arrived in Alamosa early in the afternoon and tied the horses in front of the jail.

  The sheriff of Alamosa sat at his desk filling out paperwork and looked up in surprise when they walked into his jail.

  “Sheriff Johann, you’re back. That railroad detective about wore me out complaining about you spying on him,” the sheriff said.

  “Sheriff White, I’m here to arrest him and that clerk. We got them this time. Since this is your town, I thought you should be with us when we make the arrest,” Gideon said.

  “With pleasure. I never liked that detective anyways. His name is Shores, by the way. He’s about as pleasant as a hungry bobcat,” the sheriff said as he stood and put on his hat.

  The three men rode down to the railyard, tying their horses on the street.

  Gideon said, “If you don’t mind, I’d like to walk in there first. He threatened me the last time I was here and I want to give him a chance to make good on his promise.”

  Sheriff White smiled. “Have at it,” he said.

  Wandering around the railyard, Gideon finally spied the detective. He deliberately walked towards the man until Shores recognized him. The old Confederate began marching towards Gideon as fast as his limp would allow. He pulled out his nightstick as he moved.

  “I told your Yankee ass what would happen the next time I saw you here,” Shores yelled as he drew near the sheriff.

  Gideon stood patiently until the detective was little more than a step away. With an agile move, he kicked the exposed detective in the groin. Shores doubled over in pain and Gideon delivered a windmill punch to Shore’s face, sending him sprawling onto his back. With his revolver drawn, Gideon stuck the barrel against Shores’ nose.

  “You are under arrest for your part in a rustling ring,” Gideon snarled and reached down and removed the detective’s pistol.

  All the bluster had vanished from Shores. He turned his head and spat out blood, but had nothing to say.

  Sheriff White and Finnie walked up to the two men.

  “Go ahead and get the clerk. Your deputy and I will keep an eye on this one,” Sheriff White said.

  Gideon walked to where the clerk worked and went inside the building. The clerk had his head down and never bothered to look away from his ledger.

  “Excuse me,” Gideon said.

  The clerk looked up and scowled at the sight of the sheriff. “Shores warned you what would happen if you came back,” he said.

  Moving like a cat, Gideon advanced towards the clerk. He clenched the clerk’s forehead and shoved. The clerk and his chair flew over backwards, crashing to the floor. Gideon had learned long ago that nothing worked better than having a gun shoved in a man’s face to make him go meek. He stuck his revolver against the
clerk’s nose.

  “You are under arrest for helping your cousin steal cattle. You can get up peaceful like or I can drag you out of here. Your choice,” Gideon said and sneered at the clerk.

  “I’ll walk. Just don’t hurt me,” the clerk pleaded.

  “What’s your name?” Gideon asked with the gun still touching the man’s nose.

  “Thad Hill,” he answered.

  “Start walking,” Gideon said as he straightened up and holstered his Colt.

  Gideon and Thad walked to the other men. Detective Shores still sat on the ground spitting blood.

  “Get up. We have to get back to Last Stand,” Gideon ordered.

  Shores stiffly got to his feet. He still had trouble standing erect and supported his crotch with his hand as he hobbled towards the horses.

  “Aren’t you going to tie them up?” Sheriff White asked.

  “No, I’d rather give them the opportunity to try to escape and then shoot them. Saves having a trial that way,” Gideon said and winked at his counterpart.

  “Sheriff White, you have a responsibility to escort us back to Last Stand. That man is liable to kill us as soon as we get out of hearing range,” Shores pleaded.

  “I don’t think he will unless you give him a reason. I’d start being more polite if I were you,” Sheriff White said.

  “Thank you, sheriff,” Gideon said and shook the sheriff’s hand.

  “I’m sure will be crossing paths again,” Sheriff White said before mounting up and riding away.

  “Let’s head home. The last couple of days have been so good that I plan on doing a little celebrating tonight,” Gideon said and winked at Finnie.

  Chapter 28

  Standing out on the front porch, Gideon sipped his coffee as he watched Winnie and Chance running around the yard like a couple of wild Indians. Considering the two children’s age difference, he marveled at the amount of time Winnie devoted to her younger brother. She could never be accused of not taking her job of big sister seriously and Gideon felt a burst of pride welling up for the child that had once loathed him.