A Gideon Johann Boxed Set Book 1 - 4 (A Gideon Johann Western 0)

by Duane Boehm

  Chapter 8

  Word on the arrest of the banker moved through the town like a heatwave. Gossips ran into both saloons shouting the news before Gideon had even walked Mr. Druthers all the way to the jail. Patrons emptied from both establishments as well as neighboring stores to catch a glimpse of the sheriff and banker advancing down the main street.

  Cal Simpson took particular interest in the proceedings from the front of his saloon. He motioned the bartender over to him and told him that he was in charge while he ran an errand. Slipping out the back door, Cal disappeared down a side street.

  Gideon locked Mr. Druthers in a cell and asked, “Do you want to tell me what happened?”

  “You can go to hell. I’m not saying a word. You’ll be the one that’s sorry that this happened and not me before it’s over. I just might have to call in some notes on all your friends when this is all said and done,” Mr. Druthers said.

  “You’re awfully sure of yourself for somebody facing a hanging. It might be a little harder to run your mouth with a noose around your neck,” Gideon said and walked out of the room.

  Gideon crossed the street to Doc Abram’s office. The doctor had stepped outside to see about the commotion and was talking with a passerby as Gideon approached.

  “I told you that somebody would know something,” Doc said.

  “So you did. I guess being as old as you are provides great wisdom,” Gideon teased.

  “Thank goodness that there is some benefit to it,” Doc said.

  “I’d like you to come over and look at Druthers to see if you think that it looks like scratch marks that Minnie could have made. That way you can testify to it. Oh, you’d better grab your bag too. His neck looks infected to me,” Gideon said.

  The doctor grabbed his bag and followed Gideon to the jail. Mr. Druthers sat on his bed, looking amused at seeing the two men.

  “I want Doc to have a look at your neck. I don’t want you getting sick on my watch,” Gideon said.

  “You can go to hell all over again. I don’t need no doctor,” Druthers said.

  Gideon unlocked the cell and yanked Mr. Druthers to his feet by his shirt. He then pinned him against the bars and used his free hand to twist Druthers’ head to the side, making him holler in pain.

  “Have yourself a look, Doc,” Gideon said.

  The doctor pulled the banker’s collar flat and peered at his neck through his spectacles. “It looks like scratches from a human to me. Hold him there while I douse it with some iodine,” he said before retrieving a bottle and cloth from his bag and treating the wounds.

  “Doc, I owe you a beer,” Gideon said as he shoved Druthers back down onto the bed.

  “If he hangs, we’ll call it even,” Doc said, staring Druthers in the eye.

  Gideon dropped into the chair behind his desk after Doc took his leave. A sense of calm washed over him for the first time since the murder. His initial inability to solve the crime had started to erode his confidence at being sheriff, but he now banished the doubts from his mind. He opened his desk drawer, retrieving a bottle of whiskey and a glass. Pouring two fingers worth, he took a sip and let it linger in his mouth before swallowing. He leaned back in his chair and gazed at the glass. Sleep would come much easier for him tonight, he decided.

  Later in the afternoon, Gideon played checkers with Finnie. Gideon had beaten him three games in a row and the Irishman was getting wound up and cussing with each move when Ethan walked into the office.

  “I was down at the feed store and heard that you had arrested Mr. Druthers. Sounds like you’ve had quite the day,” Ethan said.

  “I never would’ve guessed him as a murderer in a million years. I was beginning to think that it was going to go unsolved,” Gideon said. “By the way, Ethan Oakes this here is Finnegan Ford.”

  Finnie stood and shook Ethan’s hand.

  “Gideon used to talk about you during the war and he didn’t exaggerate – you really are a big bastard,” Finnie said.

  “Finnie,” Gideon chided. “Ethan is a preacher now. Watch your mouth.”

  The two men still had a grasp of each other’s hand and Ethan said, “Gideon has talked about you since he has been back and he didn’t exaggerate on you either – you really are a sawed–off little shit.”

  The two men let out cackles of laughter and pumped each other’s hand as if they were old lost friends. Gideon watched on in quiet amusement. The two men were so different and he had wondered how they would react to each other. If their first meeting was any indication, they were going to get along just fine.

  “Sarah said that you were quite the character,” Ethan said.

  “You have a most charming wife. You two gentlemen sure know how to pick the women,” Finnie said.

  “Speaking of men and their choice of women, we need to do something to cheer up Zack. If that boy gets any lower, his face is going to be dragging the ground like a hound on the trail of a coon,” Ethan said.

  “You need to send him into town. I promised him that I would teach him how to fight. That poor boy thinks that you’re supposed to use your face to stop a punch,” Finnie said.

  “I tried to talk him into going to the dance this Saturday night, but he doesn’t want any part of it. Sarah has been telling him that the girls at church have all been pining for him,” Ethan said.

  “You two sound like a couple of gossiping old ladies. I still hold out hope that Joann will come to her senses. I’ve put too much work into training that boy not to get some benefits of a son–in–law taking care of me in old age,” Gideon joked.

  “I better get home. Maybe we can all go fishing and take him and Benjamin,” Ethan said before saying his goodbyes and leaving.

  Gideon lost the fourth checker game to Finnie, who beamed with satisfaction at ending with a win.

  “I’m going to head home. Can you bring a meal from the hotel over here to Druthers? Just tell them that you need a prisoner meal and they will know what to do and will put it on the account,” Gideon said.

  “I’ll be glad to do it. Anything else that you need?” Finnie said.

  “That should do it. Mr. Druthers should be fine after that and not need any attention. I’ll see you in the morning,” Gideon said.

  “Tell that pretty wife of yours that I said hello,” Finnie said before Gideon left.

  Finnie ate at the hotel and then took a meal to Druthers as Gideon had requested. Afterward, he walked over to the doctor’s office and talked Doc into a couple of games of checkers. The Irishman could not quite size–up the doctor and stayed on his best behavior in his presence. At times, the doctor seemed to him to be a good–natured old gent and at others, a grouchy old man. He wasn’t sure if the doctor would find his humor amusing so he concentrated on the game and talked little.

  The doctor departed for the Last Chance as it grew dark and with nothing else to occupy his time, Finnie went to bed. Sometime during the night, the ring of the bell above the door awakened him. Sitting up on the cot, he called out, “Gideon, is that you? What brings you back here in the middle of the night?”

  The person walked towards Finnie, not saying a word. Finnie, not alarmed, still assumed it to be Gideon. “Gideon?” he called out once more.

  As the person reached him, Finnie saw the blue steel of a revolver reflecting in what little light there was in the room. He tried to dive to the floor, but the barrel of the gun came crashing down on his head and he hit the floor unconscious.

  The man turned the wick in the oil lamp up and walked with it into the cell room. Mr. Druthers sat on his bed, awakened from all of the commotion. Upon recognizing the man, he stood and walked to the cell door. “I wondered what was going on out there. I thought that you’d hire me a good lawyer to get us out of this. Never dreamed you’d break me out of here. Where am I going to go?” Mr. Druthers said before the man shot the banker three times at pointblank.

  Chapter 9

  Just as the sun popped up over the horizon, Gideon arrived in town. H
e found Finnie stretched across the floor and Gideon’s anger flashed at seeing him. He restrained himself from giving Finnie a good kick.

  “Damn it, Finnie, wakeup,” he growled.

  He leaned over Finnie, ready to give him a hard shake and saw the blood on his brow and the knot on his head. “Finnie, can you hear me?” Gideon asked.

  Finnie moaned and mumbled, “Oh, my aching head. Did I get kicked by a horse?”

  “No, somebody waylaid you good. Let’s get you up on the cot,” Gideon said and helped Finnie up with considerable effort.

  Unable to remain sitting, Finnie gently lowered himself onto his back. “What happened?”

  “I think somebody busted Druthers out of here. Let me go see. I’ll be right back,” Gideon said and ran back to the cell room.

  Mr. Druthers lie in a pool of blood so immense that it even gave the war veteran pause. Gideon had viewed many a dead man in his time, but death was something that he never got used to seeing or smelling. From the look of the mess, the banker’s heart had surely kept pumping out blood a long time before he had died.

  “I’m going to go get Doc,” Gideon said as he emerged from the cell room.

  He ran to the doctor’s office and found the doctor buttoning his shirtsleeve. Doc looked annoyed and ready to pounce on him.

  “Doc, somebody waylaid Finnie and killed Druthers. I think Finnie is bad,” Gideon said before the doctor had time to fuss.

  Without saying a word, Doc Abram grabbed his bag and followed Gideon across the street. The doctor squatted down and touched Finnie’s knot, causing the Irishman to wince.

  “I’ll need that lamp over here for some good light. Roll me your chair over too,” Doc said.

  “What do you think?” Gideon asked as he rolled the chair over and sat the lamp beside the cot.

  “I think that you need to make us some coffee and let me do my job. A man needs some coffee to function when you get to be my age,” the doctor groused.

  “I can do that,” Gideon said, making a hasty retreat.

  “Finnie, can you hear me,” Doc asked.

  “Of course, I can hear you. They didn’t cut off my ears, they hit me upside the head,” Finnie said.

  The doctor grabbed the lamp and held it in front of Finnie’s face. He looked into Finnie’s eyes and made him follow his finger with them. “Do you remember what happened?” Doc asked.

  Finnie thought for a moment before answering. “I remember somebody coming in and I thought it was Gideon so I sat on the cot like a frog on a lily pad and let them knock my head off,” Finnie whispered.

  By the time Gideon had the coffee made, the doctor had completed his examination. Taking the cup from Gideon, he said, “He has a concussion, but his brain isn’t scrambled. That’s a good sign. I don’t think his skull is cracked and I don’t see any other injuries. I’m going to stay here with him for a while in case he starts vomiting or has seizures. We can put a sign on my door so that folks can find me if need be.”

  Gideon leaned over Finnie and asked, “Did you get a look at them at all?”

  “Too dark,” Finnie said and closed his eyes.

  “Damn, I never saw this coming. I hate that I put poor Finnie in harm’s way. Druthers ran his mouth yesterday that he had friends that would get him out of this. I guess they had other ideas. There sure is something not right about all of this. This will teach me to feel good about solving a crime,” Gideon said.

  Doc Abram took a sip of coffee. “Somebody was certainly afraid of what Druthers might say. They shot him didn’t they? Something woke me up last night, but I didn’t know what it was. I bet it was the shots.”

  “Yeah, they shot him alright. There’s blood everywhere and I have a hell of a mess to clean,” Gideon said.

  “Do you think that it was Cal?” Doc asked.

  “I don’t have a clue. I wouldn’t think that Cal would be the friend with the money for a lawyer that Druthers talked about and I doubt somebody with money would use Cal to do the murdering. He’s not exactly what you would call a hired gun,” Gideon said.

  “This is going to get interesting,” Doc said.

  “Do you think that I’m up to the challenge? I’m good with a gun, but I’m not a detective. I’m afraid I may be over my head,” Gideon said.

  “You’re as capable of a man as I’ve ever known and there’s no point in doubting yourself. It may take a while, but you’ll get it figured out,” the doctor said.

  “I hope you’re right,” Gideon said, still not feeling convinced.

  “I was starting to like your friend here. We played checkers last night. I have him buffaloed and he doesn’t quite know how to take me. It’s pretty amusing. I see how he is around you and everybody else, but with me, he’s all polite and mannerly. I’m going to start having some fun with him. That’ll have to wait for now,” Doc said as if Finnie could not hear him.

  “That it will. I’m going to go get the cabinetmaker and let him get the body out of here and then get to cleaning,” Gideon said before taking one last swig of coffee and heading out the door.

  After returning and cleaning the cell, Gideon relieved Doc Abram long enough for the doctor to go eat. Upon the doctor’s return, Gideon had all of the jail that he could stand and head out on his usual walk around town. He first stopped in the Last Chance to tell Mary the reason that Finnie would not be in that day. News of the dead Mr. Druthers being carried out of the jail had already spread throughout the town and Gideon could not walk twenty feet without having to stop to recount what had happened. The walk took twice as long as normal and by the time that he finished, he gladly returned to the jail.

  Finnie sat on the edge of the cot, sipping coffee when Gideon walked into the office. He looked up and smiled. “An Irishman’s head is a lot harder than you think,” he said.

  “You aren’t telling me anything that I don’t know. Do you want me to go get you some breakfast?” Gideon said.

  “Having you wait on me sounds like a bully idea. It’s the least that you can do for causing me to almost get my head caved in,” Finnie said.

  “Don’t make me regret that you survived,” Gideon said before heading out to buy him some breakfast.

  ∞

  The sun hung well into the western sky and Ethan wanted to check on his herds before calling it quits and heading home. His cattle had been restless for a couple of days and he intended to make sure that they had settled for the evening. He sent Zack to check the herd to the north and he headed to the western herd with the understanding to meet at the pond to see if the beaver were building dams again.

  Ethan rode across the pasture towards the cattle and saw smoke just into the woods to the side. He put his horse into trot towards it and came upon four men sitting around a campfire cooking a rabbit.

  “Hello, there,” Ethan called out as he climbed down from his horse. “I saw your smoke and wanted to make sure that I didn’t have a brush fire on my property.”

  One of the men stood up and walked towards Ethan. “I’m sorry. We figured we were on free range. We’re just passing through,” he said.

  “You’re fine as long as it’s just for the night. Please make sure your fire is out when you leave,” Ethan said.

  “Oh, we will. Don’t worry about that,” the man said. “That’s a fine looking piebald you got there. Is that an Indian pony?”

  “Yeah, I traded for him a few years back. He took some work to get him trained to be a cattle horse, but he is the surest footed animal that I’ve ever owned,” Ethan said.

  “He’s the biggest Indian pony that I’ve ever seen. Works out good for a big boy like you,” the man said.

  “Yeah, you could say that,” Ethan said and chuckled.

  “Would you be interested in selling him?” the man asked.

  “No. I got too much time invested in Pie to ever make it worth my while for that,” Ethan said.

  “I’d sure like to buy him,” the man said.

  “I just can’t sell,�
� Ethan said.

  “Then I’ll just take him,” the man said, drawing his gun and firing.

  Ethan did not have time even to react. The bullet caught him in the chest, sending him reeling backwards before falling to the ground.

  “Why in the hell did you do that,” another man hollered.

  “I wanted that horse and the damn fool wasn’t smart enough to sell it,” the shooter said.

  “Now we got to skedaddle. The rabbit ain’t even cooked,” the other man bemoaned.

  “Well let’s saddle up and ride then,” the shooter said.

  Ethan couldn’t get off the ground and listened helplessly as the men rode away. Having a hard time catching his breath, he figured that he was dying. The idea of dying didn’t scare him, but the thought of never seeing Sarah or Benjamin again brought tears to his eyes. He also worried about how Sarah would manage the ranch without him before taking comfort in knowing that Gideon and Zack would take care of her. Closing his eyes, he began to relax, ready for whatever came.

  Zack made it back to the pond and was surprised not to see Ethan already there. Ethan had a shorter trip and should have beaten him back. Deciding that his boss may have had trouble with the cattle, he started riding in that direction. As he caught sight of the herd, he noticed the smoke off to the side. He put his horse into a lope and rode towards it. Ethan’s blue shirt caught his eye and he galloped to him, jumping off his horse before the animal had stopped.

  “Ethan,” Zack cried out upon seeing the blood.

  Ethan opened his eyes as Zack squatted over him.

  “I don’t think I’m going to make it,” he whispered before gasping for air. “Tell Sarah and Benjamin that I love them.”

  “Don’t say that. I can’t lose you like I did my pa. We all count on you, Ethan. You got to hold on while I get help,” Zack said.

  Ethan nodded at him.

  The chest wound made an awful sucking sound. “Ethan, keep your hand over the wound and try to seal it. That noise it’s making can’t be good,” Zack said.