Virgil Earp, Private Detective

by J. R. Roberts

  It wasn’t hard for them to follow the buckboard on foot, because it wasn’t going very fast. When it pulled to a stop behind a house, Link and Morrell found some cover to watch from.

  “Ain’t this that nigger gal’s house?” Morrell asked.

  “Yeah,” Link said. “Dave was gonna come here and spend the night.”

  As they watched, Clint Adams and Virgil Earp carried something wrapped in a bloody sheet out to the buckboard.

  “Ah, Christ,” Link said.

  “You thinkin’ that’s Dave?” Morrell asked.

  “Yeah,” Link said. “They got him, Derek. They killed Dave.”

  Clint and Virgil drove the buckboard away.

  “You wanna follow them and see where they take ‘im?” Morrell asked.

  “No,” Link said, “I got a better idea. Come on.”

  Virgil had found an abandoned barn where they could stash the body. He and Clint unloaded it and then got back on the buckboard.

  “You rent this?” Clint asked.

  “No, I borrowed it from somebody who can keep his mouth shut.”

  “Who’s that?”

  “Nick. I gotta bring it back.”

  “I’ll come with you, and then we can go back to the boardinghouse.”

  “And do what?” Virgil snapped the reins at the horse to get it going.

  “Figure out our next move, I guess,” Clint said. “We got one of them. Now we’ve got to get the other two.”

  “Well, I hope it don’t take too long,” Virgil said. “We’re gonna have to explain to the inspector why we hid this body.”

  “Once we give him his killer, he won’t care,” Clint said.

  “I hope you’re right.”

  They took the buckboard back to Nick, unhitched the horse for him, even cleaned some blood off the flatbed before they left.

  It was getting dark when they walked back to the rooming house, entered, and were immediately attacked by Kate.

  “James is gone!” she said.

  “So he went home,” Virgil said. “Allie probably made di—”

  “No, no,” she said. “His office is a shambles, like there was a fight.”

  Virgil rushed past her, followed by Clint. Kate brought up the rear.

  As she had said, the office was a mess. On the floor, amid a mess of paperwork, was James’s gun.

  “They took him,” Virgil said.

  “They must know about Dave,” Clint said.

  “How could they?” Kate asked.

  “Maybe they saw us moving the body,” Clint said.

  “So we killed his brother, the one named Link, and now Link’s got James,” Virgil said. “An eye for an eye.”

  “You have to get him back,” Kate said. “What are you gonna tell Allie?”

  “I don’t know,” Virgil said.

  “You’re lucky you weren’t here when they came, Kate,” Clint said, “or they’d have you.”

  “I’m not looking to lose a partner, Clint,” she said. “You have to get him back.”

  “I’m not gonna lose another brother,” Virgil said.

  “Don’t worry, Kate,” Clint said. “We’ll get him back.” Clint took hold of Virgil’s good shoulder. “We’ll get him back, Virgil.”

  FORTY-TWO

  Virgil stared out the front window.

  “We can’t just wait,” he said.

  “What else can we do?” Clint asked. “Where is there to look? We’ve got to wait to hear from them.”

  “What makes you think they won’t just kill him?” Virgil asked.

  “Let’s turn it around,” Clint said. “What if they had killed James first, and then you grabbed Dave? What would you want to do?”

  “Kill him in front of his brother,” Virgil said. “I see.”

  Kate came in carrying a tray with mugs of coffee on it.

  “I know you’re not hungry, but I made coffee.”

  Clint stared down at the black liquid in the cups.

  “You made it?”

  “Taste it before you turn your nose up at it,” she said.

  Actually, it didn’t smell too bad. It smelled strong, the way he liked it.

  He picked up one mug, Virgil a second. The third remained on the tray.

  Clint sipped.

  “Well?” Kate asked.

  “Not bad,” he said. Strong, like it smelled.

  “That’s a relief,” she said. “Now I’ll have some.”

  “I wouldn’t,” Virgil said. “It’ll melt your teeth.”

  “I thought coffee was supposed to be strong,” she said.

  “It is,” Clint said.

  “You two deserve each other,” Virgil said, putting the mug down. He went back to looking out the window.

  Kate sipped the coffee.

  “Is this the way it’s supposed to taste?” she asked Clint.

  “It’s close enough.”

  They both looked at Virgil.

  “I searched James’s office, just in case there was a note in among the papers. There wasn’t.”

  “They’ll send someone in the morning with a message,” Clint said.

  “Send who?” Virgil asked. “Who else do they know in Colton?”

  “They’ll probably grab a kid and send him,” Clint said. “Maybe the hotel clerk.”

  “You know they’re gonna kill James, and try to kill us,” Virgil said.

  “I know they’re gonna try to kill all three of us.”

  “You don’t have to come with me.”

  “Yes,” Clint said, “I do.”

  “We’ll need backup guns.”

  “Mine’s in the hotel.”

  “Mine’s in my office,” Virgil said, “and I’ve got one at home.”

  “You can take James’s,” Clint said.

  “What about you?”

  “If I have a chance, I’ll stop by the hotel,” Clint said. “If not, I’ll have to do without.”

  Virgil looked at Clint.

  “If there’s a shot to be taken, I want you to take it,” he said. “You’re the best shot I’ve ever seen with a handgun.”

  “Okay, Virgil.”

  “I’m gonna trust you with my brother’s life.”

  “If I take the shot,” Clint said, “I’ll make it.”

  “How do you know?” Kate asked.

  “What?”

  “How do you know you’ll make the shot? How do you know you won’t miss?”

  “With James’s life hanging in the balance,” Clint said, “missing is not an option.”

  “It must be nice to be that confident.”

  “Confidence has nothing to do with it,” Clint said. “If I miss, I’ll have to explain it to Virgil, to Allie, and to Wyatt. And to you. Missing is not in the equation.”

  “What if they make you drop your guns?”

  “That’s not an option, either,” Virgil said. “If we drop our weapons, we’re all dead.”

  “So there has to be a shooting?”

  “Can’t be avoided,” Clint said. “Just like in Tombstone.”

  “I wasn’t in Tombstone,” she said. “I don’t know if that couldn’t have been avoided. But this—why not go to the police?”

  “The police,” Virgil said, “would definitely get James killed. No, this has to be done by me and Clint. There’s no way around it.”

  “Trust us,” Clint said. “We know what has to be done here.”

  Kate shook her head and said, “Men.”

  FORTY-THREE

  “Clint!”

  Clint came to on the sofa and stared up at Virgil, who hadn’t slept all night.

  “I’m up,” he said. “Sorry.”

  “That’s okay,” Virgil said. “One of us had to sleep. I’m happy it was you. Your eyes will be clear.”

  At that point there was a knock at the door.

  “I’ll get it,” Virgil said, glancing out the window to see who it was as he headed to the door.

  Kate came out of the kitchen with coffee whi
le Virgil went to the door.

  “I thought you could use this,” she said, handing Clint a mug. “I made it even stronger.”

  He sipped it and nodded.

  “Yes, you did.”

  Virgil came in.

  “Let’s go,” he said. “That was the messenger.”

  “Messenger?” Kate asked.

  “Like Clint said, a boy, about ten.”

  “Did he bring a note?”

  “No,” Virgil said, “he’s gonna take us to the meeting place.”

  “Why wouldn’t they send a note?” Kate asked.

  “Because then we’d have time to find the place,” Clint said.

  Virgil picked up James’s gun and stuck it in the back of his belt.

  “We have to go now,” Virgil said. “No time to stop at the hotel.”

  “Wait!” Kate said.

  She ran from the room, and returned in a moment carrying a gun.

  “What is that?” Virgil asked,

  “It’s my gun,” she said. “Clint’s backup gun.”

  Clint looked at it. It was a .25-caliber Colt New Line, similar to the one in his room.

  “That’s not a gun.”

  “It’s a gun,” Clint said, taking it from Kate. “Thanks, Kate.” He stuck it in the back of his belt, turned to Virgil. “Let’s go.”

  Link Holman checked the ropes that bound James Earp’s hands behind his back.

  “Remember, Derek,” he said. “I get Earp, you take the Gunsmith.”

  “I got it, Link,” Morrell said. “You’ve only told me ten times.”

  Link turned and slammed both hands into Morrell’s chest.

  “Just don’t miss!”

  “Too bad we can’t both hide behind an Earp,” Morrell said.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “I think you know what it means, Link,” Morrell said. “This is supposed to be done man-to-man, face-to-face. Two of us, two of them. You’re gonna hide behind Earp’s brother.”

  “I’m gonna make sure I avenge my brother’s death,” Link said.

  “The idiot,” Morrell said. “He’s dead because he had to be with that nigger bitch.”

  “You’re gonna do this, Derek,” Link said, “and if you have a problem with me, we’ll deal with it after.”

  “I should walk away and let you handle this yourself,” Morrell said, “but I won’t.”

  Link grabbed Morrell’s arm and squeezed it. “Okay, Derek.”

  “Do you two want to be alone?” James Earp asked.

  “This is as far as I go,” the boy said. His name was Tom and he was eleven, not ten.

  “What?” Virgil asked.

  “Where do we go, Tom?” Clint asked.

  “Around that corner,” the boy said. “The man said they’d be in a corral.”

  “In a what?” Virgil asked.

  “A corral.”

  Tom turned and ran back the way they had come.

  Virgil looked at Clint.

  “They gotta be kiddin’,” he said.

  “Virgil,” Clint said, “you’ve got to take care of the man who’s not standing behind James.”

  “What makes you think either of them will be standing behind him?”

  “They took him, they’re going to use him,” Clint said. “Just remember. The one out in the open is yours.”

  “I’ll remember,” Virgil said. “You just remember what you said about not missing.”

  “Not an option,” Clint said.

  FORTY-FOUR

  As they turned the corner, they saw three men standing in a corral next to an abandoned barn. One of them was standing behind James Earp, who seemed to have his hands tied behind him.

  “That’s it,” one of them said. “Come a little closer.”

  Clint and Virgil moved closer.

  “Come on, Earp,” the man standing behind James said. “Your family likes corrals. Come on in.”

  Clint unhitched the gate and swung it open. But instead of stepping in, he and Virgil stopped there.

  “This is far enough,” Clint said.

  “That ain’t for you to say, Adams,” the man said. “That’s for Earp.”

  “What’s your name?” Virgil asked.

  “I’m Link Holman,” the man said. “You killed my brother, Dave.”

  Virgil didn’t bother to tell the man that it was Clint who’d killed his brother. In the scheme of things it didn’t matter.

  “And now I’ve got your brother,” Link said.

  “And who’s your friend?” Clint asked. “We might as well all get acquainted.”

  “This is Derek Morrell, Adams,” Link said. “The man who’s gonna kill you.”

  “So I guess that means you’re gonna kill me,” Virgil said.

  “I mean to,” Link said. “You gents just toss your guns away now.”

  “What kind of shoot-out would this be if we tossed away our guns?” Clint asked.

  “The kind where you two die,” Link said. “If ya don’t wanna toss them away, you get to watch Mr. James Earp here die.”

  Link Holman was only slightly bigger than James. He wasn’t giving Clint much of a shot, using James to hide behind the way he was—but there was a shot. Link had to move his head to the side a bit so he could see Clint and Morrell. That gave Clint his right eye as a target.

  “We tossin’?” Virgil asked Clint.

  “Let’s not bother with it,” Clint said. “Let’s just get this done.”

  “You got a shot?”

  “I got one.”

  “Damned if I see it,” Virgil said.

  “What’s it gonna be?” Link Holman shouted.

  “I think we should stop talking and get this done,” Clint called back.

  “You stupid—” Link Holman started, but Clint simply drew and fired, hoping that Virgil would handle Derek Morrell.

  James Earp heard Clint’s shot go by him, then felt something wet on his neck. Damn it, Clint Adams, he thought, you shot me!

  Virgil drew when Clint did and fired one shot at Derek Morrell. Morrell got his gun out, but never brought it to bear, as Virgil’s shot hit him in the chest. The man fell over backward, his gun flying from his hand.

  James turned quickly, his hand going to his neck. He looked at the blood that stained his palm and realized it wasn’t his. He then looked down at Link Holman, who was missing his right eye.

  Clint and Virgil walked up to James.

  “You okay, little brother?” Virgil asked.

  “Jesus,” James said to Clint, “how’d you make that shot?”

  “There was no other option,” Clint said.

  Virgil slapped Clint on the back and said, “Thank you.”

  When Clint and Virgil got to the police station, there was a ruckus going on. Townspeople were outside, and uniformed police were keeping them at bay. There was also a reporter from the local paper.

  “What’s going on?” Clint asked.

  “They caught the guy who killed that Quest woman,” the reporter said.

  “Is that a fact?” Virgil asked.

  “Who was it?” Clint asked.

  “The desk clerk at the Hotel Colton,” the man said. “From what I hear he tried to force himself on the girl, then cut her throat when she tried to scream.”

  “Are they sure?” Virgil asked.

  “Oh, they’re sure,” the reporter said. “Inspector James went to the hotel with three of his men for some reason, and I guess the clerk thought they were comin’ for him. He confessed.”

  “Confessed?”

  “Yup.”

  Clint and Virgil backed off a bit, away from the commotion.

  “Think this is the time to tell Inspector James he’s got three more bodies?” Virgil asked Clint.

  “This,” Clint said, “is most certainly not the time.”

  Virgil shrugged and said, “Okay, we’ll tell him tomorrow.”

  Watch for

  MESSAGE ON THE WIND

  334th novel i
n the exciting GUNSMITH series

  from Jove

  Coming in October!