He needed to forget about Sadie, that was his past, but his entire life was full of Sadie and how she had taught him to do so much. She'd said once that he was a bit slow, and it displeased him that she thought that of him, but reckoned he must be. It wasn't a compliment, but from Sadie it wasn't a complaint either.
After the shave he paid the barber and asked. "I'm lookin' for work around here. Reckon you know of anyone needing help?"
The barber scratched behind his ear. "Well, let me see. There's the blacksmith, he's lookin' for someone to groom the horses for his customers. One of the ranchers about is hirin' for a drive. 'Bout all I know of."
"Would you know if the town has a butcher?"
"A butcher? Well, I don't know. I don't think we got one of those."
"No butcher huh?"
"That's right, what's your name, I'll let everyone I know you are lookin'." The barber insisted.
"John Conroy." Elmer said proudly, enjoying the name as it rolled off his tongue so easily.
"Conroy, okay, I'll remember. I'll mention you around."
"Thanks," Elmer nodded to the man.
The barber stared after him for a long while.
So now he was John Conroy, and he stood a little straighter, his grim look faded as he began to smile, and tip his hat to a couple of ladies passing by. The women smiled at him and nodded.
For the first time in his life, he felt like a new person. This was his chance to straighten his life out. He should have left home a long time ago. He could see that now.
Suddenly the Sheriff walked up to him, in the middle of the street. "Good afternoon, you're new in town?"
John squared his shoulders and smiled a real smile. He extended his hand, as Sadie had taught him. As a new man, he'd could be anyone, and it felt good to start over.
"Yes I am. The name's John, John Conroy. I'm looking for employment, but your friendly barber said you had no butcher's in town. Is that correct?"
"Butcher, huh? Well as a matter of fact, no, we don't. I'm Rusty Peters the Sheriff here in Hard Tack. It is possible some of the ranchers could use your talents though."
"I'd appreciate a good word from you?"
"No need for formalities, you can call me Rusty or Sheriff, whichever is easier."
"Alright, Rusty, pleased to meet you. Well, I've just arrived and surely need work."
"You might find some work at the Café down the street. I'm sure a butcher would come in handy, because the way the cut up meat, it don't look much like it."
Rusty grinned.
"That would be a start."
"Alright, come on, I'll introduce you to George Stanley and see if he'll hire you on." Rusty said giving him a long glance.
"Great. Most of the people in your little town have been quite nice." John said with a smile and keeping pace with the long legged Sheriff.
"Most? Not all?" Rusty grinned again.
"Well, I think I might have riled your deputy when I first rode in. I didn't mean to be rude, but you know how it is when you come fresh off a long ride and are so tired you can't tolerate anything but a good rest."
The Sheriff nodded with a grin, and John chuckled. He was determined to be as nice as he knew how. He didn't need any more enemies. No, Hard Tack was his chance to turn his life around and that was just what he intended to do.
Chapter Four
Back in Cross Timbers, Jim Bonner and Smitty Younger walked slowly into the Sadie's Haven, noting the absence of people, the somber feel of the place. They glanced at each other. They hadn't seen a soul as they rode up. The café held that same ghostly feeling.
It was so quiet that John heard the boards creaking beneath their feet.
The town had been deserted before, but not like now. Now more than half the people were gone, moved away, leaving the ghost town appearance to Cross Timbers.
Sadie Martin came from the kitchen area and greeted them with a sad and withering smile. She wore the same worn out cotton dress she wore the last time they saw her. Her hair was pulled back in a small bun that was quickly coming undone. She looked a little rounder in the face than usual as though she’d put on a few pounds, and a lot sadder than they had ever seen her. Even the way she walked was different, more of a saunter, than a walk, her feet dragging a bit.
The café was filled with a different silence that crawled up their backs and blew against their necks, making the hair stand straight up. Both men sort of rolled their shoulders as though slouching it off.
"Well, I'll be, Jim Bonner and Smitty Younger. Sit yourselves down and have some coffee." She managed a weak smile as she came up to them. Her eyes sparkled, but that was all that sparkled on Sadie now.
Jim and Smitty tipped their hats and smiled at her. "Good to see you Sadie. How are things here in Cross Timbers?" Jim asked.
He didn't have to ask, he could see for himself, she had no customers. Looking into her drawn face, he could tell it had taken its toll on her. She looked older somehow. Her shoulders slumped more now, her step was more cautious.
Sadie grabbed two cups in one hand and the coffee pot in the other. She balanced them naturally as she moved to put them on the counter. She shook her head as she stepped back and watched them sip their coffee. "They ain't good, that's for sure. But then I guess you can see that for yourselves. I got no business now that Elmer run off. There is no meat to feed them. At first I served them fresh vegetables, and soups, but that never seemed to satisfy them. People are movin' out. Only a handful have stayed. I can't feed them no more. I can barely feed myself. Times are hard, but I’ll get by, I guess. Only ones that stayed are the real nesters that were here a long time ago, back when I was a little."
The sound of her voice wavered a bit, one minute high-pitched the next low. It sounded very much like tears were in her voice.
"I'm sorry Sadie. Sorry to hear it. I know how hard you tried to help everyone here. Sometimes people forget to show their thanks, you know." He saw her downcast eyes, the strange hollowness of her being showed through. "You know Sadie, sometimes helping people only makes it worse."
Sadie grimaced. "I suppose you are right. No one seems to remember my help anymore. They point fingers at me and grumble, as though it were all my fault. I guess I can’t blame them, I spoiled them into thinking everything would be alright. And it isn’t."
"Now that is sad. People can sure be ungrateful." Smitty shook his head. "Is there anything we can do?"
"Ain't nothin' no one can do, Smitty. The town is at last dyin' I guess like it should have done years ago. I guess I tend to hold on too close to things I love. And in the end, it does no good. No good at all. In the end, they all run away." Sadie said and ambled back to the stove to set the coffee pot down. She poured a half cup for herself as though rationing it. Jim wondered if that was all she had. "You cain't change what is to be, you know. No matter how you try."
It wasn't her words so much as the way she held herself, and the lack of holding. Jim watched her. How could he do his job when this selfless woman had done so much to make things better for the people here?
"Sadie…have you heard from Elmer?" He didn't know how to approach the subject, so he blurted it out. He didn't want to ask, but he had to.
She stopped, she didn't turn around. She just shook her head.
Her silence spoke volumes.
"I know I've asked before, but do you have any idea where he went?"
Now she turned, and wiped her eyes dry with her worn out apron. She glanced at Jim, her expression tight, and strained. "I wish I did. But I ain't heard a word from him, Jim."
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked."
She was silent for a long moment, then she got a far off look in her eyes. "Elmer was as important to this town as I, maybe more so. He stocked the smokehouse full of meat, year round. It was hard work, sometimes I think harder than he let on. Without him, no one would have got fed as long as they did. No one ever appreciated what he done except me. The people don't understand what's goin' on, an
d they ain't happy about it, neither am I. But I don't know where he is. And I guess that's how he wants it. What's left of the people, well, they resent me now. I guess for giving them false hope. But I tried…"
Her voice faded and Jim wanted to reach and pull the woman into his arms to comfort her, but instead he hung his head. "I'm so sorry Sadie. Smitty and I both think that what you've managed to do here, is remarkable."
Sadie moved to open the shade on the door, and she looked out around the town. Jim heard her sigh heavily.
Smitty stared at them both. "Why don't you move yourself to Melville, Sadie? No one would bother you there."
Jim nodded. "That's a good idea, Smitty."
Sadie studied the two men, then attempted a smile as she washed the tables with a rag she’d been carrying around since she put the coffee pot up. The tables weren't dirty, but she washed them none-the-less. "No…I couldn't do that. What if Elmer came back? I got to be here when he does. I got to. Besides, like it or not, this is where I belong. This is my home. Even if everyone packs up and moves away. Someone has to stay, to give account of what went on here. I mean it matters don’t it?"
Jim thought about that. He nodded slowly, "I guess it does, Sadie. I guess you are right. Someone should give account for its history, but it doesn't have to be you, you know?"
"Maybe it does. I was born and raised here. I've seen the people come here to work in the mines, how the mines played out and the town began to die. I've seen the good and the bad here. Our own Pa tried to stick it out in the mines, but even he gave up after a while."
With Sadie here, Elmer might return. Jim also thought about what he would have to do if Elmer did return. Sadie would still be in a fix, maybe more so than now. Maybe God had a reason for Elmer running away. Maybe it really was the only way to save his sister.
Jim didn't enjoy doing things like this, especially to people like Sadie. But Elmer…he'd have to lock him up. He'd have to contact Rusty too and get him to prove beyond a doubt about the bone he'd found in the dumplings. And that would cause the real trouble. Once people found out what was in the dumplings, they'd have a witch hunt for Sadie. It wouldn’t be Elmer, it would be Sadie that would be in danger.
Once the truth was finally out in the open, all hell would break loose here in this dead little town. He couldn't let that happen to Sadie, she was an innocent in this.
Right now, he wasn't sure of a lot of things. And the townspeople, if they found out that she had cooked human remains, she'd be in danger? It was unthinkable. What would all of that do to Sadie, and what was left of this pitiful town? Sadie was an innocent. And she'd be forever hurt. In some ways, he silently hoped Elmer never returned. But it wouldn't stop him from checking. He knew his job and he was determined to do it. He just couldn't leave Melville to go after Elmer, it would take too much time away from his town. Still, he kept up with Sadie.
He'd come to have great respect for the woman.
"I want you to consider moving Sadie. For your own good. You know that Elmer would come looking for you. You know that. You could even leave a message somewhere to let him know where you are. But it might be a lot safer for you, if you did move. With so many moving away, you being here alone, anything could happen. You could get sick and no one would know."
Sadie shook her head and began drying a cup she'd washed out. "I cain't. I'm sorry. I cain't. But you are right about the sickness. There ain't no more docs or mid-wives here in this town. And I don't know much about that kind of stuff. If I was to get too sick I reckon I'd just curl up and die."
"Then you'll consider it?"
"Sure I will. Maybe not now, but later."
The tears fell down her cheeks as she moved away from them. Jim watched her. There was something else keeping her here. Something very sad and dangerous. He could feel the danger, but he couldn't put his finger on it. He wanted to help her, but sometimes a person couldn't be helped until they fully realized they needed it.
She deserved to be helped, but she refused to consider it.
"If you change your mind, let me know. I'll be at the Sheriff's office…" Jim muttered.
"Sheriff's office? Why would you be there?" She frowned at him.
"Because I'm the Sheriff of Melville Sadie." Jim watched her for a reaction, and he saw her eyes get bigger with surprise.
Sadie stopped everything, dropped the cup she was drying in her hand and looked at him. "You never told me that."
"Never seemed important before."
The silence grew between them before she spoke again. "You're lookin' for Elmer, aren't you?"
Jim stared into her pale eyes. He nodded.
Sadie shook with fear, with apprehension, and with some inner knowledge. "I always knew it was more than my cookin' that brought the two of you here. Just didn't know what. What did he do?"
Jim didn't want to tell her. He couldn't tell her. He wouldn't tell her.
"We just need to talk to him."
Sadie nodded. "Must be somethin' awful or you would tell me. You're a good man, both of you. And that must be why Elmer went away. He'd be ashamed of doing something bad. Poor Elmer, he used to have these attacks of rage. I never understood it. But he was a very private man, and he didn't share as much as I did of myself. I knew there were things I didn't know. When he'd go huntin' for the meat, he'd come back, and act so strangely at times'. I never paid much attention to him because ever since Ma died he'd been that way, having these fits of rage and then sort of depressed like. But he'd never share with me. First time it happened, I didn't know what to do. So I went and hid out until he went to sleep. I was scared back then, but I don't let him scare me no more though. He is my brother, and I love him, no matter what he done. I am determined to stand by him. He's been done so wrong, so many times. It cain't be all his fault, my Ma and I have put a lot of worry on his shoulders."
"What happened to your Ma, Sadie?" Smitty asked.
"She were kilt by the Indians. And poor Elmer, he saw most of it I reckon. He was a mess when I found him. It was all I could do to settle him down. He had such nightmares sometimes."
Smitty cleared his throat. "How old was he when she died?"
"Elmer was about twelve when she died. Even younger when our Pa died. He became a man at eight years old. And he took it seriously. Ma didn't give him any choice in the matter. He had to provide for us, she said. Poor Elmer, he was just a kid."
"That's young, yes siree, that's young." Smitty nodded.
Sadie nodded. "I don't think he will be back…."
"You don't?" Jim watched her eyes.
"No," Sadie sighed heavily. "I don't. And I don't think it's talkin' you need him for. I think you know, he done whatever he done. And I think he's guilty or he wouldn't have left. But he did get religion, and maybe he thought he could make it somewhere's away from me. Away from this town. He never liked this place much. It all makes sense now. Maybe I coddled him too much. And I can tell you I'm sorry for whatever he done, but that would do no good."
She moved closer now.
"You see boys, Elmer is a good man, deep down, and sometimes he don't know it. But he is. He's had a hard life, had to take on most of the responsibilities of manhood early. Real early. Ma was mean to him in more ways than one. I guess, in all his huntin' and movin' around to find meat for me, he got himself in some trouble. He never spoke of it, but I always wondered about what he had been doin'. He never felt he had any roots. A man needs roots you know. Elmer never had any. He always wanted to move somewhere else. He thought if we moved things would get better. He never felt as though he belonged. He never told me anything about those huntin' trips, but we were close. I think if he could have talked about it, he'd have felt better."
"Did he get along with most of the people here?"
"Aw…no, but that was my fault. I kept him under my wing too long. I crowded him too much. The folks here knew he was the one that brought the meat. But people don't always appreciate things until they are gone. He got passed b
y. He was seldom home anyways. He was always dressin' out the meat and cleanin' the smokehouse. No one but me knew how hard he worked. I taught him to be clean and tidy and he was the best butcher in these parts. Oh folks all around knew he was a great butcher and they'd come for miles around to have him dress out a deer, or even a cow. They claimed he cut the fat off better than anyone they knew. It must have been the truth 'cause lots of people came and asked for him. He worked hard all his life. Never had much to show for it. And the only person that ever realized his worth was me."
"That's too bad, Sadie. A man works hard and never gets anything for it. That is sad. So why don't you leave here. No one seems to appreciate your hard work either? There's nothing to hold you here now."
"No, I guess not, but its home. It's as simple as that. It is where I belong. I'll stay a while longer."
"But Sadie…it could be dangerous you being here alone. You don't have anyone to see after you. What if you needed help? What if you got hurt, fell or had an accident? Who would even know?"
"I got God…" she cried.
Jim glanced at Smitty and shook his head.
"The invitation is open Sadie. I'm sure you could find work as a cook in Melville. Most folks have tasted your cooking."
"I thank you, for that. But I reckon I was born here, and I'll die here. Come see me, now and then, Jim…Smitty." She murmured and walked to the kitchen. "It do get a might lonesome."
Jim glanced at Smitty.
"We'll be back…"
"She ain't gonna budge." Smitty shook his head as she walked away.
"I'm worried about her, Smitty. She's all alone, anything could happen. And those fits of rage that Elmer had, he could have hurt her, still could, if he comes back."
"I'm worried too. She looks bad…Well not bad, but not her best."
Jim glanced at the pot on the stove. The pot was usually full of food, today it barely covered the bottom of the pot. He nudged Smitty. Smitty looked.
"Let's ride." Jim said.
"See ya soon, Sadie…" Jim called over his shoulder as he walked toward the door.
Bad Day for a Killing (Book Three of the Western Serial Killer Series) Page 3