He stared over her for a long moment. He'd never seen a woman without clothes on. He studied her as if she was an animal he'd never seen, and then as though it were commonplace, he cut off her ring finger and stuck it in his pocket. Throwing her on the bed, he left without a word. He didn't understand this woman. She frightened him. He moved silently against the wall of the saloon, to the back entrance and strode out into the street. He found his horse and got on it, riding slowly out of town. His mind a confused mess at what had just happened. She shouldn't have scolded him. They didn't have any right to scold him…
Tears fell down his face, and he sobbed like a baby, riding alone on the prairie. What had she wanted? He didn't understand her, and she kept yelling at him like he was stupid.
He didn't understand people, he just didn't understand…
Somehow this didn't comfort him any longer. He felt left out and he hated not understanding. He hated being left out of the world. What had she wanted him to do?
Chapter Nine
"'Bout another days ride, we'll be at my place," John T. announced as they camped for the night in a gully near a stream. His face was a mask of emotions.
"Wish we was already there boy, its mighty cold out here." Rascal unloaded his blankets and saddle. "Anybody runnin' the place?"
"Nope. It's just sittin' there." John T. smiled.
Wesley built a fire quickly and Pepper got out the coffee pot and some other things to make supper. They'd camped by a small stream and Pepper hastened to get coffee water and wash up a little. Everyone seemed comfortable with the camp. A few trees dotted the landscape, and provided shelter for them.
John T. watched her out of the corner of his eye. She moved like a cat, quietly. In some respects he thought she was very brave, but it also worried him. Victor Frank killed women. Despite how he treated her, he'd look after her. She'd never know he liked her.
When he didn't quit staring she glanced over at him, "So you're from up here?"
"Yeah, got a place, not much to look at, but it's mine." John T. confessed, relaxing a bit as they all put their gear down for beds and warmed by the fire. "Maybe run some cattle on it, one day."
"Why aren't you doin' that now, instead of chasin' someone like Frank?" she asked as she pulled out a slab of bacon and began cutting it up.
He watched how well she sliced it and seemed to know how to cook. He couldn't fault her there, and he was starving.
Sarah came to mind, and he firmed his lips. That had been a stupid mistake on his part. Sarah was a whore and there wasn't much he could do to change that. He should have known better.
He couldn't stop his mind from running from one girl to the other. He twisted his head and tried to imagine Pepper naked and in his arms. But about the time his lips twitched she threw something at him.
"Quit undressing me with your eyes, John T. I ain't for sale." Pepper snapped as she laid the bacon in the pan and began frying it. The smell was so sweet everyone gathered around.
"That smells so good; I hope Victor can't smell it." Wesley chuckled.
"You think we're that close to him?" Rascal asked.
"Naw…he's got a good head start, although he don't know anyone's after him. No one was before so he won't be lookin' over his shoulder for anyone now. That's his weakness and our strength. He thinks he's getting away with it again. I figure he'll ride slowly. I don't understand what he thinks he's going to find up here in nowhere land, but it seems the general direction he's headed."
"There's a town, not far from here, he might have stopped off there." John T. warned.
"How far out of the way is it?" Wesley asked.
"A day's ride, but if anyone seen him or the direction he was going, it might pay us to stop and ask about." John T. suggested. "I figure we'll catch him somewhere between Tascosa and Mobeetie."
"That far up the trail, huh? All right, in the morning you lead the way." Wesley nodded. "This country gives me the willies. Full of Indians and the big ranchers have bought up a lot of the land around about. Almost had a range war with the sheep bein' here first. I imagine the cattlemen have run most of them out of here. Now there's talk of a railroad goin' through. That ought to bring a passel of people out this way and some troubles...."
"We're liable to run into a few herds on the way," John T. his gaze went over them, stopping on Pepper for a long moment.
"I expect so. Heard tell Billy the Kid himself has been messin' with the cattle. Seems they been chasin' him through the prairies of Texas to the hills of New Mexico. Another one of those young foxes." Wesley eyed John T. with a sad smile.
"Aw now come on…you can't compare William Bonney with Sam Bass. The Kid's a shot, and meaner than Bass ever thought about bein'." John T. chuckled.
"So they say…" Wesley agreed with a snicker. "But he's just a cocky kid, himself."
"You don't believe it?" John T.'s glance narrowed on Wesley again.
"Well I tell ya, I learned a long time ago, to not judge people I ain't met. So until I do, I'll keep my ideas to myself about him."
Wesley nodded then glanced at Rascal who hadn't joined in the conversation.
"Rascal you've been mighty quiet, anything wrong?" John T. stared through the darkness at the man.
Rascal wasn't a bad looking fella John T. surmised, for his age. He stood about two inches shorter than Wesley did, and he was a little broader through the chest. He had thick dark hair streaked with gray, and he wore his gun as though he knew how to use it. John T. remembered how Wesley used to talk about him being a fast gun, and John T. couldn't help but wonder just how fast he was, but he wasn't up to finding out.
"Aw…just miss the kids, is all." Rascal said sadly.
"How many you got?" Pepper asked him. Not wanting to dwell on outlaws in the area.
"Three, two boys and a girl," Rascal smiled. "Purty little girl, her name's Salley, looks like her Ma." Rascal smiled, and then the smile faded.
"Your wife upset that you're off lookin' for Frank?" Pepper turned the bacon as she spoke.
"Victor Frank killed his wife, Pepper," Wesley answered for him.
"I'm sorry Rascal," Pepper turned to look at him. "I didn't realize. Wesley said something before the funeral about it, but I guess I wasn't listening. I didn't mean any harm…After tellin' all of you about Frank I wasn't paying attention to much else at the time."
"No, I know you didn't, gal."
"Why didn't you stay home with those kids…?" Pepper blurted out.
Again Wesley scrambled to answer for him, "He might not look like it, but Rascal here was once one of the fastest guns in the territory. We need him…"
"I've kept up, Wesley, I can still shoot my way out if I have to," Rascal chuckled. "But like as not, ole Frank ain't no hand with a gun. If he was he'd have got that Uncle."
"I don't figure he'd use a gun on him, Rascal. I figure he aims to see his Uncle squirm just like his daddy done. I think the Uncle is what Frank is after and when he gets him it's gonna be a mess."
Pepper seemed astonished at the news about Rascal and turned to look at him, "Really. You used to be a gun fighter?"
"Used to is right. And that's all because of a good woman that settled me down. I was bad until she got hold of me. There was none like her. None like her at all…." His words drifted off into the night.
"Are you sayin' a good woman can settle a man down?" Pepper questioned then shot John T. a fast glance.
"Shore did work on me." He mumbled.
"She must have been somethin'." Pepper smiled sadly at him.
"She was," Wesley added in a slight mumble.
Pepper raised her brows, "Well now, Wesley, you sound as though you were sweet on her too."
"I was…."
Pepper looked from one to the other, then at John T.. "What are they sayin'?"
"Wesley was sweet on her too. But only one could marry her and Rascal beat him to it." John T. laughed. "I wish I'd known her, she must have been some woman."
"And you
never pulled on each other over it?" Pepper asked.
"I wasn't that stupid," Wesley chuckled. "Back then he'd have won, if I'd done something like that, besides, by the time I had a notion to, they'd already had a kid. And ain't nothin' cements a marriage like a kid."
"Man…and your still friends?" Pepper asked.
"Yep. I'd trust Rascal and John T. with my life and that's sayin' somethin'." Wesley admitted.
When Pepper mulled that over Wesley added, "Ain't nothin' better than a friend except a wife. And these two men here, they might not look like much, but they are both the best there is."
Pepper shot John T. a glance again. "You're in mighty tall company."
"Surprised?" John T. grinned.
"Impressed," she admitted and dished up the bacon and added a cold biscuit to it. "This isn't much, but it will hold."
"It's more than we'd get if we didn't have you along," John T. admitted out of the blue. As he took a tin plate from her, he winked.
His opinion was changing about Pepper. She hadn't been a minute's trouble and having her along made for more entertaining company than he expected. Besides, she was sure growing on him. He sure liked looking at her.
"How old are your kids?' Pepper asked as they all nibbled on the food.
"Got one that's ten, one that's eight and one that's six. My girl, she's the youngest. My boy Bren is the oldest." Rascal quipped. "Fine bunch they are too."
"Bren was a lot of help, to Rascal," John T. joined in the conversation.
"Yeah, I reckon so, it shore was hard on him, though." Rascal shook his head. "But I ain't never been prouder of him, than when he told us about Victor Frank."
Wesley nodded, "He done good, Rascal, and you got every right to be proud. He'll make a fine man someday."
"Just hope I'm around to see it," Rascal quipped.
Wesley frowned and stood up, "If you don't stop harpin' about not getting' back in one piece I might have to shoot you myself. You're a good gun, Rascal, and as sure as any man I know. Why you talkin' that way?"
Rascal put down his plate, and turned to Wesley, "'Cause I felt it in my bones ever since we started to leave. A man can feel it, when it's close, Wesley."
"Rascal, you need to get that out of your head. If I had known that was on your mind before we left, I wouldn't took you." Wesley said his voice harsh and unfeeling.
"Don't matter, what's gonna be, is gonna be." Rascal sighed.
Everyone stared at Rascal as he walked out of the light of the fire. John T. shook his head, "Leave him be, Wesley. Ever man gets spooked in his lifetime."
"Is that so? When were you?" Wesley asked him.
"The day you said you was leavin' the Rangers." John T. smiled.
"That was a fact, boy," Wesley grunted as he moved his saddle around by the fire.
"I know, that's what spooked me," John T. laughed.
***
Piano music echoed for a long way off as John T. and the rest of them rode towards the settlement. Not much happening but the saloon. Sounded as though there was a hundred or so inside. But even that was deceiving.
They wore their slickers to keep from being drenched.
"Maybe she ought to stay outside," John T. suggested as the rowdiness from the saloon warned of troubles.
"Not on your life, I'm going in too. I'm freezing and I won't cause any troubles." She insisted.
A fine rain came down on them and John T. nodded, "Okay, but stay close, then."
She nodded and they all dismounted and tied their horses to the hitch. As Wesley and Rascal entered the saloon, John T. waited to make sure Pepper was beside him before he entered. Despite all his wise cracks, he was concerned for her safety more than she realized. In fact the closer they got to Victor Frank, the more worried he was for Pepper. She was a decent girl and he didn't want to see her hurt.
The piano player was banging out a tune as a couple of dance hall girls tried to curl their way around Wesley and Rascal as they opened the swinging doors. Wesley brushed them aside and Rascal tore one of their arms from around his neck. "Not now honey," he shoved her away.
The girls frowned and moved away. Pepper eyed them but didn't say a word as they smiled at John T. John T. was tensed and not worried about these women. He had others things on his mind.
When a drunk stumbled into Pepper though, his attention flew to her and he quickly sought her hand to pull her free. Pepper didn't argue, it was plain she didn't want to have anything to do with the men in this establishment. That suited John T., too.
As they found a table, Rascal went to the bar and ordered for them. The bartender was a serious looking fellow with dark hair and a mustache. He drew the beer and set the glasses on the bar with a thud. "Just passin' through?" He asked and seemed to wait for his answer.
His question wasn't friendly and his eyes seem to pierce as he stared at Rascal.
"Lookin' fer somebody."
The bartender's gaze needled him now, "Somebody's always looking for somebody around here. Who you lookin' fer?"
"Big man, tall, kinda lame in the head… Don't talk much."
The bartender seemed to grimace. But said nothing.
"He'd be scarred pretty badly. Not real social."
"He's been through…" the bartender spit his tobacco and looked the man in the eye. "You the law?"
"Nope…but we aim to take him down."
"He was here…killed one of my girls. Choked her to death. And she was being friendly to him too. She didn't deserve it. He didn't look like no gun man, though."
"How long ago?"
"'Yesterday, early…He went up the stairs with her…and we found her in her room, dead that same day. Weren't hide nor hair of him though, we didn't even see him ride out. Sheriff looked for a while but because he couldn't get a trail on him, he gave up. She's laid up stairs. Even William Bonny took a gander at her when we told him. He played cards here a while and then went up to take a look. Then he took off. 'Course he couldn't hang out too long, someone was bound to come lookin'. That's who I thought you were after."
"Billy the Kid was here? Wow that must have been somethin'."
"Naw, not really, no one knew who he was but me…and I ain't about to open my mouth, I know better."
"Up stairs you say, mind if we take a look at her?"
"Go ahead." The bartender shrugged. "Ain't no one else gonna do her no harm. If you've a mind, you could carry her over to the undertakers, they gonna have a funeral tomorrow. And I’m kinda tied up here."
Rascal nodded, "Much obliged," he took the beers to the table.
Pepper fingered her glass but it never touched her lips, John T. noted. He glanced at Rascal, "Find anything out?"
"He's been here, there's a dead girl up stairs to prove it, and she'll have to be carried over to the undertakers. I told the bartender we'd do it. That way we can look at her good."
"Lead on, Rascal." Wesley sighed heavily.
"One of the girls here…?" Pepper asked.
Rascal nodded.
Pepper shuddered a little.
John T. grabbed her hand, "Easy girl…We need to see for ourselves about it. Let's get it done then?"
"How we gonna know fer sure it was him?" Rascal asked.
"Her finger, remember…?" John T. nodded. "He always cuts the ring finger off…."
"Oh yeah…." Rascal nodded, his face screwing up with emotion.
"Let's go then." Wesley nodded.
Pepper grabbed her beer and gulped down a big swallow. John T. watched her and smiled.
"Said no one saw him leave and that the Sheriff tried to find him, and gave up."
Wesley nodded after a long while, I'm sure he did. Seems to be the routine with the law and Victor Frank. They just don't pursue him. I've come to the conclusion that they are a little afraid of what they might find if they do catch him. After all, the man ain't a gunslinger. How do you suppose you go about approaching someone like that?"
Rascal shook his head with disgust. "Aw…no
w he ain't no different than any other man. He can be killed…"
"Shore he can…and we'll do 'er." Wesley nodded. "But we ain't the law, and we gotta make sure that we got just 'cause."
"Drink up, we gotta move…." John T. instructed. He realized that staying here would do no good. They needed to catch Victor soon. "We gotta stop off at that undertakers…I told the bartender we'd take her over, he's kinda busy tonight."
Pepper downed her beer, blinked hard, and followed them up the stairs of the saloon.
People seem to drift in and out of the room where the dance hall girl was. They waited their turn then explained they were taking the girl over to the undertakers. No one objected. "Best whore in the state." One man yelled out.
The four of them stared down into the face of the woman that lay there. She wasn't a young woman, but older and still had her face painted. They had dressed her in a flimsy gown of greenish blue. The bruises on her neck showed she'd been strangled and John T. looked at her finger. Sure enough the ring finger was missing, and blood soaked the bed.
Wesley stared long and hard. For some reason he thought about Lorna and he killed the thought as soon as it happened. If Frank ever got to her, he'd kill the man with his bare hands.
"Okay, that's him. Let's take her on over to the undertakers and get out of here." Wesley exclaimed as he stared down into the face of the dead woman. He mumbled a silent prayer.
John T. picked the lady up and started carrying her down the stairs. Everyone stopped what they were doing while they passed, the men removing their hats in respect for the dead. John T. had opened his slicker and was practically bare chested as he strode into the street with her. Didn't matter, he was soaked clean through from the constant mist that had brought them here. People passing by stood very still as he passed them.
Pepper ran ahead of him and opened the door of the undertakers. The tall thin man was prepared for her and had the wooden casket waiting for the body. They deposited her there and rode out without another word, another unpleasant task taken care of.
Not long on the trail again and Pepper pitched her lode along the trail as she rode. She bowed her head and sighed heavily. John T. moved in on her, "You okay…?"
Better Off Without Her (Book One of the Western Serial Killer series) Page 12