Longarm and the Yuma Prison

by Tabor Evans

  “Okay,” the brothers said. “But be careful out there. You’re as much of a target as we are.”

  “Probably even more, if I may flatter myself,” Longarm said with a grin.

  • • •

  The Cactus Saloon was busy, and Longarm ordered a beer and stayed at the bar just watching. The crowd was having a good time, and there were three reasonably attractive whores working on the floor and taking men out the back door on a regular basis, probably to some shack or room off the alley.

  “Marshal, you are very good for my business,” the bartender said. “Your beer is on the house.”

  “Thanks. Why am I good for business?”

  “Because a lot of people here no longer have to worry about making a monthly payment in order to stay in business, myself included.”

  Longarm nodded with understanding. “Those deputies must have been collecting a lot of money every month.”

  “More than you can even imagine,” the bartender said. “I owned this place for six years before Marshal Beeson and his hired guns arrived and made a deal with the devil to run Yuma.”

  “The devil being Mitch Lang.”

  The bartender and owner threw up both hands palms forward. “I didn’t say that. I didn’t say that at all.”

  “You didn’t need to,” Longarm told the man as he quaffed down his beer. “But I’ll still take you up on a the free beer.”

  “As many as you want, Marshal.”

  Longarm leaned his elbows on the bar and watched the people, wondering which of them might have witnessed the gunfight that sent Tom Ray to Prison Hill. His eyes came to rest on one of the “working girls” who had reddish hair and the vestiges of a black eye.

  “Who is that?” he asked when the bartender laid him a fresh beer down.

  “That would be Loretta. She’s been a steady here for almost a year.”

  “Someone really popped her in the eye.”

  “Marshal Beeson did that,” the bartender said quietly. “That big bastard is rough on the girls. It’s gotten so that they aren’t willing to service him anymore but he can be very persuasive so sometimes they have no choice. I pity them for having to lay down for the pig.”

  Longarm watched Loretta circulate the room and he noticed that she was trying to hide the fact that she was limping. “She hurt her leg?”

  “After the marshal beat hell out of her, two men raped her in an alley and left her for dead.”

  “Were they ever arrested and brought to justice?”

  The bartender shook his head. “Loretta admits she was very drunk when it happened and says that she can’t remember her attacker’s faces.”

  “Do you believe her?”

  The bartender shrugged. “What does it matter? If she does know who did it, she would be in danger of being killed. She’s a whore, Marshal, so what good would it do her to press charges? Judge Thompson would toss her charges in the trash can and she would be run out of town.”

  “Might be a good thing for her,” Longarm mused. “Do you think that Loretta was here the night that Tom Ray shot those two crooked gamblers to death?”

  “Where else would she be working at night?”

  Longarm took a deep swallow of beer and then began to make his way toward Loretta before some man grabbed and led her out the back door.

  “Hello there,” he said, smiling.

  Loretta was in the middle of a laugh but when she turned and saw Longarm the laughter died in her throat. Longarm saw that the bruises around her eyes were dark and swollen but the woman was still young and attractive. She had eyes that reflected considerable intelligence and sorrow.

  Loretta swallowed hard and managed a professional smile. “Are you talking to me?”

  “I am.”

  Loretta shook her head and looked away. “I know who you are and I’d rather not associate with you, Marshal Long.”

  “Sorry to hear that. I really would like to buy you a drink.”

  “Why?”

  Longarm took her arm and led her off to one side. “I want to talk to you, Loretta.”

  “How do you know my name?”

  “I know lots about you,” Longarm said bluntly. “I know who gave you those shiners and what happened to you in an alley. And I’m wondering if you’d like me to deliver a little overdue justice in your behalf.”

  She pulled away from him. “What happened . . . happened. I don’t want any more trouble from them or you.”

  “Just point your two attackers out to me if they’re here,” Longarm said. “That’s all you have to do.”

  “Why should I risk getting my neck wrung?”

  “Because those kinds of men will do what they did to you or another girl again and again. And maybe the next victim will die.”

  Loretta swallowed hard. “It was dark in the alley and I was naked and drunk.”

  “So I’ve heard.” Longarm leaned close. “Tell me if they’re here and don’t look their way but describe them. I’ll see that you get some revenge and that they don’t do that to another woman . . . ever.”

  “You going to kill them?”

  “I don’t know yet, but I’m going to hurt them as bad as they hurt you.”

  Loretta’s face suddenly twisted with anger. Tears bled from her eyes and ran freely down her cheeks. “They’re standing at the bar together. One is big in a red shirt and gray Stetson, the other is smaller wearing a derby with a duck’s feather sticking out of the hatband.”

  “That’s all I need.”

  “Thank you, but . . .”

  “Don’t worry, they’ll never know,” Longarm promised. “But I have to have something in return.”

  She sniffled and wiped her cheeks dry. “I should have known. Okay, if you hurt them I’ll pleasure you in whatever way you choose. If you want me right now, then let’s go out the back. I’ll give you the best you ever got from a whore.”

  “I’m sure I’d like that but I can’t take you up on the offer,” Longarm told her. “What I need from you is honesty.”

  “Honesty?”

  “Yes. Can you be honest with me, Loretta?”

  “If you promise to kill or at least beat up those bastards like I heard you did with the deputies, then yes, I’ll be honest.”

  “Did you see the two men that Tom Ray shot to death in this saloon pull their guns first?”

  All the color—and there wasn’t much—drained out of Loretta’s face and she tried to pull away but Longarm grabbed her with an iron fist. “It was self-defense, Loretta. If you saw it, then I really need you to testify in the new trial.”

  She looked at him as if he were insane. “Before Judge Thompson?”

  “No, before a new judge who will give Tom Ray a fair trial.”

  “Oh my gawd, I’m going to be killed for sure!”

  “I promise you I’ll take care of you and protect you like you were my own sister. And after your testimony, I’ll get you out of this shithole town and take you to Denver and help find you a decent, respectable job and a place to live.”

  “Don’t promise me things you can’t deliver, Marshal. Men have been promising me things they couldn’t deliver my entire life.”

  “I give you my word of honor. If you saw the shooting and will testify that Tom Ray fired in self-defense and that the men were cheating him at cards, then I’ll help you get a new life.”

  “Maybe I don’t deserve a new life.”

  “Everyone deserves a second chance. The trouble is that real second chances often come just once in a lifetime. Are you ready for yours?”

  Loretta was shaking now. “Marshal, I saw the whole thing. It was self-defense and I knew those men were cheating Tom at cards. And . . . and I’ll testify if you swear you’ll help me start over.”

  “Deal,” Longarm whispered. “Now move away from me a
nd stay away until I’ve gotten you some restitution.”

  “Yes, sir!”

  And then she was gone. Back among the crowd laughing and touching and it wasn’t five minutes later that he saw her being led out the back door.

  Chapter 23

  Loretta’s two rapists and attackers ran out of beer money and staggered out the door of the Cactus Saloon about eleven o’clock. They were drunk and weaving as Longarm closed in on them from behind. He waited until they were about to pass a dark alley and then he pounced, rushing forward to grab both men by the collars and hurl them into the alley.

  Longarm hit the big man in the red shirt first and broke his nose. When he grabbed it, Longarm stepped back and kicked him as hard as he could deep up between his legs. The big man screamed and Longarm turned his attention on the smaller man, who was trying to get out of the alley and run away.

  “Who are you?” the man cried.

  “I’m the one that’s going to give you the worst beating of your miserable life.”

  “No! Please!”

  But after just having seen the damage these two had inflicted on Loretta’s formerly pretty face, Longarm had no pity for either of these men. He went after the smaller one with both fists and when the man started to crumple, Longarm hurled him up against a wall and kept pounding him until he was unrecognizable.

  The bigger man was climbing to his feet when Longarm turned around. He had a large knife in his fist and started lurching forward. Longarm crouched and when the big man made a clumsy stabbing motion, Longarm grabbed the man’s wrist, twisted the knife around, and drove it into his opponent’s groin.

  “Ahhhh!”

  Longarm twisted the knife in the hope of castrating this man or at least slicing off his penis. Maybe he did, maybe not. Either way, the large man in the red shirt was never going to fully be a man again.

  Looking down at him, Longarm said, “If you can crawl, you might want to get back into the street before you bleed out. Doesn’t matter to me.”

  “Who are you!”

  “I’m retribution,” Longarm replied before he hurled the bloody-bladed knife into the darkness and walked away.

  Longarm washed the blood off his hands in a horse trough and reentered the Cactus Saloon, then sought out Loretta. She looked at him and then his hands and whispered, “Are they dead?”

  “No, but they wish they were.”

  Loretta smiled and led him off to the side of the room where they could talk in private and the noise wasn’t quite so loud. “Marshal, I’d like to go somewhere and be alone with you now.”

  “And leave all these paying customers? I don’t pay a woman . . . ever.”

  “I don’t want your money. You promised you were going to give me a second chance if I testified and I will testify. All I’m asking is that my second chance begins tonight.”

  Longarm smiled. “You will have to make some big changes, Loretta. How old are you?”

  “Twenty-three.”

  “All right,” Longarm said. “We’ll go back to my hotel and the first thing you’ll do is take a long, hot bath.”

  “Tub big enough for both of us?” she asked.

  “Just might be. And after your bath you can sleep in my room.”

  “In your bed . . . with you?” she asked, leaning close.

  She smelled of tobacco, sweat, beer, and rough men. “Loretta, ask me that question later tonight.”

  “Oh, I’ll ask all right. And I’ll keep askin’ until you give me the answer I want to hear.”

  Longarm understood and so he took her by the arm and guided her out of the saloon and, hopefully, into a new and far better and longer future.

  • • •

  Once back at the hotel, Longarm led Loretta up the stairs to his room. “I’m going to go down to the end of the hallway,” he said, “and draw you a hot bath.”

  She looked around at his room. “This hotel doesn’t allow women like me up in these rooms. The people who work here know who I am and they may . . .”

  “I’ll explain that you are no longer working saloons. That you’ve become a respectable woman.”

  “They won’t believe that!”

  Longarm shrugged. “It doesn’t matter what they believe anymore. It’s what you believe that counts.”

  Again, he started to leave but she grabbed his arm. “Are you sure that I won’t get killed for testifying?”

  “Loretta, we both know that there’s nothing sure or certain in this life staying on this floor. But I can promise you that there are three other people besides me who are willing to risk our lives to right the wrong that was done to Tom Ray and to the people of Yuma.”

  “Is she next door with Mr. Hamilton?”

  “You mean Mrs. Jessica Hamilton?”

  “Yes.”

  “She is,” Longarm said.

  “I heard that she was shot and nearly killed.”

  “That’s true, but she’s doing much better now. She, her husband, and her husband’s brother are all in the rooms on this floor, and tomorrow we are going to set the wheels in motion to give Tom Ray a new trial. He’ll have Peter Hamilton on the bench and new jurors. And, Loretta, we’ll have your sworn testimony that Tom Ray acted strictly in self-defense.”

  “Mr. Lang and the marshal aren’t going to let this happen,” Loretta said quietly. “They won’t . . .”

  Longarm placed a finger over her lips. “You need a bath. There’s soap and shampoo for your hair. After that you ought to get a good night’s sleep. I know that you’re hurt and tired and frightened. But tomorrow the sun will shine, we’ll get a new trial under way, and you’ll give your testimony before the week is out. Then, we’ll all leave this town on the train.”

  “Mr. Hamilton and his bride are leaving Yuma with us?”

  “Yes, along with the federal judge. They’ve decided to relocate to Santa Fe where their parents live and need assistance.”

  Loretta nodded. “I heard that Santa Fe is a real nice place to live.”

  “So have I,” Longarm told her. “And we can stay over a night or two, and if you decide you’d rather live there than in Denver, that will be fine.”

  But Loretta shook her head. “I want to get as far away from all this and my past as I can. I’m sticking with you.”

  “That’ll be fine.”

  “Are you married?”

  He almost smiled. “No.”

  “Engaged or have a sweetheart in Denver?”

  Longarm shook his head.

  “Then for sure I’m sticking with you. Marshal, if . . . if I got cleaned, I would look respectable and men used to say I was really pretty.”

  “I believe that.”

  Loretta kissed his mouth and then she headed for the door. “Do I turn right or left?”

  “Right.” Longarm took her arm and unlocked his door. He was still wearing his gun . . . just in case. “But I’m going with you. From now until the trial is over, you’re not leaving my sight.”

  Her eyebrows lifted. “So are you going to sit on the shitter and watch while I take my bath?”

  Longarm thought about that a moment. “It’s a real big bathtub, Loretta. I might just join you.”

  She winked and gave her hips a little shake and bump, “Now we’re talking!”

  They were both laughing as they made their way down the carpeted hallway.

  Chapter 24

  It didn’t take long for federal judge Peter Hamilton to open court with a new trial for Tom Ray, and everyone wanted to be on the new jury because this was just about the most exciting event in the history of Yuma. Now, it was one o’clock in the afternoon. Tom Ray was in court dressed in his prison clothes and guarded by a pair of very serious guards armed with shotguns. No one expected the prisoner to try to escape but there was a sense of danger in the air and the warden himself
had promised to appear later in the afternoon.

  A short time earlier Tom Ray had stated once again the circumstances that night when he’d been playing poker in the Cactus Saloon. Having been a United States marshal out of Denver for many years, he was very familiar with court proceedings and gave a creditable testimony. Even more in his favor was the fact that he had been well liked in the community while the two crooked gamblers had been feared and despised.

  Much to her anger and frustration, Dr. Kelly had refused to allow Jessica to attend the retrial, and Longarm was glad. He had hired a tough pair of men to guard her hotel room door with strict orders not to let anyone inside except himself, the doctor, and her husband.

  “This will all be over by the end of the day,” Kent Hamilton told his wife just before leaving. “Everyone knows that Lang and the marshal stole your mine and plundered it of gold these past several months. There isn’t even going to be a prosecuting attorney in attendance.”

  “Hopefully,” Jessica said, “when everyone hears Loretta’s sworn testimony, there will be a quick ‘not guilty’ verdict and my father will be with us tonight.”

  “That’s the way we see it,” Kent said, glancing at Longarm, who nodded in agreement. “And as soon as he’s free, I’m going to ask the court to take a look at how much the gold was worth that was taken from your mine. We’ll get a quick settlement that will set us up with a new house in Santa Fe.”

  “Are you just going to abandon our Yuma house?” Jessica asked.

  “I found someone who will sell it and everything in it. He’s getting a commission based on the sale money.”

  “But . . .”

  “Don’t worry about it,” Kent said. “Until I got you for my bride, I didn’t have a damn thing worth keeping. We’ll make a fresh start and start with new things that we find together.”

  “I’d like that very much,” Jessica told him.

  “Me, too. When we leave with the money we’ll get from the court . . . and I’m hoping it will be at least twenty thousand . . . I can open an office in Santa Fe and with my brother’s connections I’ll prosper.”