Dying Wish

by J. R. Roberts

  The blacksmith’s name was Ross Emmory. He was a sturdy fellow with no fear of death, and was perfectly willing to put his well-being on the line for his chosen profession. Clint learned that much by watching Ross wade into the flurry of Eclipse’s legs, which were being thrashed about like so many branches in a windstorm. Unlike those branches, however, getting hit by one of these could put a man down for good.

  Ross kept his head low as he waited for Clint to get a handle on Eclipse. At the first sign of an opening, Ross dove in to grab hold of Eclipse’s front right leg. It was a hell of a struggle, but the blacksmith and Clint eventually calmed the stallion down enough for Ross to get a look.

  “Yep,” Ross grunted as he wrapped an arm around Eclipse’s leg. “There’s something in there all right.”

  Clint had an arm wrapped around Eclipse’s neck and his other on the saddle horn. That way, he could wrangle the Darley Arabian well enough to keep him from getting any ideas of making a run for it. “Hold on another second,” Clint said. “It feels like he’s calming down.”

  “I sure ain’t about to let go.”

  Both men held on as Eclipse ran out of steam. Actually, Clint could see the stallion’s eyes well enough to know there was plenty of steam left inside Eclipse’s heaving frame. The Darley Arabian was simply returning to his usual self.

  “Keep that leg up,” Clint said. “It seems to be doing the trick.”

  “I’ll bet it is,” Ross replied. “I can already see there’s something jammed up under his shoe.”

  “What is it?”

  “Can’t say just yet, but it doesn’t look like something that was just trampled on by mistake.”

  Within the next few seconds, Eclipse settled down so he just let out a few snuffing breaths every now and then. Soon, he situated himself on three legs and held his foreleg up on his own. Once Eclipse was in that position, Clint could feel the stallion’s muscles loosen as a relieved breath came from all three of them.

  “There now,” Ross said. “Let’s have a look.”

  The blacksmith kept Eclipse’s leg in one hand as he reached for what looked to be a small milking stool. He settled onto the stool and then reached for one of the tools hanging nearby.

  “Need any help?” Clint asked.

  “Just keep that boy steady. That’s what I need from you.”

  “No problem,” Clint replied as he rubbed Eclipse’s ear.

  Ross shook his head and let out a wary chuckle. “Don’t get too relaxed just yet. That boy’s got some fire in his belly. I’m about to find out why, so hang on tight.”

  Keeping his hand on Eclipse’s head, Clint tightened his grip on the saddle horn.

  After letting out a slow breath, the blacksmith got to work prying off Eclipse’s shoe. The Darley Arabian squirmed a bit, but seemed even more relieved once the shoe was off.

  “There’s your problem,” Ross said.

  Clint leaned to try and get a look without letting go of Eclipse or the saddle. “What’s the problem?”

  “There’s a tack wedged up in a soft spot here. Could also be a nail.”

  “What?”

  “Yep,” Ross grunted. “I’ll let you know in a second.” From there, the blacksmith worked and pulled like a dentist trying to yank a stubborn tooth. Eclipse let out a few uncomfortable grunts of his own, but stayed fairly still. Finally, Ross leaned back and held up a nail that was bent at something close to a ninety-degree angle.

  “There it is,” Ross said. “I daresay either one of us would be pretty rowdy if we had this thing stuck in our foot.”

  “What is it?” Clint asked.

  “Looks like a nail that was chipped in half. It could also be a hobbler.”

  “A hobbler?”

  “Yeah,” Ross said with disgust. “Someone places this just right and the poor animal won’t even know he’s got something in his shoe until he takes a few steps. The more he takes, the farther in it gets. The real trick is in placing them so they can’t be seen right away, but still do their damage. It takes a special sort of asshole to do this on purpose.”

  “Sure does,” Clint said. “And I think I might know who had a hand in this.”

  “Well, give him a punch in the mouth for me.”

  “It’ll be my pleasure.”

  NINETEEN

  Olivia was waiting outside for Clint when he left the blacksmith’s shop. She rushed over to him the minute she spotted him. “Is he going to be all right?” she asked.

  “It wasn’t anything life threatening,” Clint said with a forced smile. “Just something stuck in his shoe.”

  “Thank God.”

  “By the looks of it, someone put a hurting on Eclipse on purpose. Do you think one of your old acquaintances might have been inclined to do something like that?”

  Olivia didn’t even have to think that one over. Nodding slowly, she replied, “Boris Nagle was always good with horses. He could break wild mustangs and was even better at stealing them.”

  “Have you ever heard of a hobbler?”

  Once again, Olivia nodded. “Boris made those as a joke. He used one on my horse when he thought he would try to make his move on me. I suppose he didn’t want me getting away so easily.”

  “Then he sounds like the man I’m after. Maybe once Eclipse is feeling better, we can ride out and see if he’s laying hurt somewhere along those tracks.”

  “How long will it be before you can ride again?”

  “Ross said it shouldn’t take long and I believe him. Eclipse seemed better the moment that thing was taken out from under his shoe.”

  “Good. Would you like to come along with me to Jenny’s?” she asked. “Maybe it’ll take your mind off that poor horse.”

  Clint waved toward the blacksmith’s shop and said, “Eclipse may have been hurting, but I can tell Ross has a soft spot for horses. I think Eclipse’ll be spoiled rotten after just a few nights over there. We did come here to take care of this business, though, so let’s get to it.”

  Olivia led Clint through Dallas to a stretch of homes that looked to be fairly new. As she guided him down the street, Olivia told Clint about a series of fires that had raged through the Dallas area some time ago. Apparently, some sections of town were quicker to rebuild than others. Whatever the reason for it, the homes Clint saw were easy on the eyes and well maintained.

  Just as Olivia picked out one house in particular and headed for the door, a woman with short brown hair rushed outside while waving her arms excitedly. “Olivia! You came! I’m so happy to see you!” the woman shouted.

  Olivia opened her arms and ran to meet the woman. Once they collided, both of them hugged and jumped while chattering anxiously. Still walking slowly toward the house, Clint stopped when he saw the shorter woman set her eyes on him.

  “Who’s this?” the woman asked.

  Olivia smiled and said, “This is Clint Adams. He came along with me from Labyrinth.”

  Before Clint could get a word out by way of an introduction, he saw the short woman rushing toward him. She hadn’t seemed very big when she’d been rushing at Olivia, but the woman seemed particularly solid when she charged at Clint.

  Sure enough, Clint was nearly knocked off his feet by the stout woman. In fact, she almost picked him up and swung him like a rag doll.

  Trying to keep herself from laughing too hard at the panicked expression on Clint’s face, Olivia said, “Clint, this is my cousin Jenny.”

  “Yeah,” Clint gasped from within Jenny’s locked arms. “I figured.”

  As soon as Jenny let Clint go, she was rushing back to her house. “Come inside, both of you,” she said. “I just made some lemonade.”

  Her house was tidy but modest. Her lemonade was delicious and Jenny’s smile was infectious. After the two women had done a bit of catching up, the conversation shifted to more pressing matters.

  “I got your telegram telling me you’d be showing up,” Jenny said. “Then I received a package. It’s Abner.”

  O
livia reached out to pat Jenny’s hand. “I know,” she said consolingly. “I heard about what happened to Uncle Abner.”

  “Do you know how he…how…?”

  Rather than let Jenny say the words she was obviously dreading, Olivia said, “No. All I know is that he passed.”

  “Frankly, I’m amazed anyone could track you down,” Jenny said with a smile. “I know about all the wandering you’ve been doing as well as all the gambling.”

  Olivia nodded. “I know.”

  Jenny shrugged and grinned. “I’ve heard you’ve even done your share of winning. Good for you.”

  When Jenny smiled, Olivia seemed to be taken by surprise. Her cheeks flushed and she patted Jenny’s hand some more. “Thank you.” Turning to Clint, she asked, “See why I like her so much?”

  Clint held up his glass and said, “She won me over with this lemonade.”

  “Family recipe,” Jenny explained.

  “What about the package you got?” Olivia asked. “Could you tell me what it is?”

  “Actually, that package is why you’re here. I’m supposed to give it to you along with another letter.”

  Jenny stood up, gathered the empty glasses, and headed out of the room. She returned a few seconds later, carrying a rectangular bundle roughly double the size of a brick.

  Taking the package, Olivia held it up to her ear and shook it. “Do you know what it is?” she asked.

  As Jenny sat down, she nodded and said, “I already told you what it was.”

  “You did?”

  “Yes. It’s Abner.”

  Olivia stopped shaking the package and lowered it from her ear. All the color had drained from her face.

  TWENTY

  Olivia was lying in one of Jenny’s spare beds. The room was small, yet warmly decorated to make a guest feel every bit as welcome as a family member. There were doilies on every tabletop and a Bible lying next to the bed. None of these amenities seemed to make much difference, however, to the pale woman who lay stretched out on the bed.

  For his part, Clint couldn’t keep his eyes off the brick-shaped package lying on a nearby table. “Do you think that’s really…?”

  “I don’t know and I don’t want to know,” Olivia said.

  “Come on, now. You must want to know…even a little.”

  Olivia’s hands were pressed against her eyes as if she meant to push her head all the way through the pillow beneath her. Slowly, she moved her hands away and looked at Clint. She then looked at the bundle before glancing back at Clint. “Maybe,” she whispered.

  “You want me to open it?”

  Sitting up quickly, Olivia gathered her legs up beneath her and leaned forward. “Yes.”

  Clint picked up the bundle and held it in his hands. It wasn’t too heavy, but it didn’t exactly feel solid. Instead, it felt more like dirt or sand had been clumped up and was being held together by the wrapping. Tugging slowly at the twine keeping the bundle shut, Clint looked at her and asked, “Are you sure?”

  “Yes, now just open it. But be careful. I don’t want you to spill it.”

  “Trust me, if this is what Jenny said it was, I don’t want to spill it either.”

  The twine needed to be cut, but Clint had a pocketknife for that. He didn’t cut the paper, however. Instead, he peeled it open carefully and made certain not to pull too much of it open too quickly. When he got one end open, Clint held it open to look inside.

  “What is it?” Olivia asked.

  “Looks like a pouch.”

  After pulling away the rest of the paper, Clint was left holding a thick burlap pouch. Unlike the original bundle, this package had no give to it. Whatever was inside the pouch filled it almost completely.

  As Clint was trying to decide whether or not he wanted to open the pouch, Jenny knocked on the door. Since the door was already open, Clint and Olivia only had to look in that direction to find Jenny standing there with something else in her hands.

  “When I found out what was in there,” Jenny said as she nodded toward the pouch, “I had a word with the undertaker here in town. He wanted to see that pouch for himself on account of it being such an odd kind of burial, but I thought you should see it first. Anyway,” she added while holding out her hands, “the undertaker gave me this. He said it’s customary for occasions like this.”

  The thing in Jenny’s hands was a clay pot that looked as if it had been sliced apart toward the top instead of having a proper lid. There wasn’t much of a design on the pot, but it did look to be about the same size as the pouch in Clint’s hands.

  “It’s made to hold Abner,” Jenny explained awkwardly. “At least, what’s left of him. Once he’s inside, we can seal it up so it stays shut.”

  “Why would…why would he…do this?” Olivia asked. “I mean, why would Abner have this done? Was it his idea?”

  “I don’t know, sweetie,” Jenny replied. “Maybe you should read the letter that came with it.”

  “You haven’t read it yet?”

  Jenny shook her head. “It’s addressed to you.” With that, she reached into the pocket of her apron and removed a piece of paper that looked to be folded into quarters. “Here,” she said while handing the paper to Olivia.

  “Thank you,” Olivia said as she meekly accepted the paper. Turning it over in her hands, Olivia found the paper to be sealed on two sides by wax. It was a mess of smeared wax all over the paper, but it had gotten the job done.

  Jenny started to leave, but stopped before taking more than a few steps away from the door. Slowly turning back around, she held her hands clasped in front of her and asked, “Do you think I could stay? I’ve been dying to know what’s in that letter.”

  “Sure,” Olivia said with a smile. “Abner wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.”

  Jenny smiled and nodded before walking over to one of the chairs situated against the wall. Once seated, she folded her hands on her lap and waited patiently.

  Using her fingernail to chip away at the wax, Olivia methodically worked her way around the paper until the seal had been broken and flecks of wax were covering the bed. She unfolded the paper, shook some more bits of wax away, and then started to read. It didn’t take long for her face to shift through several different shades of emotion.

  “What is it?” Jenny asked.

  Clint wanted to know the same thing, but was content to sit and wait for Olivia to speak. Part of him even wanted to ease out of the room so he wasn’t intruding on a personal moment between family members. Before he could start to make a move for the door, however, Clint saw Olivia look straight at him.

  “Abner was murdered,” she whispered.

  “What?” Clint and Jenny asked at the same time.

  Olivia nodded slowly. “It says right here that someone was after him. He came into some money and started getting threats.” As she spoke, she flipped between two pages that comprised the letter.

  “Someone came after him and he hid his money somewhere safe. The letter says he meant to tell where the money was before he died.” Lowering the paper, Olivia asked, “Does it say anything about that in your letter, Jenny?”

  Jenny shook her head solemnly. “Not a word. My letter just said to expect you and if you didn’t come, that I was supposed to carry him to that river.”

  “What river?” Clint asked.

  “It’s in this last part,” Olivia said as she turned over the second page. “Uncle Abner was always afraid of dark spots, so he didn’t want to be buried. Instead, he wanted to be burned and then scattered along the Rio Grande where he grew up.” Olivia lowered the papers and looked at Clint with tears running down her cheeks. “It was his dying wish.”

  TWENTY-ONE

  “Who does something like this?” Olivia whispered a few hours later.

  She and Clint had been treated to a hot meal followed by some of the best peach cobbler he’d ever tasted. Jenny had cooked the meal and offered a few consoling words, but seemed more than willing to let Olivia eat in pe
ace. Although she gave Clint a stern look after dinner, she hadn’t said much of anything when he followed Olivia to her room and shut the door.

  “What do you mean?” Clint asked.

  Olivia reached out to touch the bundle that was still wrapped in paper. “This,” she said as if she was afraid of waking the dead. “I mean, is this even Christian?”

  “There’s nothing wrong with it,” Clint told her. “It’s not typical, but it’s been done for a long time. I don’t know exactly how he managed it, but I’ve heard of…” Pausing before he went into too much explanation of what little he knew regarding the process of turning someone into a pile of ashes, Clint said, “It can be done. Actually, I’ve seen Indian ceremonies along those lines and they’re quite beautiful.”

  She looked up at him and asked, “Really?”

  Clint nodded. “Haven’t you ever heard of that before?”

  “Not really. Most of my family lives to be old and cranky. I don’t think I’ve ever even known someone who’s died. Well, not until now.”

  “There’s not much to say about it,” Clint replied with a shrug. “It’s bound to happen to all of us.”

  “Yes, but does everyone else have to carry someone’s ashes all the way to a river?”

  Clint tapped his chin as he pretended to think about it for triple the amount of time he needed. Finally, he shook his head. “Nope. I think that’s pretty strange.”

  Olivia took those words exactly as they’d been intended and smiled. “That about sums up Abner. It’s only fitting that he’s buried the same way he lived. Well…deposited…or sunk. Whatever it is we’re supposed to do with him.”

  “I believe scattered is the word you’re looking for.”

  “Yes. That sums up Abner as well.”

  Even though Clint hadn’t known the man, he had to laugh at that. “Sounds like he was a hell of a man.”

  “He sure was.”

  “Do you know any who’d want to hurt him?”

  “No. That’s what’s been bothering me. I can’t think of what would possess someone to come after Abner. Most folks either loved him or didn’t even know him very well. I don’t think he had any enemies.”