by Hunt, Jack
Within seconds, the truck turned south almost sideswiping Paco’s friend. He rolled out of the way and the truck crushed the soldier beneath its wheels. The truck took off at a high rate of speed, swerving and then straightening out.
Colby rushed out into the middle of the road to check on the other one who was focused on the truck heading away. “You okay?”
He nodded and looked up at him.
Colby extended a hand to help him up.
“What’s your name?”
“Elsu.”
His lip was cut, and the skin above his eye was swollen.
“I’m…”
“Colby. I know. Dakota told us.”
They both looked down the road as the truck disappeared around the bend.
A sense of defeat came over Colby. He knew Paco. He knew his family.
Elsu walked over to the one they’d shot in the back of the head. He bent down and cradled his friend. “We did nothing. Nothing.”
“What were you doing out this way?”
“Dakota sent us to tell the other tribes about the message you sent. They stopped us and said we were going with them. Something about we were responsible for scalping people. Said they were arresting us for crimes against the community.” He lowered his face into the crook of his friend’s bloody neck then wailed.
The sound of galloping came from behind and Colby turned to see Alicia slowing, Kane running alongside. “Elsu. You should leave. They’ll send others,” Colby said.
“I’m not leaving Mahkah here,” he replied. Colby gave him a hand lifting him onto the back of one of the horses that had taken off and gone a short way down the road. The mares were grazing at the side of the road. Once they had his fallen friend on the back, Elsu climbed up.
“Thank you for helping,” he said.
“Tell Dakota we need his help. I will find out what’s happening with Paco.”
“And the militia? They will come for you now.”
“Maybe,” he said. He patted the horse on the rump and Elsu took off heading west where he would cross the river and make his way around the city and back to the reservation.
Chapter Nineteen
Lieutenant Elijah Hale surveyed the landscape from the bluff that overlooked Humboldt Bay and Bucksport. It seemed as fitting a location as any other for the hanging. The captain had tasked him with securing an area that would give their men access to the water and the town, and at the same time was large enough for the community to gather to witness justice.
And justice would be served today.
It would put to rest questions and accusations.
It was the next step in the captain’s plan.
And what better place to do it than where it all began in Humboldt.
Fort Humboldt State Historic Park had served as a U.S. Army fort between 1853 and 1870 to govern and mediate the conflicts between gold seekers, settlers, and the Native Americans. At one time there had been fourteen buildings, crudely constructed from planks. Now all that remained was the hospital which had been turned into a museum. Inside, it offered the story of the arrival of settlers and the massacre.
It was perfect. It would once again serve to show their dominance over the tribes in the area, over the ones responsible for such a hideous crime. Of course, none of them were to blame but someone had to take the fall, someone had to be the scapegoat, and who better than those who had a history of hatred toward the white man.
“Lieutenant.”
He cast a glance over his shoulder to see Davis hurrying toward him. “We got one but uh…”
“Spit it out, man.”
“Three of ours are dead.”
“What?”
“It was an ambush, at least it appears that way. Jasper just returned. He’s in pretty bad shape. But that’s not all…”
“Tell me on the way,” he said as they hurried across the large field back to a waiting military truck. As they drove, Davis continued.
“One of the Rikers came to their aid, otherwise we would have had three of them.”
He screwed his face up. He thought the captain had dealt with the Rikers. They were meant to be out of the picture before this all played out. They couldn’t have them interfering. From the little he’d learned from Sheriff Wilder, the two families were selfish, loyal only to themselves. “Did you get a description?”
“You’ll have to ask Jasper.”
By the time they arrived at the Humboldt Sheriff’s Office, all hell had broken loose between officers, locals, and the militia. Rifles were raised, everyone was yelling. Elijah pushed out of the vehicle and made his way over to the crowd that was increasing in size. It appeared that it was locals pushing back, many demanding justice after learning that they’d caught one of the ones responsible for the scalpings in the county.
“I knew that family. I say you hand him over to us so we can deal with him.”
People jeered, cursed, and accused the police of shielding a violent criminal.
He knew this would happen. No doubt he would find the captain behind this. They wanted the people to know. They wanted the local authorities to come under scrutiny because they knew they wouldn’t give the people justice. They would lock him up and try to play it by the book, or worse, investigate it and let him go free.
That wasn’t happening.
Once enough of the town had come out to protest, the captain would flip the script and side with the people. They would offer to hang him from the gallows or bring him in front of a firing squad. It would be an execution that everyone could attend. After having already earned their respect by bringing in supplies, this would cement them as leaders, and diminish the role of the police. Elijah smiled at a few of his guys who knew what was happening. They were there to fire up the people, to toss fuel on their anger, and feed into the belief that they had the right man.
He elbowed his way through a throng of people and climbed the steps with Davis. Once inside, he headed for the sheriff’s office. He could already hear the heated discussion between the captain and Wilder. Again, this was just an act but an effective one. “You want to lock him up?”
“I want to ensure justice is served the right way,” Dan replied as Elijah came around the corner into his office.
“Oh, good, lieutenant. Perhaps you can speak some sense into this fool,” Benjamin said, raising both hands and crossing the room to make coffee. Wilder wasn’t done with him.
“I did not give you permission.”
“Oh but you did,” Benjamin said, raising a finger as he emptied some instant coffee into a cup. “You wanted to protect this town. You have been unable to do so. Hence the reason why there are families all over this county dead with their scalps missing. Now if you want to go out there and tell the people that you plan on bringing this guy before a judge after you waste more time investigating whether or not he or his tribe is responsible — be my guest. They will eat you alive. Hell, you can hear them from here!” he said, raising his voice.
“He’s right, Dan,” Elijah said, backing him up.
“No. He’s wrong. You both are. Now I appreciate your help. I do. But there is still a process involved in law. People have rights. They are innocent until proven guilty. If we had taken the same approach before the event, we would have been crucified for making a leap of judgment and saying it was this man without evidence. I need evidence.”
“You have evidence. A hundred years of it!” Benjamin yelled. “This event has been a godsend for them as now they can take back whatever they want without anyone stopping them. Hell, they even have you protecting them. Man, it doesn’t get much easier than that. But let me tell you something, sheriff. You go dragging that man before a judge and he walks, people in this town are liable to burn this station to the ground. They don’t give a shit which tribe did it. All they see is you taking no action.”
“I am taking action. In fact, I have a good mind to arrest your man.”
“For what?”
“Murder. I heard w
hat Paco said. That one of his people was killed in cold blood by one of yours.”
“Really? Or maybe that was because they were trying to resist arrest.”
“I’ve told you.” Dan waved a finger at him. “The militia are not the ones responsible for arresting anyone. That is what our deputies are here to do. You work with us.”
“Most of your deputies and the local police are gone. And I imagine in a week or two, even more will have left. Then what will you do? Let me guess, deputize us? Give us badges? Then swear us in and give us permission to do your job? You’re a moron. Did you bag this asshole? No. My guys did.”
“All right. All right. Let’s take a step back, shall we?” Elijah said.
Elijah could see this was spiraling out of control real fast. The only way this worked was if they didn’t lose their cool. The last thing they needed was to be pushed out from the position they’d obtained. At some point, they would step over the line and do as they pleased but until then it required tact, timing, picking their fights and this was not one of them. “We are on the same team. I can respect what you are saying, sheriff, I can, but you need to understand that we are the ones putting our necks on the line every time we go out there. We can’t wait around for your guys to show up. This occurred in Redway. Here in Eureka, it might have been a different story. Now I don’t know what happened out there on that road. But I do know that while there is a dead Native American out there, there are also three of our men that haven’t returned home. So you’ll have to forgive the captain for the outburst as the men mean a lot to him.”
“As do mine,” Wilder said.
“Good.”
“However, that doesn’t take away from the fact that this event should have never occurred. Until we have determined which tribe, if there even is a tribe responsible, we cannot…”
“Oh, there you go again,” Benjamin said as he poured out hot water into his cup. “Honestly, do you think locals, gangs, looters would do this? C’mon, sheriff, you can’t be so naïve. Do you even know why they scalped people in the past? Huh?”
“I don’t give a damn.”
“Well, you should if you want to investigate this. Which is laughable because it’s not like they are going to admit to it. So what kind of evidence do you need to determine this? Catching them in the act? A witness? What do you need?”
Dan rose from his desk and went over to the window to look out at the commotion down below. He said nothing but it was clear he was chewing it over. “And if you were to handle this matter. How would you go about it?”
And there it was. The sheriff was looking for a way out. A plausible means of making this all go away. Benjamin eyed Elijah and a smile flickered on his face.
“Well, we would bring the matter to the people. Let them decide what his fate should be. But I think you know what that is.”
“So you murder him. He’s only one of many. Was it him? No. Yes. Maybe. What next? A firing squad? Gallows? What is this, the 1800s?” Wilder turned and looked at them. “That is vigilante justice. This is how lynch mobs take over. Not how a police department in modern times operates. I will not allow that to happen. As long as I’m sheriff, we will conduct ourselves in a manner that upholds the rule of innocent until proven guilty.”
“That’s not in the Constitution.”
“No, it’s not. Not explicitly, but the presumption of innocence of a person accused of a crime has been held up and falls in line with the Fifth, Sixth, and Fourteenth Amendments.” He stabbed a finger at the floor and glared. “Captain, if you are going to come into my office and question law and order, you damn well better believe I will question what you know about the amendments. Because if I remember rightly, the first day you stepped into this office you said you weren’t here to step on anyone’s toes, and that your militia existed to uphold the principles of the elected, and defend the rights and protections of citizens defined by the founding fathers in the U.S. Constitution. Well, Paco has rights, and if you won’t defend them, I will.”
He glared at them both, making it clear he wasn’t going to make this easy.
“This is not over. Not by a long shot,” Benjamin said, slamming his coffee down and storming out of the office.
Chapter Twenty
Martha Riker looked ecstatic. Upon returning to the farm, Colby found his family unloading the arsenal of weapons and ammunition from the trailer. His mother was giving directions like a worksite supervisor. “No. It’s fine. Just take it into the house.” She turned and beamed with delight as if welcoming him back for the first time again.
“Well done, my boy,” she said. “I can always rely on you to get a job done.”
He couldn’t hide his troubled mind, and his mother could tell something was the matter. “What is it?”
He waved her off. “Nothing.”
“Well, it certainly doesn’t look like nothing. You might not have been here for ten years but I know that look. It’s the same one your father had when he had something he wanted to say. So come on, what is it?”
Instead of going straight for the heart and asking her about Skye, he opted to sidestep it momentarily. Colby climbed the three steps onto the porch and looked through the window at Jessie who was still laid up in bed. “The militia have Paco.”
“From the reservation?”
He nodded. “Militia attacked his group and a fight broke out. One of them was shot, so I intervened.”
She lifted a hand. “You got involved?”
“Well, I wasn’t going to let them kill another. These people are peaceful, Mother.”
She folded her arms and her lips went thin. “And when you say intervened, I gather that means you killed one of them?”
“Several.”
She brought a hand up to her head and sighed, glancing at Alicia. “And you? Were you involved?”
“She had nothing to do with it. Leave her out of this.”
Martha began to pace, running a hand over her dreadlocks. “Oh, Colby. How could you?”
“How could I? Are you serious?”
“We look after the needs of our own, not others.”
“Right,” he chuckled. “That’s just like you.”
“Son, the reason you are alive today is because of me. Because I have done what is necessary to protect this family, this homestead.”
“Oh come on!” He tossed a hand up in the air. “This homestead. Please. You are always talking about this place to the exclusion of all else. This isn’t all that exists, Mother. The homestead is our town, the county, Paco, Dakota, and many of the people in this community.”
She gave him a blank stare.
“Have you been drinking?”
“No, I leave that to you,” he replied after having smelled alcohol on her breath.
She folded her arms again.
“Well you know what this means, don’t you?” Her eyebrows rose. “We can expect them to show up here.”
“We already were. Or did you have something else in mind for those weapons? And while we’re talking about that. What’s the deal with the gold?”
“That is not your concern.”
“No? Like my father’s death wasn’t? Like Skye being pregnant wasn’t?”
His mother turned on her heels. Her eyes widened.
“It’s true, isn’t it?” he asked.
She didn’t respond. The look told him everything.
“Yeah, yeah, I know. When were you going to tell me, huh?” He waited for a response but she didn’t give it. “I had to hear it from Heath, of all people.”
“Heath doesn’t know his ass from his head. Half the time he’s as high as a kite.”
“Don’t lie to me.”
He could see she was having difficulty telling him. “Skye wasn’t going to throw me under the bus that night, was she, Mother? You had Jessie kill her because she was carrying my baby. You are just like Hank.”
He turned to walk away.
She wasn’t done. She followed him off the porch
. “I’m not like Hank. That’s not the reason. I would never do that.”
“No. Then what happened?”
“I told you.”
“Bullshit. You keep lying. Over and over again. Manipulating this family. I bet you think I left because of Skye. You’re wrong. I left because of you. I was tired of following your orders, doing your bidding. Mothers don’t force their kids into illegal activities. They don’t encourage the killing of another family.”
She gritted her teeth. “I admit, I am not perfect. I admit that your father and I should have never gotten you kids involved but that’s life. We don’t get to choose who our families are. I will not have you accuse me of something I did not do.”
Colby lost it and stabbed a finger in his mother’s face, furious, tired of the emotional abuse. “Then tell me the fucking truth! Did you know?”
There was a long pause.
“No. I found out after you left for the city. I found out through someone else. Had I known she was pregnant I would have never sent Jessie.”
“You sicken me. You put this on him.”
“He volunteered. That boy in there cares so much about you that he didn’t want to see you go to jail.”
Colby narrowed his eyes. “Jail? You killed her after she’d spoken to the cop. If she wanted to throw me under the bus, it was already done. No, you had him kill her after.”
“We believed from a valid source that she was about to toss all of us under the bus. Not just you.”
“So it was about you.”
“No.”
He couldn’t believe a word she was saying.
“Then who told you?”
“Nancy. I just didn’t know that she’d been fed a lie too.”
Colby looked over her shoulder. Most of the family had stepped outside and were eavesdropping. Few of them had ever stood up to their mother. It was partially respect but mostly fear. “By who? Who told her a lie?”
She was reluctant to say as soon as she became aware that the rest were listening.
“By who?” he asked again.
She dipped her head and he took a step forward.