by Neil Hunter
And this was why all those folk died?
For a bagful of shiny rocks?
He recalled the sprawled bodies. Bloody and crumpled like they didn’t matter. Just for a bag of diamonds. LeRoy placed his hands flat on the table, deep breathing as he contemplated the extreme measures some men would go to get their hands on what they considered was theirs for the taking. In his job he had to face all types of brutal, perverted individuals who disregarded civilized behavior as they broke the law. He had figured he’d seen the worst until now.
LeRoy slid the diamonds off the velvet, back into the leather pouch, closing the mouth with the threaded thong. Its weight was substantial when he lifted it. Replacing the pouch on the table LeRoy moved back outside. The diamonds weren’t going anywhere until he was ready to leave.
He felt the rising wind the moment he stepped through the door. It lifted light dust, sent grains of gritty soil against the cabin. The water tower creaked as the breeze pushed against the dried-out, weathered timber.
To the west the lowering sun shadowed the sky. LeRoy hadn’t realized the day was slipping away. One thing he did know. He wasn’t about to leave Buckmann’s Folly today. An overnight stay, desired or not, was on the cards.
~*~
Jack Reno had spent hours tracking the scattered horses. By the time he had been able to slip away from Buckmann’s Folly, the animals were long gone. The brief but bloody gunfight had left him the sole survivor. He might have expended time and energy ranting and cursing the turn of events that had robbed him of his partners and possibly the money due to be paid to him by Dietrich. He didn’t make the effort. Events had happened but he had survived. Reno planned to stay that way. Yet it would be necessary for him to return to the site.
Necessary?
It was vital.
He needed to get to the water source. Above everything he had to have water. He was already feeling the debilitating effects of dehydration. His body craved moisture. The parched feeling in his mouth and throat was increasing. Just the thought of the cool water of the spring at the Folly was driving him on, forcing him to retrace the steps he had left behind on his escape. At the time it had been his wisest move. Jack Reno was not a coward but he understood the concept of retreat when things turned against him. His men had gone down, leaving him on his own, so backing off had been his only option.
His search for the horses LeRoy had stampeded from the corral had not gained him anything. He’d seen a couple of them, roaming around the landscape, too far for him to even get close. He had nothing to hand that would help. No rope, so his chances of cornering one were thin. He decided to concentrate on getting back to Buckmann’s Folly.
Reno walked, taking a slow pace. Though it was late afternoon the heat still burned. Too much effort would squeeze out any moisture remaining in his body. Dust kicked up from beneath his boots as he moved.
When the outline of the water tower showed Reno sank to the ground, stretching out as he studied the place. Sleeving sweat from his eyes he took his time searching for movement.
Was LeRoy still there?
He might have left, taking the money Dietrich had carried – and the diamonds – leaving behind dead bodies. With all the horses gone the lawman would have no means of transporting the dead away.
On the other hand maybe LeRoy was still there. Waiting in the hope Reno would do exactly what he was doing. Returning to the Folly to get to the water. That would be LeRoy’s way. He was nothing if not persistent. His reputation as a dedicated lawman followed him wherever he went. There was something within Alvin LeRoy that kept him on the hunt long after others would have quit.
Well, Reno thought, this is one boy who works the same. I ain’t stayed around this long by up and quitting just ‘cause the day’s turned contrary on me.
Reno looked around and picked a likely spot where he could slid into a shallow depression. It would offer him concealment while he waited out the rest of the afternoon. There was little else he could do until daylight faded and the cover of darkness would offer him a better chance to reach the Folly without being seen. He had little choice. If LeRoy was still out there he would spot Reno approaching in daylight. Once the light faded Reno’s chances would increase. There would still be risk involved. Reno knew that. At least with the absence of light he might make it. If he could get within pistol range the odds would be even better. He handled a gun well. Reno was no slouch with a handgun. On top of being fast – less important – he was accurate. Extremely. He seldom missed what he aimed at.
Settled in the depression Reno slid his Colt from its holster, untied his neckerchief and wiped the pistol down. He added a sixth cartridge from his belt.
He wondered about Malloy and Donnelly. He had seen them both go down under LeRoy’s gun and wondered if either had survived. From what he could recall LeRoy’s shots had been on target. He made no concessions to wounding in any confrontation. A dead man could not fire back.
Dietrich and his pair of gunmen? Hard sons, but out of their depth in this part of the country. City folk, Reno decided, unused to the likes of US Marshal Alvin LeRoy. Reno saw them as errand boys sent to collect the diamonds. Facing LeRoy would allow them no chance at all.
Reno slid against the side of the depression where the curve of the earth provided a degree of protection from the direct rays of the sun. Not a great deal of cover but enough to allow him some relief. Anything was welcome. Reno did his best not to dwell on the water he craved. So close, but it might as well have been a thousand miles away right now. He satisfied himself with the knowledge he would have access to that water once he had dealt with LeRoy. He half-cocked his pistol, spinning the cylinder, the soft click of the action satisfying his restless mood.
LeRoy, come dark I’m putting you down.
One less lawdog to have on his back...
~*~
There was no sense staying out in the open given that Reno could be around. LeRoy saw to the black, hobbling it close to the cabin before he moved, transferred all the supplies he found inside, and hauling Spearman along as well. He secured the man’s ankles to the legs of the chair he sat him in at the table, freeing Spearman’s hands. With that done LeRoy built a fire in the cast-iron stove and prepared coffee. When it was ready he filled mugs for himself and Spearman, placing one in front of the man.
‘It ain’t poisoned and it’s likely to be the best you’ll get for the near future,’ LeRoy said.
Spearman picked up the mug and drank.
LeRoy took his coffee and his Winchester. Standing to one side of the open door he watched as shadows began to lengthen. He didn’t enjoy his situation but at the moment he had little choice.
‘You feel like talking,’ he said.
Spearman said, ‘About what?’
‘How about that pouch of diamonds. Must be a story there.’
‘There is. But a long one.’
‘I’m not going anywhere.’
~*~
A dark sweep of heavy cloud slid across the sky, speeding the twilight effect. The rising wind picked up dust and LeRoy anticipated it was only going to get worse. The driven debris scoured the wall of the cabin and he had to step back a little to avoid being struck. Distant when he first heard, but rising in volume he could hear the moan of the wind.
‘Is there going to be a storm? Spearman said.
‘Looks that way.’
‘Isn’t it going to make things easier for that man Reno? To get closer to us I mean?’
‘He’ll use it.’
‘Will he…I mean he’s going to be angry…’
‘Reno will be coming for two reasons. To collect his money and to settle what he figures is due between the two of us.’
‘And what about me?’
‘I can’t say how he’ll be feeling about you. Just figure he isn’t going to be best pleased the way things have turned out.’
‘My God, he’ll kill us.’
‘Man like Reno is likely to be unpredictable.’
‘You getting feisty isn’t about to make me feel any more charitable.’
‘I shouldn’t be here. I was forced to come by the man I work for. I work in an office in New York. I’m an assayer. I value items. Make decisions on how much they’re worth…’
‘You work with people who steal. Who send out gunmen and hire the likes of Jack Reno and his bunch. They left a group of families dead back there. Shot to death…as you said because they got in the way…and that’s one hell of a thing to come out with. This feller you work for sounds like a real piece of trash. I’d like to hear who he is.’
Spearman shook his head, face blanched white.
‘No, you don’t want to hear about him, LeRoy. The less you know the better. For your own sake. You go against him and he will destroy you. Lawman or no, man is unstoppable. He…’
‘He’s a man, Spearman. A .45 bullet will kill him just as easy as any other.’
‘LeRoy, he is evil. Cruel. He has no concerns except adding to his power and wealth. He buys and sells men’s bodies and souls. Women as well. He destroy anyone who gets in his way. Violence is his answer to solving problems. Understand me, Marshal, he is corruption personified.’
‘Just to satisfy my curiosity, who is this top man? The one who pulls the strings?’
‘Do you intend arresting him? If you do I wish you good luck.’
‘Let me worry about that. Just give me a name, Spearman.’
‘Luchino Trattori. He is the man at the top. They call him The Don. He controls a powerful criminal organization in New York. He has the power of life and death.’
‘And the diamonds?’
‘To add to the wealth he already has. Trattori is so obsessed with it. It strengthens his power. His control over others. He craves it and will do anything to increase it. In the city he controls the hardest of the crime groups. But he has plans to expand his reach. To spread out across the country. To do that he needs more money. Those diamonds will buy him more influence and generate his long term plans. He sees the West as having great potential and wants to be part of the expansion.’
‘Regardless of who gets hurt along the way.’
‘Life has little meaning to these people. Trattori himself gave the order to make sure no one was to be left alive to tell the tale. Those people on the wagon train. Reverend Tamber. Trattori gave the word they all had to be silenced. All of them.’
A surge in the wind slammed against the cabin. Timbers creaked and rattled. The sound of the threatening storm rose in volume. LeRoy had experienced these Texas wind storms and knew how powerful they could become. Shrieking across the open land, with nothing to stop them they could uproot trees and tear down buildings. More dirt, raised by the wind, hammered the structure of the cabin. LeRoy moved to check that the window shutters were secured.
‘We’ll be safe in here,’ he said.
‘From the storm maybe, but what about Reno?’ Spearman said.
‘We’ll face that if it happens.’
LeRoy took out his knife and cut the ropes holding Spearman to the chair. The man wasn’t about to make a break and presented little threat to him. Any threat would come from the storm – and possibly Jack Reno.
‘Stay put,’ LeRoy said.
‘Where are you going? You can’t leave me.’
‘I’ll be back shortly.’
He ducked out through the door, shoulders hunched and head down as he felt the wind buffet him. He crouched to release the black’s hobbles, taking the reins and pulled the horse with him as he went back inside. Safer to have the animal close than left outside where Reno might steal it. He pulled the horse to the far side of the cabin, then turned to close the cabin door.
The shot came out of the swirling dust.
It came close, taking a chunk of timber from the door frame inches from LeRoy’s head, peppering him with splinters.
LeRoy jerked back, slamming the door and pushing the bolt home.
No doubt now.
Jack Reno was near. Near enough to take a pistol shot.
In LeRoy’s book that was too close.
~*~
Reno snapped the hammer back for a second shot. He was a shade too late. The cabin door close with a thump.
Damn.
He turned and pushed his way through the wind, making for the water. LeRoy would have to wait. He was trapped inside the cabin with nowhere to go. Reno dropped to his knees, scooping up water to ease his dry mouth and throat. He scooped up more with his left hand and splashed it over his face.
Only after he had satisfied his thirst did he turn his attention back to the cabin, narrowing his eyes against the dust thrown around by the wind.
One way in. No rear door. The only way out would put LeRoy under Reno’s gun. If the lawman wanted to get out he had no choice.
On the down side LeRoy would have food and most likely water in there. He also had weapons.
And he had the diamonds and the cash Dietrich had brought.
Plus he had the horse.
Everything Reno required to take him to safety.
He moved closer to the cabin, fighting the wind as it pushed and twisted against him. With darkness falling fast it was becoming difficult to see more than a few feet. Reno touched the cabin wall, easing along the rough timber. He reached one of the shuttered windows, attempting to peer inside through the slats but they were too closely fitted to offer any view. He stumbled forward until he reached the closed door.
Reno faced the door, fast realizing he was no better off. The closed door was a barrier blocking him off from reaching what he needed. He instinctively raised his Colt, then lowered it again.
No damn good.
LeRoy would be set to resist any form of forced entry, his guns ready. Going in bullheaded would most likely offer a hail of shots before Reno had the opportunity to find a target.
He needed a distraction. Something to occupy the lawman that would give Reno an advantage.
Such as…?
He almost laughed out loud when the answer came to him. Now it seemed so simple. A way to get LeRoy to quit the cabin.
Reno moved back the way he’d come. Battling the rising dust storm and the wind he fought his way to the separate store shed yards from the cabin. Reaching it he hauled open the wooden door and sought what he wanted.
Metal oil cans stored alongside other items. They held coal oil, used to fuel the cabin’s lamps. Soaking the dried out timber of the cabin would let him set a blaze that would force LeRoy outside. Reno would be waiting. Ready to cut the man down. It was a risky plan but Reno had little else going for him. He felt in his pockets for a pack of matches he carried to light his cigarettes, found them and picked up two of the oil cans. He fought his way back to the cabin, stumbling under the force of the wind and crouched close to the front wall. He uncapped the oil cans and tipped the oil out, liberally wetting the timber. He used the second can to extend the oil soaked area. With the cans empty Reno threw them aside. Moving back to the store shed he fashioned a crude torch from a length of wood and wound about with strips torn from an old horse blanket. He tied the bundle to the wood with a further strip of blanket, opened another can and poured oil until the makeshift torch was dripping. At the door of the store shed Reno took out his matches and struck one on the rough timber. As soon as it flared he held it to the oil-soaked head of the torch. Strands of the blanket caught, flared, and within seconds the torch was burning well.
Reno didn’t waste time. He stepped out into the swirling dust, the wind causing the burning torch to blaze heavily. Pushing against the storm he staggered his way back to the cabin. He thrust the fiery torch against the timber wall, holding it there until the oiled wood caught, flickered, then began to spread, aided by the wind. Reno thought the flames would be blown out by the wind. Instead the agitation increased the fire’s hold, the dried-out wood catching quickly. Reno stumble
d back as the flames increased, spreading along the soaked wall, feeling the heat as the burning increased.
~*~
‘He’s going to burn us out,’ Spearman said.
Fire licked through the timber joints of the cabin walls. Smoke curled inside.
LeRoy saw flame running the length of the front wall. The dryness of the wood encouraged the fire. A smart move by Reno, his intention to drive LeRoy and Spearmen out of the cabin to where he would no doubt be waiting. With no other way for them to go LeRoy had to make his move quickly. The spread of the fire would engulf the cabin in a short time.
Reno wanted them out of the cabin. LeRoy would allow him that but he was not going meekly. Behind him he heard the black snort as it picked up the smell of smoke.
‘Spearman, you ride?’ he said.
‘What? Yes, I can ride.’
‘Get up on that horse and when I open the door you take him out through as fast as you can.’
‘Are you insane?’
‘Could be. It’s an easy choice. Ride out and get clear, or stay here and l burn. Make up your mind, mister, else I’ll take the ride myself and leave you behind.’
‘What will you do?’
‘Follow you and hope I can deal with Reno.’
Spearman dragged himself into the saddle, hauled up the reins.
‘The diamonds…’
‘The hell with them. As soon as I open that door you give that black your heels. I think he’s smart enough to go through.’
LeRoy was hoping the black would have the sense to do what was expected of it. If not they were still in trouble.
‘Keep your head down when you go through.’
LeRoy took hold of the door handle, feeling the heat searing through, and yanked it wide open. He whacked the black hard across its rump, yelling wildly as Spearman kicked with his heels. The black gave a startled cry and hesitated for a few seconds before it lunged forward and barreled its way through the open door. Smoke and dust swirled in its wake as it plunged into the gloom, Spearman screaming wildly. As the horse vanished from sight, flame burst across the open doorway. LeRoy, Winchester grasped in both hands, launched himself through, veering to the left as he cleared the cabin.