Blood Bond 9

by William W. Johnstone

  Lester nodded.

  “Be on your guard,” Sam warned as Derrell fell into step beside the two blood brothers and walked up the hill.

  Holt had taken a shovel from his saddle and placed its tip in the still-soft dirt of the grave. He hadn’t actually started to dig when Matt, Sam, and Derrell arrived.

  “What’s going on here?” Matt demanded.

  “You boys just stay calm,” Holt said, looking distinctly uncomfortable. “I’m just doing my duty.”

  “You scum,” Derrell said.

  Sam and Matt stared at Holt. The marshal seemed to wilt under their gazes.

  “Look,” he said. “I’m just doing my job. A citizen in town has been accused of a crime. He pleads innocent. The only evidence we have is the body. It’s within my jurisdiction to gather all the evidence I need.”

  Holt pushed the tip of the shovel into the dirt. Matt grabbed the handle in an iron grip. Holt could not budge the shovel, though a light sweat broke out on his forehead. Sam took Holt’s arm and forced his hand from the handle.

  “There are different ways of looking at this, I suppose,” Sam said. “I’m not a lawyer, but a case could be made that a marshal does have certain powers. Even if it does seem to some as if he is harassing an innocent widow woman.”

  “And we could beat the crap out of this person, though that would also be illegal,” Matt continued. “Even though he may be a sorry excuse for a man, he does wear a badge.”

  “So what alternatives does that leave us?”

  Holt looked at them both as if they were crazy. His eyes glanced from one to the other, trying to following the talk.

  “We could go ahead and try to beat some sense into this fellow, which might be morally right but legally wrong,” Matt said.

  “On the other hand, if there was a person in office with a stronger moral character, there would be no need to beat him . . . except for the fun of it. I imagine some legal basis could be found if we looked hard enough.”

  “You’ve convinced me.” Matt turned to Derrell. “I’ve been thinking about our talk a little earlier, and I’ve reconsidered my position. I’ll be glad to accept the job as City Marshal.”

  Holt’s mouth flew open in surprise. Of all the possible things that could have happened, this was not one he’d thought of.

  “You can’t do that!” Holt said. “The council has to vote on it! King will eat all of them and spit them out for breakfast. There’s no way any of them would go against King Perry! You’re all lying!”

  Derrell smiled broadly. “Well, that’s more like it. I don’t know what’s the proper way of swearing you in, but I think since the council said you have the job immediately upon acceptance, you’re now the new marshal.”

  “Sounds good,” Matt said. “We’ll take care of the paperwork later.”

  A heavy sweat was now pouring down Holt’s face. He stood as if rooted to the spot, not knowing what to do next.

  “We do need to attend to one thing,” Sam said, gesturing to his chest.

  “Of course!” Matt reached out and plucked the badge from Holt’s shirt, polished it on his sleeve, and pinned it to his own chest. “Now. Guess that makes it legal enough.”

  “What is your first act as marshal?” Sam asked.

  “To order this trespasser off the Brandom land,” Matt answered. “Get out, Holt, or else—”

  A rifle shot exploded from some brush on the other side of the hill.

  “Here we go again,” Sam said.

  Lilly had to admit to herself that even though she had never before liked guns, she did like the feeling she had when she handled the guns well and hit her intended target. Matt had gotten her started, and Derrell had continued with her.

  Was it only the night before that Holt and Conn had paid her that visit? She had been so frightened for the safety of her and Tommy that she could barely function. Now, though only a few hours later, she felt things had changed. It was not just that Sam, Matt, and Derrell were present, but that she was doing something on her own to help herself and not depending entirely on somebody else.

  Lilly could see her friends talking with Holt on the hill. She thought back several years and tried to remember why she had rejected Derrell’s advances in favor of Jack. Both were good men, and always had been. For some reason, years before, Jack just seemed to be the best choice. And he had provided her a good life for as long as it lasted. She had not regretted marrying Jack. She still thought of Derrell from time to time, though they seldom talked. She was a little surprised to see Derrell again . . . unless he was still interested in her. He had never married, after all. It was too soon to even think of such things, but maybe in a year. . . .

  She jumped when the rifle shot exploded from some brush near the hill, followed by another shot on the other side of the hill. Somebody was obviously trying to pin down her friends, who had already scurried for cover.

  “Best get inside, ma’am,” Lester said. “You, too, Tommy.”

  “But they’re shooting!” Tommy protested.

  “That’s why you’d best get inside. There’s not much you can do here. No use taking chances.”

  “What are you planning to do?”

  “Go up and help my son, of course. If you all get inside where it’s safe.”

  “We’ll do it.”

  “Good.”

  Lester started up the hill, staying close to the trees and brush.

  Sam went in one direction and Matt the other. They blended into the underbrush so well that they could not even be noticed, and the shooting stopped almost as quickly as it had started.

  Holt attempted to sneak away. He was stopped when Derrell reached out and grabbed him by his shirt.

  “Not so fast,” Derrell said. “Where do you think you’re going?”

  “Bodine ordered me to get out,” Holt answered. “I’m just trying to oblige . . .”

  Matt crawled back to where Derrell had pinned Holt. “I’ve changed my mind. You’re staying here awhile. You were setting us up. Who’s with you?”

  “Hardesty. Cooper. That’s all.”

  “Petty’s not with them?”

  “Not this time.”

  Holt suddenly twisted and scampered away. Derrell stood to go after him. Matt said, “Don’t worry about him. If he’s smart, he’ll get out of the area for good . . . before Petty gets hold of him. Right now, I’m more concerned about the other two.”

  Higher on the hill, Sam was working his way around the spot from which one of the shots had come. He moved quickly but silently until he was looking down at a familiar face topped with red hair.

  “Haven’t we met before?” Sam asked.

  Hardesty looked up in amazement as Sam dropped and slid down the hill. He raised his rifle to shoot, but was not fast enough. Sam lifted his Colt and fired with hesitation. The bullet ripped through flesh and into the heart, killing the outlaw instantly.

  Even as he fell, Sam started around to the other side of the hill.

  Cooper knew they had failed again as soon as they missed with the first shots. With men like Bodine and Two-Wolves, you didn’t get a second chance. Cooper heard the single shot from the other side of the hill, knew that Hardesty had bought the farm, and that it would be his turn next.

  The outlaw looked around, searching for an escape route, and knew there was none. The only path was downhill, toward the house. On the other hand, the woman and boy were there. He thought maybe he could take one of them as a hostage and bargain his way to safety.

  It was his only chance.

  Cooper crawled down the hill, keeping hidden in the brush as much as possible. He made good progress, motivated by desperation, until he was almost to the house.

  “Got you covered. Come on out.”

  It was an unfamiliar voice. Cooper jumped to his feet and started to run. Behind him, an older man with bushy eyebrows took a shot at him but missed. Cooper ran as quickly as he could, until he got to the house. He didn’t pause, but kicked the door op
en and forced his way inside.

  Only to look into the barrels of two guns staring him in the face. Lilly was holding a rifle, and the boy was holding a small hand gun. At close range, both would be deadly.

  The thug started to back up to the door, even as he raised his gun toward the mother and son.

  Both fired at the same time. The bullets hit with such an impact that they propelled Cooper backward through the door into the yard. Matt and Derrell were standing next to the door, ready to go in after the thug. They aimed their guns at the figure flying past, but could tell at a glance that their help wasn’t needed this time.

  Cooper hit the ground hard, bounced twice, and then lay still.

  Matt walked up to the body as the mother and son came through the door. Lilly was almost shaking. Tommy’s face was expressionless.

  “Good shooting,” Matt said. “Don’t think they expected you to be prepared for them this time.”

  “I . . . killed him . . . ,” Lilly said. “I’ve never even shot a gun before today, and now I’ve killed a man . . .”

  Derrell reached out to Lilly, allowing her to bury her face in his chest as she sobbed.

  “You had no choice,” Derrell said. “You’ve got to protect yourself. You did the right thing.”

  Sam walked down the hill and said, “Derrell’s right. It’s not easy shooting a man. But remember how you felt last night . . . how helpless you felt. Now you know at least you’re not helpless. Keep that in mind.”

  Tommy stepped forward, and Derrell put his arm around him as well.

  Matt and Sam stepped to one side as Derrell talked with Lilly and the boy. Lester joined them.

  “Your son’s good with them,” Sam observed.

  “Yes, he is,” Lester said proudly. He gestured to Matt’s chest. “Looks like he talked you into taking the job, after all?”

  “There was a good argument for my doing so,” Matt explained. “So I changed my mind.”

  “What’s the next step?”

  “Bring the fight to Petty. Let’s go get your cattle.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  “No. Absolutely not.” Lilly’s voice was firm. “Tommy is not going to go with you.”

  The others in the room—Henry and Clarissa Ponder, Derrell and Lester Brown, Matt and Sam—looked at her in surprise. She had apparently changed a lot in the past few days. She was more forceful, more strong-willed.

  “He’s your kid,” Sam said. “Nobody has the right to tell you what to do. But he wants to go.”

  “Please, Mom!” Tommy said. “It’ll be good for me.”

  “This isn’t some kind of picnic,” Lilly said sternly. “Matt and Sam are going into dangerous territory. They could get killed. You could get killed. This isn’t something you’re doing for fun.”

  “I handled myself back at home,” Tommy protested.

  “They also weren’t looking for us to have guns and know how to use them.”

  “But I know how to use a gun now. I want to do something that’ll make a difference. I want to help.”

  “You can help by staying here and staying safe. I don’t want you to start down that road.”

  “What road?”

  “Where you feel you aren’t a man unless you have a gun in your hand . . . where you are constantly in a fight . . . where you are never sure if you’ll be living through the day . . .”

  “But I want to be able to face what I have to face . . . I never want to be caught helpless . . .”

  Clarissa spoke up. “We could go on like this forever. Like Sam said, nobody can tell you what to do with your kid. But there’s lots of people who’ve done a man’s job at his age. And you might consider respecting his wishes.”

  “It might help the boy,” Derrell said softly. “He needs to find his own way. And, let’s face it, there won’t be many times that he’ll have as many of us looking out for him as there are today!”

  “And I want to go!”

  Lilly sighed. “Looks like I’m outnumbered. But I still don’t like it.”

  Matt patted Tommy on the back and said, “Good to have you with us.”

  Sam grinned. “We could use one of Petty’s and Holt’s arguments. An allegation has been made, and Matt as marshal is simply investigating and returning stolen property to its rightful owners. Not that anybody would question us too much.”

  “They’d be too busy shooting!” Matt laughed. Then he looked at Lilly. “Just joking, of course. It won’t be that dangerous.”

  “Don’t humor me, Matt. I said I’d let him go. You lie to me and I might change my mind.”

  Matt decided to pursue a safer line of discussion. “Hmm . . . let’s talk strategy. Lester, Derrell, you two know this area better than anybody else. What do you think’s going on with the stolen cattle?”

  “They’re being herded and penned up somewhere, until they can get them to market up north,” Lester said. “There’s no doubt of that. Only problem is that I haven’t figured out where that is. Not yet. And I haven’t had the guts or the manpower to look into it further.”

  “It’s probably in some of those hills up north,” Derrell added. “There’s some hollows and hills up there that might serve that purpose.”

  “It doesn’t take a genius to track a herd of cows,” Matt said. “I tracked your rustlers a little ways, before that ill-fated fish fry. It shouldn’t be that hard to find them. Even if we have some problems, Sam will be able to figure it out. He’s the best tracker I know, and I’ve known some good ones.”

  “True enough,” Lester added. “The main problem is not finding the cows, but in keeping Petty from finding us. Matt, you and Sam have evened things up a lot, but last I looked, he still has more guns than we have. And I know he’s got at least some men with the cattle. It won’t be a cake walk. I have to agree with Lilly about that.”

  “So we’ll have to leave separately so as not to raise suspicion on Petty’s part,” Matt said. “Find the cattle. And move fast—real fast—so that we can get back before Petty knows what hit him. And before he has a chance to try any more tricks with Lilly.”

  “That means we don’t delay a minute,” Sam explained. “We need to act this morning. Within the hour. We have a slight advantage in that Holt has disappeared from sight. So while Petty knows that his men failed—I imagine he expected them to—he doesn’t know that the city council is also opposing him. That will probably come out real soon, and there’s no telling how he’ll react. So we haven’t a minute to lose.”

  “Lilly you need to stay with Clarissa and Henry until we get back. It’s the best that nobody knows where you are or where to find you. The homestead can get by a day or so without you. Clarissa and Henry already said you’re welcome here.”

  “I just don’t understand any of this,” Lilly said. “I don’t like any of this.”

  “Chances are nobody ever will,” Matt said. “All we can do is the best we can. And for now, that means fighting Petty in every way we can. We will win against him. There is no doubt of that. The problem is how to keep you and Tommy safe in the meantime.”

  “Would you let me see that gun?” Sam asked. Lilly handed him the revolver. Sam broke it open, checked its action, then placed it and some additional bullets on the table. “Be sure to remember what we showed you. Keep this with you at all times.”

  Lilly sighed again. “I’ll do what you say. I still don’t like it.”

  “None of us do, Lilly. None of us do.”

  Lilly had no expression on her face as the others left the room at different times to meet at the agreed-upon spot. Tommy and Derrell were the last ones to leave.

  “I guess it’s tough to let go,” Clarissa said.

  “Yes. More than I thought. It’s happening a lot sooner than I planned.”

  “I don’t have any kids, so I can only guess. But I know it’s tough to let somebody go that you love. Husband or son.”

  Clarissa turned slowly and sat down at the table near Lilly.

  “It
hurts so much,” Lilly said without looking at the other woman. “Jack being gone, I mean. Everybody’s been so nice, and I’m trying to be strong, as if it’s no problem. I smile, make biscuits, and sometimes for a minute or two at a time I feel almost like it’ll be all right. But I can never really get it out of my mind.”

  Clarissa patted Lilly on the arm.

  “What you’re feeling is just natural,” Clarissa said. “It’s only been a few days. In time the hurt will fade away. You will continue with your life. Who knows? You might even grow and become a better person.”

  “I already find myself doing things differently than when Jack was alive. It’s kind of scary.”

  “Do you like it?”

  “Yes. That’s what’s scary. It’s not me.”

  Clarissa grinned. “I don’t see anybody else but you here.”

  “You know what I mean!”

  “Yes. I do. Nobody is going to say your husband getting killed was a good thing. But you still have your life. You owe it to yourself and to your son to do the best you can for yourself. If that means change . . . then why fight it?”

  “And Tommy?”

  “He’ll also change a lot. But that’s not bad. Sometimes we have to say goodbye so that we can find a new life, even if we are not unhappy with the old life. Just give it some time.”

  Lilly sighed. “You’re a very smart woman, Clarissa. Wish I had some of what you have.”

  “You have more than you realize. A lot of people wouldn’t have been able to face what you’ve had to deal with over the past few days. Don’t sell yourself short.”

  “I’ll try to remember that. Do you have any more advice?”

  “Yes. As a matter of fact, I do.”

  “Please. Tell me.”

  Clarissa picked up the gun from the table, reached over, and slipped it into Lilly’s apron pocket.

  “Keep the gun handy.”

  Ralph Smiley stopped by the little campfire where the coffeepot was always boiling. The coffee was so thick and strong that he could almost cut it with a knife, but it helped to cut the dust from his throat. With the new cattle taken from the Browns, Smiley almost had enough to make another trip north. He normally might have had enough anyway, but the newest additions were such good examples of beef flesh that he had gotten to thinking about alternate plans. He had always wanted his own ranch, but his life had never let him stay in one place long enough. Maybe it was time to change the situation.