“You sure about that?”
“I believe that’s what I said,” snapped Jess. The man took a step away from the bar and removed his hammer strap and when he noticed that Jess’s hammer strap was already removed, the man smiled.
“Pretty fancy pistol and holster you got there,” observed the man.
“Guess so,” he replied.
“You better know how to use it.”
“I do.”
“How old are you?”
“What does that matter?”
“Well, you look awful young to be wearing all those guns you have,” he said.
“I need every one of them,” replied Jess. The man looked at Jess’s pistol again.
“Where did you buy a pistol like that?”
“I didn’t.”
“Didn’t what?”
“I didn’t buy it.”
“Then where did you get it?”
“I found it.”
“Where?”
“You sure ask a lot of questions.”
“Just asking.”
“You should be asking yourself one question.”
“Yeah, what should I be asking myself?”
“Am I ready to die today?”
“Are you?”
Jess took two steps closer to the man and stared deep into the man’s eyes. “I’m always ready to die,” he warned with an ominous look. “And I’m willing to take you with me.”
“You talk mighty tough for a kid,” stated the man.
“I ain’t a kid anymore,” he said plainly. A few more of the men in the bar began to move out of the way, sensing that lead would soon be flying.
The man began to slowly move his hand down closer to the butt of his pistol, all the while staring into Jess’s eyes trying to get a read on him. He couldn’t see anything but a darkness that seemed to slowly edge forward. Jess did the same and he saw it in the man’s eyes just before the man went for his pistol.
The man was fast, but a fraction of a second later, the man was dead. Jess’s shot was right on target, dead center in the middle of the man’s chest. The man had barely cleared leather. He fell back onto a table, bounced off it and landed face down, dead.
Jess holstered his gun after checking the room and replacing the spent cartridge. The saloon had gone silent for a whole minute. The men in the saloon just stared at Jess as if they couldn’t believe what they had just seen. Most of them had seen their share of gunfights and some of the gunslingers they saw were pretty fast. They had seen men shoot off their toes and empty their guns without hitting the man in front of them. Most men just weren’t cool-headed and fearless. But this young man was not only cool-headed and fearless; he was faster than anyone they had ever seen before. Most of the men swore they couldn’t even see Jess draw his pistol. One moment, his gun was in the holster, and then, before they realized anything had happened, it was pointed at the other man with smoke still coming from the barrel. Jess sat down at his table again. It wasn’t long before Sheriff Steele came into the saloon. He walked up to the body lying on the floor and then looked over at Jess.
“This your work, son?” he asked.
“I’m afraid so, Sheriff.”
“Boy, you don’t waste any time. You’ve been in town less than two hours and I already have one man to bury. How long you plan on staying?” he asked.
“No longer than I have to, Sheriff.”
“That’s good, because you just killed Ben Grady,” replied Sheriff Steele. “He was a hired gun working for the Mason ranch. Paul Mason was paying Ben here good money for his skills with a pistol. You must be damn good with that gun of yours because Ben here was one of the best. I was avoiding going up against him as long as I could.”
“He’s damn good,” said the barkeep, who was still staring at Jess, having a hard time believing what he had just seen. “Grady never even had a chance.”
Just then, Jess noticed a woman standing in the doorway going back behind the bar to the kitchen area. She was middle-aged, but quite attractive. She was slender and had beautiful blond hair that hung down to her shoulders. She was wiping her hands with a towel and she acted as if this wasn’t the first dead man she had seen, which was true.
“Well, Sheriff, seems like you got more paperwork to do,” she said.
“Guess so, Patti. And you know how I hate paperwork,” he replied.
“Well, it wasn’t his fault,” she said nodding in Jess’s direction. “Ben drew first and this young man finished it. I watched it from behind the doorway. I have to say, it was something to see for sure.”
“Why thank you, ma’am,” Jess said politely.
“Well, at least someone around here has manners,” she said. “What’s your name, young man?”
“Jess Williams, ma’am,” he replied. “Sorry for the trouble.”
“I’ve seen trouble before and I plan on seeing it again, Jess. My name is Patti. Can I get you some dinner?” she offered.
“If you wouldn’t mind,” I’d love some grub,” he replied. “Sheriff here says you’re a great cook.”
“Well, he’s right,” boasted Patti proudly. “I’ll bring you something right out. Meat and potatoes man, am I right?”
“Yes, ma’am,” he replied. “And some hot biscuits if you got some.”
Patti went back into the kitchen to fix Jess a plate of food while the sheriff and Jed carried Ben Grady’s dead body out of the saloon. Jed had the floor cleaned up before Patti brought out the food. Sheriff Steele sat down with Jess and ordered a beer. Patti brought out two big plates of food and plenty of hot biscuits.
“I figured both of you were hungry,” she said as she put the plates on the table.
“Thank you,” said Jess. “By the way, would your last name be Nate?”
“Why, yes it is. How did you know that?”
“An old friend of yours said to say hi to you if I had a chance to meet you,” he said. Sheriff Steele looked up at Jess with a glaring look in his eyes, but Jess was ignoring him.
“Really, and who might that be?” asked Patti, wondering who Jess might know that was a friend of hers.
“River Bend Bill,” he replied, now turning to see the look on Steele’s face. Jess could see the sheriff was less than happy. Patti’s surprised look went from Jess to the sheriff and all she could say as she turned and started back toward the kitchen was; “Oh no, not this again!”
CHAPTER TWELVE
Sheriff Mark Steele was definitely a hard case. One who didn’t fool around with anyone causing him trouble or breaking the law. He’d rather lock them up as talk to them. If they resisted, he’d just as soon shoot them. He had lived in Timber for ten years now. He had moved to Timber from another small town in Texas where his father had been a lawman. His father had always carried a shotgun along with a forty-five. Steele didn’t carry a shotgun much, only when he was facing a crowd. He’d only had to do that twice so far. Once when he had a cowhand in jail who had raped one of the young girls in town while in a drunken stupor, and another time when he was trying to break up a fight between the ranch hands of two competing landowners. They were always fighting over the water rights concerning the only river that flowed year round through Timber and the surrounding area. He was good enough with his pistol skills to handle most situations. It was his attitude, however, that always carried him through trouble.
He had a confident air about him that most men could sense right off. He showed no fear in a gunfight even though, as most men did, he surely feared getting shot. Even when he took a bullet in the left shoulder five years back when he tried to get a hotheaded gunslinger to give up his gun and go to jail willingly. He simply stuffed a bar towel in his shirt, told a few men in the saloon to carry the body over to the undertaker’s office, and then walked over to the doc’s office. After the doc fixed him up, he went right back to work doing his final check for the night around town. He hurt like hell, but he would never show it. He figured that’s what the townspeople expected out of a sheriff and he wasn�
�t going to give anything less.
He did have a soft spot for the ladies though, especially Patti. He had an ongoing battle with River Bend Bill over the years concerning Patti. Every time Steele had Patti convinced to marry him, Bill would show up just long enough to spoil it. He couldn’t understand why any woman, especially a good looking woman like Patti Nate, would ever give an old codger like River Bend Bill a second look or even the time of day. He was dirty, dressed like an old farmer and just plain smelled most of the time. Steele was sure that he was finally winning Patti over and he wasn’t about to let old Bill mess it up this time. He was on the lookout for him. He even put the word out on the street with the other men in town to let him know if River Bend Bill showed up anywhere in town.
Sheriff Steele had risen extra early today and went to his office to check out some paperwork that he had been avoiding for days. He hated paperwork and wished he could afford a deputy to do it. He had told Jess last night at the saloon that he hadn’t found anything yet on Hank Beard. He didn’t know Ben Grady and Hank Beard had been friends. Then again, he hadn’t known much about Ben Grady either, except for the fact that he was a hired gun and rarely came into town. He finished his work and headed over to the saloon to get a bite of breakfast. The fact that he’d get a chance to see to Patti again was just the icing on the cake. He walked in and sat down at a table and Jed brought him a hot cup of coffee.
“Hey, Sheriff, how’s your day going so far?” asked Jed.
“So far, so good,” he replied.
“Want some breakfast?”
“You bet. Is Patti working this morning?”
“Of course,” he said. “I dcn’t find a better cook in this town. I’ll let her know you’re here, Sheriff. You want your usual?”
“Tell her to throw in a little extra bacon this morning, Jed,” he submitted. Jed went in the back to let Patti know the sheriff was in. She came out a few minutes later with a plate of food for the sheriff.
“Good morning, Sheriff,” she said with a teasing smile across her lips. “How’s your day going so far? Anyone get shot or have you run anyone out of town yet this morning?” He knew that Patti was referring to River Bend Bill. She seemed to like the fact that two men were pursuing her and the sheriff knew it. What he didn’t know is Patti didn’t really love River Bend Bill. She was just playing one against the other. Her real love was for Mark Steele and she figured he would find that out in due time. She knew she would end up marrying Steele and the fact that the sheriff didn’t know that yet was something she enjoyed. She knew most men usually had to learn things the hard way.
“No, I haven’t shot anyone or run anyone out of town yet, but you can bet that I’ll run that old vermin out of town if he shows up” he warned. “What in the hell do you see in that old codger anyway?”
“Oh, he’s not all that bad,” she offered. “And he’s always so polite to me. Much like that young man Jess who kept calling me ma’am last night.”
“You mean the young man who shot a man dead and then ate dinner five minutes later?”
“Well, he was nice,” she said. “Who is he, by the way?”
“I don’t know yet,” replied Steele. “All I know is what he told me. He said he’s looking for a man by the name of Hank Beard. Beard is one of three men who killed his family and raped his ma and little sister. What kind of man could rape and kill a little seven-year-old girl?”
“The kind who ought to be hung, but only after someone takes a knife to a particular area first,” she said with certainty in her voice. The sheriff winced knowing just exactly what she meant. Just then, Jess walked in the saloon and came over and sat down with the sheriff.
“Good morning, Mr. Williams,” said Patti, “can I get you some breakfast this morning?”
“Yes, ma’am, and some hot coffee if it’s not too much bother,” replied Jess.
“See what I mean,” exclaimed Patti, looking at the sheriff. “Polite and nice, just like River Bend Bill.” Sheriff Steele spit the bacon out of his mouth.
“Nice my ass!” exclaimed Sheriff Steele.
“I’m just saying,” she replied, walking into the back.
“Did I miss something?” asked Jess.
“You should have missed seeing River Bend Bill,” Sheriff Steele snapped back.
“Sorry, Sheriff,” he replied. “I didn’t know it would cause that much trouble.”
“Well, it’s not your fault,” he admitted with a look of irritation on his face.
“Did you find out anything on Hank Beard yet?”
“Sorry, but no,” replied Steele. “I looked through all my wanted posters this morning and didn’t find anything on him. I don’t always get every wanted poster though. I guess you want this sketch back,” the sheriff said, pulling the picture out of his pocket and setting it down on the table in front of Jess. Jess glared at it for a moment, feeling the hatred for this man. Patti walked up to the table and set the plate of food for Jess down. She couldn’t help but notice the picture of Hank Beard.
“I’ve seen that man before,” she said. “He’s been in here a couple of times. Is that the man you’re looking for?”
“Yes,” he replied quickly. “Please tell me anything you know about him. Do you know where he is now? Do you know if he works for someone in the area, one of the ranches maybe?”
“Whoa, hold your horse’s young man,” she replied. “I don’t know a thing about him. He’s only been in here a couple of times in the middle of the afternoon and he only has one or two beers. He never came in at night or hung around with any of the locals. He did have a beer with Ben Grady one of the times he was in here. They only talked a few minutes and then this guy in the picture left. Ben stayed around a few more minutes then left. Is this the guy that did those terrible things to your family?”
“Yes. He’s one of the two left alive so far,” replied Jess. “After I catch up with him, there will be only one left.”
“Well, after hearing what he did to your little sister, I hope you do to him what you did to Ben Grady last night,” she implied.
“That would be too good for this man,” he said with a deadly look on his face. “He won’t die so quickly. He’s going to feel a lot of pain before he meets his maker.”
“Sheriff, what do you think Beard and Grady were up to?” asked Jess.
“Who knows for sure?” he replied. “I didn’t know the two knew each other. Besides, Ben didn’t come into town all that much. They must have been planning something and I’m sure that whatever it was, it wasn’t anything good.”
“Well, I guess it doesn’t really matter. I just need to find him and put him down for good.”
“I have no doubt that you will do just that, Jess,” replied Sheriff Steele. “I have no doubt at all.”
***
Hank beard had been on the trail for several days now. He was tired, dirty, and hungry; and he didn’t like to be any of those things. He wiped the sweat from his forehead with his yellow bandana. You could hardly see the color now. It looked more like a faint brown. He hadn’t had a chance to take a bath since he left Timber to check on the stagecoach that ran the money from the Mason ranch to the bank in Timber. The Mason ranch was one of the largest and richest in the area and Paul Mason was a very wealthy man.
Hank Beard and Ben Grady had figured that they could score big holding up the stagecoach that carried Mason’s money long before it ever got to the bank in Timber. Ben Grady had helped load the money in the box for Mason and even rode shotgun for the stagecoach a few times. Only a few people knew what day the money coach would make the run. Beard had spent the last several days checking out the route and waiting for the coach to make a run. When it finally did, he was certain that he had picked a great spot to hold it up.
There was a sharp bend in the trail, which forced the coach to slow down to a crawl. There was a rock cliff just off the right edge of the trail and a clump of trees on the other side no more than fifty feet from the trail. It was a p
erfect ambush spot. Hank figured they could take out the two lead guards instantly and probably take out the shotgun rider and driver before they could get off a shot.
He was heading back to Timber to meet with Ben Grady and firm up when they would hit the stagecoach. He had no idea that Grady was dead yet, and no idea that someone was hunting him. He stopped along a creek and rinsed out his bandana and washed his face off. It felt good. He climbed back in the saddle and placed his shotgun back across his lap as he always did. He figured that he was about three hours from Timber and decided to keep riding until he got there. His thoughts turned to his pals. He pictured Hastings chasing a skirt back in Tarkenton and Blake Taggert murdering another family and raping and killing another young girl.
***
Frank Reedy and Todd Spicer rode into Tarkenton in the morning. They stopped at the livery and stabled their horses. Then, they headed down to the sheriff’s office. Sheriff Manley was just coming out of his office when they got there.
“Hi, Sheriff,” said Reedy, “got a minute?”
“Maybe,” replied Sheriff Manley. “Depends on what this is about? I haven’t had my breakfast yet.”
“It’s about a man we’re looking for,” replied Reedy. “Well, a kid really by the name of Jess Williams.” That got Manley’s attention immediately.
“Well, come on in then,” he said, as he walked back into his office followed by the two men. “What business do you have with Jess Williams?”
“To be honest, Sheriff,” answered Reedy, “we’ve been hired to bring him back to Black Creek, Kansas, to answer for the murder of a man there.”
“Really?” asked Sheriff Manley. “He didn’t seem like a murderer to me. Who’d he kill?”
“A man by the name of Red Carter,” interjected Spicer.
“And who hired you?” asked Manley.
“Red’s father, Dick Carter,” replied Reedy.
“Well, it doesn’t matter anyway,” said Manley. “He left town a couple of days ago. He was involved in a few gunfights while he was in town, but they were both fair fights; although it didn’t really seem like it.”
The RECKONING: A Jess Williams Western Page 13