Jess never heard that third step, although Beard paused for a full minute when he hit it and it squeaked. And Jess never consciously heard the slight squeak of the floor by his door, although it broke a bead of sweat on Beard’s forehead. He waited for another minute or two after that one. He was standing just outside of Jess’ room, trying to hold his breath and not move. He was waiting to see if anyone heard the floor squeak before he made his move into Jess’s room. He also took this time to gather up enough courage to make his move.
Sometimes when one was asleep, a sound out of the ordinary sometimes wakes a person up even when you never really consciously heard the sound? That’s what the squeak outside Jess’s door was like. Jess didn’t consciously hear it, but his subconscious did, and his brain began giving out signals to let him know that something was awry. It didn’t wake him. It just put him on the edge of awake.
Now, when the door did that little shaky thing when Beard finally got the nerve to push it open, well, that was another thing. Jess was always prepared for an ambush. When he slept, he slept with his shotgun by his bed within easy reach and his pistol was right next to his right hip. He always slept on his back and he always moved the bed so that he had a clear view of the door when he opened his eyes. Those things, along with the squeaky floor and the shaky door, were what spelled bad news for Hank Beard, although Hank didn’t realize it yet.
Beard pushed the door and noticed that it was stuck a little at the top. He had already made the decision to open the door and even though his brain was telling his body he should stop, his body weight was already in motion and it was one of those things that you just can’t stop in time, even though you know you should. Beard threw open the door and raised his shotgun to put a load of buckshot into Jess, but things didn’t quite go the way Beard had planned.
Jess was awake and had his pistol trained on the door before it was open enough to see who was coming in. The next thing Jess’s eyes saw in the dim light was a shotgun barrel. That was all he needed to know. Jess’ first shot was right through that flimsy door just as it flew open and it hit Beard in his left side knocking him off balance. By then, the door was fully open and Beard was totally exposed. Jess’s second shot hit Beard in his right shoulder, which caused him to drop the shotgun as he fell against the wall a second time, this time falling on his ass. By now, Jess was standing up and hovering over Beard, trying to see in the dim light. The noise had awoken just about everybody in the hotel, including the desk clerk who was quickly coming down the hall with an oil lamp. He stopped outside of Jess’s room and called into the room.
“Mr. Williams,” he said, “are you okay?”
“Yes, I’m fine,” replied Jess. “Bring that lamp a little closer and be careful stepping over the trash.”
The clerk stepped inside Jess’s room and held the light up high to see the room better and gasped when he saw a large man sitting against the wall bleeding from both sides.
“Hold the light a little closer to his face,” asked Jess.
The desk clerk put the lamp as close as his shaking arm would allow him. Jess recognized the man as Hank Beard, the man he had been looking for. Jess never took his eyes off Beard and he never looked at the desk clerk. He simply said to the clerk, “Leave that lamp on the table there, and shut the door on your way out.” The desk clerk, not one to argue, especially with the young man who had already killed several men over the last few days, did what he was told and left. Hank Beard was bleeding pretty badly. His pistol was still in its holster and he thought about trying to go for it, even with a bad shoulder. He looked up at Jess.
“Do I know you, son?” asked Beard, lying about it.
“You should.”
“Well, I don’t,” replied Beard, still lying.
“So, you’re going to lie about it, too?”
“I ain’t lying,” spat Beard.
“Why’d you come in my room with a damn shotgun?”
“I got lost.”
“Lost?”
“Yeah, I stayed in the room two doors down from here the other day,” said Beard. “I thought I was going into my room.”
“There’s an old woman staying in that room tonight.”
“How do you know that?”
“I pay attention.”
“Well, what now?”
“You don’t remember me?”
“Remember what?”
“Meeting a young boy in a wagon back in Black Creek, Kansas?” Jess reminded him.
“Maybe,” Beard responded.
“Maybe right before you went to that young man’s home and murdered his family,” exclaimed Jess angrily.
“I don’t know if I remember that,” Beard lied. He knew what Jess was talking about. He just didn’t want to admit it.
“You’re one of the men who murdered my family.”
“So, who are you?”
“I’m that young boy in the wagon you met that day, by the creek.”
“Well, if you’re hunting me for the bounty, I’ll pay you twice what I’m worth,” pleaded Beard, trying to buy his way out of a bad situation.
“You don’t seem to be listening to me,” replied Jess. “That family you murdered. That was my family. The man you shot down was my pa. The woman you butchered in the house was my ma and the little girl you beat, raped and shot was my little seven-year-old sister, Samantha.” Beard knew he was done for.
“I never touched your little sister. That was Taggert’s doing and I didn’t like it none and I told him so.” Beard said still pleading.
“And you think that makes you innocent?” asked an infuriated Jess. “You didn’t stop him. You were there. Even if you didn’t do any of the killings, you’re just as guilty as the other two men.”
“Listen, you can’t talk Taggert out of anything once he’s made up his mind about something,” implored Beard.
“Well, I guess that’s just a bad break for you,” replied Jess. “Now, you wanted to buy your way out of this, so I’m going to give you that chance.”
“How much?” asked Beard thinking he might get out of this thing yet.
“Money ain’t what I’m here to collect.”
“Then what is it if it ain’t money?” asked Beard.
“I’m here to collect your soul and your life along with it,” he replied menacingly. “And it’s not going to feel good either.”
“You’d shoot an unarmed man?” asked Beard. “That just ain’t legal, no matter what I’ve done.”
“You weren’t unarmed when you came in here with that shotgun,” he countered. “You weren’t unarmed when you shot my pa and killed my ma and little sister.”
“But you can’t just shoot me while I’m sitting here,” pleaded Beard. “Hell, you’ve done shot me twice already. I can’t draw. I can hardly move my gun hand. That just ain’t fair.”
“You want a fair fight after sneaking into my room in the middle of the night and trying to plug me with that shotgun there?” he asked. “You think that was fair?”
“I heard how fast you were,” replied Beard. “I needed an edge.”
“You want fair?” asked Jess. “Hell, I’ll give you fair. You don’t deserve it, but I’ll give it to you. It will make killing you even more satisfying.” Jess holstered his pistol.
“What are you going to do?” asked a confused Beard.
“Go ahead and take your pistol out of that holster,” said Jess. Beard was frenzied now. He wasn’t sure what Jess was planning, but he also knew his choices were running out. He’d bleed out soon and he knew it. He slowly pulled his pistol out of his holster and laid it on his lap.
“Okay, now what?” he asked.
“Pick it up with your gun hand and point it at me,” demanded Jess. “Make sure you aim real good because you’re only going to get one shot if you’re lucky.”
“Is this some kind of trick?” asked a confused Beard. “You want me to point this pistol at you?”
“Well, at least your hearing’s not gone y
et,” said Jess. “Come on, point the gun, but don’t try to pull the trigger yet.” Beard slowly raised the pistol and pointed it right at Jess’s chest. His hands were a little shaky, but at this short distance he couldn’t miss.
“Okay, now you’ve got fair,” said Jess. Your gun is pointed at my chest. My gun is still in its holster. Now all you have to do is pull the hammer back and pull the trigger before I draw and plug you. That’s fair, don’t you think? Hell, you can even use both hands to steady yourself if you want to.”
Beard knew his options were quickly running out. He was bleeding out fast now since his heart was beating rapidly and he knew he would begin to lose consciousness soon. Besides, he figured he had at least a pretty good chance now. He had his gun pointed straight at Jess and had both hands holding the gun steady. No matter how fast Jess was, Beard figured he had at least a fifty-fifty chance of living through this. He thought Jess stupid for giving him this much of a chance. Beard looked into Jess’ eyes. For a split second, just before his thumb began to pull back on the hammer of his pistol, Beard realized he was doomed. Some unconscious thought told him this was the end. A split second was all it took. Before Beard had the hammer back far enough to cock, Jess slicked his pistol out and shot Beard right where he had planned to, straight in the groin. Beard let out a loud scream and dropped the gun in his lap, which only added to the pain.
“Damn it!” he shrieked. “You ain’t supposed to shoot a man in his privates! It ain’t right!”
“You’re no man,” he retorted angrily. “You’re a cold-blooded killer and you don’t deserve right. You deserve what you got and you deserve what you’ve got coming next.”
“Just finish it!” bawled Beard. “I’ve had enough. I don’t give two shits about you and your dead family. I enjoyed killing them! How do you like that?”
“I’ll finish you when you tell me where Taggert is,” warned Jess.
“Go screw yourself!” hollered Beard. Jess took a step closer to Beard and put a slug into Beard’s left kneecap. Beard screamed with excruciating pain.
“Tell me where Taggert is or I’ll gut shoot you and watch you die slowly,” he threatened with an ominous look.
“He’s in Red Rock, Texas, south of here, you bastard! Now finish it!” begged Beard.
Jess walked up to Beard who was starting to lose consciousness. Jess put his pistol on Beard’s forehead and looked into his eyes. There was no look of fear, just a pleading look that said to finish it. Jess pulled the trigger and Beard’s brain matter splattered onto the wall behind him. Jess wiped his gun off on Beard’s shirt and placed it back in his holster after replacing the spent cartridges. He felt no remorse. He felt good that another part of his mission was finished. He had only one more to go.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Jess stared at Beard slumped against the wall all shot to hell. He knew what he had just done would be thought of as terrible, unless people knew the whole story. He couldn’t worry about that now. He still had one more task. Find Blake Taggert and kill him. And now he had a lead, a town called Red Rock. Jess would head out first thing in the morning. He heard footsteps coming up the stairs and he knew the first one to come in the room would be Sheriff Steele. Steele had his gun drawn, but down at his side. Steele was certain that if anyone was dead in this room, it wasn’t going to be Jess Williams. Steele glanced at Jess and then took a long look at Beard. He had seen men shot up before, but this was the worst he had ever seen. He looked back at Jess.
“Son, I believe you’ve got a mean streak in you,” said Steele. “I’m going to go out on a limb and assume the head shot was last?” Jess nodded affirmatively.
“Good, otherwise, I’d have to start wondering about your sanity,” said Steele.
“Well, maybe I am a little crazy, but at least I got a reason,” he said defensively.
“I can’t argue with that,” he agreed. “Did you get what you wanted?”
“I sure did.”
“Did he tell you anything about the other man you’re looking for?”
“Yes, as a matter of fact, he told me he was in Red Rock, Texas,” replied Jess. “Do you know where that is, Sheriff?”
“It’s about a ten day ride south of here. How’d you drag that out of him?”
“I traded him.”
“Traded him? For what?” he asked dubiously.
“A bullet in the head.”
“Maybe we should talk about that crazy thing again.”
“Maybe,” he agreed.
“Suppose you’re heading to Red Rock, huh?”
“First thing in the morning, Sheriff,” replied Jess. “Besides, I figure that I’m beginning to wear out my welcome here.”
“I have to admit I am tired of burying people lately,” he replied. “I could use a break from all that paperwork.”
“Well, Sheriff, I am sorry for putting you out, but this was going to happen somewhere and your town just happened to be it,” said Jess. “I suppose you could blame Beard for coming to your town.”
“Hell, I'm not blaming anyone, Jess,” he explained. “I don’t blame you for doing what you did. I would have done the same thing. Maybe not quite as violent as you, but I would’ve plugged this one for sure. I’d also hunt down that guy Taggert and put a bullet in his sorry ass too. Don’t feel like you’ve done anything wrong. Actually, you probably saved a few lives today by killing this one here. I have a hunch he wasn’t going to start attending church on a regular basis anytime soon.”
“Thanks, Sheriff. I’ll tell you this, you’ve made a friend for life,” Jess said sincerely. “If you ever need anything, you can call on me. I’ll be here as fast as a horse can carry me.”
“I’ll remember that,” he replied keenly. “I can’t think of anyone I’d rather have in a pinch backing me up. I won’t hesitate to call on you and that’s a fact.”
***
Jess saddled up and rode out of town at first light. He had never gotten back to sleep after killing Beard. As he rode by the sheriff’s office, he noticed Steele at his desk. Steele looked up and Jess nodded at the sheriff. Steele thought to himself, as he watched this young man who had become a hardened killer at such a young age, he was surely glad that he wasn’t this Blake Taggert fellow. He also wondered how many more men would fall into their own pool of blood for getting in his way. He knew one thing for sure. Jess wasn’t ever going to quit killing men. There were too many gunslingers out there who would like to take out someone with a reputation and Jess was gaining one rapidly. Steele laughed to himself when he thought about men who cut notches in their gun handle for every man they killed. Hell, if Jess did that, it sure would mess up that beautiful pistol he had.
***
There was a lot of talk about the savage murder of the family outside of Red Rock. It was the daily talk at just about every place the townsfolk gathered. Taggert stood at the bar and listened to all the threats.
“If I caught that bastard, I’d cut his balls off and watch him bleed to death,” said one man.
“Hell, not me,” said another, “I’d ram my rifle right up his ass and let one go!”
The talk didn’t bother Taggert. Hell, nothing bothered Taggert. He quit caring about life a long time ago. He wasn’t really afraid of dying. He simply wasn’t going to do anything that would hasten it. He figured that every time he cheated death it gave him one more chance to kill someone else or have his way with another young girl, and the younger, the better in his mind.
No one suspected Taggert as the one who did the killings. His family had lived around Red Rock all their lives and Blake had been in and out of town every few years. Red Rock was where he went between his crimes. It was kind of a hide out for him. Actually, this was the first time he had done any killing around Red Rock, except for the time he had killed his own family.
The first time he had returned to town after killing his family, everyone was still telling him how sorry they were for what had happened to his family and that they had never ca
ught the culprits who had done it. Blake always found that somewhat funny, although he wasn’t sure why. So, whenever he came home, he was welcomed and no one ever thought anything bad of him. Little did he know things were about to change. His final destiny was heading for him and it had a name; Jess Williams.
***
Jess enjoyed being out on the trail. He wasn’t in any hurry since he had a long way to go before he got to Red Rock. He wasn’t worried about Taggert leaving Red Rock before he got there. He’d just get a lead on him and follow him for the rest of his life until he found him or died trying.
He knew that he was gaining a reputation with a gun and that soon, someone would challenge him just for the reputation of beating him to the draw. Maybe one day, there would be a bounty on his head, and men would hunt him down for the money. Either way, he realized then and there that his life’s path had been chosen for him. He would hunt down the worst of men for the bounty on their heads.
Jess worked his way south into Texas going around towns unless he needed supplies. On the fourth day, he camped a few miles outside what looked like a fairly large town. He ate a simple meal and kept a low fire. He rode into Largo, Texas, about an hour after daylight. There were plenty of hotels and eating establishments and what looked like a new livery. Jess stabled his horse and paid the man working the livery an extra dollar per day to get Gray some extra care and the best grain the man had. The livery worker, a small black man by the name of Earl, had a huge smile on his face when Jess gave him the extra dollar.
The RECKONING: A Jess Williams Western Page 17