“Thank you, sir,” exclaimed Earl. “I’ll make sure I take real good care of your horse. He’ll get a good brushing and a bucket of my best grain.”
“You’re a good man, Earl,” he said smiling. “Maybe you could tell me the best place to get a good meal and to bunk down for the night.”
“I sure can,” he said. “Bridger Café is the best place for food, course that’s ‘cause my wife does most the cookin’ there.”
“Can she make good biscuits?”
“Oh my Lord, she can make the best biscuits in the whole state of Texas and I ain’t just saying that ‘cause she’s my woman,” he said proudly.
“How about the best hotel?”
“They are all about the same,” he observed. “Bridger’s Hotel is probably the cleanest, but any of them are okay. You staying awhile or just passing through?”
“Probably just passing through, but I never know for sure. Can you point me in the direction of the sheriff’s office?” Earl looked down at the ground and cleared his throat.
“Well, his office is right over there,” said Earl, pointing in the direction of the sheriff’s office. “If you’re only staying overnight, maybe it’s best not to bother him.”
“Really?” he asked. “Why is that?”
“Well,” he replied nervously, “don’t say I said so, but he can get pretty ornery pretty fast. I once saw him shoot a man just for calling him a jackass.”
“Really?” Jess replied.
“Sure did. I watched him do it,” he said. “Right over at the Mustang Bar there.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” replied Jess. “I’m not here looking for any trouble. I just need to ask him a few questions about a man I’m looking for.”
“Good luck, and make sure you smile when you talk to him,” exclaimed Earl. “It just might keep him from getting pissed off.”
Jess headed over to the sheriff’s office. It wasn’t far from the livery and while he was walking down the street, he thought about his decision to be a bounty hunter. He figured he would ask the sheriff for any bounty information on wanted men. A deputy was sitting in a chair just outside the door to the sheriff’s office. Jess walked up slowly and stopped short of going up the one step to the sidewalk in front. He sized the deputy up in a second and he could see the attitude on the deputy’s face.
“Whatcha need, mister?” the deputy asked in a slow sarcastic drawl.
“I’d like to talk to the sheriff for a minute if that’s possible,” he replied. “If he’s busy, I can come back later.”
“What’s your name?” the deputy asked, in that same smart-alecky drawl.
“Jess Williams.”
Jess could see an immediate change in the deputy’s eyes. The deputy sat straight up and his eyes strangely went first to Jess’s gun and then to Jess’s eyes. Jess could see fear in the deputy’s eyes, but along with that, a look of respect. It was obvious to Jess his reputation had already spread deeper into Texas.
“Hell, I know who you are,” said the deputy, dropping the smart tone now. So does the sheriff and I’m sure he’ll want to see you. Hold on just a minute while I get him.” The deputy went inside where the sheriff was having a conversation with the two other deputies.
“Uh…Sheriff?” asked the deputy.
“What the hell do you want?” hollered the sheriff. “Can’t you see I’m trying to talk to these other two idiots who are supposed to be doing something for their pay?”
“Sorry, Sheriff, but there’s a young man outside who wants to talk to you,” pleaded the deputy.
“Like I give a shit,” retorted the sheriff. “Tell him to go tell his mama about his problems.”
“But Sheriff…he says his name is Jess Williams,” said the nervous deputy. “You know, that kid we heard about? The one who took down Ben Grady up in Timber?”
“Well, that’s different,” the sheriff said, his attitude changing completely. “I’d sure like to meet that boy. Send him on in here and as for you two dumb-asses, we’ll finish this later!”
Jess could hear loud talking and then the deputy was at the door again and waving Jess in. Jess looked at each of the three deputies and they all seemed nervous and they had a look of respect in their eyes. Jess’ gaze settled on the man sitting behind a large desk. On top of the desk lay a shotgun and a .45 pistol. Jess remembered what Earl the stable man had said and Jess could tell that Earl had told the truth. This man was just plain ornery right down to the bone. Jess knew from the moment he locked eyes with the sheriff, he would have to tread carefully. Then the sheriff did something he rarely did, he smiled at Jess. This did not unnerve Jess, but it sure startled the deputies. Each one of them could count on one hand the number of times the sheriff had smiled and it was usually when he had run someone out of town or shot someone; and even then, he rarely smiled.
“So, you’re the Jess Williams we keep hearing so much about. You’ve got quite a reputation already for such a young man. I hear you’ve killed a dozen men and you don’t look like you’ve made seventeen years old yet. Now, that’s pretty impressive, even in these here parts.” The sheriff stood up and reached out and shook Jess’s hand. “Welcome to Largo, Texas, Mr. Williams. My name is A. J. Rubel. I’m the sheriff here in this godforsaken town. What can I do for you?”
“I’m looking for a man by the name of Blake Taggert,” replied Jess. “He’s one of three men who murdered my family back in Black Creek, Kansas. Here is a sketch of him. My last lead said he was still in Red Rock, but I thought I’d check in and see if you knew anything about him while I was here.” The sheriff took the sketch and shook his head no and then handed the sketch to the deputies and they passed it around to each other. None of them recognized Taggert.
“If he had been around here, we would have known about it,” the sheriff said. “Murdered your family, you say?”
“Both my parents,” he replied. “Then they raped and shot my little seven-year-old sister.”
“Bastards ought to be shot down like dogs,” replied the sheriff, shaking his head in disgust.
“Two of them have been already, replied Jess. “I just need to find the last of them and finish the job.”
“Good for you, son,” exclaimed Sheriff Rubel. “I‘ve always believed in an eye-for-an-eye.” One of the three deputies who had been standing quietly walked over closer to the sheriff’s desk.
“Sheriff, I just was reading over some papers and there was a murder real similar in Red Rock recently. Seems some son-of-a-bitch robbed and murdered a family there. I remember it ‘cause it sounded so bad. The young girl was raped on the bed between her dead parents and laying in their blood. Then the bastard who did it stuck his pistol up her…well, you know. They say it was awful, but they don’t have any suspects yet. If your man is supposed to be in Red Rock, then maybe he did it.”
“Well,” said the sheriff sharply, “I’m going to send a wire to the sheriff of Red Rock and let him know about this Taggert fellow. It sounds like he could be the guy who did the killings over there too.”
“Sheriff, could I ask you a favor?” asked Jess.
“Sure,” he replied.
“When you send the message to the sheriff of Red Rock, could you just inquire about Taggert’s whereabouts?” he asked. “I’d like to deal with him myself. If they catch on to him, he will probably be hanging from a tree before I get there and that would be too good of a way for Taggert to die.”
“I agree,” he replied. “Alright, I’ll just make an inquiry as if an old friend was looking for him. Anything else I can do?”
“Yes, one more thing if you could,” Jess replied. “Can I look through your wanted posters? I’m looking for men who have a bounty on their heads, but only the worst of the lot. I’m not looking for horse thieves or bank robbers; only the ones guilty of murder or rape and wanted dead or alive.”
“So you’re going into the bounty hunting business, huh?” asked the sheriff.
“I guess I came by it came na
turally. Seems like it’s what I was born to do, Sheriff,” Jess stated plainly.
“Sure. But I don’t think you’ll find any of what you’re looking for here,” replied Sheriff Rubel. “Most of my posters are for small offenses.”
“Thanks, Sheriff,” he said. “I’ll stick around a few days until you get a response from Red Rock, if that’s okay with you?”
“You’re welcome to stay as long as you want, but you watch you back,” warned the sheriff.
“Why’s that, Sheriff?”
“Your reputation with that gun of yours is spreading like a wild fire and there are some real tough guys that come into town from time to time,” he implied. “They’d like nothing better than to be the one to take you down, if you get my meaning.”
“Thanks for the warning, Sheriff, and I know exactly what you mean,” he replied.
Jess left the sheriff’s office and stopped in at the first hotel he found. Then, he found Bridger’s Café and Earl was right. The food was excellent and the biscuits were even better. Jess sent a dollar back to Earl’s wife, Becca, who baked the biscuits. After a great dinner, Jess decided to turn in for the night early. He found the room quite comfortable and clean. He dozed off thinking about Blake Taggert. He wondered if he was the one responsible for the murders in Red Rock the deputy had spoken about. It sounded so similar. Especially about the young girl being raped and then shot. Jess decided that even if Taggert didn’t do the killings in Red Rock, he would hunt down the man responsible for it, but not before he got Taggert. Nothing would stand in his way or distract him; or so he thought.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Jess rose early, ate a good breakfast and took a leisurely walk around town to check things out. Things like back alleys, escape routes and ambush points. After he finished, he stopped in to see Gray and then decided to take a seat outside the hotel and just watch the town.
Largo was busier than most towns he had been in. People were all around, talking to one another. He caught many of them glancing at him and even a few of the men stared. One thing was constant though, whenever he looked back, they quickly looked away; except for the women. The young ones smiled and the old ones glared. This was something he figured he was going to have to get used to now that he was quickly gaining a reputation with a gun. He had been sitting there for about an hour when he noticed something different about the townsfolk’s expressions. Many of them began to break up conversations and go into stores and buildings. He thought that odd and wondered if it had something to do with him. Then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Sheriff Rubel walking toward him.
“Morning, Sheriff,” said Jess, as the sheriff sat down next to him. The sheriff didn’t return the greeting. He just watched everyone quickly scatter into shops. Within minutes there weren’t many townsfolk left on the street. Except for some of the older women and they just glared at the sheriff.
“Yep,” the sheriff stated plainly, “these people hate my guts. They want a safe town and a tough sheriff, but they can’t put up with anyone mean enough like me to get the job done.”
“Well, Sheriff, each of us carries our own burdens in life,” he offered. “I suppose some are worse than others.”
“One of my burdens is I worry that one day these people will have me shot and it will probably be in the back since not one of them would face me straight on,” he said. “But hell, that’s my problem. Yesterday you asked about any men with a bounty on them. Well, I just got a message from a little town about thirty miles from here. It seems a drifter stole a horse from some rancher there.”
“Sheriff, I appreciate you bringing me this, but as I told you, I’m not interested in chasing horse thieves,” refuted Jess.
“What if I told you that this rancher wasn’t about to give up a good horse so willingly and the drifter shot him dead?” the sheriff responded.
“Okay. Now you have my attention.”
“And then, what if I told you that his twelve-year-old son went in the house and got his pa’s rifle and took a shot at the drifter and the drifter plugged that poor kid right in the chest?”
“Now I’m definitely interested. Tell me more,” he said leaning forward in his chair.
“Now, there ain’t any law in this little shit-hole of a town, so the Texas Rangers have been assigned to go get the bastard,” he said. “The only problem is there are no Rangers within at least a week’s ride of the town. You could get there easily in two days. Since there’s no law in town, he might stay for a day or so. Plus, there is a reward of five hundred dollars for his return, dead or alive. So, you want the job?”
“Sheriff, why not send one of your deputies?”
“Hell, they’d probably get lost and never come back. Besides, I hear this drifter is pretty fast with a leg iron. My deputies are tough as nails, but none of them are that fast with a pistol. From what you told me, this is exactly what you’ve been looking for,” he said smiling and raising his eyebrows.
Jess sat up straight and thought a second or two about Blake Taggert. He’d never been this close to catching him, but he’d been waiting to catch him for two years now. What were another few days? Besides, it might take that long before Sheriff Rubel got any information on Taggert. Jess looked at Sheriff Rubel and asked, “You said the boy was twelve?”
“Yep,” he replied.
“Sheriff, tell me where this town is.”
“So, am I to assume that you will be bringing him in dead?” asked the sheriff.
“Yes, but not on the horse he stole,” he replied. “That will be returned to the rancher’s wife. I’ll drag him here with my horse if I need to.”
“The more I get to know you, the more I like you,” said the sheriff perceptively. “And I don’t like most people.” Jess headed straight for the stable and told Earl to saddle up Gray.
“Boy, I thought I’d never stop hearing about this nice young man who gave my wife a dollar tip last night,” said a happy Earl. “She must’ve talked about you for an hour. Couldn’t hardly get a word in edgewise, not that I usually get one in anyway. That was mighty nice of you, Mr. Williams. Yes, sir, mighty nice.”
“Her biscuits were worth the dollar all by themselves,” he said. “Of course, I did take into account that she’s a whole lot better looking than you are Earl.” Earl let out one of those huge belly laughs.
“Man, you’re right about that, too!” he laughed.
“I’ll be gone for about four or five days, Earl,” he said. “Save me a good spot for Gray when I get back and you’ll still get a dollar a day just for holding it.”
“You a damn right nice feller, Mr. Williams,” he boasted. “Yes sir. Where you headed?”
“Some little town called Jonesville just east of here,” he replied. “Got a man there with a bounty on his head. He killed a rancher and his twelve-year-old son.”
“Sounds like a man who needs to see a hanging rope.”
“I don’t think he’ll make it that far,” he said boldly, as he swung into the saddle.
“Well, you make sure you come back now,” said Earl. “I’ll need that money for sure. Got three kids of my own to feed and they never seem to stop eating.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll be back,” replied Jess. “Most likely with some dead weight.”
Sheriff A. J. Rubel was sitting behind his desk reading a newspaper when one of his deputies came in and poured himself a cup of coffee. He, like the other two deputies, never knew for sure whether to bother the sheriff. Sheriff Rubel’s temper was erratic as hell. They had been quite surprised by his friendly tone with Jess Williams.
“Uh…Sheriff, could I talk to you a minute?” asked the deputy. Sheriff Rubel slowly put his paper down on the desk and looked up at the deputy.
“I suppose so, as long as you can answer me one question.” The sheriff said looking at the deputy.
“Sure, Sheriff, what is it?” the deputy asked, feeling pretty good that he hadn’t pissed the sheriff off.
The sheriff said, �
��I just want to know if there is a sign on my forehead that says ‘will the first dumb-ass that walks in here please interrupt me?’” The deputy hung his head realizing he had screwed up again with the sheriff, which was pretty much normal.
“Sorry, Sheriff, I guess I should’ve known better,” he said soberly. “I know you like to read your paper in silence.”
“Well, go on already,” said Sheriff Rubel. “You’ve done interrupted me now. But the next time you see me reading my paper just turn your sorry ass back out the door, understand? Now what is it?”
“I was just wondering what you thought about that kid, Jess Williams?” asked the deputy. “You seemed awful friendly to him.”
“And you, who finished all the way up to the fifth grade all by your lonesome can’t seem to figure that out, eh?”
“But…if I could do that why would I be asking?”
The sheriff just shook his head thinking to himself how hard it was to get good help these days. His deputies were tough, but they weren’t the brightest bunch. He got up and walked to the table where the coffeepot was and poured him a fresh cup. Then he walked back to his desk and sat down again.
“Well,” the sheriff said, pausing for a moment and looking as if he was thinking real deep about what he was about to say. “I’ve seen a lot of different men in my lifetime; brave ones, cowards, braggarts, idiots, crazy ones, liars and a few stone cold fearless types. But this kid, Jess Williams, is something I ain’t seen before. When you look into that kid’s eyes you can see that there is a good side to the boy, but it’s buried way back in there behind all that rage and hatred for the men that murdered his family and men like that. That boy’s going to hunt men for a living and he’s going to be damn good at it. Now some people are destined to be just normal average people and some are destined to be something special, something completely out of the ordinary. That kid’s one of those destined to be special. I just think that it’s a privilege to have a chance in our lifetime to know someone like that. It don’t happen all that often.” The deputy had listened to all of this and he took a minute to ponder all that the sheriff had said.
The RECKONING: A Jess Williams Western Page 18