Cotton's Devil (9781101618523)
Read Cotton's Devil (9781101618523) Online
Authors: Phil Dunlap
Praise for
COTTON'S WAR
“An old-fashioned, barn-burning, gut-wrenching Western story that moves at a gallop over dangerous territory. Phil Dunlap's sharp prose packs the punch of a Winchester rifle.”
âJohnny D. Boggs, four-time Spur Awardâwinning author
“A rip-roaring yarn that realizes the best traditions of the Western genre: strong, well-defined characters, the color of the West vivid and perfectly researched, and the writing entertaining and quick as a bronc set free to run wild. A surefire read for Western fiction fans.”
âLarry D. Sweazy, Spur Awardâwinning author
“There's nothing unusual about page-turning action in a paperback Western, and you'll find plenty of it in
Cotton's War
. What separates this novel from the pack is layer upon layer of intriguing subplots, parallel storylines and a cast of characters that diverges from the norm.”
â
Roundup Magazine
Praise for the novels of Phil Dunlap
“With a raft of well-drawn, even indelible, characters, the novel also offers a compellingly involved, quite plausible, and tightly woven plot.”
â
Booklist
“Dunlap uses his passion for history and the Old West to paint a realistic setting for his workâ¦. For those who share his love affair with gamblers, scalawags, and claim-jumpers with gold fever, this fun novel will keep you guessing.”
â
The Indianapolis Star
“Phil Dunlap is a writer to fog the sage with! Flesh and blood characters, compelling plots, and cinematic actionâWestern writing doesn't get any better than this. I've become a big fan!”
âPeter Brandvold, author of
The Last Lawman
Berkley titles by Phil Dunlap
COTTON'S WAR
COTTON'S LAW
COTTON'S DEVIL
COTTON'S
DEVIL
A Sheriff Cotton Burke Western
Phil Dunlap
BERKLEY BOOKS, NEW YORK
THE BERKLEY PUBLISHING GROUP
Published by the Penguin Group
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Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author's
imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business
establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control over
and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.
COTTON'S DEVIL
A Berkley Book / published by arrangement with the author
PUBLISHING HISTORY
Berkley edition / January 2013
Copyright © 2012 by Phil Dunlap.
Cover illustration by Dennis Lyall.
Cover design by Diana Kolsky.
Interior text design by Tiffany Estreicher.
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or
electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of
copyrighted materials in violation of the author's rights. Purchase only authorized editions.
For information, address: The Berkley Publishing Group,
a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.,
375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014.
ISBN: 978-1-101-61852-3
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| ALWAYS LEARNING | PEARSON |
This book would not have been possible without the help of many good friends, family, and a terrific publisher. First, my thanks to my critique partner, author Tony Perona, who makes certain the plot doesn't wander off to the hinterland; to my wife, Judy, who is relentless in keeping me from making embarrassing mistakes with characters and storyline; and to my untiring editor at Berkley, Faith Black, to whom I owe everything. Of course, I cannot fail to thank the many faithful Western readers who live for the sound of gunfire rising off the pages. My undying gratitude to you all.
Chapter 1
New Mexico Territoryâ1880
T
he telegram read simply:
COME TO SILVER CITY
.
NEED HELP
.
GOING
TO HANG
.
THORN MCCANN
That was all. But it was enough.
“I'm not sure why you feel the need to ride all the way to Silver City to try saving the worthless scoundrel that rode into town pretending to be a common gunslinger looking to add you to his list of kills. You know he nearly scared me to death. Remember how long it took for him to tell
you
who he really was? You said yourself you weren't sure he could be trusted. And you
know
he probably shot and killed Bart Havens, so what makes the man worth saving?” Emily Wagner held out a cup of coffee to Sheriff Cotton Burke. “Even though killing Havens was certainly in
your
best interest.”
Cotton was stuffing a couple of freshly boiled shirts and
some socks into one side of a saddlebag. The other side was filled with coffee, some beef jerky, flour, beans, and extra ammunition. Emily leaned on the door frame watching him prepare for his trip to Silver City, to see for himself what bounty hunter Thorn McCann had done to earn him a date with the hangman's noose. Her expression was a mixture of skepticism and disdain. Whether Cotton believed Thorn deserved to pay the ultimate price for his misdeeds was something else entirely. He was neither judge nor jury, except when faced with the choice to kill or be killed by another's hand.
“Didn't say anything about savin' his, uh, butt.” He brushed a shock of brown hair back from his forehead, took the cup, and raised it to his lips. “Thanks.”
From the perspective of recent events, Thorn had probably been guilty of many crimes, although Cotton couldn't put his finger on exactly what those crimes were. He had been asked to come to Silver City and see what could be done to save a man's life, and Cotton Burke was the type of person to honor such a request. Besides, he still had a lot of unanswered questions for McCann concerning the death of Bart Havens. So he'd assigned his deputy, Memphis Jack Stump, the task of keeping Apache Springs safe until he returned. It was a decision he hadn't made lightly, especially since Jack had a tendency to drink a little too much and spend a little too much time in the bed of a prostitute named Melody, with whom he lived. Other than a touch of irresponsibility from time to time, Jack was a generally dependable friend and a damned good man with a gun. Still, a lot was riding on his ability to take being a deputy as seriously as was needed.