THE DODGE CITY MASSACRE (A Jess Williams Novel.) (23 page)

             
“Damn,” exclaimed Avril with his last breath, “you sure are fast Mr. Williams.”

             
Avril hit the floor with a thud. Jess walked over to him and picked up Avril’s pistol and looked it over. “John, this pistol is pretty nice and so is that holster he’s wearing. If I were you, I’d keep them both since they are a whole lot nicer than the one you’ve got,” said Jess.

             
Bodine walked over and removed the holster and looked it over as well as the pistol. “You’re right about that, but I’ll save it for after we’re done here. I’m so used to the one I’ve been using all this time that changing guns in the middle of what we are doing probably ain’t exactly a smart thing to do,” replied Bodine.

             
“You’re probably right about that,” replied Jess.

             
The two deputies, Justin Watts and Conner Landon came running into the saloon, each one of them carrying a shotgun. “I saw you two ride in earlier, but I was waiting until later to come on over and talk with you,” said Watts. “I see you still ain’t wasting any time, Mr. Williams.”

             
“He forced it,” replied Jess. “I tried to talk him out of it.”

             
“He did,” replied Whipple.

             
“I want to believe you, but this man ain’t wearing any gun,” replied Watts.

             
“That’s because I took it off him after Jess killed him,” replied Bodine.

             
“Well, I guess he won’t need it anymore,” replied Watts. Watts sent Landon over to get the undertaker. Then he walked over to Jess and John and had Logan pour him a glass of whiskey.

             
“I was going to warn you about that one when I came over here, but I guess it don’t matter much now,” said Watts.

             
“By the way, how is Sheriff Burleson doing?” asked Jess.

             
“He’s out of bed and working back at the same store he used to work at,” replied Watts.

             
“He turned in his badge?” asked Jess.

             
“Yeah, he said he wasn’t going to die for the pittance the town pays lawmen and I’m thinking about it now myself after seeing you two back in town,” replied Watts. “I’ve got to warn you though three of Welch’s former hired gunslingers are looking for you. They left town yesterday to go to a small town to the north of here to find you. I figure they’ll be back tomorrow or the next day. They’re staying in one of the hotels in town.”

             
“Which hotel are they staying at?” asked Jess.

             
“Actually, they’re staying at the hotel you two shot up the last time you were here. The owner didn’t really want them there, but they gave him a beating and told him they were staying anyway. I see you boys took a room at another hotel when I watched you earlier,” replied Watts, as Landon returned.

             
“Yeah, I figured we wouldn’t be welcome back at the other one after what happened, even though it wasn’t our fault,” replied Jess.

             
“Well, you two keep your eyes open for those three,” said Watts. “After what you did, those boys are going to try to ambush the two of you.”

             
“I figured as much,” replied Jess. They hung around the saloon for a few more hours, but nothing happened. They retired for the night, taking turns at watch sitting in a chair in the hallway of the hotel they were staying at.

XXX

              Heath Durrand, Lee Thomas and Hank Cullom had been to several different small towns in search of Jess, but they had not found him. They kept coming back to Dodge City to see if Jess returned and they did again yesterday to no avail. Today they found themselves in a little town with no name and a saloon that also had no name.

             
“I think we might have to expand our search for Williams,” said Thomas.

             
“I’m thinking the same thing,” replied Cullom.

             
“Well, we ain’t doing that just yet,” said Durrand. “I’m still betting he’ll return to Dodge City eventually and I don’t want to be halfway across the state when he does.”

             
“He’s been gone for weeks already so why do you think he’ll come back to Dodge City?” asked Cullom.

             
“For the money, that’s why. Hell, the three of us have a bounty on our heads and so do three of the men that Welch had left on the payroll when we quit. I figure he’ll come back and try to collect it sooner or later,” replied Durrand.

             
An old man standing at the other end of the bar put his glass down. “I’m betting on sooner than later,” said the old man.

             
Durrand looked down at the old man. “What do you know that we don’t?”

             
“I’ll tell you if you buy me a drink,” replied the man.

             
“Listen you old codger, if you don’t tell me, I’ll just plug you where you stand,” demanded Durrand.

             
“Go ahead and plug me then, I don’t really give a damn anyway. I’m already dying and the doctor says I’ve only got a few more months anyway, so go ahead and put me out of my misery,” said the old man.

             
“Hey, it’s only a drink. Hell, I’ll give him two just so you don’t start shooting up the place,” said the barkeep.

             
“That works for me,” said the old man, as the barkeep poured the old man another drink. The old man downed it quickly and the barkeep poured him another one.

             
“Alright old man, start talking,” said Durrand.

             
The old man belched loudly first into a white rag and when he did; he coughed up a little blood. “Well, I was seeing a doctor over in Dodge City yesterday and as I was leaving town, I saw that Williams fellow ride into town with another fellow. I don’t know if he’s still there or not, but he was yesterday,” replied the old man. “I wouldn’t be messing around with him though if I was you. I’ve seen him in a gunfight and he sure is damn fast with a pistol.”

             
“You let us worry about that old man. Thanks for the information,” replied Durrand, as he told the barkeep to buy the old man another drink, which he quickly downed.

             
“Well boys, seems like we must have just missed him. I guess we’re heading to Dodge City tomorrow,” said Durrand.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

              Welch had become tired and frustrated of trying to buy out the owner of The Long Bow Ranch. He had sent his fourth and final offer to Howard Tillman and had doubled the previous offer. He called his two best gunslingers he had left on his payroll into his office. They came in and Welch poured them both a drink and sat back down behind his huge desk, which was so big that it made Manny almost look small in comparison.

             
“I have a job for the two of you and it comes with a five hundred dollar bonus for each of you,” said Welch.

             
“Sure thing, boss,” replied Jack Bond. “What do you want us to do for that much money?”

             
“I want you to go out to Tillman’s place and put a bullet in him,” replied Welch. “And, I don’t want any of the other men to know about it. As a matter-of-fact, I don’t want either of you two telling anyone about it.”

             
Both Jack Bond and Delbert Fletcher looked at each other, somewhat confused. “Boss, we’ll do what you ask, but what about that Williams fellow? He did threaten to kill you if you tried to force any of the other ranchers out,” Bond reminded Welch.

             
“I know, but he has been gone for a few weeks now and for all I know, he ain’t coming back. Besides, I haven’t been able to buy out one ranch since I made that deal with him. I ain’t going to pull up stakes here and move somewhere else since I have so much invested in my land dealings so far,” replied Welch.

             
“Alright,” replied Bond. “We’ll go out there right now.” Both Bond and Fletcher stood up and Welch paid them both in advance, which they gladly accepted. The two of them left Welch’s office and rode straight out heading in the direction of the Tillman place.

             
When Bond and Fletcher rode up to the Tillman house, Howard Tillman heard them coming and met them on the front porch with a shotgun. That turned out to be a fatal mistake since Bond and Fletcher had both already drawn their pistols and planned on killing Howard as soon as they laid eyes on him. They both put two slugs into Howard before riding away at a full run, but not before Tillman’s wife, Ellie, came running out and noticed the two men and she recognized them as two of Manny Welch’s hired gunslingers.

             
Bond and Fletcher rode back to Welch’s place and informed him that they had succeeded in killing Howard and that they didn’t think anyone saw them do it. They had not known that Ellie Tillman had seen them ride away. Manny felt a little more comfortable with the knowledge that no one could prove he was responsible for it. Now, he would simply wait until the bank tried to take back Tillman’s ranch and then buy it for pennies on the dollar. He was back in business and he was happy about it.

             
Bond and Fletcher walked into the bunkhouse and found Taylor Hamm and Brian McElroy in a hot poker game. They bought into the game since they were itching to spend the big bonus they had just made for a few hours of work.

             
“Damn it,” exclaimed Hamm, as he lost yet another hand to Bond. “That’s it for me. I’m plum out of money now until payday. I ain’t even got enough money left to go into town and have me a few drinks later at my favorite watering hole.”

             
“Aw, quit complaining like an old hag,” replied Bond. “I’ll tell you what, I’ll ride into town with you and I’ll buy you all the cheap whiskey you can drink.”

             
“Yeah, with my own money,” complained Hamm.

             
“It’s not your money anymore, Hamm, not after I beat you fair and square,” replied Bond.

XXX

              Jess and Bodine woke at daybreak and headed for Dottie’s Eats and had a huge breakfast. They were finishing up with their coffee when Justin Watts walked in. He ordered some breakfast and poured himself a cup of coffee.

             
“I have some good news for you two,” said Watts.

             
“I like good news,” replied John. “Especially if the news has something to do with us making more money.”

             
“I finally found out how much bounty was on those other men you two killed when you were here before,” replied Watts.

             
“So how much were they worth?” asked Bodine, biting at the bit and thinking about the pretty Mexican woman he would soon be visiting.

             
“I totaled it all up and it came to over fifteen hundred dollars,” replied Watts. “Although, I can’t guarantee you’ll receive all of it since sometimes the bounty never gets paid. I filed a claim on your behalf and will wire whatever money I collect to your banker over in Black Creek, Jess.”

             
“That’s fine with me,” replied Jess.

             
Watts finished up his breakfast and Jess and Bodine went back to their hotel and sat on the front porch in some rocking chairs for a few hours. They didn’t talk, they just rocked. Watts was sitting in the sheriff’s office talking with Connor when they saw a wagon riding into town fast. The wagon pulled up in front of the sheriff’s office and Justin and Connor walked out onto the front boardwalk. It was Ellie Tillman and she had a shotgun across her lap and you could tell that she had been crying.

             
“Mrs. Tillman, what happened and why are you riding into town with a shotgun?” asked Justin.

             
“I’ll tell you why! It’s because that low-down piece of dirt Manny Welch killed my husband this morning.”

             
“Manny Welch did it?” asked Watts.

             
“Of course he didn’t do it himself since he’s a damn coward, but he might as well have done the deed himself. He sent two of his hired gunmen out to our house this morning and they just shot him as soon as he walked out onto the front porch.”

             
“Are you certain it was Welch’s men?” asked Watts.

             
“Yes, I’m sure of it, but I don’t think they know that I saw them. I’ve seen them in town before and their names are Jack Bond and Delbert Fletcher. As soon as I see them, I’m going to use this shotgun I have here to kill them where they stand, since neither of the two of you are going to do anything about it! This town has gone to hell and can’t keep a sheriff and you two are worthless as deputies as far as I’m concerned,” exclaimed Ellie.