Chapter Three:
Opening Moves
JD Dunne arrived at the jailhouse the next morning, feeling like a hundred miles of bad road. Although he was anxious to begin his investigation with Buck for any leads on Nathan's attackers; he would be lying if he said he didn't wish for a few more hours of sleep. In truth, none of the seven really slept for more than a few hours since they disbanded from the saloon. No one could really sleep with the memory of Nathan's horrific injuries still fresh in their mind. JD tossed and turned in his sheets, trying to force away images when it could have been easily any one of them in Nathan's position.
It was during such moments that JD was forced to take a hard look at the life he chose for himself. When he was a boy, he wished for nothing more than to be one of the legendary gunmen he often read about in the dime store novels. Their rough and tumble existence left a profound mark upon him and as soon as he was old enough to leave home, JD took the first stage out West. Fortunately, as he was to learn, he had survived the grim fate of other starry eyed young men on the same mission when he had joined up with Chris Larabee.
Actually, he had not really joined up as the others had. JD had followed the seasoned men until they relented and allowed him to their circle. Although he sometimes felt intimidated by their experience, JD knew they were as close as family and they protected their own with just as much intensity, which was probably why Nathan's attack incensed them all so much.
His duties as sheriff were quite routine. Since Chris was really the man running things, a situation which JD did not at all mind. His visit to the jailhouse was mostly for housekeeping. He checked on the welfare of the one prisoner currently being held and saw that the drunk had effectively slept off the previous night's libation and was eager to get home. JD released him with the obligatory warning and then eased behind the sheriff 's desk to examine the morning's mail. These were usually federal warnings about who was in the area, a few wanted posters and such.
JD scoured through them with little interest, doing so because it was one of the more tedious requirements of the Silver Star he wore on his breast. Most of it was discarded in the waste paper basket under the desk. He got to the wanted posters and unrolled them from their brown wrapping, so he could pin them up on the wall. The faces he came across belonged to men who looked every bit as mean as the list of charged tallied against them. It was the last one that caught JD's interest.
"Oh hell!" He exclaimed as he stared at the face and the angry words beneath it.
The poster rolled back to its curled position as JD jumped from his chair. He grabbed the length of paper and ran out of the jailhouse, praying he would catch Vin Tanner before he left with Chris for the reservation.
"Is Vin here?" JD asked as he burst through the batwing doors of the saloon. Only Ezra and Josiah were present and with a sinking feeling, JD realised he might be too late.
"What's wrong?" Josiah inquired without bothering to answer the young man who was quite out of breath by the time he reached them, clutching the roll of paper tightly in his grip. There was genuine alarm on JD's face and after last night, the preacher wondered what else could have happened.
"It's this." He said coming to the table where Ezra and Josiah were having breakfast. Both men quickly moved aside their plates as JD rolled out the document for their viewing.
WANTED FOR MURDER
VIN TANNER
REWARD
$2000.00
DEAD OR ALIVE
"How does this happen?" JD looked at the two men in question. "I thought the reward on him was five hundred dollars!"
"It appears not." Ezra said looking just as mystified. It was almost unprecedented the amount for a reward should surge so dramatically, particularly when the criminal in question had committed no further crimes since the original charge. However, it was there for all to see in plain black and white, so it was no mistake.
"He's going to have every bounty hunter in the Territory after him." Josiah remarked unhappily and studied the poster with scrutiny. Like Ezra, he knew the unlikelihood of this sudden upswing in reward money. Five hundred dollars might be a princely sum but not enough to risk the wrath of the six men Vin rode with if anyone attempted to collect the bounty.
Two thousand dollars however, had a way of making even a sensible man take stupid chances.
"Has he left?" JD asked in vain hope. Vin had to be warned about what was coming his way. Not just Vin now but Chris, since it was likely that he would become caught in the crossfire. Not that either man had any trouble defending himself, but two thousand dollars went a long way and could pay for a dozen hired guns. Against those odds, JD was not so sure the two men could prevail.
"As first light I believe." Ezra replied trying to decide what to do. Vin had made it no secret that Four Corners was his present address and it would not take long for anyone wishing to claim this exorbitant sum of money, to find their way here. "We're going to have to rearrange our plans." Ezra decided, hoping Chris would not mind him countermanding his orders but the situation seemed to demand it.
"Mr Dunne, you need to go after them." Ezra declared, gaining a silent nod of agreement from Josiah who looked up long enough from his examination of the wanted poster. It might be a good idea that Vin to give Four Corners a wide berth while they dealt with this current predicament.
"Okay," JD answered without question. Not only was he pleased to be trusted to undertake this job alone, but he also understood the urgency of the matter. Vin needed to know of the threat to his life. They all knew that if Vin Tanner did not want to be found, there was not a bounty hunter in the world who could find him. However, Vin still needed the warning to make that timely disappearance.
"Wait a minute," Josiah spoke up before JD could make a hasty departure. The preacher had sat up in his chair and was leaning in for a closer look of the paper. "Ezra, look at this." He gestured the gambler to some fine printing on the bottom of the poster.
"I hope you found that it was printed on the 1st April and it was late in arriving." Ezra deadpanned as he leaned over to where Josiah was pointing. Somehow, he did not think that Josiah had found some legal loophole. Most of the bounty hunters would hardly see past the numbers let alone take the time to read the rest of it. However, after a moment, he looked up at Josiah. "Is this right?"
"What?" JD asked, not liking the idea that something was going on beneath his notice again.
"It says here," Ezra met the young man's gaze with confusion of his own. "That the federal reward is a still five hundred dollars."
"I don't understand." JD said blankly. "If it's still five hundred dollars…."
"It means," Josiah answered for the benefit of the uninformed, "the two-thousand-dollar reward has been put up privately."
"Privately? You mean someone is doing this to him on purpose?"
"It appears that way." Ezra retorted. "I think you better make haste young man," he prompted JD to get a move on. "I'll tell Buck what's happening."
"I'm on it." The young man swept out of the saloon, filled with purpose at being assigned this important task. He liberated the poster from Josiah before leaving so he had something to show Vin and Chris when he found them. After he was gone, Ezra turned back to Josiah. "You have a feeling that there's an ill wind blowing my friend?"
"We need to find out who put up this money." The preacher pointed out.
"I agree." Ezra nodded. "With Nathan's shooting, it seems too much of a coincidence."
"At least it puts paid to rest on whether Nathan's attack was personal." Josiah commented. Like Chris, they had all believed this was because of some unknown vendetta against Nathan Jackson. However, with this latest turn of events, it appeared that they were partially correct. The vendetta was personal, but it appeared to be against more than just one of them. If what he suspected was true, Josiah realised that this was only the first act of a much large play.
"It somewhat complicates matters." Ezra sighed, because he had come to the same conclusion. "Our field of concentration had just widened considerably. We have made a great many men angry at us over the last year, it is going to be difficult to narrow it down."
"They'll overplay their hand." Josiah drawled. "They always do."
Ezra was about to question the preacher on how he had come to that reassuring conclusion when he saw Inez coming down the stairs from the rooms above the saloon. She looked weary and Ezra felt somewhat concerned at the dark circles under her eyes. She kept a vigil at Nathan's bedside for most of the night and still managed to wake up early enough to make them a fine breakfast.
"Inez, you look exhausted." He stated and rose to his feet, pulling out a chair for her to sit.
The bronzed skin beauty did not refuse, and her acceptance convinced him more that she needed to rest. He poured her a cup of coffee and lay if before her. Inez offered him a smile, radiant even when she was so tired. It was easy to become trapped in that flicker of beauty, even for a moment. "Thank you, Ezra." She replied warmly.
"How is he doing?" Josiah inquired. He had been up to check on Nathan a few times himself, but Inez had been spending most of the time with him. It was necessary for Josiah and Ezra to remain in the saloon with as wide a field of vision in the unlikely event that Nathan's would-be killers returned.
"He sleeps," she said with a shrug. "I give him his medicine like the doctor says, every four hours."
"Doctor Styles made a few returns over the course of the night and the morning, to check up on Mr Jackson's progress." Ezra informed him dutifully.
"We can take turns for a while." Josiah offered; not blind to how weary the young woman before him appeared. She was a good woman, he thought silently to himself, rare in her capacity for compassion despite that fiery temper and iron clad spirit. "Why don't you get some rest."
Josiah was one of the few people Inez trusted to behave responsibly. If it were Ezra making the offer, she would be reluctant to accept. However, Josiah was an entirely different matter. She knew he could be relied upon with complete trust to undertake anything asked of him. "I think I might take that offer." She said trying to stifle a yawn. "Wake me in an hour or so."
"Anyone see JD?" Buck Wilmington's irritated voice broke the back of the conversation as he made a sudden entry through the doors of the saloon. Buck had been supposed to meet JD at the jailhouse some time ago and the boy's absence gave him concern. Buck had taken JD under his wing since the young man's arrival in Four Corners and he often felt responsible for his welfare.
"He's on his way to find Chris and Vin." Josiah replied automatically.
"He's supposed to be helping me to talk to people around town about what happened last night." Buck said gruffly as he walked towards their table.
"Something came up. Sit down." Josiah said in that voice which broke no arguments.
Immediately Buck tensed, sensing some new peril on the horizon. Inez, who was just as much in the dark, shared his same look of puzzlement. "What's happened?"
"The reward on Mr Tanner has just risen to two thousand dollars."
"Two thousand dollars!" Buck practically roared. "I thought it was five hundred dollars!"
"Someone has put a private bounty on our Mr Tanner," Ezra informed completely accustomed to Buck's outbursts. He had seen them on numerous occasions before. "I sent JD after him to inform him of what has happened."
"We're going to have every two-bit hustler who thinks he can handle a gun come riding into town looking for him." Buck glowered.
"Who would do such a thing?" Inez demanded with more feeling in her voice towards Vin then she cared to show. Buck stared at her for a brief instance, taking note of the display. Inez felt a great deal of tenderness towards Vin Tanner for he, along with Mary Travis had convinced her to stop running from Don Paulo when he had discovered here. Vin, who knew more about running from the past than anyone, had been the first person to offer her his unconditional support in her decision to remain. While their relationship had never extended beyond friendship, they were nevertheless very close, and she worried for his life under this sudden turn of events.
"I don't know." Josiah sighed loudly, wishing Chris Larabee was not always so right about things getting worse.
The woman who entered Mary Travis' office had only been a resident of Four Corners for less than two months. Since her arrival, she caused much gossip in town as locals tried to discern her origins. Not much older than Mary herself, Victoria Kendall arrived in Four Corners and promptly established the Emporium which was so popular with the women in town.
From what Mary had been able to learn of her origins, Victoria was unmarried with a sizeable fortune of her own and quite the adept businesswoman. Although Mary had little occasion to interact with her during the past months, their few meetings had always been warm and friendly. Nevertheless, Victoria's presence in her office did cause some surprise since it was usually her business partner, the sombre Mr Wilkins who did most of her errands.
"Victoria." Mary rose from behind her desk and came to greet the auburn-haired woman. Although she could never be called a beauty, Victoria had intriguing green eyes that seemed to negate any lacking she may had in physical attributes. "How nice to see you."
"Likewise, Mary." Victoria smiled at her as the two women returned to Mary's desk. She took the seat that Mary offered and waited until the widow was herself seated before continuing.
"What brings you here?" Mary inquired. "I hope the advertising in the Clarion suits your purposes still?" The Kendall Emporium had been using advertising space in the Clarion News ever since it opened. While the size of the advertisements had decreased, they were now a regular fixture in the newspaper. They also added much-needed revenue to the profits for which Mary was grateful
"It does." Victoria replied. "I came here on a private matter, Mary."
"I see." Mary sat straight in her chair, a stance she usually took when she was preparing to listen closely. "What sort of matter?"
Victoria hesitated and shifted uncomfortably in her chair. An expression stole across her face that seemed to border on distaste and discomfiture. Mary wondered what could be so terrible that she had such difficulty voicing it? "There's no way to put this delicately, Mary." She said after a moment. "So, I guess I'll just have to say it."
"Say what?" Mary asked with rising curiosity.
"About your relationship with Mr Larabee."
Of all the things that she could have said, that was the thing Mary had least expected. For a moment, she was left completely speechless. When she recovered enough to respond, her thoughts were racing. "What relationship with Mr Larabee?" She answered trying to feign ignorance.
"There has been talk around town that you and Mr Larabee are involved." Victoria remarked, watching her closely for a reaction.
"There has always been such innuendo." Mary replied coolly. "Mr Larabee and I are just friends."
"Look," Victoria sighed. "It's none of my business what you do with your personal affairs Mary, I mean I've seen him, he is a very attractive man. However, the talk I have heard indicates you are having an intimate relationship with Mr Larabee and you should be very concerned whether or not it's true or false."
Mary did not know how to respond because in all essence it was true, and she was uncertain whether she was prepared to lie about it.
"I've heard the talk," Mary lied. "It's been going on since he arrived in town. Most of it is attributed to the fact he deals with Judge Travis through me. I am the seven's liaison with Orin. That's as far as it has always gone."
"I'm glad." Victoria said with a relieved sigh. "When Mr Wilkins told me someone Mr Larabee was making some distasteful remarks about the two of you, I was certain that it was a lie. After all, attractive he may be but what decent woman would throw away her reputation on a gunslinger of all things?"
Mary managed a faint smile. "Not a very proper one I suppose."
Despite what was said however, Mary refused to believe that Chris would make light of their relationship to anyone. She knew how he felt about her and most she knew how difficult it was for him to admit to those feelings. Obviously, someone in town had nothing better to do than spread malicious rumours about them and Mary was going to ignore it.
"Well," Victoria rose to her feet on that note. "I just thought you should be aware. Please don't take my informing you as interference."
"Certainly not," Mary offered the woman a comforting smile. "I appreciate the concern."
She followed Victoria to see her out of the office, all the while hiding the butterflies in her stomach. When Victoria was gone, Mary found herself in state of panic. Rumours were nothing new to her. Since the arrival of the seven in Four Corners, such stories had been whispered about her relationship with the men and, Chris. Most of it was ignore as idle gossip and largely ignored but Victoria Kendall's intelligence struck close to home. Could anyone have seen Chris leaving her house in the middle of the night? She knew Chris took care to not be seen but not even he was completely infallible. It only took one person.
She decided that she was not going to become paranoid. These were rumours, no different from the ones that had emerged since the first time Chris Larabee had walked into her office.
It would blow over soon enough.
Buck Wilmington was not having a good day. In fact, if truth were known, he was having a lousy and unproductive morning. So far, he had been through every gin joint, hole in the wall bar and watering hole in Four Corners and had yet to find anything to indicate strangers with an inordinate interest in Nathan Jackson. No one new had displayed any interest in any of the seven for quite some time and it did not take him long to realise there was nothing to find. He had even gone to the hotel and convinced the hotel clerk to let him study the register book. However, as he had already found in the lodging houses and hostels he had visited earlier, no one had registered that could be considered dangerous.
Buck had gone so far as to question some of the newer arrivals and found little to implicate them in Nathan's attacks. It would not have been so terrible if he had not learnt something else equally disturbing if not life threatening. By the time he returned to the saloon, he heard so many outlandish stories that his temper was teetering on a knife's edge. To say nothing of how Chris Larabee was going to take it when Buck had the enviable task of telling him what he learnt.
"What is going on in this town?" Buck asked out loud when he returned to the saloon later that morning.
Josiah was upstairs with Nathan while Inez rested so Ezra was tending bar, with his gun close at hand and his derringer safely hidden out of sight.
"Whatever do you mean?" Ezra responded, pouring him a drink because it looked like he needed one.
Buck came to the counter and slapped his hat hard against the bar, his anger clearly shown in his face. It was unusual for Buck to be angry about anything, Ezra had observed in the past, because Buck was one of the most good-natured people he had ever met. On the rare occasions Buck did get upset, he was a fuse burned brief and would settle down after a short while.
"I have heard nothing about strangers in town." Buck grabbed the drink and downing it with a sharp tilt of her head before sliding the shot glass back to Ezra for another hit.
"That was always a possibility Mr Wilmington." Ezra answered. "Expecting success, the first time around is somewhat unrealistic."
"I don't care about that!" Buck said sharply and drew a startled response from Ezra, who was starting to see a larger problem. Buck leaned further over the counter towards him and spoke in a hushed voice as if what he had to say was too terrible to voice out loud. "I heard nothing about Nathan, but I heard plenty about Chris and Mrs Travis."
Ezra's eyes widened in astonishment. "What?"
"Apparently, it sounds like all of Four Corners wants to know how long Chris and Mary have been knocking boots."
"Aw hell." Ezra swore uncharacteristically. "What do you mean all, exactly?"
"Everyone!" Buck retorted. "They think he's been sleeping with her!"
"There's always been loose talk about Mr Larabee and the fair Mrs Travis." Ezra countered, hoping Buck's information was wrong and the good lady's reputation was not as tattered as it appeared.
"Not like this." Buck returned with a hard edge to his voice that convinced Ezra that he was right. "I was ready to call someone out over these stories. I'm telling you, we've got to put a stop to it."
"Exactly how would we do that Mr Wilmington?" Ezra asked sarcastically. "This is not the kind of thing you can put down with a gunfight."
"Well we can't just stand by and let the lady's reputation get dragged through the mud! Can you imagine how Chris will be when it gets to him?"
Ezra could imagine quite vividly exactly what his reaction would be and while the specifics eluded the gambler, it would no doubt be colourful indeed, if not somewhat fatal. "Buck, this is the one thing they have to deal with themselves. Now, we all knew this was going to happen sooner or later. They've been together for almost a month now and at some point, word was bound to get out. The only solution to this problem is if they solidified the nature of their relationship with say a wedding ring?"
"Chris is not going to like being pushed into a wedding." Buck said without a trace of doubt in his voice. It was hard enough getting the gunslinger to admit how he felt about the widow and acting upon it, let alone dangle the prospect of marriage in front of him.
"Well perhaps he is just going to have to grow up." Ezra retorted with just as much directness. "It's not about him, it's about Mrs Travis. We owe her a great deal."
Buck could not refute Ezra's words. In fact, the gambler had made his point with complete accuracy. Chris was always mindful of Mary's reputation, knowing she placed a great deal more than just her life on the line when she spoke out in their defence. Until now, she remained unscathed despite the niggling rumours known to surface from time to time. However, things had changed considerably in the last month between Chris and Mary. Now, there was truth to intimacy of their relationship.
"Now what's happened?" Josiah asked, having heard the fervent conversation below and had come out to investigate.
Buck and Ezra exchanged glances, wondering how they were going to put this. Ezra finally looked over his shoulder at the preacher and remarked. "Let's just say, we may have to buy rice."
"I don't want to know." He headed up to Nathan's room.
It was almost noon by the time JD Dunne arrived at the Indian village and found Chris and Vin. The two men were sitting around the campfire at Chano's tent, when JD came bounding up to them out of breath. Upon seeing the youth, both men immediately suspected the worse and rose to their feet.
"Chris! Vin!" JD gushed, "I'm glad I found you."
"What's wrong JD?" Vin asked first.
"This." JD said breathing heavily as he reached them. He handed the poster to Vin who promptly unrolled it. Without saying anything, Chris came along side Vin to look at what made JD ride all this way to deliver. After perusing the rolled-up poster, Chris decided he had a very good reason indeed.
"What is it?" Chano inquired, realising that something terrible was being hurled at his friend, who happened to be the only white man he trusted.
"Looks like things are catching up with me." Vin said handing the poster to Chris who wanted a better look. "Two thousand dollars is a lot of money."
"Josiah said it wasn't right." JD pointed out, remembering his conversation with the preacher and Ezra before leaving Four Corners.
"Yeah I see it." Chris nodded in agreement.
"What?" Vin turned back to the gunslinger, to see what it was he had missed.
"Someone put the reward up." Chris replied, still studying the document. It says the Federal reward is still five hundred dollars."
"That's right." JD added. "That's what Ezra and Josiah said. They think someone else put the money to up the reward. Someone who has something against all of us, not just Vin."
That did not sit well with Vin because he knew what was coming. He was a bounty hunter himself once and he knew how powerful the lure of two thousand dollars could be. "They'll be coming in herds. That's too much money to walk away from."
"Then you can stay here." Chano offered, remembering he owed a life debt to Vin Tanner. Thanks to Vin, everyone in the village was spared a fiery death in the wake of his wife's murder. Vin and Josiah had uncovered the truth about Clare Mosely's relationship with Chano and who really murdered her. The townspeople led by Clare's father, her murderer, were prepared to burn the village to the ground in revenge for her death. Since then, the two men had become fast friends and Chano was aware of Vin's troubles in Tascosa.
"Thanks, but I ain't putting anyone in danger." Vin replied quickly. "They come looking for me, they're not going to care about who they kill in the process."
Chris had to agree with that assessment. However, Vin could not return to Four Corners that much was clear not until they figured out a way to deal with the situation.
"Maybe it's time to make tracks." The younger man glanced towards the horizon and Chris could guess what was on his mind. JD stared at Chris, trying to prompt him into saying something before Vin rode out of here for good.
"No, it isn't." Chris interjected. "You'll go to my place and stay there. I'll get back to town and get Mary to wire the judge. Maybe he can find out who up the ransom. Worse come to worse, I'll ride out to Tascosa myself and beat it out of them." There was enough threat in his voice for Vin to know that Chris would do just that if he felt it necessary.
However, Vin was not done protesting just yet. He felt uncomfortable at having to hide away while others protected him. "I don't know Chris, this is really my problem."
"No," Chris shook his head and turned those piercing eyes on him. "It isn't. Someone's coming after us." He stated firmly. When Nathan had been shot, Chris hadn't been sure but this situation with Vin had confirmed the fact. "The only reason for a reward to be hiked up like this is not so that you'd hang. That was already going to happen. Someone did this to drive you out of town."
"Divide and conquer?" JD exclaimed, remembering enough about school to make that judgement.
"For starters," Chris nodded. "Nathan's was first, now it's you." He did not say it out loud, but they were all wondering who was next.
It was mid-afternoon when Inez emerge from the saloon for the first time in almost 24 hours. Since she started working early yesterday, things had moved at such harrowing pace that there had been barely time to catch a breath. Although she did not mind looking after Nathan, she was glad when Mary came to take over for a while. It allowed Inez the chance to run some errands of her own.
As she made her way to the Mrs Potter's general store, she ran a list in her mind of all the things she would need for the catering she provided in the saloon. Business had been brisk once patrons learnt they could get food as well as liquor at the saloon and some preferred to remain at the bar instead of having to take their custom to the hotel. The atmosphere in the saloon was more comfortable for men unaccustomed to the refinement of salad forks and dinner plates boasted by the hotel.
As she made her way across the street, Inez considered the gossip that Buck heard about Mary. Inez did not make any judgements on Mary or her relationship with Chris. Mary Travis was a proper as any woman she had ever met, and she did not bestow her favours lightly. She loved Chris Larabee and Inez believed Chris loved her. It was up to them to decide what was proper behaviour in their relationship, not a bunch of narrow minded people who should be minding their own business anyway.
At the moment, Buck and the others had yet to decide whether they should bring news of this to Mary's attention. So far, it was just harmless talk by local busybodies, but Inez knew Mary would want to put a stop to it, even if she did not care what anyone thought about her love affair with Chris.
At this time of the afternoon, most of the residents had withdrawn from the afternoon heat to their homes or any place providing ample shade. In this instance, Inez was glad of the quiet. She needed to do her inventory purchasing quickly before the evening crowd turned up at the saloon expecting dinner. Normally, she would have done this kind of shopping earlier but this whole day had been one unscheduled drama after the other.
Inez barely had time to think let alone get herself organised. It was almost reaching the end of the trading day and it would not before the shopkeepers started closing up for the evening. Hopefully this meant that there would not be many people in the store and she could make her purchases quickly.
Stepping onto the wooden sidewalk, Inez studied the grocery list in her hand as she headed towards Mrs Potter's general store, barely aware of anything else around her. The swiftness of the hand enclosing her mouth and dragging her into the narrow alley between the shops, gave Inez barely any time to register it until the shadows enclosed around her. When the sunlight disappeared from her skin, Inez knew her chance of escape had similarly dissolved.
She felt her toes scrape against the ground as she was dragged down the small alleyway, seeing a wall of wood blur past her as she struggled helplessly. The grip of her kidnapper was strong enough for her to almost be lifted from the ground. Desperately fighting the blind panic threatening to take away any ability she had to fight, Inez bit down hard on the hand over her lips. She caught a sliver of skin between her teeth and ground hard until she felt the salt of blood in her mouth.
A soft grunt of pain exploded in her ear and she felt the grip around her slackened. Inez was poised to run as her feet fell flat against the ground but no sooner than she felt the gravel underneath her soles, was she spun around viciously. Inez had barely time to catch a glimpse at her attacker, when a fist slammed into the side of her jaw. It hit with such force she spun around on her heels, her head spinning in tandem with the red flare of pain.
"Whore." A decidedly male voice replied on the heels of the black veil that fell over her eyes.
It did not take long for the first bounty hunters to find them.
Chris was surprised how quickly such news travelled in a place where information could be weeks old before being passed on. Chris, Vin and JD rode away from the reservation shortly after JD had arrived with his news. The decision made was for them to travel together until they reached the fork of road taking Vin to Chris's property. Although Chris was tempted to go with him, it was obvious someone with money and a burning desire for revenge was working not just against all of them and Chris had to find out who that was. Such an investigation needed Mary's resources and the Judge's connections.
They were only a short ride from the fork they were confronted with five men on horseback. Chris had no idea how long they were waiting in the scrub for them to appear, but Chris recognised one from Purgatory.
"We don't want no trouble Larabee," the leader, a heavy-set man with a missing front tooth who went by the name of Dawkins addressed them as they faced each other. "All we want is your friend." He gestured to Vin, whose fingers were poised on the butt of his mare's leg.
"You're not taking him Dawkins." Chris said almost bored. He knew the men riding with Dawkins. While they called themselves bounty hunters, he knew they spent most of their time whoring and drinking, trying to evade the lawmen who no doubt had their faces on a poster somewhere. Dawkins was a hot headed, arrogant man who thought two thousand dollars was a fortune and was fool enough to try for a reward that only seasoned professional hunters would attempt to claim.
Vin had remained at large for so long because he was a professional bounty hunter once and those in that select circle knew five hundred dollars was not worth the risk in bringing him in. Of course, things would change now but Dawkins would be the first of the stupid to try.
"They say you're fast Larabee.' Dawkins looked at him, unflustered by Chris' cool stare. Vin and JD knew better. The fat idiot was too stupid to recognise how close he was too dying. "I say you're a coward hiding behind the skirts of your six friends." A series of derisive guffaws broke out from Dawkins' men.
Chris seemed unperturbed by the comment. He saw Vin's jaw tightened and JD fidgeting as if the slight to Chris' reputation was more than he could handle. Chris raised his steel coloured eyes to Dawkins and nodded. "You could say that." Without warning, Chris went for Peacemaker, drew and fired before Dawkins' fingers could graze the butt of his gun. "Once."
There was only one shot, but Chris rarely needed more than that.
The bullet blew the back of Dawkins' head apart, sending grey matter in all directions as blood splattered on his companions. The body teetered for a moment on top of the frightened mare and then fell to the ground in a heavy thud. His companions went for their guns as the horse tried to sidestep the body underfoot, but sound found themselves staring down the barrels of Vin's shotgun and both of JD's drawn weapons.
"I don't suppose any of you were out riding last night?" Chris inquired politely, because Dawkins would not be above ambushing and shooting one man. There was no need for intimidation because the dead body pooling blood beneath them was enough incentive.
The weedy looking man who looked at him with rotten teeth and overgrown hair was the first to answer, ever mindful of the weapons being trained in their direction. "We don't know nothing." He said quickly, not requiring Chris to make another point. "Dawkins convinced us to come after Tanner. Said that there was easy money to be made."
"How did you know where we were?" Vin demanded. No one had known they were heading towards the Indian village this morning and they had left Four Corners' early enough not to be seen.
"I don't know," the man said with genuine fear. "Dawkins was talking to someone from Four Corners. They said the nigger got shot."
"His name is Nathan!" JD said angrily. He hated that damn word.
"Who said Nathan was shot?" Chris glared at them with an indication that he was tiring of this conversation.
"Dawkins didn't tell us who told him!" He exclaimed fearfully. "Just he knew that your friend was shot last night, and chances were good, you'd go out to the village. It was two thousand dollars! Dawkins said it would be easy money!"
Chris considered the man's words. If anyone had known where Nathan was shot, it was probable they might assume his friends would ride out to the village to investigate. Almost everyone knew Vin's relationship with Chano and it would be feasible to also assume he would accompany if not lead such an investigation to the village.
"I suggest you boys take your friend and start riding back to Purgatory about now." Chris said finally, deciding these men had little else of use to impart. "If I see any of your ugly faces again," he glanced down at Dawkins, so they would understand the implication. "I may not be so forgiving."
He did not need to say it twice.
When the group of would be bounty hunters were out gone long enough to assure Chris they would not be making any renewed attempts to retrieve Vin, the lawmen resumed their journey home. The encounter had given Chris some valued insight and it also explained a few things, if not opened some possibilities, he had not considered earlier.
"I think whoever shot Nathan is no stranger." He announced.
"Yeah," Vin nodded in agreement, starting to see the pattern forming as well. "I think you're right, Chris."
"Why?" JD asked predictably. Being young and inexperienced as he was, it was sometimes easy to forget that he was not as adept as recognising the more devious processes of human immorality.
"They seem to know a lot about us." Vin explained for his benefit. "They knew me well enough to know that I'd go to the Indian village and they knew enough to know which way Nathan would come back and that he'd gone alone. This is somebody in town, Chris."
"What about those ranchers?" JD suggested, remembering their encounters with Stuart James and Guy Royal, two powerful rancher whom the seven had occasionally had chanced to cross swords with previously. James and Royal were certainly rich enough with the connections to Four Corners to fall suspect to what Chris was alluding to.
"They don't have too many friends in town after they tried burning it down." Chris remarked. "Still, all this sneaking around doesn't seem to be their style. They just kept themselves from prosecution." Despite his doubts however, Chris was not about to totally discount their possible involvement either. He was not a man to take risks on may be and he had stayed alive by taking no such chances.
"We'll ride out there tomorrow." Chris said to Vin and JD. "Shake them down a little."
"Could be interesting." Vin said with a faint smile.
"In the meantime," Chris replied having reached another decision in light of what just happened with Dawkins and those other men. "I think you'd best come back to town with us."
Vin opened his mouth to protest when Chris cut him off. "Just for the night." He retorted. "I don't want those men following you back to my place when you're alone."
"I can take care of myself." Vin replied, slightly offended that Chris would believe those bunch of drunks could ever sneak up on him.
"I know you can but I'm not sure what else is going to happen when the sun goes down tonight." Chris replied, unable to deny this uneasy feeling in his stomach. "With Nathan down, we're short a man and we can afford for you to hiding out if we need you."
JD who never liked the idea of the seven separating, added his voice of support to the debate. "Come on Vin, you know he's right."
"Thanks," Chris gave JD a little smile for the help.
"All right," Vin said dubiously, still believing this was some ruse to protect him. "I hate to see what you mean by something else happening."
The sun had disappeared beneath the uneven horizon of buildings in Four Corners. The busy sounds of people and horses were gradually replaced by the myriad lights peeking through the windows in the wake of the setting sun. At night, Four Corners took on a different kind of life. The hotel bustled with the lively energy of guests dining at the plush restaurant before taking a before or after dinner stroll through the town like it was the galleria in New Orleans. Cheerful music would inevitably flow through town as someone took the keys of the old piano in the saloon, also the same one loaned to the church on Sundays to play a robust tune.
Before the arrival of the seven men, such entertainments often spilled into violence, keeping away the more respectable folk away. However, with the presence of law in the town, such fears were forgotten, and people enjoyed themselves freely.
On these nights, Ezra Standish would hold court at the central table in the saloon. The gambler would host a game of poker with visitors to the establishment or with his comrades in arms (who knew better than to let him deal) while Inez tended bar and fought off the unwanted attentions of Buck Wilmington. Between the gambler and the barmaid, a merry night was certain to be had by all.
Except tonight, she was nowhere to be seen.
Earlier that afternoon, she left the saloon to runs some errands and Ezra was still awaiting her return. As the hour grew closer to the arrival of the evening crowd, his concern for her absence had dwindled from mild annoyance to genuine worry. While they shared no intimacies, Ezra come to learn her habits well and if there was one thing he knew about the lady, it was that she was notoriously reliable. When she had not returned after almost being gone for three hours, Ezra's grew concerned.
Especially when he was running back on forth along the counter, trying to serve drinks to thirsty and impatient customers who were well armed, without any complaint. His thoughts were filled with Inez. With Nathan requiring protection in the room above, Josiah could not leave to help Buck search the town for her and Ezra felt equally helpless, having to remain here to provide Josiah back up as well as run his business.
He wished Chris and the others would get back so that they could tear the town apart searching for Inez. Every time they seemed to defy things to get worse, it invariably did. Ezra was starting to wonder if this was god's twisted idea of a joke.
"Ezra." Buck said fighting his way through the crowd of drinkers to reach the counter.
"Any sign of her?" Ezra asked hopefully, even though everything in Buck's manner indicated otherwise.
"No." Buck shook his head, with an expression in his eyes Ezra had only seen once. It was the moment when Don Paulo claimed victory and stated that Inez was his to take out of Four Corners. Ezra had seen it then, that spark of fury so alien to Buck's nature that for a moment, the gambler thought Buck was going to shoot the Don right there and then.
He cared about Inez that much.
"This is ridiculous." Ezra exclaimed. "Why would they go after Inez? It does not make any sense."
Buck looked up at him and said softly. "Doesn't it?"
For a minute, Ezra did not understand and then it came to him. If there was one thing that Ezra and Buck Wilmington had in common, it was how they felt about Inez. Though the nature of their affection differed in its intimacy, it was no less potent.
Ezra loved her as well, but he loved her as a friend, a confidant who listened to him in his worse depressions before smacking him on the head and telling to get over it. Inez knew how to bring out the best in him because she believed there was something inside his jaded exterior worth saving. Such faith was too precious to be blighted by anything as fleeting as romantic love. Losing her would hurt, more than Ezra Standish dreamed possible.
"I hope Mr Larabee is not going to be much longer," Ezra said softly. "It appears it's going to be another long night."
"Why?" Chris asked stiffening with suspicion, trailing Vin and JD as he moved through the crowd and caught the tail end of Ezra's conversation with Buck.
"Inez is gone." Buck said turning around to face his old friend.
Immediately, the three arrivals tensed as Ezra went back to serving, allowing Buck to fill them in. "She went out a few hours ago and no one has seen her since."
"What do you mean no one?" Vin demanded. "This ain't that big a town."
"I'm telling you," Buck retorted sharply, wondering how he could be any clearer. "She's gone. She was going to the general store when she left here. Mrs Potter tells me she never got there!"
"Easy Buck." Chris said calming his friend down. Chris was perfectly aware of how Buck felt about Inez, even though he he acted like an idiot in front of her. Buck used to behave the same around another woman like that once and he'd almost married her. "We'll find Inez."
"I've looked everywhere Chris! No one has seen her! Hell, I even asked Mary! You've been out of town all day, you've no idea what's been happening!"
"Buck," JD quickly spoke up, possibly being the only one other than Chris who might be able to calm Buck down when he was this way. "We'll look again, I'll come with you."
Buck took a deep breath, aware he was starting to lose control of himself. He stared at JD with his earnest expression, who turned to him for guidance and knew he had to show a better example for the boy. JD looked up to him so much; he couldn't bear to disappoint him on top of everything else that was happening now.
"I'm sorry Chris," Buck said in a calmer tone. "Something really funny is going around town. It's like there are enemies everywhere."
"I think that's the plan." Chris pointed out. "Ezra. You stay here in case she comes back. We're going to take another look around town."
This was not just another rumour. It was becoming a full-blown scandal.
Mary Travis had come to this conclusion by the end of the day, following Victoria Kendall's visit. She decided to ignore the rumours and innuendo, attributing them to just more malicious gossip that had dogged her ever since Chris came riding into town. However, as the day progressed, it became terribly apparent it was more than just another rumour. She had three cancellations for advertisements in the Clarion News and at least a dozen for subscriptions. The cancellations came from people whom she had known for as long as she had lived in Four Corners, with little or no explanation.
While the cancellations had yet to seriously affect the paper's circulation numbers, it did leave her shaken. Mary could not bring herself to leave her office all day out from the fear of what might be waiting for her when she left. In truth, her reputation was not the end all and be all of everything, but she did not wish to see it sullied either. Mostly because it would damage the newspaper upon which her livelihood depended. The paper paid for her living in Four Corners; it was how Mary put Billy through school. Without it, she was a woman without income and without a husband for that matter.
She had not left the office because she was unwilling to deal with the glare of so many judgemental eyes waiting for her. Victoria Kendall was one of the more prominent people in town and if she knew about it, so did most of the community leaders in Four Corners. A group, Mary still hoped she was a part of.
More than anything, Mary wished Chris was here. She needed to talk to him. When she had gone to check up on Nathan a short time ago, he had yet to return from the reservation and Mary did not feel comfortable confessing such intimate difficulties in the light of Inez's apparent disappearance.
Mary prayed that her best friend's disappearance had nothing to do with the events of the last twenty-four hours. Nathan's shooting, the increased bounty on Vin Tanner's head and now Inez' disappearance, someone striking at the heart of the seven. It concerned Mary, someone with so much venom might have Inez in their power.
She went into the kitchen and was making herself some tea to steady her spiralling nerves when suddenly; she heard a tap on the back door. Mary thought it might have been Chris and hurried to open it. Even though he had a key, he still knocked unless he entered the premises late at night, as he had done early this morning. However, when she peered through the glass, Mary gasped and almost tore the door of its hinges as she swung it open.
"Oh my God." Mary exclaimed as her hand went to her mouth in horror.
"I didn't know where else to go." Inez whispered.
Mary was speechless as she stared at her friend whose face was covered in blood and bruises. One of her eyes was so swollen Mary didn't think she was able to see out of it. Inez's arm hung at an odd angle as if broken and she was shaking so hard as could barely remain on her feet. The clothes on her body were soiled with blood but Mary also noticed how they were torn as Inez held the tattered fabrics in place with her good arm. It was when Mary glimpsed sight of the blood running down her inner thigh, exposed by the great tear in her skirt, did Mary understand.
"Oh Inez!" Mary ran forward and took woman in her arms as Inez began to weep, ignoring the blood and the stench, the cause of which she knew without asking. Inez's resolve collapsed at that moment. Her body shuddered with the release of her ordeal. She sobbed into Mary's shoulder, with a shame so profound it could hardly be articulated to any accuracy.
"It's alright," Mary said taking the same tone she used with Billy, when he cut his finger and or had fallen. If only this, be mended with the same ease. "It will be okay Inez."
But even to Mary, the promise felt hollow.