Kid Curry lay supine across the the wrought iron hotel bed, his left hand and foot dangling off the edge of the mattress. On the floor beneath his hand lay a crumpled telegram. His right hand, resting on his chest held a nearly spent bottle of whiskey. Glossy, drunken eyes, oblivious to everything but the reason for his drinking, stared at a yellowed stain on the ceiling above him.
He didn't respond to the knock on the door,nor the sound of his name being whispered loudly from the hallway. When he heard the turn of the key, his hand did not go instinctively to his gun. He didn't acknowledge the arrival of his partner, Hannibal Heyes, who was two days late arriving at their designated rendezvous.
Hannibal Heyes entered the room, shutting the door behind him. He tossed his saddlebags on the empty bed and peeled off his coat as he began his well practiced apology and explanation for being late.
"Kid, I'm sorry, but the river was flooded and I..." Heyes stopped mid sentence when he turned and saw Kid sprawled across the bed, near empty whiskey bottle in tow.
"You alright, Kid?" Heyes asked as he approached Kid's bed. "What's wrong?"
Slowly Kid's eyes moved from the ceiling to his partner. "Where you been, Heyes?" Kid asked, his speech slurred and slow.
"Why are you drunk?" Heyes asked.
Kid held out his empty hand. "Read this," he muttered.
"Read what, Kid? You're showing me an empty hand," Heyes replied with exasperation in his voice.
Kid brought his hand close to his face for inspection. "I must have dropped it."
Heyes looked down at the floor and spied the crumpled telegram. "You mean this?" he asked as he picked it up and smoothed the wrinkles from the paper.
"Read it," Kid repeated.
Governor canceled amnesty. Stop. Lom, Heyes read. "What's this about? Why is the amnesty canceled?"
"Don't you really mean how the hell did you screw this up, Kid?" Kid slurred.
"You too drunk to explain this, Kid?" Heyes asked.
"Working on it," Kid replied and took the last, hefty swig of the remaining whiskey.
Heyes whipped the bottle from Kid's hand. Kid was to drunk to protest.
Heyes swung Kid's legs off the bed and grabbed his shoulders to pull Kid up to sit on the edge of the bed. Kid tottered, but Heyes held him tightly until he was steady.
"Stop it. Heyes! What are you doing?" Kid shouted.
"I don't care how drunk you are, you're telling me what this is about!" Heyes shouted, wadding the telegram and throwing it in Kid's face.
"What are you yelling at me for? You're the one that's got splaining to to do," Kid retorted.
"What the hell are you talking about?" Heyes demanded.
"It's all right there," Kid said, pointing to the empty bed.
"Where?"
Kid slowly looked at the bed. "Where did I put that?" he mumbled before sliding one hand under the pillow and retrieving the folded newspaper. He held it out to Heyes.
"Here, it's right here."
Heyes snatched the newspaper from Kid's outstretched hand.
Devil's Hole Gang Robs Phoenix Bank, Heyes read. His eyes then fell to a smaller headline just below.
Eye Witness Identifies Leader as Hannibal Heyes.
"Now read the third paragraph," Kid said.
An injured victim identified as Mark Granger, reported being shot by the infamous Jed, "Kid," Curry. Granger stated Curry was the last of six men to enter the bank and the last to leave. Granger further stated that as Curry left the bank, he turned, looked and Granger and smiled before shooting Granger in the left shoulder.
Heyes checked the date of the newspaper. "This paper is three days old," he said.
"Got the telegram yesterday," Kid replied.
Heyes' mind was racing. "It's too late to telegraph Lom tonight. We'll do that first thing in the morning."
Kid's eyes closed and flopped back down on the bed, his legs still dangling off the edge. Heyes reached down and lifted Kid's legs onto the mattress and pulled a blanket over him.
While Kid slept off the alcohol, Heyes remained awake all night. He read and reread the newspaper, paced the room, sat on his bed devising a plan, paced the room again, discarded the plan, paced the room. This cycle went on for hours.
Heyes was waiting at the telegraph office when it opened. "I need to send this right away. I'll wait for a reply," Heyes said and after paying for the telegram, he sat down on a bench and waited. Fifteen minutes later, the reply arrived.
Come to Porterville now. The telegram was not signed.
Heyes picked up the horses from the livery and led them to the hotel where he tethered them to the post. He headed up to the room to waken Kid.
"Wake up, Kid," Heyes demanded, shaking Kid's shoulders and bouncing Kid on the mattress.
"What are you doing to me?" Kid snarled and tried to scoot away from Heyes' grip.
"Wake up. We're going to Porterville."
"Stop it, Heyes!" Kid grumbled.
Heyes swung Kid's legs off the bed once again and grabbed him by the shoulders to pull him upright. The room spun and Kid's hands splayed on the mattress for support.
"You don't stop it, I'm going to shoot you," Kid threatened.
Heyes released his grip from Kid's shoulders, but did not distance himself. "Lom says we have to go to Porterville right away," Heyes explained.
Kid's hands cautiously moved from the mattress to his temples. His head was pounding.
"He's just going to arrest us, Heyes," Kid said.
"I thought of that, but I think we have to risk it. I also think we'll go to Porterville by way of Devil's Hole."
"What for?" Kid asked, rubbing his temples and trying to calm his throbbing head.
"Well, the paper was wrong about you and me. I'm guessing they might be wrong about the Devil's Hole gang as well."
"You know we're going to wear out our welcome there, Heyes. We're not part of them anymore. We can't just keep going parading in there."
"I think we have to, Kid. Now get your things packed up. I've got the horses outside."
"I'm going to need coffee, Heyes. I can't ride all day with my head feeling like this."
Heyes nodded. "Well, be quick about it. We've got a day's riding to do."
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They reached the first check point to Devil's Hole late in the afternoon and brought their horses to a halt.
"I sure hope someone we know is on watch," Heyes said and fired the three customary shots into the air.
"Who goes there?" came a familiar voice.
"Heyes and Curry," Heyes shouted to Wheat. Curry cringed at the shouting and gunfire.
"Well I'll be damned," Wheat replied. "Come on in, boys!"
Heyes gave Wheat a wave of acknowledgment and he and Kid spurred their horses up the path. They waited for Wheat at the fork in the path.
"How you been, boys?" Wheat asked as he met them.
"Well, we ain't been shot or arrested in three months, so I guess you could say we're doing well," Kid replied.
"You looked a little peaked, Kid." Wheat remarked.
Kid nodded slowly but didn't look up. "Rough night," he explained.
"What's the leader doing on watch?" Heyes asked.
"Little thin on men right now," Wheat explained.
"Out on a job are they?" Heyes asked as the three rode slowly toward camp.
"Why would you want to know?" Wheat asked.
"Just asking," Kid replied.
"Okay if we spend the night?" Heyes asked.
Wheat nodded. "You hiding? You two done something?"
"We'll talk when we get to the cabin," Heyes replied.
When they reached Devil's Hole, Wheat spied Kyle outside of the bunkhouse. And shouted to him to come over.
"Hey Kid. Hey Heyes," Kyle said smiling broadly, exposing tobacco stained teeth.
"Hey, Kyle," Heyes replied. Kid just nodded.
"Take the horses to the barn, Kyle," Wheat said as the three men dismounted.
"You look a little peaked, Kid," Kyle said as he took the reins.
"Do tell, Kyle," Kid responded.
Wheat, Kid, and Heyes walked into the leader's cabin.
Heyes smiled. "I always get a good feeling when I walk in here."
Kid was hit with the smell of sweat and something very much like horse manure and his stomach protested with a wave of nausea. He swallowed hard and sat down in the nearest chair.
"Got any coffee?" Heyes asked.
Wheat put a pot of left over coffee on the top of the wood burning stove and he and Heyes sat down at the table. "So, what brings you here?" Wheat asked.
Heyes pulled the newspaper out of his shirt and tossed it on the table. "This," he replied. "Devil's Hole involved in this?" Heyes asked.
Wheat shook his head as he read the article. "Weren't us, Heyes. We wouldn't travel clear to Phoenix to rob a bank. It's too far away."
"What about the fellows you said aren't here right now?"
"There just down in Tinsley for a couple of days, having a little fun. We ain't robbed nothing for two months."
Wheat got up and poured coffee. "Kid, you want coffee?"
Kid nodded, his chin resting on his chest as he took slow steady breaths to abate the nausea.
"We didn't think the story sounded like it was on the up and up, but it still presents Kid and me with a problem."
"What kind of problem?" Wheat asked, doling out the cups of coffee."
"The Governor's revoked out bid for amnesty. We have to get this straightened out or we'll never get pardoned."
"Anything we can do to help?" Wheat asked.
Heyes smiled at Wheat. "You already have, Wheat, letting us sleep here tonight and telling us none of you was involved in that robbery."
"Well, one of you can have that cot over there. The other will have to sleep in a chair or the bunkhouse."
"Chair will be fine, Wheat. Kid can have the cot."
"I'm cracking that window next to the cot," Kid groaned.
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"Heyes, it's locked!" Kid whispered with frustration in his voice as he stood in the alley outside of Lom's office.
"What?" Heyes asked from just inside the alley, keeping a careful watch on the street.
"The side door, it's locked." Kid said through gritted teeth.
Heyes uttered an exasperated sigh. "Now Lom decides to take your advice and lock the door?"
"Must be expecting us."
Heyes leaned against the brick wall of the sheriff's office. His shoulders sagged as he contemplated their next move. Suddenly his eyes brightened and he straightened and looked at Kid. "Come on, we're leaving."
"Leaving?"
"We'll meet Lom at his house."
Kid smiled. He always approved of avoiding the inside of a jail.
Lom Trevers lived about a mile outside of Porterville. He had left the jail for his home around midnight. As he led his horse into a stall in his barn, Lom heard the familiar click of a gun. Lom dropped the reins and turned around to see Hannibal Heyes standing a mere ten feet away.
"Hello, Lom," Heyes said smiling.
"Took you long enough to get here. Where's Kid?"
Heyes pointed a finger upward. Lom raised his eyes and saw Kid sitting on the edge of the loft, his feet resting on the third rung of the ladder. Kid's gun remained cocked and pointed at Lom, but Kid smiled and tipped his hat.
"You can put the gun away, Kid. I know you two didn't rob the Phoenix bank," Lom said.
"You know it for a fact, or you know it because you know us?" Heyes asked.
"Because I know the two of you."
"Okay, Kid. You can put your gun away," Heyes said.
Kid holstered his gun and climbed down the ladder.
"Let's go inside," Lom suggested.
"Did you come by train or horse?" Lom asked when they entered the house.
"Horse, why?" Heyes asked.
"Because that robbery occurred five days ago. You couldn't have gotten all the way here by horse. Where are they?"
"Out behind your barn."
"Well you might as well move them into the barn. You can stay here while you're in town. Don't go into Porterville. If you're recognized, I'll have to arrest you."
"We stopped at Devil's Hole on our way here. None of them were involved in that robbery either," Heyes told Lom.
"Everybody was accounted for in Devil's Hole?" Lom asked.
"Lom, we ain't been part of the Hole in three years. We don't know who all lives there, but Wheat said he knew where everybody was and no one was in Phoenix," Kid explained.
"I sent a telegram this morning to the sheriff in Phoenix. He wired me back and said this Granger fellow has only been in town for about a month. The day of the robbery was just his third day on the job. It happened at noon when half the employees were out to lunch. Granger was the only teller working a window."
Did he give you a description of this Granger?" Heyes asked.
Lom nodded. "Short, kind of portly, dark hair, green eyes, and one of the eyes is a wondering eye."
"What's a wondering eye?" Kid asked.
"One eye don't stay still, moving all the time," Heyes explained.
"That'd be kind of distracting I would think," Kid replied.
"Does the sheriff think he might have been in on the robbery?"
"He didn't say, but it stands to reason," Lom replied. "He did say he's going through all his wanted posters."
"We're going to have to travel to Phoenix, ain't we?" Kid asked.
"It does seem that way," Heyes replied.
"When we leaving?"
"Not much point hanging around here any longer. Guess we leave in the morning."
"I figured you'd be saying that," Lom said. "I booked three tickets on tomorrow's train. It'll get us there faster than on horse."
Heyes smiled. "You coming, Lom?"
Lom nodded. "I want you two cleared almost as much as you do. After all, I recommended you two for amnesty. I don't want the governor thinking I am a bad judge of character."
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Heyes, you got a plan for when we get to Phoenix?" Kid asked as they rode the train westward.
"Well, the first thing is I think Lom should check in with the sheriff there to see if he's gotten any more clues or information."
"Then what?" Kid asked.
"Then it might be wise to pay this Granger a visit."
"All of us?"
"No, I think just maybe you and me, Kid. I think Lom might come in useful later."
"For what?" Lom asked.
Heyes smiled. For making an arrest if things go according to plan."
When they arrived in Phoenix, they got a hotel room with two beds, as Heyes and Kid were used to sharing a bed and Lom could have the other one. Once settled in their room, Lom paid the Phoenix sheriff a visit.
"I'm Lom Trevers," Lom explained to the sheriff when he walked into the Phoenix jail. "I believe you and I have shared a telegram or two this past week."
The sheriff stood up from his desk and extended his hand. "Tom Barkley," the sheriff said. "Didn't expect you to be paying me a visit."
"Well, long story, but I happen to have an interest in finding answers to this robbery. You see, I happen to know Curry and Heyes weren't in Phoenix at the time of the robbery. I don't want to see them getting blamed for something they didn't do."
"I had to wonder when Granger identified Heyes and Curry. I haven't heard of any activity from those two for a couple of years. I figure they must have found greener pastures in Mexico or somewhere."
"You got any new information since I last heard from you?" Lom asked.
"Not much other than Granger says he's not staying in Phoenix. I told him he has to till I'm done investigating. I put a deputy on guard watching his house."
"You think he may have been in on the robbery?"
"I'm thinking that's a possibility. Don't got no proof as yet."
"I brought a couple of men with me. You mind if a couple of us have a chat with Granger?"
"Don't mind at all. I just expect you to be as free with information with me as I have been with you."
"I'll do that, Tom. Now, where can I find this Granger fellow?"
"At a boarding house on the south end of town, next to the Willow Rock Saloon."
"Thank you, Sheriff. I'll keep you posted."
"I'll let my deputy know that Granger will be getting visitors."
Late in the afternoon, Heyes and Kid knocked on the door of the boarding house. A middle aged, stocky woman answered the door.
"May I help you?"
"Yes Ma'am. My name is Joshua Smith. This is my partner Thaddeus Jones. We were told that you rent rooms reasonably priced and were hoping you had a vacancy."
"How long are you expecting to rent the room?" the woman asked.
Heyes looked at Kid. "Oh, a week perhaps. We're here looking at purchasing a small ranch in the Phoenix area. I wouldn't suppose it would take much longer than that."
The woman smiled. "Well, I have two empty rooms. I can show them to you."
Heyes smiled. "Thank you Ma'am."
The woman led them up the stairs to the second floor.
"How many guests do you have right now?" Heyes asked.
"Just three," she replied, opening the door to a vacant room and letting Heyes and Kid enter.
"This room got a neighbor?" Kid asked while flashing blue eyes at the woman.
"Mr. Crenshaw. He's an elderly man who rents the room permanently. He's very quiet," she assured Kid.
"How about the two across the hall. Are they quiet?"" Heyes asked.
"Oh, certainly. Mr. Rutherford is a businessman who always stays here when he visits Phoenix, and poor Mr. Granger is recuperating from an injury. He stays in his room mostly. Just comes out for meals.
"What do you charge by the night?" Kid asked
"For two people, it would be a dollar and twenty-five cents but that includes breakfast and supper."
Kid looked at Heyes and gave an approving nod.
"This room will do nicely, Mrs...?"
"Hannigan."
"Mrs. Hannigan. Heyes smiled and reached into his best pocket and handed Mrs. Hannigan the money.
"I'll need you to come back down stairs and register."
"I'll take care of that Joshua," Kid said and added a sweet smile to his flash of blue eyes directed toward the woman.
Despite her age, Mrs. Hannigan couldn't keep from blushing. "Oh, that would be fine Mr. Jones."
"I'll be back in a few minutes, Joshua," Kid said and followed the woman down the stairs.
Heyes just smiled and shook his head as he watched them head down the stairs. Kid could charm a snake right out of its skin, so long as it was a female snake, Heyes thought.
"Well?" Kid asked when he returned to the room.
"Well, it's a fifty-fifty guess, but I got the feeling Granger's room is right across the hall."
"I thought so too. Might as well just go knock and find out."
Kid stood against the wall while Heyes knocked on the door.
"Who is it?" a voice called from inside the room.
Heyes knocked again and this time he heard footsteps approaching from inside.
"Who is it?" the voice asked again.
"You're neighbor across the hall. Just wondering about the meal times, whether there's a curfew, you know, basic tenet things."
The door opened a crack but the chain lock remained in place. Heyes shifted his weigh to place his foot in the doorway.
"I'd like to have a word with you, Mr. Granger," Heyes said, looking directly into Granger's eyes.
"Who are you?" Granger asked nervously.
With that Granger heard the click of Kid's gun being cocked and Kid stepped into view."
"Now, Mr. Granger," Kid said, leaving no room for argument. "Unlatch the door, or I'll bust it in."
Granger took a step back and unlocked the door. Heyes and Kid stepped inside. Kid closed the door behind them.
Heyes smiled pleasantly at Granger, trying to off-set Kid's intimidation a bit.
"Please, have a seat Mr. Granger. I can see you are wounded. I wouldn't want you to tire yourself out."
Granger looked at Kid who still held his gun in his hand. Kid nodded to a chair and Granger sat down.
"What's going on? Who are you?" Granger asked.
"I'm Joshua Smith and this is Thaddeus Jones. We've read that you claim you were shot during a bank robbery led by Hannibal Heyes and what's-his-name."
Kid's face did not reveal his exasperation.
"Yea. So?" Granger said.
"Well you see, Mr. Smith and I happen to know Curry and that other fella," Kid said. "In fact, we were with them at the time of the robbery. We can vouch for the fact that they weren't anywhere near that bank."
"Then why haven't you?" Granger asked.
"Oh, we have," Heyes replied. "You see Sheriff Lom Trevers of Wyoming also knows Heyes and Curry, as well as Thaddeus and me. He's on his way to Phoenix now to let Sheriff Barkley know about the little discrepancy in your story."
"What do you want from me?"
"Truth," Kid replied.
"At gunpoint?"
Heyes looked at Kid and shrugged and Kid uncocked his gun and holstered it.
"Now, the truth."
Granger looked nervously from Heyes to Curry. "I wasn't involved, I swear."
"Then why did you identify Heyes and Curry?"
"One of the men in the gang that robbed the bank...is my brother. I couldn't implicate my brother, even when I knew what he was doing was wrong."
"Who's your brother?" Kid asked.
"My name ain't really Granger."
"Ain't what I asked you."
Granger was obviously very nervous and fearful. "William Bonney."
Kid's eyes grew very wide with surprise. "William Bonney is your brother?"
Granger nodded anxiously.
Kid uttered a whistle. "That might explain why you lied."
"Who's William Bonney?" Heyes asked.
"You probably know him by a different name, Heyes... Billy The Kid."
"The outlaw?" Heyes asked.
"Heyes?" Granger asked with obvious trepidation. "So you're...?"
Kid tipped his hat. "I'm what's-his-name."
"Oh, Lord," Granger moaned.
"Does anybody go by their real names, anymore?" Heyes asked rhetorically.
Kid sighed. "I'll go get Lom while you keep Granger company."
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Kid, Heyes, and Lom stood on the train platform waiting for the train to begin taking passengers.
"So, what's going to happen to Granger?" Heyes asked Lom.
"What he did is aiding and abetting, so he'll likely get a year or two sentence. But Billy The Kid would shoot his own mother if he thought it would benefit him. Sheriff Barkley thinks under the circumstances that, being that he had a legitimate fear of being killed himself, and he has no criminal record, the sentence will likely get suspended.
"And the Devil's Hole gang is cleared of any suspicion?"
Lom nodded. "Every law man in the west knows Billy The Kid has never been anywhere near Devil's Hole. People seem to think even Billy the Kid knows he can't outdraw What's-his-name."
Heyes smiled mischievously. Kid just rolled his eyes and sighed.
"You're sure the governor will reinstate out amnesty deal?" Kid asked.
Lom nodded. No reason why he wouldn't since neither of you were involved in that robbery.
"Lom, we probably don't say it often enough, but Kid and I really do appreciate all the help you're giving us toward getting this amnesty."
Lom smiled. "Just part of the loyalty among thieves, boys."