Amnesty but First Penance

Nothing to be Scared of

Challenge October 2021

"Different kind of penance, ain't it, Lom?" asked Hannibal Heyes, looking up from the book he was reading to pass the time on the train.

Jedediah 'Kid' Curry moved his hat off of his eyes and stared at Marshal Lom Trevors waiting for the answer.

"Emmet Knoop holds stock in many of the railroads you two robbed. He wants a favor instead of an apology."

Heyes took his hat off, wiped his forehead with his bandana and swiped his hair back before deliberately settling his hat in place.

"Still weird, he wants us to spend the night in a graveyard?"

"Not a graveyard. A specific graveyard, The Remembrance in Prayer cemetery near his hometown of Emmetville, Wyoming."

"Still creepy, Lom." Curry's voice was low. "You can't tell me more?"

"You know the rules, boys. I can only tell you what the committee tells me. Mr. Knoop will tell you the details. Just needed you to bring your warm coats. Gets cold at night there." Lom's tone was firm and Heyes and Curry knew no more details were coming.

ASJ-ASJ-ASJ-ASJ

Emmet Knoop was younger than Heyes had figured, not much older than they were. Nervously fidgeting, he shook hands with the two ex-outlaws as he sized them up.

Speaking first, Heyes said, "Mr. Knoop, we're sorry we robbed your trains…"

Knoop waved him off. "You're not here for an apology, Mr. Heyes. I need your assistance," he finished firmly.

Turning to Lom, Knoop dismissed him. "Thank you, Marshal Trevors. You can come back tomorrow morning and have breakfast with these two."

"Sorry, sir, I need to know what they are going to be doing. We have some difficulties with some of the penances…" Lom let his voice trail off rather than explain.

"They will be spending the night in the cemetery." Knoop looked around and lowered his voice. "Hopefully they will tell the ghost of James McInerney that his daughter Winifred is alive and well and he does need to search for her anymore."

Heyes mouth fell open. Curry took a step back, saying, "We're goin' to talk to who? I thought Lom said we could sleep there."

"Come into my home and have a drink and I'll tell you a story," Knoop motioned to a nearby house.

Curry watched the man pour drinks for each of them. Finding it difficult to believe that this nervous man was rich enough to own so much railroad stock, Curry studied him closer. His clothes were of the finest cut and his fingernails clean. And he could not stop trembling each time the cemetery was mentioned.

Knoop sat in a chair near the ornate fireplace and motioned them to sit nearby. "I have a story to tell you that must go no further than this room. I've spent a small fortune trying to keep some quiet about it."

Knoop turned away from his company and stared into the fire. When he spoke, his voice was far away and monotonal.

"Four years ago, lightning struck a tree in town. In an instant, the tree was engulfed. The winds spread the fire quickly, from roof to roof. My friend and mentor, James McInerney, owned the general store and livery. His home was in the back of the store. The fire hit the livery first, and James raced there to save the horses. He had most of them out when he saw the roof of his home had caught fire and the second floor was destroyed quickly."

Curry thought he saw tears come unbeckoned to Knoop's eyes but they were quickly whisked away with a brush of his sleeve. There were moments of silence, then he continued.

"I met James as he came out of the livery. 'The house is burning!' he screamed at me pointing and we both ran to the front door. I knew James' wife and children were still in the house. As we got to the porch, his family ran right at us.

I was relieved until I heard James yelling, 'Jeannie's still in there!' Then looking around he added, 'And Winnie. I've got to get them out.'"

Knoop looked away from the fire to stare at the ex-outlaws. "Jeannie was his wife, Winnie, Winifred, his daughter, and my fiance."

"'Get them to safety,' James yelled at me pointing to his other children as he ran right into that burning house. Within a minute, the roof had collapsed and there were flames everywhere. I heard Jeannie scream and tried to get into the house but it was too hot. I couldn't breath, couldn't see, couldn't move.

"I didn't remember anything else until I woke up in the doctor's office two days later, my hands wrapped in bandages. James and Jeannie had died in that fire. They're buried side by side in the Remembrance of Prayer cemetery here in Emmetville."

"We're sorry for your loss, Mr. Knoop," Heyes spoke with the sorrow he felt at the story.

"Thank you," Knoop answered. "This brings me to why you are here."

Heyes leaned back in his chair while Curry leaned forward in his, both anxious for what he would tell them next.

Knoop continued, "Over the last six months there have been three different sightings of James' ghost at the cemetery, all at night on the twelfth of the month. None of the men who saw him knew him when he was alive. And none of them know each other."

"Excuse me, sir," interrupted Heyes. "Who are these men? Are you sure they don't know each other?"

Knoop nodded, "Yes, gentlemen, there is an advantage to having money. I hired private security firms to check them out. One was working as a gravedigger, he started a month after James died. The second was a drifter, got drunk and fell asleep on the graves. The last was last month. He works at a ranch in Colorado. He was delivering a payment for some cattle to our bank. He went into the cemetery because he thought he saw someone running through there in the dark. They all checked out. And I've paid them all for their silence. I stayed there twice on the twelfth but he never came. I concluded that he can only ask strangers."

Seeing nods from his listeners, Knoop continued, "They all reported the same thing. They saw a man fitting James' description wearing his burial suit. It was a very distinctive blue. The man kept repeating, 'I can't find Winnie. Would you help me find Winnie?'"

"And of course, since all the men were strangers, they did not know Winnie." Heyes figured out the problem.

Making some sense of the story, Curry asked, "His daughter, Winnie? The one who died in the fire?"

"Yes and no." answered Knoop.

"Winnie is his daughter but she did not die in the fire. She escaped out the back door. She heard the screams and tried to get back inside but the roof had collapsed and her way was blocked. Winnie is very much alive. We were married a year later and she has blessed me with a son and a daughter."

"So Winnie's alive and well?" Heyes thought out loud. "And her father's ghost thinks she's dead and comes looking for her?"

"Don't believe in ghosts." Curry said firmly but Heyes picked up something in his cousin's eyes that told him otherwise.

"Winnie is alive and making dinner in the kitchen." Knoop said. "Winnie, dear, would you come out here for a moment?"

"Apologies, I'm not dressed for company," said the woman who entered the room. Her light brown eyes were welcoming and mirrored in the small boy who trailed behind her.

The boy ran to his father in excitement. "Ma said I good. I can lick the cake bowl!" he exclaimed.

"Gentlemen, meet James," said Knoop, lifting the boy to his knee. "His little sister Jeannie is still down for her nap." Hugging his son, Knoop smiled at his wife. "And this is my wife, Winnie."

ASJ-ASJ-ASJ-ASJ

As dusk approached, Heyes and Curry stood at the entrance of the cemetery.

"Heyes, I'm not so sure about this."

"Come on, Kid. There's nothing to be scared of. Are you telling me you believe in ghosts?"

"Course not. Well, maybe. Gramma and Grampa Curry sure believed in them."

Nodding, Heyes smiled at the memory and slapped his cousin on the back. "That they did. And I loved to listen to his stories."

Neither had moved from the ornate iron gates of the cemetery. The evening shadows played off the gravestones and the wind was still.

"Well, let's find that bench Knoop mentioned," Kid said as he strode purposefully into the cemetery.

Curry heard Heyes start to laugh. "You mean that bench?" Pointing at a bench broken in the center with the seat laying on the ground.

"Knoop said we could sleep. The ghost will wake us like he did the others." Curry sat, leaning against a headstone, he stretched his legs out in front of him. He pulled his hat over his eyes and crossed his arms on his chest. In a few minutes, Heyes heard the regular breathing of Curry's sleep.

Sighing, Heyes started pacing. With the full moon, he could make out the names on the graves. Growing depressed at the number of children buried there, he decided the Kid had the right idea. Leaning against a headstone across from Curry, he directed his thoughts to the floorplan of the bank of Denver.

ASJ-ASJ-ASJ-ASJ

Jed Curry was no longer in the cemetery when he opened his eyes. He was staring into the Curry blue eyes of Grampa Curry. He could hear his ma and Gramma Curry cooking in the kitchen and he felt warm, cozy and protected.

"This is nice." he murmured to himself. He knew it was a dream but he seldom dreamed of the good times….the times when all felt right with the world.

"It is nice, Jed." Curry looked up sharply as his grandfather seemed to read his mind. "Enjoy it boy, these are the people that love you."

Grandpa Curry stood up as Gramma Curry entered the room. "And there's the woman who stole my heart."

With his gramma's laughter in his ears, Jed realized he was in the dining room of his Kansas home. He told himself he was a grown-up dreaming but it felt very real.

"Jeddie, your eyes look so much like your ma's." Gramma Curry reached up and gave him the kind of hug he remembered that smelled of desserts and mashed potatoes and felt like love.

"Gramma," he sighed, holding her close and breathing in her essence.

"Boy, let me go. I need to go help your ma cook dinner."

"Ma's here?" Jed asked, excited yet scared. His memory had only allowed him memories of her as he last saw her, bleeding, broken, shot, dead."

But he looked up and there she was as she was before. Tired, but smiling, singing and alive. "Ma," he choked out.

Looking back over her shoulder at him, she smiled the smile he knew she reserved for her only son. "Call your pa in, Jeddie. Then wash your hands and face. Dinner's almost ready."

Overwhelmed with love, Jed didn't move. This dream seemed so real. He refused to wake up.

Going to the back porch, Jed looked at the fields that spread out before him the way to the Heyes farm. "Pa, dinner." he yelled and was rewarded by a wave from the man in the corn field to his right.

"Jed, you're looking good, boy," Tom Curry said warmly, slapping his son on the back as they entered the house.

Sitting at the family dinner table, Jed felt happy. His happiness was followed quickly by guilt and remorse. He and Heyes had gone down the wrong path. At the time he was so proud to be one of the leaders of the infamous Devil's Hole Gang. He had enjoyed the money, the fame and the life until he didn't. Now that they have gone straight, it was a habit. A habit that he liked. With their amnesty, he now looked forward to building a life without being chased.

"Jed. Jed!" He found himself in the living room of their Kansas farmhouse, sitting in his father's chair across from Grandpa Curry. The fire was stoked and warm and his parent's wedding portrait in a silver frame adorned the mantle. Like everything else here, that picture was lost in the fire that the raiders had set that day...that day."

"Jed, are you listening to me?"

Grandpa Curry's voice broke through Jed's thoughts. Smiling at the old man, he answered, "Every word, Grandpa Curry."

"We all know what you were thinking about at dinner instead of enjoying your ma's cooking."

"Ma always did make the best fried chicken I ever tasted and the best cornbread. And that apple walnut pie tasted even better than I remembered." Jed took a deep breath and the scent of apples and cinnamon filled him with a sense of home. "I can still smell it."

Grandpa Curry fingered something he had taken out of his pocket. "Jed, everyone here loves you. We have watched Han and you grow up and grieved that you faced life alone." He handed Jed the compass in his hand, the hand was spinning wildly, pointing in all directions.

"It's broken." Jed said sadly.

"No, boy. Your life is like that compass, all whirlly and out of control. For a long time you two were pointing in the wrong direction."

Jed stared into the old blue eyes lecturing him. "Yes, sir," he admitted.

His grandpa's blue eyes started to smile as he grinned at his grandson. "But now, like that compass you both are pointing true North."

"But it's broken."

"Is it?"

Looking down at the compass, Jed saw it was pointing straight north."It's working!"

"It was mine from my pa." Grandpa Curry reached over and turned the compass over to show him the inscription. "E. T. Curry. So you never lose your way."

Fighting tears, Jed went over and knelt next to his grandpa's chair and hugged him. In return, he got a mountain of a hug, like the ones he remembered as a child.

"It's yours now, Jed. Take care of it. Your paths are not going to be easy but stay the course true north, stay close with your cousin, help each other and you will be successful in your lives."

"Grandpa?"

"It's time for you to go now, Jed. Han is calling you."

Jed felt someone kick his foot. "Jed! Jed, wake up."

Staring at his cousin through the moonlight, Jed opened his eyes in the Remembrance in Prayer cemetery. Heyes was looking straight ahead at moving lights that coalesced into the ghost of a man.

"I need to find Winifred." The spectre said urgently. "Have you seen my Winnie? She doesn't seem to be here."

Jed was on his feet instantly, all traces of his dream erased. Nudging his cousin's arm, he pointed to the searching ghost.

Heyes stood tall and took a deep breath. "Mr. McInerney," he started with a bit of a tremble in his voice. Jed reflected that he had never heard a tremble in Heyes' voice before, even when he was addressing the infamous Devil's Hole Gang.

"Mr. McInerney," Heyes repeated and this time the spectre turned to face them directly. "Your daughter, Winnie, is not here. She is not dead."

Watching the spectre twirl into lights and then form into a man again, Jed took a step back.

"Then." The word seemed to take minutes to form. "Where is she?"

Watching Heyes try to smile, Jed imitated him.

"She married Emmet Knoop and lives in his house. You have two grandchildren, a boy named James and a girl named Jeannie. She's very happy.' Heyes told him as fast as he could.

Again, the lights twirled before them although this time they grew smaller. "Thank you. You have set my spirit free to rest," he said and was gone.

Heyes and Jed didn't move for a moment. Heyes was still trembling and trying to gain control.

"You're right, Heyes, nothin' to be scared of here."

Heyes turned to Jed and putting both hands on his shoulders leaned on him for a moment to regain his composure. Looking up, he noticed something.

"Kid, is that the gravestone you were leaning against?" Heyes pointed to where Jed had been resting with a tremble back in his hand.

Looking over, Jed saw the word CURRY carved as the first line on the stone. The second line read simply BELOVED. The other lines were too worn to be read.

Smiling, Jed repeated, "Nothin' to be scared of here." as he touched the precious compass now resting in his shirt pocket.

"Come on, Kid, let's go find a nice soft hotel bed." Heyes says heading out of the cemetery. Turning back, he said, "I smell the most delicious apples and cinnamon. Do you?"