Barroom Confrontations

AN: David Cook was marshal in Denver in the 1870s but I don't know for certain he was Matt's counterpart in CO. Sheriff Collins and his unnamed predecessor are from my imagination as are Collins' deputies.

After the men left Kitty helped Laura clean up from the meal. A wife and mother was expected to spend most of her time at home looking after her children but a single woman, even one with a steady fellow for the past eight years, was free to follow the men to the saloon. It was her choice though some found it improper. In Kitty's case it was a business where she wouldn't feel out of place. Also, it would spare her hostess having to fuss if she ate either in the hotel dining room or saloon. However, the overriding reason for heading down the path through the yard and the gate into the hotel garden was to see if Matt might be one of the last people eating in the hotel dining room. Such a big man would need fuel before coming face to face with someone who wanted him dead. Kitty had a premonition her man would face Borden tonight unless she could talk him out of it.

The redhead made her way through the hotel lobby into the corridor that led to the dining room and, not seeing Matt there, into the saloon. She was so focused on getting to the barroom to try to prevent what she was certain would otherwise be an inevitable gunfight that the red-haired woman failed to realize Cope Borden had been following her from the moment she stepped into the narrow hallway between the hotel proper and the saloon. Borden had been sitting in the lobby pretending to read a newspaper but actually was watching for her. He was certain if she appeared Matt Dillon would be packing iron to face him. All he need do was time taking hold of her just right for his plan to work.

Cope waited until the redheaded beauty he found even more attractive than when he first spotted her all those years ago was in sight of her destination. He timed things so she could see Dillon talking to Pence while the man he wanted dead was still unaware he was about to lose his girl along with his life. Things were just like they'd been in Dodge only the redhead wasn't waiting tables, behind the bar or otherwise entertaining men. Kitty went directly toward where her big man was just as she would have in Dodge City. Borden sprang, his timing perfect.

Matt was leaning against the bar, a beer in his hand, watching the crowd when he noticed Borden grab the woman he loved. In a flash he put down the glass and stepped into an open area. He faced the man who had taken hold of Kitty so no innocent bystanders stood between him and his adversary, calling out so Borden knew he'd been spotted doing the unacceptable.

"Let her go!" he growled, taking a gunman's stance. "You've got what you want."

"Sounds like you're calling me, Dillon," Borden replied, satisfied he'd achieved his goal. "I'm ready for you," he stated suddenly releasing Kitty from his grasp and shoving her aside with his left arm. In one continuous motion his right hand flitted down toward his holster before Kitty caught her balance no more than a foot away from him.

Matt's reaction was as fluid as Borden's. His eyes simultaneously saw Kitty was out of the line of fire and Borden's hand move to draw and fire the pistol at his hip. The big man from Dodge was a split second quicker. Faster than the eye could follow he drew and fired, thankful that his vision was crystal clear when it counted. Cope Borden lay dead on the saloon floor.

Sheriff Collins stepped inside the room in time to hear Borden claim the now armed and obviously quite capable Dodge City man had called him out. The one Borden had complained about had killed him in a natter of seconds.

"I'll take that gun, mister," he ordered, hoping this skilled gunman didn't resist. "We need to talk."

Matt handed over his Colt just as Kitty approached the two lawmen and Bill walked around the corner of the bar. "It's a bit noisy in here. Perhaps we can talk in the hotel lobby," Matt calmly stated.

"We'll stay here for now. Take that empty chair where I can keep an eye on you while I get a sense of what went down from Pence's customers," the sheriff commanded, pointing to the seat at a nearby table that was visible from all parts of the saloon.

Dillon took the indicated chair at the empty table. The men and girls previously sitting there had vacated the spot and moved to where a stray bullet wouldn't find them. Kitty and Bill joined Matt while the sheriff patrolled the area asking questions. It didn't take Collins long to read the room. He strode over to the table where the three sat waiting.

"Pence, I'll get a statement from you later," the sheriff told the owner. "Just one thing before you go back to tending bar. Do you know this redhead?"

"I'd say so. Kitty Russell was my business partner back in Dodge," he replied. "She's staying at the house with me and Laura."

"In that case Miss Russell no need for you to come with me. All I need is for you to remain available to shed further light on the shooting. Big man, walk with me to my office," he barked to Matt.

It took 20 minutes to walk the mile and a half to the jailhouse. Dillon matched his stride with Collins without complaint. If the sheriff felt more comfortable talking in his office he had no problem with it. Matt took the chair next to the man's desk and waited for him to take a seat behind it. The questions would start as soon as the sheriff felt ready. The marshal from Dodge noticed the man's right hand rested on the butt of his gun. He also observed that, after a nod from his boss, the deputy he'd met at the pool hall took up a position next to a table in a direct line to Matt's chair a rifle cocked and ready for use. From experience he knew the barrel, pointed toward the floor for now, would be raised to put a bullet into him if he made the slightest move.

"We'll start with the basics," Collins began, knowing his prisoner had no choice but to give his full attention whether or not he chose to answer. "What's your name and where are you from?"

Matt had no problem answering those first questions. It became more complicated when the sheriff began asking about Kitty. He tried to be truthful without revealing too much about their relationship. That was private. Even their closest friends knew only that they were seriously involved. Dillon assumed Sheriff Collins was aware he was talking to the US Marshal from Kansas. They hadn't met before but had exchanged telegrams. He was wrong.

"Okay, you're from Dodge and so is Kitty Russell. I get that," Collins stated. "I'm sure you spent time talking to her when she was Bill Pence's partner. It stands to reason other men did too and found her very attractive. Heck, I do despite being a married man. I'd like to know where Cope Borden fits in. Did you both happen to spot and try to win her over once you got to Pueblo? I got Borden's version before I saw that quiet confrontation in Le Bistro but couldn't tell why he was the one who left. Still, it was enough for me to sense trouble brewing."

"You're right Sheriff. Borden and I go back nearly eight years to a hot August day when I stopped him from being lynched. We didn't part on friendly terms," Matt stated. "Let's just say his attitude toward those around him created friction with just about everyone in Dodge. He found it funny that a lawman saved him by challenging normally law abiding respectable citizens with a shotgun."

"I'm getting a clearer picture now," Collins mused. "This is what I think happened. "You and Borden were rivals for Miss Russell's attentions all those years ago. The rivalry was renewed when the three of you met by chance at Pence's business compound. Maybe she preferred neither but you'd had enough and strapped on iron to await your chance. He gave it to you when he walked into the saloon with Miss Russell. Dillon, I think Borden hoped you weren't the faster gun or would miss. You'll rest in one of my cells while I confirm your story, including you hinting that you have some connection to a badge."

Matt, now locked in a cell, heard Collins send his deputy off and the sheriff leave for home when the night deputy arrived. Sheriff Collins stuck his head inside the open door leading to the cells to let his prisoner know he'd interview Kitty and Bill and Laura Pence after his own supper. However, he assured the Dodge visitor, before locking away access to the cells, that his accommodation would remain the same until Marshal David Cook in Denver replied to a telegram. Cook would confirm by his description that the large man sitting in a Pueblo cell wasn't an imposter.

All Dillon could do was try to get comfortable on the too small bottom bunk in his cell. He saw Sheriff Collins as a dedicated lawman guided by caution. Cook would confirm his identity as the United States Marshal for Kansas with headquarters in Dodge City. The question in his mind was would speaking with Kitty and the Pences be enough to prevent him being tried for Cope Borden's murder?