Lawman
Chapter 4
It was evening of the following day when Matt Dillon arrived in Garden City. The trip had been fairly easy with three short layovers for a change of horses. He had spent most of the time lying back in the corner of the seat with his hat pulled over his eyes. It gave him chance to think and also to catch up on some sleep. For most of the journey there was only himself and two other passengers so there was plenty of room, and no one seemed interested in trying to start a conversation.
He retrieved his carpet bag from the driver who had taken over from Burke at the second relay station, then made his way to the City Marshal's office. Garden City was similar to Dodge in that most of the buildings were made of wood. There were several saloons, a small hotel and a bank, but overall it was not as big as Dodge. The railroad hadn't got here yet and generally the atmosphere was less hectic than Front Street. He had been here several times before but not for the past three or four years, certainly not since Doug Hamilton had been the law.
The jail was a lone wooden building at the end of the street. Its only distinguishing feature was a beautifully carved oak door with a large window to one side. There were bars across the window as on his own office back in Dodge. He opened the door carefully and caught a glimpse of a young man with a rifle cradled in his lap. His feet were propped up on the desk and he looked to be asleep. Apparently he had heard the door open and hastily dropped his feet to the floor and stood up, pointing the weapon at Dillon.
"Just stay where you are," the young man said in a somewhat shaky voice.
In response Matt raised his hands slightly and spoke quietly.
"You can relax, I'm the United States Marshal out of Dodge City, I've been sent to take charge of the prisoner. If you let me undo my coat you'll see my badge." The young man was unsure, but the way this tall man carried himself told him that he was used to being obeyed.
"All right, but no sudden moves or I'll fire."
"I don't think you want to do that." Matt showed his badge and then carefully took the arrest warrant from his pocket and handed it to the young man to read.
"That looks official, but I'll need to check with Mr. Etheridge – he's in charge of the town council."
"Well you go do that." Matt reached over and retrieved his paper. "Meantime give me the keys – I need to talk to Mr. Hamilton."
"I'm not sure I should do that."
"It'll be all right, I'm taking over here."
The young man felt somewhat intimidated by this newcomer, and didn't know how he should act. In the end he showed him where the keys where and hurried out of the office.
Matt took the keyring and went back to the cells. Hamilton saw him coming.
"Matt, I don't believe it, are you here to rescue me? I need to get out of this place before the town gets set on a lynching.'
"There'll be no lynching Doug."
He unlocked the cell and stepped inside, taking a seat on the cot next to his old friend.
"Let's get out of here, fast, before that young idiot gets back. You got horses outside?"
"No Doug, we're not running anywhere. They sent me here to arrest you and see that you get a fair trial."
"You know, Matt, there is no way I will get a fair trial here in this town. There are people here who never did like the law and now suddenly they have a been given an excuse to get rid of it."
Matt lifted a hand and tapped his friend on the shoulder – "We'll get through this Doug. Tomorrow I'd like to go out and look at the place where the body was found. Meantime I need you to tell me everything you know."
They were interrupted when the outer door opened and a beautiful young woman with dark eyes and lustrous flowing dark hair entered. He felt his friend's mood change instantly at the sight of her.
"Matt this is my wife Gina." Matt stood and couldn't help but stare at the young woman who was carrying a large basket covered with a checkered cloth. He could smell the food without even lifting the cover.
"Gina this is my old friend Marshal Matt Dillon. He's here to help us."
"Pleased to meet you Ma'am," the Marshal managed to say.
She placed the basket on the small table in the cell and stood back to bestow one of the most seductive smiles Matt had ever seen."
"I've heard my husband talk about you Marshal Dillon, I hope you can help us."
"I'm going to do my best ma'am," Matt replied, barely able to take his eyes of this beautiful woman who had to be at least ten years younger than Doug. He watched as she sat next to her husband and began to unpack the contents of the basket. It seemed she had brought supper for both of them to share and Matt began to feel a little out of place in this small cell with these two people. Fortunately the outer door to the office opened and the young man he had previously met returned accompanied by a portly man who looked like a typical banker. He wore an expensively tailored suit with a high collared shirt protruding from an overly tight waistcoat. A gold chain coursed across the protruding stomach and disappeared into a pocket where undoubtedly it was connected to a fine timepiece. The whole effect was completed by a cravat style tie which only served to emphasize the man's short or non existent neck.
Matt consciously tried not to be influenced by the pompous appearance of the man. He left the cell closing the door behind him and extended his hand.
"Matt Dillon, United States Marshal out of Dodge City."
The man stood there a moment trying to puff out his chest a little more before replying.
"Elton Etheridge, chairman of the Garden City town council."
Matt had met his type before. A little power and they wanted control of the whole country.
"I guess your deputy there told you that I am here to take charge of the prisoner." he withdrew the warrant from his pocket once more and handed it to the little man, who perused it in detail.
"That seems to be in order Marshal." His manner was condescending and it was all Dillon could do to avoid delivering a sharp backhand to the flabby jaw-line facing him. "What are your plans if I may ask?"
"I need to check into a few things and then I'll let you know." He wanted to get his friend out of this place but first he wanted to look around and ask a few questions.
Elton Etheridge seemed a little deflated as he left the office. He did make sure that his deputy stayed behind and had given him a few whispered instructions, which Matt felt certain, were mainly to keep an eye on him. He returned to Doug Hamilton and his wife who were still sitting quietly eating supper. He needed to know who had found the body of the bounty hunter, where it was buried and if there had been an autopsy,
xxx
Gina left her husband after a parting kiss and Dillon returned to the cell to ask the questions that concerned him. He planned to take Doug out to the place by the river tomorrow to see for himself where the body was found and then maybe send a telegram to Doc Adams. There had been no autopsy to speak of and Doc was the best man he knew to perform the grisly task. Since he was now in charge of the case he didn't really mind if that upset any of the local hierarchy. He also wanted to send a wire to Judge Brooking. If there was going to be a trial he would rather it be held in Dodge where at least he could make sure that Hamilton got a fair hearing.
xxx
Gina Hamilton left the jail with a brisk step and a smile on her face. She hurried along to the edge of town where a small house stood somewhat off by itself. She had come to hate the place during the last year or so that she had lived there with her husband. When she first married the deputy marshal she thought it would be a step up in life from the simple bakery business that her parents owned. She soon found that her routine life bored her. When her husband was off chasing outlaws she was left at home and she began to resent him and the badge he wore. She was also unhappy because they never seemed to have enough money for anything but the basics. This life was no better than the one she had left, except that now she had a little more freedom than when her very Italian father had kept such a close eye on her.
She started meeting up with some other young women in Pueblo, many of who were single and some of those led more exciting lives. She found that there were places to meet young men and as long as Doug was out of town it didn't seem to matter. Eventually he sensed that something was wrong and she, in turn, blamed him for being gone so much. That led him to take the job in Garden City and for a while she had been more content, at least he was home every night. But it was still money that was the problem. They never had enough for her to buy the things she thought she deserved. The only solution was for Doug to take on a few extra duties. He would stay at the bank all night if they had a big gold shipment come in, he would provide security at some of the bigger private functions of the towns dignitaries, making sure guests checked there weapons and did not get too drunk. Of course some of these things would come with his job anyway, but he found that people with money would pay him a little extra on the side for the personal service. He could also increase his income by being more diligent about collecting fines and levies owed to the city. He did everything he could to make his beautiful wife happy, but now he was spending more time away from home again.
Once more Gina looked around for outside entertainment and found it in the form of a young, handsome cowboy by name of Johnny Halstead, who worked at one of the bigger ranches in Finney County. He was tall and rugged with unusual green eyes that danced like the prairie grasses. He almost always seemed to have money and better still he would come around when Doug wasn't home and they would head off to the river in a small buggy he borrowed from the town's livery stable. Living way on the edge of town did have its advantages and no one saw her coming and going. Slowly it came to the point that she wanted Doug gone so she could run off with Johnny Halstead
Somehow a simple plan had found its way into her head. At first she wanted this cowboy to find a way to get into a gun fight with her husband and kill him, legally of course, in a fair fight, that way she would be free. Halstead was smart, he had watched the deputy marshal use a gun and knew he was not fast enough to out draw him. She had to think again, her parents were strictly Italian in their beliefs and divorce was not an option. Then one evening when her husband was home early, she enquired about his workday and put on a good show of being interested. She only listened with half an ear until he mentioned $2500. The money was to be paid to a bounty hunter. She never could understand why her honorable and honest husband never collected any bounty money for all the crooks he had brought in. Doug was explaining that he would have to meet the man outside of town down by the river to hand over the money. It took very little skill on her part to get him to tell her exactly where and when the meeting would take place. It would all happen in 2 days time.
TBC