Lawman

Chapter 7

It was time to head back to the jail and talk to Hamilton yet again. Matt hated prying into his friend's private life but he had a feeling something wasn't quite right. When he crossed the street he heard talk amongst the locals. Small groups of men were discussing how the law man had murdered the bounty hunter.

"Now I don't hold with bounty hunters but shooting one in the back to take the money, that deserves lynching."

Another man was adding to the conversation. "If you ask me we should go haul him out of the jail before that Marshal takes him off somewhere and sets him free."

"I heard he took him and his wife out for a buggy ride this afternoon. Now that's a fine thing if you ask me, the likes of us having to work while he's off joy riding."

Matt continued walking. There would be trouble soon and he got the impression that Etheridge was behind a lot of it. Doc would arrive tomorrow afternoon, and once he had done his job they would leave. Fortunately Judge Brooking had accepted Matt's assessment of the situation and agreed to the trial being held in Dodge.

The jail was as quiet as ever when he arrived. The young deputy on duty was drinking coffee and reading a dime novel. Matt smiled to himself because it made him think of Chester.

"You know there's going to be trouble here Marshal. Mr. Etheridge said I didn't have to stay and get myself killed, he said the prisoner was your problem now."

Matt looked at him in disgust. "If that's how you feel about upholding the law, you better take that badge of now and leave."

"What are you going to do?" The young man asked as he looked at the tall Marshal in a new light. This man was not afraid, he wasn't about to turn tail and run. He believed in what he was doing. The young man, Jed Bowman, looked down at the tin badge Etheridge had given him. Did it really mean that much?

"S'pose I stay and help you, what is it worth."

"If you have to ask that, you wouldn't understand."

Jed couldn't help but respect this man. He couldn't remember respecting anyone ever before in his life, but now he began to feel a little pride in helping the US Marshal. Maybe there was something worthwhile about upholding the law.

He stood a little taller - he was still a good six inches shorter than Matt, but it felt good.

"Maybe I want to stand with you on this."

"I'll take all the help I can get. Just think about it before you decide."

Dillon picked up the keys and went back to the cells. Hamilton was lying on the cot, half asleep. Matt couldn't help it, he caught sight of the sole of the man's boot. There was a small nick cut out of the leather heel. It would match the footprint perfectly. His heart began to sink but then if the man was guilty would he have taken him to the very place where prints could be found.

Hamilton sat up and swung his feet to the floor.

"Sorry Matt, this life makes a man lazy."

Matt noticed that his friend was wearing freshly laundered clothes and asked about it, trying to make his remarks as casual as possible.

"Gina brought me a set of clean clothes - she even shined my good boots and brought them."

"Quite fancy clothes for a prisoner." He tried to say it with a grin.

"Did you find anything this afternoon Matt?" "I'm not sure." He didn't want to tell his friend about the distinctive boot prints and the button. Then he noticed - the neck of Hamilton's shirt, the button was missing." "Take your boot off a minute and let me look at it, and your shirt while you're at it."

Hamilton looked surprised by the request. "C'm'on Doug, I don't have time to explain now, but it could be important.

He examined the boot. It had been cleaned down to the last detail and he could clearly see the little defect in the heel.

"How'd that happen?" he asked. "I'm not sure, its been that way for a while. Gina was going to take it to the cobbler but I told her it was fine."

Matt inspected the shirt, it had been freshly laundered and carefully ironed. A button was missing from the neck, a button that, by looking at other buttons on the shirt, would be remarkably like the one currently in his pocket. On the other hand it also was a pretty close match to the ones on his own shirt and probably those belonging to half the men in town. He turned his attention to the shirt he was holding. It looked like the button had been removed with scissors or a knife rather than being torn off in a fight. He wanted to keep the shirt as evidence.

"Just tell Gina you spilled coffee on this one and put the dirty one back on."

"Matt will you tell me what's up?"

"No not now, maybe later. Right now I want you to tell me how you got locked up in here, whose authority?"

"It was that man Etheridge, he is chairman of the town council."

"Yes I've met him," said Dillon with a hint of disgust in his voice."

"He came along to the jail here and told me he had appointed those two youngsters as deputies and they were arresting me on suspicion of murder."

"I told him there was no way he could pin that on me. I met that bounty hunter and paid him off. Last I saw of him he was riding south. I was never even near where that man Halstead told me he found the body."

"Are you positive you never went there, maybe when you were fishing."

"No Matt I was up there around that tree I showed you."

"I believe you Doug, but we have a problem. Those boots you are wearing - the ones with the mark in the heel, there is a print out there near where the body was found that matches it exactly. It looks like someone was hiding out there in the bushes waiting for Williams to ride by. Are you sure you haven't been out there?

"No Matt, I have never been there, Halstead just told me that was where he found the body."

Doug sat on the cot and put his head in his hands.

"I can't believe this is happening. Someone is trying to frame me."

"Who might want to do that?" Matt paced back and forth across the cell.

"I don't know." The city marshal was looking worried now.

"How about Etheridge, have you crossed paths with him?"

"Well I suppose he didn't like it when I ordered the saloons to close at 2.00 am. - that is what it says in the local ordinance. And I stopped the crooked back room gambling in the Aces Wild. He did try to buy me off - said the old Sheriff used to allow it as long as he had his own men to keep the peace if an argument started."

"Who owns the Aces Wild?"

"A man called Hackett runs it."

"Does Etheridge have anything to do with it."

"He may. I often see those two talking. Matt what am I going to do?" There was frustration in Hamilton's voice.

"I need to find that Johnny Halstead, and I think Etheridge knows more than he's saying. Let me work on it."

"Don't take too long, Matt."

xxx

Matt didn't go back to his room that evening. He stayed in the front office with the newly appointed deputy for a while, then wandered the streets making rounds much as he would do in Dodge, the familiar routine helped him to think. In the Aces Wild Saloon a group of drunks were trying to get others fired up to go take over the jail. He went in to break up the gathering before more harm was done.

"You folks have done enough talking, its time to break it up and go home."

Several of the men turned and looked at him.

"You ain't got no authority here." One man stepped forward to face the Marshal and several others moved to back him up.

"I've got all the authority I need, now if anyone wants a fight let's go out on the street." The loud mouth stepped forward again.

"You can't shoot all of us Marshal, we're going to hang that City lawman you're protecting. He's a murderer."

"That hasn't been proved yet. Now if you're smart you'll all go on home, I'm closing this bar down."

He started towards the bar to tell the barkeep to stop serving drinks, one of the drunks came up behind him, with an empty bottle in his hand. As he raised his arm Matt swung round and delivered a swift backhand to the drunk's jaw. The man went down like a felled tree and Dillon looked around the group facing him. He watched one of them move his hand towards his gun.

"Don't tempt me Mister, I'll kill you for sure before I go down."

The man hesitated and backed away.

"I'm closing this saloon so pick up your friend here and go home."

They stood there looking at him for a moment, then one by one started to leave. Two of them helped the man up from the floor and headed him towards the door.

It wasn't long before the man known as Hackett burst into the bar.

"You can't do this, this is my business, I have a right to be open."

"I told you to close up. If this saloon is still open in ten minutes I'll throw you in jail."

Matt left the Aces Wild Saloon and walked along the board walk looking into the other drinking establishments of the town. The Aces Wild was definitely the place that did all the business, the other saloons had few patrons, but just to be safe he ordered all of them to close up, then watched as the stragglers from his first encounter scattered in different directions. Maybe he had things under control for tonight, he hoped so.

TBC