AN: Before the next chapter I wanted to thank: Pam, Sarah, Cbloomer, gunsmokefan, JustaGuest, Phoenix and all the other guests who posted comments. I would respond to you individually if I could. On with the show.
Richard Reyburn held out his pocketknife and stepped closer to Clay. "Now, you do a little whittling or I have to let you die. Let's get to it. I'll take your gun and hold it on the lady while you do a bit of cutting. Not the face mind you, a nice scar on her neck would be perfect. Dillon can imagine that the face would be next."
"No, I told you won't cut into the lady."
"I'm not telling you to kill her, and you've killed lot's of people."
"Reyburn, you don't know anything about it. When I shoot people dead their eyes go blank. When I burn them in their houses I don't even see them. This is different. She'll be looking at me."
"That's ridiculous." Reyburn was clearly exasperated, "Do you really mean you'd be willing to shoot her dead, but you won't carve into her."
Clay considered Reyburn's words. "I reckon that's right. If I cut her up, I'll never be able to forget her eyes."
"Well killing her won't serve my purpose nearly as well as giving her a scar. Come, come, I'll pay you an extra $200 dollars."
Clay was about to answer when a wave of weakness sweep over him. The steady loss of blood was taking a toll, and the pain in his chest was getting worse. He tried to take a deep breath and struggled to keep a firm grip on the gun he was holding. He looked at Reyburn's stubborn stare and knew he had to make a choice.
"I'm not cutting her Reyburn." Clay moved his aim from Missy to the lawyer. "So, I'm letting her go. Go on lady, leave."
Missy looked at Reyburn and moved towards the door.
"NO." Reyburn couldn't let her go. She'd seen him. In a flash he wrenched the gun from Clay's hand and shoved him in his chest wound. Blood flowed and Clay's head rolled back. Reyburn pointed the gun at Missy. She froze. He smiled, "Well, things haven't gone as I planned, but I will make do. It's pretty simple really. I'll shoot you and leave the gun in Clay's hands. By the time you're found, I'll be gone and no one will know I was here."
"I know you're in there Reyburn. Give up." Matt was outside the door.
Reyburn froze in shock. How on earth did Dillon know he here? He was damned tired of that lawman.
"It's over, Rayburn"
The lawyer assessed the situation and quickly decided there was no elegant way out. The window at the end of the room opened out onto the back yard. It was the only escape route. With the gun trained on Missy he back up towards the window. Feeling unsure, he nervously looked behind him to see how far he had to go, and gauge the size of the window frame.
The instant Reyburn's head was turned Missy pulled a white stone from her pocket and threw with all her might. It hit Reyburn squarely in the temple with a thud.
"Aaah." He staggered sideways, letting his gun droop down.
Missy grabbed the doorknob and swung the door wide open, careful to hide behind it.
Reyburn looked up and saw Matt's large frame filling the doorway. He lifted his gun to fire. Matt fired first and the lawyer he crumbled to the ground. Matt hurried to the body. Doc, Festus and Kitty followed him into the room.
Matt knelt beside Reyburn, "He's dead. The bullet went through his heart."
"What heart?" Missy knelt beside Matt and picked the white stone up from the floor. Matt saw the red indentation on the side of Reyburn's head.
"That was a risky move, Missy."
She stood and slipped the stone into her pocket. "Not really, you gave me a stone to keep monsters away and it worked."
Matt smiled and looked across the room at Doc who was hovering over Clay. "Doc, is he dead?"
"Amazingly no, he's breathing. Festus, go get some men to carry him up to my office. Kitty would you get some clean cloths for me real quick? You know where Ma keeps them."
"Right away Doc."
"I'll come help." Missy joined Kitty. The women's eyes met. Kitty squeezed her friend's hand and they hurried from the room.
The Next Morning
Matt and Kitty were outside the stage depot with Missy when the 8AM stagecoach pulled in. Missy smiled at them with tears in her eyes. "You both mean so much to me." She kissed Kitty on the cheek and then looked up at Matt, "Great and glorious Marshal Dillon, I'm glad we are in each other's lives again."
He shook his head, "You are never going to give up on calling me that, are you?"
"Probably not."
He took her by the shoulders and looked down at her. He would always love the child that he still saw in her eyes, but now he could treasure the friendship of the woman she'd become. "Kitty and I will stay in touch. We'll all visit each other. In the meantime, good luck with the newspaper. We'll be reading it.
Missy smiled, "Thank you. I'm hopeful. I've had my struggles, but when I think about my life so far, I realize that my luck has been pretty darn good. I have work I enjoy and Kirk is wonderful man who respects what I do. Oh, and I have a magic stone to keep monsters away." She pulled the stone from her pocket and held it up with a grin.
Kitty smiled. "You and I have a lot in common."
"We sure do. You run a first rate business and you're with a fine man. As for a magic stone – I don't think you need one." Missy laughed, "Matt gave you a derringer!" Kitty and Matt joined her laughter and Missy climbed into the stagecoach. After a final wave goodbye she settled back in her seat and the coach took off.
Matt and Kitty watched the stage disappear and started walking away.
"Marshal, Marshal Dillon, a word with you please." The bank president, Mr. Bodkin, was walking as fast as he could without breaking into an undignified run.
"Good morning Mr. Bodkin. What can I do for you?"
"I just got a wire from Wells Fargo saying that I'm to release $800 in reward money to you. You can come to the bank and sign for it any time."
"Thank you." The banker hurried away. Kitty did her best not to look disappointed, "I guess that means you'll be gone all day delivering the money." She sighed and shook her head, "It's not that I don't want Mrs. Carter to get it, and get it soon, I really do, it's just…."
"I know. The way things turned out last night, we had no time together."
"That's for sure. I spent most of the night with Missy. I was glad to. She was trying to hide it, but she was pretty shaken up. You spent the night dealing with the Reyburn's body, helping Doc with Clay and writing a preliminary report while the details were still fresh in your head." She sighed, "It was a long night for both of us, but not with each other."
Matt looked at her with a slight smile. "Here's an idea. How about driving out to the Carter farm with me to deliver the money? On the way back we can stop by Silver Lake and have a picnic."
A smile lit Kitty's face and she starting walking even as she was speaking. "I'll get food from Delmonico's and a bottle of Champaign from the saloon. You get the money from the bank, and a horse and rig. We'll meet at the stable." She was halfway down the street before Matt could answer.
TBC