Sheriff Of RedRock
A/N: I am sorry about the delay. I recently started a new job, and the hours are quite long. I never really have time to write. Anyway, than you to the reviewers who I haven't had a chance to thank in person. Each response means a lot to me. Now, on to the next chapter.
Chapter six
Lisbon sat up. The sun was only just beginning to rise and she stood up slowly. Cho was nowhere in sight. After a few seconds of glancing around in confusion, Lisbon spotted a shape at the top of the hill. She headed up the hill towards it. Cho was lying flat on his stomach, staring down into the town. He had a pair of crude binoculars that he was using to see the people moving in the town.
Lisbon opened her mouth to speak. "Good morning, Boss," said Cho, before she could say anything. "You're not exactly a quiet mover."
Lisbon shrugged. "See anything?"
Cho shook his head. "Not now. But Red John did leave early this morning. He and his gang. Kirkland was with them. They appeared to be moving on."
Lisbon was a little nervous to make the next request. "Should we follow them?"
Cho looked up at her, squinting slightly in the early light. "We can leave in about an hour. Let them get a good head start."
Lisbon nodded and headed down the hill. She untied her horse and swung herself into the saddle. She rode back up the hill to Cho. "I will go down into the town for supplies. It looks like three days of food won't be enough."
Cho nodded, and watched his sheriff ride down to the town.
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Lisbon arrived in the town and headed over to the general store. She had to ride past the saloon, and she shuddered when she remembered that Red John had been there not so long before her. She dismounted and headed up to the door. She pushed it open. The owner of the store turned to face her as she entered. He was a non-descript man, who greeted her with little more than a "good morning, ma'am". However, he seemed to be a little curious as to why she was not wearing what the women in the town usually wore. After a few minutes, he wandered over to her, as she picked out some food. "Ma'am," he said curiously. "You wouldn't happen to be Sheriff Lisbon, would you?"
Lisbon almost dropped the jar she had inadvertently picked up. "How do you know who I am?" her voice almost shook. Red John had been bad mouthing her in the bar the night before.
The owner held up his hands. "I had no intention to alarm you, Sheriff. My name is Ray Haffner. I have heard quite a lot about you from some of the patrons who come here."
Lisbon headed over to the counter to pay for her goods. "How did you know I was a sheriff?"
Haffner pointed to the silver badge pinned to Lisbon's vest. "That, and the clothing. Women generally don't dress like that."
Lisbon nodded thoughtfully, and thanked the man. "Thank you, Mr Haffner."
"Good day, Sheriff."
Lisbon left, feeling a little concerned. She was relatively easy to recognise, and apparently, quite popular. She mounted her horse and rode quickly out of the town. She rejoined Cho at the top of the hill. As they packed up, she related the story to him. He paused for a moment, thinking out loud. "Sheriff, I think Red John will find out quite quickly you were here."
Lisbon nodded. "I know that towns have been known to give information to Red John in exchange for not being attacked."
Cho nodded. He had heard the rumours too. RedRock, however, had done no such thing. They mounted their horses and headed up onto the ridge. They followed it around until they came across a few strings of footprints heading away to their left. They began to follow the prints as they snaked between the rolling hills. The prints seemed to head south, skirting around towns and dodging train tracks. After most of the day following the seemingly endless string of prints, Cho came to an abrupt halt. Lisbon followed suit as the outline of a tiny house appeared in the distance.
"Cho," said Lisbon. "I think we should set up camp here. We can head over to the house after dark."
Cho nodded, and the two set up camp, waiting until dusk had fallen.
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Jane headed over to the sheriff's office after he had closed his shop. He knew Rigsby had spent his day there alone. His colleagues were out on a recon mission. Jane crossed the street and knocked on the door of the office. He pushed it open without waiting for an answer and found Rigsby sleeping at his desk. Jane headed over to the wall compartment and opened it. "Wayne," he said, causing Rigsby to jump.
Rigsby turned, and nodded when he saw who it was. "You scared me, Jane."
Jane laughed and placed the whiskey on the desk in front of Rigsby. Jane poured them both a glass, and headed over to Lisbon's desk. He sat down, and put his feet up. "I take it you've had a slow day."
Rigsby picked up the glass. "Ms Lisbon will be none too pleased to see you sittin' at her desk, Mr Jane."
Jane shrugged. "She's not here to see. Anyway, I wanted to see what she spends her time writing here."
Jane tugged on the drawer, not surprised to find it locked. Lisbon was keeping secrets from him, from everyone. She didn't reveal much about herself, preferring to help others instead. He jiggled the drawer, and then bent down to look through the lock. "Mr Jane," said Rigsby. "I really don't advise digging through Ms Lisbon's desk."
Jane sat up again. 'Aren't you curious as to what is in there?"
Rigsby shook his head. "Ms Lisbon's business ain't my business."
Jane jiggled the drawer again, before picking up the whiskey and emptying the glass. The burning sensation in his throat reminded him why he preferred to drink sarsaparilla. Rigsby emptied his glass, and poured himself another one. The whiskey brought up memories of Ms Van Pelt, and how he first saw her walking past the bar. He shook his head and downed his second glass. Jane stood up and took the whiskey off of Rigsby's desk. "I don't want you to get drunk. I can only stand senseless babbling about Grace for so long."
Rigsby blushed and frowned. "I don't babble." He stammered.
Jane shrugged and put the glasses and whiskey back into the compartment. As he slid it shut, the door opened. Rigsby's heart dropped through his boots as Ms Van Pelt peered earnestly around the door. "Mr Rigsby," she said softly. "Mr Bosco wants to talk to the Sheriff. He's angry that she hasn't reported to him today."
Rigsby stood up. "She's out of town, but I will talk to him."
Ms Van Pelt nodded, and Rigsby followed her from the room. Jane sighed. Rigsby was quite love struck, and so would do anything for Ms Van Pelt. When the door had closed, Jane crouched down on the wooden floor and began to pick the lock on Lisbon's drawer. He got it open quite easily, and hurriedly pulled the drawer open. There was a thick file inside, and Jane carefully laid it out on the desk. A map of California, a stack of newspaper clippings, and an assortment of handwritten notes. Jane leafed through the newspaper cuttings, intrigued.
They dated back to the year Lisbon's mother had died. 1868. The story was mentioned, with reference to the then unknown Red John Gang as the culprits. The clippings followed the gang, and Jane turned to the map. It had towns marked on it, with the dates that they had been attacked. Jane was stunned at the complexity of the detail. Lisbon even had eight wanted posters for the men. She had been following them for years. It seemed to him that her life revolved around this bandit, and what he had done. Jane studied the map in the fading light.
He couldn't see any pattern in the markings. There were several theories as to who could be next on the scraps of paper Lisbon had written on. Each theory had a date in the top corner. Lisbon was speculating the next target, and Jane checked on the map to see how accurate she was. She was right four out of five times. It seemed that Red John would attack a town close to where he was hiding out. No further than a day's ride away. This was Lisbon's theory. But it was too late to catch him, because he had moved on, fading into thin air as the authorities got closer.
Jane found one piece of paper with a large ink stain across the bottom. This was one he recognised, because he had caused that stain. Lisbon had written across the top of it. "I have arrived in a new town on my endless quest to kill Red John. I shot two of the gang members tonight in Bertram's. Reede Smith is dead, and Robert Kirkland is injured. I hope to follow him and kill Red John before anyone else is killed by him."
Jane sat back in the chair, stunned. Lisbon was clearly obsessed, and possibly dangerous. Jane worried for her present safety.
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Meanwhile, Rigsby and Ms Van Pelt made their way in silence back to Bosco's office. At the door, Rigsby politely waited for Ms Van Pelt to enter before following her. Bosco waited impatiently in his office, and looked up in surprise when Rigsby entered. "Where is your sheriff, Deputy?"
Rigsby could feel the whiskey in his system. He stood up straight, and fought the effects. "She and deputy Cho have been tracking Kirkland, trying to track Red John down. They won't be back for a few days."
Bosco turned an angry crimson. "Days?"
Rigsby nodded. "Yes, sir."
Bosco rose to his feet. "That woman is wasting a few days trying to track a man we don't even know is Kirkland to get to a bandit who may or may not be in the area."
Rigsby nodded again. "Sir, she is certain that the man is Kirkland, and I trust her instincts."
Bosco laughed rudely. "If we trusted the instinct of every woman, we would be neck deep in trouble and debt, with no way out. You actually trust a woman who claims to have lost her mother to Red John, and who is willing to risk the lives of all of us – shooting men in the bar for causing a disturbance – to get to a man who probably has no idea who the hell she is."
Rigsby had never heard Bosco talk in such a manner, and he hoped that Ms Van Pelt hadn't heard any of it. She would be shocked. "Mr Bosco," said Rigsby. "Ms Lisbon has wanted posters of the gang. It is quite clear that the man she shot is Reede Smith. She was on the hunt for the rest of the gang."
Bosco waved his hand. "That woman is a danger to everyone. I wish that she had never come here."
Rigsby was surprised. "It has only been four days, sir. Surely you could give her a chance."
The sheriff hadn't even been in the town a full week yet. Her arrival the previous Friday had seemed like ages ago, yet it was only Tuesday. Bosco scowled. "Give her a chance? She wasn't even here a week ago. You want me to give a chance to someone I barely know. And a woman at that."
Rigsby was getting angry listening to his mayor being derogatory towards his sheriff. "I have no problems trusting Ms Lisbon. And I think you should trust her too. Believe it or not, she knows what she's doing."
Rigsby could tell it was the whiskey talking. He turned abruptly and left before he could say anything else. He had a soft spot for his sheriff, as though she were his sister. And he wanted to defend her, as he would his real sister. He headed out to the office to fetch his belongings.
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The sunset shone the last of its pink light over Cho and Lisbon as they sat around their tiny fire. Lisbon had wanted to cook before the light had faded to avoid their fire being seen by Red John's Gang. They ate as the last of the light faded into a deep violet. The first stars twinkled in the night sky. Lisbon stood up. Cho put the fire out, and the two of them mounted their horses. They rode out towards the house, following the faint prints in the sand. They got closer, and were about two hundred yards out when they decided to stop. The horses waited patiently as their riders walked quietly towards the house.
A/N2: Thank you for reading this chapter. Please leave your opinion in a review so I will know how you feel about this story. Thanks.