Chapter 20 – Sanders and the Whale

"Mr. Hancock. What did you want to see me about?" That was the first thing Marshal Sanders asked when he returned to the jail.

"I should think that you'd of wanted to see me, marshal," Bart answered. He was sitting at Sanders desk and didn't get up or greet the marshal in any way. It was obvious the dislike was mutual.

"Oh, yes, the supposed incident at Molly Hooper's ranch."

Bart raised an eyebrow. "Were those supposed bodies that Doc brought back from his trip to Molly's?"

"No, no, those weren't 'supposed' bodies. Those were the bodies of two disgruntled ex-employees of Nance Tesson's."

"Ex-employees? Since when?" Bart cast a glance at Delgado, who merely shook his head.

"You know, I didn't ask Mr. Tesson. He told me he'd fired them for not doin' their jobs and that was good enough. How did you come to kill them, anyway?"

"I didn't come to kill them, Sanders. I shot one; Molly shot the other one. Both were attemtpin' to kill us at the time."

"Yes, and you were where?"

"Joe and I were pinned down in the shack on the old road to town."

Conrad sat for a moment as if considering what to ask next. "And just what were you and your partner doin' there?"

"We were ridin' back to the ranch after the supply trip we made to Yuma. We ran into you in the Cantina. Remember?"

"That's right. I'd forgotten. Why were you all on the old road?" The marshal was a cool customer, a man who apparently played poker and knew how to bluff.

"Because somebody was takin' a herd across the regular road. We heard shots; I was drivin' Molly's wagon and Joe was ridin' behind us. I took off to the ranch and got Molly home safe before I realized Joe wasn't with us. I went back an found him on the ground, shot."

Delgado got up and walked over to the coffee pot. "Mr. Hancock, some coffee?"

"Deputy, that sounds like a good idea. Thanks." Delgado brought a cup of coffee over to Bart as he walked back to his desk. Bart raised his cup to the lawman in thanks.

Sanders did his best to keep what he was feeling off of his face. What was it about this saddle tramp that irritated him so? "And then?"

"Oh, sorry. Then I got him inside and waited."

"How long?" Conrad might be able to keep the poker face but he couldn't prevent the exasperation in his voice.

"Till around one the next mornin'."

"What happened then?"

Bart heard the irritation in the marshal's voice and smiled. "Cowboy made a bad decision. I took advantage and shot him before he could shoot me." He paused and took a swallow of coffee. "Oh yeah, he had a partner. Molly and three of the ranch hands rode up and the partner high-tailed it outta there."

"You said Molly killed the other one. How'd that happen?" It was a stalling tactic. Sanders was incensed to think that Nance had fled at the first sign of trouble.

Good, Bart realized, he had Sanders rattled. "Guess you'd have to ask her to get the straight story. We kept waitin' for you to come out to the ranch an ask questions but you never did."

"I've been busy," the marshal snapped.

"Devising a new plan for the consortium?"

"What?"

Bart set his cup down on the corner of the desk and leaned forward. "Which word didn't you understand, marshal?"

Sanders turned to look at his deputy, who was still working on his reports and seemed to be paying no attention at all to the conversation. "I have no idea what that's supposed to mean, Mr. Hancock. You can tell Miss Hooper that I'll be out tomorrow to ask her some questions, and that partner of yours, too. Delacroix. I expect straight answers."

"That's what I expected, too, marshal. But I can see I won't get 'em here. Thanks for the coffee, deputy."

"Huh? Oh, sure thing, Mr. Hancock."

Bart left the empty coffee cup on Sanders desk. He'd accomplished exactly what he wanted to – the marshal knew he was aware of the consortium, and he had Conrad worried. He walked outside and left the jail, closing the door behind him and smiling.

"Awful friendly, weren't ya, Delgado?" Those were the first words out of Sanders' mouth once Bart had taken his leave and the door was shut.

"What?" the deputy asked. "All I did was offer him coffee."

Conrad picked up the empty cup from his desk and stared at it. He tried to make it a habit to keep his emotions in check and on an even keel, but there was just something about Hancock that prevented him from doing that. He actually hated the man, and he couldn't put his finger on the exact reason why. He cautioned himself to keep those feelings under control; he'd just tipped his hand and he didn't like the uneasiness it gave him. The consortium hadn't ultimately approved his plan before he left the meeting, but at this exact moment he believed it was necessary they proceed, and proceed sooner rather than later.

"I got somethin' to attend to, Hernandez. I'll be back later."

The deputy went "uh-huh" and kept right on with what he was doing. Once Sanders was gone Delgado grinned. Hancock really had riled the marshal. And that was not something that many men could accomplish.

XXXXXXXX

When Bart arrived back at the Hooper Ranch he went straight to see Jason. "Take the mares to the upper pastures and stay there until I send for ya."

"Trouble comin'?" the young man asked his foreman.

"Yep, and I want you and the horses out of the way. Stay with us, Jason, and we'll get this all settled into somethin' a whole lot more quiet and peaceful. Molly's gonna need men she can trust when this is all over."

"What about you and Delacroix?"

A sly grin flickered across the gambler's face. "Just in case."

Jason nodded. "You want us to go now?"

"Yeah. Pack up and get outta here. Leave me that little black mare for the wagon. If nothin's goin' on in two or three days, I'll get ya provisions. And you're in charge up there, alright?"

"Got it, boss. Anything else?"

"Watch your back."

"Will do."

He walked into the house and went straight to Bret, where he found Molly sitting and reading. "Don't read him any Edgar Allen Poe," Bart told her. "He doesn't like it."

"'S weird," Bret mumbled.

"Has he been behaving himself?"

"Completely," the girl answered.

"Can I talk to you for a minute?"

Molly nodded and followed Bart out of the room. He closed the door behind her.

"I'm sendin' Jason and the boys with the mares to the upper pastures. I told 'em to pack and go now and stay there until they heard from me. They're gonna leave us the little black mare you use on the wagon and I promised 'em supplies in two or three days. I put Jason in charge. That alright with you?"

"It's fine, but is it necessary?"

"I went to see Sanders. He was down at the mayor's office in a consortium meetin'. They've come up with another plan, Molly, and I don't wanna take any chances."

"How do you know that?" Molly asked, not doubting his word but merely wanting an answer to her question.

He smiled that sly little smile again. "There was nobody out front when I got there. Those boys are a bit too loud for their own good."

"They were discussing it? In the mayor's office?"

"Yes, ma'am. Conrad says he's comin' out here tomorrow to talk to you an . . . Joe, says he wants some truthful answers about what happened the other day."

"Why that . . . "

"No sense gettin' riled up, Molly, it won't do no good. That's why I sent the boys on outta here. An don't say nothin' to Joe, alright? He'd wanna get up outta bed and he don't need to do that. I don't think the marshal's gonna make a move till he's been here." He paused and lowered his voice even further. "By the way, I met Deputy Hernandez. He's a good man. He doesn't like the marshal any more than I do."

"Delagado and I went to school together. He was born in Yuma, same as I was. What kind of trouble are you expecting, Hancock?"

"I'm not sure. I can think of several things they might try. I don't think it'll come during the day, though. They haven't been real successful with that." He reached out and took the book out of her hands. "Give me that, would ya? I wanna spend some time with him."

She smiled at him; both men were so easy to talk to. "Are you hungry? I can fix some lunch."

Bart shook his head. "Naw, but I could stand – "

"Some coffee!" she finished for him, and they both laughed.

"See, now you're catchin' on." He opened the door and went back into the bedroom, taking the seat by Bret's bedside that Molly had vacated. "Let's see, where was she? Oh, yeah – here we go: Though most men have some vague flitting ideas of the general perils of the grand fishery . . . "