A Noose for Slim Sherman ~ Chapter 3 June 15
After the stage incident, Slim and Jess vowed to work together at all times. Mort had jokingly referred to them as "Best Friends, joined at the hip" and they decided to try and act that way especially around day 15 of every month until they caught the man responsible for his crimes against Slim. The noose was one thing but roughing up Mike was quite another. They hadn't done chores together in awhile due to the ever-growing ranch and relay business, so working side by side was a treat they both relished. They rediscovered their respective sense of humor and more importantly their core values that had been strengthened by the hardships they had faced together and apart. They had no idea how much their bond would be tested in the coming months.
"Now don't forget what to do, Mike," admonished Jess as he inspected Mike's satchel. Mike's long anticipated Denver day had finally arrived. He was so excited that he hardly ate breakfast and danced around his room, grabbing his shirts.
"Whoa, Tiger," Jess exclaimed, as he tried to corral the young'un. "Let's settle down and make sure you've got everything."
Slim poked his head into the room. "Everything okay in here? "
Mike nodded and then grew serious. "Slim, are you sure you're going to be alright here alone?"
Slim smiled reassuringly at their 'son'. "I'll be fine, Mike. One of the Laramie Defenders will be here shortly. Daisy will be here too and Jess will be in town if there's a problem. You have a good time and don't worry about us," he slipped his hand down onto Mike's small shoulder.
The plan was for Jess, who had a new embellishment pinned on his shirt, to ride to town on the stage with Mike. While Jess went to his temporary home for two weeks, Mike and Mort would leave Mort's secret room via the alley and board the stage for Denver. No one knew where Mort was going and no one knew that Mike would be gone. Everyone hoped that the subterfuge would be successful.
After Mike left, Slim started painting shelves for Daisy's garden house. She had so many garden tools now and needed a place to work. Both Slim and Jess had acknowledged privately that she was getting older and needed to sit more. She loved the idea of the garden house and was sewing a pair of curtains for it as Slim worked.
It was a hot day and already sweat was pouring down his back. He kept swiping it off his forehead so he could see. After several weeks, the house was almost finished. He only had two more shelves to white wash and then it would be done. The afternoon stage arrived with a modicum of dust. As Slim began to undo the traces, Charlie leaned down.
"A fella in town wanted me to give you this Slim. He said it was mighty important. "
"Had you ever seen him before? "
"No, but I don't see what.." he didn't finish his sentence.
"We just want to keep Mike safe. We couldn't protect him the last time."
"I know, and I'm sorry," Charlie nodded.
"Nothing for you to apologize for, Charlie. You had no idea you were going to be robbed. "
Slim slid the note into his pocket. He changed out the teams and waved goodbye to Charlie. Remembering the note, he fished it out of his pocket. It was addressed to him.
"Slim,
Got a situation here in town. Come as soon as you can. J."
Slim stared at the note . The handwriting was scrawled, but as he re-read the note again, he began to believe that it wasn't written by Jess. He never signed his letters 'J." There was something wrong with the letter and Slim was determined to discover what it was.
"Daisy," he called as he opened the front door, "can you come here for a minute? "
"So, what do you think? " he asked her as she turned the paper over.
"It wasn't written by Jess," she looked up at him, "and he never signs with just his initial."
"Exactly what I thought," Slim murmured, " it feels like a trap. Maybe he really is in trouble and the outlaw made him write the note."
"Or, " Daisy thought out loud, " the outlaw dictated the note."
"I've gotta go regardless," Slim told her. " Now, here's what you should do," he reached up for his rifle above the desk, "stay away from windows and don't go outside until you hear me call okay? "
Daisy's chin wobbled. " Please be careful, Slim. Come home safe."
The overwhelming feeling of doom settled over Slim as he rode towards town. He couldn't shake it. The letter was to blame. 'Something is not right about this whole thing,' he said aloud. Mind made up, he whirled around and headed at breakneck speed towards the house. He saw the smoke first. "Oh God!" he moaned. "I told Daisy to stay away from windows and not let anyone in."
He reined in hard at the front door but he was too late. Daisy's garden house lay in ruins. All that was left was a pile of smoldering ashes. All the work they had done, all the dreams of their second Ma, and Mike's feelings of pride was gone and for what?
He held Daisy close when she let him inside the house. Her eyes were wet with tears of disappointment. " Thank goodness you boys didn't build the garden house next to the barn," she sobbed. After a bit, she calmed down and they shared a small glass of brandy.
"I should have known it was a trick to get me away from the ranch," Slim shook his head in dismay. "I don't know why this keeps happening!" He began to pace the room looking more and more distressed.
"Slim, please sit down," she begged him. "You couldn't have done anything about it. I guess we now know that this man has a conscience."
"What do you mean, Daisy? "
"He only roughed up Mike and he burned my little house but he didn't outright hurt us."
"I have a feeling he's just getting started," Slim moaned.
