Winter's Refuge
Chapter Fifty-Six
HEYES
I was scared to go to Fritz Birde's house. He's the head of the Three Birds' city council. I don't like unknown places or people, especially people with power. The Kid knew I was afraid but asked me to protect the family. After all he's done for me, how could I refuse. Chrissy and the twins are everything to him…and to me. They're our family and I'm not going to let anything happen to them. If the Kid and the Good Guy Gang are successful, there will be no threat here.
JED 'KID' CURRY
We went directly to Fritz Birde's house when we returned from Brown River.. I just had time to hug Chrissy and my babies tight with grateful tears in my eyes when Lom came, and I knew there'd be no rest for me until I told him and Heyes what happened. Chrissy touched the bandage on my neck.
"Too close," she told me.
"Missed its mark. I'm fine. Didn't really feel it." Even though the pain was constant, I tried to make it seem like nothin'.
She didn't like my answer and I knew that wasn't the end of it. "We talk later," she said firmly. "Tell Heyes if plan worked. He pace all day. He take good care of Chrissy and the twins." She hustled our babies upstairs to bed in the guestroom of Fritz Birde's house.
I'd already talked with everyone in my Good Guys Gang, so I had a complete picture. Then me, Heyes, Frank, and Lom broke open a bottle of whiskey. I looked at Heyes. Our eyes met.
"One drink tonight," he said, and I nodded. It was our first drink together and this was an appropriate time. I needed it to get through tellin' the events of that day. The aftermath was worse than the plan. Frank's brother, Fritz, wandered in and out of the room. I waited for Frank to invite him to stay but he didn't so Fritz busied himself bringin' in coffee and pie and listening to snips of conversation. I'd ask Frank later why he didn't ask him to stay,
Jeff left for his home as soon as we hit the edge of Three Birds. "Need to hug my wife after that." We'd dropped Mr. Crenshaw off at his farm on our way. His family was alarmed he was shot, but relieved he was able to walk into the house without help. He smiled and hugged each one with his uninjured arm.
Ken and Karl were headed to Cheyenne with Matt in custody. And the Ortiz family went home together to Winter's Refuge. Juan promised to be back at Phoenix within a week. Rudy told me to tell Lom he'd be in Porterville by then, too.
I took a sip of the whiskey and leaned back into the fancy embroidered couch and crossed my legs and started talking.
"Heyes realized the McWinters brothers could recognize some of us, so me, Rudy, and Ken made camp in a secluded small canyon that Lom had scouted on his trip here."
I smiled over at Lom. "That canyon was perfect, Lom, hidden and with a secluded,high view of the road into Brown RIver if we wanted." I said before continuing the story.
"Juan knew to meet us there, but I was surprised he brought his pa and Paul. Mr. Ortiz walked straight toward me, and I felt a flash of fear that he was angry. He already wasn't happy with me for stealin' the twin's picture the last time I'd seen him at the ranch. I was getting' ready to apologize to him for puttin' his freedom in jeopardy. But at the last moment, he put his hand on my shoulder, saying, "Thank you, Mr. Curry." Emotion filled his voice, and he couldn't say anymore.
"You're welcome. You earned it, Mr. Ortiz."
"Jose."
"Jed."
"Ken looked at me confused. Except for Jose's family and a very few others , no one knew he was one third of the famous Triumvirate and had just gotten amnesty. I wasn't goin' to explain. So, I changed the subject.
"I looked at Jose. "Like I told your sons, you don't have to do this. You watched the McWinters grow up. They're the sons of one of your best friends. This will be hard for you." Before his father could answer, I turned to Paul. "These men were your best friends growin' up, as close as brothers."
"Paul was the one that answered. "Juan and us talked about that. These are bad men. Mark and Bobby Bell are both killers."
"I interrupted, "Johnny, too."
"He took a deep breath. "Juan told us Luke went back and tried to talk them into going for amnesty. They refused. Does the plan call for them to be killed or captured?"
"Figure we have enough men to isolate them in the livery and get them to surrender, but a couple of them might try to shoot their way out," I told them.
"Ken's answer was harsher. "We'll try to capture them, but their wanted posters say dead or alive. They have to be stopped."
"Jose put his hand on Paul's shoulder. "Then we'll do what we have to do to stop them."
"Of all of us, only Ken could go into Brown River without takin' the chance of the McWinters or one of their gang recognizin' us. He found his brother already had a room at the hotel. They weren't wearin' their US marshal badges. They told the desk clerk they were brothers meetin' here and goin' to visit their dear ma. Ken and Karl Josephs looked little like the brothers they were. Although they shared a strong build and hazel eyes, Ken was tall, blonde, and fair while Karl was shorter with dark hair and olive skin. "Same pa, different ma," Ken told me one day when we were talkin' about family while fixin' the fences at the ranch.
"Ken reported back to the canyon before nightfall. "Saw Frank Birde with his nephew and another man in the sheriff's office."
"That would be Mr. Crenshaw." Frank took over the story tellin'. "Heyes and I debated how much to tell the Brown River sheriff about our plan. In the end, I decided that was as little as possible. We said we were a posse out of Three Birds chasing some men who robbed a stagecoach and came this way. I made it sound like we thought we had lost the men, but said if we do catch them, we'll be bringing them to this jail."
He poured himself another glass of whiskey. He enjoyed bein' the center of attention. He resumed talkin', addin', "That sheriff wasn't prepared for anything: no deputies, couldn't find the key to the cell at first. I guess nothing much happened there before. Told him to stay out of it if anything happened." He took a long sip from his glass. "Jeff and Mr. Crenshaw sure proved to be good men, though. Too bad neither of them wants a permanent deputy job." Done, he relaxed back into a chair that looked too formal for his everyday clothes.
I resumed the story. I know that Heyes was interested in every detail and Lom was anxious to hear how the plan he had helped build worked out. I continued, "Ken had also seen Dr. Arden and Colin arrivin' on the stage. As Heyes had asked, they were dressed expensively includin' watches and rings, which were fake but shined brightly. Karl had met with them and was worried. Even though they were the backup plan as targets for a robbery in case the McWinters botched the bank robbery, they were nervous, jumpy. They each had brought a small gun that looked brand new. Karl wasn't sure if they even knew how to load them, much less fire them. Ken told us Karl had argued with them about bullets, but in the end had loaded one bullet into each gun and prayed they didn't shoot themselves. I hoped that the McWinters robbed the bank, so we didn't need a backup robbery to accuse them of. Even though they were wanted, we couldn't be sure if people there would recognize them and think we were the bad guys. We wanted a blatant robbery." Heyes looked at me and grinned when I used blatant. He's gettin' used to my new words.
"Anyway, me and Juan had the early watch from the canyon. It really was an excellent choice to camp there. We saw six men ridin' at their leisure headin' for Brown River. We identified the four McWinters boys and I knew Tommy Camp. He had asked to join the Devil's Hole Gang, but Heyes refused. Said he was too violent. The sixth man was a stranger.
"The McWinters Gang… I refuse to call them the Devil's Hole Gang; they don't deserve that title. Anyway, they followed their usual pattern. They rode leisurely into Brown River and went to check their horses at the livery next to the bank. We beat them into town, ridin' fast and takin' a backroad Lom had mapped out. That road worked real good, Lom. Still, we stayed out of sight in the trees behind the jail.
"We moved to the alley next to the jail and Jeff Birde and Crenshaw went into the livery. Jeff told me later the owner was impressed by their deputy badges and allowed them to start movin' all the horses to the rear corral. It was large but had no exit for horses to deter horse thieves. The horses were content with the grass they found there to graze."
I smiled at Heyes. This was one of the little details of his plan that I appreciated. He didn't want any horse hurt if bullets started to fly. "It worked, partner. The horses were all uninjured." I got a grin in reply.
"So, from the livery, the McWinters Gang followed their pattern and went to the diner to eat until the bank opened. They sat in the window seats where they could watch the bank across the street.
"Heyes had Aiden and Colin in the diner. Just between us, we wasn't sure what to do with them, but they wanted to help so bad, Heyes found something. They kept watch on the gang and were seated where they could hear them talkin'. They'd be in the bank with flashy watches and jewelry. The McWinters became more violent if their robberies failed. This way they had fake but expensive lookin' watches and rings to steal. We didn't need to rile them up more.
"Jeff Birde checked in with us in the alley. He said Crenshaw was alone in the livery; the owner was happy to take ten dollars and the rest of the day off on the deputy's assurance the horses would be well taken care of. When the gang left the diner, Jeff climbed on the roof of the sheriff's office and watched to see if any of the gang took a position on a roof. They didn't.
"Johnny went straight to the livery afterwards and found Crenshaw.
"Where are all our horses? Told the man we might be leaving town quickly," Johnny demanded.
"Grazing out in back. They looked like they'd been ridden aways. Water and hay out there, too," Crenshaw answered. He told us on the way home that he was so scared he was surprised the right words came out of his mouth. He just wanted to run."
I took another small sip of the whiskey. It burned my throat after all these years without it. "Johnny seemed to be happy with Mr. Crenshaw's explanation. He went to the back corral and gathered the six for his gang in one corner but left them out there.
"You were right again, Lom. The young assistant bank manager unlocked the door precisely at nine. We watched from the alley. Aiden and Colin were waitin' there along with a mighty pretty woman bank clerk and a male clerk. They both looked very young. Frank went in a minute later. The timin' was important because Heyes figured from all the different articles that the McWinters always entered the banks four minutes after openin'.
"You got that right too, Heyes. Exactly four minutes after the bank opened, five men went into the bank. And all of the Good Guy Gang ran to get into position around the livery to spring the trap. I went to a bench in the alley between the livery and the bank and read a paper to hide my face. I could hear the loud voice in the bank clearly, but the softer replies were muffled.
"Open that safe, now," said a harsh voice I assumed was Mark.
"Yes, sir. Right away, sir." I assumed this was the young bank manager's tremblin' response..
"A voice I knew was Bobby Bell's said, "And put the cash from your drawers in this bag, and you two, your wallets, watches, and rings. They look like they'll bring a pretty penny." I smiled to myself knowing they had taken Heyes' bait off Arden and Colin. If any of them got away with the money, those rings and watches might help to catch them.
"Jeff Birde nodded to me as he passed and went in the side door of the livery to tell Crenshaw the robbery was in progress. A minute later, both Crenshaw and Jeff came out that side door and locked it securely from the outside.
"Then we all got in position hidden, but surroundin' the livery completely. I had confidence in each member of our gang. Heyes had thought long and hard about where to place each of us. I was pleased with the result. Ken and Karl Josephs were on the far side of the livery under trees shadin' the front corral. Paul and Jose were on the same side guardin' there and the far corner of the back corral. Jeff, Crenshaw, and Frank surrounded the back corral and the back alley entrance. Juan was outside the locked side livery door watching the alley. Rudy and I were the most in danger. We were at the front of the alley and would hide behind stacked barrels in front of the livery once the McWinters Gang entered. Rudy would stand at the corner of the alley. Then I'd move to the side of the front entrance. With the door slid open, I had double wood protectin' me. Rudy and the marshals were my backup. Still, it was a risk I had agreed to take. I wasn't going to ask someone else to do what I wasn't willin' to do. A memory of Kyle sayin' that to Heyes flashed in my brain, but quickly disappeared as the McWinters Gang walked briskly out of the bank, guns drawn and headed to the livery..
"The gang members weren't lookin' for resistance so didn't see us. When I was sure they were all in the livery, I stepped into the open doorway.
I took my gang leader stance and added a demanding tone to my voice. "McWinters Gang, you're under arrest. Please put down your weapons and come out with your hands out." I didn't know what to expect. This step was up to them.
"Mark's voice boomed authority from deep in the livery. "Jed Curry. We're the Devil's Hole Gang and you know it. And you ain't got the authority to arrest us.
"He doesn't, but I do," came Ken's answer from the coverin' trees. "US Marshal Ken Josephs."
"Mark laughed loudly. "Then US Marshal Ken Josephs, after my brother-in-law here dies, you'll be next."
"We heard a ruckus from the back corral and Mark's attention must have been diverted there. I moved to the protection of the double doors."
Frank took over the story. "The older brother, Matt, tried to make it out the back. He jumped on a horse bareback and tried to ride it out of that corral. But Lom got it right . There's no exit for horses there. Jeff slipped in and pulled him off the horse and forced him out of the corral and into the alley. Mr. Crenshaw grabbed his gun. I wasn't sure which brother this was, but I knew it was a McWinters."
"McWinters, you're under arrest for robbing the Brown River bank and its patrons. I made sure he saw my sheriff's badge."
Frank continued. "Matt didn't resist. He seemed relieved even. I handcuffed his hands behind his back and told Jeff and Crenshaw to escort him down the alley and, when things were quiet, across the street to the jail."
Frank stopped talkin' and looked to me. Relivin' this next part, I felt a shiver run down my back. If not for a friend's shot, I'd be dead.
"One detail we didn't know. The livery has a second story hayloft with a door facing the street."
Lom looked at Heyes. "Sorry I missed that," he said contritely.
"Almost cost me my life," I told them, but refused to look Lom in the eyes.. I didn't want to lay guilt on them.
"I was listenin' to Mark inside yellin' at his gang members. "Nobody leaves this livery until we all leave together! Brother or not, I'll shoot any one of you in the back that turns to leave."
"Leanin' with my back against the livery, just outside the door, I watched as Mr. Crenshaw and Jeff, one on each side, escorted the handcuffed Matt across the street to the jail. When they were over halfway across, Matt stumbled. Crenshaw steadied him just as I heard a rifle report from behind me. Crenshaw and Matt fell. Jeff helped them both up quickly and I was relieved to see them both stand, although I saw blood on the back of Mr. Crenshaw's shoulder.
"Too late, I looked up to see where the rifle shot came from. Johnny McWinters was standin' in the hayloft door, rifle in hand, takin' aim at me. This happened in a beat of my heart. I didn't have time to raise my gun. But another rifle shot came from across the street. A red circle appeared on Johnny's forehead. He waivered for a second before droppin' the rifle and fallin' backwards into the loft. Lookin' to see where the savin' shot came from, I saw Preacher touch his finger to his hat and nod at me."
Frank moved the edge of his seat. "I was in the back. I didn't see that. What was Preacher doing there? You didn't mention him riding into Brown River."
"Well, he is part of the Devil's Hole Gang…and a friend," I answered, hopin' he would take that answer. He did and I continued my narration with a look at Lom.
"After Johnny fell backwards into the loft, I heard glass breakin' and the metal of a lamp hittin' the floor of the livery. That's what started the fire, as far as Ken and Karl can tell. It must have been on the edge of the loft. The fire started slowly in the straw on the floor, movin' quickly to the hay, stacked straw and the wood of the stalls. It spread quickly from there. Tommy Camp came runnin' out the livery front door, his shirtsleeve burning, yelling, "FIRE!" A gun fired from inside the livery and Tommy fell forward, a bullet in his back, his legs still in the livery. The undertaker said it went through his heart.
"Anyone else want to try and leave?" Mark asked from deep in the livery. I heard a chorus of "Nos".
"I moved near the entrance, steppin' around Tommy's body, repeatin'', "McWinters Gang, you are under arrest. Put down your guns and surrender with your hands up." I moved backwards into the street to get away from the horror of the body and the heat of the fire.
"Hold it there, KID Curry." Bobby Bell stood just inside the livery, flames startin' to rage behind him. "I'm calling you out."
"Don't want to fight Chrissy's brother," I answered honestly.
"Draw, Curry," a guttural laugh escaped him.
"I took a settlin' breath, adopted my gunfighter stance, and held my right hand by my belt. I realized Bobby Bell had a clear view of me in the sunlight while I was lookin' into the livery, seeing the shadows lit by the dancin' flames behind him. Somethin' to my left passed as a shadow in the corner of my eye, but Bobby Bell was my focus.
"Ain't drawin' first," I said. My eyes stayed fixed on his eyes, but my mind had flashes of Michael, Martha, and Chrissy. I used to be able to clear my mind quickly, now I forcibly moved thoughts of my family aside. I waited for his movement to draw.
"He was quick to his gun, I was faster, but just barely. The fire was throwin' strange shadows on him, but I hit him high in the right shoulder, his gun was in his hand, and his shot went wild, catchin' me on the side of my neck." I'd seen both Heyes and Lom stare at the bandage on my neck, but neither had said anything waiting for me to explain.
"Bobby Bell, come out here. Got a doctor here," I yelled to him, but he dropped back into the livery.
"Jed, drop," I heard Ken yell. As I dropped, I drew my gun. That shadow to my left was now Mark balancin' on the front corral fence. With Ken's warnin', his shot went over my head. I rolled on my stomach, raised my gun, and fired. I had no room to move my arm to aim. My shot hit him in his belly. With a surprised look, he said, "Kid, you're one of us; we're related. Why did you side against me?" Those were his last words. He fell forward, impalin' himself on a fence post.
"As Ken and Rudy rushed over to me, the livery exploded. I sat up brushin' flyin' sparks and ashes off of me. I thought I saw someone runnin' out the front corral, but they assured me no one was there. It was over. Brown River Volunteer Brigade was there workin' on the fire. Ken and Karl took charge of that.
"I rounded up my Good Guy Gang. Except for the marshals, we gathered in the sheriff's office. The lone survivor, Matt McWinters, listened to us talk.
"They're all dead?" he asked in a resigned voice.
"I walked over to stand outside his cell so we could talk quietly. "Yes, the fire was unexpected. FIve bodies have been recovered," I said, watchin' him knowing he was watchin' me. "Mark, Johnny, Bobby Bell, Tommy Camp and one other." I waited to see if he'd give me the name of the other gang member but he had a far away look in his eyes.
"Luke went for amnesty like you, you know. I wanted to go with him."
"Yes, he came to say goodbye to Chrissy."
"At his sister's name, he looked me in the eyes. "She's the best of us all. You taking good care of her?"
"I am. I've loved her since she came to Devil's Hole lookin' for you and your brothers."
"He seemed to smile at the memory.
"Raising kids now."
"Good. She needs family around her. You tell her about those who died. Comfort her. Don't let anyone else do it. Tell her they accepted this might be the ending when they choose this life." The sadness in his voice weighed heavy between us."
I could tell Heyes had something to say. "A-all d-d-dead? Even B-b-ob-b-y. " I felt his frustration and knew the effort it would take him to get out the rest of Bobby Bell's name. And he was embarrassed in front of Frank so I jumped in.
"All dead, even Bobby Bell."
Heyes nodded but I knew there was something else he would tell me later. So I continued telling what happened.
"Dr. Arden had taken the bullet out of the back of Mr. Crenshaw's shoulder and had given him a bottle of whiskey. Now he turned his attention to the wound on my neck, it was deeper than a graze but I was ignoring the pain. Then he treated the numerous burns on everyone close to the livery when it exploded. Only Jose had a serious burn on the back of his head. Aiden cleaned it but left it unbandaged. Jose assured us it looked worse than it felt.
HEYES
The Kid looked exhausted when he finished talking. I touched the bandage on his neck and his hand came up to knock me away. "Ain't nothin'. Heyes, I got to confess somethin'. This ain't my first drink. I had a drink in Brown River after I identified the bodies."
The whole thing was overwhelming me. What had I put the Kid and the others through missing that there might be a second story in the livery. Guilt took the few words I had left, and I just tapped him on the knee hoping he'd know I didn't mind he had a drink.
Lom stood up and stretched and Frank poured himself another drink and held the bottle up to us asking if we wanted more. We declined.
"Need to tell you all one more thing before I head upstairs to that beautiful lady waitin' for me," the Kid said it lightly, but I could tell this was something serious. Frank and Lom sat back down.
"Something more, son?" Frank asked with a concerned look at the Kid.
"Yeah, Heyes' plan was successful in every way. Ken and I arrested the man that put out that illegal bounty on Chrissy and got him to confess the Colorado governor was involved."
The Kid had all of our attention. I'd had our plan leaked to the Colorado governor by what he thought was a misdirected telegram. I never knew it had been successful.
JED 'KID' CURRY
"The aftermath was almost as bad as the events in the livery. Someone needed to do it and I couldn't put this burden on anyone else. It's over. Mark, Johnny, Bobby Bell, Tommy Camp, and one unidentified gang member are dead. Matt's the only one left alive.
"Heyes, your plan worked, and I hadn't thought about who was goin' to do the clean-up. Nobody thinks about the cleanup. You can gloat at the success, although this wasn't exactly the result you wanted."
Heyes had lost his words once I mentioned the second story of the livery. Now he just nodded and touched my knee. I kept talking so he would not be embarrassed. "I know you wanted them all arrested, but I always thought the odds were at least one of the McWinters brothers would be killed. A sibling for a sibling. One had to die to stop the bounty on Chrissy. Price said that the Colorado governor and his cohort intended to watch the McWinters taken down. If they were there, I didn't see them.
"Intent on doin' my objectionable clean up chore, I found Ken, Marshall Josephs, and went to the small undertakin' shop behind the dentist office. The dentist is the undertaker and I shudder at the thought. Five dead men are layin' on the tables. Each is covered by a thin cloth, not as thick as a blanket. Ken didn't know the McWinters but thought having a marshal accompany me would be more convincing to the undertaker.
"Here to identify the bodies, if I can," I tell the man without lookin' at him. Death anytime is dreadful. Death by fire is horrible. Ken stayed by the door, leavin' it to me to do this part.
The undertaker dentist looked from the marshal with his badge then to me suspiciously. "Ain't you a wanted outlaw, too?" His apron had blood on it. I didn't know if the blood was from the bodies laid out here or his last dental patient. It unnerved me, but I didn't allow it to show.
"Was. Fightin' with the good guys now," I said flippantly. Immediately I felt bad I hadn't been more polite. "Sorry," I said. "Not lookin' forward to seein' these bodies."
He looked at me with what I thought was pity. "Never easy. You close with these men?"
"No. Knew some of them when they were young." He seemed to relax at my answer, and I realized he was suspicious because I knew the McWinters brothers well enough to recognize them. My answer allayed his concerns.
He pulled back the cloth coverin' the man nearest us. I didn't know him. The fire had burned his legs and lower body, but the undertaker said he had died of smoke inhalation.
"Don't know him."
Ken stepped forward reluctantly and looked at the body quickly before lookin' away. "Fits the general description of Archer Turner on his wanted poster. He's the one Karl pulled out of the tack room." The undertaker recovered the body quickly. The marshal retreated to the door as far from the bodies and the smell of burnt flesh as he could get and still be in the room.
The next body was Mark McWinters. He died with a grimace on his face and a hole in his belly that I put there. He wasn't burned. I thought back. When I shot him, he fell forward, impalin' himself on the corral fence in front of the livery. My attention had left him and returned to the fight. If he screamed, it had mixed with the crescendo of the ragin' fire and the screams of the o burnin' men.
The undertaker commented with no emotion in his voice. "Belly wound, painful way to die. Slow too. Probably good thing for him that he fell on that fence. The impact knocked him unconscious."
I looked into the face of the cruel outlaw leader and for a moment saw the cocky young boy who'd snuck into Devil's Hole. Then it melted back into the man who thought nothin' of killin'. I felt no guilt at killin' him. If I hadn't shot Mark, I'd be dead.
"That's Mark McWinters," I said.
"You certain?" asked Marshal Josephs.
"No doubt about it." I felt bile rise in my throat as I glanced at the bloody belly wound.
I turned to the next body, leavin' the man to cover the body.
I took deep breaths as thoughts of how me and Heyes could have wound up like this, dead bodies layin' on desolate tables. I couldn't bring myself to lift the cloth from the next body and stood with a straight back, eyes straight ahead. I'd been forced to stand like this for hours in the burnin' sun, shackled, as punishment in the prison's railway camp. I had refused to break. Instead, it taught me self-control, discipline, and hate. Now it was easy to stand here and wait without movin'. And without thinkin' about what I would see beneath the next cloth. When I needed to busy my mind, I always reviewed the seven operations of forgin'-drawin' down, shrinkin', bendin', upsettin', swagin', punchin' and forge weldin'. Then the dentist, cum undertaker, removed the next cloth. It got stuck and the body moved grossly, almost fallin' off the table, as the cloth was jerked to free the body.
This body was Tommy Camp. He'd been shot in the back by Mark tryin' to escape the fire. His body had been burned by flyin' embers and his legs that had been right at the livery door were burned sticks. But I recognized him. I knew him from our last month in the Hole. Heyes knew him from somewhere before and had invited him to come to Devils' Hole if he needed a place to hide. Then asked him to leave when he proved too violent. All I remembered was that he was a loner…and a deadly shot with a rifle. "Tommy Camp." I looked away until I saw Marshal Josephs. "I'm sure," I told him.
The next body was Johnny McWinters. There was the hole in the middle of his forehead and his eyes, the same green as Chrissy's, were open and lifeless. They were hauntin'. I reached over and closed them. And said a silent thank you to Preacher, who had disappeared as quickly as he appeared, for savin' my life with that shot. "John McWinters," I told the undertaker and stepped back so he could recover the body.
"Already identified this last one as Bobby Bell McWinters from the bullet in his shoulder, but you can confirm it," the undertaker said, takin' care this time to remove the cloth carefully.
This body was burned beyond recognition and at first I didn't understand how the identification was made. Then I saw the bullet lodged in a bone in the right shoulder, my bullet. I reached out but stopped before I touched it. "Shot Bobby Bell there earlier today." I started to look away, but instead bent over the body and looked closer. I thought I had shot him more on the upper arm than the shoulder, but you never can tell how a bullet will travel once inside a body.
I left then. I didn't have it in me to say goodbye. I had promised to wait for Heyes to have a drink, but I was gonna break that promise. I'd tell Heyes and I know him well enough that he'll forgive me. The salon was across the street, and I felt Ken followin' me.
"Got to use the privy," Ken said and went around the back while I pushed the swingin' doors open. Out of habit, I stepped to the right and surveyed the people in the bar. Many had turned to stare at Kid Curry, but I didn't know any of them.
I threw some coins on the bar. "Whiskey."
"Your money ain't good here today, Mr. Curry," an almost recognizable voice behind me said. "Need to thank you for what you did today."
Spinnin' around quickly, the stranger looked familiar but different. I blinked twice before speakin', "Who?"
He smiled a familiar smile, or it would be familiar if he grew a mustache. I drank my whiskey in one gulp and looked at the man again.
"Bring a bottle and two clean glasses to our table," he told the barkeep. "Shall we sit down and conclude our business, KID."
I was stunned. This man was Wheat, well, an older, heavier, shorter, more sophisticated version of Wheat. I took a chance. "Lead the way, Mr. Carlson."
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Ken enter through the back door. He was quick to evaluate the situation. When we sat, he took a seat at a table in back of Carlson but lookin' at me. He could hear our conversation without bein' observed.
"Whittaker and I both bear a strong resemblance to the Carlson side of the family." His tone was braggin'. "I'm Judge Phillip Carlson. I believe you are acquainted with Irving Price. He works for me."
"Worked. He's dead," I said.
"Well, no great loss."
I was still starin' at the man who resembled his brother so closely. "Whittaker?"
"Family name. Afraid I gave him the nickname Wheat. I was only two when he was born, and Whittaker was a mouthful. Wheat was easier."
I was puttin' the pieces together. A sibling for a sibling. The dead sibling was Wheat Carlson. Our Wheat Carlson. Matt had shot him in cold blood when he was already in custody. "The name Wheat seemed to fit him. A judge?" I asked.
"The Carlsons are not without influence. Judges are powerful in Iowa. I can get things done." He gave me a smile that made me cringe. I didn't miss his emphasis on the word things. "I assume you received my reply through Irving that any sibling of Mark McWinters is sufficient. I have the Colorado governor's pledge that amnesty will be given to you for killing a McWinters, but you made it look like self-defense. Nice job. I witnessed him draw first and a judge's word in court is given a lot of weight, if it comes to that." I found his self-assured laugh creepy.
He slid an envelope to me. "The reward."
I stared at the envelope in disgust, leaving it on the table. "The posters and reward for Christina McWinters will be rescinded immediately," I asserted.
"Well, if you want us to. I'll ask the governor how we do that." He seemed confused. "Hadn't thought what to do if it wasn't the sister who was killed."
"It's important that it happens immediately." I was firm and felt outlaw determination in my eyes. He looked at me now shocked.
"Okay, consider it done. We'll send a retraction poster to all the sheriffs as soon as we can get them printed."
I growled, "Didn't you know that bounty was illegal?"
"Of course, I did. I needed to avenge Wheat's death. He may have been an outlaw, but he was my little brother." He laughed that creepy laugh, again. "And being an outlaw is not that far from being a judge…at least in Iowa."
I held my anger inside. I needed one more thing from him, so I just nodded in pretended understandin'. Leave it to Wheat to have a vengeful corrupt judge for a big brother. He took the more honorable path and became an outlaw.
I refilled the glass in front of him. "The governor help you come up with this plan?" I tried to sound casual.
"Yeah, he's originally from Iowa and a friend of the family." A mean chuckle escaped him. "Governors have even more power than judges. The posters were his idea. I was thinking of hiring someone to kill Mark McWinters. His way was much more…elegant. This way Mark knew why his sister was being targeted."
"That's all I needed to hear. Judge Carlson, you're under arrest for murder for hire." Carlson whirled to see US Marshal Ken Josephs holdin' a gun on him. Ken reached with his free hand and picked up the envelope of money from the table. "Evidence." He slipped it in his pocket and took out a pair of shackles.
"Ridiculous!" Carlson tried to run. Ken grabbed him easily,
As he was cuffin' him, Ken said, "No, Judge, this is real, very real."
LOM
Never knew Wheat had a big brother, much less a corrupt judge. He never mentioned where he came from or his family. One night when we were all drunk after a successful robbery, he put his arm around Kyle and raised a bottle of whiskey, toasting, "To the Devil's Hole Gang, the best family any man can have."
The Kid just left when he finished his story leaving me, Heyes and Frank to stare at each other.
"Jed Curry's the best man I ever knew!" Frank said, raising an empty glass in the air.
"Wish he believed that," I added, and prepared to head back to take care of the ranch for one last night.
