Part
Four
Lies
and Retribution
Buck Wilmington arrived in Purgatory some time in the dead of night and
found the shantytown alive with activity as always. Purgatory never slept, the
way one might imagine Hell was incapable of doing so. Some of the more
righteous citizens of
Purgatory was located in the depth of a canyon, surrounded by high walls
of rock on either side with only way in or out of the place. Its history was
checkered and Buck remembered hearing about its existence as far back as the
war. Somehow it had always been there and who or why the first operator of
liquor and women had set up here still remained a mystery. Over the years, it
became an infamous part of the Territory; a monument if you would to the
lawlessness that ran rife throughout the new West and precipitated the coming
of the lawmen.
It attracted the worst of men and was home to working girls and
moonshine distillers who wanted the freedom to trade without the inconvenience
of bible bashing matrons screaming their dogma of evil and hell. The men who
came here had little fear of god and possessed only creed to which they died to
defend and that was the law of the gun. In the past two years since Buck
Wilmington and his friends had put down roots in
Buck on the other hand, knew just about every woman in the place even if
he did not personally bed them all. He was seldom in need of paid female
company and indulged in it only when he was in the area. They liked him, which
was hardly surprising, because women in general found Buck quite pleasing; both
as a lover and as a person and the working girls treatment of him reflected
their affection. On this particular night, he did indulge himself a little even
though after the fact, he did feel somewhat guilty since he was meant to be
working. However, the news about Julia Pemberton bothered him to no end,
especially when she had offered Ezra her favours.
Buck was really starting to wonder if his animal magnetism had abandoned
him.
Nevertheless he had spent the evening with the charming young lady who
went by the name of Gillian. After the encounter, Buck found himself a stool
and took watch in some unobtrusive corner of one of the many saloons that gave
him a clear view of Elisa’s tent so that he could keep watch on her customers.
The weather was still bad, with rain sprinkling down on the tents and makeshift
shelters housing the bulk of Purgatory’s business. Elisa’s place of business
was little more than a canvas tent but it kept the rain out and Buck knew
personally a little water would be of little hindrance to any man wishing to
satisfy his natural urges. Elisa had indicated to him that she would be partial
to letting him know when the horse trader departed. After all, she needed to
make a living.
Buck was never one for surveillance and soon found his mind wandering to
the situation in
Buck glanced at the tent where Elisa conducted business and saw a man
emerge. She said her farewells to him with a lingering kiss before the man
tipped his hat in her direction and went on his way. As he departed, she
glanced in Buck’s direction and shook her head to inform him that her latest
customer was not the man he sought. Buck frowned and returned his attention to
his drink, disliking the waiting more than anything else. It left him too much time
with his thoughts and thinking too hard made his head hurt. He would rather be
visiting some of the young women in Purgatory who would no doubt enjoy his
company after the sorry bunch he had seen moving through this place today.
He wondered if Vin had been this similarly bored during the young
tracker’s time in Purgatory. He doubted it since Vin had perfected the art of
sitting quiet and watching. It was all he ever seemed to do these days and it
saddened Buck to know that his friend was still pining for
Suddenly, he caught sight of a man entering the flap that Elisa was
holding open for him as he slipped into her tent. Her eyes raised long enough
to meet Buck’s before she nodded slowly. Buck immediately acknowledge her
response before watching her disappear. He drained the rest of his glass before
striding towards the counter where he paid for his drink. He kept a close eye
on the tent as the time passed, remembering the promise he had made to Elisa
not to barge in on her and her customer. Considering the value of the
information he would be receiving in return, he did not mind honouring that agreement.
Buck lingered inside the saloon for the next twenty minutes, trying to
look inconspicuous while waiting patiently for the man to conclude his
‘business’ with Elisa. Finally, when Buck’s patience was starting to wane, the
man emerged from the tent flap again, wearing a smile on his face which clearly
indicated that he received his money’s worth. Elisa glanced in Buck’s direction
again, a silent indicator that he was free to proceed.
Buck waited until the man had put a little distance between them, but
not enough so that he would loose sight of him. Not that he was easy to blend
into the crowd anyway. The man looked like an undertaker and Elisa wondered if
she might have been mistaken about his being a horse breeder. As Buck followed
the man through the rain, he wondered if all undertaker looked thin and weedy.
Must be the effect of the formaldehyde, he supposed.
Predictably, the man had only come to Purgatory for one reason and now
that Elisa properly satisfied him, was heading for his horse to return to his
more respectable life. He did not notice Buck in pursuit because he was more
intent on reaching his horse and limiting his time spent in this inhospitable
weather. Buck waited until he had reached his horse and was preparing to mount
the animal when Buck appeared out of nowhere and grabbed his leg with a vicious
pull.
He lost his footing and tumbled off the horse, landing on the muddy
ground with a slight splash on impact. As he scrambled to his feet, his face
was clearly enraged and he prepared to protest the point when he found himself
staring at Buck’s gun aimed right between his eyes.
"Howdy pardner." Buck said politely.
"I didn’t mean to be rude but I wanted your attention."
"What the hell do you want?" The man demanded angrily, trying
to clean the mud of his dark suit with little success.
"You’ve been selling horses." Buck said cocking the gun so that the
man knew he meant business. "Five of them as a matter of fact, to men who
pay you in cash."
Recognition drained into his eyes, despite his best attempts to hide it
and Buck knew that their hunch had been right. He did know something. The
question was; did this man know something about the robberies?
"Are you the law?" The man asked suspiciously, unable to
decide from the look of him if Buck was or not.
"Close enough." Buck said taking a step forward. "I want
to know everything you do about these men who see fit to gun down unarmed men,
with their wives and children." Buck glared at him, showing it in his
voice in no uncertain terms what would happen if he dared to refuse.
"I can’t tell you!" He said desperately, backing away as if he
was preparing to run. Buck tightened his finger around the trigger of his gun
to persuade him otherwise. The man’s eyes widened as he saw the intent in his
eyes and guessed that Buck’s threat was not an idle one.
"They’ll kill me." He cried out, trying to make Buck
understand his situation.
Except Buck had seen the bodies of the dead close up and anything this
coward had to say in the face of all that carnage was mild in comparison.
"I’m ain’t hearing what I want to know Mister." He took a step
forward and jammed the barrel right against the man’s throat. "Start
talking."
The man nodded, his Adam’s apple bobbing nervously as he spoke. "I
don’t know much except that they bought more horses from me yesterday." He
said quivering at the feel of metal against his skin. His eyes kept darting
from Buck’s dark eyes to the gun at his neck. "They said they were for a
job today. Apparently the last one cause they weren’t going be needing me after
this."
"Where?" Buck pressed, shoving the barrel deeper into the
man’s throat until Buck could feel the tissue of larynx providing an
obstruction.
"Bitter Creek to
"You better not be lying to me." Buck nodded, stepping away. A
noticeable sigh of relief flooded the man’s eyes when Buck withdrew the gun
from his neck. "You ain’t that hard to find and the law is just looking
for someone to hang over those murders. You gave those men their horses, that
makes you an accomplice. Just think on that."
With that, Buck gestured towards the man’s horse and he understood what
Buck was alluding to. Without wasting any time, he climbed onto the animal
quickly, desperate to put some distance between himself and the lawmen. Buck
watched him ride out of the narrow mountain pass that would take him out of
Purgatory and did not turn his back on the sniveling coward until Buck was sure
he was gone. The man struck him as one who would find little difficulty in
putting a bullet into him.
Once he was gone, Buck made an immediate beeline to his own horse
because he had to reach
They had one chance left at it and Buck did not intend to waste it.
********
"No luck?" Mary asked Chris as she met him outside the Clarion after
his long right with Josiah searching for Vin and Alex. The preacher had taken
himself into the saloon for a well-deserved drink after the hard ride and Chris
was looking forward to a hot meal himself.
"No." Chris shook his head unhappily. "I’d like to have
gone all the way to the Doherty place but with this lead that Buck may have
found at Purgatory, I don’t want to be too far away when he gets back."
Mary nodded her head in understanding. "I know." She sighed,
feeling the same apprehension for the friends who were absent. "Maybe they
decided to stay on, what with the weather and everything." She glanced at
the grey sky. The rain was no longer pounding but was still teeming around
them.
"I sure hope not." Chris confessed and Mary saw that his
concern was not just about their welfare. It was deeper than that. Something
was bothering him, something he did not want to speak out. After Julia’s remarks
regarding the nature of Vin and Alex’s relationship, Chris found himself unable
to stop thinking about it until a few observations of his own came to surface
and put light to a potentially explosive situation.
"What is it?" She urged because there were no secrets between
them.
"I seen how he looks at her Mary." Chris finally replied.
"He cares about her a lot. Enough to make me worried about how it could
end up." Chris hated interfering with Vin’s relationships, in anyone’s for
that matter but he was aware how hot passions could run between even good
friends for the hand of a lady. He did not want to see that happen between Vin
and Ezra.
"Vin would not do anything." Mary replied but looked clearly
disturbed at the possibility. It had never occurred to her that Vin could feel
anything for Alex, he rarely spoke to her and went out of his way to stay away
from the doctor, even when he was injured and sorely in need of help.
"Alex is with Ezra." Mary pointed out.
"That didn’t stop Vin from running off with
"That’s not fair," she spoke in the tracker’s defense. "
Chris frowned wishing he could let this uneasy feeling in his stomach
dissipate. Since when had his world become about this? Suddenly, he felt like
he was the head of a large family and it was falling in his lap to keep
everyone in line. "I hope you’re right." He said with a sigh.
Suddenly, they heard the thunder of hoofbeats
tearing through town and both Chris and Mary turned to see Buck Wilmington
riding hard towards the saloon, probably in anticipation of finding his
friends. The couple crossed the road and hurried to the establishment as Buck
dismounted his horse and hastily tethered it to the hitching post.
"Buck!" Chris called out as the tall cowboy strode towards the
saloon.
Buck whirled around as he saw them and paused mid stride. "Chris, I
got the lead. They’re going to hit the stage that leaves Bitter Creek this
afternoon. If we can get there first…."
"We can give the stage an escort and catch these bastards." Chris
finished off seeing where he was going with this. "Okay, you find Nathan.
I think he’s at the infirmary." Chris instructed.
"I saw JD getting ready to ride," Mary announced. "He’s
going up to the house to relieve Ezra."
"We don’t have time to get Ezra." Chris said abruptly.
"We’ll be hard pressed making it to Bitter Creek as it is. Mary, go get JD
and tell him to meet us here. We’ve got a stage to meet."
**********
Where the hell was JD?
Ezra paced up and down the floor of the Travis place feeling more
trapped than he had ever felt in his entire life. Julia merely watched him from
her chair, reading a book that Mary had lent her earlier today seemingly
oblivious to his plight even though she was the cause of it all. After the
exchange with Buck in the saloon, Ezra had ridden back to the farm thinking to
himself how wrong everyone was. Julia was merely infatuated with him. What
could she possibly see in him anyway other than a gambler and a rogue?
The answer frightened him.
Julia saw nothing else but that and still wanted him. He had been
enough women in his time to know that what she was after was not conquest, even
though it had begun that way. In the days since he had been guarding her, he
had noticed a genuine attempt to get to know him. She questioned where he was
from, was impatient with him when he tried to brush the seedier sides of his
life past her notice and most of all, she liked what he was and felt a thrill
of excitement at the life he led. Strangely enough, she also understood the
need to settle here. They were all misfits in some way who had found a home in
There was no need to hide what he had been with Julia because they both
had their secrets and felt no immediate hurry to disclose them to each other.
He thought about how he hid aspects of himself from Alexandra because she was
frightfully honest and deception just was not in her vocabulary. He found
himself being drawn to Julia even though he knew he would never trust her
completely but was that really required?
"Mr Standish?" Julia finally spoke becoming weary just
watching him. "Is there something wrong?"
Ezra turned to face her, looking as if nothing had been driving him to
distraction at all. "Why do you ask?"
"You seem a little preoccupied." She remarked and then
returned to her book.
"I am concerned about Alexandra." He pointed out.
"I’m sure you are." Julia replied, not looking at him as her
attention was focused on her book.
"I am." He insisted. "Why do you sound so
skeptical?"
"I’m not." She laughed, wondering what was running through his
mind all of a sudden. For the past two days she had used every trick to seduce
him and none of it had worked. She had listened to what Josiah had told her
during their periods together and realised that
perhaps, she was going about this the wrong way. Julia knew she had penetrated
the wall of Ezra’s resistance but he was still holding fast in honour of the doctor he cherished but was almost certain,
he did not love.
"I will not give Alexandra up for you." He stated firmly as if
needing to hear it for himself.
"I never asked you to." She put down her book and stood up.
"Ezra I want you.’ She said deciding some time ago that the best way to
reach him was to be sincere. "I won’t lie that you are the most exciting
man that I have ever met or that I am supremely attracted to you because you
see through my flaws and know exactly what I am. You don’t judge me and you
treat me like a person for the first time in my life," she smiled in that
bittersweet realization. "You’re probably the only one who ever has and I
won’t deny that if your doctor wasn’t in your life, I would chase you down like
bloodhound because you’re too good to let slip by. But the fact is, you do have
her in your life and I’m not prepared to bear the guilt if you throw her away
for me."
"That choice is mine." Ezra found himself saying, knowing
without doubt that this was no performance on her part. He had seen a thousand
cons and dozen speeches like this whose ability to move was far more effective
but he knew with a sixth sense that she was not lying to him. "I would
never make you feel that way. I care for Alexandra and no doubt, I will bear
the brunt of much guilt if I chose to abandon her but I would never make you
pay for my decision."
"I guess we will never know." Julia said sadly and turned
away.
Ezra would never know what made the moment so clear for him but that
clarity of mind would never return after this. He covered the space between
them into easy strides and enclosed his fingers around her arm. Startled, she
dropped the book letting it fall on his face as Ezra drew her to him. There was
a second after he grabbed her shoulders when he found himself standing on the
edge of the abyss, where he could have still turned around and walked away but
once he looked into the depths of those emerald eyes, Ezra Standish knew he was
lost.
He had been avoiding her touch since her arrival into town. Dreading it
almost because he knew that once he slipped over the edge there would be no
going back. Ezra wondered whether the choice was ever really his. From the
moment he had seen Julia Pemberton, if that was truly her name, he recognised the danger she represented. He cared about
Alexandra, admired her and even wanted her but he knew he had never loved her
and now he understood why.
He wanted someone like Julia, who knew him better than any one possibly
could because they were one and the same. She was self-serving, arrogant and
devious. How could he ever believe he could resist her when all he saw was the
only woman in the world whom he had ever been able to understand with complete
confidence.
When he kissed her for the first time, it was like kissing fire. The
rage of his passion drove both of them against the wall, knocking over a chair
as her back met the obstacle of wood. His mouth dug deep into her, exploring,
tasting and feeding off her desire for him. Ezra felt her mouth open beneath
his and he hungrily slipped his tongue between her teeth and met hers in a
fiery dance. He was vaguely aware that she trying to make some effort to gain
mastery of this went but Ezra brushed those attempts aside. This was the one
time Julia would have to play by his rules.
His mouth slid away from her lips, leaving her gasping as he slid down
that cream coloured neck, biting down on soft flesh
whenever the fancy took him. The action drew a sharp response from her when he
heard Julia moaning in a mixture of pleasure and pain. She ran her fingers
through his hair, exhilarating in the feel of him, which was so much better
than she had imagined, and digging in, when the sensations that gripped her
became too much to bear.
With one fierce tug, Julia felt the buttons holding her dress together
pop as Ezra roughly pulled it apart and around her shoulders, exposing her bare
arms and the lace undergarments beneath. His blue eyes seemed almost dark as he
delighted in the perfection of her curves and the supple creaminess of her
flesh. He met her eyes once when the faint hint of smile crossed his lips.
Then, without delay buried his mouth in the firmness of a breast, letting his
lips slide across her white skin while trailing hungry kisses before reaching
the erect flesh where he breathed in deeply.
He was half-aware of her crying out as her back arched, forcing more
than a taste into his mouth. Ezra nibbled and sucked the erect nipple,
thrilling in the soft cries she made as his free hand cupped the other and caressed
it with equal determination. After awhile, he dropped it away and proceeded to
tug at the rest of her clothing, forcing the layers of skirt, petticoat and
other undergarments into an unruly heap around her ankles.
Ezra could feel himself stiffening at the sight of her nakedness as he
delighted in the perfection of her body. He had never wanted to fall into her
trap so perfectly and had resisted the urge since the moment he laid eyes on
her. However as he felt her fingers tearing at the collar of his shirt, vocal
in her delight at everything he was doing to her, this never felt more right.
Sweeping her off her feet, his mouth return to hers as he carried her
into the room where no doubt Billy Travis was probably conceived in the same
manner. He dropped her onto the soft bed, allowing that shimmery copper colored
hair to frame her face in a wave of red. Ezra stood poised over her for a
moment, admiring the beauty of her, wondering if any man had ever actually
paused to look, instead of greedily rushing to possess, which they could never
do. He loved her. He knew that now. Ezra had no idea how it had happened and
there was a small part of him that hated that it happened but it was the truth.
Julia felt self-conscious as she saw his eyes studying him while her
hands helped with the buttons on his waistcoat. The way he looked at her made
Julia feel odd somehow because men were always so eager to enjoy her body that
this was probably the first time anyone had stopped long enough to know what it
is they were trying to conquer. It filled her with a warmth she had never
guessed to be so fulfilling when she saw the love in his eyes, not just for her
body, but for her. She was not prone to being sentimental because sex
had never been more than a tool for her but it meant so much that he was making
love to a person, not just a face.
When he was free of his shirt and waistcoat, Julia ran her hands over
his lithe chest, delighting in the feel of taut sinewy flesh under her palms.
Ezra smiled at her lovingly and took one hand in his before running kisses down
its length as he lowered himself on top of her. Finding his way to her breasts
again, Ezra sucked her nipples past his teeth and swirled his tongue around the
erect nub. The sensations were next to exquisite and she began moaning softly,
as her legs parted in order to allow him a more comfortable position between
them. One of his hands snaked past her stomach until his fingers glided over
the hair of her mound, poised and ready to touch her in that most secret of places.
She arched her back languidly as she felt him beginning to gently probe her
inside.
He paused for a moment, allowing a smile to slip past his face that hid
none of mischief she saw present. Then he lowered himself down on her, sliding
between her legs so he could really taste her. When his mouth made
contact with the sensitive folds, Julia let out a gasp of pure pleasure. Her
fingers dug into the crisp sheets beneath her as the powerful sensations
gripped her for the first time in her life. His tongue teased her erect centre
while the stubble on his chin caressed her outer folds, causing her to groan
louder and with more abandon. She felt his tongue pushing its way into the
deepest crevices of her. Her legs had wrapped themselves around his back now, even
though she was completely unaware of it.
Ezra’s hands were holding down her hips, forcing her to remain still
even though she was squirming in mindless ecstasy. He delighted in pulling the
tiny node of flesh into his mouth with hard suction, knowing that it would only
force her closer to the edge. Her incoherent cries told him she was enjoying
this too much to bear him stopping. Ezra had suspected the reason for her
casual regard towards sex. She had treated it as a tool to get what she wanted
and somehow Ezra knew that she had no idea that it was something to be enjoyed.
She only enjoyed it because of the power it gave her over the opposite sex. Her
exultation came from the knowledge that her lovers would do anything for her
not because she had personally enjoyed the experience. Ezra had no intention of
being just another man she could possess; he wanted her to love him. He
strongly suspected that she already did but not to the extent that would
satisfy him.
She had descended into groans of mindless pleasure, so he knew how close
she was to reaching her peak. He felt the muscles of her thighs contract and
felt himself aroused further by her anticipated climax. She arched in taut
pleasure and uttered a loud cry as the full flow of her orgasm gripped her body.
Ezra delighted in the sounds of her moaning and incoherent pleas. Just the
taste of her had hardened him to such a point that he knew he could wait no
longer for her. With urgency, he slid back up her body as he fumbled at his
pants. Julia was still recovering but after a moment, she had composed herself
enough to help him.
Ezra let out a soft groan as he was released from his confining clothes
and shuddered when he felt her fingers sliding over his erect manhood. Julia
was beaming at him in a smile he knew would always be just for him.
"Show me, Mr Standish." She purred. "Show me."
Ezra grinned and kissed her mouth tenderly before his kisses became from
fervent and his tongue slid down her throat. Julia’s hands ran over his smooth
back and through his hair, her body feeling soft and wonderful beneath him. He
placed his hands on her thighs and forced them apart wider, allowing her to
wrap her legs around his waist. When Julia met his gaze, her eyes burning and
Ezra knew she wanted to be taken. Now.
He was so hard and throbbing that when he finally pulled her against
him, he entered her forcefully, impaling her with his full length. Julia cried
out softly when he penetrated, oblivious to anything but how he felt inside of
her. He rammed into her with all the force he could muster, until he was buried
so deeply inside that he could enter no more. He ground his teeth from crying
out himself, from becoming overwhelmed by the strong grip of her muscles,
grabbing and teasing him as he started to thrust into her.
God, she was heavenly. Those were the only words that made any sense to
him as his mouth melted over hers as he began moving in long steady strokes.
Each pulse was pure pleasure. Ezra felt his insides ignite with the heat of so
much arousal that he could barely think straight. He had become so hard that he
was almost sorry for the muscles inside her and what they were enduring. He
pushed faster and harder, feeling her thighs tighten around his waist, until
she was biting down on a knuckle for the force of him. He started to grunt
softly, but as the constant rhythm of his manhood tore through her wet, oh so
wet folds, he started gasping himself or else he would have exploded.
Julia had known making love to Ezra would be exceptional but she had
never foreseen anything like this. All those times, those sweaty, embarrassing
encounters where she would hear them call her name in ecstasy and engendering
nothing but her contempt because she had never imagined it could be so good for
her too. How could she do without him after this?
"Ezra, don’t stop. Please don’t stop!" She whimpered.
The plea almost sent him over the edge and it required almost all his
control to keep him from reaching climax too quickly. Ezra had wanted her to
know what it was like to be completely lost in thrall of desire, to know that
sex was not simply a means to an end. Ezra had wanted to teach her a lesson but
had no idea that in her pleasure, she could be a teacher too. The heat of their
raw sexual power burned together like a raging inferno as he pounded into her,
harder and harder, until he could not think for the sheer pleasure of their
mutual surrender.
With an exhausted, almost guttural groan of pleasure, he finally felt himself
slip over the edge and exulted in the journey they took together. He emptied
himself into the deepest centre of her being and felt as if his entire life and
soul had escaped when he allowed the release. Her body tensed and then
shuddered beneath him, feeling her nails sink deeper into his back as Julia
crested the wave they were both riding. He relished the sounds when he heard
her cries became kittenish purrs of delight and felt her warmth wash over him.
No matter how much control Ezra had sought to maintain, he knew he was
just as lost to her as any of those men she had manipulated over the years.
However, as he looked into her eyes and saw the smile of complete love on her
face, he knew that it was a sincere interpretation of how she felt.
They were both fools trapped in the same cage.
********
The stagecoach rumbled out of Bitter Creek on schedule, under the watchful gaze
of numerous men with differing reasons for their attention. According the
passenger manifest, the carriage carried only three travellers
and on this occasion, this state of affairs suited all parties well enough. As
the stage departed Bitter Creek, Chris Larabee and
the lawmen at his side followed in close proximity, careful to keep the
carriage in sight while remaining at a discreet distance to keep their pursuit
concealed.
"I sure hope you’re right about this Buck." Chris remarked as
they travelled in the wake of the stage, following the fresh tracks in the wet
mud while keeping a close eye on the surrounding landscape and poised to act at
the first sign of trouble. They were only an hour out of Bitter Creek and Chris
did not expect company so soon, however, he had the gut instinct that danger
was close and he relied on the feeling enough to know that it was seldom wrong,
despite his admission to Buck. So far, nothing had appeared could be considered
trouble but Chris hoped this would change. For once, he welcomed the danger
because it would put an end to this spree of murder that had terrified travellers throughout the area. The citizenry need to feel
safe while travelling through the Territory and until these outlaws were
caught, an important line of transport was effectively severed.
On a personal level, he wanted to catch these bastards before they had a
chance to disappear and start this entire cycle in a new place, where more
lives would undoubtedly be lost. Men, who killed like this, would invariably
get a taste for it and such addictions were difficult to discard.
"He was too scared to lie," Buck said firmly as he kept pace alongside
the gunslinger taking no offence at Chris’ doubt. It would be a cold day in
hell when Chris did not have questioning fate in anyone except himself. Buck
sometimes wondered what it was like to be that good to be so confident.
"Besides, I kind of think he never expected the victims to be women and
children."
"But he didn’t have any trouble taking their money." Chris
said automatically, remembering the assassin who had told him how killing Sarah
and Adam had been ‘just a job’. Chris had no sympathy for those who profited
from the death of others. Men were born with the ability to choose because it
was a god given right. The only person to blame when things went wrong was
oneself, not the circumstances.
"I suppose." Buck tended not to agree but he was not going to
argue the point. He had seen the look in Chris’ eyes when they had found the
victims of the first robbery and had almost felt the same despair seeing that
dead child. Buck had remembered seeing the same look in his friend’s eyes on
that morning after returning from
"Hey Buck," Chris said suddenly, feeling a need to speak
because he had felt a little guilty over the past few days regarding his
treatment of his old friend.
"Yeah Chris." Buck asked, watching the rode ahead intently,
studying the tracks before them.
"She was just using you, you know." He replied suddenly.
Buck turned to Chris, unable to fathom what the gunslinger meant by that
remark. "Excuse me?"
"I think she was using you to make Ezra jealous." Chris
replied, understanding the beautiful Miss Pemberton’s behaviour
once Josiah had made the statement that she had only eyes for Ezra.
Buck frowned, hating to think he was being used but unable to deny that
it was probably true. Chris didn’t miss such things. Actually it was a small miracle
that he even bothered to notice. Then again, Mary had a great effect on him. He
was starting to mellow again, shifting from that dark place he had remained for
so long after Sarah and Adam’s death back into some semblance of a human being.
He wondered if Chris knew how accessible he was these days with Mary in his
life.
"I wouldn’t be surprised." Buck said with a sigh. "My
animal magnetism ain’t what it used to be."
Chris chuckled softly. Good ol’ Buck, never one to bear a grudge. It was
one of the reasons why they were friends for so long because through Buck,
Chris had always been able to share in some part of the light in his sunny
disposition. Had it not been for the good-natured cowboy, Chris doubted what
condition he would be in following the wake of Sarah and Adam’s death. There
had been moments of such darkness that Chris had actually considered eating a
bullet. Only Buck had been able to pull him out of that pit and gave him the
chance to find some kind of happiness with Mary.
"I wouldn’t worry about it." Chris answered. "There are
women and then there are man-eaters. I get the impression she’s a
man-eater."
"Stop it pardner," Buck grinned.
"You’re getting me all depressed again. You know nothing fires me up more
than a challenge."
"You don’t need that much of a challenge." He laughed when
suddenly; he caught sight of something in the corner of his eye and the humour drained from his face immediately. In the distance,
just emerging from the horizon were a group of riders. They were still far enough
in the horizon to have not seen either Buck or Chris however that would not
last
"Buck hold up." Chris ordered, pulling the reins to his
gelding and bringing the animal to an abrupt halt. The horse whinnied its
protest but nevertheless did as commanded. Chris motioned Buck to the cover of
some trees nearby where they could examine the approach of the riders’ unseen.
"You think its them?" Buck asked as they moved behind the
safety a large shrub that effectively hid them from view as they continued
their observation.
Chris did not answer first until the riders became more visible. They
were making rapid progress across the plains and their direction seemed to
indicate that they were on an intercept course for the stage rumbling through
the trail up ahead. The light drizzle of rain made it difficult to see their
faces clearly but what Chris was able to see left no trace of doubt in his
mind.
They were all wearing handkerchiefs over their faces.
"Let’s go." Buck urge.
"Not yet." Chris said watching them intently. There were four
riders taking up the same route recently traversed by the stage. Chris wondered
at this because he was led to understand that there were five men instead of
four. His eyes scanned the surrounding area for the missing man but saw nothing
to indicate that he would arrive, since the others were intent on reaching the
stage. Chris let them disappear out of sight before turning to Buck.
"Now."
The two lawmen lunged out of their hiding place, their horses surging
forward in a full gallop. This was the closest that either of them had come to
catching the men who had wrought terror over the area with their brutal crimes.
The horses crossed the terrain quickly, splattering mud in all directions as
they thundered forward in close pursuit of the would be hunters. Up ahead, the
stagecoach had no idea what was coming their way but for once Chris was
unconcerned.
It was time to bring an end to this.
*******
The stagecoach continued up the weathered track that left deep indentations
in the grounds as it travelled towards
Despite the rain teeming down around him, the icy chill in the weather
was making the horses move faster. The cold air sent a surge of exhilarating
through their enormous lungs as they galloped ahead through the mud while
navigating the trail as if born to do nothing else. He saw little reason to
assert control over the reins and hung on just enough to let them know that he
was still in charge. He trusted the animals’ instinct to find the best route
over the slippery track, since they knew better than he ever could just what
sort of terrain they were best able to traverse.
When a man was accustomed to living the life he had, it became easy to
distinguish the sounds made by every horse. It took years to master the skill
where one could differentiate between one set of hoof beat and another but it
was a skill he possessed. The first signs of trouble emerged when he heard the
sounds that did not come from his team of stage horses. He could tell by uneven
break in their approach that this was not a group riding in tandem but
individual riders all with differing pace. Glancing over his shoulder at the
direction of the new arrivals, he saw the figures in the distance approaching
rapidly across the soaked golden fields. Four of them, he quickly counted.
Wasn’t the number of the outlaws terrorising these
hills meant to be five? He pondered that question momentarily but decided not
to take any chances. Four or five, they were still riding hard after the stage.
Reaching for his gun, he kept the weapon in his hands while still holding court
over the horses before him.
For a moment, he entertained the notion that the riders might simply be
fellow travellers on the same track, journeying to
some destination of their own. They were still far enough away to support that
illusion of safety and so the driver kept his gun close by while maintaining a
watchful gaze. His eyes alternated from the road ahead to the one travelled
recently and the distance between the wooden carriage and the men that was
dwindling swiftly. He could see the bobbing heads of their horses as the
animals galloped forward, their powerful and sinewy muscles surging ahead under
a veneer of dark silk.
He knew they would overtake him eventually for the carriage despite its
speed was slow and cumbersome and the animals behind it were sleek and fast. It
would not take very long before that space between horse and carriage narrowed
until there was no separation at all. Inevitably, they would diminish the slim
lead that the stagecoach had somehow managed to achieve. As the seconds started
ticking on the final minutes of the pursuit, the driver was treated to the
sight of their hidden faces beneath the wide brimmed hats. Using an assortment
of handkerchiefs and bandannas, their concealed visages only confirmed their
identity to the stagecoach driver in the only description that mattered.
"They’re coming!" The driver yelled out to the passengers
inside the carriage.
Looking over his shoulder after alerting the passengers inside the
carriage, he found that they had narrowed the lead yet again. The time in which
they would reach the coach had now dwindled to a matter of minutes only.
Reluctant in his realisation that force was now
necessary, the driver cocked his gun kept in reach for safe keeping and sighed
in disappointment at the impending gunfight he would soon be forced to engage
in. He hesitated in firing first for he was never a believer in violence but
understood that it was a necessary evil to which all men must some times take
cause. Furthermore, he was uncertain if the timing was correct for such action.
When he saw the horse only inches away from the back wheels of the
carriage, he knew the time had come to fight. The bandits determined to reach
the stage had given him little choice to do otherwise.
Until now, he had achieved some measure of success in his attempts to
keep in front of them since the gap still remained, even though it was no more
than a hair’s breadth. However, the accomplishment drew a hail of bullets as
his pursuers chose to open fire. He ducked as they whizzed past him, hearing
one of the projectiles as it past by his ear and shuddering at how close it had
truly been. He glanced at the road ahead, knowing that it was imperative that
the stagecoach remained on the given track and not let the distraction of
pursuit lead it off the road into the shrub but he needed to defend himself as
well. He squeezed off a series of shots, discharging half the load inside the
chambers before and noted with some satisfaction when a bullet dismounted one
of the riders. The man tumbled from his saddle, rolling across the muddy track before
disappearing into the grass on the side of the road.
The driver watched long enough to see the fallen man slip form view
before returning his attention to the teams of horses pulling the carriage
forward. The sounds of gunfire had frightened them and now they were surging
ahead, too gripped by fear to take note of where they were headed. Taking
advantage of their fear, he snapped the reins forward, spurring them on to a
faster pace; taking advantage of this sudden burst of speed for however long it
lasted. It was not indefinite because the crushing weight they were pulling
would eventually weigh them down in exhaustion.
The bullets came again, this time in shorter spaces of time. Some
impacted on the wood of the carriage, causing splinters that were quickly swept
away by the rush of wind and speed. The driver ducked and weaved, all the while
maintaining control of the horses who now starting to falter at such relentless
pace. It was almost with a sigh of relief that when he saw two other riders,
even father behind the outlaws closing in at their own heady pace.
The driver heard an explosion of sound that was too close and suddenly,
there was a flare of white-hot pain as one of the outlaw’s bullets struck
flesh. He grunted in pain as his muscles reacted involuntarily, forcing him to
drop the gun. It skittered across the ceiling before coming to rest in a wedge
between the wood and a railing but was clearly out of reach to him. He would
have tried to retrieve it except that he was now driving the stage with one
hand. Blood had started to pulse from the wound with every flex of muscle even
though the bullet had passed through it and avoided bone.
The team was too large to control with one arm but he made a valiant
effort to try nevertheless. However, his handicap had broken the back of
acceleration that he had been trying to set and with a sinking feeling, realised the temporary gap he had bought earlier would now
be swallowed up by his struggle to keep control. The outlaws had continued
firing, picking up the scent of the proverbial blood in the water. Being in no
position to return fire, the driver kept his head down and concentrated on
keeping the stage on the wet trail.
The constant rain over the past few had made the track treacherously
slick and at the speeds they were currently travelling, disaster was being
courted and the driver knew it. It would not take much for the stage to lose a
wheel or worst yet, run off the road. None of which seemed quite as bad as what
would happen when the outlaws caught up with them if they followed their
standard pattern of behaviour. Unfortunately, capture
seemed somewhat inevitable now. The horses were gaining quickly and carried to
riders alongside the stage with a proximity that was dangerous to everyone
involved. Although the firing had ceased for there was no reason to with their
gun barrels only inches away form the passenger windows and aimed firmly in his
direction.
"Pull up!" One of them ordered, waving the gun in his face.
The driver ignored the instruction, struggling to keep the pace up but
the pain was starting to wear him down. He could feel the warm ooze of blood
running down his sheet, creating a stain that soaked the material of his shirt.
He saw the lawmen in the distance, narrowing the distance between the stage and
outlaws and felt gratified that his defeat would only be temporary.
Suddenly another shot rang out as the outlaw who had shouted the order,
fired a bullet near the wooden seat to solidify his point. Tiny splinters of
wood dug into his skin and elicited a small curse under his breath at the realisation that he would be forced to comply. He pulled
the reins gently and the group of horses feeling the pressure in the bit and
requiring the relaxed pace after their exhaustive run began their gradual halt.
It did not take long before the stage had stopped completely at the side of the
muddy track.
The driver watched the short-lived triumph of the bandits upon the realisation that they themselves had been pursued. Their
reaction if anything was predictable. The driver saw the moment of confusion as
they sought the answers in each other’s eyes. Initially, baser instinct told
them to run but the lure of the last job was simply too good to resist. He
could see them come to the decision that they might be able to take the two men
coming toward them with guns drawn. The odds were three to two and there were
still the hostages in the stagecoach. He knew what they were going to do as
surely as he had heard the thought echo in their minds.
Unfortunately for them, he knew something they didn’t.
"Now!" Josiah Sanchez shouted and rolled off the side of the
stage before the men on horseback could shoot him. He dropped heavily to the
ground as the outlaws went for their guns to fire. However, the bulk of the
carriage provided ample protection from the gunfire. He landed on the mud and
remained where he was, secretly hiding the sliver of agony in his arm.
Inside the carriage, Nathan Jackson and JD Dunne appeared through the window,
where they had remained silent for this moment only. In both their hands were
guns aimed squarely at the outlaws whose murderous spree was now at and end.
"Move and we’ll kill ya!" JD barked angrily, not seemingly
like the boy he was at that moment. Both barrels stared the gunmen in the face and
they had only to look in his eyes to know that he would not hesitate to shoot
them down. The bodies he had seen had tempered JD and his eyes reflected the
burning hatred he felt over the loss of those innocents. These men had
callously gunned down unarmed men, women and children whose only crime was to
be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
The leader of the pack, a man whose features were concealed behind his
blood red handkerchief he wore reacted swiftly, surprising Nathan and JD
because despite their foresight in replacing the actual passengers of the
stage, being inside the carriage had left them at a decidedly disadvantaged
position. The plan had required Josiah to be present been once the outlaws had
been ambushed to cover them from above until Chris and Buck arrived.
Unfortunately, they had not counted on Josiah being shot and had lost that
precious asset. However, no plan was truly foolproof, as they were soon to
discover.
The leader was close enough to one of the horses to strike it hard on
the rump. The animal snorted in surprise and was startled into galloping
forwards. Its instinct to run was quickly taken up by the other animals in the
team; even those who did not scare easily but were unable to keep from moving
forward since they were all tethered to the same harness. The stage rumbled
forward, taking JD and Nathan with it while Josiah scrambled in the dirt,
clutching his bleeding arm, without a gun.
The leader’s eyes crinkled and Josiah knew he was smiling behind his
mask as he raised his gun to fire when suddenly his chest erupted in a flare of
blood. The others looked at the direction of where the bullet had come and were
astonished because Josiah had no gun. They went for their weapons but were no
faster than their comrades with the eruption of new gunshots. Josiah hit the
ground once more; keeping his head down to avoid being caught in any crossfire.
While he remained on his knees, he looked up long enough to see the other two
men dispatched just as quickly before joining him on the dirt in slightly worse
condition.
Josiah stood up shakily when the proverbial dust had settled and the
bodies moved no further as Chris and Buck came riding up to him. Chris was
holstering his gun while Buck was sliding his rifle into its place on his
saddle. Both dismounted their animals and hurried towards the preacher.
"You don’t look so good Josiah." Buck commented with concern
at the sight of the blood on Josiah’s fingers as he attempted to stem the flow
of blood on his injured arm.
"Josiah?" Chris asked quietly, examining the arms as he
approached. "How bad are you hit?" The leader inquired.
"I’m okay." Josiah reassured him, glancing at the wound with a
slight wince. It was still pulsating fresh blood each time he moved it and
decided that it would help if he stopped doing that very same thing.
"Bullet passed clean through."
Behind them, they heard the rumble of the coach returning with JD at the
reins with Nathan at his side. The young man had no trouble leading the animals
to his friends and Chris noted this as just on one of those amazing skills that
JD seemed to possess but never knew exited before this moment. Nathan on the
other hand, searched the group for signs of injury and immediately rested his
gaze on Josiah. The healer was jumping off the stage before the vehicle had
even come to a complete halt and was striding towards Nathan to examine the
wound he had noticed.
"Let me have a look at that." Nathan instructed as he came
towards the big man. His tone of voice indicated that he wanted no arguments on
the matter. The others had known the healer long enough to realise
that Nathan was ferocious when it came to their medical welfare.
"Well that does it then." JD said looking distastefully at the
bodies who would not require any kind of medical attention, ever again.
The outlaws were exactly where they had fallen and did not seem so formidable
as they lay on the ground covered in blood and drying mud. "We stopped
them." There was almost pride in his voice as he said that and Chris
supposed that ending the threat of these varmints was something to be proud of.
However, the leader of the seven could see very little pride to be had in all
the deaths they had cause and did not show his elation in any way.
"Yeah." Buck grinned just as equally gratified. Buck found it
difficult to think of the dead and preferred to focus on the victory they had
just won even if the price had been too high by Chris’ reckoning. "This
calls for a night of solid drinking and anything else that might come
along." There was no need to elaborate on what ‘anything else’ might be.
Chris however, was more concerned on how Josiah was faring under
Nathan’s insistent ministrations. Despite Josiah’s claim that he had not been injured
badly, Chris would not rest easy about the preacher’s welfare until Nathan said
he was all right. The healer was the only one among them who was qualified to
say for certain how well Josiah was doing and that included Josiah himself.
"How is he?" Chris asked Nathan, ignoring JD and Buck as the
two men planned the evening debauch they would no doubt enjoy upon their return
to
"It’s a flesh wound.’ Nathan confirmed Josiah’s earlier allegation.
"Its worse than it looks but the bullet passed clean through."
"I’m glad you think so." Josiah grumbled, flinching a bit when
Nathan made a temporary bandage to stem the bleeding until they returned to
"You’re tough." Chris smiled faintly. "We’ll get back to
town and buy you a drink to wash down the pain or better," he glanced at
Buck and JD, "if those two have their way."
"Well I guess its over then." Josiah said studying the dead
bodies around him. The outlaws looked no different than any other they had run
into since becoming the law in
"What happened to the fifth man?" Chris found himself asking
although he did not expect an answer.
"You don’t think he went after Miss Pemberton do you?" Nathan
asked, hoping that they would not return to the
"I don’t think so." Chris responded unable to say how he knew
that so perfectly. "Still, we ought to get back to town anyway."
Although he did not voice it, Josiah knew why Chris was impatient to get
back to
Finding Vin Tanner and Alexandra Styles.
*******
Ezra breathed in the scent of her hair and felt strangely exhilarated by
the scent of wild flowers. A part of him could never believe he could have
succumb to the charms of these little schemer but since the moment he saw her,
Ezra had come to realise that his surrender had
always been inevitable. It was not just that she was beautiful for beauty was
the least of the things that charmed his so much. If such things held any sway
for him, he would never have strayed from Alex for anything in the world.
Although he was wise enough not to voice it, Alexandra’s natural beauty would
always be more compelling than the devastating seduction that exuded from every
pore of Julia Pemberton’s being.
No, he was in love with this little wanton because in her eyes, there
was no deception he had not tried already, no trick he had not learnt years
before and best of all, no con that she could play that he could not beat. He
saw all things in her that challenged his baser instincts and it was gamble so
wild that Ezra could not walk away for all the Alexandras
in the world. He knew he was a fool to let the good doctor go but he was
starting to believe that it might be a kindness to her as well. Besides, he
knew inwardly that the stability that Alex wanted was something he could never
give her, no matter how much he might force himself to aspire to it. Nevetheless, he did feel some measure of guilt for what he
would do when she returned to
"You are quite exceptional, Mr Standish." Julia smiled,
rolling on top of him as they lay spooned together on the bed after their
intense love making. "I shall have to keep you close at hand always."
"You may try Miss Pemberton," he replied, letting his hands
caress her thighs as she straddled him. "However, you will find that I am
not so enthralled as you think."
"How so?" She pouted while twirling a lock of red hair falling
across her face.
"I have not thrown away the love of a good woman so that I can be a
cuckold to anyone who captures your momentary interest." He said firmly.
"Never play that game with me, Julia. I care about you but you are not charming
that I will not leave should such intelligence reach me."
"You think I would do that?" She looked at him, realising that he was serious.
"I know that you would if the opportunity arose. Restraint is not
in your vocabulary is it?" He said running his fingers along her lower
back and watching her shudder slightly at the feathery touch against her skin.
"This may come as a shock to you and believe me, it came as a bigger shock
to me first, that I find that myself in love with you and expect the same kind
of consideration should you wish to be apart of my life."
Her temper flared a moment at the suggestion and then realised that he was absolutely right. She had given him no
reason to believe she was capable of staying faithful to him and now that she had
won him over, Julia knew she did not want him gone. He had made love to her the
way no man had ever done and for a heart that had long believed itself
incapable of feeling anything real for any man, the discovery that she loved
him was a welcome one. She wanted to be good for him; she wanted to be all the
things that made her father worship her dead mother so devotedly even after
death. She looked at Ezra and saw a thousand adventures with him that only
required her loyalty to enjoy.
"That’s a fair enough request." She said quietly,
understanding the need she saw in his eyes. He wanted her to be a part of his
life but he was not about to sacrifice his self esteem for her and that
impressed Julia because no one had actually made the request of her. Most of
the men she had known previously had expected it as if it were their right and
she belonged to them like some object. At the time, it had served her purpose
for them to believe that she did. However, she had come to
It was different with Ezra and she knew it.
She saw a kindred spirit, someone who loved her for every devious bone
in his body and wished nothing more than a similar commitment to him. There was
no need to hide herself behind an alluring smile because Ezra could see
straight through him. The freedom to simply be was something Julia was never
allowed to experience. She was always something to someone. To her father, she
had been the wife he lost and lavished his love so completely upon her that
never once did it occur to him to get to know the daughter. To men like
Packard, she was a beautiful thing to adorn their homes and their social
standing, she had no more substance than an expensive painting. The only thing
she had ever wanted in her life was to be seen as more than just a face.
"I love you, Julia." Ezra responded with a softer tone knowing
that he had been harsh with her but she had to know the rules from the
beginning if she wanted to play. "I have not felt this way towards any
woman in my life. I thought I did about Alexandra but I cannot deny that it was
an attraction to her purity rather her personality. I did her a great wrong for
that and I will have to live with the consequences but it will never affect how
I feel for you. I could not stand the thought of sharing you with someone
else."
Julia let the happiness steal across her face and nodded in
understanding. "I don’t think I can stand the thought of you being with
anyone else." She said honestly. "I love you too Ezra and god help
us, I don’t know which of us is the bigger fool."
"I rather leave that question open for the moment." He grinned
and then slapped her hard on the rump.
"Hey!" She grumbled. "That hurt."
"Not as much as your reputation if the others come back and find us
like this." Ezra retorted as he climbed out of bed. "Besides, if you
intend to be a business woman in this locality, you must act the part. I am
certain you can manage to put your impressive skills as a thespian to
work."
Julia gave him an imperious look as she walked out of the room towards
the heap of discarded clothes outside. "Mr Standish," she said with a
perfectly wicked gleam in her eye. "After your request, I am afraid that
my best performances are going to be for you only."
************
The town was a flurry of excitement when the bodies of the outlaws were
brought into town. After the sombre arrival of the
stagecoach previously, this occasion was markedly different form the previous
occasion when the seven had returned the bodies of the victims. The rain had
more or less stopped, with only a few scattering of grey clouds in attendance,
trying hard to sprinkle some drizzle on the drying landscape.
Chris had sent JD to the Travis place to tell Ezra to escort Julia
Pemberton into town so that she could take on the task of identifying the man
she had seen. Although one of the outlaws were missing, the town was
nonetheless elated at the deaths of the remaining four since it saw an end to
the siege they had been enduring these past two weeks.
Mary seemed to be the only person who did not look uncomfortable at
being present at the undertaker’s gloomy offices. As a journalist, she had
covered numerous stories about outlaws and thieves, not to mention obituaries.
Her vocation brought her in contact with the mortician several times and her
familiarity with the place had allowed her to visit its premises without any
lasting effects. She was present now because this was news and would be
featured in the Clarion News in the next edition. As a journalist, she wanted
to be close at hand to get her facts of the situation.
"They don’t look so dangerous now." Mary said to Chris as he
and Buck assisted the mortician with the bodies.
"Dead men seldom are." Chris remarked as Buck helped with the
loading of last corpse on to the wooden table for treatment. It was hard to
believe that the men who had caused so much grief over
"How’s Josiah?" Mary inquired, having seen the preacher being
led away by Nathan to his infirmary. She could only guess that he had been
injured. Fortunately, he had been walking when they had departed so she assumed
his injuries were not too severe.
"He’s okay." Chris answered shortly, watching the mortician
cover the bloody bodies with a white cloth that quickly absorbed the blood and
left vibrant stains across its surface. Even though the rain had driven away
most of the summer heat these past few days, the inside of the room felt icy
cold and there was a smell to it that made his skin crawl. He did so hope that
Ezra arrived with Julia Pemberton soon.
"Chris," Buck said coming up to both of them, looking even
more ill at ease than Chris himself if that was possible. "If you don’t
need me, I’m going to get a drink." He cast a distasteful glimpse around
his surroundings before meeting Chris’ gaze again. "This place gives me
the creeps."
"Go on," Chris gestured towards the door. "Mary and I
will wait for Miss Pemberton to arrive."
Buck frowned; reminded once again that Ezra had made the conquest before
he did. "You had to remind me." He glared at Chris good naturedly
before sweeping out the door.
"What’s that about?" Mary looked at Chris in question.
Chris had no intention of voicing such indiscreet behaviour
about Julia Pemberton to Mary, especially in this place so he merely shrugged
in a non-committal way. He was almost grateful when Julia and Ezra chose to
enter the premises at that moment, followed closely by JD who was eager to be
apart of the drama that would soon unfold when Julia identified the man who had
tried to rape her.
"Are those the men?" Julia asked; looking at the bodies
underneath the sheets a little daunted.
"That’s right," Chris nodded. "Do you think you can
identify the man you saw?" He inquired, knowing how delicate the
dispositions of some women could be. Thank god the women in his life did
not know the meaning of the word.
Julia cast an uncertain look at Ezra, who nodded at her in some secret
gesture of support that neither Chris nor Mary missed. Neither said a word at
the time allowing the implications to slip past in light of the present
situation. "I am certain you are up to the task Miss Pemberton."
Julia swallowed hard and took a slow step forward. The mortician stepped
aside as she lifted the veil on all the dead faces lying in wait for her. To
her credit, she held up well even though her horror at seeing the corpses
bloodied and broken was all too apparent in her wide green eyes. Ezra was
always close at hand, ready to come to her aid if aid was indeed required. A
few minutes seemed to stretch into eternity as Julia made her grisly
inspection. When she reached the last body and gazed into its dead face, she
let out a sigh of relief, grateful that the chore was now over.
She took a deep breath and came back to the group, forcing the revulsion
from her face as she tried to forget the images of the faces she had seen and
knowing with certainty that it would not be dispelled for some time.
"Well?" JD asked first, as expected he would since he among
was the only one who still possessed the impetuousness of youth. "What he
there?"
She met Ezra’s gaze wishing she could tell him what they wanted to know
but found herself compelled to tell the truth because those were the rules that
Ezra had demanded of her and this was her first trial to prove that she could honour his love. Turning to Chris, she shook her head
slowly.
"I’m sorry Mr Larabee, the man I saw is
not among the dead."
Part
Five
Sacrificial
Lambs
It took a better of the day but eventually, Vin found a way down the
hills that did not require travelling down the perilous track that almost
succeeded in costing Alex her life. Although Vin offered to let her rest for
awhile, knowing what a shock she had suffered when she had been swept away by
that landslide, Alex assured him she could continue, even if she felt a little
shaky after the experience. Ironically, once Vin began searching for an
alternate route down the steep and dense foliage that seemed to overwhelm as
soon as they stepped off the known path, the rain had dwindled from downpour to
light shower.
Fortunately, Alex who was covered from head to toe in mud did not seem
to mind as the droplet of rain cleansed her skin. With Calliope gone, she was
forced to ride with Vin and felt self-conscious of being so near him in her
present dishevelled state. Vin had promised her that
they would stop at the river once they had descended the hills so she could get
cleaned up properly although Alex would prefer they kept going. A wash in the
river was not as enticing as a hot bath at home. Strangely enough, unlike that
first time, she no longer felt uncomfortable about riding with him. After her
ordeal, it was almost a relief when she wrapped her arms around him and rested
her head on his shoulder after he had mounted Peso and began their journey
home.
Vin savoured the feel of her soft breath in
his ear. The hair on his neck stood on edge each time a wisp of warm air
caressed his skin. He wondered if she had any idea at all what it was she did
to him. Despite scolding himself severely every time the thought came alive in
his mind, Vin could not forget how it had felt to touch her for those few short
minutes, when she had almost given herself to him. Just the memory of her lips
against his and the taste of her skin, made Vin so aroused he could barely
think. He was glad these episodes took place while they were riding so she was
unable to see just how much he was being effected. The embarrassment of
that would be more than he could stand.
They spent most of the day, riding through the rain as Vin navigated
Peso through some treacherous terrain of jagged rocks and creeping foliage that
threatened to topple the horse at any moment. Unlike the open plains, the
vegetation that mastered these hills was tough and unyielding. Thick vines and
sharp bushes with painful thorns scratched them as they moved by, while every
patch of green threatened some form of danger, either in its density or it
spreading branches that lashed at them as Peso struggled to get by.
After awhile it almost felt like the thick canopy of green overhead
would never yield completely and they would be lost forever in this labyrinth
of trees and shrubs. Despite her twisted ankle, the scrapes and bruises
received during the landslide and their attempt to weave a path through this
dense growth, Alex felt strangely at ease. Normally, in a situation where she
found herself out of depth, certainly this one qualified, it would see her
frightened and agitated. Yet she felt no such fear and knew it was because Vin
was with her. She found herself able to rely on him with complete ease and that
was something that she never had allowed herself to do with anyone.
Thus it was to no surprise when they finally escaped the hills and
leveled off into flat ground, signalling their exodus
from the treacherous terrain they had been forced to endure most of the day.
Alex saw the open plains before her and despite it dull, grey pallor thanks
largely in part to the rain, she found herself letting out a sigh of relief.
"River won’t be far from here." Vin remarked simply, showing
his own elation at leaving the mountains behind with one of those faint smiles
of his.
"Thank god." She sighed, "I need to get cleaned up."
He looked over his shoulder and let his eyes moved up and down her body
before muttering. "I don’t know," he replied. "I didn’t think
you were that much of a mess."
"Coming from you, that’s not exactly a compliment." She
retorted. "You always look like you need a dusting." Which was true.
Vin always seemed like he had just come from a particularly hard ride even
though he had spent most of the day in the saloon. He was just one of those men
who always looked scruffy, no matter they were doing.
"I knew you being quiet was too good to last." Vin remarked as
Peso started trotting at a faster pace, now that the ground beneath its hoofs
was more solid. The animal was enjoying moving without fear of losing its
footing thanks to the unstable found it had been forced to traverse earlier.
"I held out for as long as I could." She deadpanned. "I
thought I’d give you a break after what I put you through the last two
days." There was a hint of teasing in her voice.
"Its going to take a hell of a lot more than you just being quiet
to do that." Vin taunted her in return.
"I’ll buy you a drink at the saloon." Alex frowned, aware that
he was baiting her, as he always doing for some unimaginable reason.
"That ain’t going to do it." He declared without hesitation.
"After having to put up with you for two days, I’m gonna need a whole
bottle." The mischief in his voice was unmistakable.
Alex had come to learn that it took quite a bit to draw Vin into conversation.
He was mostly quiet, always reserved and seemingly unflappable about most
things, except her. Apparently, she was the only thing that made him vocal. In
some ways, she could appreciate how that could be since Alex was always the
picture of detached calm around everyone else. The persona of the doctor was
almost a second skin and she wore it with relentless determination. To be the
cool, mercurial physician, Alex had learnt to develop calluses around her
emotions. She did not know for what reasons Vin had erected his walls but she
was certain when released, his passions were as heated as any she had
experienced when she allowed herself to feel.
They were both feeling a little better, now they were out in the open
plains and with the eminent arrival of the river not far in the distance, their
morale had been lifted considerably. For the first time, since this whole
ordeal had began, there seemed to some end in sight.
"I take it you’re never going to let me live this down?" She
looked at him sarcastically, knowing that he was probably justified in doing so
considering the fact that he had never wanted to play escort to her and was
only forced to do so because of his friendship towards Nathan. The incident in
the cabin seemed very far away now and both had acted as if nothing had
happened in the secluded place other than a good night’s sleep. Alex preferred
it that way. She was mortified by her behaviour at
responding to him despite the attraction she felt. Her commitments were
elsewhere as was her love. She should not have used him that way. It was no
wonder he was ornery with her.
"Not for a while," Vin answered in that soft voice of his.
"Or at least you do something else that changes my mind that you ain’t a
bad tempered mule that needs a good whipping."
Her mouth dropped in a mixture of amusement and pure outrage. "Why
thank you, for a minute I thought you were going to insult me." She almost
laughed, horrified by the comparison but unable to keep from finding it
somewhat funny. "You must have known I’ve waited all my life to hear man
describe me as animal with an attitude problem."
"Actually," he grinned, enjoying this bantering himself
because it dispelled the awkwardness between them. "I actually was
thinking more in the lines of nag." After what had happened in Agnes
Doherty’s cabin, they had crossed a line in their relationship. Ezra was still
looming in the background, keeping a watchful eye over them even in his absence
but Vin knew Alex was no longer able to deny the attraction. While she may
choose not to act on it, they had at least progressed to the point where they
could speak to each other with the same fire that they had before the incident.
"Nag!" She exclaimed and slapped him on the arm. "You’re
lucky you don’t need any medical treatment Mr Tanner, I would surely make you
pay for that remark."
Secretly, Alex was pleased that they had returned to their former
adversarial positions after what happened the night before. It was too easy for
her to start day dreaming about the passion in his kisses or how his mouth had
almost brought her to complete submission when he took her…
She found herself blushing again and shook the thought of her head
before it was allowed to continue any further.
"They’re probably going crazy wondering what happened to us."
Alex sighed.
"Maybe." Vin replied, knowing for a fact that Chris was never
quite happy unless he knew the whereabouts of his friends at all times. It was
not that the gunslinger did not trust them to look after themselves but Vin had
this idea that Chris was fiercely protective and considered it is his
responsibility to keep a watchful eye over all of them. Perhaps after losing a
wife and child after one night of lapsed vigilance, Chris Larabee
would not allow himself to make the same mistake again.
"I think Chris would be more worried about those outlaws
actually." Alex pointed out, remembering the hollow look in his eyes when
they had brought in the boy. Although the young victim had incensed all their
morale outrage, Alex knew that Chris felt the death most profoundly of all
since he knew what it was like to lose a child to such violence.
"He has plenty of room to worry about a lot of things." Vin
pointed out. "Besides, he knows I got a good sense of the land to keep us
out of too much trouble."
"Oh really?" She peered over his shoulder and met his gaze.
"We’ve made stunning progress so far."
"I could have left you buried under all that dirt." He
reminded her pointedly and Alex had to concede defeat to him on that point
because it was true.
"Okay," she whined. "You got me there."
Thinking about the landslide only serve to remind her that Calliope was
gone. Alex had never thought she would become so attached to the horse even
though she was not the best rider in the world. In fact, Calliope had spent
most of her time ferrying Alex about in her small carriage. "I wish
Calliope had made it though." She said sadly.
"I’m sorry I couldn’t do nothing for her." Vin responded
automatically. "Her leg was broken. It was better she went that way
instead of suffering more than she had to."
Alex could not disagree with that since veterinary science was not in
her range of expertise. She trusted him enough to know that he did what he
believed to be right. Alex shifted uncomfortably in the saddle, her body aching
in places she had forgotten were there. Leaning, forward, she rested her head
against his back, the full weight of her chest pressing up against him. Vin,
who became very aware of her whenever she did that, had come to realise that this usually meant that she was exhausted and
needed to rest.
Except she was probably too proud and stubborn to admit it.
How could any woman be so beautiful and so exasperating at the same
time? Vin asked himself and knew there was no adequate answer to that question.
It had all to do with what made his blood boil with heat each time he scented
her hair in his lungs and inspired such arousal in him whenever she was near.
It was part and parcel of who she was and Vin had become accustomed to her
moods to know how to handle it.
"Do you need to rest?" He demanded for this had been an
ongoing argument for the past day now. No matter how weary she was, Alex
absolutely adamant that she not show weakness in front of him. He wondered why
that was and guessed it had to do with her being a doctor. Maybe she had to be
like that so the male doctors would think she was good enough to consider her
in their company.
"I’m fine." She said a little guiltily and quickly
straightened up. "I’ll get some rest when we stop at the river for awhile.
I’ll be fine to keep going after."
"No." Vin replied sharply. "When we get to the river,
we’re stopping for the night."
"I don’t need it." Alex said hotly. If there was one thing she
hated, it was being coddled because she was a woman. Of course she was tired
but so was he and he had been doing all the riding. Alex did not want Vin
thinking she was weak for any reason. Already he had been privy to too much of
her private self and this further intrusion only reminded her that even her
good nature had its limits.
"Yes you do.’ He returned clearly annoyed. "We’re taking a
break."
The river appeared before them and Peso’s excitement was reflected by
the increased pace of his advance. The horse slipped into a smooth gallop,
eager to taste the water and quench its thirst after the hard day’s riding
behind it. The sun had set again and the rain was still teeming but it was now
within tolerable limits as it the wind had died and the droplets were small and
fine.
"I’m telling you I am perfectly capable of continuing on this
journey, Mr Tanner." Alex insisted as they reached the banks of the
waterway, with the current sweeping along in an almost lethargic flow.
Peso no encouragement as it waded into the water, allowing the swirling
moisture to soothe the hooves forced to travel over jagged terrain for so long.
Vin allowed his trusted companion to indulge itself while listening to Alex
arguing that she was more than capable of riding on into the night even though
it was obvious to him that she was exceedingly tired.
"I say we rest anyway." He stated weary of this argument
because he knew she was being stubborn just to prove a point, just like she
would not admit rushing off to Agnes Doherty’s aid was a bad idea. Especially
without checking to see if the woman was in town first. He wondered if the old
lady had any idea what they were going through just because she failed to keep
her doctor’s appointment.
"Mr Tanner," Alex persisted, wanting to get home to
"That’s it." Vin growled, deciding that enough was enough. He
saw that Peso was almost knee deep in water and knew that he was probably
courting death but this was one of those times where it was necessary to take
the buffalo by the horns or in this case, the doctor.
Without warning, he gave Alex a little shove Alex and sent her sliding
towards
She let out a short scream before hitting the surface, her entire body
was swallowed up the river for a few seconds until she appeared again when her
feet touched the ground. The water was deep enough to cushion her fall and give
her a good soaking at the same time without there being any danger of being
trapped by the river’s currents. Alex sputtered in fury as she struggled to
stand, the weight of her wet clothes making it hard to do so.
Vin tried not to smile but despite the fact that it was exceedingly
dangerous to do so, he could not help but chuckle softly.
"You bastard!" She cursed as she struggled to her gain her
footing, trying to brush the wet strands of her dark hair from her face. Alex
glared at him in nothing less than fury as he looked at her smugly.
"You did say you wanted a bath." He reminded with that
innocent look on his face that believed he did not wrong.
"I suppose I did." She smiled sweetly before reaching for him
and yanking him forward by his coat. He hit the water beside her with an even
louder splash that made Peso move away in caution, in case the insanity
displayed by its master and the female with him was catching.
Alex watched in smug satisfaction as Vin rose to his feet and gave her
the filthiest of looks. He snatched his hat that was attempting to float away
and put it on his head, only to have its brim sag down around his ears.
"That wasn’t funny." He grumbled as he waded towards Peso.
Alex was still smirking as she remained where she was. Although she was
not going to admit it, she did need to get cleaned up. There was mud in
the most uncomfortable places on her person and Alex wanted to look partially civilised when they reached
"Keep it up and you’ll be walking home." He muttered under his
breath.
*******
Chris Larabee stared into the amber depth of
whisky for the second straight minute without actually touching the glass. He
had been doing that a great deal today and if he was forced to coin a
particular moment of when these sudden lapses had actually begun, Chris knew
with confidence that he could pin point its arrival to the second.
"Are you going to drink that?" Inez inquired, having noticed
that he had not touched the glass since she had set it down minutes ago and
went to serve other customers. When she had returned to the corner of the
counter he occupied, she found him still staring at the golden fluid as if
trying to find some secret in its slack swirl of its content.
Chris looked up at the curious gaze of the sultry Mexican bartender, who
was standing imperiously before him, with her hands on her hips, while grasping
a serving tray. She who was Mary’s best friend stared at him with concern.
"I’m just thinking." He said pleasantly, knowing that in her
friendship towards Mary, the feeling also extended towards him.
"Those must be deep thoughts." She remarked. "I thought
you’d be celebrating your victory with the rest of your friends." Inez
looked in the direction past his shoulder. Chris glanced over to see Buck and
Josiah engaged in a hearty drinking contest, with Nathan and JD urging both
competitors on to new lows of inebriated behaviour.
Ezra was absent because he was escorting Miss Pemberton back to her hotel and
had mentioned something about dinner. Mary was busy writing her article and
Chris found himself here alone with these thoughts for company and a nagging
feeling that just would not let go of him.
"They’ll make up for me being here." Chris replied, still
distracted by that sixth sense inside his head that allowed him to make the
conceptual leaps most were denied. In this instance, it was not a gift he
wanted but was nevertheless forced to endure.
"You deserve to celebrate a little," Inez pointed out, leaning
against the counter when she poured herself a drink to join him for a moment.
It had not reach the peak of custom yet in the saloon, despite the riotous behaviour displayed by his comrades. The evening crowd
would come in soon enough and Inez did not particularly miss their presence at
this moment. It gave some measure of latitude before she the rush began.
"Those men have paid for their crimes."
"Yeah they have." He nodded but did not appear very convinced.
"Are you worried about Vin and Alex?" Inez asked, knowing that
Chris felt strongly towards Vin Tanner whose relationship with the gunslinger
was the closest in the group. While they were all comrades in arms, Inez knew
from her friendship with Vin that the group had really began when Chris Larabee given him that gentle nod across the street,
without ever speaking the words, that they were not going to let a bunch of
drunks hang Nathan Jackson. They had been best friends ever since that first
silent understanding.
"I am." He admitted but the gnawing at his insides was not
originating from any fear for the tracker or the doctor. Vin could take care of
himself and he was more than capable of taking care of Alexandra Styles as
well. Besides, the reality of the situation was simple to cope with if one
looked at it through Chris Larabee’s eyes. If
something terrible had befallen the duo then it would make no difference if he
worried or not. It was already too late. However, Chris preferred to think that
Vin was holed up somewhere until the bad weather had passed. Now that it was
starting to diminish, he had no doubt they were on their way home and expected
to see Vin any time soon.
That still did not mean he was not going out there in the morning to
look for them, in case something bad did happen. Chris liked to hedge
his bets on all things.
Which was why at this moment, an uneasy feeling had gripped him ever since he realised that the face Julia Pemberton had seen during the
robbery and attempt on her life was not present among the dead. Where was that
fifth man? That along with everything else in this whole episode was strange.
Chris usually had some idea of the men they were chasing but these outlaws had
left him bewildered because he could see no sense in what they were doing.
"Vin can take care of himself." Inez replied confidently, as
if she believed what she was saying with complete faith. "I think he’ll
turn up as he always turns up and wonder what was all the fuss about."
"Probably," Chris agreed.
Inez frowned as she begin to understand that this was not why he seemed
so far away. She studied him for a moment, this intense man who inspired such
fear and loyalty at the same time. He and Mary were the center of their world,
those of them who counted themselves as the seven and their ancillaries.
"You want to know why, don’t you?" She asked after a moment.
Chris met her gaze; bewildered for a second that she could have made
such an accurate guess. Women’s intuition, he snorted silently to himself, he
had seen it at work before. Sarah and Mary had it, Alex almost certainly did as
well as Inez. He wondered what this power was that allowed them to know so
confidently how a thing could be. A question for another time he supposed.
"I guess I do." He nodded.
"Is it not good enough that they are caught and made to pay for their
crimes?" She asked.
"No," Chris shook his head as he tried to examine why he felt
such importance in the absence of one man. For all he knew, the missing man
could have left early or might have been killed by his partners, scum like this
had no trouble turning on each other when the lure of money became too tasty.
"Not until I have all my answers." He paused as he tried to explain
it to her because the friends behind him were to wasted to understand a
coherent word he was saying and Mary was too engrossed in telling the tale to
hear the uncertainties in his mind. "There’s something wrong about all
this."
"Yes there is." Inez nodded, latching on to the most obvious
reason.
"No," Chris shook his head, seeing where her own logical mind
was taking her. "Why kill all those people?" He asked out loud.
"There was no reason for it. No one saw their faces; no one could even
identify them. There was no point gunning down every one of the passengers just
to hide their faces. Hell Vin was framed for killing a man and they got a $500
bounty on him. Why risk killing so many that it wouldn’t be possible to go near
a town for the rest of your life?"
Inez could understand his confusion. In fact, it mirrored her own
bewilderment over these senseless killings.
"I mean why shoot a child?" Chris asked. "Why kill a
child knowing every lawmen will be hunting high and low for your hide even if
they don’t know who you are. Killers like that have a way of being
caught."
"Maybe," Inez replied, thinking hard. "Maybe, the child’s
death was to make a point."
"A point?" He stared at her, unable to imagine what message
that tiny dead body could convey to anyone other than rage and revenge. It
would make everyone rabid with anger, until a demand for justice went screaming
from every town and its lawmen. The hunt for the men responsible would be
relentless, there would be no pause until the guilty were brought in. Hadn’t
that taken place exactly? Wasn’t Eagle Bend, Bitter Creek, Sweet Water and
"What if," Chris said softly, the light starting to glow in
his piercing blue eyes as the understanding reached him or at least the
revelation of a first step to the truth. "What if, that’s what they
wanted? To drive every lawmen crazy?"
"For what purpose?" She leaned forward, intrigued by how his
mind worked and how quickly it locked onto a train of deductive thought, once
an idea was introduced.
Chris started drumming his fingers along the counter, letting the
thought gain momentum in his mind, knowing that he had made a vital first step
in coming to an answer. "Money?" He ventured out loud.
"They would have received a great deal from all those robberies."
Inez pointed.
"Would they?" Chris questioned. "Some folk travel with a
lot of money on the stage and some don’t. With the telegraph and all, it ain’t
really necessary to carry lots of cash. Banks have a way of transferring things
around on you. But say its about money, how would they know who was on the
stage with what? If you wanted fast money and weren’t afraid to kill, there are
surer ways of doing it, instead of gambling on what might be on a stage."
"I don’t understand." Inez confessed. "If they did not
rob and kill those people for the money, why bother at all?"
"It to do with money." Chris said firmly, the feeling had
transformed into something greater and for the first time since this all began,
he knew what to do. He picked up his glass and downed it with one swift
movement, throwing his head back and forcing the liquid to drain in a second.
Swallowing it down, he leaned over the counter and pulled the Mexican to him
before planting a kiss on her forehead.
"Why Mr Larabee," Inez laughed as he
started moving away from the counter. "People will talk."
"Let em." He grinned and swept out
of the saloon before she had a chance to say anything else.
********
Chris was so fired by his discovery that he went straight to the Clarion
News because the writing of Mary’s article could wait. The idea was inspiring
even though he had not voiced its full implications to Inez earlier.
Nevertheless, once the kernel of thought had imprinted itself in his mind,
Chris knew he had inadvertently stumbled upon the solution. Stepping out into
the evening air, he looked up at the sky and noticed the darker storm clouds
amassing once again. It looks like they had only pass through the eye of the
storm as the rumble of thunder promised more inclement weather. Strangely enough,
the eye of the storm seemed applicable in this situation as well.
"Mary!" Chris called as he went through the office entrance of
the Mary’s home and newspaper office.
She was at her desk when he entered the front door, putting the
finishing touches to her headline article for the next edition of the Clarion
News. She had written the tale of the capture with a sombre
note to it, since the end result of the outlaws’ spree had only been more
death. There was nothing to gain by making their capture sound like an epic of
grand proportions. With so many innocent people dead because of these men,
ending their bloodbath was more a question of justice rather than victory.
Mary heard Chris’ arrival and immediately rose from her chair as he came
striding through the door. For a moment, she wondered what had happened? She
did not want to think another crisis had emerged so soon after putting down
this latest situation. Was
"What is it?" She asked, hoping that nothing was indeed wrong.
Immediately, unfortunate news about Vin and Alex came to mind.
"I had an idea." He said pulling up a chair and sitting
himself down. "What if we were set up?"
Mary’s eyes widened, disliking the possibility but at the moment, confused
at what he was talking about. "What do you mean?" She asked returning
to her seat.
"For two weeks, we search every nook and cranny in the Territory
for these outlaws and we find nothing. "Chris eased back into his seat,
allowing his mind to fully travel the wild speculative course he had latched
upon. If Vin were here, he would be throwing this hypothesis at the tracker
because Vin possessed as much a honed intellect as himself or Mary Travis. In
Vin’s absence, Chris had to break his own rule about not bringing any
unpleasantness to her but right now, he needed the precise acumen of her mind
to tell him he was wrong or at least input his ideas with some of her own.
"They hardly left any clues for us to find them." Mary pointed
out. She had seen his eyes blaze like this before and on the rare occasions
that it did; she delighted in illumination of youthful wonder in them. Chris Larabee was never more alive then when he had a challenge
before him. "They were very thorough."
"Were they?" He asked pointedly. "They ransacked all the
bags and trunks for money like a bunch of amateurs. There was stuff everywhere.
Maybe it wasn’t to find anything but for show."
"For show?" She questioned. Chris had never let her anywhere
knew the murder scene but she knew that they were brutal. No one who came
across the aftermath of the robbery murders was left unscathed. The visual
impact of what they had seen was etched in their faces. Was that meant to be a
desired effect?
"Think about it," he said in that smooth voice of his.
"You commit these crimes that will have every lawmen chasing after five
outlaws. Not one or two but five. You make them nasty like these have been, so
the law will be fired up and angry and meanwhile, you go about with what you
really intended to do in the beginning, with hardly anyone noticing."
"God Chris," Mary gasped at the horror of it. "Are you
thinking that they killed all those people as a decoy?" She could not
imagine anyone using that innocent boy for such a callous reason. It made the
killing even worse, that they were killed for no good reason other than to
inspire outrage. It sickened her.
"I’m wondering if those four bastards we killed were as much
victims as the passengers." Chris nodded, staring at her intently to see
if she could find fault with his analysis of the situation.
"The fifth man." Mary mused as she latched onto the same
thought now that he had provided her with enough theories on the why of the
situation.
"What if Buck didn’t stumble onto that information?" Chris
pressed on. "What if he was meant to find it?"
"Because it was planted there by the fifth man." Mary guessed,
following the pattern of his thoughts enough to know where he was going with
this.
"We were meant to find them and the four that died, they were
sacrificial lambs so that the fifth man could get away. With them dead, we
wouldn’t be so fired up to find him because the robberies and the murders would
have stopped. He could fade away with the money."
"Except Julia has seen him." She reminded.
"What does that matter now, if he takes himself across the country
to say
"All this for less than ten thousand dollars?" Mary sighed,
unable to imagine the estimated haul of money for the robberies being worth the
death of so many people. Bank robbers had stolen more for less effort. It was
perplexing.
"I don’t think so," Chris replied, agreeing with Mary that the
amount of money seemed insignificant for the level of carnage. It did not seem
right that such a careful plan would be wasted on such a paltry sum. "I
think it has to do with a lot of money but I can’t imagine how he would have
made it. There hasn't been any bank robberies in the past two weeks, no army
shipments that might have been ambushed. In fact, nothing has been going on
that would need that much of a distraction. "He grumbled, knowing that in
this instance, his fountain of ideas had run dry.
Mary could see his genuine confusion and she shared in it
wholeheartedly. His idea was nothing less than brilliant and Mary had to admit
being impressed at Chris’ ability to work such problems out. What would he have
done with his life had he not chosen the path he had? She wondered silently to
herself. Mary and Chris sat quietly for a moment as they tried to untangle this
problem together. Chris’s fingers were drumming on the desk softly, his eyes
far away as his mind sought an answer. Mary wished she could help him unravel
the mystery before him. Despite his belief in her intelligence, she knew she
was no match for him. He was able to see lies and deceptions where there were
none and it was a talent that emerged from the darker side of him, which she
could never equal because she did not possess one.
Mary found herself thinking about all the lives that would be changed
with the deaths during these past few weeks. All the fathers and mothers, now
absent from someone’s life. The boy who had died had the consolation of knowing
that he would have no parents to mourn him, for they had fallen right besides
him. She wondered how many homes across the Territory and the East who were
mourning relatives that would never return to them, so many changes that would
take place because of ….
Her mind trailed off as the thought fixed itself in her mind.
"Chris." She said suddenly because she had it. She had it!
Chris met her eyes and recognised the glimmer.
"What?" He asked almost with afraid to breathe.
"The victims, Chris." Mary whispered. "We don’t know
anything about the victims."
Chris nodded and grasped what she was trying to say. "Can you wire
the Bitter Creek, Sweetwater and Eagle Bend tonight?"
"Yes," she said with a widening smile. "I’ll bang down the door
until
"Good," He nodded rising to his feet. "You get everything
you can on the people who died, even the ones who don’t come from the
Territory."
"Where are you going?" She asked as she saw him making his way
to the door.
"I’m going to Purgatory." Chris replied as he swung open the
front door. "I’ve got a date with a working girl named Elisa."
"That better be figurative!" Mary shouted after him and Chris
rewarded her with a mischievous grin before he disappeared into the street.
********
"I don’t believe this!" Alex shouted as the rain pelted down
on the small roll of hide that served as their only protection against the
elements. Vin said nothing, as they remained trapped inside the narrow confines
of the tent he had believed would be sufficient to keep the light rain off them
during the night. However, shortly after Alex had taken her much-needed bath,
the weather had shifted again and the light shower was banished in favour of the heavy downpour that was threatening to bring
down the tent over their heads.
"What’s next?" She said exasperated, feeling cold and uncomfortable
in her dirty clothes. "A cyclone?"
Vin listened to her tirade, unable to blame her for her anger. It did
seem that nature was taking some special delight in making their journey back
to
"Settle down?" Alex glared at him. "You try doing that in
this!" She gestured to her clothes, sodden in mud and wet. The rain was so
heavy that not even a fire was possible and by the sound of the wind blowing
outside their tent, it was not going to be long before the gale made short work
of the temporary shelter.
"Look," Vin said trying to remain calm but finding his
normally unflappable manner starting to wear down on the face of everything
that had taken place during the past two days. He wanted to be climb into his
wagon back in
Alex knew she was working herself into a righteous wrath and putting his
patience to test but the anger she felt was hard to control. She wanted to be
in her home, with a warm bath and a good book. She was tired and hungry and
another night in these cramp surroundings with only Vin Tanner as company was
leading to a situation that might not be as easy to walk away from as the last
such encounter. Although at the moment, her emotions were in such a state that
she did not feel that there would be any danger of them repeating the incident
in the cabin.
"This tent is not going to hold." She stated firmly.
Vin rolled his eyes in similar annoyance. Of course he was aware that
the tent was not going to hold! It was not meant for this kind of weather. It
was meant to protect him from the rain on those rare occasions where a light
drizzle had escalated into something worse. Most people had the sense to be
firmly indoors by the time the harder stuff came down.
Except those who went rushing out of town without checking to see if there
was any need to do so in the first place.
"I know that." Vin retorted tautly. His voice was now a thin
line of anger, pressed firmly under the weight of his desperate attempt to keep
rein on his own temper. She was sitting before him cross-legged, hugging her
arms around her knees as she raged on about how unfair this was. Vin who had
tried to get some rest had stretched out, on the off chance that he might get
some sleep. However, with Alex’s demeanour the way it
was at this moment, not only was he not going to get any sleep but also he was
going to be treated to the full vent of her anger at the situation.
"How can you be so calm about this?" Alex demanded. She felt
butterflies in her stomach just looking at him, trying not to become
intoxicated by the sight of his handsome face, even if it was hidden underneath
stubble and wet hair. Memories of the night before visited her regularly,
taunted her with what could have been. What still could be in light of their
present situation. It made her nervous and uncomfortable to be so close to him.
The more she remained near him, the harder it was to fight the desires of the
night before when she had been prepared to submit to the pleasure generated by
the raw heat of his hungry lips.
"There’s nothing I can do about it that’s why." Vin glared at
her. His blue eyes staring at Alex’s own brown eyes as if she was a petulant
child. He closed his eyes and tried to lie back again, hoping she would take
the hint and shut up.
"Are we going to spend the entire night out here?" She
questioned again and proved otherwise.
Vin tried not to swear under his breath and he opened his eyes again and
said with an increasing tension to his voice. "For now."
"How long is for now?" Alex inquired again. If they kept
talking then perhaps they would not be engaging in any other activities. Who
knows what could be running through his mind right now?
"Okay," Vin let out a frustrated sigh and threw his hat on the
ground as he raised himself to a sitting position. "We’re going." He
stated icily.
Alex looked at him in surprise. "Now?"
"Yes now!" He snapped as he crawled out of the tent.
Alex scrambled after him but did not emerge into the rain. "But
it’s raining out there!" She protested.
"Really!" Vin barked back as he began to dismantle the tent
around her ears. "I hadn’t noticed!"
"We can’t go out like this!" She declared as Vin started to
pull the small stakes holding the tent to the ground swiftly. At this point,
Alex realised that she had probably contributed to
the sudden snap in his tolerance. She knew she ought to apologise
but he was in such a state that she did not think that was entirely wise.
Vin shoved the stakes covered in dirt and mud into one of his saddlebags
before dropping to his knees. "Get on the horse." He ordered in a voice
that indicated he was not in the mood for an argument.
"No." Alex said somewhat timidly, not liking the sudden shift
in his manner. She was used to him being restrained and this side of him
intimidated her slightly. She wondered what set him off. "It’s too wet to
ride."
He grabbed her arm and fairly dragged her out of the tent, which
collapsed behind her by the sudden action. Alex let out a short squeal of
outrage as she was forced into the open air. With his hand firmly around her
wrist, Vin headed towards his horse pulling Alex along who was too astonished
to put up a fight until he was halfway across the campsite towards Peso.
"Vin Tanner, let me go!" She cried in protest.
He said nothing as always and paused only when he reached his horse.
Without saying another word, he put his hands on her hips and lifted her up so
she could mount Peso. Alex climbed on, dismayed at his behaviour
while at the same time furious. "Are you insane?" She called out.
"We can’t ride in this!" The rain was all through her now and Alex
had to brush the wet strands from her face to see him.
Vin ignored her and continued dismantling the tent. In a few seconds it
was completely collapsed and Vin continued with the work of gathering his
things. He was tired of everything, tired of her complaints and damn near ready
to shoot her unless they did not get back to
"Mr Tanner, we can’t ride in this weather!" She declared as he
completed his work of clearing the campsite and strode back to Peso with an
unreadable look in his dark eyes. She could see the line of his jaw set firmly
as he climbed onto the horse.
"We’re going." He said simply.
"But…" Alex protested but Vin cut her off before she could say
anything else.
"I don’t want to hear it." His voice was sharp. He dug his
heels in and prompted Peso forward through the pouring rain in the direction of
the river. The water was choppy but the horse was used to swimming through
worse. Vin was certain that it would have no difficulty in traversing the
distance. If Peso was not up to it, well drowning was not such a bad way to die
either. In any case, it would be quiet at least.
"What’s gotten into you?" She asked innocently as they edged
towards the embankment.
Vin resisted the urge to shove her off the horse again.
*********
He knew he should not be making the journey alone but he had to know if
what he and Mary had guessed. The weather was starting up again and Chris
wondered if the rain was linked symbiotically to his state of mind at the time.
Without offering any explanation to his companions, he mounted his horse and
started the evening ride to Purgatory. After the day he had put in, Chris knew
it was wiser to leave the journey until the next day when the rain had eased
off slightly. However, what he and Mary had stumbled upon tonight could not
wait. Chris needed his answers and he needed them now.
All this time, they had been operating under assumption that the victims
of the stagecoach murders were random, unfortunate in their lot because of
where they had found themselves during the robbery. It had never occurred to
anyone that perhaps the victims themselves were the key to the whole mystery.
As he had confessed earlier, Chris had never been able to understand why it was
necessary to kill all the passengers. That point had stuck in his mind because
no matter how much he looked at it, it made no sense.
There was really no good reason to kill all those passengers other that
the ones he and Mary had implied earlier. Her intuition that the victims might
the reason for the killings now brought new possibilities to light,
particularly in regard to the fifth man. Even before arriving in Purgatory, the
leader of the seven knew what he would find there. Buck’s lead had come too
easily. He realised that now. Before this afternoon,
there had been no chance to question it because the need for it to be right was
too compelling. After the losses during the first three robberies, the lawmen
had needed to believe Buck’s news was genuine.
But if it was not genuine, if the information had been planted and they
were set up, then it would appear that they had fallen into a well placed trap
and allowed the mastermind of these crimes to escape without suspicion. The
idea that the bastard who engineered the deaths of so many escaping with all
his loot and unscathed, made Chris Larabee sick to
his stomach. It reminded too much of the man that had ordered Sarah and Adam
killed, whom still roamed at large and was protected by his anonymity. Chris
was not letting the mysterious fifth man have that pleasure.
Chris arrived in Purgatory a short time after leaving
It was easy enough finding
The woman who looked over her shoulder at him had light golden hair, not
the white gold of Mary’s but close enough. Her face registered surprise as she
put down the brush with which she was using to comb those long, sensuous
strands of hair, which he knew from personal experience were luxurious to the
touch. She was dressed in a robe that was open, revealing the undergarments
beneath.
"Well as I live and breathe." She said with a genuine smile.
"Chris Larabee."
"Hello
"I hear you’re courting that Mrs Travis
in
"Yeah." He nodded in answer, seeing no reason to lie. It was
public knowledge now.
"I never figured you for going respectable on me." She smiled,
placing her hands on her hips as she regarded him.
"Never happen." Chris shook his head and returned her smile,
glad that she held no hostility towards him.
"She’s a good woman."
"I know." He agreed. "
"Let me guess,"
Chris looked up at her. "No." He said quickly, wondering what
on earth gave her that idea? "What makes you think that?" He really
had to ask.
"Only one of your men I ain’t seen here." She replied,
surprised that it was not the reason. "I guessed it had to be cause he’s
shy or something."
Well she was halfway right, he supposed. Chris had never seen Vin here.
For some reason, the tracker stayed away from working girls, even before
Charlotte and Alexandra Styles had come into his life. He could not understand
the man’s hesitation for he was young and must have needs but this was
not Chris’ reason for coming here and frankly, discussing his best friend’s sex
life or lack of, was making him decidedly uncomfortable.
"I need to a find a girl name Elisa." Chris responded instead.
"Sure,"
"That’s too bad.’ Chris reached into his pocket and took her hand
to place some money into her palm. "This will make up for whatever I’m
going to do in there."
"Neither am I." He replied leaving, but she’s going to answer
me, one way or another."
*******
While
Elisa looked up at him and screamed.
The man beneath her did the same as well.
Chris looked at him with a faint smile and tipped his hat in the
direction of the startled man in his mid forties, who had thrown Elisa off him
and was now struggling to find his clothes. "Good evening Reverend."
Chris greeted the spiritual leader of Bitter Creek, as the man’s face melted at
the shock of his identity being discovered.
The gunslinger shifted his gaze away from his nudity as the good
Reverend grabbed his clothes and hastily slipped on his pants. Whatever sexual ardour may have been in his mind prior to Chris’ abrupt
entry was almost certainly quashed by the time the man stumbled out of the
tent, too choked with horror and humiliation to say anything at being caught in
such an embarrassing and highly scandalous position.
"You bastard!" Elisa said covering her nakedness with a sheet
as she glared at him. "How dare you just come in here! He was a paying
customer."
"I wouldn’t bother." Chris took a step towards her, which made
the girl take a step backwards in fear. Her dark brown hair was tousled around
her face and judging by the shapely curves beneath the sheet, he could well
understand why she was so popular. "I’ve already paid
"What do you want?" She demanded suspiciously.
Chris could see fear in her eyes but it was fear mingled with
recognition. She knew who he was and that was surprising considering how he had
never laid eyes on her before. He crossed the room in two strides and took her
arm firmly, just in case she had it in her mind to run. He had no patience to try
and find her should that happen. "Who paid you to tell Buck about the
horse trader?"
Her eyes narrowed enough for Chris to know that she was perfectly aware
of what he was referring to. Chris almost expected the lie that would soon come
from her lips. "No one paid me. I told him because he put the word out
with
"I don’t have time for this." He glared at her with those
intense blue eyes that indicated this was no time for her to be making any
attempts at deception. He was able to reduce men to quivering mounds of terror
with that high-powered gaze of his that saw all and reflected the predatory
danger inside him. "I know you were paid and I know you were paid
specifically to tell Buck about the horse trader." His voice bristled with
threat.
His hand dug into her forearm with such force that she released a slight
gasp of pain. "I don’t know anything!" She whined.
"Okay." He nodded but did not relax his grip. "I’ll just take
you back to
"No!" She pleaded. "I didn’t do anything!"
"Don’t misunderstand me," Chris stared at her with hard eyes.
"I am not offering you a choice. You tell me what you know now or I will
take you back to
She started to cry a predictable tool in her arsenal and one, which had
little effect on him. Frantically, she looked around, trying to decide what to
do as they approach the opening in the canvas. She knew she was not strong
enough to deal with life behind bars and was also aware of Chris Larabee’s reputation. If she decided that she was going to
jail then Elisa did not doubt she would arrive there, unless she acted quickly.
"Wait!" She cried out finally, hating him for forcing her to
capitulate.
Chris paused as a gust of cool wind blew in through the opening of the
tent. The rain outside was still fierce and he had no wish to drag this girl
through the downpour so he did hope that this was a genuine attempt to give him
what he wanted and not some desperate act designed to trick him in to releasing
her. Chris did hope she knew better than that or his reputation was going to
need serious work.
"Who paid you?" He asked once more, slowly and deliberately,
pinning her fear with an icy glare.
"I don’t know his name!" She exclaimed. This time the tears
coming down her cheeks did not seem false but Chris was in no hurry to release
his grip of her arm. "He only started coming here a few weeks ago. He was
young, about twenty or twenty five I think." Elisa was speaking faster
now, the truth spilling from her lips now that the barrier that held her
silence in place was gone.
She went on to offer a description that was not too dissimilar from that
given to Chris by Julia Pemberton. Elisa’s account was more descriptive since
she had spent several sessions with the young man.
"Sometimes he came alone and sometimes he came in with four others.
I’ve never seen them around either. I think they were from up north. I heard
them talking about the
Chris did know. It was easy to tell what vocation a man was in by simply
glancing at his hands. Soft hands indicated a life spend in ease, without
having to work or ride for that matter. Leather reins had a tendency to leave
its mark on skin, especially over the years of prolonged use. "Go
on." He urged.
"Early this week, he came up to me and offered me some money. Said
that there’d be more on the way if I did this little favour
for him. He said if anyone came asking, I was to tell them about this one
particular customer I had, one who bred horses."
And there is it was.
A perfect plan to get rid of his partners while allowing the law to believe
that the murders were over since the guilty had been punished to the fullest
extent of the law. There was almost a beauty to the symmetry of that plan and
how easily Chris Larabee and his friends had danced
to this secret play without ever realising they were
on someone else’s stage.
"Alright, I believe you." Chris said letting her go, convinced
that she had told the truth. No doubt, if he chose to seek out the horse
trader, Chris would find the same story coming from a different person. He was
certain the man had been paid to tell Buck about the stage so that the seven
would go riding after the outlaws and bring about the very same result that had
taken place today. He hated being anyone’s tool but that is exactly what had
happened. They had been used. All of them. Himself, the friends he rode with,
this foolish young woman with her promises of money and god knows what else and
most of all, the fools who had trusted this unseen enemy and paid with their
lives when they did his dirty work and allowed him the perfect escape.
This was not over, Chris decided as he started back to
Not by a long shot.
Part
Six
Confrontations
When this had all began things had been simple.
Her life had fallen into a tidy routine to which Alexandra Styles found
very comforting. She had her medical practice in a town that was fast accepting
the notion of a lady physician. There were friends in her life, a presence she
had missed most profoundly during the years of nomadic existence, when her
father and she seemed like the only people in the world that they travelled
extensively. Most of all important of all, she had fallen in love with a man. A
thing she swore once that she would never do because of her years in medical
school and later on when she had tried to begin her career and learnt that men
were the enemy. A selfish, self-important enemy who protected the status quo
with cruel determination and barred her from what she had loved for so long.
Then she met the seven of
Ezra seemed the best of all and he had charmed her with his manner and
supported her the way no one had done since her father had died. She looked at
him and she saw grand dreams in his eyes and knew how enticing that glimmer
could be. Alex had fallen in love with him from the very beginning and she
allowed herself to be swept away on the tidal wave of emotion without betraying
herself or her calling as a doctor. There had never been a reason to question
that love because it was fulfilling and it was especially important to her that
he had allowed her to come to him at her own pace. She never felt the pressure
that other couples often endured when issues of intimacy were discussed. Her
life was, as she had always wanted it to be.
Until now.
With
Alex was glad to be home but she also knew the safe world she had left
behind was no longer there. The past three days had its effects on both of them
and she was not entirely sure how she was going to cope with him in the future.
She could blame her actions in the cabin as nothing more than animal lust, a
need for warmth between two bodies trapped in the cold and wet but deep inside,
where she dared not look, she knew better.
Alex had wanted Vin Tanner.
The memory of how he had made her feel was powerful and fierce, unlike
anything she had experienced in her life. Alex had convinced herself that her
heart was with Ezra and in truth it was, however, what Vin Tanner made her feel
was not easily forgotten. The entire trip back from the river had been silent
for Vin had been sombre and broody all the way,
responding to her questions with little more than sharp grunts. She had the
feeling that he was angry with her but Alex did not want to press the point by
asking why. Her behaviour at the river had been
childish and overbearing, even for his normally measured demeanour.
Vin was not speaking for good reason. He was angry with himself and at
her for things he could not even begin to chronicle with any accuracy. Was he
angry because she was so terrified of being any place with him; she had to
drive him mad with distraction? He could not guess which was more infuriating
to him. Was it the idea that Alex thought being with him in close quarters was
so repulsive she had done everything but say ‘stay away’ or the fact that she
truly had no feeling for him and that the incident in the cabin was merely an
aberration?
In either case, the point was academic for when they reached Four
Corners in a matter of minutes, what had taken place in the confines of Agnes
Doherty’s cabin would be forgotten by both of them. He would return her to
Ezra, knowing with rising jealousy that it would be Ezra on the receiving end
of her kisses and it would be Ezra who would make love to her one day. The idea
sickened him even more than the sorrow of when Charlotte had returned to her
husband. He had watched her leave, feeling the crushing weight of her loss and
even though he accepted it was the right thing he had done, it stung knowing
she was going to another man.
Why were the women he cared about always taken?
The saloon was alive and jumping with revelries that would not likely
come to and end until a few hours before dawn. It was the only place in
"I need a drink." Vin spoke for the first time in too long as
Peso struggled miserably to reach the hitching post and the water through next
to it. The animal had been pushed beyond its limits and needed a long rest to
recuperate from what its master had demanded of it today. Vin hated forcing
Peso through such weather and over such a distance but he had wanted to get
Alex back to Four Corners before one of them said something they could not take
back and would regret. He wanted her away from him so he could disappear inside
a bottle and forget all about her. For a while at least.
"I second that." She agreed quietly, surprised that he had
spoken but recovering quickly to his sudden speech. "Ezra and the others
are probably still there."
Vin stiffened at the mention of his rival’s name but made no other
reaction beyond that. Ezra was his friend and he had rights to Alex first, Vin
thought to himself. He was not going to let his desire for her come between
their friendship. "Yeah, they probably are." He answered as Peso
finally reached the hitching post and paused at the familiar place, while it
waited for Vin to dismount. The tracker did so immediately, feeling the ache in
his bones after the pace they had travelled and reached out to help Alex down.
As he took her in his arms, Vin felt that familiar charge of heat
between them and looked into her eyes to see the same effect reflected in her
eyes. When he set her down on the ground, she regarded him for a moment and
then pressed her lips against his in soft kiss. Her mouth felt warm and soft
despite the cold rain had soaked them both through. His body reacted violently
as always to her touch as it had done the night before and like that first
time, she pulled away from him again.
"Vin," she said gently. "If it wasn’t …."
"Yeah." Vin nodded, deciding he did not need to hear any more.
"I know."
That was enough. She turned away and hurried up the steps leading to the
bat wing doors, hoping he understood that she had no wish to trifle with his
feelings and her kiss had been one of farewell.
Vin watched her disappear through the doors before following her into
the saloon.
It was time to return to their lives.
********
"Alexandra!" Ezra exclaimed the moment she walked through the
doors. The gambler dropped his cards on the table and practically leapt out of
his chair as he ran towards her. The rest of the seven, those still conscious
that it is, turned sharply in response to Ezra’s reaction and followed his
advance across the saloon.
"Ezra!" She smiled as they both met in a warm embrace and a
passionate kiss of happiness and greeting.
Ezra almost swept her off her feet once he had her in his arms, grateful
to see her alive and well. "Where have you been? I have been worried
sick!" He replied and then took note of her appearance. "Good god,
what happened to you?"
"What didn’t?" She gushed and continued to relate the events
following her departure from
Vin appeared in the saloon at that point and was quickly surrounded by
his friends, except for Chris who stayed where he was at the counter because
the tracker would join him there soon enough. He watched the younger man
fielding questions about where he and Alex had been the past few days, while
Buck slapped him on his back and told him it was good to see him. Vin smiled
faintly but no more than that and Chris saw something in his eye that was recognisable only to the gunslinger but no one else. JD
began relating in slurred drunken speech what had been going on the past few
days during his absence as Vin made his way through the room, pausing long
enough for Ezra to thank him for looking after Alex.
Vin and Alex regarded each other for the briefest hint of a second
before she returned her gaze to Ezra whose arms were still around her while Vin
continued towards the bar, hiding any trace of emotion that might indicated how
much that galled him. Buck was blathering in Vin’s ears about how they had
captured and killed the outlaws and about the woman who was an eyewitness.
Chris saw him approach and guessed that those were the furthest things from the
younger man’s mind.
Vin reached the bar and appeared almost relieved when he caught sight of
Chris.
"I knew he’d come riding up out of nowhere!" Buck grinned as
he called out to Inez to bring his returning comrade a drink.
The Mexican immediately appeared with a shot glass of whisky and stared
at Vin with concern. "You’re absolutely soaked." She declared, seeing
the water dripping of his clothes and the buckskin jacket he wore.
"It’s raining pretty fierce out there." Vin said quietly,
offering a polite nod of thanks as he took the shot glass and downed it one
gulp.
"I’ll make a bed up for you upstairs," she said without
expecting argument for him on this matter. "I’ll run you a bath if you
like?"
"No," Vin shook his head. "Just a bed will do and maybe
something warm to eat." He asked hopefully, realising
it was late and the kitchen was normally closed at this hour.
"It will be my pleasure," Inez smiled at him warmly, pleased
that he was back safe and sound.
"I suppose I better be getting JD to bed too." Buck sighed seeing the
youngster staggering about uncertainly. Nathan was trying to steer him towards
a chair without much success. Josiah had placed himself in a chair and was
starting to doze off. "Lord knows the only thing holding him up is his
boots." Buck turned to Vin and gave the tracker a warm squeeze on the arm.
"Its good to have you back Vin. If things weren’t so crazy around here, we
would have come after you."
"We were okay." Vin assured the big man knowing the sincerity
behind that admission. "We just got caught in the rain and decided to hold
up somewhere until it eased off. When it didn’t look like it would, we though
it best to try and get back into town anyway."
"Can’t have been nice," Buck replied. "You both must have
driven each other crazy." He laughed knowing how fiery those two could get
when they were around each other.
"Something like that." Vin said shortly and quickly searched
for the bottle Inez had left behind.
Chris did not say anything until Buck had gone to help Nathan with JD, who was
starting to protest that he was not a kid any more and could handle his liquor,
an argument that did not at all sound convincing from the floor.
"How you doing pard?" Chris spoke
for the first time.
"I’ve been better." Vin answered, downing his second drink. He
hoped by the time Inez had a bed ready for him, it would be a third or fourth.
"Is everything all right?" Chris asked, his gaze shifted long
enough in the direction of Alex, who was being escorted out of the saloon by
Ezra for Vin to understand what he was asking.
"I don’t want to talk about it." Vin said sharply with enough
of an edge to his voice to convey that he meant it.
"Well," Chris nodded, understanding everything in that one
response. "Its over now, ain’t it?"
Vin met his eyes and replied in that too soft voice of his, trying to
hide the depth of his hurt behind his eyes and realising
that Chris Larabee was possibly the only person who
could see through the facade of indifference. "Yeah," he said after a
moment because Chris would appreciate his feelings to leave it at that.
"Its over."
Chris turned to the counter and refilled his glass. "That’s
good." He replied after a moment and left it exactly at that because that
was how Vin wanted it.
********
Julia had been unable to sleep and wished Ezra was here with her. The
memory of their lovemaking kept her awake, dreaming of a repeat performance
sometime soon. She had never believed he could have such power over her in the
most carnal way. She had been with numerous men before but none had the aroused
her or satisfied her in the way Ezra Standish was capable. She knew she loved
him without a doubt and it was a wonderful feeling to know that it was
reciprocated in kind. To have someone like him, who knew everything about her,
still, want her was something Julia had never expected to find
She heard voices outside her window and felt compelled to investigate.
Chris had seen no reason to have her sequestered away at the Travis place since
the bulk of the gang had been killed today and doubted any attempt on her life.
Tomorrow, the guards would resume their vigilance but for tonight, she had the
privacy she desired. Julia had taken up a room in the hotel again and was
pleased with being back in town although that meant that Ezra could not be a
nightly visitor until she found a house of her own. His dedication to her
reputation was almost endearing, Julia thought.
Peering out through the window, she saw the rain against the glass as always
and wondered if it ever stopped raining in this town. She saw two people
walking along the boardwalk and immediately recognised
Ezra walking with another woman. Almost immediately, Julia guessed that
Alexandra Styles had finally made her return to town. A smile formed on her
lips knowing that Ezra’s was well and truly hers now but upon closer
examination of the good doctor, understood why it had been so difficult for
Ezra to make that choice.
My god, she’s beautiful!
Julia found herself thinking and this was quite an effort on the part of
Alexandra Styles, considering she looked like she had been put quite literally
through hell. If she was like this now, how did she appear normally? Julia had
seen women like this before, whose beauty was such that it literally took the
breath away and yet she could not understand the logic behind not using that
tremendous power. They chose to hide it away beneath a veneer of respectability
and convention or in Miss Styles case, behind a worn doctor’s bag.
Suddenly, Julia felt her confidence in Ezra waver. What if he was swayed
by the enchantment’s of Doctor Styles and chose not to abandon her? Julia could
not stand seeing him with someone else. She was certain of this now. She had
moved heaven and earth to get him; she was not about to lose him now. Her green
eyes watched the couple move down the boardwalk, laughing and talking as if
they had never been apart and as if Julia Avery, no, Pemberton never existed.
It made Julia seethe in rage that Ezra might not make good on his promise to
tell Alexandra about her.
Perhaps it was too hard for Ezra, Julia decided, stepping away from the
window once they had faded from view. She sat down on her bed contemplating the
dark thoughts that were seething inside her jealous mind.
Maybe, she would spare Ezra the pain of telling Alexandra Styles the
truth. Yes, she would do that for Ezra because she loved him. She would take the
brunt of the doctor’s anger because she loved Ezra and she was not allowing
anything to get in the way of her being with him. Julia Pemberton had sought
her whole life for someone like him.
She was not going to let him go.
For anything.
*********
"What did you find?" Chris Larabee
asked the moment he walked into Mary’s office the next morning.
With the return of Vin and Alex, he could now focus his attention on
finding this elusive fifth man whom he was certain had masterminded the entire
plan and sacrificed his partners to escape into obscurity. They had only one
lead to finding him and that was through the victims he had left behind. Chris
was more certain that Mary had been correct when she had came up with the idea
that the victims were the keys to the whole mystery. Until yesterday, Chris had
believed that choice of victims happened to be whoever was on the stage at the
time of the robbery. However, what it they were wrong? What if specific victims
were sought for an unknown purpose?
"Not much." Mary confessed, having only collected the wired
information a short time earlier. Frank had not been very impressed with her
when she had pounded on his doors late yesterday evening. However, when she
explained to him the urgency of the situation, the telegraph operator had been
more than accommodating. Telegrams were sent to Bitter Creek, Sweet Water and
Eagle Bend respectively. She had not expected all the answers to be presented
first thing this morning and was surprised by the amount that had returned so rapidly.
"Most the passengers were from around these parts. Mostly farmers,
horse breeders that sort of thing." She presented Chris with the list she
had complied and the gunslinger studied the names and the notations under it.
He tended to agree that there was nothing about them that raised suspicion.
"Of course," Mary added. "We haven’t got the responses
from back east yet." She replied. "Those will take a few more hours,
if not towards the end of the day."
"I suppose." Chris frowned, not liking the wait but realising that it was necessary.
"Are you going to find Alex and Vin today?" She inquired,
moving off the subject a moment because she new obstacles only bothered him and
made him moody.
Chris realised that no one had told her that
Vin and Alex had returned and supposed no one would considering the rest of the
seven were at this moment, recovering from last night’s debauchery. "They
came back last night."
"Oh!" Mary exclaimed in surprise since the news had yet to
reach her. It was still quite early in the morning even for Chris but she knew
he was often like this when he had a mystery to solve. Chris hated mysteries.
In fact he often hated anything over which he had no direct control. She
supposed that if it were necessary to label him, she would consider that he
might be an obsessive-compulsive. However, it was going to take someone braver
than her to tell him that. "How are they? Where have they been?" She
asked in quick succession.
"Apparently, they tried to sit out the rain." Chris explained
it as Vin had told him. "They waited as long as they could and decided to
come back anyway when it looked like the rain wasn’t stopping. Alex got caught
in a landslide and her horse got hurt. Vin had to put it down."
"Not Calliope!" Mary said in dismay, knowing how attached Alex
was to the horse. After a moment, she threw Chris a furtive glance and asked
gingerly. "Anything else happened out there?"
Chris looked at her and guessed her meaning immediately. "Now Mrs Travis," he said with a hint of reproach in his
voice. "Whatever do you mean?" He teased.
Mary huffed in sarcasm and retorted automatically. "You know
perfectly what I mean since you’re the one who put the thought into my head.
Now spill." She prompted, easing back into her chair.
Chris laughed shortly, remembering why he loved this woman so much and
wishing Vin could have the same kind of happiness. "Something happened up
there but Vin won’t say what."
"You don’t think…." Mary looked at him in suggestion.
"No," Chris shook his head. Vin did not give Chris the
impression that he had come away from his journey with Alexandra Styles with
anything remotely resembling a fond memory. "He’s even quieter than usual
and doesn’t want to talk about it."
Mary could understand that. Vin Tanner was an extremely private person.
Even more so than Chris she sometimes believed. It was near impossible to
breach the walls of his personality and an even larger mystery as to why they
were in place at all. Vin was not marked by tragedy as Chris had been and as
far as she knew, he had spent a great deal of his life alone. She would have
thought the idea of human contact would be appealing to him after such a
lengthy period of isolation.
"Maybe he’ll come around later." Mary sighed, deciding to
return to the work ahead. "Since you’ve got nothing better to do, you can
help me cross reference some of these names in the list with Steven's files.
There might be something useful in there that could help us."
Chris sighed and picked up the list, not relishing the idea of paper
work but could think of no excuses to avoid it, at least none Mary would find
believable. "You’re a tough woman," he grumbled. "Making me work
like this."
"Well, you’re a tough guy," she smiled as she stood up and
went to the filing cabinet. Rummaging through the stored folders, she pulled
out a thick stack and handed it to Chris. "You’ll handle it."
Chris frowned as he eyed the collection distastefully before deciding
that he was going to have to. "I had to find me a working woman." He
grumbled.
******
Alex woke up the next morning and relished the joy of being in her own
bed once again. She had returned home the night before and slipped into a warm
bath, allowing the last two days to wash off her skin like a bad dream.
Outside, the rain had stopped finally and the blazing sun through her window
indicated what a lovely day it was going to be. This was one of those days; she
realised as she climbed out of the sheets to prepare
for the day, when one was truly grateful to be alive.
The situation with Vin seemed far away and resolved. She had been right
about seeing Ezra again. Once she was with him, the incident in the cabin
seemed like it had never happened and certainly, Alex would never think of it
again. She just hoped Vin was able to understand the way things were. Getting
dressed, she made a mental checklist of the things she needed to do and
reminded herself to drop in on Mary Travis to catch up on all the news. Judging
by what Ezra had told her briefly last night;
She glanced at the clock on the dresser and noticed it was almost
Nevertheless, the sickness had not caught up with her yet and before it
did, she was determined at the very least to have a good lunch. Very soon, she
was dressed, having slipped into a plain violet coloured
cotton dress with a scoop neck which she accentuated with a shawl and slippers,
before making her way to the front door to leave. As she was about to open the
door, Alex caught sight of a folded piece of paper that had been slipped
through the crack beneath it. Intrigued, she reached for it and unfolded the
crisp white sheet, which soon revealed itself to be the complimentary
stationary of the Four Corner’s Hotel.
We must speak.
Julia Pemberton
Julia Pemberton. The name sounded familiar and Alex tried to place it as
she folded it up again and slipped the note into the pocket of her dress. She
was down the steps and into the street, when Alex remembered that she had heard
the name from Ezra the night before. It was the eyewitness they had been
protecting, she realised. Ezra had informed her of
how the seven had been charged to guard her since at the time, she had been
their only clue to finding the murderers who had lay siege to stagecoach trail.
Alex questioned why Miss Pemberton would request such a clandestine meeting but
guessed that there was only one real way to find out.
It was not quite
She walked through the street, waving greetings at everyone who tipped
their hat in her direction and offered salutations. The bulk of Four Corner’s
residents were out in force today, now that the sun had finally made an
appearance after almost three days of unyielding showers and storms. The ground
was still muddy so most people kept to the boardwalk, staying well out of reach
of the horses and wagons that could splatter the mud in all directions.
Alex loved this town and could honestly say it was her home now. It had
taken so long to find a place for herself in this world and while
Poor thing, Alex thought. It was bad enough to be the sole survivor of a
murder spree but to the only witness, with her life threatened as well? Alex
felt a wave of sympathy for her. She arrived in the hallway and saw Chris Larabee stretched out on a chair, near the woman’s door.
The gunslinger was reading a book but noticed her the moment she appeared.
"Hello Alex." He greeted pleasantly in that silky voice of
his, wondering why Alex was here.
"Is she still under protection?" Alex asked puzzled. "I
thought you’d caught the outlaws."
Chris nodded. "We did but the one she identified is still
missing."
"How awful." Alex claimed. "Do we even know who this
person is?"
"Getting there." He said with a slight nod. Most of the
information on the stage passengers had shown nothing out of the ordinary and
until they heard about the
"She asked to see me." Alex gestured towards the door.
"Something wrong with her?" Chris asked in concern. He had
only seen her when he had first arrived and the young lady’s appearance did not
indicate that there was anything wrong with her that would require a doctor’s
presence.
"Not that I know of." Alex replied, knocking on the top
gently. "She just wanted to see me."
That bothered Chris for some reason but he did not know why. Suddenly
that little voice that usually precipitated trouble made itself heard inside
his mind. Unfortunately, Chris was in no position to suspect what form it might
take and said nothing when Julia opened the door and introductions were made
before both women disappeared into the room.
******
"You wanted to see me." Alex asked as Julia showed her into
the parlour area of the hotel room.
Since it was apparent that Julia was going to be staying in the hotel
for awhile, until her Emporium was restored and she could live in its premises
upstairs, she had indulged herself by taking up residence in the only suite in
the hotel. It was not lavish by city standards but it had a small parlour for entertaining and a separate bedroom.
"Please join me for tea." Julia smiled politely; examining
Alex closely. It was as Julia had suspected it the night before. In the light
of day, Alexandra Styles was even more beautiful than ever and could give her
serious competition for Ezra’s affections unless Julia acted now.
Both women sat down before a table laden with the accoutrements for what
Alex remembered in
"There is no delicate way to put this." Julia began once she
had poured them both a cup of tea and the pleasantries had dwindled to a point
where there was no longer any way to delay the reason for this meeting.
"I am a doctor, everything you say will be purely
confidential." Alex replied, trying to put the young woman at ease. After
all, she knew how difficult it was for some patients to be honest about what
was ailing them.
"All right," Julia answered, deciding that this was going to
be easier than she thought. The woman really had no idea, did she? "Its
about Ezra."
Alex blinked. "I beg your pardon?"
"Ezra Standish is in love with me." Julia seeing no need to
pad the truth in any flowery language that could lessen the impact of what she
was going to say. No matter how it was related to the doctor, it was never
going to be taken well.
Alex stared at her for a moment in complete disbelief. After a moment,
she recovered enough to respond. "I don’t know what gave you that idea but
you are mistaken. Ezra and I have been together for some time now. He doesn’t
love you."
"He told me he loved me." Julia met her eyes with a hint of a
smile. "Did he ever tell you?"
This was too unreal. Alex could not believe what was coming out of this
woman’s mouth. "That’s none of your damn business." Alex snapped,
trying hard to hide that Julia Pemberton’s words had shaken her to the core.
Ezra had stood at her door last night and told her after escorting her home and
told her how worried he was about her. Her mind swirled with other images of
her and Ezra along with everything they had shared these past months since she
had arrived at
"I’m guessing no." Julia continued her verbal barrage,
satisfied because she could taste blood in the water. The doctor was still
crying denial, which Julia had expected so it would take a little more
convincing before she was ready to believe it. "Of course he told me that
he had not said those three little magic words to you."
"You don’t know anything about us. Ezra will laugh when he hears about
this!" Alex hissed, rising to her feet and storming across the floor, She
had not even cross the rug before Julia spoke again.
"I’ve slept with him. I know you haven’t." Julia announced and
saw Alex freeze in her tracks.
Slowly, the doctor turned on her heels with her eyes blazing. "Is
that how you see it?" She asked taking a step forward, slow and
deliberate. "Is that how you envision your rejection in that vicious
little mind of yours? It’s not such a terrible thing if a man doesn’t want
what’s offered on a platter?"
"Is that how you envision Ezra behaved?" Julia returned with a
sadistic smile of pleasure. "I assure you its not. I made love to him when
they left him alone with me when they went to catch those outlaws. I was alone
with him at the Travis place, just Ezra and I. He needed me too. Apparently, he
had been without the affections of a woman since he met you."
"You’re lying." Alex whispered, very nearing the edge of her
tight emotional control. She was trying not to believe a word this woman was
saying but the fact was, Ezra did tell her that he had been guarding Julia
Pemberton at the property once owned by Mary Travis. In fact, Julia had no reason
to lie when it was just as easy for Alex to ask Chris if her claim was true,
that she had been alone with Ezra.
"He’s a beautiful lover." The red haired siren sneered as she
closed in, until she was only inches away from Alex’s face because she wanted
to see the look in the doctor’s eyes when she told her how magnificent that
union had been. It empowered Julia like nothing else could. "You’re a fool
for staying away from him for so long. I’ve had a great many men in my time and
he was easily the best. You should see the darling way his eyes become dark
green when he’s just about to….."
Alex slapped her before the words could leave her mouth.
Like the hellcat she was, Julia’s reaction to the attack was swift. She
lunged at Alex like a coiled snake, while the doctor was still mired in the
astonishment that she had been angry enough to strike someone. Her nails sank
into Alex’s shoulder and dug in deeply. Alex let out a small cry of pain and
recovered by slamming her elbow into Julia’s chest to push her away. The
smaller woman took a step back and crashed into the table, sending the teapot
and cups clattering to the floor noisily. Alex turned away, unwilling to
humiliate herself in a further show of violence when suddenly, she felt Julia’s
nails in her loose hair.
Twisting around painfully, Alex tried to wrestle Julia’s hands free of
her dark hair and in doing so, succeeded in making them both lose their footing
before falling to the floor with a loud thud.
"Let go of me!" Alex shouted at she wrapped her hands around
Julia’s throat to make her release her grip of Alex’s sheeny
dark hair. Alex did not want to fight like this! It was beneath her. Julia let
go long enough to sink those nails into Alex’s arm and raked hard enough to
make her bleed under the cotton of her dress.
At this point, the commotion was loud enough to cause Chris Larabee to come smashing through the door. He took two
steps into the room and then felt genuine astonishment as he saw Alex and Julia
rolling around the floor like a bunch of brawling children. His arrival
provided enough of a distraction for Julia to release her grip on Alex. Feeling
her arm sting in pain, Alex threw her fist forward and connected with the
smooth line of her jaw.
"What the hell is going on here!" Was the only coherent thing
Chris could ask in the face of all this.
Alex scrambled away and glanced briefly at the blood oozing through her
dress as Chris stepped between them as Julia was now on her feet. The Easterner
ran straight for Alex when Chris barred her from continuing any further and
said very firmly. "That’s enough."
Alex felt hot tears running down her cheeks, as her mind was too wrapped
around the possibility that Ezra might have actually slept with this…this
thing! "I’m sorry Chris." Alex mumbled dazed, trying to keep her
voice from shaking but could hear it herself that she had failed. She was
mortified by this disgusting display and was completely ashamed of herself.
Without saying another word, she fled out of the room. Too embarrassed to face
him or anyone else for that matter.
Chris watched her leave, seeing the anguish in those brown eyes and
deciding that he was not going to just let her go. In all the time he had known
Alexandra Styles, he had never seen her so distraught. She was not a woman who
went into hysterics for he had seen her work flesh so ruined that it would make
most men retch while she barely flinched. Chris turned sharply towards Julia
and said in a voice that told her in no uncertain terms what would happen if
she disobeyed him. "Stay here." He ordered and hurried after Alex.
********
Alex was hardly aware of the curious looks she was receiving as she
stormed down the street, making a beeline for the saloon where she was due to
meet Ezra for lunch. Lunch! She snorted in derision, he’s already had dessert!
There was blood exuding from scratches in her throat and the crimson stain on
the shoulder of her dress had progressed beyond the four lines of red into one
big mess. However, the pain hardly registered. The only thing in her mind was
the notion that Ezra could have stood in front of her yesterday and told her in
a bald face lie that he had missed her when he had slept with that witch!
All these years, she had always tried to be calm, to be measured in all
things. Emotions only got in the way of her work and her studies, so she had
learnt to keep ruthless control on them. As a woman, she knew how easy it was
to let her passions run away with her and Alex had sworn she would never let
that happen to her. To be a doctor in a man’s world, that was the price of
competing. The only time she had ever thrown caution to the winds was the first
time she looked in Ezra Standish eyes and knew that she might be in love with
him. Even then, years of habit told her it was a bad idea. He was a gambler and
a con man by nature, used to deception as tricks of the trade. She had given
him the benefit of the doubt because she saw more than what everyone else did.
"Alex!" Chris caught up with her. "What’s happened?"
"Did you know!" She whirled around and demanded. "Did you
know about them!"
"Know what?" Chris asked helplessly, wishing he had some idea
what the hell could cause such a fiery confrontation between two women who had
never met before.
"About EZRA and her!" She fairly screamed.
Oh hell. Chris Larabee
suddenly understood and wondered how he could not have guessed earlier. What
else could make any two people of the same sex go completely insane? "I
don’t think there’s anything to know." He said placing his hands on her
shoulder so she would stop and catch her breath. She had clearly worked herself
into a state and decided for a woman who was usually so calm under pressure,
when she finally went it could not be anything less than explosive. He noticed
that her shoulder was bleeding profusely and tried to think of something that
would calm her down while at the same time defend Ezra as best he could.
"They were never alone together….."
Oh hell. Chris remembered that he
was the one who told JD not to relieve Ezra yesterday while he was guarding
Julia at Mary’s place. They had been alone together for almost the entire
afternoon and suddenly, the little exchange Chris had noticed between them in
the undertakers office surfaced inside his mind.
He winced slightly but it was enough for Alex to catch the look and
shove his hand away from her. "That bastard!" She swore and continued
on her way towards the saloon.
Chris wondered if this was the time to take that vacation he always
wanted.
******
Ezra glanced at his pocket watch and noticed that Alexandra was late.
Perhaps he ought to forget about this whole idea for lunch, since she probably
wanted to sleep in after her ordeal in the wilderness. The saloon was busy with
the afternoon crowds who were here for Inez’s culinary delights, as well as the
seven except for Chris Larabee. Although he was
suffering the same hangover, Ezra was determined to look his dapper best unlike
his comrades who were sprawled out on their chairs, with hats covering their
faces or head resting on the table. Buck was so wasted that he had not even
noticed Inez who was moving through the room, dispensing meals to paying
customers. JD actually looked green while Josiah hit underneath his hat and
said nothing. Only Nathan and Vin were in any condition to give Ezra a decent
game of cards.
"Ezra!" He heard a voice speak and to his disbelief looked up
and saw that it had come from Alexandra.
At least he though it was Alex, it was hard to tell because she was very
dishevelled, bleeding and wearing a storm cloud on
her face that would make what the town had endured the past three days seem
mild in comparison.
She was in such a state that she captured the gaze of everyone as she
walked into the saloon. Even Inez was staring at her in shock.
"Alex, what happened to you?" Inez came towards her in
concern.
Alex did not answer as she walked past the bartender, her eyes
focused firmly on Ezra. She neither interested in talking to anyone else or
explaining herself for that matter.
"Alexandra what has happened?" Ezra delanded,
his eyes shifting to the stain of blood he was seeing on her shoulder.
"Don’t Alexandra me." Alex said with a voice filled with ice
and told everyone at the table that she was not at all happy. Vin was staring
at her with his dark blue eyes but he was barely registering in her mind.
Right, now there was only one thing she wanted. "Did…you…sleep…
with…her?"
Oh damn, damn, damn!
Ezra swore inwardly, wondering how on earth she had
found out about Julia and knowing that it was not really important at this
moment. From the corner of his eyes, he saw Chris Larabee
enter the saloon almost expecting to see the scene that greeted him. Buck was
staring at him with a widening grin while JD seemed merely confused. Josiah and
Nathan were glaring at him with accusation and disapproval respectively, while
Vin’s expression was completely unreadable as always.
"I can explain…" he started to say.
"You did." She concluded. Her voice was almost a
strangled whisper.
"It was not my intention to hurt you," Ezra tried to explain
but knew it sounded feeble. The pain he saw in her eyes was beyond description
but not as searing as the betrayal and all the other emotions that came with a
discovery like this.
"I’m afraid that statement would have held more weight before you slept
her?" She hissed and spun around to leave. A small titter of laughter came
from the men at the bar who were not apart of the seven. Under normal
circumstances, Ezra would have reason to take offence but at the present time,
he had bigger troubles to contend with.
"Alexandra, it was not like that at all!" Ezra kicked his
chair away as he hurried to catch her. He had to explain, at least make her
understand that it had nothing to do with her.
"What was it like?" She paused long enough to ask, her voice
still cold and hard, oblivious to how public this discussion was becoming. The
entire town knew that he was openly courting her the last months. There was not
going to be any hiding the truth if even half of what that red haired witch
said was true. That he loved her. Just thinking about it made Alex sick to the
stomach. "Tell me," She insisted, taking a step towards him,
containing her fury behind an expression of composure that would do any
gunslinger proud. "I accept that men have needs,” she stared at him. “I
accept that I could not expect you to be celibate but you could have chosen
better.” She turned to leave before deciding to add something further. "If
you had gone with a working girl I could understand it. I wouldn’t like it but
I would have understood but you chose that repulsive creature who absolutely
adored telling me that much she enjoyed your affections at the Travis
place."
Ezra was beyond horrified. He saw the tears streaming down her face and
could find nothing to say in his defense because he had behaved abominably, nothing
could ever change that. He wanted so say something but explanations and
everything else died in his throat as she waited for him to speak.
When he did not, she merely nodded in understanding. "We are done
Ezra Standish. Don’t ever come near me again."
******
Ezra watched her disappear out the room, feeling as if she had taken all
the air with her. His dismay and shock was a tightening knot in his chest and
he watched her go feeling like something that should have been scraped of her
boot. No one said a word in the wake of her departure and Ezra looked around
the room nervously, unable to ignore the accusing eyes staring at him.
"If you will excuse me gentlemen," he said to his friends, his
voice sounded dazed and distracted. "I need to take my leave of you."
He strode towards the door where Chris Larabee was
standing when the gunslinger grabbed him by the arm and kept him still.
"Leave her be." Chris warned quietly.
"I have to explain to her…" Ezra started to stammer like a
child that had been well and truly caught with his hand in the cookie jar.
"I cannot just leave like this."
"You can and you will." Chris said firmly. "I’m not
judging you Ezra but she’s in no mind to listen to anything you have to say.
Leave it be until she calms down."
Alex was his friend and in the short time that she had come to be in
"But.." Ezra wanted to protest. He had never meant to
humiliate her this way or hurt her so publicly. He still could not believe what
Julia had done and that scolded himself because he should not have been
surprised. Suddenly, the sadness he felt in the wake of Alex’s sorrow was
quickly fuelling into rage at Julia’s actions.
"Ezra, I’m your friend and I’m telling you, leave her alone. You’ll
do more harm that good by trying to see her now."
If anything could deter him from what he intended, it was the
possibility that he might hurt Alexandra any more than he already had. Ezra
nodded slowly and felt somewhat touched that Chris had been so sincere in his
advice. "Thank you Mr Larabee." Ezra said
quietly. "If you release your grip on my person, I give my word that I
will not approach Alexandra."
Chris believed him and did so immediately. Ezra took his arm back and
straightened his jacket before walking through the doors. Chris watched him go
and noticed that the gambler was not heading in the direction of the doctor’s
clinic but instead was making fast tracks towards the hotel. The gunslinger let
out sigh, feeling sorry for the betrayal he had seen in Alex’s eyes and made a
mental note to have either Inez or Mary call on her.
The gunslinger ambled into the saloon, ignoring the rumble of gossip
following Ezra’s departure. No doubt, the word would soon be across town like
wildfire although Alex had been good enough not to mention Julia by name so
there would be some doubt cast over the identity of Ezra’s paramour for a while
at least. Chris took the seat previously occupied by the gambler and saw the
astonishment had yet to fade from the faces of his friends.
"I can’t believe Ezra cheated on Miss Alex!" Nathan was the
first to break the silence. "I mean, ain’t she pretty enough? How much
better is he aiming for?"
"Have you seen Miss Pemberton?" Buck exclaimed in surprise at the
healer. "That’s a very sexy woman."
"Oh yes," Josiah drawled from where he was sitting. "What
a truly exquisite piece of work that announced her infidelities." The
preacher said sarcastically. "So few women these days possessed such
class."
"I cannot believe that Ezra!" Inez grumbled as she stormed
past. "Just when you think he could not sink any lower!" The Mexican
disappeared into the kitchen with her tray and her apron and exited a moment later,
wearing neither. No one had to ask where she was going and Chris was glad that
Inez had saved him the trouble of asking.
"I hate to be in Ezra’s shoes," Buck whistled as he saw the
woman he cared for walking out of the room. In her absence, they would all keep
an eye on the bar, ensuring no one took advantage of both proprietors being
indisposed. "Then again, I never though he had it in him to be such a
heartbreaker either."
Chris did not listen to the banter of his friends as they discussed the
situation that Ezra Standish had now found himself. Instead, his attention was
focused on the one person who had said nothing during this entire episode.
Vin Tanner knew Chris was expecting him to make some comment but honestly,
nothing came to mind. The scene he had witnessed earlier between Alex and Ezra
was as much a shock to him as everyone else in the room. He could doubly
understand her outrage at discovering Ezra had bedded Julia Pemberton when she
had found herself in the same position with him and manage to restrain herself.
The irony of it was not lost on Vin. However, he had no wish to prey on her
wounded heart at this moment. He knew Alex well enough to guess that there
would be no way that Ezra could explain his way back into her affection after such
a betrayal. Vin had heard the tone of her voice when she told Ezra they were
done.
He had no doubt she meant it.
He felt sorry for Alex and it was taking all his control to not rush by
her side and offer his comfort. However, she would heal on her own because she
was resilient and strong and when she was done healing, perhaps, Vin might pay
a call on her then.
But not before.
*******
Mary Travis had no idea of the drama unfolding around her when she
arrived at the saloon shortly after the explosive confrontation between Alex
Styles and Ezra Standish. When she walked through the doors, she noticed the
lingering effects of everyone’s astonishment at the spectacular quarrel that
had taken place in her absence. Chris was at his customary position, holding court
over the men who were the law in
"Chris." She said as she approached. "I’ve got the wire
from Eagle Bend." She gestured to the piece of paper that was clutched in
her hand.
Chris did not say a word as he took the paper from her and read its
contents carefully. In the meantime, Mary noticed that the group was unusually
quiet even for men with hangovers. Her journalistic instinct immediately picked
up something was amiss.
"What’s wrong?" She looked from face to face; not particular
about where the answer came.
Chris shrugged and Vin remained silent as ever. JD looked to the others
to answer the widow, while Josiah and Nathan exchanged glances that spoke
volumes. It was at this point that Mary noticed that Inez was not present which
was odd because this was the saloon’s lunch over and Inez was normally run off
her feet at this time.
Finally, it was Nathan who answered. "Miss Alex and Ezra had a
quarrel."
"Really?" Mary asked curiously. "What about?"
Nathan looked uncomfortable and did not wish to talk about any woman’s
indiscretion to another but he supposed that eventually Mary would learn about
the whole sordid tale. He met Chris’ gaze, as if seeking permission to impart
such scandalous information to her. The gunslinger had not looked up from the
paper in his hand and hardly noticed that Nathan was staring at him. Mary
caught all the silent signals and soon became impatient with the stalling.
"It couldn’t be that bad." She exclaimed.
"Oh yes it could." Buck found himself muttering under his
breath.
"Apparently Ezra has been getting very friendly with Miss
Pemberton," Nathan finally answered, trying to think of a delicate way to
put this.
"How friendly?" She asked, her voice suddenly laced with
suspicion when she realised what he was getting at.
"They know each other in the biblical way." Buck replied,
tired of seeing Nathan struggle to explain it.
Mary’s eyes widened. "You’re joking!"
"Nope." Buck shook his head. "Alex was in here awhile ago
tearing strips off Ezra cause Miss Pemberton told her to her face." Buck
neglected to add that the said coupling had taken place in the house where Mary
had once shared with her husband. Although Mary had lent her home to be used as
a safe house to protect the safety of Julia Pemberton, it had been assumed that
safety was meant to extend to her virtue as well.
"Poor Alex!" Mary said horrified, understanding where Inez was
at this moment. If it was not for the information she had discovered about the
murdered
"Yeah." Buck nodded sadly. "She was pretty upset. Ran out of
here in an awful state."
Mary turned to Chris; clearly disturbed by what she had heard but knew
that particular situation could wait. Right now, they still had a murderer to
catch. "As soon as I heard about the son, I got the Sheriff in Eagle Bend
to wire the college where he is meant to be." Mary responded, brushing
aside Alex’s dilemma for the time being.
"What’s going on?" Josiah asked, wondering what had engrossed
their leader to such an extent.
"I think I know who set us up." Chris volunteered finally. The
others knew they had been tricked after his return from Purgatory with news of
Elisa’s duplicity. Buck had been none to happy to learn that he had been a cog
in someone else plan and that he was deceived so easily by a working girl.
"Who?" Nathan sat up in his chair.
"Apparently, Mr and Mrs Henderson, two of
the victims who were killed on the stage when we found Miss Pemberton, has a
son."
"A son?" Buck did not get the connection.
"I wired a friend of mine who owns a paper in
"You mean this kid might have planned this murder to get rid of his
gambling debts?" Buck exclaimed, horrified that any one could commit such
crimes against his own kin.
"It was never about gambling debts." Chris said coolly.
"It’s about an inheritance of almost a million dollars."
"A million dollars!" Buck almost felt out of his chair while
JD stirred for the first time with something other than a feeble smile.
"That’s worth killing for." Josiah nodded in understanding.
"Quite ingenious actually."
"Exactly," Chris continued. "He comes out west, knowing
his parents plan on taking a trip out this way. He organises
men stupid enough to buy into his story that he’ll share the loot with them,
assuming he ever told them about it at all and didn’t just convince them that
the stage robberies would be worth the money."
"They killed all the people in the first two robberies, so that by
the time they get to the third one, the one where the
"And Junior walks away with a million dollars." Nathan
finished off.
"So what now?" Buck inquired. "Is he still here?"
"That I don’t know." Chris frowned. "If he were smart,
I’d say no but he’d still have to come back here for the inquest and that may
be a problem since Julia can still identify him. He has to get rid of her
first."
"Well Ezra is with her at the moment," Vin remarked for the
first time. "Maybe one of us out to get over there." He suggested.
"Ezra ain’t the best person to be guarding her life right now."
"I’d like to be a fly on the wall for that particular
conversation." Josiah said with a hint of a smile.
"They deserve each other." Mary huffed in annoyance, unable to
believe that Ezra was capable of such behaviour,
particularly to someone like Alex.
Vin rose to his feet and looked at the gunslinger. "Maybe I ought
to go over there and see if they’re okay. Ezra ain’t gonna be in the best mind
to be guarding her if this guy is still around."
"Good idea." Chris nodded in agreement, knowing Vin just
wanted to get out of here because he needed something to do.
The ramifications of what had taken place had far reaching consequences,
not merely in Ezra’s relationship with Alex, but it had the potential to change
things significantly between Alex and Vin. Vin had made up his mind the night
before that she was beyond his reach. As hard as it was to make that admission,
Vin knew he could adhere to that decision. How was he to know that Ezra would
choose someone else? Vin thought him mad at the very least. If Alex was his,
Vin could hardly imagine thinking about another woman, let alone cheating on
her.
And now the possibility existed Alex could be his.
All he had to do was give her time.
*********
Ezra Standish was angry.
He seldom felt the need to waste the energy on anger but today, he was
happy to expend as much time and effort to the whole venture. As he strode
towards the hotel where Julia Pemberton was currently in residence, Ezra had
never felt more ashamed of himself in his life. The very public exchange
between Alexandra and himself hardly bothered Ezra. After all, what had she
said that was not inherently true? He had behaved in less than gentlemanlike
fashion when he had taken up with Julia. Of course, he had every intention of
making Alex aware of the situation with a modicum of sensitivity and grace not
in the vile manner in which Julia must have imparted the news. The look of
betrayal in her eyes was something he would not soon forget and as he hurried
through the front lobby of the steps towards the rooms upstairs, he wondered if
it was at all possible to repair the damage.
He knew there was no possibility of rekindling anything between them,
not after this. However, they would have to live in the same town and he wanted
them to remain friends on some level. Ezra had intended on waiting a few days
before telling Alex that he wished to dissolve their romantic relationship. He
would have started seeing Julia a short time after that and no one would have
been hurt or disgraced as they had been today.
"Was that really necessary!" Ezra demanded as he burst into
the room and found her fixing her hair before the dresser mirror. Except for a
stain on the parlour rug, there was no sign of the
altercation earlier.
Julia turned to face him, a dark bruise forming under her jaw line. She curled
her lips into a pout and came towards him. "Now, I only did it for
you." She said sweetly.
"For me?" Ezra almost shouted at her as he slammed the door
behind him. There was no need for
"I did it for you." She snatched her arm away and glared at
him. "I wanted to spare you the pain of telling her."
"I care about her damn you!" Ezra growled, never feeling so
infuriated in his entire life. "I may not love her but I do care about her
and what you did was inexcusable whatever the motivation!"
"Would you have even told her?" Julia demanded. "Would
you have prolonged the situation by coming up with some quaint explanation to
salve her ego!" She honestly did think she had acted appropriately.
"Of course I would have told her." He said astonished that she
could even think such a thing. "What do you take me for? You?"
Julia recoiled at the insult but understood that he was angry and
probably did not mean much of what he was saying. Despite his seedy past, Ezra
Standish had a strong streak of righteousness through him, which she loved and
admired. It was just sometimes necessary to circumvent it for her purposes.
"You’re a good kind man Ezra and I love you but the fact of the matter is,
you would have hurt more by not telling her the truth and I don’t think you had
any intention of doing so."
"Whether I did or not is none of your damn business!" He
roared. "You hurt and humiliated her in public!"
"I’m not the one who made it public!" She cried in defence. "She did when she hit me!"
"If you were not a woman, I would hit you too!" Ezra snapped
and decided that this was pointless, she did not think anything she had done
was wrong and god help him, he had chosen to throw his lot in with her. Ezra
knew he had no one to blame for himself. He turned on his heels and started
walking out of the room, unable to bear being in the same space as her at this
moment.
"Ezra where are you going?" Julia cried out seeing that he was
leaving. He was very angry with her now but it would not last, she just knew it
would not. It was best to leave him be to calm down. Later on, she tried to
make amend for this unpleasantness.
"Far away." He said sharply as he strode towards the door,
with every intention of never laying eyes on her again.
Julia watched him go, feeling some semblance of apprehension as he
slammed the door behind him. The sound made her jump and for a brief moment,
she entertained the notion that he might be true to his word and not come back.
The idea of losing her terrified her but she knew she had done the right thing
to secure his affections. He would have just wasted time trying to make it easy
for himself and Alex Styles and just complicated the matters a great deal more.
In this way, she was solving the problem for everyone.
The door swung open after a pause of a few minutes and Julia felt her
heart flutter in anticipation of Ezra’s return. She knew he would come back!
Except the man who entered the room was almost certainly not Ezra
Standish……
*******
Ezra had not made it out of the hotel premises when he saw Vin Tanner
approaching in his direction. Ezra let out a slight groan, having no wish to
face any of his friends after what had happened in the saloon. Right now, he
wanted to hide somewhere and get drunk, not necessarily in that order. As it
was, he felt like such a complete jackass, he did not need the rest of the civilised world pointing it out to him.
"Hey Ezra." Vin greeted as he met the gambler on the foot of the
steps. Judging by the dark cloud on his face, Vin assumed he had already had
his audience with Julia Pemberton.
"Did Mr Larabee send you to ensure I
would not be bothering Alexandra?" Ezra snapped, irritated to the extreme
by the situation without having Chris Larabee
question his word after it had been given so sincerely.
"Take it easy." Vin said trying to pacify him. He was making
no judgements on Ezra and felt a little guilty
because Ezra’s current problems had proved decidedly advantageous for him,
although he was not about to admit that to the gambler. "Chris didn’t send
me." He explained. "We think we know who the fifth man is and he
still might be after Miss Pemberton."
Ezra glanced over his shoulder instinctively in the direction of the
hotel. Suddenly, he felt guilty about being so cross with her considering what
she been enduring the past three days with the constant threat to her life
after facing gunmen who would have undoubtedly taken it had the seven not
reached her first. "I apologise." Ezra said
with genuine regret. Vin was the most private man he knew and he did not offer judgement or counsel where it was not required. Ezra should
have known better than to lash out at the tracker when it was himself that he
was furious with. "I shall guard her." He replied, starting up the
steps again. "It would appear she is now my responsibility." He said
with a faint smile.
"Want some company?" Vin asked, seeing the sincere regret in
Ezra’s eyes and guessing that his affair with Julia Pemberton was not some
sordid tasteless affair. He really did care about the woman.
"I would appreciate that Mr Tanner." Ezra sighed. "You
know I never meant to hurt Alex." He confessed softly. "It just
happened."
Vin could appreciate how easily that could be. After all, he was half
way through it before he could admit how he truly felt about Alex. The two men
made their way up the staircase towards Julia’s room, when Ezra caught sight of
her door, slightly ajar. He had distinctly remembered slamming the door in his
angry departure and wondered why she would leave the door open like that.
Suddenly, Ezra’s mind was filled with stark fear when he realised
that he had left her alone when a killer was on the loose! He reached the room
in an instant, unaware that he had been running until he barged into the room
panting. The signs of violence were evident, a topped chair, a length of
curtain draped haphazardly against the floor, hanging by the wooden runners by
the remaining strands of thread.
"She is still in the building." Ezra said as Vin came up along side him. "We did not see them come through the
front door."
Vin nodded. "I’ll look downstairs. He may have seen us standing outside!"
With that, the tracker hurried out the door. Ezra thought quickly as he roamed
through the suite, ensuring that Julia and her assailant were not cleverly
hidden in the room as unlikely as it might be. His heart pounded in his chest
knowing that the killer had no need to keep her alive for any length of time.
Her attacker’s main aim would be to kill her and then get away clean without
being seen. Wherever he chose to do it, it had to private. He could not risk
being identified once again.
What had he been thinking? Ezra though to himself when he had stormed
out of here and left her alone. He had been so furious at what she had done
that he had hardly concerned himself that the fifth man might still be in town.
Although Chris and the others had believed he was far away and would be foolish
to come after Julia, he was unaware of the new evidence that had come to light
since he had walked out of the saloon.
He stepped out onto the corridor and listened closely. There were the
normal sounds of people going about their business in the area but none that
might indicate violence. Somehow, Julia’s assailant would not be foolish to
attempt slipping out of the place when he and Vin were at the door and Ezra had
not left Julia behind that long ago. Suddenly, a thought occurred to him and
Ezra’s eyes moved upwards to the ceiling over his head. Even as the thought
flashed through his mind, he could see the ladder at the end of the corridor
that led upwards to the roof of the building.
Ezra ran forward, unbuttoning the flap on his gun holster as he reached the
first rung and began climbing up its length rapidly, praying he was not too
late. He saw Vin running up the stairs to report his progress when the tracker
stopped short as he saw Ezra climbing the ladder. Ezra said nothing, merely
pointing to the ceiling, giving clear indication of where he believed Julia and
her assailant to be. Vin’s gaze met his and they conveyed a silent plan of
action to which the tracker nodded his approval before running down the stairs
again.
Ezra reached the small door on the roof and pushed it open, the rusted
hinges creaking loudly and giving away his arrival as he poked his head through
the access way. No sooner than he was halfway through, a bullet exploded and
Ezra barely managed to avoid being hit in the chest by letting go of the rungs
and falling heavily down into the corridor once more. He landed badly, feeling
the sick pop of his ankle as he landed. Uttering a small groan, Ezra did not
stop to examine the injury and resumed his journey up the ladder again.
This time however, he did not try passing through the opening as he had
done before. Instead, he shoved the door forcefully, allowing it to arch neatly
before hitting the floor of the roof and staying open. Sunlight peered into his
eyes as a series of shots rang out, followed by a slight scream he now knew was
Julia. With a sigh, Ezra felt relief flood into him as he heard her, thanking
whatever he held faith with, that she was still alive. People had started to
emerge from their rooms, investigating the noise as Ezra fired blankly into the
air, hoping the gunshots would force the unseen shooter to fire once more. He
did and Ezra counted the shots as they boomed in his ear.
Four .
Five.
Six.
At the discharge of the sixth shot, Ezra knew he would have to reload
and taking advantage of the pause that inevitably followed, the gambler pulled
himself through the access way. Predictably, there were no shots following his
appearance on the roof and Ezra scanned the area quickly, searching for Julia
and her attacker. Unfortunately, there was no place to hide on the roof and in
broad daylight, no darkness that could conceal a murder.
He was exactly as Julia had described him. Young. Ezra estimated that he
was no older than JD. However, that was as far as the similarities between the
two young men went. There was no youthful enthusiasm in this young man’s eyes.
What Ezra saw in the dark eyes glaring back at him looked more like Chris Larabee on a particularly bad day. The intent in his eyes was
as clear as the gun he was holding to Julia’s throat, now obviously reloaded
She stared back at him with terror, pleading silently with Ezra to save her.
"There’s no way off this roof." Ezra spoke calmly as he aimed
his gun at the boy’s hardened face.
"I think there is." He answered with a confidence grin.
"I think you are mistaken Sir." Ezra stepped closer to them,
completely aware of how close they were to the edge of the building. "You
have to come through me first and then my friends who are now aware that you
are here."
"I think as long as I have this bitch with me I can go anywhere I
please." He sneered at Ezra, shoving the gun deeper into Julia’s creamy
white throat.
"I would not take that gamble." Ezra retorted. "You
overestimate her importance to us. Actually, if truth be known you would be
doing me a service by putting a bullet into her. She has caused me nothing but
grief."
Despite her situation, Julia managed to throw him a filthy look. He
hoped she would be alive to make him pay for the comment later.
"Nice try." The boy sneered, "but I heard you two
arguing. I know this little tramp means a little more to you then that."
Ezra’s eyes never wavered from his face but the gambler was no longer
looking at him. Instead, his attention was focused on Vin Tanner who had
climbed onto the roof of the next building and was now taking position with his
rifle. Somehow, Ezra had to buy Vin more time and allow the sharpshooter to
make the shot. At this stage, there was every danger that while Vin might kill the
man, he may not be able to do so without Julia being shot as well.
"I confess you have caught me out in a lie." Ezra sighed in
mock resignation. "She does mean a great deal to me although she is a
handful. If I put down my gun, would you let her go?"
The shooter’s grin widened in triumph. "I might.’ He answered.
Ezra knew a liar when he saw one and no doubt this man was lying. Ezra
knew the moment he put down his gun, this boy was going to kill him and have no
hesitation in doing so either. However, to shoot Ezra first, he would have to
aim the gun in the direction of the gambler, not the helpless woman caught in
his unwavering grip.
"You have me at a disadvantage then," Ezra said casually,
putting on his best poker face as he slowly lowered the gun to the ground. He
saw Julia shaking her head, trying to keep him from making a decision that
would get them both killed. Ezra took a deep breath, knowing he had the
shooter’s undivided attention because the young man was naturally suspicious
and assumed he would have some last minute trick to save his life.
"Step away.’ He told Ezra, motioning the gambler to take a step
away from the weapon once Ezra had set it down. Slowly, Ezra complied, seeing
Vin aiming carefully from the opposite building, waiting for the most opportune
time to fire.
Without warning, the young man shoved Julia roughly over the side of the
building. Julia let out a short scream as she toppled over the railing. Ezra
felt his heart constrict until he saw her delicate hands grabbing hold of the
rail. The shooter swung the gun in Ezra’s direction, ready to kill him on the
spot. Ezra dropped to his knees and pulled out his derringer hidden neatly
within his sleeve. However, before either of them had chance to pull the
trigger, Ezra heard the familiar eruption of sound from Vin’s rifle. The bullet
slammed into the young man’s shoulder, causing a froth of blood to burst from
his shoulder. Dazed by the surprise attack, Ezra’s saw him spin around,
following the direction of the bullet. He lifted his arm to fire at Vin’s
direction but the sharpshooter never gave him the chance to pull the trigger.
The next bullet took him squarely in the chest and Ezra saw him spasm in pain
before he crumpled to the ground in a final gasp of pain.
The moment Vin had fired the second shot, Ezra was already running
towards Julia on his wounded foot. His ankle flared in pain as he skidded
toward her, her hands desperately clinging to the rail for dear life.
"Help me!" She squealed in terror as she dangled precariously
from three floors up. Below her, a crowd was gathering as the scene unfolded.
Frightened faces were looking up in fear as a young lady hung on the edge of
death. Ezra caught sight of Chris and the others running across the street from
the saloon.
"Stop struggling!" He ordered, for her attempts to climb up
was making it harder for him to get a firm grip on her.
"Just get me up!" She cried, too hysterical to be polite about
anything at this point.
Ezra locked both his hands around her wrist and grabbed firmly. He
started to pull her up when suddenly, he paused a moment. His grip on her was
sound and although he could not leave her suspended indefinitely, he did have a
bone to pick with the fair Miss Pemberton and now seemed a good time as any. "Now
that I have you in this position," he said with a wicked smile. "Do
you promise never to do anything behind my back again?"
"Are you out of your FUCKING mind!" She snarled, her emerald
eyes widened in disbelief that he would play such tricks on her at a time like
this. Julia looked down and felt dizzy at the distance between her and the
ground.
"Swearing will only worsen your situation my dear," he replied
with a straight face. "Do you?" He asked again smoothly.
"Ezra!" She cried, unable to believe he would stoop to such
tactics when she was balanced between life and death on a razor’s edge.
"I did not hear that promise." Ezra repeated himself, adamant
that he was going to get his answer.
"Yes! I promise!" She smouldered in
fury, sending daggers and everything else at him in that black glare of rage in
her eyes. "Now will you pull me up?"
"Certainly my dear," Ezra said with a triumphant smile.
"I had every intention of doing so."
"Bastard!’ She swore as he pulled her up over the railing with both
hands, until she was far enough along to be able to push herself for the rest
of the way. They both collapsed on top of each other as Chris and Josiah
climbed through the door.
"Are you all right my dear?" Ezra asked in concern as they
both lay on the ground, breathing hard from the effort. He did not think her
attacker had harmed her seriously but it never hurt to inquire.
Julia was trembling as she rolled of Ezra and did not answer him for a
few seconds as she took note of the dead boy only metres
away from her. She was shaken at how close she had come to dying yet again.
After a few seconds, when she had suitably composed herself, she looked up at
Ezra and struck him full across the jaw, dropping him flat on his back.
"You lousy son of a bitch!" She cried with unrestrained outrage.
"You could have killed me!" Julia kicked him in the ribs as she
vented the full intensity of her until now, hidden temper.
Ezra chuckled, not at all hurt by her blows and sat up after a moment
with a smile on his lips. "I would say we are almost even."
Julia stopped short at that and glared at him, realising
that he had her. She swallowed down the rest of her anger and stood up shakily
as Chris Larabee and Josiah Sanchez approached.
"I truly hate you." She said through narrowed eyes and then tossed a
strand of red hair, trying to maintain some dignity in this situation as she
swept forward like a pompous dowager.
"No you don’t!" Ezra called out as she walked past Chris and
Josiah.
"Read my lips." She stared at him imperiously but wore the
barest hint of a smile as she drew away. "I hate you."
"I’m sure." Ezra said sceptically,
feeling somewhat vindicated after what she had done to Alex.
"You all right?" Chris asked, ignoring the interplay between
the due. Josiah had noticed the body of the dead man and had gone to administer
some sort of last rites, even though the chances of the man reaching paradise
were extremely slim, by the preacher’s reckoning.
"I shall probably be limping around for a day or two but I think I
will survive." Ezra answered starting to feel the throb in his foot more
acutely now that he was no longer engaged in a life or death situation. His
gaze was following Julia who was lowering herself back into the hotel with a
haughty look on her face and a secret gleam in her eyes that indicated that
despite her words of hostility, things between them were just as she wanted it.
Chris followed his gaze and could not help making comment. "You
know something Ezra?"
"What is that Mr Larabee?" Ezra met
the gunslinger’s amused gaze.
"I don’t know whether I ought to feel sorrier for, Alex or for
you." He retorted at the descending crown of red hair. "But now I
think you’re the one in worse shape."
"I like the challenge." He grinned.
"Well," Chris had to admit. " You certainly got
one."
EPILOGUE
Passages
Mary Travis was a woman with a mission.
It had been two days following the death of Lambert Henderson and life
in the town of
Mary made no such judgement on Ezra Standish
because the gambler was really feeling badly about how he had treated Alex and
the affection he held for Julia Pemberton was sincere, even if their
relationship seemed more like open warfare at times. Vin seemed strangely
reserved about the whole thing; if what Chris believed he felt about Alex was
remotely true. The tracker had disappeared on one of his trips into the
wilderness and it was anyone’s guess when he would return. In the year since
the seven had put down roots in
It was any one’s guess how Alex was faring because no one had seen her
in two days.
Despite Inez’s attempts to see her immediately after her explosive
confrontation with Ezra, Alex had not answered the door when the bartender had
come calling. Mary tried later on and at one stage, even Nathan had made the
attempt. However, their efforts to draw the doctor out were met with silence
although they were certain that she was still in the house, for no one had seen
her leave town. Her prolonged silence only made Ezra feel worse although no one
said anything to soothe his regret since it was partially deserved.
Mary knew this situation had to be resolved soon because while the seven
still functioned as a group and remained as close knit as ever, Mary hated for
there to be any kind of conflict in the group she now considered family. First
of all however, Mary had a few things to impart upon Julia Pemberton if she was
going to be a part of Ezra’s life. Julia was not going away; not if the way
Ezra looked at her was any indication of how he felt about the woman. However,
she was an unknown element who seemed to have very few scruples as her behaviour towards Alex had proved.
Mary had invited Julia to the house for a some lunch as she wanted to
make her discussion in private. They had engaged in idle conversation for most
of the dining experience, talking about the merits of setting up a business in
Both women were taking tea in the parlour when
Mary set down her saucer and cup on the table and looked at the younger woman.
She had to admit that Julia was a lovely young woman whose power to attract was
completely overwhelming if one were not accustomed to it. Yet behind those
green eyes, Mary could see the ruthless calculation hidden under a veil of
charm.
"I do have an ulterior motive for inviting you this afternoon,
Julia." Mary finally announced. "I mean aside from wanting to see how
you were after that terrible incident with Lambert Henderson."
"Yes," Julia shuddered, thinking about the man involuntarily.
How had the nice
Mary gave away nothing in her eyes as she responded. "Nothing quite
so dramatic as it sounds," Mary replied. "I just wanted to let you
know that I am aware that your real name is Julia Avery."
Julia’s eyes flew open and immediately fixated onto Mary’s face. For a
brief instant, Mary saw a gamut of emotions surface in the redhead’s eyes.
Shock was the most apparent, followed by fear and then by the more predatory
calculation. "I don’t know what you are talking about." She said
coolly, setting down her cup.
"Yes you do." Mary kept her gaze fixed on her, showing Julia
for the first time that she was not fooled by the act the newcomer put on for
everyone. There was no need for the facade in the presence of Mary Travis.
"Your name is Julia Avery." She replied. "Pemberton is the name
you picked up on your hasty departure from
It had been quite a simple matter of tracking her down really. Julia
Pemberton’s’ bank records began less than two weeks ago. She had not existed
prior to that and the location of the enormous deposit had been made far north,
towards
"Assuming that you are right," Julia shrugged, wondering how
the woman had discovered that information and then realised
that a journalist of Mary Travis’ calibre had
resources across the country to which she could source data. "There’s
nothing wrong about my changing a name."
"I didn’t say there was." Mary said silkily, pouring herself
another cup of tea. "I merely wished to let you know the way things
function in
"Really?" Julia glared at her sarcastically, knowing that
something was coming at her and it was not going to be pleasant. "And how
do things function in
"We’re a caring community." She confessed. "Since the
arrival of the seven, it has been as close to ideal as it has ever been and I
don’t want that to change. Do you understand me?"
"What could I do to alter that?" Julia feigned ignorance.
"I don’t know," the newspaperwoman said honestly.
"However, I think you need to understand the ground rules.""
"The ground rules?" Julia shifted uncomfortably in her chair,
her mind reeling at discovery but she wanted to hear what Mary’s demands were
before she spat them back in the blond woman’s face.
"Yes," Mary nodded and leaned forward. "What you did to
Ezra and Alex was inexcusable. Before you came along, they were happy and now
that’s all changed. I can’t do anything about Ezra because he does love you,
god only knows why. He’s thrown away the love of one of the best people I know
for you and I don’t want him hurt. You will do your level best to make him
happy because he’s saved my life more than a dozen times and despite his rotten
taste in women, Ezra is a good man and he deserves the happiness."
"I do love Ezra." Julia said through gritted teeth, trying to
remain calm in the face of Mary’s verbal attack.
"I’m sure you do." Mary dismissed the statement as little more
than obligatory because Julia had shown nothing that would indicate that she
loved anything but herself. "And you will make his happiness your mission
in life, do I make myself clear?" She said slowly.
"Or what?" Julia retaliated, calling Mary’s bluff. How exactly
did this woman think she was going to make Julia do anything that Julia did not
want to do?
"Or I might let your fiancee know where
you are." Mary retorted and felt a measure of satisfaction seeing the colour drain from Julia’s face as the realisation
of what that could mean sank in. "You remember Roderick Packard don’t
you?"
Julia was too stunned too speak.
"Of course you do," Mary stirred the sugar in her cup.
"You left him at the altar remember, humiliated him publicly. He gives me
the impression of being a man who doesn’t take too kindly to being made a
laughing stock. I don’t believe he would be kind if he were to find you,
Julia."
"You wouldn’t." Julia stammered. "You don’t have it in
you."
Mary looked up at her with eyes of steel. "You have no idea what I
am capable of, Julia. I’ve been in this town for years and I’ve learnt to be
tough, tough enough to spot the likes of you and what you really are. You
breezed into town and decided you wanted Ezra and you got him. You didn’t tell
Alex about the two of you because you wanted to spare him anything. You told
Alex in that disgusting way because you wanted her to know that you’d taken him
away from her. Perhaps some of it had to do with fearing Ezra might just change
his mind about you two once she was back but it was mostly because you needed
to win. So I’m giving you fair warning now. You try that sly, vicious garbage
in my town again and I swear I will nail your fancy hide to the wall by the
time I’m finished with you."
Julia rose to her feet abruptly, clearly shaken and knowing now that her
assessment of Mary Travis had been quite erroneous. She had thought Mary was
simply formidable, she had no idea until now that the widow was also perfectly
ruthless and had no conscience in using such methods to protect her own.
"I think you’ve said enough." Julia replied.
"I think we understand each other now, don’t we?" Mary looked
at her with a raised brow as Julia started to collect her things to make a
hasty departure.
"Yes," the young woman replied through her teeth, hating that
anyone could get the better of her but knew she was helpless in this situation.
She did not require Roderick Packard’s presence in her life and she could
become accustomed to dealing with Mary Travis’ request. "We do."
As she hurried out of the room, Mary allowed herself a little smile and
asked as Julia crossed the floor. "You sure you won’t stay for another cup
of tea?"
********
Ezra Standish thought he would try again. For two days, he had stood on
her back porch, hoping she would answer the door so he could try to make some
explanation about the unfortunate turn of events in their relationship. Ezra
did not want her to think that this was anything to do with her. He still cared
a great deal for Alex and he knew his actions had caused her a great deal of pain.
Ezra had a gentleman’s code when dealing with women and he knew he had lapsed
severely in how he had handled this entire situation.
"Alexandra please," Ezra knocked on her door again. "We
need to talk."
Once again, the silence that greeted him during his last two visits,
permeated through the door and told him to go away. He wished he knew how she
was because it was driving Mary, Inez and Nathan insane not knowing. Mary’s
distress in turn annoyed Chris while the same thing went for Inez and Buck while
Nathan had not actually rebuked him for what he had done, Ezra was unable to
ignore the fact that the Nathan viewed his relationship with Julia with
distaste.
"People are worried about you. I am worried about you." He
implored, hoping that his words reached heir in some shape or form. While he
was realistic that things could never be the same between them again, he did
want everything else to return to normal. He paused a moment as the silence
continued, trying to think of some way to reach her. "There is no way for
me to apologise for what happened and no words that
will make what Julia did right. I suppose you could take some consolation in
the fact that I deserve what I am getting but you need someone better than me,
perhaps you always did."
To his surprise, the door swung open.
She stood before him, clad in a robe and nightgown, looking quite ill
indeed. Her pallor was almost grey and there were circles under her eyes while
her nose was rubbed raw from the handkerchief she was clutching in her hand.
"Normally, I wouldn’t let you see me in this state," she replied, her
voice betrayed the cold she was suffering. "However, what do I care
now?"
"How long have you been at the door?" He questioned.
"Long enough to know that your grovelling
leaves a great deal to be desired." She retorted, remaining at the
doorway, with no intention of letting him in.
"It’s been a long time," Ezra said with a faint smile. "I
am out of practice in the art. You, however, do not look at all well."
"I went through six years of medical school," she quipped.
"I don’t need you tell me that."
"Obviously," he recanted and then took on a more serious note.
"I never meant to hurt you."
Her eyes glazed over as if she was trying not to cry and to most part
she succeeded but the sorrow in her eyes spoke more vividly than tears could
express. "You did any way. Do you love her?"
Ezra was not certain how to answer this but he knew she deserved an
honest response. "Yes," he nodded. "I do."
There was a flicker of pain in her eyes as the words registered but she
crushed it mercilessly. "You’re a fool." She pointed out without
hesitation a moment later. "I’ve seen rattlesnakes that are kinder."
"You are correct on both counts but it was not something I could
help. I just wished you were not caught in the cross fire."
"I’m still hurt Ezra," she whispered. "I am hurt,
humiliated and I feel worse then I’ve ever felt in all my life but I will
survive. We’ll stay out of each other’s way for awhile and eventually I’ll get
used to seeing you with her but until then, allow me the courtesy of keeping
her away from me, would you?"
Ezra nodded slowly, willing to grant any request after the pain he had
caused her. "I will see that it is done."
"Good," She started withdrawing into the house once more,
pulling the door behind her as she left. "Goodbye Ezra."
As the door closed shut quietly after her, Ezra could only sigh and
reply soft even though he doubted she would have heard him. "Goodbye
Alexandra."
*******
Chris perused the article in the Clarion News regarding the final
disposition of the robbery murders and the man who had brought about the entire
affair in the first place, Lambert Henderson. After his death, the seven had
learnt that Lambert had been in and out of town over the last few days,
alternating his search for Julia Pemberton while on the other hand cleaning up
any loose ends that might be traced back to him. Unfortunately, this included
dealing with Elisa the working girl and the horse trader who had provided the
outlaws with their mounts.
Shortly after Chris had left Elisa that night, Lambert had made an
appearance in Purgatory and strangled the young woman inside her tent. If it
were not for someone seeing Lambert leaving after the murder, Chris was
painfully aware of how he might have been implicated in the death.
Unfortunately, Lambert had arrived too late to keep Elisa from giving Chris the
information he required, unlike the horse trader who was murdered at the same
time he and the others were ambushing Lambert’s partners at the stage.
His partners were little more than small time outlaws who were quick
with the gun but seldom stole anything worth the price of the lives that they
had ended. Lambert had been wise in selecting them because he knew they would have
no hesitation in drawing their guns on unarmed civilians for the promise of
easy money. It was uncertain where he might have met them because no one in
Purgatory recognised the men nor would they admit to
it if they did, Chris supposed. Places like Purgatory chose to keep its patrons
anonymous unless it was in exchange of a stipend.
Lambert
By the time he had grown into adulthood, the young man was accustomed to
having everything and did not take kindly to being refused it. He had enrolled
in college and quickly took up the habit of gambling except he was as
proficient at it as he was at his studies, which was to say not very good at
all. Very quickly, he incurred massive debts to characters that had no patience
to wait for their money. Assuming as always that his father would extricate him
from this situation, Lambert had bee astonished to hear the old man’s refusal.
In his rage, he conceived of the plan that would eventually see the deaths of
so many people and ensure his escape when the dust had settled.
Evidence of the stormy week had more or less dried up with the coming of
the sunshine. Chris found himself seated in front of the door as he read Mary’s
summation of the entire week in her article. The position allowed him to bask
in the warmth of the sun while still remaining indoors. Chris set down the
paper wondering how Vin was faring out on his own. The tracker had wanted some
time to himself, which was not unusual for Vin, because Chris knew that people
tended to overwhelm him at times and Vin craved the isolation of his former
year on occasion.
Behind him, Josiah and Buck were engaged in a game of checkers and Chris
smiled slightly hearing Buck swear after losing the third game in a row. For a
man accustomed to playing chess most of the time, Josiah found checkers
rudimentary in comparison. The preacher took Buck’s grumbling with a faint
smile although JD was more vocal in his response. The young man was enjoying
Buck’s defeat quite profoundly and Chris estimated another two or three minutes
before Buck throttled him.
Nathan was engaged in the same activity as he was, reading a book and
enjoying the relative quiet of the early morning. They had driven themselves
hard the past three weeks in their search for the outlaws and Chris relished
the temporary peace while it lasted. No doubt, some other catastrophe would
follow soon enough but at this moment, Chris was content to await his arrival.
A shadow stole across him, blocking out the sun when Ezra walked through
the bat wing doors in the saloon. Chris was well aware of where the gambler had
been and wondered if he had any more success getting Alex to talk to him. Chris
who appreciated the need to be alone after a particularly painful experience
had been unsurprised when Alex disappeared into her house these past two days,
shunning the company of all. The action had driven Mary, Inez and Nathan insane
with worry despite Chris’ belief that Alex would emerge when she was ready.
However, Ezra worried worst of all since he was the cause of her withdrawal.
"Any luck?" Chris asked as Ezra walked by.
"She opened the door for me." Ezra sighed, uncertain if that
was progress or not.
"That’s something." Chris shrugged.
"Is she okay?" Nathan asked, coming over when he heard that
snippet of news.
"She appeared to have a severe case of the flu," Ezra
confessed. "But she did not seem to appear on death’s door, if that is
what concerns you."
"Maybe I ought to go see her." Nathan mused and then realised that Miss Alex probably wanted to be alone right
now and she was after all a medical doctor. She would know better than him how
to look after herself.
"She was not in the best state to receive visitors." Ezra
pointed out. "I get the impression she might have spent the past two days
in bed."
"Well, she was out in the rain for three days almost." Nathan
reminded. "Not that you would have noticed." The healer said
sarcastically eying Ezra as he made that point.
Ezra frowned, knowing that he would have to endure such jibes from
Nathan for quite some time and realising that the
healer was perfectly justified in doing so. "Thank you for reminding me Mr
Jackson. I take it you are going to be responsible for my penance in the
immediate future over this issue?"
"What are friends for?" Nathan grinned.
"Wonderful," Ezra groaned. "Who needs enemies?"
"Considering what you got for a lady friend," Chris drawled
with a devilish grin. "I say you’re filled up on both."
*********
Alex heard the door knock and groaned.
Go away.
She was not in the mood for people and the brief exchange with Ezra had
sent her into another pathetic fit of tears. She had not realised
facing him would be so hard even though she had done nothing wrong and he was
the guilty one. It was a hollow realisation because
in the end he was still with that red headed snake and she was here wallowing
in self pity while trying to deal with the severe flu that risen from the
ordeal in the wilderness with Vin Tanner.
Vin Tanner.
He was relegated to one of those places inside her where she placed all
things too difficult to deal with at present. Alex was in no mind to think
about him and what the future might now hold for their relationship, now that
Ezra was no longer in her life. Even thinking those words made Alex recoil in
anguish because she had never imagined that possibility ever coming to pass.
After the turmoil with Vin in Agnes’ cabin, Alex had believed she was safe in
the knowledge that Ezra would be waiting for her when she returned. Now she
felt as if she were cast adrift, with no idea of anything any more.
"We’re not going away until you open the door!" Alex heard the
second knock followed by Inez’s familiar, determined voice.
She meant it too; knowing what the Mexican could be like when she was
adamant about anything. Alex sighed and decided that perhaps it would not be so
terrible having so company. She had been a hermit these past few days and was
no doubt a source of concern to her friends. Just because Ezra had behaved like
a complete ass did not give her the right to treat them poorly. Climbing out of
bed, she padded down the hall and went to answer the door.
"Its about time." Mary stated when Alex swung open the door.
Both Inez and Mary brushed past her, entering the house without waiting to be
invited. "You had us worried sick!" The blond woman declared as the
duo headed toward her kitchen with every expectation that Alex was too follow.
"Leave me alone." She whined as she followed them into the
kitchen, somewhat curious as to what Mary and Inez had brought with them.
The two women were going through her kitchen, grabbing plates and
glasses from their compartments as Alex sat down at the kitchen table. She
could smell the enticing aroma of baked pastry under the dishcloth that
concealed it. "What’s under there?" She inquired.
"Apple and cinnamon pie." Mary said with a wicked gleam in her
eyes as she set down the plates. "Is it starve a cold or feed a
fever?" Mary looked at her as she sat down. "I can never tell. You’re
the doctor."
"Today, I don’t care." Alex replied as she looked into the
paper bag that set next to the pie. Inside was a tall bottle of scotch.
"Inez, did you swipe this from the saloon?" She asked reproachfully.
Inez gave her an innocent look. "I am a partner of the
business." She remarked with complete dignity. "I do not need to
swipe. I just took it when no one was looking." Inez laughed, joining them
both at the table.
"It’s not the bottle that Ezra’s uses for drinks on the house is
it?" Mary asked, remembering what Ezra had said about the free drinks in
the saloon.
"There is no such bottle." Inez said gruffly. "I just
told him that so he wouldn’t complain any time I had to give anyone a free
drink."
"Can we please not use the ‘E’ word?" Alex grumbled. "I
do not eat well when I am a blubbering wreck."
"Well in your honour, I have been
torturing him with an exceptionally bad mood the past two days." Inez
grinned a she poured them all around of drinks while Mary began to serve the
pie. "He’ll either shoot me or go crazy, which ever comes first."
Inez smile was almost sadistic in its pleasure.
"Keep it up for a week at least." Alex had to laugh at the
wicked gleam in her eyes. The doctor was starting to feel a little better
although not much. "Make him suffer."
"Aside from the cold, how do you feel? Mary asked seriously since
Alex had been hidden away for two days.
"I feel like hell." Alex admitted, trying not to let the
emotion get the better of her. She felt awful and that was the truth. Her heart
felt as if it had been torn from her chest and each time she thought of Ezra
with that woman, Alex wanted to bury her head under her pillows and never come
out.
"That’s men for you." Inez sighed, taking a sip of her drink
and savouring the liquid in her mouth. "They can
never make up their minds. One minute they say they’re the one for you and the
next minute you know, he’s chasing everything in a skirt around town.
Sometimes, I wonder why we bother."
"Speak for yourself." Mary remarked. "Chris is perfectly
wonderful except I can’t get him wear anything else but black for some reason.
Is there something wrong with blue?"
Inez and Alex simply stared at her.
"What?" Mary asked defensively.
"Chris may be the exception." Alex pointed out moving off the
topic of Chris Larabee’s fashion sense. "I am
perfectly content to believe that all men are slime at this point." With that,
she dug into the pie and took a large bite and introduced comfort food to her
stomach for the first time since she was a teenager, pining after her first
crush.
"Even Vin Tanner?" Mary asked gingerly, wondering if Alex had
any feelings on the subject of the tracker. Mary was certain that more had
taken place between Vin and Alex out there at the Doherty place even if none of
them were saying what that might have been. Sometimes the best way to forget
about an unhappy relationship was by toying with the idea of a new one.
"Don’t go there." Alex groaned, not wishing to discuss the
tracker in any shape or form at this point. Her feelings towards Vin was an
enigma that Alex was too raw from Ezra to try and decipher at this time.
"Vin would never hurt a woman." Inez said confidently about
her close friend. "Although I don’t think he has known that many."
"He knew
It was the first time that Alex had heard about any woman’s name
connected to Vin Tanner. "Whose
Mary went on to relate the story about how Vin had become infatuated
with Charlotte, the wife of one of the men leading the wagon trail further
west. The whole affair had ended badly with Vin having to give her up at the
end of the journey. The incident was one of the few occasions where Vin and
Chris had disagreed on anything, even though Chris professed to not judging him
and tried to advise that the affair was ill timed.
"I never pictured him so passionate." Alex replied, even
though she knew perfectly well just how passionate Vin Tanner could be when he
was properly inspired. Did she inspire him? Alex believed so and she also
remembered those precious few moments inside the cabin when suddenly, Ezra
Standish had been the farthest thing from her mind.
"He has to be drawn out that one." Inez commented. "I
think once you make him admit it, he’ll surprise you."
"I suppose he would." Alex mused, suddenly letting her mind
drift away on the memories of their kisses. For that one brief moment, it had
been the most perfect experience of her life before the fears and obligations
to Ezra had crowded in on them and she had ran from Vin like a frightened
teenager. In hindsight, Alex wondered if it would have been better if she had
allowed Vin to make love to her. At least, Ezra’s betrayal would not be so
acute then.
Mary smiled faintly; recognising the glimmer
in Alex’s eyes as that thought crossed her mind and knew that Alex was on the
mend, even if the doctor felt like her world was ending at this moment. It
would take time but the possibility of what Vin Tanner could mean to her was
now starting to dawn on Alexandra Styles.
They say patience was a virtue and happily, Mary Travis had a great deal
of it.
Alex and Vin would be together. It would just take a little longer.
And a bit more pushing.
THE END