Death in the Desert (8 page)

Steve Harwick decided to look for Ned someplace the others might not have gone. He went back to the house where they'd found Kenny's body. If he was going to hide another body, that's where he would put it.

He entered the house, checked to see if Kenny was still there. He was, and he was only just starting to smell bad. Steve went through the rest of the house, and when he got to one of the bedrooms, he heard a noise coming from the closet. He went to the door and found it locked. There was no key. He looked around the room, found a key on a dresser top, and tried it. It unlocked the door. He swung it open and looked down at Ned, hands and feet tied, gagged, thumping his heels on the floor. Because the closet was so small, that was all he could do.

Steve reached down, dragged Ned out of the closet, and then untied him.

“What happened?” he demanded.

“I got jumped in that boardinghouse,” Ned said, trying to straighten his legs but finding it painful.

“By who?” Steve asked. “How many men?”

“Just one man,” Ned said, “the one who killed Kenny.”

“You let one man take you?” Steve said. “Who the hell was it?”

“Steve,” Ned said, “it was Clint Adams.”

“Adams?” Steve asked. “What the hell is the Gunsmith doing in Medicine Bow?”

“Taking us one at a time,” Ned said. “First Kenny, then me. I don't know who's next.”

“Why didn't he kill you, Ned?” Steve asked. “Why kill Kenny and not you?”

“He said Kenny didn't give him no choice,” Ned said. “I did. I chose to stay alive. See, I figured you'd find me.”

“You did, huh?”

“Well, you found me, didn't ya?”

“Yeah, I did.”

“What, you think I'm in on it with him? What was I doing trussed up in a closet?”

“Okay,” Steve said, reaching his hand out, “come on, get up.”

He grabbed Ned's hand and hauled him to his feet. Ned hobbled about, trying to get the feeling back into his legs and arms.

“Where are the others?” he asked.

“Out lookin' for you,” Steve said. “Come on, we'll go find them, and then we're gonna find that girl.”

Outside Ned asked, “You got more men comin'?”

“I do,” Steve said. “Six. They should be here tonight.”

“We gotta stay alive 'til then,” Ned said.

“Don't worry about that,” Steve said. “We'll just stay together.”

“You're pretty fast, Steve,” Ned said. “You think you can take the Gunsmith?”

“I don't know,” Steve said, “and I ain't anxious to try.”

“Why?” Ned asked. “Killin' the Gunsmith would give you a big reputation.”

“I don't want a reputation, Ned,” Steve said. “I just wanna be rich. No, if we have to face the Gunsmith, we're gonna face him together. All of us.”

Clint had questioned Chris before gagging him, and the boy had been so distraught he had talked. He said that all along Steve had been saying that they were to leave the little girl alone. That they could always find her later and use her, if they had to.

Clint figured once Steve realized he was losing his men one by one, he'd look for Emily. And now that Kenny was dead, and Ned and Chris were missing, he had to know something was up.

Clint headed for the Magnolia Hotel in a rush, still careful to keep out of sight.

Along the way he almost ran headlong into two men. He took cover, and recognized them as they went by. Steve and . . . Ned! Obviously Steve had thought to look in the house where Clint had left Kenny's body, and had freed Ned. Now Clint's two-to-one odds were back up to three-to-one. He almost decided to step out and brace them while there were only two, but then he thought about Emily and Kathy. What would they do if he became careless and got himself killed?

So he let them go by, waited for them to get out of sight, and then ran for the Magnolia.

Steve and Ned saw Billy running toward them.

“What the hell—” Ned said. “He looks like he seed a ghost.”

“Ned!” Billy said. “You're alive.”

“Sure, I'm alive,” Ned said. “Steve found me.”

“Where the hell have you been?” Steve asked. “What happened? Where's Chris?”

“He's gone!”

“Whataya mean, gone?” Steve asked.

“I mean one minute he was there, and then he wasn't,” Billy said. “I guess they got him, too.”

“There's no they,” Steve said. “It's one man, according to Ned.”

“One man?” Billy looked to Ned for confirmation.

“Clint Adams.”

Billy's eyes went even wider.

“The goddamned Gunsmith?”

Ned nodded.

“What the hell is he doin' here?”

“He said he was just passin' through.”

“Goddamn!” Billy said. “That's a bad coincidence, Steve.”

“Yeah, it is. Come on.”

“Where we goin'?” Billy asked.

“You're gonna show us where you saw Chris last,” Steve said. “If he left Ned alive, maybe he did the same thing to Chris. Probably tied him up and left him someplace, too.”

“We find him, we'll be back to four,” Ned said.

“Four of us?” Billy asked. “Against the Gunsmith?”

“There are more comin',” Steve said. “Six. They'll be here by tonight.”

“So why don't we just wait for them to get here?” Billy asked. “I mean, find a hole and wait?”

“Because,” Steve said, “it's better to be the hunter than the hunted. If we just hide, Adams will be out there hunting us. But if we hunt him, maybe he'll go into hiding. He doesn't know we've got six more men coming. Once they get here, we'll have him hopelessly outnumbered.”

“What about just leavin'?” Ned asked. “We got plenty of stuff. Let's just go when the other men get here.”

“Not my call,” Steve said. While he was their boss, he wasn't the man in charge of the whole show, even though he'd had a lot to do with the planning. “And I can't send any more telegrams, so we'll just have to stick to our plan to pick this town clean.”

“So right now we're lookin' for the Gunsmith?” Ned asked. “That don't seem like the smartest thing for anybody to do, ya know?”

“Right now we're lookin' for Chris,” Steve corrected. “When we have four men again, then we'll start lookin' for the Gunsmith . . . and we'll all stick together.”

“That suits me,” Billy said.

“Me, too,” Ned said. “I ain't lookin' to face the Gunsmith alone again. I thought he was gonna kill me.”

When Clint got back to the Magnolia, Kathy and Emily were sitting together on one of the beds. Between them was a deck of cards. Clint didn't know what game they were playing, but it didn't matter.

“Pack up,” he said. “We're moving again.”

“But why?”

Clint looked at Emily, who was still frowning at the cards in front of her, and said to Kathy, “I'll tell you later.”

Kathy got off the bed and started packing.

“But where are we going?”

“I've thought about it,” Clint said. “I think we need to go someplace they won't think to look.”

“And where's that?”

“Someplace they've already been.”

“Where is that?” Kathy asked.

“I don't know,” Clint said. “Maybe back to your house.”

“That would suit me,” she said.

Clint drew her aside while Emily remained on the bed. He quickly told her everything that had happened, and what he had heard.

“There's a good chance they'll find the boy I left tied up, too,” he finished.

“So there'll be four of them again,” she said. “I suppose that means you should have killed the two men stead of tying them up.”

“I only kill when someone is trying to kill me,” he said. “Both of those men were helpless.”

“But . . . they'll be looking for you now? To kill you, right?”

“Right.”

“And Emily.”

He nodded.

“The only person they're not looking for,” he said, “is you.”

“Only because they don't know about me.”

“Can you ride?” he asked her.

“Well, yes, of course I can ride, but I'm sure my horse is gone, taken along when they all left town.”

“That's probably true,” Clint said, “but if I can find you a horse . . .”

“You expect me to leave you and Emily here?”

“Not Emily,” he said. “If I can get you one horse, you can ride out of here with her.”

“And what about you?” she asked. “You have a horse. You could leave with Emily.”

“No, I can't leave,” he said.

“Well, if you can get a horse—and I presume you intend to steal one of theirs—we could all leave.”

“Wrong again,” he said. “We still don't know if I'm carrying any part of the disease. I can't leave and take a chance of spreading it. But you and Emily have been through it and have come out the other side.”

“But where do we go?”

“To the nearest town,” he said. “We'll figure that part out. First let's get out of here to someplace less obvious—and hopefully, safer. Get Emily ready.”

He went to the front window and looked down at the street. It was empty, but they'd still go out the back.

“We're ready,” Kathy said.

“We weren't finished playing,” Emily complained.

“Where are we going?” Kathy asked.

“I'm hungry,” Emily said.

Clint turned to face the two of them. He was at a great disadvantage as long as he had to worry about them. In the end, they might all end up getting killed.

“We've got to get you out of town,” he said. “So we're going to go and find a horse.”

“Why can't we just ride Eclipse?” Emily asked.

Why not, indeed? Clint thought.

Stuart Brock turned the girl over onto her back and stared down at her. Her big breasts leaned to the sides, the areolas slightly elongated. He leaned down and took one nipple into his mouth, and then the other, sucked them both until they were hard.

“Mmmm,” she said, “nice.”

“Shhh,” he told her. “I'm paying you to fuck, not talk.”

“But—”

He reared up and smacked her across the face, then held his forefinger to his lips and said, “Shhh,” again. This time she remained quiet.

He went back to chewing on her nipples, and did so until the skin was sore and cracked. Then he reached between her legs, but found her dry. He inserted his fingers and manipulated her until she was wet. Then he spread her legs and drove his hard penis into her. He slammed himself in and out of her so hard the bed began to hop up and down. When he was finally ready to explode, he pulled out and let his stream go onto her face and chest. She closed her eyes, but didn't dare make a move to wipe the sticky substance away, for fear of being hit again.

He got off the bed after wiping himself on the sheet, and walked to the door.

“Hale!” he shouted when he opened it.

A man immediately appeared outside the door.

“Yes, sir?”

“Pay her off and escort her out.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Don't ever bring her back,” Brock said. “She spoke.”

“I warned her, sir—”

“Never mind,” Brock said. “Just get rid of her.”

Brock left the room and walked down the hall to another. In anticipation, his servant had already drawn him a hot bath.

He got into the bath and settled down into the hot water. Hale appeared with a cigar, stuck it in Brock's mouth, and lit it.

“Is she gone?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Any telegrams?”

“Yes, sir. He's asked for six men and wagons.”

“Six?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Did you send them?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Good,” Brock said, letting his head loll back. “How much time do they need?”

“They still need the better part of a week to finish up, sir,” Hale said.

“Everything better be going smoothly.”

“What could be wrong, sir?” Hale asked. “Everyone thinks the town is diseased.”

Brock took a moment to think before asking the next question.

“We did tell him to put up a quarantine sign, didn't we?” Brock asked.

“We told him, sir.”

“Meaning?”

Hale firmed his jaw.

“Permission to speak freely, sir.”

“Granted.”

“I wouldn't be surprised if he forgot.”

“And if he forgot, somebody could have ridden into town,” Brock said.

“Yes, sir.”

Hale took the cigar from Brock's mouth, waited while his boss expelled a long stream of smoke, and then put it back.

“Ah, well,” he said, “what harm could a drifter or two do?” Brock asked.

Clint would have to stash Kathy and Emily somewhere safe while he tried to find them a horse. If he couldn't do that, then he'd have to consider letting them ride out on Eclipse.

Actually, having them ride Eclipse would be more up to the horse than up to Clint. The big gelding was particular about who rode him. So far he'd allowed Emily to sit on his back. That didn't mean he'd do the same for Kathy.

“Wait a minute,” he said, looking up at the back of a brick building they were passing. “What building is this?”

Kathy looked up and said, “It looks like the back of city hall.”

“City hall,” Clint said. “There's nothing to loot in city hall. No bank, no county clerk's office, no assessor that I saw when I was in there.”

“The mayor's office,” Kathy said, “and the town council meets there. The district attorney's office and the courtroom.”

“Okay,” Clint said, “okay. You two are going to wait for me in here.”

“In city hall?” Emily asked. “The mayor's office again?”

“Sure,” Clint said, “the mayor's office. Come on, let's find the back door.”

Clint forced the back door without much trouble, and they went up the back stairs. He was carrying the sack of supplies Kathy had packed, and Kathy was carrying her rifle.

Clint was suddenly worried about Eclipse. The horse had been alone in that livery for a long time. He hadn't heard anything during his bouts of eavesdropping to indicate that anyone had found him, but how long would that last? He was going to have to check on him, and move him.

“Now you two stay here,” he said as they entered the mayor's office. He put the sack on the desk. “I'll be back soon.”

“With a horse?” Kathy asked.

“Hopefully.”

“Are you going to bring Eclipse?” Emily asked.

“Maybe I will,” Clint said. “Just do what Kathy tells you, honey. Okay?”

“Okay, Clint.”

He looked at Kathy.

“Unless you hear my voice,” he said, “you shoot anybody who comes through that door, you hear?”

“I hear.”

He walked to the door, said, “Lock it,” and went out.

It was a miracle, but Eclipse was right where he'd left him. He checked the ground for fresh tracks, but there were none. Apparently, they had decided against using this place for keeping their horses. Was that why that one man had been here? The one whose tracks he'd followed? To check it out?

The gang was probably keeping their horses close to them, in the stockyards. But before Clint went there, he needed to make sure Eclipse was safe. And where was a safe place to put the big gelding?

“Okay, where'd you see him last?” Steve asked Ned.

“Over there,” Ned said.

“Where?”

“In front of that hardware store.”

“Did he go inside?”

“I don't know.”

“Okay,” Steve said, “come on. We're all gonna have a look-see.”

They crossed the street.

“Kathy! It's me,” Clint said at the door to the mayor's office.

“Come on in.”

He entered.

“You're back already?” she asked. “Did you find their horses?”

“No,” he said, “I had to find a safe place to put my horse first.”

“And where is that?”

“Here,” Clint said. “He's downstairs in one of the courtrooms.”

“Eclipse is here?” Emily asked, clapping her hands. “Can I see him?”

“When I come back,” Clint said. “For now you have to stay up here.” He looked at Kathy. “I just wanted you to know in case you heard some noise.”

He went to the door, said, “Lock it,” again, and left.

He made his way to the stockyards, figuring none of the gang would be there. They'd be out looking for him. Or for Chris. Or for both of them.

“Look around,” Steve said.

“Where?” Billy asked.

“Everywhere!”

While Billy and Ned looked around in front of the hardware store, Steve went to the storeroom. He walked around, looked in the corners, then thought he heard something. He stopped, and listened. It seemed to be coming from behind some wooden crates that were piled in the middle of the room. Why would they be piled up like that?

“You guys get in here!” he called.

Billy and Ned came running.

“What is it, boss?” Ned asked.

“Move these crates,” Steve said.

“Move 'em where?” Billy asked.

“Just move them,” Steve said. “I wanna see what's hidden behind them.”

Ned and Billy started moving crates, and before long they saw Chris lying there, tied hand and foot.

“Okay,” Steve said, “get him untied and up on his feet. Now we're back to four.”