Jessie’s stew and coffee arrived. She turned over what Nat had told her and took a bite. For some reason, she felt an odd sort of relief, almost a
blissfulness
. As she began to chew the food she decided it wasn’t all that bad.
George Glenn had his hands bound behind his back. He was sitting on the ground, with his legs stuck out so his feet were about thirty inches apart. Two stakes were
driven into the ground and a length of rawhide bound either ankle to the stakes, so he couldn’t get away. After a few terrified minutes Glenn recovered a measure of composure and put a look of defiance on his face.
‘I don’t know who you are,’ he told Kyler, ‘but you can’t expect to get away with kidnapping a banker. Come morning, there will be an entire army of people searching for me. You won’t get any money. You’ll only get yourself hanged!’
Kyler adjusted his mask and tugged down the brim of the hat he’d found. He was wearing a rain-slicker to hide his clothes and build so Glenn had no idea that Kyler was his kidnapper.
‘Actually, Mr Glenn,’ he disguised his voice, ‘I’m not concerned about money.’
‘Not robbery?’ Puzzlement shown the banker’s face. ‘Then why have you brought me out here? What is it you want? Who are you?’
‘Let’s say I’m like a kind of traveling preacher, one who does a little more than spread the word of God. I encourage a man to confess his sins.’
Glenn began to struggle, but he was securely tied. With his wrists and ankles bound he could do
nothing
but squirm and twist in a sitting position.
‘If you let me go, right now, I’ll forget about this little escapade. You don’t want to end up being hanged for kidnapping.’
‘Kidnapping … murder, it’s about the same
difference
,’ Kyler said. ‘I believe you know something about
murder
, don’t you?’
Glenn’s eyes darted about, as if he were searching for an escape route.
‘I don’t know what you’re talking about,’ he said.
‘Carla … that was your wife’s name, wasn’t it?’
Glenn put a long hard stare on Kyler.
‘What’s my wife got to do with this?’
‘Pretty odd coincidence, her dying about the time Huxton’s new freight outfit came into town.’ Kyler watched for any sign of guilt or weakness. ‘Strangled with her own scarf, so the story goes.’
‘It was an accident!’
‘Yes, well, accidents do happen. One time I saw a poor girl who had gotten her crinoline hoop snagged on the wheel of a buckboard. She would have been dragged to death, if it had not been for some quick thinking person grabbing hold of her team of horses.’
‘This was no different,’ Glenn stated haughtily, ‘Except there was no one around to stop the team.’
‘Only Skinny and Mugs, two of Surlock’s new arrivals, two of Huxton’s men.’
‘So what?’
‘So, as soon as Huxton started up his express business, you immediately cut off credit to the Yates family. They get hit with a couple mishaps, a lost cargo here or there, and suddenly, they are about to go broke.’
‘It was only business,’ Glenn maintained. ‘I had to keep my bank solvent. With the competition in town, the Yates family was no longer a sound investment.’
‘Especially if you knew they were going to suffer some major losses.’
Glenn bulled past the accusation.
‘I did what I thought was best for my bank.’
‘I think it was all part of the deal!’ Kyler’s voice was fringed with ice. ‘Huxton got rid of your wife for you and you had to return the favor.’
‘You’re crazy!’ Glenn wailed. ‘You can’t prove that!’
‘Maybe not,’ Kyler admitted easily. Then he pulled a slender stick of explosives out of his shirt and moved over in front of the banker.
Glenn watched him, fearful, yet curious as to what he was up to. Kyler knelt down and planted the stick in the dirt, between the banker’s legs, right up next to his crotch.
‘What the…?’ Glenn was instantly alarmed.
‘Last chance to cleanse your soul from sin, banker-man,’ Kyler said, removing a match from his shirt-pocket. ‘Your mistress lives in Denver, doesn’t she.’ It was a statement. ‘I’d wager that’s where you met up with Huxton. You probably made a deal with him before he came here to start up his freight outfit. He would get rid of your wife and you would cut off credit for the Yates family. He does a service for you and you return the favor by helping ruin his competition.’
‘No! No! No!’ Glenn blustered. ‘You don’t know what you’re talking about!’ Kyler issued a pronounced sigh.
‘Heck of a way to leave this world, with a lie on your lips.’
Glenn fought to maintain his composure. Kyler struck the match to life, touched it to the dynamite fuse and the wick sprang to life, spewing forth thousands of tiny sparks.
‘You’ll pardon me if I don’t stick around,’ Kyler said. ‘Dynamite makes an unholy mess of a body. I don’t want to get blood all over me from being too close.’
‘Wait!’ Glenn’s courage vanished. ‘You aren’t
serious
? You aren’t going to blow me up!’
‘Like an over-inflated balloon,’ Kyler assured him. ‘I imagine you’re going to cover this here area like an oil-painting.’
‘But I’ve done nothing to you!’
‘Confession is good for the soul, banker. Maybe you ought to give it a try.’
Glenn yanked against his bonds and tried to scoot away from the burning fuse. Kyler backed away slowly, shaking his head back and forth.
‘So long, banker-man. Try selling your tale of
innocence
to Saint Peter. I’m sure he’ll be real
sympathetic
.’
Glenn broke down.
‘No! Wait!’ he wailed. ‘You’re right!’ he sobbed. ‘I admit it! I was in Denver on a business trip and met Huxton at a casino.’ He began to talk fast. ‘We were playing cards and got to know each other. We agreed on a plan – he would take care of my wife and I would cut off credit to the Yates outfit.’
Kyler moved to stand over him.
‘And the raids on the Yates outfit? You know for a fact that Huxton gave those orders?’
Glenn appeared ready to bawl.
‘I heard him order Strap to cause as much damage as possible, in order to break their business.’ He stared at the dynamite and rolled his eyes. ‘I’ve told
you everything I know! Don’t blow me up! Please! Save me!’
‘Who all is involved in the robberies and vandalism?’
‘The Monger boys were hired to hit the stage once or twice a month, while Skinny and Mugs did the other dirty work. The other men working for Huxton are just teamsters and the like.’
‘How about Phoenix Cline?’
‘Huxton hired him for his reputation and for protection. Far as I know, he doesn’t know anything about the sabotage.’
Kyler bent at the middle and removed the
explosive
stick. Once he had removed the fuse, he looked back over his shoulder.
‘Did you get all that, Judge?’
Buck Taylor appeared from out of the darkness, a look of disgust on his face.
‘Carla was my wife’s dear friend, George. I can’t believe you had her killed.’
‘Buck?’ Glenn could not hide his shock. He turned his head back and forth. ‘No! It wasn’t like that!’ He whimpered and ducked his head in shame. ‘I only said what this crazy coot wanted me to say. I swear! I didn’t have anything to do with Carla’s death!’
‘We’ll see what a jury thinks,’ Taylor told him firmly. Then he turned about to face Kyler. ‘All right, Dane,’ he said, ‘we have a witness against Huxton. What is your next move?’
‘First off, the name is Vince Templeton,’ Kyler explained. ‘Kyler Dane is a wanted man. Judge Tate
sent me here, posing as him, so I could discover what was going on.’
‘Templeton,’ Taylor repeated. ‘All right, son. What do you need?’
‘A place to keep our fine banker until I can arrest Huxton and those men who helped in the robberies and destruction of property.’
‘There’s at least five men against only you,’ Taylor said. ‘Fast as you are with a gun, I think you’d best get some help.’
‘I intend to.’
Taylor gave a bob of his head.
‘Deputize anyone you want. I’ll stand behind you.’
‘Thanks, Judge.’
‘As for George here, I’ve a sturdy tack-shed behind my house. We can lock him up there for the time being.’
‘Sounds good,’ Kyler agreed. ‘I’ll get him into the buckboard and we’ll haul him back to town. I need to send off a couple wires and then sign on some special help. With luck, I’ll be ready to collect Huxton and his boys by first thing in the morning.’
‘Get plenty of help,’ Taylor warned. ‘I don’t want a lot of dead bodies.’
‘I’m hoping I can take them without a fight.’
The judge grunted his approval.
‘I’ll second that motion.’
Jessie searched the town frantically. When she spied Kyler he was standing on the walk, near the corner of the saloon … confronting Phoenix Cline!
She raced in their direction, fearful of the stern look on the faces of both men. She knew she had only seconds before they both started shooting!
As she drew within hearing distance, she heard Phoenix say to Kyler:
‘I always figured you and I would have it out one day.’
Jessie shouted ‘No!’ and rushed in between the two men. She threw her arms around Kyler,
preventing
him from drawing his gun.
‘I won’t let you fight him!’ she cried, clinging to him. ‘I won’t!’
Kyler appeared stunned. ‘Jessie, it isn’t—’
‘I mean it!’ she stated adamantly. ‘You don’t have to prove anything and neither does Phoenix. Even if you are lightning with a gun, he’s just as fast. You’ll both end up dead!’
Kyler’s face skewed into a serious mask.
‘Jessie, there are some things a man can’t walk away from. A man has to be able to hold up his head.’
‘A dead man doesn’t hold up anything!’ she retorted.
He paused in thought and his tone was
contemplative
. ‘I can think of only two reasons that might keep me from going up against Phoenix with a gun, Jessie.’ He stared deeply into her eyes. ‘One would be if you were to kiss me.’
She immediately jerked back from him.
‘No you don’t!’ Her anger flared at once. ‘I’m not falling for the same line twice!’
Kyler pressed his lips together in a thin line, deadly serious.
‘I can’t swallow my pride or turn tail and run, not unless it’s worth the price. A single kiss from your lips would make a life of shame worth while.’
Jessie hated the mixture of emotions that fought for supremacy within her. She couldn’t deny she had enjoyed kissing him and she wanted him to be safe. But she had humiliated herself the previous day. How could she do the same thing a second time?
‘It’s a small price from you,’ Kyler coaxed. ‘But it’s a high price for me. I have to live with the decision for the rest of my life.’
Jessie was besieged by the combined heat of passion and a maddening fury at the same time. She didn’t wish to give in to his demand, but she couldn’t allow the two of them to fight either – not if she could prevent it.
‘All right!’ she hissed the words vehemently. ‘Darn your stubborn, pious nature! I’ll kiss you, if you
promise not to fight with Phoenix!’
Kyler wet his lips, as if considering the bargain one last time. Eventually he let out a pronounced sigh.
‘It’s a deal,’ he agreed, ‘but it has to be a good kiss.’
Jessie rose up on to her toes and placed her mouth against his. She had intended merely to press her lips to his, but once she loosened her passions, the fire burned bright and hot. She kissed Kyler with such zeal that he had to back up a step to retain his balance. Jessie pressed onward, melding her mouth to his in a searing fusion that crushed her lips against her teeth. Her arms hugged him tightly, until she felt her heart pounding only inches from his own. When at last she pulled away they both gasped for breath.
‘Hot-dang!’ Kyler exclaimed. ‘I’ve never been kissed like that before!’
Jessie lowered her eyes from abashment but murmured: ‘I should hope not.’
‘OK,’ Kyler told her happily, ‘I’m a man of my word. I won’t go up against Phoenix with a gun.’
Abruptly, a distant alarm sounded within Jessie’s mind. She lifted her gaze to put a hard stare on Kyler.
‘Wait a minute,’ she recalled his words from their earlier exchange. ‘What is the second reason you would not fight with Phoenix?’
Kyler appeared to take a deep breath.
‘The second reason?’
‘You said there were two reasons why you would not fight Phoenix,’ she reminded him of his own words.
‘Oh, yeah.’ He displayed a sheepish grin. ‘well, the
second reason is that I would never draw against my own deputy.’
Jessie spun about to face Phoenix. He shrugged and made a brief arching of his brows.
‘Jessie,’ he said in a matter-of-fact voice, ‘meet Vince Templeton, a deputy US marshal. He was just now deputizing me.’
Kyler – now Vince Templeton – displayed an apologetic expression.
‘Jessie, honey, I—’
She cut off his sentence with a resounding slap, hard enough to sting her own hand!
‘You two-faced, no-good, back-stabbing, double-
dealing
…’ She couldn’t think of enough names. ‘Blast your sneaky hide! How dare you do this to me – again!’
‘Ye-ouch!’ he complained, putting a hand up gingerly to finger his smarting cheek. ‘Hot-dang, gal! Take it easy!’
‘Take it easy!’ she fired at him. ‘You make me think you’re dying and force me to kiss you! Now you’ve tricked me into kissing you a second time. You know the saying: “Fool me once, shame on you! Fool me twice, shame on me!”?’
‘Yeah, but it’s sort of your own fault,’ he argued.
She was incredulous. ‘My fault?’
‘If you’d ever let me kiss you, just because I love you, then it wouldn’t be necessary to go through all these dramatics.’
‘Dramatics?’
‘Yeah.’ Vince gave an offhand tilt of his head. ‘You know, having to go to such wild extremes to get the desired results.’
‘You’re the most impossible man I ever met!’ she cried.
But Vince only smiled. ‘I’ll say one thing for you, Jessie, you really are a great kisser when you’re angry. I never imagined any gal could kiss thataway.’
Jessie was still flustered but it was terribly difficult to stay angry at a man who continued to flatter and express his devotion with nearly every sentence. As she was trying to decide whether she was more angry or simply frustrated she replayed Vince’s words in her mind.
‘Wait a minute.’ She was struck as she recalled his argument. ‘Did you say because I love you?’
‘It can’t come as any surprise that I’m in love with you,’ Vince replied. ‘You surely don’t think I’d be such an insufferable pest if I only liked you?’
Jessie waved her hand, as if to dismiss the
conversation
.
‘Huxton knows you are not Kyler Dane,’ she said to change the subject. ‘That’s why I came to find you. I wanted to warn you.’
‘Yeah, Phoenix already told me.’
‘What is your plan now?’ she asked.
‘I thought I’d ask you to come for a nice romantic walk in the moonlight together,’ Vince suggested. ‘Then, when everything was quiet and you were a little vulnerable …’
Jessie put her hands on her hips and scowled at him. ‘Vince Templeton, don’t make me slap you again,’ she threatened. ‘Stick to business!’
He raised his hands in surrender.
‘Yes, ma’am. Whatever you say.’
‘Do you need my brothers and some of our men to help you?’ she wanted to know. ‘I can have eight or ten men here by morning.’
‘I believe Phoenix and I can handle it.’
‘Nevertheless, I’ll stay at the hotel tonight. If
something
changes and you two get into trouble I’ll be able to go for help.’
‘We are going to wait till first thing in the
morning
,’ Vince told her. ‘Phoenix said Huxton intends to gather all of his gunmen to outline a final battle plan. We’ll have all of the rotten eggs in one basket.’
She looked at Phoenix. He gave her a crooked grin.
‘Maybe I ought to ask for a kiss for luck too. I’ve never been kissed the way you kissed Templeton.’
‘If you had you’d be married now,’ she told him succinctly.
‘No kiss, huh?’
‘I’ll grant you a smack on the cheek like I gave him afterward,’ she offered.
He copied Vince’s action by lifting his hands.
‘No, ma’am,’ he said quickly. ‘I apologize for even making the suggestion.’
Vince took hold of her hand.
‘I expect to see you, soon as this is over.’ He winked, ‘We need to discuss our future together.’
‘You survive this first,’ she retorted, ‘then we’ll see about anyone’s future.’
Vince displayed a comely smile.
‘Whatever you say, Jessie.’
‘Remember those four little words, Vincent,’ she teased. ‘You’re going to be repeating them for the
rest of your life.’
Then she whirled about and left the two men on the porch. She should have still been miffed about being tricked into kissing Vince again, but the deception no longer mattered. He had said he loved her … and darned if she didn’t love him right back!
Vince spent a few hours in bed, but the task which lay ahead allowed him only a few minutes of actual sleep. He was up at dawn and readied himself for the meeting with Huxton and his gunmen. After a quick damp-cloth washing-off he shaved and ran a comb through his hair. Then he spent five minutes oiling and checking the action of his gun. He put in fresh loads, filled his gun belt with ammo and stuck an extra handful into his pocket. He hoped he wouldn’t need a single round, but Huxton probably wouldn’t go down without some kind of fight.
Phoenix was waiting for him downstairs. He looked well rested, as if he had slept like a baby. The man certainly did not lack confidence.
‘Hux called the meeting for seven this morning,’ Phoenix said, removing his pocket-watch. ‘The boys should be arriving as we speak.’
Vince looked around the room. He had half-way expected Jessie to be there, to give them her support. To cover his disappointment, he said.
‘No hotel clerk around this morning?’
‘Didn’t see him,’ Phoenix said. ‘He must have slept in today … or he didn’t wish to be here during our war council.’
‘You look about as calm as a bear in hibernation,
Phoenix. Anyone would think you walked into a gunfight six days a week.’
The man smiled, without mirth.
‘You’ve got that little gal to live for, Templeton. Me, I’ve got only another job waiting for me
somewhere
, another selling of my gun.’
‘Why not change all that?’ Vince asked. ‘Why not try and find yourself a good woman and settle down?’
‘The Phoenix rises from its own ashes, so the myth goes. It says nothing about the bird making a lifelong commitment and settling down.’
‘You’re not a bird.’
‘I had my chance at love,’ Phoenix admitted. ‘I threw it all away. It was the day I died.’
Vince frowned at his explanation.
‘I don’t understand.’
Phoenix chuckled. ‘Nor do I, my friend. It’s a tragic history that I don’t wish to rehash in my mind or with another human being.’ He lifted his gun and let it settle lightly in its holster. ‘You ready?’
‘Strap is the only man I ever killed, Phoenix,’ Vince admitted. ‘I didn’t have time to think about it. I hope I don’t freeze and let you down.’
‘You’ll do just fine.’ Phoenix was confident. ‘If it comes to gun-play I’ll take the Monger boys. You take Mugs and Skinny.’
Without another word the two of them left the hotel. Rather than make directly for Huxton’s office they turned and went down the walk for a hundred feet. That way, if someone was watching from Huxton’s window they would not see them cross the street.
Vince drew on the self-assurance of the man at his side. Phoenix was without fear. He showed no
anxiety
, no doubt, no hesitation. Vince walked on
uncertain
legs, a gnawing in his stomach as though he had swallowed shards of glass. His mouth was dry, his palms were moist and his fresh shirt was already damp from nervous perspiration.
Once across the street they moved carefully until they reached the entrance to the express office. Phoenix pushed the door open and looked inside.
‘Empty,’ he said in a hushed voice, and they both entered the room. They paused a moment to allow their eyes to adjust to the darker interior of the
building
.
‘They’ll be in his office,’ Phoenix whispered. ‘Even if they happened to see us from the window, they wouldn’t have known where we were going. Besides which, they don’t know we’ve joined forces.’
Vince put his hand on his gun. The familiar feel helped to calm his nerves.
‘Let’s get this over with.’
Phoenix led the way, past the desk where the
secretary
usually sat. The special meeting had been arranged before she was to arrive, so there would be no possibility of witnesses or interruptions. Huxton might trust Wanda with his mail and receipts, but he likely didn’t trust her to be around when he declared an open war against the Yates line. They reached the door to Huxton’s office and stood to either side. Phoenix looked at Vince and grinned an invitation.
‘Ready to play the hero?’
‘I just hope I don’t let you down.’
‘Let me down?’ Phoenix said. ‘I’m the one working for you – remember?’
‘And I’m thanking you now, in case I don’t get a chance later.’
‘They don’t expect us to be together, Vince. We’ll take them by complete surprise.’
‘Yeah, sounds good.’
Then Phoenix pushed open the door. Vince followed him into the room, ready for anything … or so he thought.
Jessie was seated in Huxton’s chair – bound with rope and a gag in her mouth!
Skinny and Mugs were on their left, Abe and Pete Monger on the right. Charles Huxton stood behind Jessie, a Remington double derringer in his hand, pointed right at Jessie’s head!
‘Come in,
gentlemen
,’ Huxton slurred the words. ‘We’ve been waiting for you.’
Phoenix remained as cool as ice.
‘I figured you’d want all of us here,’ he spoke as if everything was perfectly normal, ‘so I brought along Mr Dane.’
‘You mean Templeton,’ Huxton sneered.
Phoenix grinned. ‘He doesn’t know we were tipped off about his identity, Hux. I’m thinking he’s a lawman.’
‘You can drop the act,’ Huxton was curt. ‘Miss Yates, in an attempt to threaten all of our lives, happened to mention that the two of you had joined forces.’
‘I’m a deputy US marshal,’ Vince warned him, battling an inner mixture of fear and rage at seeing
the woman he loved in danger. ‘You and your four henchmen are all under arrest.’
‘Maybe you didn’t notice, Templeton, but I’ve got a .41 caliber rim-fire derringer pointed at your girl’s head. I believe that gives me the upper hand here.’