Slocum and the Warm Reception (20 page)

One of the men who stepped forward had a face that was familiar to Slocum, but not enough so that he could remember his name. He carried a rifle in his hands. “Thank you, Mr. Slocum,” the man said.

“Who are you?” Slocum asked. “What did you just do?”

“I'm Bill Rose. Mr. Garrett's grandson.”

A second man stepped forward, also carrying a rifle. “I'm Saul Adler,” he announced. “We heard from Miss Redlinger and Ed Leigensheim that we were to be ready to back your play.”

“You sure did that,” Slocum said gratefully.

Adler shook his head solemnly. “What we did here today was something we should have done before things got so bad. I was head of the committee to make certain he didn't become mayor. The night after our first meeting, my wife was . . . defiled. That piece of scum laying there,” he said while staring down at Dawson, “promised it would happen again . . . and again . . . unless I backed down. I love my wife, but we shouldn't have backed down.”

“He had gunmen backing him up,” Slocum said. “He was a killer.”

“You took those gunmen away,” Bill said. “And you made it impossible for us to deny what he was. We may have not been out where you could see us all the time, but we were watching. Listening. This was the first time Dawson has poked his nose out of that hotel without being surrounded by hired guns. We appreciate what you did, Mr. Slocum. Appreciate what you were going to do . . . but it was our responsibility to put that bastard down.”

Slocum nodded. Looking over to Tate, he asked, “What's your next move, big fellow?”

Tate gently set his shotgun down and said, “I'll gather my things and be gone.”

“There's still a few more inside,” Slocum told Adler.

“We can handle Matt and Luke.”

Holstering his gun, Slocum said, “Yeah. I think you have everything well in hand. If anyone comes around asking for me, tell them I'm long gone.”

“Anything you say, Mr. Slocum.”

Folks drifted out into the street wearing grateful smiles and looking around at Mescaline as if they hadn't seen it in years. They waved at Slocum and wished him well as he made his way toward Anna Redlinger's house. There was still some important business to settle before putting Mescaline behind him one last time.

Watch for

SLOCUM AND THE SAWTOOTH SIRENS

415
^th
novel in the exciting SLOCUM series
from Jove

Coming in September!