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Episode Five
Concluded with:
Rance
and Del had bought the supplies and ridden out of town when Horace Riley began
to reflect on the events of earlier that day. A very well dressed gent had come
in and rented a buckboard from him. Later on, a boy around Del’s age, also well
dressed, had rented a horse. The boy looked familiar. Horace thought he had
seen the kid in town, but not recently.
The liveryman wished he had told the
detective and Del about all this; it could be important. “That’s the trouble
with gettin’ old,” Horace said to a strawberry roan, “you’re always thinkin’ of
stuff too late.”
Episode Six:
***
Bradford
Maltin tied his buckboard to a scraggly tree and approached the shack. As he
did so, the businessman almost subconsciously felt for the wallet in his coat
and the shoulder pistol the wallet brushed against as he walked. Maybe the
pistol wouldn’t be needed. He would give Leona a chance, but only one chance.
The door
opened seconds before he knocked and Leona stood in the doorway. This time, she
held the barrel of the Winchester in her right hand with the handle propped on
the floor. The girl had intended to say something tough or threatening, but
Bradford’s distinguished appearance surprised her. She said nothing.
“You must
be Leona,” Bradford smiled graciously.
“Yeah.”
“I’m
Bradford Maltin, Will’s father. May I come in?”
She paused
before saying, “Okay.”
Maltin
walked directly to the bed where the baby lay. “This must be Samuel.”
Leona
caught the note of wonderment in Bradford ’s
voice and relaxed a bit. “Yes.”
Maltin
looked apologetically at the young woman. “I’m sorry my son didn’t write you
back.”
“That’s
okay.”
“No, it
isn’t.” Bradford looked once again at the
sleeping baby, then back at Leona. He pulled the wallet from his jacket, took
out several bills and handed them to the girl.
Leona
seemed mesmerized as she counted the money. “Three hunnert dollars! I ain’t
never seen this much money before!”
“Where did
you live before you had the baby?” Bradford
asked.
“I had a
room at the restaurant where I worked. After I started to show they made me
leave.”
“Have any
family anywhere?”
Leona shook
her head.
“We’ll go
into town. You’ve got enough money now to--”
Hoofbeats
could be heard approaching the shack. Bradford stepped quickly to the small
window, then let out a curse.
“What’s
wrong?”
“That
worthless son of mine is coming. I told him to stay at the hotel. He can’t do
anything right!”
Leona felt
a sudden surge of terror and confusion. She had resigned herself to never again
seeing the man who had fathered her child, the man who had given her dreams of
a fairy tale life in a beautiful distant city. Now that man was coming back
into her life. The young woman’s fairy tale illusions had long ago been
shattered. She knew this meant trouble. Serious trouble.
The
hoofbeats stopped and Will Maltin came almost running into the shack. He was
greeted by an angry shout from his father.
“What are you
doing here? I told you to--”
“I’m sick
of you telling me what to do!”
Samuel
began to cry. Leona spoke as she picked the baby up. “Please, both of
you,--stop it.”
Will
pointed at his father. “This man is a monster, Leona. He wants to take Samuel
and he’ll kill you to do it.”
“Shut up!”
Bradford Maltin ordered.
Will Maltin
smashed a fist into his father’s face. The move was awkward, but the elder
Maltin wasn’t expecting it. Bradford stumbled backwards. He quickly regained
his footing and faked a punch to his son’s head. Will bent down, eyes on his
father’s fist. Bradford tripped his son. As
Will went down, Bradford jumped onto him,
grabbed his hair and pounded his head three times against the floor.
Bradford
rose slowly as Samuel’s loud cries mixed with Will’s moans. He weaved toward
Leona. “You’re coming with me. Bring Samuel.”
Leona took
a step backwards, pressing the baby tightly against her chest. “No.”
Tomorrow: Episode
Seven, the conclusion of Full Moon
