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Episode Nine
concluded with:
The banker
continued, “I stole from the bank to pay my debts. The fake hold up covered
that. The mining company accepts that Lon Westlake stole the money and hid it
somewhere, hoping to get it when he’s released. The mining company needs a bank
in Hard Stone. They helped me keep this operation on its feet. If those people
find out what I did, I’d be ruined.”
“How can you be
sure this Hooper fella will blab to them?”
“I can’t. Hooper
just got into town a few hours ago. We ran into each other in the restaurant.
He said, ‘We must get together to discuss old times.’ Sounded like a threat to
me. Blackmail.”
“Maybe not.”
“I can’t take
chances. I want that gambler dead. Tonight.”
“Mr. Conklin, I
don’t think--”
“This isn’t Sunday
school, Hunter. This is the real world, where you are one of the highest paid
sheriffs in Colorado because the mining outfit pays your salary, not a bunch of
townspeople. There are plenty of ways a sheriff can get rich in Hard Stone before
the mines go dry. You’ve sat on the fence as long as you can. Now, are you
going to follow orders?”
***
When the sheriff returned to his
office, he found Deputy Emery Brown sitting at the office’s one desk. He was
whistling happily as he cleaned a rifle. “What’s got into you, Brown? You’re
acting like a school kid.”
Emery didn’t catch the anger in his
boss’ voice. His response was cheerful. “Guess I am at that. I was thinking
about yesterday. Molly and me, well, we didn’t quite talk about getting hitched
direct like, but we talked around it, you know?”
Emery expected some kind of
response from his boss. He didn’t get any. The deputy quickly looked over his
handiwork and closed the rifle. Sensing that Rush Hunter wanted the desk, he
rose and carried the Henry over to the rack.
His boss was in a bad mood. Emery
understood that, or thought he did. The whole thing with Lon Westlake being
found guilty had most of the town upset. The deputy thought Rush Hunter needed
a distraction. “I’m thinking maybe it’s time to pop the question. Any
suggestions?”
Rush Hunter was now sitting at the
desk, but couldn’t think of anything to do. The sheriff didn’t look at his
subordinate, but meaninglessly moved a few papers around. “Do you plan on
raising a family with what you make here?”
Something was very wrong with his
boss. Emery lowered his voice as he walked back to the desk. “The pay’s not so
bad, and Molly is proud of me being a lawman.”
The word “proud” aroused anger in
Rush Hunter. A lot of things had been making him angry of late. “Pride won’t
put bread on the table!”
“Guess not.” Emery decided to
change the subject. “You know, just ‘cause Lon has been found guilty doesn’t
mean we have to give up. I’ve been thinking, maybe--”
“Don’t you have a round to do?” The
words were as much a reprimand as they were a question.
“Sure.” Feeling hurt and a bit
ridiculous, Emery retrieved a rifle from the rack and quickly exited the
office.
Rush Hunter experienced a pang of
regret for how he had treated Emery, but he fought it down. The world was a
hard place and the sooner the kid found that out the better.
The sheriff sighed deeply and
looked around him. His deputy had a point. It still wasn’t too late, he could…
“No” he said aloud. “The world is a
hard place. A very hard place.”
Tomorrow: Episode eleven of Last
Job
