Killer's Draw: The Circuit Rider (22 page)

Tower rode with Bird to the saloon, and when she went
inside, he continued on. He really wanted to go back to the hotel, sleep for a
month, and then leave Big River once and for all.

But something had been bothering him and he felt a strong
desire to confront the issue right now. It was a night for settling scores, and
this one could not be left unfinished.

Tower got to the church, left his horse by the main door,
and went inside. It was silent, save for the sound of water dripping somewhere;
maybe a leak in the roof had allowed rainwater to pool and it was now finding
its way out. Things always managed to get where they wanted to go. Sometimes,
it just took longer for them to find a way out.

He walked through the church and continued straight into the
small office tucked in back.

As expected, he found Morrison sitting at the table that
served as his desk, reading from the Bible.

“Looking for forgiveness?” Tower asked.

He looked up at Tower, read the expression on his face. He
closed the bible, and offered a weary smile.

“I was wondering if you would come back. Figured that you
would.”

Tower pulled out one of the chairs and dragged it well away
from Morrison. He sat so that the butt of the pistol Bird had given him was
within easy reach. Morrison noted the movement.

“You’re not going to need that.”

“I would trust you, but I’m guessing that’s exactly what
Bertram Egans did and look where it got him. Facedown in Killer’s Draw. Dead. Just
like his mother all those years back.”

Morrison shook his head. His face contorted with grief or
guilt. Tower figured it was a combination of both.

“Why did you do it?” Tower asked.

Morrison looked away from Tower, at the crucifix on the wall.
It was small and simple, constructed of dark pine. Handmade. Tower wondered if
Morrison had made it himself.

“It was a mistake.”

“It sure was. Parker and his mob didn’t know about Paige. They
didn’t know who she was. All this time we were in town, they were trying to
figure it out. They’d already killed Bertram, so who killed Parker’s wife?”

Morrison nodded.

“So, I wondered,” Tower continued. “If they didn’t know who
Paige was, then how did they find out about Bertram? That he was Francine
Pascal’s son?”

“It was an accident,” Morrison said.

“A pretty costly accident.”

“I didn’t go to Parker. I went to those damned lawyers and
asked a simple question,” Morrison said. His eyes were watery and his nose was
dripping. The words came out slow and wrenching, just like any other painful confession
Tower had heard over the years. However, in this case, he was not going to
offer any penance.

“It’s just that right away I knew something was wrong about Bertram.
Too late, I realized what a wonderful young man he was. But by then, I had
already alerted the very people who eventually …”

“Killed him.”

“Yes, they killed him. It’s just that I figured Bertram
really was a preacher, but I thought there might be something else to it. Like,
maybe he was going to rob the church, or banks, or fleece the congregation. So
I went to those sons of bitches and asked if they could look into his
background for me. You know, if they had anyone back East who could verify he
was who he said he was. I honestly didn’t know the history of his mother and
the vigilantes!”

Morrison hung his head.

Tower remained silent.

“It wasn’t until after they killed him that I started to
piece it together.”

Tower shook his head, allowed the anger to seep into his
voice. “But why didn’t you just tell me all of this from the beginning? “

“I was ashamed. And I didn’t know that the girl was here,
too. Bertram kept that part of the story from me. That she was his sister. I
tried to hint to you that there was more to the story, but I just wanted you to
go away, really. I thought maybe it was over.”

“I could have helped prevent more people being killed if you
told me,” Tower said. “You’ve got just as much blood on your hands as the rest
of them.”

“I know,” Morrison said. “Are you going to kill me?”

Tower got to his feet. He hesitated for just a moment. If Bird
were here, would she kill him? It would be so easy, just take the gun out and
do it.

But he knew he couldn’t.

“No. But you are not going to have anything else to do with
this church. I’ll let Silas know what you did in exacting detail. You’ll be
banned permanently from the church. And if I ever see you again with a bible,
or near a church, I’ll personally put a bullet in your head. That’s a promise.”

Tower turned and left him there.

He thought he heard Morrison weeping.

Bird, by her count, was on her tenth glass of whiskey when
Tower walked into the saloon. He sat next to her at the table and she saw that
he looked utterly exhausted.

“No one said doing the Lord’s work was going to be easy, Mr.
Tower,” she said. She laughed and slugged back another whiskey. She motioned
for the bartender to bring another glass.

He did so, and Bird filled it, then pushed it across the
table to Tower. She filled her own glass again and raised it.

“To Paige,” Bird said.

“And a full recovery,” Tower added. He drank the whiskey
down and pushed the empty glass toward Bird. She smiled at him. “Now we’re
speaking the same language,” she said and filled his glass.

Despite himself, Tower laughed.

“So, where did you go?” Bird asked him.

He filled her in on his conversation with Morrison.

“I wondered about that,” Bird said. “I probably would have
shot him.”

Tower drained his whiskey. “I know.”

“Parker sure ran this town, though, didn’t he?” Bird asked. “And
Poor Stanley Verhooven. He must have seen the murder in progress, and knew the
Rectifiers had done it, so Parker had Downwind Dave kill him, too, just to be
safe. Parker was a bloodthirsty bastard, wasn’t he?”

“Some men lose their moral compass; some never had one to begin
with. I suspect Parker was the latter.”

“I’ve got a moral compass,” Bird said. “And it works—I just
haven’t figured out how to read it.”

“You’re doing just fine, Bird,” Tower said.

She smiled at him and glanced down at the gun still in his
waistband. “You know, you look a lot more natural, a lot more comfortable, with
that gun than you do with that damned bible you’re always carrying around.”

Tower laughed. It was a sound she could get used to.
Very
used to.

“So what now?” she asked.

“Let’s check on Paige, then we’ll wire Silas a short note
and give him the general idea of what happened. I’ll follow that up with a
letter explaining the whole thing in detail. Maybe he’ll want to meet so we can
tell him everything in person.”

Bird poured the rest of the whiskey into her glass, and
drank it.

“He’ll probably try to give us another assignment,” she
said.

She got up, went to the bar, and bought another bottle. She
carried it by the neck and followed Tower out the door.

They walked down the boardwalk toward the doctor’s office. Even
though it was late, there were more people out than there had been during the
middle of the day. Bird figured word was slowly getting out about what had
happened at Killer’s Draw.

The doctor was still awake. He answered the door and let
them in.

“How is she, doc?” Tower asked softly.

Bird brought the bottle of whiskey to the doctor’s side
table and filled the three glasses that were still sitting out.

Each of them took a glass and drank.

“I just checked on her. The bleeding has stopped and her
heartbeat seems stronger. She was just awake a minute ago.”

“Can we talk to her?” Tower asked.

“If she’s awake, but only very briefly. That girl needs to
rest.”

Bird followed Tower into the room.

There was a candle to the side of the bed, and the room
smelled like tallow and soap.

They tried to walk softly but the floorboards creaked
slightly and the girl opened her eyes.

“How are you feeling?” Tower asked.

“I survived, that’s the important thing,” she said, her
voice barely a whisper. But she smiled, and Bird thought the girl was beautiful.

“You can rest now, it’s finally done,” Bird said. “You made
them pay for what they did. Now, you can get on with your own life,” Bird said.
The words sounded so strange coming from her mouth. It sounded like advice that
was usually directed at her.

“Bird Hitchcock,” the girl said, her face creased with a
smile.

“She needs to rest now,” the doctor said from behind them.

“We’re going to leave in a few days, but we’ll stop by
again,” Tower said.

They turned to go, but the girl grabbed Bird’s arm.

“The doctor said I lost a lot of blood,” she said, looking
at Bird, with a slight smile on her face.

“Yes, he did.”

“Shhh, you’ve got to rest now,” Tower said, motioning to
Bird with his head that they needed to leave.

The girl ignored Tower and kept looking at Bird.

“Have you ever heard that expression? That blood is thicker
than water?” she said.

“I have,” Bird said.

“When I first saw you, I was worried you might recognize
me.”

Bird felt something tumble inside her. No, it couldn’t be.

“What are you saying?” Bird managed to say. Her tongue
suddenly felt too thick for her mouth and her brain was muddled.

The girl smiled.

“Bird, I’m your sister.”

I’d like to thank the entire Thomas & Mercer team for their passion and dedication to
Killer’s Draw
. In particular, Jacque Ben-Zekry for her tireless efforts on my behalf. And working with the brilliant Courtney Miller has been a dream come true. In addition to being an absolute pleasure to work with, her editorial insight and prose instincts are second to none. Finally, a big thank you to Susan, Annabel, and Benna for their patience, understanding and support during the writing of this book.

Photo copyright © Annabel Ames

Dani Amore is the award-winning
author of eight novels—her breakout thriller
Death by Sarcasm
, followed
by
Murder with Sarcastic Intent
,
The Killing League
,
Dead Wood
,
To Find a Mountain
,
The Recruiter
, and
Killing the Rat
.
The
Circuit Rider
was published as a Kindle Serial by Thomas & Mercer and
is now available as a complete novel. She was born and raised in Wisconsin, and
now resides in Los Angeles, where she works as an award-winning advertising
copywriter and creative director when she’s not thrilling fans with her
eclectic, fast-paced fiction.

This book was originally released in Episodes as a Kindle Serial. Kindle Serials launched in 2012 as a new way to experience serialized books. Kindle Serials allow readers to enjoy the story as the author creates it, purchasing once and receiving all existing Episodes immediately, followed by future Episodes as they are published. To find out more about Kindle Serials and to see the current selection of Serials titles,
www.amazon.com/kindleserials
.