Leaving Epitaph (12 page)

With Petry dead, Ethan Langer actually started to miss having someone to talk to, even if it was just to tell him to shut up. For that reason he decided to start talking to Ben Branch.

As they crossed into Kansas he said, “Ben, I’m actually thinkin’ of making you my
segundo
.”

Branch was surprised. “But you said none of us was good enough.”

“Well, maybe I was wrong,” Ethan said. “Maybe you’re good enough. What do you think?”

“I been real happy just following you along these past few years, Ethan,” Branch said. “I ain’t really got no hankerin’ to give any orders, myself.”

“You wouldn’t have to give no orders, Ben,” Ethan said. “That’s still my job.”

Branch remembered what happened to the last
segundo
when Ethan left him in charge for just a little while. Terry Petry earned himself a real
shallow grave. Branch was sure that a bunch of critters had already taken care of Petry’s remains.

“Whataya say, Ben?” Ethan asked. “Want the job or not?”

“Well, Ethan—”

“There’s an extra share in it for you,” Ethan said. “Petry’s share.”

Well, if there was extra money in it for him, that was a whole different story.

“Sure, Ethan,” Branch said, “I’d be happy to be your
segundo
.”

“Good,” Ethan said. “Then you ride back and tell the rest of the men about it, and then come back up here.”

“Right, boss.”

“He made you
segundo
?” Hackett asked.

“That’s right.”

“Did you ask for the job?” Ted Fitzgerald asked suspiciously.

“Hell, no,” Branch said. “I saw what happened to Petry.”

“So why’d you say yes?”

“How could I say no?” Branch asked. He didn’t want to tell them about the extra share. “I didn’t want to get blown out of my saddle.”

“So what’s he want you to do?” Hackett asked.

“Just ride with him,” Branch said, “and that’s what I’m gonna do.”

Well,” Hackett said, “if he asks you for any advice, why don’t you suggest we stop off in Dodge City? It ain’t far from here.”

“He ain’t gonna ask,” Branch said, “but I’ll keep it in mind.”

When he rode back up to ride alongside his boss, Ethan asked, “How did they take it?”

“They took it fine.”

“Anybody mention Dodge City?”

Branch looked surprised.

Ethan laughed. “We ain’t far from there. I figured somebody would suggest it.’

“Somebody did.”

“Dodge is a dead town,” Ethan said. “Besides, we ain’t stoppin’ anymore until we get where we’re goin’.”

“Where are we goin’, Ethan?” Branch asked, and then hurriedly added, “Uh, I mean, if I can ask.”

“Aaron and I agreed on where we’d meet, and when,” Ethan said. “We’ll be a little late, but he’ll wait for us to get there.”

“I know he will,” Branch said. “Think we got more from our bank than he got from his?”

“That’ll burn his ass if we do,” Ethan said. “Guess we’ll find out when we get there.”

“Uh, get where, Ethan?”

“Salina,
segundo,
” Ethan said. “We’re goin’ to Salina.”

They stopped in Blackwell, just before the Kansas border. Prior to that they had a small run-in with a Cherokee hunting party. There were six braves, and they were looking for food. Shaye calmed his sons, who had only seen Indians before one at a time, and the tame variety at that. Shaye satisfied the braves with some beef jerky, and they all went their separate ways. Thomas, Matthew, and James talked about that encounter for hours afterward.

They stopped in Wellington next, soon after they crossed into Kansas, but there was no sign that the Langer gang had ever stopped there. The next day they headed toward Wichita.

“They’re haulin’ ass,” Shaye said the morning they broke camp to head toward Wichita. “Means they’re likely to be late meeting up with Aaron. They’re trying to make up for lost time.”

“Because of the stop they made in Oklahoma City?” Thomas asked.

“Most likely,” Shaye said.

“What about Wichita?” James asked. “Could they be meeting up there?”

“My guess is Wichita’s too big,” Shaye said. “They’d want something not as busy. My best guess is Salina.”

It wasn’t that much smaller than Wichita—eleven or twelve hundred people, probably—but it certainly wasn’t a place that brought in outsiders. Largely a farming community, it catered mostly to locals, even though the Union Pacific had a stop there. Its claim to fame was the steam-powered wheat mill that was built when wheat began to come into the town in large quantities in the 1870s.

“So should we stop in Wichita?” Thomas asked.

The last good rest they’d had was in Oklahoma City. If the Langers were hauling ass, then Shaye figured they should too, but they might as well ride through Wichita since it would cost them some time to deliberately go around it.

“We could use some coffee,” James said after he’d listened to his father’s explanation.

“You can hit the general store while I talk to the local law,” Shaye said.

“Do you know who the sheriff is there?” Thomas asked.

“Haven’t a clue.”

“What if it’s someone who…you know…remembers you?” James asked, worried.

“Statute of limitations ran out on my crimes a long time ago,” Shaye said. “Don’t worry about it.”

All his crimes except one, but he didn’t mention that.

Wichita was queen of the cow towns until Dodge City inherited the title in the late 1870s. The cattle drives were now almost over, and even Dodge City’s halcyon days were gone.

But Wichita was still a large, bustling place, and impressed Thomas, Matthew, and James, although not as much as Oklahoma City had.

“I only want to be here an hour at the most,” Shaye said. “Thomas, you and James go to the general store. Matthew, you come with me.”

They all said, “Yes, sir.”

Shaye and Matthew rode to the sheriff’s office and dismounted in front.

“I’ll do all the talking,” Shaye said.

“Sure, Pa.”

They entered the office and found a tall, slender man with a broom sweeping the floor. Dust was floating in the air, and the sun streaming in the window was reflecting off it. It looked like a man-made dust storm, and Shaye doubted the man was having much effect on the overall cleanliness of the place.

“Excuse me!” he called out.

The man turned abruptly and stopped sweeping. He was possibly the saddest-looking man
Shaye had ever seen, and this just from the expression on his face. His mouth curved downward naturally, and the rest of his face seemed to follow. He had no hat on, and had only some wisps of hair left on his head. He appeared to be in his early sixties. Shaye was about to ask for the sheriff when he noticed the badge on the man’s chest.

“Are you the sheriff?” he asked.

“Usually,” the man said. Gesturing with the broom he added, “Today I’m the janitor too. Just a minute.”

The man walked to the corner and set the broom against the wall, then returned to where Shaye and Matthew were standing and extended his hand.

“I’ll bet you’ve swept up a time or two yourself, Sheriff.”

“Once or twice.”

“Epitaph,” the lawman said. “Where is that?”

“South Texas,” Shaye said. “Name’s Daniel Shaye. This is my son, Matthew.”

The sheriff of Wichita reached past Shaye to shake hands with Matthew and said, “Pleased to meet you both. My name’s Carmondy, Sheriff Ed Carmondy. What brings you to my neck of the woods, Sheriff? You’re a long ways from home.”

“Well, I tell you—”

“Have a seat,” Carmondy said, cutting him off. “Excuse my bad manners. Get you some coffee?”

“No, thanks,” Shaye said.

The sheriff walked around to sit behind his desk. Shaye and Matthew took chairs across from him.

“We’re just passing through, trailing a gang that hit the bank in my town and…and killed a woman.”

“Terrible thing,” Carmondy said. “Must have been real bad to bring you all this way on their trail.”

“When is killing a woman not terrible?” Shaye asked.

“Too true,” Carmondy said. “What can I do to help you?”

“Tell me if there’s been any sign of the Langer gang hereabouts in the last day or two.”

“Langer gang?”

“Do you know of them?”

“Of course,” Carmondy said. “Any lawman worth his salt has heard of the Langers, Ethan and Aaron. Which one you after?”

“Ethan. Aaron and his men robbed a bank in South Dakota about the same time.”

“They make that a state yet?” Carmondy asked.

“Think I read something about that in the newspaper some time ago,” Shaye said. “Afraid I don’t keep up on the new states, though.”

“Think we got maybe forty of ’em now,” Carmondy said.

“That could be,” Shaye said.

“That’s a lot of states.”

“Sure is.”

“You know what town Aaron hit?”

“Heard somewhere near the Bad River—Pierre, maybe.”

“Probably a good time to hit that area, what with the statehood stuff goin’ on,” Carmondy said.

“You could be right,” Shaye said. “Sheriff? Any sign of Ethan and his men here?”

“Not that I know of,” Carmondy said, “and I’d know.”

“You would?”

“Durn right. I keep my eye out for strangers.”

“You do?” Shaye couldn’t help himself and looked toward the broom in the corner.

Carmondy smiled, and suddenly his face wasn’t so sad anymore. It was an amazing transformation. It seemed whatever his mouth did, the rest of his face followed right along.

“I don’t look like much, Sheriff Shaye,” he said, “but I know that you rode into town with three deputies, not one.”

“Sons,” Shaye said. “Three sons, who also happen to be my deputies.”

“You must be real proud.”

“I am.”

Obviously, Sheriff Carmondy was not as dumb as he liked people to think he was.

“So you see, if Ethan Langer rode in with his men—three, four, more—I’d know it.”

“I guess you would.” Shaye stood up, followed by Matthew. “We won’t take up any more of your time, then.”

Carmondy stood up and extended his hand. Shaye shook it while Matthew remained behind his father.

“Stayin’ in town?” the local lawman asked. “I know where you and your boys can get a fine meal.”

“Thanks, but no,” Shaye said. “We’ve got to keep moving.”

“Well, I wish you luck,” Carmondy said. “If you track Ethan until he meets up with his brother, you’re gonna have a lot to handle, just the four of you.”

“We’ll make do,” Shaye said.

Carmondy looked past Shaye at Matthew and said, “Good luck to you.”

Matthew didn’t reply, but he touched his hand to the brim of his hat and nodded.

“Matthew,” Shaye said outside, “you could have said thank you to the man when he wished you luck.”

“But Pa,” Matthew said, “you tol’ me to let you do all the talkin’, didn’t you?”

“That I did, son,” Shaye said. “That I did.”

Thomas and James found a good-sized store not far from where they split from Shaye and Matthew, reined their horses in and tied them off out front.

“Coffee,” James said, “and some beans.”

“And jerky,” Thomas said. “Pa gave most of what we had to those Indians.”

“That was somethin’, wasn’t it?” James asked. “The way Pa bargained with them Indians?”

“I’m sure Pa has bargained with Indians before, James,” Thomas said. “Just somethin’ else we don’t know about the man.”

“We’ve found out a bunch of stuff already, Thomas,” James said as they stepped up onto the boardwalk. “How much more do you think there is?”

“Lots, James,” Thomas said. “I’m sure there’s lots.”

As they started to enter the store James put his hand on his older brother’s arm to stop him.

“Thomas?”

“Yeah?”

“Do you think there’s a lot of stuff we don’t know about Ma too?” he asked.

“I’ll bet there is, James.”

“I—I’m not sure I want to know.”

“Me neither.”

The brothers split up inside the store, which was even larger on the inside than it looked outside. There were several women shopping, and two separate counters with clerks standing at them. One of the clerks was a pretty young woman about James’s age, and Thomas allowed his brother to go off in that direction.

“Can I help you with something?” she asked. She smiled at James and completely captivated him.

“Uh, oh, sure, I was, uh, lookin’ for some coffee, and some beans….”

“Would you like me to direct you?” she asked. “Or I could show you.”

“Maybe you better show me,” he said. “This store is pretty big and I, uh, wouldn’t want to get lost.”

“Certainly.”

Thomas thought his brother had recovered nicely after a clumsy start. He decided to step outside and let James do all the shopping.

Out in front of the store, he found a straight-backed wooden chair and sat down with his back to the wall. He watched as the town went by, people going about their daily lives, doing things that he was probably doing weeks ago, before the Langer gang came riding into Epitaph to change his life and the lives of his father and brothers. He wondered if they’d ever get back to leading that kind of carefree life, or if that was all over now. Considering what they were planning on doing, how could they ever go back?

He was still thinking about it when his father and Matthew appeared on horseback before him. He hadn’t even noticed them riding up to him. If they’d been someone else entirely, he could have been dead by now. The thought made him shudder.

“Thought you were sleeping,” Shaye said, stepping up onto the boardwalk to join him.

“Just thinkin’, Pa.”

“Where’s your brother?”

“He’s inside gettin’ the supplies,” Thomas said. “Found himself a pretty gal to help him.”

“You left James alone with a pretty gal?” Matthew asked. “What’s he gonna do with his tongue all tied?”

“He was doin’ pretty well when I left him.”

“I’m gonna go in and have a look,” Matthew said.

“I’ll wait out here with your brother,” Shaye said, slapping Matthew on the back.

“What happened with the local law, Pa?” Thomas asked when his brother went inside.

Briefly, Shaye told him about his conversation with Sheriff Carmondy.

“Do you believe him?”

“I can’t start believing that every lawman I talk to is crooked, Thomas,” Shaye said. “Or taking money from the Langers.”

“But did you believe him?”

“He seems to know what’s going on in his own town,” Shaye said. “He knew there was four of us here.”

“You don’t believe him.”

“I don’t know what to believe,” Shaye said. “In order for this gang to operate successfully from Texas to the Dakotas, they’ve got to have a bunch of lawmen on their payroll.”

“How come they didn’t try to buy you, Pa?”

“I don’t know, Thomas.”

“Maybe they heard you were honest?”

“Maybe.”

“But wait,” Thomas said, “they knew you from the old days.”

“If they even knew I was the sheriff of Epitaph,” Shaye said. “Who knows? Maybe they came in cold and hit the bank.”

“That doesn’t sound very professional, does it?”

“No, it doesn’t.”

“So what are we gonna do?”

“Continue north to Salina, I guess,” Shaye said. “Or maybe they’ll go west to Hays.”

“Wherever they go, Pa,” Thomas said, “we’ll find them.”

Shaye looked down at his son and said, “Yes, we will, Thomas.”

Inside the store, James and Matthew had begun elbowing each other for the attention of Janie Summers.

“I’m older,” Matthew said.

“I’m smarter,” James said.

“I’m bigger.”

James thought a moment, then said, “I’m smarter.”

“I’m better looking,” Matthew said.

Janie laughed and said, “You’re both so cute. Will you be staying in town long?”

James and Matthew both pulled long faces, and James said, “We’re leavin’ as soon as we’re done here.”

“That’s a shame,” she said, tallying up their purchases. She’d managed to convince them to buy a few more items than they originally wanted, like a few bars of soap and an extra shirt each. “We could have spent some time…talking.”

She told them how much their purchases were, and they had to combine their fortunes to pay for it.

“This has been very exciting,” she said after they paid her, “meeting two Texas deputies at the same time. Maybe you’ll come back this way soon?”

“Maybe,” James said, but he doubted it.

“Well, it’s been very nice to meet you both,” she said, then shook their hands in turn, saying, “James…Matthew.”

“Nice to meet you too, Miss Janie,” Matthew said.

“My Lord,” she said as they turned away, “so much excitement in two days. First outlaws, then lawmen.”

Both young men stopped and turned back to face her.

“Outlaws?” Matthew asked.

“There were outlaws here yesterday?” James asked.

“Well,” Janie said, looking around, her bright blue eyes going wide, “they said they were outlaws, but how was I to know if they were telling the truth? I mean, they couldn’t prove it with badges, like you boys could.”

“These outlaws,” James said, “they didn’t happen to say who they were, did they? I mean, who they rode with?”

“Well, there was only two of them,” she said, “but they told me they were leading a whole lot more.”

“And the name of the gang?” James asked.

“Well,” she said, thinking hard, “one of them
did say something about being the
segundo
of the Langer gang…but he could have been lying. What is a
segundo,
anyway? James? Matthew? Where are you two going?”