The Deadly River (11 page)

Pointing toward the creek, he asked Ray, “What do you see down there, asshole?” Then, almost screaming, “What do you see, you son-of-a-bitch?”

In a weak voice, Ray replied, “The Little Joe and the cedars.”

“You wanna know what I see, asshole? Do you want to know what I see?”

Ray straightened slightly, looking up at the bigger man. His voice was still weak as he replied. “Not particularly, Bill. Not particularly.”

The answer infuriated Wards. Spinning, he threw a powerful punch at the injured man, knocking Ray backward several feet where he landed flat on his back.

Wards was screaming at the top of his voice now. “I’ll tell you what I see, you shit. I see millions of dollars worth of prime cedar timber that you cheated me out of. I see a life of leisure filled with good booze and easy women that you stole from me. I see a year’s work and thousands of dollars wasted. All shot to hell because you wanted to admire your pretty trees. That’s what I see! Now you’re gonna pay the price! Nobody crosses Bill Wards!”

Ray had worked his way back to his feet by the time Wards finished his tirade. But he was still bent and holding his ribs. He looked up at Wards and calmly asked, “Is that why you paid that idiot Gohmert to rob the café and attack my wife?”

Wards stopped and looked at Ray, a slow grin crossing his face. “Yeah, you asshole. I did that and that’s something else I owe you for. It cost me a lot of money to keep that fuckhead from squealing on me. I owe you for that too. Here’s an installment on your debts.” With that, he threw another punch at Ray’s face. Ray managed to move his head to the side, causing the punch to land mostly on his shoulder.

Wards was smiling broadly as he continued. “They’re going to find you guys at the bottom of this hill, all beat to shit. The obituaries will say it was a bad pickup accident. But we’ll know better, won’t we?”

He slapped the baseball bat into his palm for emphasis. Then he continued, “You and that bleeding-heart politician, Kurt Kochran, you’re both going to be dead. With the two of you out of the way, I’ll get the Forest Service to let me cut your pet cedar forest. When you
look up from hell, you’ll see me living high off the proceeds from your precious cedars.”

Wards grabbed Ray by the collar and threw him, stumbling, back toward the road. “Jose, get the kid out of that pickup. It’s time to get serious here.”

The swarthy Jose gestured to Lee with his free hand, the rifle still held in the crook of the other arm. “C’mon out, kid.”

Lee shouted back to him, “I’m coming out. Just have to get this door open.” Having said that, he turned sideways and pushed the door with both feet. It flew open and he shifted to pull himself out the door, sizing up the situation as he did. The Mexican gunman was about twenty feet away, on the far left side of the road. Wards was about five feet further downhill and a bit further to the left.

As Lee slid out of the pickup onto the hillside, his right hand unobtrusively dropped back behind the seat, where it encountered the smooth stock of the old Winchester carbine. Trying to remain unnoticed, he pulled the gun with him as he came out of the seat and into a squatting position with the door and the pickup’s engine compartment between him and the others.

He looked up and realized that both the Mexican and his boss were watching Ray, who had suddenly fallen to the ground. In one smooth motion, Lee brought the rifle to bear and pointed it midway between the two assailants as he levered a shell into the rifle’s chamber.

The smooth mechanical sound of the rifle brought both men to full alert. Jose swiveled and started to raise his rifle, but stopped when he realized he was staring into the barrel of Lee’s gun.

But Wards wasn’t so easily shaken. He was stopped in mid-stride, with one hand holding the bat high in the air, planning to bring it down on Ray. He looked at Lee and laughed. “I’ve heard about you, punk. You learned about guns from John Wayne movies. You couldn’t hit a barn if you were inside it. Do you really think you could get us before we get you?”

He laughed again and relaxed. “Jose, don’t worry. This is just a bluff. Shoot him.” With that he reached for the pistol at his waist, the bat still held high in his other hand.

The movement from Lee was small, but instantaneous. The rifle barrel moved almost imperceptibly and a shot rang out. The baseball bat shattered just above where Wards was grasping it. Startled, the big man dropped the ruined handle and jerked his hand down as Lee levered another round into the chamber. It was Lee’s turn to laugh aloud. “That John Wayne thing was with a pistol. With this 30-30, I can shoot a mosquito off the cheeks of your filthy ass. Try me. Please?” He turned the rifle toward Jose, who immediately let his gun fall to the ground, his hands shooting into the air as high as he could reach.

Ray, who no longer looked hurt and was suddenly standing straight, strode to where Wards was standing. Unopposed, he removed the pistol from its holster and trained it on its owner. “Get your hands in the air. Go over by the truck and stand facing it. Now!”

As Wards moved to comply, Ray turned his attention to the Mexican, Jose. “Go over to the front of the truck and lie down. Get yourself face down and don’t move a muscle until I tell you to.” He looked back at Lee. “Come on down here, Lee.” He bent over and picked up Jose’s rifle and tossed it into the pickup bed.

Lee scrambled around the pickup door and slid down to the road. He kept the rifle pointed loosely at Wards, who was carefully checking his surroundings, obviously weighing his options for escape.

When Lee was down and situated, Ray looked at him and grinned. “Okay my friend, watch that one, will you?” He pointed at Jose and tossed Wards’ pistol into the pickup where it clanked against Jose’s rifle. He turned toward where Wards was standing.

Lee was startled. “What’re you gonna do, Ray?”

“Something I’ve been wanting to do for a while.” Ray answered with a huge grin. Any resemblance to the injured man he had been pretending to be was gone now.

Sensing his approach, Wards turned to meet him just as Ray let loose with a huge roundhouse right that caught Wards squarely on the nose. He followed with a left that caught the bigger man in the belly, driving the air out of him in an audible “whoosh”. Then Ray just stepped back and waited. “Those were for my wife. I’d say that makes
us about even. Do you have the guts to take me on when I can fight back, Mr. Wards?”

Lee looked on in amazement. Both of these men were massive and both looked very fit. Either of them could probably break him in half without trying. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a movement from Jose and turned back to cover him. Still alert, he moved around to where he had all three of the men in his line of sight.

Wards had straightened and was looking down his long, bleeding, nose in an arrogant stare at Ray, who hadn’t moved since issuing the challenge. Wards mouth curled into a sneer as he brought his fists up. “You little asshole.”

He charged, his right fist flying at Ray’s head. But Ray wasn’t there when he arrived. Stepping to one side, Ray brought another roundhouse right to the side of Wards’ head as he passed by. Then a straight right to Wards’ bleeding nose. Ray stepped back a pace and, visibly gathered his strength, came forward with a solid kick that caught Wards in the shin. Wards gasped and stumbled forward when the big work boot caught his leg. Ray was on his toes now, dancing to the left around Wards, peppering him with hard shots to the face, each of which seemed to draw blood. Wards tried to turn to face him, throwing wild roundhouse punches. But Ray kept dancing, bobbing and weaving, throwing more and more shots to the face of Wards. Finally Ray suddenly stopped and rocked back on his heels. Reaching as far back as he could, he brought a hard right over his shoulder in a massive swing that, once again, caught Wards solidly in the center of his face. Lee could hear the smashing sound as the bones in that long, arrogant, nose were crushed. Wards went to his knees, his hands cupping his face, as Ray stepped back again.

Then Wards proved that he was still in the fight. From his doubled-over position, he launched a tackle that caught Ray by surprise and took him to the ground with Wards on top of him. Wards’ clawed fingers scraped Ray’s face, digging toward his eyes. Ray grabbed the clawing hand and bent the fingers back hard. There was a sharp crack and Wards let out a short yelp, then swung his other hand at Ray’s head, drawing blood from a split lip. But Ray, with a mighty heave, threw Wards
off and rolled swiftly away from him. Both men were on their feet instantly. Wards tried a kick at Ray, but again was too slow. Again he was rewarded with one of those punishing overhand rights to the face. His face was a solid mask of blood.

The two circled each other, both looking for an opening. Ray’s face was scratched and bleeding, but Wards looked worse, with a glistening red smear covering his entire face. Wards was limping slightly, but still moving well.

Suddenly, Ray jerked to his left and Wards’ defenses followed him. Ray switched his stance and unloaded a heavy right to the side of Wards’ jaw. Wards hands dropped to his sides and Ray followed with a left cross that caught Wards on the other side of his jaw. Wards’ face went slack, and slowly his body seemed to wilt. His knees folded and when he was unable to crumble further, his legs and feet shot out in front of him and he sat back heavily. His body continued down and there was a loud thud when his head hit the road behind him. He didn’t move.

Ray looked at Lee with a crooked grin. “Glass jaw. Sure glad of that. He was starting to hurt me.” Then he sat heavily on the running board of Wards’ big truck, his face in his hands. All Lee could think to say was, “Wow!” He had never seen anything like this before and it left him astonished and almost speechless.

Trying to not disturb Ray, Lee moved to the pickup where he had seen a length of rope behind the driver’s seat. Returning to where Jose was lying in the road, he sat on the man’s back and swiftly tied his hands behind him. Then, taking out his pocket knife, he cut the rope into another length and tied the man’s feet. Wards was still not moving, but Ray was looking around and watching Lee as he immobilized the Mexican. When he finished, Lee still had about six feet of the rope left. He cut it loose and moved to where Wards was lying.

But Ray stopped him. “Hold up, Lee. I’m not sure that cord will hold this guy when he’s back in action.” Slowly, Ray stood and walked to his pickup. After digging around in the pickup bed, he came up with a tow chain that he kept for emergencies. Then he unlocked his big toolbox and took the padlock from it. He walked back to where Wards was still lying and gestured for Lee to give him the rope. He then tied
Wards hands firmly in front of him, running the rope around his waist so that Wards’ hands were cinched tight to his body.

Wards finally moaned and tried to roll over. Suddenly realizing that his limbs weren’t free, he came alive with a huge jerk. “What the fuck?” His eyes took in the scene around him and he twisted his arms, trying to free his hands. He almost did it, with the cord actually seeming to stretch under the immense strength in those arms and shoulders. Finally he sat back, his gaze fixed on Ray’s face. Surprisingly he smiled, making his bloody hash of a face into a ghastly sight. “I didn’t think you had it in you, Moore. You surprised me. But you know this shitty little rope won’t keep me down long enough for you to get away, don’t you? I suggest you turn me loose now, before you really piss me off.”

Ray wasn’t intimidated. “Get up, Bill.” He had Wards’ pistol in his hand now. He gestured with it. “Stand up. Now!”

Clumsily, with the ropes impeding the effort, Wards got to his feet. Drawing himself to his full height, he stared down haughtily at Ray. Ray wasted no time. Putting the pistol in his pocket, he grabbed Wards by the back of his neck and his belt and pushed him. He steered him across the road to a tall jackpine. Roughly he turned Wards so that his back was to the tree and told him to sit down. Wards complied, his back resting against the big pine. Now Ray turned to Lee. “Watch him, Lee. If he makes a move shoot him.”

“Will do.” Lee moved so that Wards could see the old carbine pointed at his heart. Wards just glared at him.

Ray picked up the tow chain he’d brought from the pickup. Crossing to where Wards was sitting, he ran the end of the chain under Wards’ arms jerking it up to where it was firmly in the bigger man’s armpits. Then he brought the chain around the pine tree and, bracing a foot against the tree and pulling the chain tight. Wards screamed and began cursing. “I can’t breathe, you son-of-a-bitch. I can’t breathe.” Ignoring him, Ray jerked the chain even tighter, then slipped the padlock through two links and snapped it shut. Wards tried to continue yelling, but had to stop to gasp for air. He was immobilized.

Ray stepped back to admire his handiwork. Then he realized that there were long loose ends on the chain, so he quickly looped them
around another nearby tree and tied them back so they couldn’t be reached. Again, he inspected the scene and then smiled, finally satisfied that Wards was going nowhere.

Now he turned his attention to Lee. “Okay, Lee. I’ll wait here with them. I want you to take the pickup down to the café and call the sheriff. Bring him back here. Tell him to bring some help in case there’s a problem. Try to get back as fast as you can.”

“Will you be all right here by yourself, Ray?”

“Yeah, but make it fast. I’d like to be out of here before dark. Now let’s move that truck so you can get the pickup out. You do know the way out of here, don’t you?”

“Yeah. I memorized it on the way in this morning.”

“Okay. Let’s do it then.”

The keys were still in the big truck’s ignition, so they had it out of the way in no time, running over some small trees in the process. Then Lee dragged the little Mexican out of the road and climbed into the pickup. With a cheerful wave, headed down the narrow road. Looking back, he saw that Ray had hoisted himself onto the flat bed of the truck where he was sitting with the carbine loosely pointed in the direction of Wards and his henchman.

Lee drove as if the devil was chasing him, leaving loose gravel flying on countless curves. It seemed to be forever before the truck stop showed up in front of him. He wasted no time in niceties, letting the pickup slide almost to the front door of the café.