THE DODGE CITY MASSACRE (A Jess Williams Novel.) (26 page)

             
“You first,” said John.

             
“No, I insist, you go first,” replied Jess, a grin on his face.

             
“Well, ain’t you the gentleman. I’m getting kind of used to you using me as bait.”

             
“I told you I was a right nice fellow,” replied Jess. “Now, head over to that outhouse there.”

             
John ran for the outhouse, but he didn’t draw any fire as he crossed the first opening between the saloon and the next building. Jess ran across the opening and over to the other end of the building next to the saloon. Bodine followed behind Jess and met him at the end of the building next to the saloon. They kept making the same moves, using whatever cover they could find until they made it down several buildings and to where Jess had thought one of the shots had come from.

             
Cullom had taken Jess’ bullet in his right shoulder and while he was bleeding pretty badly, he could still shoot the Winchester, but he decided to get down from the rooftop, since he knew that his location was no longer a secret. He hid behind a small storage building behind the next building, hoping that either Jess or John would come looking for him on the rooftop and he had a perfect shot at the stairway. Durrand and Thomas stayed in their positions, figuring that there was a good chance they hadn’t been spotted yet, which was partially true. Jess knew one shot each came from both ends of the street, he just didn’t know exactly which buildings they had come from.

             
Jess was slowly working his way between two buildings with John right behind him watching their backs. They stopped several feet back from the opening at the front of the buildings. Jess kept looking between the few buildings across the street trying to spot any movement and then he saw a man with a rifle peek out and toward the saloon. Jess handed John a shotgun shell.

             
“I’ve got shotgun shells,” replied John, whispering as quietly as he could.

             
“I know that,” replied Jess, “I want you to throw it over at the building across the street. As soon as you throw it, step back a few feet and get down as low as you can get. I’m going to keep my back to this wall and as soon as the man across the street takes his first shot, I’ll plug him before he gets to cock that rifle again.”

             
Bodine threw the shell and it hit the building and bounced off and down onto the board walk. Lee Thomas hadn’t spotted Jess and John so he thought the noise was coming from the front of the building he was hiding behind. He came out just enough to take a shot and when he did, Jess stepped away and fanned his pistol four times, killing Thomas before he could get off another shot.

             
Durrand saw what happened and he started firing his Winchester. He got three rounds off, splintering the wood in front of the two buildings where Jess and John had been a few seconds ago. Jess and John had already run to the backs of the buildings and were up against the wall.

             
“One down for sure, and one wounded,” said Jess.

             
“Now what?” asked John.

             
“We make our way past the saloon and try to spot the second shooter on the ground,” Jess whispered.

             
“Do you think that man is still on the rooftop across from the saloon?”

             
“No, he knows we know where he was when he took that first shot. He’ll climb down off that roof and be hiding somewhere close by waiting to ambush us when we come looking for him,” replied Jess.

             
Jess and John took the same steps they used to get down to the other end of town and past The Long Branch Saloon. They slowly walked between two buildings just past the saloon. Jess led the way and John followed, again watching their backs. Before Jess got close enough to the opening of the two buildings they were between, Durrand saw them and began firing wildly at the two of them. One of the slugs hit Jess in his left calf, but it didn’t feel like it hit the bone, which was good.

             
Jess and John got to the back of one of the two buildings and they both put their backs against the wall.

             
“Damn it,” whispered Jess.

             
“How bad are you hit?” John asked whispering.

             
“I took one in my left calf,” replied Jess.

             
“I know the feeling, it hurts like hell for about a week.”

             
“Thanks for letting me know that little bit of knowledge.”

             
“You welcome.”

             
“I’ve sure bought enough new hats lately, now I have to go and buy me a new pair of pants,” said Jess.

             
“Well, you have to spend all that money of yours on something,” replied Bodine. “So, what’s the plan now?”

             
Jess thought for a moment. “I think you should go up on that roof there and I’ll go down about three buildings and fire off a few rounds in the air. When I do, it should draw his fire and you should be able to spot him and between the two of us, we should be able to take him,” replied Jess.

             
“Alright,” replied John as he began to climb onto the roof of the building they were next to. Jess slowly made his way behind three more buildings and whenever he came to an opening, he ran past it as quickly as he could. Durrand was looking for any signs of Jess and John, but he didn’t spot them.

             
Jess got to the fourth building down from where John was and he took his Pa’s pistol out from his holster and he fired two slugs into the air. As soon as he did, a bullet slammed into the front corner of the building he was standing next to, but he was already about three feet back. As soon as the bullet hit the building, he heard John take a shot from the rooftop and as soon as he did, he stepped out as Durrand tried to take another shot, this time at the rooftop where John had fired from. Jess could see the flash coming from the rifle and he pulled his pistol out and fanned off all six rounds, not really aiming since he couldn’t actually see the man. He was simply trying to give John enough cover fire so that he could get a clean shot from the rooftop. He quickly replaced all six cartridges and then he did something that John never expected.

             
John watched as Jess walked straight out into the street and straight for where Durrand had fired from. Jess had his pistol in his right hand and his Pa’s Colt in his left. He was firing off a round every second as he quickly walked across the street. Bodine saw that the man was aiming his Winchester straight at Jess and John fired two slugs and both of them hit Durrand in the chest.

             
Jess seen that John had killed the man and he walked over to the already dead body and put one more bullet in the man’s head just for good measure. Jess was finishing reloading both pistols as Bodine came running out from between the two buildings and straight toward Jess.

             
“Are you crazy or something?” asked John. “What the hell were you thinking walking out in the middle of the street like that? You made one hell of a big target.”

             
“I was thinking that it was my turn to be the bait and I figured you had me covered,” replied Jess.

             
“How did you know I hadn’t ducked down for cover?”

             
“I didn’t. I guess I was betting my life on it,” replied Jess.

             
“Well, do me a favor and don’t do anything like that again,” demanded John. “I need you alive to get my money.”

             
“Always the money with you,” said Jess.

             
“Of course, I’m looking forward to my retirement and I’d like to enjoy it—alive hopefully,” replied John.

             
“Well, first we have one more man to find behind those buildings.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

              “John, pick this man up and carry him for me,” Jess said not really asking.

             
“Huh? Now why in the hell would you want me to carry his dead carcass when we’re still in the middle of a gunfight?”

             
“Because we are going to use his body to try and fool the last man who is probably behind those buildings waiting for any sign of us and besides, I can’t carry him with my leg wound I got here. Besides, I’m a quicker and better shot than you are,” replied Jess sarcastically.

             
“I knew you were going to throw that in my face sooner or later,” exclaimed John. “I just knew it.”

             
“Oh shut up and pick his ass up. Besides, it’s true. I am faster and I shoot straighter than you,” Jess stated.

             
“Well, it might be true, but you didn’t have to bring it up,” replied Bodine, as he picked up Heath Durrand’s dead body and threw it over his right shoulder. Jess led the way almost to the back of the two buildings they were between.

             
Jess turned to John and said, “Here’s what I think we should do. Hold this man’s body up by his chest and walk him out close to the opening and wait and see it you draw any fire. As soon as we see where the shooting is coming from, drop him and both of us will open up on him with the cut-down double-barrels at the same time.”

             
“Oh, so not only did I have to carry him, you want me to stand behind his dead body? You do know that a rifle slug can go straight through a man’s body. I could get shot,” complained Bodine.

             
“Hey, maybe you’ll get lucky and he’ll either miss or the slug will hit a bone and slow it down,” replied Jess.

             
“Yeah, that makes me feel a whole lot better about it,” said John.

             
Bodine took Durrand’s body and did like Jess had asked. He held the dead body up using his right arm wrapped under the body’s arms and around his chest and slowly made his way to the opening. A few seconds later a bullet slammed into Durrand’s dead body. The slug hit the spine just below Bodine’s right arm and bounced off the spine and flew out the right side of Durrand’s body and slammed into the wall.

             
Bodine already had his one shotgun in his left hand and he threw Durrand’s body down and reached for his second cut-down shotgun as Jess was already firing off all four barrels in the direction of where he saw the flash from the rifle. Hank Cullom had been hiding behind a small storage building and Jess heard him cocking the lever of the Winchester just before John opened up with his two cut-down shotguns. John fired off all four barrels of his cut-down shotguns and even though Cullom was behind the corner of the small building, he was hit with several pieces of buckshot. He chambered another round in his Winchester and jumped out from the building and as soon as he did, Jess fanned all six shots from his pistol into the man. John never even had a chance to draw his pistol. Jess replaced the six spent cartridges from his pistol as they walked over to the man’s body and he was surely dead and full of lead. Jess just finished loading his pistol when he saw two men running toward him and John. He cocked his pistol.

             
“Don’t shoot, don’t shoot, it’s Justin and Connor,” exclaimed Justin.

             
“Okay, but walk slowly and don’t reach for those pistols until I can see if it’s really you,” Jess demanded. As soon as they got close enough, Jess saw that it was indeed the two former deputies. Connor checked out Durrand’s body while Justin checked on Cullom.

             
“This one here is Hank Cullom,” replied Watts.

             
“And this one is Heath Durrand,” replied Landon. “Where is the third one?” asked Landon.

             
“He’s lying dead between those two buildings over there,” replied Jess. “Are these the three men you warned us about who used to work for Manny Welch?”

             
“These two are for sure, and I’m sure the third one is most likely Lee Thomas. They all three have bounties on their heads so I guess you’ve made some more money,” replied Justin.

             
“Every little bit helps,” said John.

             
“I’m beginning to think you’re getting a little greedy, John,” Jess said sarcastically.

             
“Hey, don’t make me kick you in that bullet hole in your calf,” retorted John.

             
“Like you’d get away with it,” replied Jess.

             
“Oh, but it was okay for you to threaten to do it to me when I got shot a few weeks ago?”

             
“Yeah, that’s because it was you, not me,” laughed Jess. “Justin, do you think there are any more of Welch’s men in town?” asked Jess.