The RECKONING: A Jess Williams Western (26 page)

             
He knew that he was gaining a reputation with a gun and that soon, someone would challenge him just for the reputation of beating him to the draw. Maybe one day, there would be a bounty on his head, and men would hunt him down for the money. Either way, he realized then and there that his life’s path had been chosen for him. He would hunt down the worst of men for the bounty on their heads.

             
Jess worked his way south into Texas going around towns unless he needed supplies. On the fourth day, he camped a few miles outside what looked like a fairly large town. He ate a simple meal and kept a low fire. He rode into Largo, Texas, about an hour after daylight. There were plenty of hotels and eating establishments and what looked like a new livery. Jess stabled his horse and paid the man working the livery an extra dollar per day to get Gray some extra care and the best grain the man had. The livery worker, a small black man by the name of Earl, had a huge smile on his face when Jess gave him the extra dollar.

             
“Thank you, sir,” exclaimed Earl. “I’ll make sure I take real good care of your horse. He’ll get a good brushing and a bucket of my best grain.”

             
“You’re a good man, Earl,” he said smiling. “Maybe you could tell me the best place to get a good meal and to bunk down for the night.”

             
“I sure can,” he said. “Bridger Café is the best place for food, course that’s ‘cause my wife does most the cookin’ there.”

             
“Can she make good biscuits?”

             
“Oh my Lord, she can make the best biscuits in the whole state of Texas and I ain’t just saying that ‘cause she’s my woman,” he said proudly.

             
“How about the best hotel?”

             
“They are all about the same,” he observed. “Bridger’s Hotel is probably the cleanest, but any of them are okay. You staying awhile or just passing through?”

             
“Probably just passing through, but I never know for sure. Can you point me in the direction of the sheriff’s office?” Earl looked down at the ground and cleared his throat.

             
“Well, his office is right over there,” said Earl, pointing in the direction of the sheriff’s office. “If you’re only staying overnight, maybe it’s best not to bother him.”

             
“Really?” he asked. “Why is that?”

             
“Well,” he replied nervously, “don’t say I said so, but he can get pretty ornery pretty fast. I once saw him shoot a man just for calling him a jackass.”

             
“Really?” Jess replied.

             
“Sure did. I watched him do it,” he said. “Right over at the Mustang Bar there.”

             
“I’ll keep that in mind,” replied Jess. “I’m not here looking for any trouble. I just need to ask him a few questions about a man I’m looking for.”

             
“Good luck, and make sure you smile when you talk to him,” exclaimed Earl. “It just might keep him from getting pissed off.”

             
Jess headed over to the sheriff’s office. It wasn’t far from the livery and while he was walking down the street, he thought about his decision to be a bounty hunter. He figured he would ask the sheriff for any bounty information on wanted men. A deputy was sitting in a chair just outside the door to the sheriff’s office. Jess walked up slowly and stopped short of going up the one step to the sidewalk in front. He sized the deputy up in a second and he could see the attitude on the deputy’s face.

             
“Whatcha need, mister?” the deputy asked in a slow sarcastic drawl.

             
“I’d like to talk to the sheriff for a minute if that’s possible,” he replied. “If he’s busy, I can come back later.”

             
“What’s your name?” the deputy asked, in that same smart-alecky drawl.

             
“Jess Williams.”

             
Jess could see an immediate change in the deputy’s eyes. The deputy sat straight up and his eyes strangely went first to Jess’s gun and then to Jess’s eyes. Jess could see fear in the deputy’s eyes, but along with that, a look of respect. It was obvious to Jess his reputation had already spread deeper into Texas.

             
“Hell, I know who you are,” said the deputy, dropping the smart tone now. So does the sheriff and I’m sure he’ll want to see you. Hold on just a minute while I get him.” The deputy went inside where the sheriff was having a conversation with the two other deputies.

             
“Uh…Sheriff?” asked the deputy.

             
“What the hell do you want?” hollered the sheriff. “Can’t you see I’m trying to talk to these other two idiots who are supposed to be doing something for their pay?”

             
“Sorry, Sheriff, but there’s a young man outside who wants to talk to you,” pleaded the deputy.

             
“Like I give a shit,” retorted the sheriff. “Tell him to go tell his mama about his problems.”

             
“But Sheriff…he says his name is Jess Williams,” said the nervous deputy. “You know, that kid we heard about? The one who took down Ben Grady up in Timber?”

             
“Well, that’s different,” the sheriff said, his attitude changing completely. “I’d sure like to meet that boy. Send him on in here and as for you two dumb-asses, we’ll finish this later!”

             
Jess could hear loud talking and then the deputy was at the door again and waving Jess in. Jess looked at each of the three deputies and they all seemed nervous and they had a look of respect in their eyes. Jess’ gaze settled on the man sitting behind a large desk. On top of the desk lay a shotgun and a .45 pistol. Jess remembered what Earl the stable man had said and Jess could tell that Earl had told the truth. This man was just plain ornery right down to the bone. Jess knew from the moment he locked eyes with the sheriff, he would have to tread carefully. Then the sheriff did something he rarely did, he smiled at Jess. This did not unnerve Jess, but it sure startled the deputies. Each one of them could count on one hand the number of times the sheriff had smiled and it was usually when he had run someone out of town or shot someone; and even then, he rarely smiled.

             
“So, you’re the Jess Williams we keep hearing so much about. You’ve got quite a reputation already for such a young man. I hear you’ve killed a dozen men and you don’t look like you’ve made seventeen years old yet. Now, that’s pretty impressive, even in these here parts.” The sheriff stood up and reached out and shook Jess’s hand. “Welcome to Largo, Texas, Mr. Williams. My name is A. J. Rubel. I’m the sheriff here in this godforsaken town. What can I do for you?”

             
“I’m looking for a man by the name of Blake Taggert,” replied Jess. “He’s one of three men who murdered my family back in Black Creek, Kansas. Here is a sketch of him. My last lead said he was still in Red Rock, but I thought I’d check in and see if you knew anything about him while I was here.” The sheriff took the sketch and shook his head no and then handed the sketch to the deputies and they passed it around to each other. None of them recognized Taggert.

             
“If he had been around here, we would have known about it,” the sheriff said. “Murdered your family, you say?”

             
“Both my parents,” he replied. “Then they raped and shot my little seven-year-old sister.”

             
“Bastards ought to be shot down like dogs,” replied the sheriff, shaking his head in disgust.

             
“Two of them have been already, replied Jess. “I just need to find the last of them and finish the job.”

             
“Good for you, son,” exclaimed Sheriff Rubel. “I‘ve always believed in an eye-for-an-eye.” One of the three deputies who had been standing quietly walked over closer to the sheriff’s desk.

             
“Sheriff, I just was reading over some papers and there was a murder real similar in Red Rock recently. Seems some son-of-a-bitch robbed and murdered a family there. I remember it ‘cause it sounded so bad. The young girl was raped on the bed between her dead parents and laying in their blood. Then the bastard who did it stuck his pistol up her…well, you know. They say it was awful, but they don’t have any suspects yet. If your man is supposed to be in Red Rock, then maybe he did it.”

             
“Well,” said the sheriff sharply, “I’m going to send a wire to the sheriff of Red Rock and let him know about this Taggert fellow. It sounds like he could be the guy who did the killings over there too.”

             
“Sheriff, could I ask you a favor?” asked Jess.

             
“Sure,” he replied.

             
“When you send the message to the sheriff of Red Rock, could you just inquire about Taggert’s whereabouts?” he asked. “I’d like to deal with him myself. If they catch on to him, he will probably be hanging from a tree before I get there and that would be too good of a way for Taggert to die.”

             
“I agree,” he replied. “Alright, I’ll just make an inquiry as if an old friend was looking for him. Anything else I can do?”

             
“Yes, one more thing if you could,” Jess replied. “Can I look through your wanted posters? I’m looking for men who have a bounty on their heads, but only the worst of the lot. I’m not looking for horse thieves or bank robbers; only the ones guilty of murder or rape and wanted dead or alive.”

             
“So you’re going into the bounty hunting business, huh?” asked the sheriff.

             
“I guess I came by it came naturally. Seems like it’s what I was born to do, Sheriff,” Jess stated plainly.

             
“Sure. But I don’t think you’ll find any of what you’re looking for here,” replied Sheriff Rubel. “Most of my posters are for small offenses.”

             
“Thanks, Sheriff,” he said. “I’ll stick around a few days until you get a response from Red Rock, if that’s okay with you?”

             
“You’re welcome to stay as long as you want, but you watch you back,” warned the sheriff.

             
“Why’s that, Sheriff?”

             
“Your reputation with that gun of yours is spreading like a wild fire and there are some real tough guys that come into town from time to time,” he implied. “They’d like nothing better than to be the one to take you down, if you get my meaning.”

             
“Thanks for the warning, Sheriff, and I know exactly what you mean,” he replied.

             
Jess left the sheriff’s office and stopped in at the first hotel he found. Then, he found Bridger’s Café and Earl was right. The food was excellent and the biscuits were even better. Jess sent a dollar back to Earl’s wife, Becca, who baked the biscuits. After a great dinner, Jess decided to turn in for the night early. He found the room quite comfortable and clean. He dozed off thinking about Blake Taggert. He wondered if he was the one responsible for the murders in Red Rock the deputy had spoken about. It sounded so similar. Especially about the young girl being raped and then shot. Jess decided that even if Taggert didn’t do the killings in Red Rock, he would hunt down the man responsible for it, but not before he got Taggert. Nothing would stand in his way or distract him; or so he thought.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

              Jess rose early, ate a good breakfast and took a leisurely walk around town to check things out. Things like back alleys, escape routes and ambush points. After he finished, he stopped in to see Gray and then decided to take a seat outside the hotel and just watch the town.

             
Largo was busier than most towns he had been in. People were all around, talking to one another. He caught many of them glancing at him and even a few of the men stared. One thing was constant though, whenever he looked back, they quickly looked away; except for the women. The young ones smiled and the old ones glared. This was something he figured he was going to have to get used to now that he was quickly gaining a reputation with a gun. He had been sitting there for about an hour when he noticed something different about the townsfolk’s expressions. Many of them began to break up conversations and go into stores and buildings. He thought that odd and wondered if it had something to do with him. Then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Sheriff Rubel walking toward him.

             
“Morning, Sheriff,” said Jess, as the sheriff sat down next to him. The sheriff didn’t return the greeting. He just watched everyone quickly scatter into shops. Within minutes there weren’t many townsfolk left on the street. Except for some of the older women and they just glared at the sheriff.

             
“Yep,” the sheriff stated plainly, “these people hate my guts. They want a safe town and a tough sheriff, but they can’t put up with anyone mean enough like me to get the job done.”