Vengeful Deputy, page 1
The Vengeful Deputy
The town of Lone Ridge was a lawless hell-hole until the ruthless Nyle King eliminated all the gunslingers. Now Nyle controls the town and everyone who opposes him ends up dead, so US Marshal Caine tasks his deputy Gabriel Flynn with bringing Nyle to justice.
Gabriel goes to Lone Ridge, but only because he’s searching for the outlaw who killed his brother, and believes Nyle may be the key to finding him. But Nyle claims that the recent deaths in town aren’t his work and that someone is trying to frame him.
No longer knowing who to trust, the only thing Gabriel can be sure of is that hard lead alone will unmask the guilty and let him finally have his vengeance.
By the same author
The Outlawed Deputy
The Last Rider from Hell
Death or Bounty
Bad Day in Dirtwood
Devine’s Law
Yates’s Dilemma
The Ten Per Cent Gang
Mendosa’s Gun-runners
Wanted: McBain
Six-shooter Bride
Dead by Sundown
Calhoun’s Bounty
Calloway’s Crossing
Bad Moon over Devil’s Ridge
Massacre at Bluff Point
The Gallows Gang
Riders of the Barren Plains
Sharpshooter McClure
Railroad to Redemption
Bleached Bones in the Dust
The Secret of Devil’s Canyon
The Prairie Man
Sheriff Without a Star
The Search for the Lone Star
Beyond Redemption
Devine
Night of the Gunslinger
The Devil’s Marshal
Legend of the Dead Men’s Gold
Bullet Catch Showdown
All Must Die
The Mystery of Silver Falls
The Man Who Tamed Lone Pine
Marshal of the Barren Plains
Devine’s Mission
Incident at Pegasus Heights
The Vengeful Deputy
I.J. Parnham
ROBERT HALE
© I.J. Parnham 2018
First published in Great Britain 2018
ISBN 978-0-7198-2787-7
The Crowood Press
The Stable Block
Crowood Lane
Ramsbury
Marlborough
Wiltshire SN8 2HR
www.bhwesterns.com
Robert Hale is an imprint of The Crowood Press
The right of I.J. Parnham to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him
in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988
All rights reserved. This e-book is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights, and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.
CHAPTER 1
‘We’re obliged for your hospitality,’ Gabriel Flynn said. He laughed and shook the bulging bag of stolen money. ‘Now don’t make the mistake of coming after us.’
‘I won’t need to,’ the post-owner, Wilson Faulk, snarled with defiance in his eyes. ‘After raiding my trading post you’ll have got yourself a whole heap of enemies.’
‘Who?’
Wilson bit his bottom lip, suggesting he now regretted making his taunt.
‘For a start there’s US Marshal Caine.’
Gabriel winced and he was about to ask for more details, but Lorenzo Moretti called out from the door.
‘Stop wasting time back there,’ he said. ‘We need to ride.’
‘I know, but Marshal Caine is around,’ Gabriel said.
Lorenzo stormed across the trading post to face Wilson over the counter.
‘Where is this marshal?’ he demanded.
‘I don’t know, but he passed through on his way to Lone Ridge yesterday,’ Wilson said. He lowered a hand to point at Lorenzo. ‘So the moment he hears about what you did here he’ll come for you. You varmints won’t stand a chance.’
‘I reckon we’ll survive for longer than you will.’
Lorenzo licked his lips as he let his threat register. When Wilson gulped, he snapped up his gun arm and blasted a shot into Wilson’s chest that made him stumble forward and double over to lie sprawled over the counter.
Gabriel watched in horror as Wilson twitched and then became still.
‘You didn’t need to do that,’ he said.
‘That’s what happens to people who annoy me.’
Lorenzo directed a long glare at Gabriel, who nodded and hurried to the door. Outside, the third member of the gang, Emmett Barclay, was already mounted up.
‘What happened in there?’ Emmett said as Gabriel and Lorenzo reached their horses.
‘The post-owner annoyed Lorenzo,’ Gabriel said. ‘He told us that Marshal Caine will be coming for us.’
Gabriel mounted his horse and looked around, as if he feared that the lawman could appear at any moment.
His action made Lorenzo and Emmett consider both directions along the base of Jackson’s Pass that led to the Hanging Rock trading post and then the high points to either side, including the huge boulder that stood halfway up the side of the pass.
Emmett shrugged. ‘I’ve never heard of him, but if he takes us on, it’ll be the last thing he does.’
‘Don’t be so confident. The marshal is a formidable lawman. We need to be careful.’
Emmett nodded, but Lorenzo narrowed his eyes.
‘How do you know about this lawman?’ he said.
‘I’ve come across him before,’ Gabriel said.
‘And yet you’ve never mentioned him.’
‘I didn’t say anything because until a few moments ago I didn’t know he was in the area.’ Gabriel gestured ahead. ‘Now are we going to stand here until he finds us or are we going to Cartwright’s Gulch?’
Gabriel’s impudence made Lorenzo sneer, but he couldn’t argue with his suggestion, so he shook the reins and galloped away from the trading post. Emmett filed in behind him while Gabriel brought up the rear.
They had agreed on their escape route beforehand and Gabriel expected that Wilson’s revelation would make Lorenzo change his plans, but when they emerged from Jackson’s Pass he still headed for Cartwright’s Gulch.
It took them thirty minutes to reach the entrance to the gulch where Lorenzo called a halt. They all turned to look back towards the pass.
The plains were devoid of movement, but then again it was unlikely that anyone would be following them so soon after the raid. The trading post was twenty miles out of Lone Ridge and before they’d robbed him, Wilson had reported that they were the first customers to visit him that day.
With that in mind, Gabriel didn’t expect that they would have got away with much money, but when they grouped up to take a longer look at what they had collected, they all whistled with surprise. Gabriel had a bag filled with bills while Emmett had a small box that was brimming with silver coins.
Most surprising of all was Lorenzo’s haul of gold and silver trinkets.
‘That sure is a lot from such a run-down place,’ Emmett said, speaking for them all.
‘That’s why I said we should raid the Hanging Rock trading post,’ Lorenzo said with his chin raised, although his sideways glance at Gabriel confirmed that the result had surprised him as much as it had surprised Emmett and Gabriel.
Gabriel passed up the opportunity to mention that one of Lorenzo’s contacts had suggested that they target Wilson and instead he turned back to face the gulch.
‘So, are we still heading through there?’ he said.
‘Marshal Caine will be behind us, not ahead, so I see no reason to change our plans, but we’ll keep an eye out for trouble.’
With that, Lorenzo turned his horse and trotted into the gulch. Gabriel again slipped in at the back and even with the group now riding at a more cautious pace, he let Lorenzo and Emmett draw ahead.
They wended their way along the winding pass. As Lorenzo and Emmett were looking to either side for trouble, nobody looked back at him.
They had covered three miles and had reached a point where the gulch was straight for a long stretch when Emmett grunted a warning and drew his horse to a halt. A moment later a strident voice echoed across the gulch.
‘This is Marshal Caine,’ the voice intoned. ‘Raise those hands, get down off your horses, and surrender.’
Emmett must have spotted where Caine had holed up as he drew his gun and raised it to aim at a spot high up on the side of the gulch, but before he could fire a gunshot blasted out. Emmett flinched back, a hand rising to clutch his bloodied chest before he toppled over backwards from his horse.
‘Ambush!’ Lorenzo shouted while turning his horse to head back towards Gabriel.
Lorenzo took in the sight of Gabriel, who was now over a hundred yards away. He still gestured at him to join him in fleeing, but Gabriel stopped and turned to face the area where Caine was hiding.
Gabriel drew his gun and fired two quick shots into the rocks above Caine’s position. Then he beckoned for Lorenzo to hurry as gunfire peppered down at the bandit leader from the other side of the gulch.
Two men had fired at him, and Lorenzo swung round in the saddle to return fire. He loosed off a shot while Gabriel again fired high towards Caine’s side of the gulch.
While he appeared to mount a defence, Lorenzo stopped and faced in the opposite direction. He managed to blast off another shot but as he was not moving, one of his opponents got him in his sights and a gunshot to the chest made him slump forward. Then a shot in the back made him slip from his mount and fall to the ground.
Gabriel sighed and holstered his gun. With slow movements he got down off his horse and walked ahead for a few paces.
He watched the other two men. They were both still and so Marshal Caine stood up and gestured, ordering two deputies to stand up on the other side of the gulch.
All three men moved down to the base and while the deputies checked on the bodies, Caine headed towards Gabriel. He stopped before him and looked him over.
‘Howdy, Deputy Flynn,’ he said with a smile. ‘You did well.’
‘Again,’ Gabriel said, returning the smile.
Deputy Edgar Newhall bustled into the law office to find that Sheriff Morrison was leaning back in his chair with his feet on his desk as he enjoyed a siesta. The sound of him hurrying in made Morrison stretch and raise his hat.
‘You look concerned,’ Morrison said.
Edgar nodded and pointed outside. ‘I’ve just found a body behind the Silver Palace saloon.’
Morrison winced as he slipped his feet off the desk.
‘Then I guess we should check out this body.’
He directed Edgar to lead the way and so they headed outside. It was late afternoon in Lone Ridge and even though few people were outside, the two lawmen walked in a casual manner so as not to imply that anything was amiss.
When they reached the back of the saloon nobody other than the body was in sight. The two men took in the scene before Edgar explained the situation.
‘Bart White heard an argument going on behind his mercantile. Then later he heard a gunshot. I checked it out, but nobody was around and so I scouted around until I came across this.’
Morrison moved to stand over the body, his stern gaze noting that the man had been shot in the face, the angle of the bullet creating a wound that was so disfiguring Edgar had been unable to make out his features. He knelt beside the twin furrows trailing away from his feet.
‘These marks and the lack of blood on the ground suggest that he was killed elsewhere and then dragged here.’ Morrison shrugged. ‘So I reckon this incident didn’t have nothing to do with Nyle King or his saloon.’
‘We can’t assume that,’ Edgar said. ‘Bart reported that when he heard the argument the men were coming from this direction. Worse, the victim’s been shot in the face and he’s the second man to die like that and been left behind the saloon this month.’
Morrison tipped back his hat as he thought this through and then nodded. ‘Go and fetch the undertaker. Then question Bart again and see if he can remember anything more.’
‘Sure, and you’ll question Nyle?’
Morrison grunted in a distracted way and then stood up to walk around the body. Edgar stayed for a few moments, but when it became clear that Morrison no longer needed his help he moved on.
He headed back to the main drag and then along the boardwalk to Samuel Buckhorn’s workshop. When he looked through the window of the undertaker’s, he saw that Samuel was talking with someone so he dallied outside the doorway.
While he waited, Morrison came around the other side of the saloon and walked towards the door where he stopped. Edgar could understand his reluctance in again having to see Nyle to discuss another body that looked as if it might be connected to his saloon, but which Nyle would probably dismiss as having nothing to do with him.
Morrison glanced around. Then, with a roll of the shoulders, he turned on his heels and walked away from the saloon.
Edgar watched Morrison until he was sure that he was in fact returning to the law office and then headed into the workshop.
CHAPTER 2
‘Emmett Barclay was just as much trouble as Lorenzo Moretti was,’ Marshal Caine said when he’d confirmed with his deputies, Thorpe and Raul, that the two outlaws were dead. ‘So I won’t blame you because we couldn’t take them alive.’
‘Of course you shouldn’t,’ Gabriel Flynn said. ‘I did everything you asked of me. I got close to Lorenzo, earned his trust, and gave you the details of his raid. It was you who made a mistake when you visited the post yesterday. Wilson told Lorenzo about you. Without that warning he might not have been edgy and you’d have been able to arrest him.’
Caine shook his head. ‘I had to check out the area beforehand and I don’t reckon that did any harm.’
‘Tell that to Wilson,’ Gabriel snapped, advancing on Caine. ‘Lorenzo killed him when he mentioned you.’
Caine shrugged and raised an eyebrow, seemingly surprised by Gabriel’s reaction.
‘Then that saves me the trouble of having to arrest Wilson.’ Caine waited until Gabriel furrowed his brow and then smiled. ‘Didn’t you wonder why you gathered such a large haul from a place that barely had any customers?’
Gabriel sighed and lowered his head for a moment.
‘I guess that was strange. Even Lorenzo was surprised, except clearly you aren’t.’
‘I’m not. Most things that got stolen in Lone Ridge ended up at the Hanging Rock trading post before they were sold on. So our mission dealt with two problems.’
Gabriel narrowed his eyes. ‘I didn’t know that. You only told me about Lorenzo and that omission could have ruined the mission.’
Caine considered Gabriel and then spread his hands.
‘You’re right. I should have told you the full story. I’ll make sure I do that the next time.’
Gabriel shook his head. ‘There won’t be no next time. We had an agreement and that was my last mission for you. Now give me the name of the man who shot my brother and we can part company on good terms.’
‘This is our final mission together, but it’s not over yet. Lorenzo and Wilson weren’t the men we were after. They’re just small men who’ll lead us to the big prize, Nyle King.’
Gabriel rubbed his jaw. ‘Nyle runs the Silver Palace saloon in Lone Ridge?’
‘He does, along with just about everything else in town, and he’s behind most of the local trouble, except he’s careful and nobody can ever prove nothing. Sheriff Morrison claims he’ll bring him to justice, but I reckon he has neither the guts nor the inclination to do it. I have both, and you’re going to help me.’
Gabriel frowned. ‘Maybe if you’d told me that at the start I’d have accepted it, but you’ve strung me along for too long. We part company now.’
Caine licked his lips, seemingly enjoying their discussion despite Gabriel’s ultimatum.
‘That’s not your decision to make. I appointed you as my special deputy and that duty ends only when I say so.’
Caine turned away and moved to join Thorpe and Raul, so Gabriel hurried forward and slapped a hand on his shoulder. He spun Caine round to face him, making Caine’s deputies walk towards them.
‘Give me a name,’ Gabriel muttered.
Caine twisted away from Gabriel’s grip.
‘When you’ve helped me bring down Nyle King I’ll talk.’
Caine and Gabriel locked gazes and after a few moments Gabriel shook his head.
‘That price is too high.’ Gabriel pointed at Caine. ‘I’m leaving.’
He would have said more, but with Thorpe and Raul only a few paces away he figured arguing wouldn’t gain him anything. He started to turn away, making Caine smile.
A burst of anger tightened Gabriel’s chest. He swirled round and launched a round-armed punch that slammed into Caine’s jaw and sent him reeling before he tipped over on to his back.
Gabriel took two long paces to stand over Caine, so Thorpe moved in to restrain him, but the marshal raised a hand, ordering him to stay back. Then he felt his jaw as he glared up at him.
‘Assaulting a lawman is a serious offence,’ he said. ‘But don’t worry. I know how we can make this right.’
Gabriel sneered. ‘That’s how our partnership started and I’m not making that mistake again.’
Gabriel turned away, but Caine only chuckled.
