All Roads Lead Home
by Mary
Sheriff McNeil was a stocky barrel-chested man of about forty-five. He was a good ten years and 40 pounds past his prime. He had coarse dark red hair tinged with gray and an unkempt shaggy mustache. His small watery blue eyes peered at Jess suspiciously. He had given Sheriff Corey’s letter only a cursory glance.
Jess had introduced himself and, without waiting for an offer, sat himself down in the wooden armchair next to the Sheriff’s desk.
“So, Jess Harper from Laramie,” McNeil intoned in a voice ever so slightly tinged with sarcasm, “How can this esteemed office be of service to you?”
Ignoring the older man’s rudeness, Jess replied, “I’m lookin’ for an old friend of mine from around here. His name’s Thad Davis and his pa owns the Davis ranch. Haven’t seen him in a spell and thought I’d look him up. Wonderin’ if you could point me in the right direction.”
McNeil pushed himself back in his chair causing it to give out a loud creak. He stared at Jess speculatively for a long moment. “You must be askin’ about Buck Davis’ kid,” he finally said. “Anything particular you’d be wantin’ with him?”
Jess thought for a moment before replying. His still sore head a reminder of what saying the wrong thing could lead to. “Not really. Heard he got in a scrape a while back and just wanted to make sure he’s ok.”
“Well, the ranch ain’t hard to find. Fact is, it’d be hard to ride anywhere south of here for long without bumpin’ into it. You just follow the river south of town and you’ll see the sign before long,” the sheriff replied with now exaggerated politeness.
Jess rose, thanking him and made his way out to where Traveler was tied. He felt distinctly uneasy. He’d seen the sheriff’s type before and while that shouldn’t have worried him, he had a strong feeling that he’d just been lied to.
Meanwhile, the sheriff heaved himself out of his chair and peered out the window to assure himself that Jess was in fact leaving. Then he pulled open the door to a small back room and yelled, “Poke! Get your ass outta my bunk and in here pronto. I don’t care how fast you rode to get here. I don’t want yer stinkin’ body lyin’ on my blankets.”
A colorful flood of obscene oaths issued forth from the small chamber and presently a tall powerfully built young man appeared. He was unshaven with long black greasy matted hair and clothes that probably hadn’t left his body in many weeks. The idiotic grin he gave the sheriff displayed black rotting stumps of teeth.
“Poke, Harper’s headed out for the Davis ranch. You need to go out now and ah, slow him down. Don’t let him get further than the West Branch road. I’m going to get Dreb and we’ll catch up with you.”
Poke scratched himself and closely examined a crawling creature he’d plucked from under his collar. “How’s about I just make him go away, Boss?”
“You can do that later – or whatever you want to do with him but not before Dreb and I spend a little time with him. You got that?”
Poke nodded grinning happily. He’d enjoyed hurting the young cowboy back in Bozeman. He couldn’t wait to finish the job.
Back to Fanfic |
Back to All Roads Lead Home |
Chapter Five |