“Damn!” Holcomb said.
“Sorry about your man, Sheriff,” Shaye said. “Looks like your other one is hit but okay.”
“I’ll live,” Winston said.
Shaye moved in among the fallen men and began checking them with Holcomb. He saw two who were alive, but blood bubbles on their lips said not for long.
“We need one man to question,” he said aloud. “They’re not all here. The Langers aren’t here.”
“There’s one over here, Pa,” Thomas said.
Shaye went over and stood next to his son, and was soon joined by the sheriff. They looked down at the fallen man, who was holding his hand to his side and glaring up at them. His wound seemed similar to Shaye’s, except that the blood was deeper red and there was more of it. The bullet was still there.
“Pa,” Matthew said, coming up next to him, “we gotta get a doctor over here.”
“Your son is right,” Holcomb said.
“If you talk,” Shaye said to the man, “we’ll get you to a doctor.”
“Fuck you.”
“Where’s your boss?”
“Go to hell,” Red Hackett said. He’d started the whole fracas by going for his gun, and he was still alive. Shaye had no idea of the irony involved, though.
“The Langers left you here to get killed while they took off with the money.”
Hackett just continued to glare.
“The money’s not here, is it?”
“Get me a doctor.”
“Where’d they go?”
“I don’t know!” Hackett shouted. “They went upstairs a little before you hit us. Get me a doctor!”
“I’ll get the doc,” Holcomb said.
“Upstairs?” Shaye said, looking up. “Damn!”
He ran for the stairs, followed closely by his sons.
55
Shaye and his sons checked all the upstairs rooms. There was evidence that the Langers had been in one of them. On the floor, left behind by accident, was a twenty dollar gold piece. Shaye knew that part of the haul taken from the bank in Epitaph had included gold coins.
“The livery,” he said.
He ran back downstairs, again followed by his sons. The sheriff had not returned with the doctor, and Deputy Winston was standing guard over the fallen man still holding his arm.
“Where’s the closest livery?” Shaye asked.
“South end of town,” Winston said, pointing. “Go outside, turn left and keep going.”
“Tell the sheriff we’ll be back.”
They all went out the door.
When they reached the livery, the doors were wide open and some horses were wandering about. Apparently, the Langers, in a hurry to saddle their own mounts, had let some of the others loose.
“We gonna follow them, Pa?” Matthew asked.
“Not in the dark, Matthew,” Shaye said. “We’ll track them in the morning.”
“We don’t know how many there were,” James said.
“Ethan and Aaron for sure,” Shaye said. “If the doctor keeps that other man alive, maybe he’ll tell us.”
They went into the livery, rounded up some of the loose horses, and put them in stalls.
“A lot of horses,” Shaye said. “Most of the gang must have boarded them here.”
They left the livery and closed the doors behind them.
“We better get back,” Thomas said.
“Before we do,” Shaye said, “I want to tell you boys how proud I am of you. You stood up like men tonight, and none of you backed down.”
Matthew and James looked embarrassed.
“Pa,” Thomas said, “let’s go back to the saloon. The doc’s gotta take a look at you too.”
“All right, Thomas,” Shaye said. “Let’s go.”
Outside of town the Langers slowed their horses, then reined them in. Morales and Branch stopped as well.
“What the hell happened back there?” Aaron demanded.
“You said there were only three lawmen,” Ethan pointed out.
“Maybe they recruited some help,” Branch said.
“And maybe you were trailed here from…what town did you hit in Texas, anyway?” Aaron asked.
“A place called Epitaph,” Ethan said. “I never heard of it before, but—”
“Epitaph?” Aaron said. “You robbed the bank in Epitaph?”
“That’s right,” Ethan said. “It was a good haul.”
“Did you bother to find out who the sheriff of Epitaph was before you hit it?”
“Well, no, but—”
“Do you remember the name Shaye Daniels, Ethan?”
“Shaye…yeah, from a long time ago. He was, uh…”
“Shaye Daniels was the best man with a gun I ever rode with,” Aaron said. “I wanted him to be my partner, but he walked away.”
“And he ended up sheriff of Epitaph, Texas?” Morales asked.
“That’s right, as Dan Shaye.”
“Madre de Dios.”
“How do you know?” Ethan asked.
“Because I kept track of him, that’s how,” Aaron said. “I’ll bet he tracked you all the way here.”
“Why would he do that?” Ethan asked.
“You killed a woman,” Aaron said. “Even fifteen or so years ago he had his own code. God, if that was Danny Shaye back there…”
They waited for Aaron to finish, but he didn’t. He just gigged his horse and they moved on their way in the dark.
56
By morning people were back on the streets and things had returned to normal for the townspeople. The tension level had eased, and they were no longer worried about catching a bullet.
Sheriff Holcomb got the undertaker and some other men to clean the bodies out of the Somerset Saloon. Sam Somerset was extremely happy at having come out of the situation alive. He was offering the Shayes anything they wanted in his place for free.
All the Shayes wanted, however, was to find out how many men had fled with Ethan and Aaron Langer.
Thomas, Matthew, and James were waiting when Shaye came out of the doctor’s office with Sheriff Holcomb.
“How is he?” Thomas asked.
“He died,” Shaye said. “That belly wound finally got him.”
“What did he say, though?” James asked.
“Nearest he can figure, the Langers got away with their segundos, Esteban Morales and a fella named Ben Branch.”
“You know them?” Holcomb asked.
“I knew Morales a long time ago,” Shaye said. “He’s been riding with Aaron Langer for years. I don’t know Branch.”
“What are you gonna do next?” Holcomb asked.
“We’ll outfit and start tracking them,” Shaye said.
“Well, I can make sure you outfit for free,” Holcomb said. “You may have saved this town’s bank.”
“I’m not sure the town owes us that,” Shaye said, “but we’ll take it. Thomas, you and James see to that. Okay?”
“Sure, Pa. What are you gonna do?”
“Check the horses, make sure they’re sound. We’ve ridden them a long way.”
“And me, Pa?” Matthew asked.
“Stay with me.”
Shaye turned to Holcomb. “I’m real sorry about your man.”
“Thanks,” Holcomb said. “I guess the only silver linin’ here is he had no kin.”
“If there’s a silver lining to having a man die,” Shaye said, “I guess that’s it.”
“Stop into my office and say good-bye before you leave, will ya?” Holcomb asked.
“We’ll do it, Sheriff,” Shaye said. As the sheriff turned and walked away, Shaye said to his sons, “Okay, let’s get it done, then.”
Thomas and James went to the general store for some simple supplies, and talked while they shopped. Luckily, there was no pretty girl working in this store to distract them.
“How do you feel about what happened last night?” James asked.