A billowing cloud of smoke and dust erupted into the placid summer air. The silence that followed was broken by the spatter of debris falling from the sky. Not since the battle of Sayler’s Creek had Buck seen such carnage as the body parts of four men rained down, no piece fully identifiable. A red mist hung over the remains of the coach.
Buck looked back along the road. At the far bend he saw a man trying to calm a rearing horse. For a split second the two men made eye contact. By the time Buck had shouldered his smoking rifle, Rufus Snead had turned his mount and fled.
The redheaded man had escaped. Again.
#
Buck found the others in a small pocket of bushes in the woods not far from the second bend in the road. Janey was shivering in Sarah’s embrace.
“It’s all right,” Sarah said softly. “You’re safe.”
“Yessum, but all them men— I ain’t never seen—”
“Shh,” Sarah soothed her. “It’s all over now.”
Buck watched and listened, amazed at the woman’s strength and stamina. Her father had died in her lap. She’d been shot. Now she’d seen four men blown to bits in front of her, and here she was consoling a terrified black girl, though she had to be every bit as unnerved herself.
“What now?” Tracker asked from behind him.
What indeed? Buck had too many unanswered questions. Where had the redheaded man retreated to? How many men did he have left?
“How far are we from Charleston?” Tracker asked Wes.
“Three miles to the nearest settlement, another mile from there to the city.”
“We need a wagon or buggy to get the ladies out of here,” Tracker told Buck.
“Too dangerous. They’d be open targets.” Buck turned to Wes. “You and Freddie stay with the women and keep down. Y’all’ll be safe enough here.”
Buck examined the young man’s left arm. Whoever had wrapped the wound—Sarah, he was sure—had done a good job. The bleeding was no more than a slow ooze. It might require sutures when they got a chance, but for now he was in no danger.
“Sorry this happened to you, son.” Buck handed over his Colt. “If you have to use this—”
“You can count on me, doc.”
“Are you coming with us?” Sarah asked.
“In a few minutes. I need to talk to Tracker first about how we’re going to get y’all to Charleston.”
This has to end today. I have to go after the mankiller, otherwise he’ll come after us again sooner or later. I can’t let that happen.
“Stay with Freddie and Wes,” he told her. “We’ll join you in a few minutes.”
As soon as the others had started walking away, Buck motioned Tracker to join him behind a stand of pines.
“What do you have in mind, doctor?”
Ever since the coach had turned over, Buck had been trying to figure what his next move should be. It seemed to him he didn’t have many options. Stand fast and hope the mankiller got tired of waiting and left the area. But how long could they hold out, especially with Freddie’s injury. Try to get the others out of the area? Without a wagon, it didn’t seem possible, and even with a wagon they’d be easy targets. Or be aggressive, find Rufus and kill him. Buck knew without making a conscious decision that the last option was the one he’d chosen.
“If I were Rufus right now, I’d be climbing up that bluff from the other side.” Buck told Tracker. “That’d put him in a position with a clear view of the road. If I sneak up on him from the other side—”
“You don’t know where he is.” Tracker scratched his chin. “It’s a big bluff with a lot of trees. He might spot you first.”
“It’s a chance I’ll have to take.”
“Maybe I can even the odds.”
Buck regarded him skeptically.
“If you had a decoy to draw his fire—”
“A decoy? What’re you suggesting?”
“Give me your coat and hat. I’ll show myself for a second, pull back, then make a mad dash to the other side of the road. There’s a bar ditch over there I can take cover in.”
“No. Too chancy. You’d be out in the open too long.”
Tracker smiled. “You’ve seen me run. This time it won’t be in a straight line. Didn’t you say he has trouble with moving targets?”
“Still sounds like a suicide mission to me.”
Tracker studied him. “Doctor, I’ve done this before. I didn’t survive the Mexican War on my looks.”
Involuntarily, Buck cracked a smile.
“I’ll give you five minutes to get in a position where you can see the bluff. Then I’ll make a run for it. He won’t be expecting anyone to come out of hiding. If he’s lucky he might get two shots at me, but I run damn fast, especially when there’s a bullet chasing me, so it’ll probably be only one. That ought to give you enough time to pinpoint his location. Once I’m on the other side of the road I’ll be stuck there with no place to go, so you’ll be on your own. Think you can handle it?”
“Let’s go.”
#
Sarah had detached herself from the others with the excuse that she needed to attend to a personal matter. In fact, she’d doubled back to where Buck and Tracker were conferring with each other. What she overheard was a plan that both earned her admiration and alarmed her.
She started back to rejoin the others. Her mind was unsettled. Back’s plan was daring—and dangerous. She couldn’t bear the thought of losing him. He was the only man she’d ever met who was selfless and generous, who inspired her rather than frightened her. His life was in peril. She couldn’t sit quietly in the forest waiting to find out if he lived or died. She didn’t know how she could help him. Maybe she couldn’t protect him the way he was protecting her, but she could be there if he needed her.
She was about to turn back the way she’d come when Janey glanced over her shoulder.
“Miz Sarah, ma’am,” the girl called to her, “you all right? You needs help?”
Wes turned as well.
“Go on,” Sarah said. “I’ll join you presently.”
The coach driver approached her. “You need to stay close to us, ma’am.”
“I will. You go on ahead.”
“Ma’am, I can’t leave you. You need to come with us.”
She looked him directly in the eye. “I’m not asking your permission. Now take Janey and Freddie and get on into the woods.”
“Ma’am—” Wes started to protest.
“Just go,” she insisted. “I’ll be all right.”
The driver paused a long moment, clearly unhappy at the dilemma he was facing, then, with a shake of his head and a shrug, he returned to the others. Janey looked back, clearly frightened, her hand extended to Sarah, but Sarah merely smiled and motioned her on.
#
Buck plowed his way through the underbrush until he had a panoramic view of the bluff above him. Once again he tried to put himself in the redheaded man’s mind. Rufus liked to fire from heights. He already had the advantage of elevation on the bluff, but Buck imagined he’d feel still more comfortable perched in a tree. A bird’s eye view certainly gave him an advantage, but in this cat-and-mouse game, it also limited his mobility.
All Buck could be reasonably sure of was that Rufus Snead would be facing south. The seconds kept ticking away. How long had it been since he and Tracker had separated? When would Tracker make his dash? He had to be ready to fire in an instant. How could he get a clear view of the road without making himself a target at the same time?
Which tree? And how high up?
A shot rang out.
It came from above, ahead of him. But where? He searched for the telltale smoke of a rifle. Nothing. Damn. Damn. Damn. He’d missed his one opportunity to locate the bastard.