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Pulling Sty’s reins hard to the left, he faced his men and shouted, “Keep your eyes and ears on the guard at all times. Any
one who comes across anything is to round off two shots on their rifles.”
As the men separated, Wade turned toward the tracks and made his way slowly down the slope into the valley below. Sty stepped cautiously over the uneven terrain, leaving Wade able to study the earth. Admittedly, he was surprised how Anna’s tracking method was far easier to pick up than he would have imagined. Once he knew what to look for, the signs basically began leaping out at him.
With every passing hour he noticed the constable’s tracks become fresher and Wade knew they were closing in on the lawman. The sun was high that day, but thankfully, the dense forest shaded the riders as they maneuvered their way through the valley. The rest of the riders who were trailing Wade, moved their horses carefully through the wooded trail, but something caught Wade’s awareness.
They had just crossed a small creek that ran parallel to a canyon wall that shot up high along towering treetops when he realized the forest had gone silent. Not so much as a bird could be heard.
In a flash, he hollered over his shoulder, “Take cover.”
The blast of a rifle exploded into the gorge, missing one of his men only by a foot. The creek in which it landed shot a spray of water and pebbles all around. A cluster of birds taking refuge in a nearby tree, took flight screaming in protest. Wade rode Sty to the closest boulder and dismounted quickly, grabbing his rifle as he did. He searched the woods, but saw nothing.
“Show yourself Stanford,” Wade shouted.
At first there was no reply, then the lawman’s voice echoed along the gorge as he yelled back, “This has nothing to do with you Haddock, move on.”
“I’m afraid you’re wrong about that.”
“She got what was coming to her.”
Wade felt a rage burn down his spine and looked up to the gorge above. He saw movement. Turning to Frank, who was closest, he silently motioned the constable’s whereabouts.
“You sent those two men?”
“Had to finish the job.” The constable yelled down the gorge. “She was the only witness. By the way, I owe you a thanks. Seeing that it was you who alerted me to her whereabouts.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” He felt his blood beginning to boil.
“Had my suspicion about that little piece of scum you hired as your new ranch boy. But didn’t make the connection to the whore who had gotten away from us on the mountain though, until I overheard the two of you talking at the town spring festival.”
“She couldn’t talk. Why the hell didn’t you just leave her be?”
“And have the chance she may speak one day? Hell no. I wasn’t going to take that chance. Besides, scum like her don’t deserve to be allowed to live.”
Wade had to fight with every willpower he possessed to keep himself from springing from that boulder and emptying his rifle up at the constable. “Is that why you killed her family?”
“Hell, the whole group of them.” He sneered back, his voice bouncing off the wall of the gorge. “Trash like that have no right existing. You should thank me, Haddock, for cleaning up your mountain. Hell, it was what your father wanted.”
“I’m not my father,” he replied but more to himself than to the lawman.
“The little piece of vermin thought she could soil my seed, but I’d be damned before I allowed some whore to bear my child.”
Wade frowned, trying to digest the constable’s words. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“She tried to hide it from me. Nearly a year gone by since I made that whore pay the price for her son filching what wasn’t his. Damn stupid bitch, didn’t even realize that you can’t hang for stealing.”
Wade looked up the gorge and saw Frank and another ranch hand close in on the constable. “A year later she comes into town with her filthy brood, except this time she’s bearing a new bastard. She lies and says he ain’t mine. Hell, I’m no fool. I can see clearly that the hybrid is my offspring.”
“So you went to take him?”
“Jesus, no, that little bastard was filth and needed to be abolished. Me and the fellas went there to slice the little bastard’s throat. Told them damn idiots I had a very important job to do and might even be able to make them my deputies when we were done.” His snicker echoed down the gorge. “Fools believed me. When we got there I decided to eliminate the whole good-for-nothing lot.”
Wade lowered his lids, feeling the disgust run throughout his body. A blast echoed down the gorge and his eyes flew open.
“Frank?”
There was a moment’s pause, then, “We got him boss.”
