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“Sons of bitches, decent people don’t exist anymore,” the sheriff said, putting his gun back in his holster. “What can I do for you, Ranger?”
“Seth Ingram.” Seth sighed as he shook the man’s hand. Jim White’s henchmen came to give the sheriff orders and he didn’t like them.
Seth sank down onto a chair across from the lawman and studied him. Maybe the man wasn’t actually on the take, but rather being harassed by the ranch owner. No, he was on the take.
“David Pettus,” he said. “Sheriff.”
“A couple of things. First, what can you tell me about Jim White?”
The man’s hairy brows narrowed as he stared at Seth. “What do you want to know?”
“Everything, you know.”
The sheriff leaned back in his chair. “Ornery as they come. About five years ago, he came to town and bought a small ranch. About fifty acres. Since then he has somehow managed to intimidate and threaten every ranch around him except for the Sweet B into selling.”
Jim White was the worst kind of human.
“For over a year, he had been threatening Joe Bradley. Then yellow fever hit and killed everyone at the Sweet B but Lily and Garza, their helper.”
Seth nodded. This part of the story he knew. “Do you know where he came from?”
“Said Tennessee.”
“Did you know that his men have been stealing Lily’s cattle and harassing her? They came in the middle of the night and attacked night before last, but Will and I were there.”
“I’m not surprised. He’s hired some new guns. That’s who was in here threatening me. The Sweet B is in danger,” he said, running his hand through his hair. “Look, I don’t want no trouble in town, but the man has an army working for him. And some look like hired guns.”
“That’s obvious,” Seth said.
“Lily should sell to Jim White. Then maybe all these hired guns would leave town.”
“Not going to happen,” Seth said, knowing that he and Will would protect Lily and her ranch.
Like a bolt of lightning, it hit Seth. “Do you know if Calvin Smith is working for him?”
Seth pulled out the wanted poster from his shirt pocket and held it to where the sheriff could see it. “He looks familiar. Wait a minute, isn’t he the guy who robbed the bank the other day?”
“Yes,” Seth said.
“I know Jim White pays his men well, so why would he be robbing our local bank?”
Why did it feel like everything was starting to come together? “Don’t know but I’m headed there to talk to the banker and find out.”
“George is useless. Some say Jim has him in his back pocket.”
A chuckle escaped from Seth. “Funny, that’s what I heard about you.”
The man shook his head. “I do my best to keep Jim White from owning this town, but a man with deep pockets, it’s hard not to step aside and let him have complete control. What people don’t realize is that he’s bought up most of the small businesses. Much more and we will have to change the name from Blessing to White.”
The sheriff was neither confirming nor denying that Jim White had him under his control. Yes, he’d witnessed the man arguing, but when you were bought and paid for, sometimes you were required to do a job you didn’t want.
“Another thing I need to let you know about. We found Garza. Dead.”
“Shit,” the man said. “How did he die?”
“Bullet hole in the chest. From a Colt Peacemaker.”
“A hired gun,” the sheriff said. “With him out of the way, they thought Lily would sell. But that woman is as stubborn as they come.”
