Free Blood Valley by William W. Johnstone

pleased to see it.
    De Graff and Burtell was waitin’ in the office when I come inside, pushin’ A.J. and Mike ahead of me. George Waller was in the office, too.
    â€œYou approve of these ol’ boys bein’ deputies?” I asked.
    He did.
    I looked at them. “You boys wanna wear a badge?”
    De Graff, he said, “Beats hell out of starvin’.” Then he looked at A.J. “And cuttin’ out an occasional steer for food.” He grinned big.
    â€œGoddamn thief!” A.J. hollered.
    â€œHush!” I told him. “Swear ’em in, George.”
    He done it, all to the background noises of A.J. and Mike cussin’ and Joy and Wanda blubberin’ and squallin’.
    Then I locked up A.J. and Mike. Man, but they was hot under the collar.
    I’d ordered the body of Marie to be taken to Doctor Harrison’s office for an official opinion on the cause of death—not that it mattered much to Marie—and to verify that she’d been raped, too.
    â€œRusty, you and De Graff and Burtell make damn sure nobody breaks our prisoners out. I’m goin’ down to Doc’s place.”
    De Graff just smiled and jerked a Greener out of the rack on the wall and broke it open, loading the sawed-off shotgun with buckshot. Like Rusty had said, they was both men to ride to the river with.
    I got a lot of congratulations on the walk down to Doc’s office, all mixed up with some pretty dark looks from the Circle L and Rockinghorse riders. There must have been forty or fifty of them ol’ boys in town, all of them all geared up and ready for trouble.
    I seen Pepper and her ma as they come into town in a buggy, driven by Rolf Baker. Half a dozen Quartermoon riders flanked the buggy, her brother Jeff among them. And while those Quartermoon riders might not have been hired guns, I could tell by the way they conducted themselves they knowed what to do with them guns.
    Looked to me like the town of Doubtful might be gettin’ awful interestin’ pretty quick.
    But I hoped not too interestin’. It don’t take a fellow long to start thinkin’ like a lawman. Just hang a star on. They make dandy targets.
    Steppin’ into Doc Harrison’s office, I seen right off that the doc was mad as hell. He was kinda white around the mouth and his fists were clinched tight shut.
    â€œTell me what you can, Doc. And keep it simple, please.”
    â€œThe girl was horribly used, Sheriff. She was not only raped, but violated in an unnatural manner as well. It’s the most disgusting thing I’ve seen in all my years of practicing medicine.”
    I didn’t know what in the hell he was talkin’ about. But I wasn’t gonna show my ignorance by askin’ him to explain. If it was that disgustin’, I didn’t want to know noways. So I just nodded my head and pretended I knew what he was sayin’.
    â€œCause of death?”
    â€œHer neck was broken. Bruises on the throat indicate it was done deliberately. By someone with enormous strength.”
    Big Mike popped into my mind. Or Junior. Both of them looked to be strong as hell. “Well, I know the family ain’t got no money for no fancy burial, Doc. I’ll ask around for contributions to help out.”
    â€œI’ll handle the arrangements with Martin Truby’s funeral parlor. I should imagine the mother is too disconcerted to be of much assistance at this time of grief.”
    â€œUh . . . yeah! Right. Dis-concerted. That’s her. See you, Doc.”
    Steppin’ onto the boardwalk, I wondered who I might ask what dis-concerted meant.
    Damn, but it’s hell to be ignorant.
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    Back at the office, I was pleased to see that both De Graff and Burtell had armed themselves with Greeners. They’s lots of tough ol’ boys who’ll face a man with a six-gun in his hand but damn few who’ll stand up to a sawed-off shotgun—’specially when that