Bounty on a Baron

Chapter Twenty-three

The instant Roman looked into Decker’s cold eyes he knew he’d made a terrible mistake. He went for his gun but Decker said, “Don’t do it, Sheriff.”

Roman froze.

“I’ve got my gun on you under the table. It’s been pointing at you since you walked in.”

Roman wet his lips and then said, “You’re bluffing.”

“Try me,” Decker said. “You’ve seen my gun. It won’t be any problem for me to fire through this table.”

Again, Roman wet his lips.

“You can’t do this, Decker. I’m the law here.”

“Piss-poor excuse for a lawman, if you ask me. What kind of evidence do you have against me to arrest me?”

“You were the last one with her.”

“She was alive when I left.”

“You can’t prove that.”

“And you can’t prove she wasn’t.”

“That’s for a jury to decide.”

“No,” Decker said, shaking his head. “What’s your game, Roman? You want me out of the way so you can deal with the Baron? You can’t collect the bounty. As a matter of fact, I doubt you’re man enough to even try him.”

Roman didn’t answer. He was standing there very awkwardly, beginning to sweat, not knowing what to do.

“Oh, wait a minute, I get it now,” Decker said. “Blackmail. You and I are the only ones who know who he really is. Get me out of the way and you can make him pay for your silence, huh?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“He won’t pay you, you know,” Decker said. “He’ll just kill you.”

Roman frowned, wetting his lips again.

“My breakfast is getting cold, Sheriff,” Decker said. “I’d appreciate it if you would get out of here and let me finish.”

“I’ll just wait for you outside and arrest you there, Decker.”

“No, you won’t. If you try me, Roman, I’ll kill you.”

“You can’t kill a town sheriff. You’d be on the run for the rest of your life.”

“That won’t concern you, because you’ll be dead. Think about that.”

When the sheriff didn’t move Decker took his sawed-off out from beneath the table just to show the lawman that he wasn’t bluffing.

“Jesus—” Roman muttered, staring at the shotgun. Then he slowly backed out of the café.

Decker holstered his gun and continued with his breakfast.

He was at odds now with the town sheriff, and that was not good at all.

He felt bad about Martha and figured that either the Baron killed her to frame him, or the sheriff himself did it. His money was on the sheriff. Roman didn’t have the nerve to try to kill Decker, but strangling a woman and pinning it on him was easier. He didn’t think a man like the Baron would have murdered a woman. If he wanted Decker out of the way, he’d face him and try to kill him himself.

Decker’s shoulder twitched, and he suddenly realized that it must have been Sheriff Roman who’d taken the shot at him the night before. That made him wish the man had drawn on him.

Furious, Kyle Roman stalked back to his office. He had let Decker back him down and he hated himself for it. He also cursed himself for missing the man the night before. He should have taken the time to get himself a rifle and not tried to make the shot with a handgun.

In his office he slammed his door, kicked his desk, and threw himself into his chair. He looked at his hands, which were still shaking. Decker was crazy to threaten a lawman. In fact, the man was just plain crazy, he thought.

Kyle clenched his fists and wished he’d had the nerve to wait for Decker to come out of the café and arrest the bounty hunter then.

Shit! he thought, he’d sneaked up to Martha’s room and strangled her in her sleep for nothing. There was no way he could prove to anyone—least of all a federal judge—that Decker had killed the girl, and Roman didn’t want a judge in town while Decker could possibly point a finger at him.

Decker had to die, and if Roman couldn’t do the job himself, he knew someone who could.

Decker finished his breakfast and readied himself to go out into the street. He didn’t like the feeling of being on the wrong side of the law, but then he didn’t consider Sheriff Roman to be much of a sheriff. The man was obviously out for himself, so it wouldn’t bother Decker to have to kill Roman if he got in his way. He’d have to square himself with the federal law on that, but he thought he could.

All he had to do was prove that Roman was using his badge to blackmail a wanted killer—and that he murdered an innocent woman as a means to further his own ends.

Decker stepped out on the boardwalk and looked around. He couldn’t see Roman anywhere, but if last night was any indication, the man was quite capable of back-shooting him. The only thing that might have kept him from doing that now was the fact that it was broad daylight.

Decker was really going to have to watch his step once darkness fell.