Bullet for a Bad Man

For Want of Breath

The funeral was grand.

Lillian Scott roused from her emotional lethargy to take charge. She spared no expense on the coffin. She insisted it be of the best wood and have red velvet inside. She also demanded that a red pillow be placed under her husband’s head.

Tucson was a day’s ride by carriage or buckboard, so the guests had to stay the night. The evening after the burial, Lillian arranged a feast. She had Maria, her cook, call on Maria’s sister and cousins and an uncle for help. The dishes were a mix of Mexican and gringo, as Maria liked to call them.

Tables were set up outdoors and everyone was invited to partake. Burying their friend and neighbor had put them in a somber frame of mind, and no one touched the food. Hardly anyone spoke.

Lillian solved that. Dressed all in grave black, she went from table to table, insisting they get up and help themselves and have a good time.

Over a dozen ranchers attended. So did a score of townspeople. Almost all the punchers were present. A band provided music, and to the astonishment of many, Lillian proceeded to dance and laugh and be as gay as she could be. More than a few thought it strange that she made merry so soon after losing her husband, but they were too polite to say anything.

Epp Scott mingled freely. He too was in good spirits. He smiled as he shook hands and smiled as he was offered condolences. But he did not smile when, midway through the evening, Dan Morgan marched up to him.

‘‘What in hell has gotten into you and your mother?’’

Epp took a step back, his glass of whiskey half-raised. He looked around to make sure no one had overheard. ‘‘I beg your pardon?’’

‘‘We buried your pa not three hours ago, and here you are drinking and carrying on. And your mother!’’ Dan glared at where Lillian was doing a lively fandango. ‘‘I swear. If I live to a hundred I will never understand women.’’

Epp lowered his glass. ‘‘You overstep yourself.’’

‘‘Do I?’’ Dan Morgan said gruffly. ‘‘I have been foreman since the Circle V started. Your pa was more than my boss. He was my friend. Maybe the best friend I ever had. To see his memory treated this way makes my blood boil.’’

‘‘Does it, now? Then maybe I should set you straight on a few things. My pa was your best friend. Well and good. But he was my father. No one loved him more than me. No one respected him more than me. His death was stupid and senseless and it makes me sick inside just to think about it.’’

‘‘Thrown from his horse,’’ Dan said in disbelief. ‘‘I would never have thought it possible.’’

‘‘Accidents happen. I blame myself, partly. If I had been at his side, maybe I could have prevented it. Maybe I could have grabbed hold of his bridle or caught hold of him when his horse reared.’’

Dan Morgan softened. ‘‘Don’t be so hard on yourself. Like you said, accidents happen. I have seen more men thrown and hurt than I care to count. It is just bad luck that your pa fell on his head.’’

‘‘One of those things,’’ Epp said.

‘‘Peculiar how things work out. Your pa was as fine a rider as I ever saw, yet he dies when his horse is spooked by a rattler.’’ Dan paused. ‘‘You say you actually heard the snake?’’

‘‘I will never forget the sound for as long as I live. I wasn’t more than twenty feet away, but I couldn’t get to him in time.’’

‘‘Still,’’ Dan said. ‘‘All this laughing and dancing.’’

‘‘What would you have us do? Wallow in misery?’’

‘‘No, but—’’

‘‘Look at Ma. Her heart broke when Boone went off and left us. Day after day, all she has done is sit in a chair with tears in her eyes.’’

‘‘Now your pa dies and she is her old self. Where is the sense in that?’’

Epp watched his mother whirl at the end of the Tucson mayor’s arm. ‘‘If I had to guess, I would say that Pa’s death shocked her out of her shell. Come morning, she will probably be a wreck. But right now she is showing everyone she was proud to be Pa’s wife. She is being strong like he would want her to be.’’

‘‘I never thought of it like that.’’

‘‘No hard feelings,’’ Epp said. ‘‘I’m just glad you came to me and not to Ma. It would not take much to bring her down.’’

Dan Morgan went to walk off. ‘‘I will come see you tomorrow so we can talk over how the ranch is to be run now that your pa is gone.’’

‘‘What is there to talk about? Pa is dead. Boone is gone. Ma is a woman. That leaves me. From now on, the Circle V will be run the way I say it is to be run. Any of our hands who doesn’t like it is free to gather up his plunder and his war bag and light a shuck for wherever he wants.’’

‘‘You don’t have to worry about punchers quitting on you,’’ Dan said. ‘‘They are loyal to the brand.’’

‘‘But will they be loyal to me?’’

‘‘Why wouldn’t they? I’ll be the first to admit that Boone was more popular. But only because you tended to keep more to yourself and seldom mingled with the punchers like he did.’’

‘‘That will change.’’ Epp clapped Dan on the back. ‘‘All I ask is that you give me the same consideration you gave my pa. I can’t fill his boots, but I will do the best I can. You have my word on that.’’

Deeply touched, Dan clasped Epp’s hand. ‘‘And you can count on me to back you in anything you do.’’

‘‘I am obliged.’’ Epp watched the old foreman thread through the crowd, then chuckled and said to himself, ‘‘There is a jackass born every minute.’’ Tipping his glass to his mouth, he smacked his lips and joined those watching the dancers.

The fandango was soon over. Epp applauded with everyone else, and while his mother was catching her breath, drifted over. ‘‘That was some heel kicking you did, Ma.’’

Lillian had a black fan and was briskly fanning herself. ‘‘I have not done that in years. Your father did not like to dance.’’

‘‘Let’s hope he is not rolling over in his grave right about now.’’ Epp cupped her elbow and steered her toward a table where the drinks were being served. ‘‘How are you holding up?’’

‘‘I don’t rightly know how to explain it.’’

‘‘Try.’’

‘‘I am sad and giddy at the same time. Sad to the depths of my soul that Ned is gone. I loved that man, son. I loved him more than I have ever loved anyone or thing. And now God has seen fit to take him from me.’’

Epp recollected a quote from somewhere. ‘‘The Lord works in mysterious ways.’’

‘‘Exactly.’’ Lillian patted his hand. ‘‘You know, Eppley, I am seeing a new side to you, and I like what I am seeing.’’

‘‘A new side?’’

‘‘You have always been the black sheep of the family. Always went your own way. Did what you wanted to do, not caring one whit what your pa or me thought. Take Ranson, for instance.’’

‘‘My days of gambling and drinking all night are over.’’

Beaming happily, Lillian squeezed his hand. ‘‘I am so glad to hear that. And so sad at the timing.’’

‘‘How do you mean?’’

‘‘Here you have finally grown up and want to do good, and your brother has gone bad.’’

‘‘I am sure Boone had his reasons for killing all those people.’’

‘‘It is decent of you to defend him. But he has cut me to the quick and I don’t know as I can ever recover.’’

‘‘You are doing fine tonight.’’

‘‘I want to honor your father with joy in my heart, not sorrow. Is that wrong of me?’’

‘‘Not at all, Ma,’’ Epp said. ‘‘Just be careful you don’t overdo it. You are not as young as you used to be.’’ He smiled and walked off. He had not gone far when a hand fell on his shoulder.

‘‘I want to offer my condolences, Eppley.’’

‘‘Doc Baker. Having a good time?’’

Baker was white haired and had kindly blue eyes, and never went anywhere without his black bag. He was holding it now. ‘‘As good as I can in light of the circumstances. I liked your father. I liked him a great deal.’’

‘‘Didn’t we all?’’ Epp glanced around, then leaned close and said, ‘‘While I have you here, I want to let you know I am worried about my mother.’’

‘‘What? Why?’’

‘‘Have you seen how she is acting?’’

‘‘She is doing what she can to cheer everyone up. I call that commendable.’’

‘‘Not that,’’ Epp said. ‘‘I was just talking to her and she complained of chest pains. Has she said anything to you?’’

‘‘Chest pains?’’ Doc Baker said in alarm. ‘‘Perhaps I better go talk to her.’’

‘‘And spoil her mood?’’ Epp grabbed his arm. ‘‘I will bring her into Tucson in a few days and you can examine her then.’’

‘‘How bad were these pains?’’ Doc Baker inquired.

‘‘According to her, not bad at all. She thinks it is the stress. But I want to be safe and bring her in to see you.’’

‘‘By all means.’’ Doc Baker smiled in approval. ‘‘I must say, you have risen to the challenge of being the new master of the Circle V quite admirably.’’

Epp continued to mingle until near eleven, when the band stopped playing and the guests who had not already done so retired. He made it a point to happen on Doc Baker as the aged physician was about to go in, and to say so only the doctor heard, ‘‘I will check on my ma before I turn in and make sure she is feeling all right.’’

‘‘You do that,’’ Doc Baker said.

Epp refilled his glass and relaxed on the settee until the voices and the patter of feet faded and the house was as still as a tomb. Maria came from the kitchen and asked if there was anything else he wanted before she went to bed. He told her no, and remarked that he was going to stay up awhile yet.

The instant Maria was out of sight, Epp set down his glass and hurried to the stairs. He went up them three steps at a bound. The upstairs hall was empty. He glided to his parents’ room, quietly opened the door, slipped through and quietly closed the door behind him.

‘‘Who’s there?’’

Lillian was in bed. She lay with her head propped on a pair of large pillows and a blanket as high as her chin. A lamp, the wick turned low, was on the small bedside table. She reached for it, saying, ‘‘I need more light.’’

‘‘It is only me, Ma,’’ Epp said quickly. Smiling his best smile, he went over and sat next to her. ‘‘I came up to see how you are doing.’’

‘‘My, my,’’ Lillian said. ‘‘I can’t recall the last time you were so thoughtful. You never came in here when your father was alive.’’

‘‘I respected your privacy.’’ Epp put his hand on hers. ‘‘How are you feeling?’’

‘‘Tired, son. God-awful tired. I hardly slept a wink last night and I was on the go all day.’’

‘‘You did fine. Pa would be proud.’’

‘‘What is to come of us, Eppley? Your brother, vanished. Your father, dead. There is just the two of us now. I need your help. I can’t run the Circle V by my lonesome.’’

‘‘I don’t expect you to. Don’t worry. Thanks to Pa, I know all there is to know about ranching.’’

‘‘Yes, you do,’’ Lillian said. ‘‘And the first thing you must tend to are those rustlers. Your pa was convinced a brand artist is working our range. He even suspected—’’ She stopped. ‘‘No, I shouldn’t say without proof.’’

‘‘What did Pa suspect, Ma? It would help me to know.’’

‘‘He thought someone here on the Circle V must be in cahoots with them. It is the only way they could take so many of our cattle without us catching on.’’

‘‘Pa thought that?’’

‘‘Yes. We talked about it a few days before he died.’’

‘‘I’ll be damned,’’ Epp said, and then realized what he had said. ‘‘Sorry, Ma, for the strong language. What else did Pa tell you?’’

‘‘That we should set a trap for the rustlers. We should bunch the cattle so the rustlers have to show themselves to steal some, and when they do, we will have them.’’

‘‘Pa was smarter than I thought.’’

Lillian smiled sweetly. ‘‘He would be proud to hear you say that. It meant a lot to him, you standing by us when your brother ran off.’’ She made a teepee of her hands. ‘‘Lord, watch over my Boone and bring him back to us.’’ Suddenly Lillian grasped Epp by the wrist and pulled him toward her. ‘‘You must find him, Epp. You must send men out. Have them cover the whole territory. They are bound to find him, and when they do, they are to let him know we will welcome him back with open arms.’’

Epp reached around behind her and took one of her pillows and placed it in his lap. ‘‘Let me fluff this for you.’’

‘‘Did you hear me?’’

‘‘Yes, Ma. I heard.’’ Epp squeezed her shoulder. ‘‘But you shouldn’t get worked up like this.’’

‘‘I can’t help it. I am so distraught over Boone, I can’t think straight. Promise me you will do as I asked. Promise me you will leave no stone unturned to find him.’’

Epp chuckled. ‘‘Funny that you should mention a stone.’’

‘‘What? Why?’’

‘‘Oh, no reason.’’ Epp bent and kissed her on the forehead. ‘‘All in all you have been a good mother. It’s not your fault.’’

‘‘What isn’t? Your brother running away?’’

‘‘Sometimes people do not turn out as everyone expects. They try and they try, but they just don’t see the sense to living like sheep when they are a wolf.’’

‘‘I don’t understand.’’

‘‘You don’t need to. All you need to know is that I am sorry your heart could not take the strain. I am sorry it burst and you died in your sleep, and there was nothing anyone could do.’’

‘‘What are you talking about?’’

‘‘This,’’ Epp Scott said, and jammed the pillow over her face.