Leaving Epitaph: The Sons of Daniel Shaye

13

Ten days into the hunt, Shaye and his sons were in Oklahoma Territory. Their badges hadn’t been much good since they’d left their own county, but now that they were in Oklahoma they were less than good.

“Should we even keep wearin’ them, Pa?” James asked as they were about to cross the border.

“It can’t hurt,” Shaye said. “At the very least it’ll get us some professional courtesy, even if we have no official standing.”

Shaye knew they’d need all the professional courtesy they could get. Lawmen with vendettas were usually not looked upon very favorably by other lawmen, and Shaye had no illusions about his and his sons’ motive for tracking the Langer gang. It was a vendetta, pure and simple—even though he’d had to explain to his boys just what “vendetta” meant.

“We won’t speak of your mother’s death to these other lawmen we come across,” Shaye told them. “In Oklahoma or anywhere else, our hunt takes us.”

“Why not, Pa?” Matthew had asked. “Won’t they sympathize with us?”

“Professional lawmen remain objective, Matthew,” Shaye had explained. “They don’t let their emotions get in the way of doing their jobs.”

“But you’re a professional lawman, Pa,” James said.

“We all are,” Thomas said, “but I think what Pa is sayin’ is that this is a special case.”

“That’s exactly right, Thomas,” Shaye said. “It’s special to us, but it’s not going to be special to anyone else we run into. When we encounter other men with badges, we’ll have to act like this is all in a day’s work.”

“But won’t they know it’s not?” Thomas asked. “After all, we’re Texas lawmen in Oklahoma.”

“We’ll talk about the bank’s money—the town’s money—and the death of an innocent woman. We won’t ever let them know who that woman was, though.”

“I still don’t get it—” Matthew began, but Thomas cut him off.

“This is the way Pa wants to do this, Matthew,” he said. “He’s the sheriff and we’re his deputies. He knows what he’s doin’, so let’s just do it his way, huh?”

“Well…okay.” That explanation made sense to Matthew.

“James?” Thomas said.

“I understand what Pa is sayin’, Thomas,” James assured his older brother. “I’ll go along with it.”

“Good.” Thomas had looked at his father then. “We’re behind you, Pa.”

“I know you are, boys,” Shaye said, “and I appreciate it.”

When they crossed into Oklahoma Territory, it was with a plan, and a new name for their hunt: “vendetta.”

The first town they came to was called Lawton. If they continued due north, they would need to travel almost two hundred miles through Indian Territory before they came to Kansas. That was supposing the gang continued north and did not veer off and head in the direction of Oklahoma City.

They camped outside of Lawton, since there was no guarantee that Sam Torrence had indeed given up his badge and had not decided to spread the word that the Shaye men were wanted for assaulting a peace officer.

“You’re part of a gang that has robbed a bank and got away with a good amount of money,” Shaye said to his sons. “Where would you go?”

“To a big town,” Matthew said, “a city, and spend it.”

“Like Oklahoma City?” Shaye asked.

“Yes.”

“James?”

“I don’t think I’d spend it right away, Pa,” James said. “I wouldn’t want anybody lookin’ at me funny while I’m spending a lot of cash.”

“That’s good thinking, James,” Shaye said, “but I’m afraid you’re a little smarter than most bank robbers. How about you, Thomas?”

“Well,” Thomas said, “if I’m Ethan Langer and I’m supposed to meet up with my older brother, Aaron, I don’t think I’d spend a dime until I did—and I wouldn’t let anyone else either.”

“What about Oklahoma City?” Shaye asked.

“I wouldn’t go there,” Thomas said, “unless that’s where I’m supposed to meet my brother.”

“Well, with Aaron coming from South Dakota and Ethan from Texas, I think it’s more likely they’d meet somewhere in Kansas.”

“Kansas City?” Matthew asked, excited at the prospect.

“Too far east,” Shaye said. “Wichita, maybe, or Salina.”

“So we should head for Wichita?” James asked.

“If we guess Wichita and we’re wrong,” Thomas said, “we’re settin’ ourselves back, ain’t we, Pa?”

“There’s no time limit on revenge, Thomas,” Shaye said. “But we won’t commit to Wichita just yet. We got a long way to go, and there’s bound to be more sitings of this gang. Ethan and Aaron Langer are well-known thieves. Somebody’s going to spot them.”

“And they won’t lie to us the way Sam Torrence did, huh, Pa?” Matthew asked.

“Anybody who lies to us,” Shaye said, “who tries to hinder us, Matthew, will have to deal with us. Time to turn in.”