Leaving Epitaph Read online

  “I’m not sure,” Shaye said, “but something has either adhered to the hoof of this horse or something has caused a small amount of damage—not enough to make the horse lame, but enough to make the track unique.”

  “So all we need to do is keep followin’ that track?” James asked.

  “As long as the Langers, or whoever the horse belongs to, don’t notice that they’re leavin’ a unique trail.”

  “What happens if they notice?” James asked.

  “They could send the horse off on its own, leavin’ us to follow a false trail.”

  “How can we know that?” Thomas asked.

  “Well, if they send the horse off riderless, the print won’t be as deep—unless they take care to weigh the animal down.”

  “There’s so much involved in this,” James said. “It’s more…exact than I ever thought.”

  Thomas and James would pick this up quickly, Shaye knew. Matthew would have trouble with it, but it really didn’t matter. If he could help it, Matthew would never again be tracking outlaws after this was over.

  “The problem is,” Shaye said, “it’s not exact. If we follow the wrong trail, we won’t even know it until we get there.”

  “And then what?’ James asked. “What happens then?”

  “Then we backtrack and start over again.”

  “How many men have you tracked this way, Pa?” Thomas asked.

  “More than a few.”

  “And did you ever give up?” James asked.

  “Oh yeah,” Shaye said. “Sometimes it can’t be helped, sometimes they get away.”

  “And you accept that?” Thomas asked.

  “As a lawman you do,” Shaye said, “because you know somewhere, sometime, another lawman will catch them…but this is different. As a husband—and as sons—we won’t give up. I don’t care how many times we have to backtrack and start again, we’ll catch these men.”

  “But we had them,” Matthew said, shaking his head. “We had them, Pa, and we let them get away.”

  “I know, son,” Shaye said. “I know we did. And we’ll have them again, and next time they won’t get away.”

  Shaye stood up, and his sons followed, mounting their horses again.

  “They’re heading west,” he said, “toward Hays. There’s no tellin’ which way they’ll end up goin’, though. They probably don’t even know. We broke up both parts of their gangs, and they’ll have to reform if they want to start again.”

  “What if they don’t start again?” Thomas asked. “What if they have enough money now to just stop?”

  “That won’t happen,” Shaye said.

  “Why not?” James asked.

  “Because there’s not enough money for these men to stop,” Shaye said. “Not for Aaron…maybe Ethan is a different story, but I know not for Aaron.”

  “Do you know him that well to say that, Pa?” Thomas asked.

  “I knew him,” Shaye said, “a long time ago. I know what kind of a man he was then.”

  “But you changed, Pa,” James said. “You’ve changed since then. Why not him?”

  “I’ve kept track of his career,” Shaye said. “Maybe I wanted to see what would have happened to me if I’d stayed on that path, if I’d ridden with him. He hasn’t shown any inclination to change.”

  “But Ethan’s the one we want,” Thomas said, “he’s the one came to Epitaph, robbed the bank…killed Ma.”

  “They’re brothers,” Shaye said. “If we take one, we’re going to take the other.”

  “Brothers,” Matthew said, “like us?”

  Shaye looked at his three sons and said, “Brothers, yes, but not like you. Nothing like you.”

  58

  They rode through the night and most of the day, and then camped for the second night about ten miles outside of Hays.

  “Are we goin’ into Hays tomorrow?” Ethan asked.

  “We can’t,” Aaron said. “They’re bound to have sent word from Salina by now.”

  “Then where do we go?”

  They were sitting around the fire drinking coffee. They’d finished eating, and Morales and Branch were watching the two brothers. Aaron’s anger since finding out about Dan Shaye had been growing. They could all feel it.

  “I don’t know where you’re goin’, brother,” Aaron said, “but I’m gonna head north, into Nebraska.”

  “Why north?”

  “I like the North,” Aaron said. “I know the country. I can get lost. I can also find some men and get started all over again.”

  “I like the South,” Ethan said. “I could go south, through Dodge and back into Indian Territory. I could find some more men too, and start over—”

  “No, Ethan,” Aaron said, “when I said start over, I meant it—without you.”

  “Wha—What are you talkin’ about?” Ethan asked. “Why? Is this about Shaye?”

  “This is about stupidity,” Aaron said. “You’ve got too much of it, brother. I can’t deal with it no more. In the mornin’, you go your way and I’ll go mine. Morales will be comin’ with me.” Aaron looked at Branch. “I don’t know what you want to do, Branch, but take my word for it, go off on your own.”

  “I can’t come with you?” Branch asked.

  “I don’t want you.”

  “What about the money?” Ethan asked.

  “We’ll split it four ways,” Aaron said. “We got four sets of saddlebags, so I’ll do it tonight.”

  “Four equal shares?” Branch asked.

  Aaron turned and looked at him coldly. “Four shares,” he said.

  Branch shrugged and subsided. After what happened in Salina, he knew he was lucky to be alive.

  “Aaron,” Ethan said, “you can’t blame me—”

  “I do blame you, Ethan,” Aaron said. “You got Dan Shaye on our trail. Now, I don’t know what kind of lawman he turned into, but he was a stubborn sonofabitch when he was riding with me, and that kind of thing don’t change.”

  “What if I take care of him?”

  “Like how?”

  “What if I kill him?”

  “You?” Aaron asked. “Kill Dan Shaye?”

  “That’s right,” Ethan said. “Can we join up again if I do that?”

  Aaron hesitated, then said, “I don’t know, Ethan. Why don’t you let me know if it happens, and then we’ll see? Right now I want to turn in. You set up three watches with Branch and Morales. In the mornin’ we’ll split the money up and go our separate ways.”

  Ethan opened his mouth to protest, but Aaron wasn’t listening anymore. He decided to let his older brother sleep on it. Maybe by morning he wouldn’t be so pissed off and he’d change his mind.

  “I’ll take first, if you like,” Morales said.

  “Fine,” Ethan said. “Wake Branch for second, and I’ll take third.”

  “As you wish.”

  “What about you, Branch?” Ethan asked.

  “What about me, Ethan?”

  “Gonna go your separate way tomorrow, or ride with me?”

  Branch thought it over only a moment. Riding alone would mean making all his own decisions—and he wasn’t so sure that all that had happened was Ethan’s fault…entirely.

  “Reckon I’ll stick with you, Ethan.”

  “Okay,” Ethan said. “Okay, then. Have a pot of coffee made when you wake me for my watch.”

  “Sure…boss.”

  59

  In the morning, Aaron Langer’s anger and resolve had not waned one bit. After they’d had breakfast, broken camp, and saddled the horses, he turned and tossed a set of saddlebags to his brother, and another—somewhat less packed—to Branch.

  “There’s your share,” he said.

  “We’re still splittin’ up?” Ethan asked. Since his brother hadn’t mentioned it, and they’d broken camp, he thought it was forgotten.

  “You thought I’d sleep on it and change my mind?’ Aaron asked.

  “Well…”

  “When you smarten up, Ethan,” Aa
ron said, “maybe things will change.”

  “Or when I kill Dan Shaye.”

  Aaron smiled, but there was no humor in it. “That ain’t gonna happen.”

  “What if it does?”

  “Then I’ll read about it in the newspaper,” Aaron said, “and maybe I’ll find you.”

  “Aaron—”

  “That’s it, Ethan,” Aaron said. “Morales and I are heading north. I don’t care what direction you head, but I’d advise you not to hit a town—Hays, Dodge, anyplace—until you get out of Kansas.”

  “This is crazy—”

  “Maybe you should go and see Vincent again,” Aaron said, mounting his horse. “Maybe he’ll hide you in his church.”

  He wheeled his horse around and headed north with Morales right behind him. Ethan stood there a moment, stunned and puzzled.

  “That might not be a bad idea, Ethan,” Branch said.

  “What?”

  “Going back to see your other brother. Who would look for us in a church?”

  Ethan looked at Branch, then said, “That might not be such a bad idea at that.”

  Hours later, Shaye and his sons reached the campsite, which was cold, but recently so. Thomas, James, and Matthew remained on their horses while Shaye dismounted and walked the area.

  “I was afraid of this,” he said.

  “What?” Thomas asked.

  “They split up.”

  “They’re not goin’ to Hays?” James asked.

  “Two of them went north,” Shaye said, “and two of them went south.”

  “Do you think Aaron and Ethan Langer stayed together?” Thomas asked.

  Shaye looked up and said, “You’d think that, wouldn’t you? But no, I don’t think that. I think Aaron took his man and went north, and Ethan took his man and went south.”

  “Why?” James asked. “I mean, why do you think that?”

  “Aaron’s been working the North, and Ethan the South,” Shaye explained.

  “I mean, why do you think the brothers split up?” James asked.

  Shaye, who had been down on one knee, stood up.

  “Aaron is going to have to blame someone for what happened,” he said, “and I think he’ll blame Ethan. They probably split the money and went their separate ways.”

  “They’re brothers and they didn’t stay together?” Matthew asked, clearly puzzled.

  “Maybe they get on each other’s nerves a little more than you and your brothers do, Matthew,” Shaye said.

  He walked back to his horse and mounted up.

  “So who do we follow, Pa?” Thomas asked.

  Shaye hated to split up from his sons. Sure, they had survived their baptism of fire in Salina, but he had to decide who to send after Aaron and who to send after Ethan. He wanted Ethan because that’s who had come to Epitaph, but Aaron was the more dangerous, the more ruthless, of the two. How could he send two of his sons after him just so he could have the satisfaction of killing Ethan himself?

  Also, he had to split himself and Thomas up, since they were the most proficient with a gun.

  “Pa?” Thomas said. “I can go north.” He knew his father wanted Ethan badly. “I’ll take James.”

  “Thomas, you take Matthew and go south,” Shaye finally said. “I’ll take James and go north.”

  “South is Ethan, Pa,” Thomas said. “You said so yourself.”

  “I know.”

  Thomas looked at his father, saw a muscle pulsing in the older man’s jaw.

  “Aaron’s more dangerous, Thomas,” Shaye said. “I can’t send you after him.”

  “Pa,” Thomas said, “the three of us can go after Aaron while you go for Ethan.”

  That was something Shaye hadn’t figured.

  “Yeah, Pa,” James said. “We can do it.”

  “Aaron and Morales are too dangerous,” Shaye said after a moment. “I just can’t. Thomas, take Matthew and go after Ethan. Watch for that marked hoof, it’ll be easy to track.”

  “Yes, Pa.”

  “And when you catch him…”

  “Yes, Pa,” Thomas said, “I’ll kill him.” He looked at his brother and said, “Come on, Matthew.”

  “James,” Shaye said, “let’s go north.”

  60

  “Thomas?”

  They’d ridden in silence for a while, and Thomas knew that something was going on in his brother’s head. The question would have come sooner or later.

  “Yes, Matthew?”

  “Are you really gonna kill Ethan Langer when we catch up to him?” Matthew asked.

  “Yes, I am, Matthew.”

  “What if he surrenders?”

  “I’ll still kill him.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes,” Thomas said. “He killed Ma, Matthew.”

  “I know, but…it don’t seem right.”

  “Don’t worry,” Thomas said, “you won’t have to do it. I can do it myself.”

  They rode a few more miles in silence, but Thomas knew his brother wasn’t finished.

  “Thomas?”

  “Yes?”

  “How did you feel the other night?”

  “When, Matthew?”

  “When we were…killin’ all those men.”

  “Matthew,” Thomas said, “all those men were also tryin’ to kill us, remember?”

  “I know that.”

  “I felt good,” Thomas said. “I felt relaxed, in control…you really want to know the truth?”

  “Yeah, I do.”

  “For a while I felt like nothin’ could hurt me that night. It was weird. And when it was all over, I felt more alive than ever.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes.”

  “I just felt scared the whole time,” Matthew said. “Before, during, and after. I didn’t like it.”

  “There’s nothing wrong with bein’ scared, Matthew,” Thomas said. “You did just fine in that saloon, just fine.”

  “I don’t feel like I did fine,” Matthew said.

  “Matthew,” Thomas said, “we’ll be okay if you just do everythin’ I tell you, understand? Just what I tell you. Can you do that?”

  “Sure I can do that.”

  “Good,” Thomas said. He reached over and slapped his brother on the back. “Good.”

  “How’s your side, Pa?” James asked.

  “It’s fine.”

  “You’re bleedin’.”

  Shaye looked down at his injured side. He was still wearing the same bandage the doctor had patched him up with. He saw that some blood had seeped through his shirt.

  “It’s just leakin’ a little,” Shaye said. “It’s nothin’ to worry about.”

  “You ever been shot before, Pa?”

  “Twice,” Shaye said. “You remember that time the Jelcoe boys came to town?”

  “Oh yeah,” James said. “I was little, but I remember Ma patchin’ you up.”

  “We didn’t have a doctor in town back then.”

  “When was the other time?”

  “Years ago,” Shaye said, “a lot of years ago.”

  James decided to let it drop. He figured they’d made his pa talk about his past enough, as it was.

  “How far behind are we, Pa?” he asked.

  “Not far, James,” Shaye said. “We’ll catch up.”

  “Think they know we’re after them?”

  Shaye looked at James. “They’ve got to figure someone’s after them,” he said. “Don’t know if they know it’s us.”

  “What would Aaron Langer think if he knew it was you?”

  Shaye hesitated a moment, then said, “James, I think he’d think it was real interesting.”

  61

  Aaron Langer stopped to take a drink from his canteen and pull out a piece of beef jerky. Morales stopped alongside him and did the same.

  “I’m thinkin’ there’s somebody comin’ behind us,” Aaron said, looking off into the distance.

  “Do you believe it is our old friend, Señor Shaye?” the Mexican
asked.

  Morales turned to look, then froze when he heard the hammer of Aaron’s pistol being cocked behind him.

  “Just sit still, Morales,” Aaron said. He reached out and removed the man’s saddlebags, containing the money.

  “You are robbing me, Jefe?” the Mexican asked. “I have been your most loyal servant for many years.”

  “Yeah,” Aaron said. “If you weren’t makin’ so much money with me, I’d like to see how loyal you would have been. Put your hands way out from your sides, Esteban.”

  Morales obeyed, spreading his arms like wings.

  “Now turn around.”

  Morales swiveled back around in his saddle, stared down the black barrel of Aaron’s gun.

  “Are you going to kill me?”

  “No,” Aaron said, “you’re gonna take care of whoever’s followin’ us. After you’ve done that, I’ll be waitin’ for you in Red Cloud, just over the border in Nebraska. There, I’ll give you your money back.”

  “Why do you feel the need to hold my money?”

  “Because if I send you off with your money, you just might keep on goin’.”

  “And if I say that I will not?”

  Aaron touched Morales’s saddlebags, which were laying across his saddle, and said, “Safer this way, Esteban. This way I know you’ll do what you’re told, because you want your money.”

  Morales stared at Aaron Langer for a few moments, then shook his head. “I thought we were amigos.”

  “When, in the past twenty years,” Aaron asked, “did I ever say we was friends?”

  “Never.”

  “Exactly. We’ve been a good team, Esteban, but it’s only because you always did what you were told.”

  “Sí, Jefe.”

  “Now, do you want your money back?”

  “Sí, Jefe.”

  “Then take care of whoever is trailing us and meet me in Red Cloud,” Aaron said.

  “And if no one is following us?”

  “Oh,” Aaron said, “somebody is, Morales. If it ain’t Shaye, it’s somebody. Believe me.”

  Keeping his gun trained on his segundo of many years, Aaron started his horse walking.

  “I’ll give you until tomorrow night, Morales,” Aaron said.

  “And why should I believe that you will not just keep going with my money?”

  “Because then I’d have to worry about you followin’ me, Esteban,” Aaron said. “And you wouldn’t stop until you got your money back or died tryin’, right?”