Love Child Read online

  “I just met Richie a few days ago,” said John. “He is my brother-in-law. I’m here to find the man who murdered his mother.”

  “And what are you going to do when you find him?”

  “That’s what I don’t know, Father. I’ve dealt with bad men before. Many times.”

  “Are you a lawman, my son?”

  “No, Father. I used to be but I’m not one anymore.”

  “When you say you’ve dealt with bad men in the past, what did you mean?”

  “Father, I’ve had to kill men. In fact, I’ve even killed some women.”

  The old man drew back in shock at what he was hearing. John saw his surprise and quickly added more.

  “It’s not like that, Padre. I’m not a bad man. At least I don’t think I am. I first killed some cattle rustlers who were trying to kill me and the other hands that worked on the ranch. One of the people they were trying to kill was Richie’s father.

  “Ah, Señor Hanson. I’ve never met him.”

  “That’s because he never knew about Richie. Marie left Slim—that’s Richie’s father—and said she didn’t want to see him again. Slim didn’t even know about Richie.”

  “That explains it. Marie never had any unkind words to say about Richie’s father. I asked about him and she would only give a vague answer. It was obvious she didn’t want to talk about him.”

  “But Señor, you said you have killed others?”

  “Yes, Padre. I was the marshal of Bandera and had to kill some people in the line of duty. I found out the town council were all thieves and murderers and they were able to operate without anyone being able to stop them because they had accomplices in the state police and the governor’s office.”

  “So what did you do, my son?”

  “Father, I took the law into my own hands. I thought the only way there would ever be justice in Bandera was if I operated outside of the law to get rid of the town council.”

  “So you became a vigilante? Is that what you’re saying?”

  “Yes, Father. I’m not proud of what I’ve done but I would do it all over again because I didn’t see any other way of protecting the people of Bandera. They even kidnapped my wife, Charlotte. She’s Slim’s daughter so that makes her Richie’s half-sister.”

  “¡Dios no lo quiera!”

  “What did you say?”

  “I’m sorry. I said, ‘God forbid!’”

  “Father, I never wanted to kill these people. At least, I didn’t start out with that in mind. Before it was over, I had killed many people. All of them deserved it. And if there had been any other way of handling it, I would have welcomed it. But I just didn’t see any other way. And after they kidnapped Charlotte, I knew I was going to see that they all paid for what they had done.”

  The old priest dropped his head and shook it slowly from side to side. In a few moments, he spoke softly.

  “I remember hearing of a big man called the Midnight Marauder. He was said to be the defender of those who could not defend themselves. Is…that…?” The old man couldn’t complete his sentence. Slowly John nodded his head.

  The elderly priest crossed himself and mumbled a hushed prayer in Spanish and then looked into John’s eyes.

  “You are not such a big man, señor. I mean no offense. But you don’t look like the desperado I’ve heard so much about.”

  “I guess people just wanted to believe the Midnight Marauder was a large, imposing character. That made their stories of his exploits more sensational. I was glad no one had a more accurate description of me.”

  “Yes, it would make the stories better to say some huge man had done the things you are said to have done.”

  “Father,” said John. “I’ve done many bad things but I have not done nearly all of the things I have heard the Midnight Marauder did.”

  The old man nodded his head. “And what are you going to do if you find the man who murdered Marie?”

  “Father, my intention is to bring him in so he can stand trial and then pay for his crime.”

  “You are not going to take justice into your own hands?”

  “That is not my plan. I want to bring him in so others can know what he did and see that he pays for murdering Marie.”

  The old man’s face brightened. One side of his mouth turned up in the tiniest of a smile.

  “I’m glad to hear that my son. Then vaya con Dios, my son. Go with God.”

  “Thank you, Padre.”

  “What is your name, my son?”

  “I’m John Crudder, Father.”

  “Vaya con Dios, Mr. Crudder. And may the Midnight Marauder never have to accompany you again!”

  “That would be just fine with me, Padre.”

  John walked out of the church, put on his hat and mounted Midnight. As he proceeded down the road, John felt less anxiety than he had previously. Still he didn’t know what he would face but he heard his words to Charlotte come back to him that he was going to be careful. He hoped with all of his heart that would be enough to keep him safe.

  Chapter 11

  Just across from the town square, John found the sheriff’s office. He led Midnight over to the hitching rail and went inside.

  The sheriff looked up from his desk and said, “Buenas tardes, señor.”

  “Afternoon, sheriff.”

  “What can I do for you, young man?” The sheriff looked John up and down and seemed to have a bit of a smile on his face. John was used to people being amused by his small stature.

  “I’m here looking for a man.”

  “What’s this man’s name?”

  “Holloway. Jasper Holloway.”

  “If you’re a bounty hunter, you’re wasting your time. Holloway is probably deep into Mexico by now. No one will ever see him again.”

  “I’m not a bounty hunter.”

  “You a lawman?” asked the sheriff.

  “Used to be. Name’s Crudder. John Crudder. I used to be the marshal of Bandera, Texas.”

  The sheriff pushed his hat back on his head, stood and extended a hand to John. “Pleased to meet you, marshal. I’m JD Lasiter. Just call me JD.”

  “It’s good to meet you, JD. Call me John. And I’m not a marshal any more. Just a private citizen. What’s the JD stand for?”

  “Nothin’. That’s my name. Just JD. Named for my grandpa. He didn’t have any other name either. Just JD.” John nodded as he took in the name. “So why are you looking for Holloway, John?”

  “He killed my brother-in-law’s mother.”

  “You mean Richie Hanson is your brother-in-law?”

  “That’s right. My wife, Charlotte is Richie’s sister.”

  “I didn’t know Richie had a sister.”

  “Well, it was a surprise to us as well,” said John. “We didn’t know about Richie until a few days ago when he came riding into Bandera. It seems his mother told him if anything ever happened to her that he was to come to Bandera because he had family there.”

  “That explains why we haven’t seen Richie. I was afraid something had happened to him. He was so angry when Marie got killed. I was sure he was gonna try to take the law into his own hands. He’s just a kid. I knew if he tried to go after Holloway, he would wind up dead.”

  “He has agreed to let me find Holloway for him,” said John. “Richie told me you had a poster on Holloway. Mind if I see it?”

  “Sure thing, John. I didn’t even know we had a poster on Holloway until Richie told us what happened. I was sure sorry to hear about Marie. We all cared deeply for her. She had made several dresses for my wife and my daughter. She was a fine woman. When Richie told us what happened, I had Marie’s body taken to the undertaker and helped Richie arrange for her funeral. I also swore out murder charges on Holloway. He was also wanted for cattle rustlin’, horse theft, and assaulting a man in San Anton.”

  John looked over the wanted poster. Knowing Holloway had been to San Antonio made John optimistic that he had gone north instead of south.

  “D
o you mind if I go through the rest of your posters, sheriff.”

  “Not at all, John.” The sheriff opened the bottom drawer to his desk and pulled out a stack of papers that was several inches thick and handed them to John. Crudder sat down on the other side of the desk and started sorting through the posters. “You being an ex-lawman and all, I don’t mind a bit. Now I wouldn’t be lettin’ you do so if I thought you were a bounty hunter and was just plannin’ to start lookin’ for any outlaw. If you don’t mind me askin’, what are you lookin’ for?”

  “Tell you the truth, I don’t know. I just remember back when I was a marshal, sometimes going through the posters would give me some ideas and even give me a clue on where to find someone. Like Holloway here. You said he was probably in Mexico now. But I’m thinkin’ it might be more likely he was headed back to San Anton since that is where I know he’s been before. Of course, he could just want to get as far away from San Anton and now Laredo as possible, so he certainly could be headed into the interior of Mexico.”

  “Well, you take your time. The only thing I ask is that you not take any of the posters. I only have the one copy so I need to keep them.”

  “I understand, JD. I’ll not need to take any with me. If there is anything interesting, I’ll just make some notes to myself.”

  As John started through the stack of posters, he found a drawing of a man that looked identical to Holloway, only the name on the poster said Martinez.

  “Look at this, sheriff. Diego Martinez is a spittin’ image of Holloway.”

  “Do you reckon that’s his brother?” asked the sheriff.

  “No, JD. I think that is Holloway. Or I think Holloway is Martinez. An easy way to escape a wanted poster is to use a different name and to get away from the city where the crime had been committed. It makes me wonder if there are any other posters on Diego Martinez.”

  “Give me half,” said the sheriff. “I’ll go through them with you.”

  For the next thirty minutes, John and the sheriff sorted through posters. They found several for Diego Martinez that didn’t have a picture but had descriptions that fit Holloway.

  “Hey John. Look at this one.”

  The sheriff passed John a poster with a drawing that was nearly identical to Martinez and Holloway. But this time, the name on the poster was Luis Hernandez. The continued through the posters and made stacks of posters or all three names. Then they had one more stack that had descriptions that fit Holloway. They had a variety of names including Smith and Jones. But all of the posters were for violent crimes including several for murder and rape. Several of the posters were for bank robbery. There were people killed in two of the holdups.

  By the time they were through sorting, they had more than a dozen posters that John was sure fit Holloway and more than twenty additional posters that could be Holloway. All of the posters were for crimes committed in Texas with several committed in Austin and San Antonio and in many of the small towns around in the Texas Hill Country. John was more convinced than ever that Holloway was still in Texas.

  “JD, do you know if Holloway spoke Spanish?”

  The sheriff, thought for a minute and said, “I don’t know if I ever heard him speak Spanish but almost everyone in Laredo does. But it’s not like he grew up here. He had only been in town for a few months. From all accounts, he was just a drifter that spent most of his time at the Bustin’ Loose Saloon.”

  “Several of the posters list known associates of Holloway. And assuming Martinez, and Hernandez are also Holloway, we have their associates as well. It seems there are two men that hung around with Holloway.” John continued perusing the posters. “Gomez and Atkins were in on several of the crimes. They don’t have first names listed. But the descriptions of both men fit that of the men with Holloway on the bank robberies. Have you seen either of these men in town?”

  “I had no idea Holloway was wanted for so many crimes. And he was right here under my nose for months.”

  “Sheriff, the important thing now is not to lay blame for not knowing but to do all we can to find him.”

  “John, I really don’t know what else I can do. I can’t go hunt him down. I have a city to protect. As much as I’d like to organize and lead a posse, I have responsibilities here.”

  “I realize that, Sheriff. Actually, I think a posse would just drive Holloway to ground. I think he will be easier to find if I go by myself.”

  “You’re probably right. But it will likely take time. I’m sure you know that from your law enforcement background.”

  John pondered what the sheriff said. “Yup. I reckon it might take a while. But I’m a patient man. I’ll take all of the time required to find Holloway. And findin’ him, I think I’ll find Martinez and Hernandez.”

  “If you are going to do that, I’d like to deputize you. You might find a badge will help open some doors for you.”

  “Thanks, Sheriff. But if it’s all the same to you, I think I will do better without the badge.”

  Sheriff Lasiter looked at John and considered what he said. Slowly a smile came to the sheriff’s face and he slightly nodded his head. “Yes, you just may do better without a badge. Just remember, all three men are wanted and need to be brought back here for trial. At least let me give you a pair of handcuffs. I can only spare one pair but I think that should help.”

  “Thanks, Sheriff. What I can tell you is Holloway will pay for what he’s done. I’ll bring him back here to stand trial if I can. And I’ll bring his compadres with him. I would like nothin’ more than to see them punished for their crimes.”

  The sheriff was not convinced by John’s words. He continued staring at Crudder trying to figure out what was going on his mind. Finally, the sheriff put out his hand to wish John well.

  “Mr. Crudder, I hope you’re successful in finding Holloway. But be careful. It seems Holloway is a lot more dangerous than I ever realized.”

  “Thanks, Sheriff.” John shook hands with Lasiter and turned to go. But as he got to the door he turned back. “Sheriff, who in town would have more information about Holloway?”

  “Well, I guess Manny could tell you more about Holloway. He runs the Bustin’ Loose just down the street. Holloway appears to have spent most of his time there.”

  “Thanks again, Sheriff.” John left the sheriff’s office and walked out to Midnight. “We’ll be goin’ real soon ol boy. I have one more errand to run.” Midnight whinnied in response. John smiled to himself as he petted his horse on the rump and walked down to the saloon.

  John walked up to the bar and ordered a beer. The barkeeper filled his glass and expertly slid it down to John. Behind him, John heard laughter from men who were playing poker.

  “Hey boys. Look at the size of this guy.” The speaker laughed out loud and continued to taunt John. “He can barely see over the bar. Hey, sonny, would you like for me to get you a stool to stand on?” John looked back at the man and saw there were three of them and they were all laughing loudly.

  “Thanks just the same, mister,” replied John. “So long as I can see enough to get my beer, that’s all I need.” John turned back to his beer but quickly located the table in the mirror behind the bar.

  “Hey, Sonny. Don’t turn your back on me, you little runt.” With those words the loud talking gambler lunged at John. John stepped to the side and grabbed the shirt of the man and slammed him into the bar. As the man was regaining his balance, John brought his fist up under the man’s chin and connected with a single blow. The attacker instantly fell to the floor. At the same time, the remaining two gamblers got up and pulled their six-guns and aimed at John.

  John lifted his hands high above his head as though he was trying to stop them men from shooting him. Then in one movement, Crudder dropped his hands down his back and grabbed the twin daggers that were just under his vest, dropped to his knee, and let both daggers go, simultaneously hitting both men in the chest. The men dropped to the floor as the first gambler came to and pulled his gun on John. Crud
der rolled away from the gunman and pulled his own six-gun with his right hand and fanned the hammer once with his left hand. John’s bullet hit the gunman in the middle of the chest.

  John slowly got to his feet and kept his gun out trained on the man he had just shot. He also turned to see if the men he had taken down with his daggers had moved but saw they were dead. Holstering his gun, John walked back to the bar and took a swallow of his beer as he saw the sheriff barging in through the swinging doors with his gun cocked and ready to fire.

  “What’s goin’ on here?” yelled the sheriff.

  John took another swallow of his beer as the bartender replied to the sheriff.

  “Sheriff Lasiter, it was the darndest thing I’ve ever seen. This little feller took out all three of these drifters and they had it comin’. He was just standin’ here drinkin’ his beer when this first feller attacked him. The little man just stepped aside and hit him once under the chin and the man dropped to the floor. Then his two friends got up and drew down on the little feller. But he pulled them knives from his back and killed ’em both. Then this guy,” continued the bartender as he pointed down at the dead man by the bar, “pulled his gun on the little feller. The little guy rolled and somehow came up with his own gun and shot this here man dead. And the little feller was in the right. He didn’t have no choice.”

  A man who was standing at the other end of the bar spoke up. “That’s right, Sheriff. It’s just as Manny said. The little man didn’t have no choice at all. He was in the right.”

  The sheriff carefully uncocked and holstered his gun and walked over to Crudder. “May I buy you a beer, Sheriff?” asked John.

  “Well, Mr. Crudder, I was worried about you when you left my office. I thought you might get in over your head if you were ever in a gunfight. But I can see I don’t need to worry about you. Yes, I could use a beer.”

  The bartender poured the sheriff’s beer and asked John if he would like his glass topped off.

  “No, thanks. But you can help me if you will. My name is John Crudder. I’m lookin’ for a man named Jasper Holloway. The sheriff said you might be able to help me.”