A Wolf in the Fold

As I stepped outside I heard Gertrude issue an order for the cowboys to hold their fire. She materialized out of the woods, as straight backed and haughty as ever. She was smiling a wicked sort of smile that widened when we met halfway across the clearing. I counted at least seven rifle barrels trained on me.

“Well, well, well,” Gertrude said. She was dressed in black and wore an ivory-handled Colt around her waist. In her left hand was a quirt. “Paying those scum a social call, are you?”

“I’m here to get the job done.” I gestured at the rifles. “You gave me twenty-four hours, remember? If I had known you were going to take matters into your own hands, I wouldn’t have bothered coming out.”

“I wearied of waiting for you,” Gertrude said. “There’s an old saying. If you want something done—”

“Do it yourself,” I finished for her. “But you hired me, and I intend to wrap everything up by midnight.”

“I think not,” Gertrude said.

“You want to see them die with your own eyes, is that it?”

“That, and more.” Gertrude grinned and tapped the riding quirt against her leg. “Oh, this is delicious. I only wish Phil was here. He would delight in the irony as much as I do.”

“What irony?” I asked.

“He’s laid up for a week. Doctor’s orders,” Gertrude said. “When I saw him lying on the floor in a pool of blood, I thought I would die. He’s always meant the world to me, my boy.”

“What about your husband?”

“What about him?” she retorted. “Lloyd was a fool. But then, so was I, for marrying him. I loathe weak men, and he was as weak as pond water. How curious that I chose to hitch myself to someone like him.”

I had no interest in her personal life. “About the Butchers—”

“It’s strange how thing works out, isn’t it? Never as we expect. I had resigned myself to being shackled to Lloyd for the rest of my days, and now look. I am free to do as I want without his constant carping. You have no idea what I had to put up with.”

“I don’t give a damn,” I said.

“Now, now. Don’t be mad. I’m only doing what I intended to do all along. I never really needed you. But Lloyd insisted we hire an outsider so the finger of blame would not point at us.”

“Lloyd insisted? I thought you hired me on your own?”

“Did I give that impression?”

I didn’t like where this was leading. “Take your men and go.”

“Haven’t I made myself clear? I no longer require your services as a Regulator. I will do my own regulating from here on out.”

“We have a deal,” I stressed yet again.

Gertrude snickered. She was enjoying herself. “Deals, like laws, are made to be broken.”

“I won’t take it kindly if you back out.”

“What was it you said to me a few moments ago? Oh, yes. I don’t give a damn. In my estimation your reputation is greatly overblown.”

I could feel myself growing mad. I never let anyone talk to me like she was doing. “Be careful.”

“Or what? You’ll shoot me? I wouldn’t try, were I you. One wrong move, or a gesture from me, and my punchers will turn you into a sieve.”

The rifle muzzles pointed at me left no doubt her threat was genuine. It only made me hotter. “I’m not leaving until I get the rest of my money.”

Gertrude actually had the gall to laugh in my face. “Your money? In order for it to be yours, you had to earn it. Which you did not. No, the five hundred I have already paid is all I am paying, and even that was too much.”

“You don’t want me for an enemy.”

Smirking, Gertrude put her hands on her hips. “You still don’t get it, do you? Must I spell it out as I would to my late husband? How you have lasted so long is beyond me.”

One more insult and I would punch her, female or no. “Maybe it’s best if I just go.” I glanced at where I had left Brisco and felt my gut tighten; Brisco was gone. “What did you do with my horse?”

“We drove him off, along with their horses. After all, I wouldn’t want anyone to escape, now would I?” Gertrude regarded me intently. “Tell you what. I’ve thought of a way for you to redeem yourself. Do as I ask and I will pay you the other five hundred. Does that sound fair?”

“I’m listening.”

“Go back inside. Tell Hannah and her brats I will spare them if they throw down their guns and come out with their hands over their heads.”

“They’re not stupid,” I said.

“Assure them I am sincere. Convince them I intend to turn them over to the Texas Rangers.”

“As if you would.”

“It’s worth a try, isn’t it?” Gertrude pressed. “And it’s the only way you will get what is coming to you.”

I hesitated. I might be able to talk the Butchers into agreeing. They trusted me, after all. I would assure them that as God was my witness, I would not let them come to harm.

“Well? What are you waiting for?”

“It may take me a while to convince them,” I said. I glanced at the cabin. We were far enough from it, and had talked quietly enough, that there was little chance we had been overheard.

“Take as long as you need. I’m not going anywhere.”