“I can assure you that I am all man, 100%, whether I’m in this chair or not,” replied James.
“Oh yes, of course. I just meant he needs to pay… I’m thinking of a firing squad,” he continued, getting close and lowering his voice, “with several of my deputies…and you, of course.”
“Sheriff, I want no part of...”
“Hold on. You haven’t heard the best part yet. Picture this. That man who took you down standing in front of a five-man firing squad, with you front and center. But hold on! It gets even better!” he said, feeling more excited saying it out loud. “I give the order to fire, and all of my guys have blanks in their rifles. Sure, they make noise but that’s it, and you get to blast that bastard with real bullets and send him straight to hell!”
The Sheriff had a smile on his face, like he was talking about buying his first boat.
“The best part is, you and I will be the only ones to know,” the Sheriff continued.
He paused, maybe expecting a defeated James to relish in the idea of payback, but he got no such response.
“That man, Sheriff, means nothing to me now, and unless he were to trespass on my ranch, I’d have no more to do with him.”
“So, you don’t want a spot on the squad?”
“No, Sheriff.”
“I’ll be honest. I was not expecting that answer from you. Well, all right. I’ll figure something out. You have a good day, James, and I’ll see you back at work soon.”
“Good day to you, sir,” James replied.
* * * *
“What was that about?” Janice asked as he drove away.
“Nothing to worry about. Just an update on the people David was talking about. It looks like they’re heading right up the Interstate past us, just like we had hoped. Also, the Sheriff has some plans for his jail guests and wanted to know if I would like to be directly involved with the punishment of my shooter… Before you ask, I told him no, and that’s the end of it.”
“I figured he had something up his sleeve when he went to all that trouble just to save him,” Janice replied.
* * * * * * *
Chapter Twenty-five
Weston, Colorado
Sheriff Johnson gathered his deputies before heading home for the night.
“Gentlemen, I need a firing squad for the shooter of our town mayor. Who will step up and volunteer for the squad?”
To his surprise, no hands were raised.
“Not one of you will volunteer for this?”
They all stood, heads down, without response.
He sighed, shaking his head. “Go home, men, and I’ll see you tomorrow, early for the church crowd.”
* * * *
The Sheriff went home confused, spilling his concerns to his girlfriend.
“It’s pretty simple, as I see it,” she responded. “No man is willing to step up and do the right thing here. I know you would, but it would look like an execution to our citizens, and that just won’t work. The way I see it, you have two problems with the same solution.”
“What do you mean?” he asked.
“On the one hand, you’ve got a man who shot the mayor and needs to be punished. On the other, you’ve got that slob Richard, who needs an opponent you can’t find for the gladiator fight. Do you see where I’m going with this?”
“Kind of, babe.”
“Okay, let me tie it up for you. Richard’s opponent is James’ shooter.”
She finished, raising her hands in an “any questions?” stance.
“But what if he won’t fight. I mean, Richard is a big guy.”
“So was Goliath,” she responded, “but David killed him with a sling and a stone. Plus, what choice does he have? Fight and have a chance to survive or lay down and certainly be defeated. Give them their choice of one old weapon. I’m not talking guns or bows here, but swords, spears, nunchucks, slingshots…you know, old-school weapons. It gives the smaller guy at least a chance to make the fight spectator-worthy.”
“You, my girl, are a genius. You helped me solve my two biggest problems in five minutes. I can’t wait to hear your opinions on how to deal with Judge Lowry!”
“I’m already working on that, don’t you worry. Now show me why you’re the only man to lead this town,” she said, pulling him into the back bedroom.
Sheriff Johnson always called the shots, and he was proud of that, but he would admit that his girlfriend came up with some good points when he was stumped.
* * * *
He woke up early and spent a few minutes at the town library after feeding the prisoners. He was hoping to find a book on Roman gladiator-type weapons.
He had made it a point from the very beginning to keep the library open and free to every citizen. A small number of proceeds collected for the town on trade days were funneled towards that project, and many others.
All money and goods were distributed by the city council, and detailed hand records were to be kept by its most veteran member, for inspection anytime by the Sheriff, Judge, and town Mayor. He kept the aging librarian on staff, paying her mostly in food, and she kept the library open for business hours every day but Monday.
He was surprised at how many people were sitting around reading books by natural sunlight, most sitting close to a window, and several doors were propped wide open on this beautiful spring day.
Without going into detail, he
