Clint and Tully poured more coffee and listened to Billy spill whatever he knew about Stoll, the compound, the disciples, and the Kingdom. By the time the boy was finished talking, it was dawn and Clint knew a lot more than he had before.
“All right,” he said, “that was good. Now here’s what I need you to do. I need you to go back there.”
“What?” Billy said. “H-he’ll kill me, have me strung up, won’t he?”
“You just tell him you got inside here and looked around, and you couldn’t find the body anywhere.”
“B-but he’ll wonder why I was away for so long.”
“You tell him we came back while you were here, and you had to hide all night until you could get out. He’ll believe that.”
Billy looked very frightened.
“Billy, he doesn’t know what we talked about tonight,” Clint said. “He’ll think you’re still one of his people.”
“B-but, what do you want me to do then?”
“I just want you to keep
your ears open,” Clint said.
“Can you come and go there?”
“Yessir,” Billy said. “I do odd jobs in town.”
“Okay, then,” Clint said, “if you hear anything you think I should know, you can come and tell me.”
“H-here?” Billy looked around. He still didn’t like being there.
“No,” Clint said, “I’ll be in the hotel down the street. You can come there.”
“Um, okay.”
“Just don’t let Mr. Still know that we talked, and you’ll be fine,” Clint assured him.
“Yessir.”
“Okay,” Clint said, “you can go.”
“Thank you, sir.” Billy got up and walked to the door, then turned. “Thanks for not killin’ me, sir.”
“It was my pleasure, kid.”
Billy went out, closing the door gently behind him.
“You really think you can trust him?” Tully asked. “That he won’t go back there and tell Stoll everythin’ that happened tonight?”
“I think when you told him who I was,” Clint said, ”he got it. He knew Stoll had sent him here to get killed. Yeah, I think we can trust him.”
“Okay,” Tully said, with a shrug, “if you say so.”
“So why don’t we go ahead now and get Aggie buried,” Clint suggested.
“I’m with you.”
~*~
They got Aggie’s casket loaded onto Tully’s grandfather’s hearse, hitched up the two horses, and headed for the cemetery. They drew curious stares as they drove up the street toward boot hill, assuming Stoll would hear about their actions, at some point. They’d probably get a visit from some of his disciples. But they were ready. Clint had his holstered pistol and his rifle, and Tully had a pistol in his belt.
~*~
Albert Stoll woke to the pounding on his door. He disentangled himself from the limbs of the young girl he’d taken to bed with him the night before and got to his feet. She moaned, turned over on her belly, and went back to sleep. She was a skinny thing. He usually liked women with more meat on then, but for some reason she’d appealed to him the night before.
But not this morning.
He leaned over and smacked her hard on the ass.
“Ow!” she cried, coming instantly awake.
“Get dressed,” he said. “You have to go to work.”
Rubbing her butt she turned and looked at him and said, “Yes, Father.”
He went to the door, barefoot and naked, and opened it.
The man there averted his eyes. “Father, it’s happenin’.”
“What’s happenin’, Erskine?”
“They’re takin’ the body to boot hill for burial.”
“Goddamnit!” Stoll snapped. “Get some of the disciples together.”
“Yes sir.”
As the man started away Stoll shouted, “And find Billy!”