One more little snippet from my short story for the Roaring 20’s anthology for the library!
Moments later they heard a whoof, closely followed by a much larger boom, and a fireball bloomed down the road. Kurt said, “Alright. Bill, make yourself scarce. Morgan, head back down the line like you were walking the perimeter, and leave the pistol somewhere. Shotgun is fine. I’m going to act like I just woke up, and will only be half dressed.”
Bill replied, “Gimme your spent round from that hand cannon of yours, I’ll take it with me.”
Kurt quickly broke open the Handy-Gun, handed him the spent shell, and put a birdshot round back in the gun. He slid it back in his pack in the bed, and pulled off his boots, setting them on the tailboard. “Good call, Bill. Now, we wait to see who shows up. Remember, we know nothing!”
Morgan grinned. “Gotcha, LT, just like old times.”
Kurt snorted. “At least over there, we knew who the enemy was!”
All three of them laughed, and Bill and Morgan disappeared into the night. Kurt had actually fallen back asleep when he finally heard vehicles grinding up the road to them. He had one boot on when two Model Ts pulled in facing him. A voice beyond the headlights yelled, “Don’t move! Let me see your hands!”
Kurt held his hands up. “What the hell? I was asleep, for God’s sake! What do you want?”
Two deputies came around the trucks, light glinting on their badges and the shotguns they both held. One said, “You’re under arrest! Turn around real slow and put your hands behind your back! Now!”
“Can I at least put my other boot on?”
The deputy’s voice rose, “No! Turn around, asshole or I’ll—”
Morgan’s voice came from behind the headlights, “Boss, I got one over here. What you want me to do with him?”
A quavering voice came from behind the lights, “Deputies, don’t be hasty. Let the man put his boots on.”
Kurt sat back down and quickly pulled his boot on, asking, “What am I supposedly being arrested for?”
The quavering voice said, “Murder! You killed four men down the road.”
“What four men? I was asleep here in my truck until something blew up down the road,” he said, pointing toward Borger. “I have no idea what you’re talking about!” The other deputy turned and Kurt finally recognized him. “What are you trying to cook up now? We ran you off the first time.”
The deputy hissed, “Chief was on his way up here to put an end to your little game. I know you killed him and the others!”
Kurt laughed. “Morgan, did you hear that? This…deputy admitted his boss was on his way up here to end us! If I get arrested, you go fetch Jake Sanchez and get him to telegraph Frank Phillips in Bartlesville!”
“Will do, Boss.”
Another truck pulled in behind the two Model Ts, and McMurtrie drawled, “Got an issue here, Boss?”
“Yeah, I’m supposedly being arrested for killing somebody that was on his way to put an end to our game, which I’m sure likely included killing me and Morgan.”
“Well, ain’t that special. Mebbe we’ll escort you to the jail house just to make sure nothing happens to you. Morgan, who’s that you got there?”
Morgan said, “No idee. But he was the boss until I stuck my shotgun in his ear, but now I see he’s pretty well dressed. Who you be?”
The slick little man, visibly sweating now, said softly, “Joshua Pierce Edwards. I’m a lawyer…”
Morgan poked him in the head. “For who?”
Edwards moaned, then said, “Mr. Borger.”
Mac drawled, “So, what were you here to do, Mister Edwards?”
“I…I…” Edwards stuttered but didn’t answer. Suddenly he straightened and his voice got stronger. “Deputy, we may have made a…mistake here. I think we should go investigate that wreck down the road. It’s obvious nothing occurred here.”
The deputy turned quickly, “What? But we were—”
Edwards cut him off sharply. “Nothing occurred here. Have you seen anything? No, you haven’t. We will…leave now.”
The deputies glared at Kurt, but backed away. They went to their Model T and left, closely followed by Edwards.
Kurt looked around and finally said, “Well, that was interesting. I think somebody didn’t expect to find us upright and in one piece.”
Mac chortled. “Upright and in one piece? Hell, they were coming up here to finish off anybody left. Bill woke me up and I figgered I might as well come up to see what was goin’ on. Looks like my timing was pretty good.”
Morgan laughed. “Yep, Mac, your timing was perfect. It wasn’t till your headlights hit Mister Edwards that I finally saw him clear enough to sneak up behind him.
(C) 2026 JL Curtis All Rights Reserved
