The Murder of Cherry Creek - Jay Wilson (best novels to read .TXT) 📗

I remembered the look on her face when she suddenly got up and ran to me, burying her face in my chest. She was trembling and began crying. Her eyes, filled with tears
searched upwards slowly until they found mine. She said something bad had happened and she needed to talk to me. Ellie said she was scared to tell me for she feared what I would do. She made me promise that I would not do anything without really thinking about the consequences. Now my imagination was really going wild. Ellie confessed that Tom had come by earlier in the day. I braced myself for the worst. I felt my jaw tighten. I told her to tell me what was wrong.

She said Tom had stopped to talk to me several hours before I had arrived back from Lexington. Ellie told him that I was doing some business in Lexington and wouldn’t be back until the next day. He said he was thirsty and would appreciate a drink of water. She invited him in for some cool water, being he was a good friend of mine. She liked him too. She felt Tom had always been a perfect gentleman and saw no harm in this friendly gesture. He had seated himself at the plank table and friendly conversations between them begin as he sipped the water from his cup. Then Tom started making little comments about if he had a wife like Ellie, he wouldn’t go off and leave her alone so much. The comments became stronger about her being young and probably needing a man more than most women. The conversation had definitely crossed the lines of friendship. She said he had the devil in his eye and was offended. She also became frightened.

Finally Ellie stood up, walked to the door and told him he should leave. Tom stood up and walked toward the now-open door. But instead of leaving, he slammed it shut and grabbed my wife, her pinning her against the wall. He had hold of her arms as he tried to kiss her. His body was rubbing up against hers in a most inappropriate way. I remember thinking to myself, any touching was inappropriate. I remembered how my jaw tightened again. Between sobs, Ellie continued tell me of the attack. It continued a couple of minutes until she managed to get her hand loose and scratched Tom hard across the face. The deep abrasion caused him to back off. Ellie grabbed her wooden rolling pin, raised it to a striking position and ordered him out of the house. She said he was furious and glared at her.

With blood running down his face from the scratch, he exited the house but not before warning her. Tom told her she had best not say anything about what had happened or he would burn our house with us in our bed. He told her that she had better listen to him and had better keep her mouth shut. If she said anything, he would come back and finish his intentions. And she believed him. I thought of how she looked when she told me that she didn’t want to tell me what Tom had done. She was scared of what I would do.

Ellie had indeed been through her own living hell. I remembered when I was sitting on the ridge, watching Tom ride from the house and noticing him having his bandanna held to his face. It didn’t make sense when I first saw it but it did now. My wife had confessed a dark secret of what happened to her. I felt ashamed of when I had thought she was being unfaithful. I didn’t see any need to tell her about my seeing Tom leaving the house or of my misdirected suspicions. Ellie felt bad enough. I remember the look on her face when I told her I was going to see this man of who I thought was my trusted friend. She begged me not to do anything. She told me she would lose me if I did anything to Tom. She was right but I would have my revenge. I told her I would wait until the time was right. I was going to heart to heart talk to him about it and if he was lucky, I would just break his nose. He would pay for his indiscretions.

The next day I went into Cherry Creek to talk to the banker about a loan to help me with the transaction I had made with the army. I was going to need a small sum to finance a couple of men, grub, and fees to move the 40 head of cattle to Fort Cooper, 20 miles to the other side of Lexington. When I was coming out of the bank, I saw Tom just as he saw me. He smiled and asked if I had just got back and how did the bid with the army go. At first I couldn’t speak. Standing in front of me was the same man who had attacked my wife; but now was not the time. I forced a smile and told him about my trip. He looked as if he was happy for me. As we stood on the wooden walkway, it was all I could do not to kill the man right then and there. Tom was laughing and talking like nothing had ever happened in my home; with my wife. This was not the same man, we in Cherry Creek thought we knew. This man was a monster in the worst sense. I wondered if he had done this same deed to any other women in Cherry creek. As I watched him talking, I couldn’t take my eye off the two scratch marks sliding down the left side of his face. Ellie marked him well. I bid him a goodbye and turned to leave. My gut tightened up when he made a remark for me to tell Ellie he said hello.

Yes, the ride back to Cherry Creek gave me plenty of time to think how everything had worked out. Two days earlier I had gone out to confront Tom about Ellie at his ranch. I thought I had this under control better than I did. I was simply going to let him know I knew what happened and that he was never to come around my house or speak to Ellie again. And I wanted him to know he was no longer regarded as a friend. But I did want this one opportunity to give him a piece of my mind. I didn’t know if I would cuss him, threaten him or hit him. But killing him, my first choice, was not to be considered. I promised Ellie. My wife made sense. If I did what I wanted to, they would hang me from the gallows. As a former lawman, I knew they would catch me. No one gets away with murder. Still I would have my say with the man.

I remember how as I approached the house, I saw Tom and a man arguing out back at the old shack. I didn’t want anyone to see me at the ranch so I hid in the trees. The two men were very loud. I could see Tom shaking his fist at the cowboy and that really made the disagreement heat up. At one point, Tom turned and went into the cabin and the other man followed. I could hear a lot of arguing and then the breaking of glass and furniture. It sounded like a fight had started and things were being broken. My first impulse was to rush in but I was not there as a lawman or … a friend. I waited. Shortly, a cowboy came out of the shack, looked around, and got on his horse. He turned the horse’s head and rode south toward the open range and Lexington. I had recognized Yates as the cowboy when I saw him at the jail. After Yates was gone I rode down and called out for Tom.

As I approached the shack, Tom staggered to the door, looked at me, and then back inside. I dismounted and I followed him inside. His nose was bleeding and looked as if Yates had given him a pretty good beating. He appeared to be in bad shape and unsteady on his feet. He staggered over and sat down. As I looked at the man of who I once trusted with my life, the hate built up and overflowed. I didn’t know if this was the right time or not but we were going to have an understanding. Tom was sitting on a trunk. I had no concern for his welfare. With him there before me, I kept seeing Ellie’s face as she was crying and telling me about what happened. I kept thinking about him forcing his way on my wife. I kept thinking of how Ellie had to feel as this man pressed his body forcible against hers. I kept remembering the look of hopelessness in her sweet face as she told me. It had been bottled up in me for two weeks and I was going to have my say. And he was going to pay heed or face the consequences.

The words flowed freely from my mouth. I told him exactly what Ellie had told me. At first he denied it but when I said I had seen him. He put his eyes down. I told him if I ever spoke to her or to anyone about what had happened, I would kill him where I found him. I had seen the look on his face many times as a deputy sheriff. He raised his eyes to stare into mine. I did not know this person who was here in front of me. I knew what was coming next. I was ready when he came off the truck and straight at me. It was then I saw the flash of the knife. I didn’t see where it came from but the knife’s intention was apparent. This was not the Tom Jacks I had known. This was not the man who had befriended me when first came to Cherry Creek. But this was the same man who attacked my wife and now, who wanted to kill me. I remember blocking the knife and turning it just enough to twist it loose. The weapon fell and I struck Tom with my fist. As he went down, I picked up the knife. As he came up again, I plunged the knife into him to the hilt without giving it a second thought. We wrestled around but I kept the blade buried in his belly. His face turned a deathly white and relaxed. I looked into his eyes as he slowly dropped to the floor. I remember I told him something about this being for Ellie. His face twist a little from the pain and whispered he was sorry.