Shoot Angel! (11 page)

He spotted an alley ahead and
went into the darkness. Guns were still firing
. He heard a bullet clunk into
the wood of the building to his right. White splinters of timber
showered him. Angel ran on, stumbling in the darkness. He reached
the far end of the alley, turned, and saw dark figures framed in
the opening at the far end. Red flickers of flame darted into life.
Gunshots rang heavily in the confines of the narrow alley. Angel
ducked low, took out one of the other guns, and loosed off a volley
of shots. The dark shapes melted away from the mouth of the alley,
cursing wildly, but not before one of their number went down
howling in agony.

Angel turned along the littered
back
lots.
He moved fast, almost without purpose, and it was with a certain
amount of surprise that he found himself crouching in the shadow of
Liberty’s jail.

As his fingers fed fresh loads
into the chambers of his guns Angel
’s mind was working overtime. Perhaps he
hadn’t just arrived here at the jail by pure chance. Maybe his
subconscious had guided him. After all, the jail was at the center
of this mess. This was where Cranford and Sherman ran their little
racket from. So maybe this was where Angel should concentrate his
attention. It was a damn good place to hide!

Angel moved swiftly along the
side of the jail. As he reached the street frontage he hugged the
shadows. Far up the street he could see men moving back and forth.
He took a look up at the jail. The boardwalk was empty. Oddly the
door stood
partway open. Angel climbed up on to the boardwalk. He
stepped quickly to the door, pushed it further open and peered into
the office. It looked the same as the last time he’d been in the
place.

Except for one thing.

The last time Angel had been in
the place, Liberty
’s Sheriff Phil Sherman had been standing beside the big
desk, assisting Judge Cranford.

Sherman was in the office
again. But he wasn
’t standing beside his desk this time. He was on the floor
beside the desk, hunched over in an ungainly sprawl. And he was
quietly bleeding all over the floor. The blood was coming from a
large, pulpy hole in his left shoulder. It didn’t take a genius to
see that the hole had been caused by a bullet. Which meant that
Sherman had been shot. But why—and by whom?

Angel closed the jail door and
locked it. He also slid home the heavy bolts provided. Then he
began to check the jail from one end to the other to see if there
was anyone else in the building. His search proved fruitless. The
cell area was deserted. While he was back there Angel made sure
that the jail
’s rear door was well and truly secured. Then he returned
to the office, put down his guns and went to see what he could do
for Sherman.

‘
It
was Cranford! Double-crossing bastard! He would have killed me,
Angel! Christ, he
will
kill
me if he gets a chance! I tell you, he’s crazy! All because
of that money we found in Harry Culp’s saddlebags!’

‘
You
figure that’s why he shot you, Sherman?’ Angel asked. ‘Because of
the money? He wants it all?’

Sherman groaned softly as Angel
finished tying the crude bandage over the ragged bullet wound.
Angel had done what he could to stop the bleeding and clean up the
wound. Luck had been on Sherman
’s side. The bullet had gone clean through
his shoulder without touching a bone or major nerves.

‘
That
and the fact I wanted to finish what we got ourselves into. Look,
Angel, I was over my head. Cranford was greedy and getting greedier
all the time. Even when I told him I’d found out who you were he
just laughed it off. Said it was nothing to worry about. He figures
he could get us off the hook even if we killed you.’ Sherman, his
bald head gleaming in the lamplight, stared at Angel. ‘Listen,
Angel, we ain’t going to get out of here alive! Cranford will tear
this place apart to get at us.’

‘
He
can try,’ Angel murmured. He stood up and crossed the office to
inspect the rifles in the rack on the wall behind Sherman’s
desk.

Sherman had struggled to his feet. He moved
slowly to sag heavily into his chair. He watched Angel prowling
restlessly around the office.

‘
No
way out, Angel,’ he said. ‘All the money in the world and it won’t
do us a damn bit of good!’

Angel spun on his heel.
‘What do you
mean?’

A frown creased
Sherman
’s
drawn face. Then he grinned, showing his large teeth.

‘
You
wouldn’t know! I hadn’t realized.’ He leaned forward. ‘Over there
in the corner. In that safe!’ Sherman almost crowed with delight at
his revelation. ‘All the goddamn money Cranford and me took is in
that safe. Including the pile we got from that Culp
feller.’

Angel stood before the safe and
studied it. A squat, heavy shape, painted dark green and bolted to
the floor. Thick metal strong enough to withstand most attempts at
forced entry. Fixed in a central position on the door was a
combination lock. Angel stared at the safe angrily. Its presence
guaranteed trouble. If what Sherman had said was true, and that
safe held a substantial amount of
cash, then a visit from Cranford was more
than likely. Angel felt like kicking himself. Of all the places in
Liberty he had to go and choose this one!

‘
How
did the shooting happen?’ Angel asked, rounding on
Sherman.

The lawman scowled as he remembered.

‘
I
went over to his house so we could talk. He suggested we come here.
I started to get a feeling something was wrong. Cranford was too
damn ready to agree with every word I had to say. Time we got in
here I was real jumpy. Cranford, he starts getting edgy. Next thing
I know he pulls a gun. About the same time he pulls the trigger I
heard a lot of shooting up the street.’

‘
I
guess that was me,’
Angel admitted.

‘
Yeah?
Well, it put Cranford off. He hit me in the shoulder and I went
down. He must have figured he’d killed me. Just ’fore I passed out
I heard him run out of here. Next thing I know you turn
up.’

‘
When
Cranford can’t find me out there he’s going to be coming back for
his money. Who has the combination?’

‘
Who
do you think,’ Sherman growled. ‘Cranford. It was his idea to use
that safe to keep our money in. Hell, we couldn’t go putting it in
the bank. Cranford figured the jail was the safest place to keep
it.’

Angel crossed to the barred window and stared
up the street. Even as he stood there a bunch of armed men appeared
from the shadows further along and moved in the direction of the
jail.

‘
Any
minute now Cranford’s going to find this jail safer for his money
than he ever imagined,’ Angel said.

‘
Now
wait a minute, Angel,’ Sherman protested. ‘Are you figuring to
stand him off?’

‘
Well
I’m not opening the door and asking him in,’ Angel replied. He
moved over to the rack of rifles. ‘You got the key to
this?’

‘
No!’
Sherman said too quickly.

Angel moved to the desk and dragged open
drawer after drawer until he found a bunch of keys on a large ring.
His third attempt opened the padlock securing a thin chain looped
through the trigger guards of the rifles. Angel chose a couple of
Winchesters. He had spotted boxes of cartridges in one of the desk
drawers. Angel tipped one out on the desk and quickly loaded both
rifles. As soon as the job was done Angel crossed to the window
again, leaning the rifles against the wall.

‘
Goddamn!’ Sherman exploded. He half-rose from his seat.
Sickness rose in his throat and he fell back, groaning from the
pain in his shoulder. He was silent for a time. Then he said: ‘You
can’t do this, Angel! It’ll get us both killed!’

‘
What
do you expect me to do? Throw him his money—if I could get it out
of the damn safe! Get something straight, Sherman. I’m involved in
this mess now, so I play it by my rules. I could go through the
routine of telling you how I’m empowered legally to take over the
law in this town. But I don’t have the time. One thing I can tell
you—as from now you just resigned as Liberty’s sheriff. You’re in
custody. So is the money in that safe. And I don’t hand over
anything in my charge. Before I found my way in here I managed to
get a telegraph message to my people in Washington. They know all
about the mess this town’s in and they’re sending help.’

‘
What
the hell do you expect Cranford to do? Stand and wait? Jesus,
Angel, he’ll shoot us full of holes before he rides off with his
money!’

Angel smiled.
‘First he has to
get to it.’

‘
You
don’t know Amos Cranford like I do. He’s a crafty son of a bitch. I
tell you, Angel, he’ll find a way in to us!’

‘
Let
me worry about that,’ Angel said, and returned to the
window.

He spotted Cranford first. The man was
standing in a pool of yellow lamplight, in the act of stepping up
on to the boardwalk outside the jail.

Angel raised the catch on the window and
silently pushed it open.

‘
I
was you, Cranford,
I wouldn’t come any higher!’

Cranford stopped, head jerking to one side,
eyes narrowed as he stared in the direction of the voice.

‘
Phil,
that you?’

‘
It’s
me, Cranford, Frank Angel. You want something?’

Silence. Angel could almost put
himself in Cranford
’s place. His mind ticking over, evaluating the new set of
circumstances. Figuring a way so that things came out in his
favor.

‘
Son
of a bitch!’ Cranford said with great relish. ‘All right, Mister
Justice Department Angel, what do you want?’

‘
I’d
be satisfied with you and your hired guns in these empty
cells.’

‘
Go to
hell, Angel!’ A harsh voice hurled out of the shadows behind
Cranford. It was easily recognizable. Trench—the boss of the
prison.

‘
Trench, shut up!’ Cranford snapped. To Angel he said:
‘Angel, you know what’s in that safe? It’s mine and I’m not leaving
Liberty without it.’

‘
Appears to me you’ve got yourself a problem
then—Judge!’

‘
No,
boy, the problem’s yours. You’re alone, in my town, and you don’t
stand a chance!’

‘
I’ll
take it the way it comes,’ Angel said. ‘Cranford, you know damn
well I’ve been in touch with my people in Washington. I’m not going
to be alone for long!’

Cranford laughed at
that.
‘Pure
horseshit, Angel, and I’m not fool enough to panic over it. We’re a
long way from anywhere. It’s going to be days before they can get
help to you. How’re you figuring on staying alive that
long?’

‘
Don’t
know any better, Judge. Nobody ever taught me about
quitting!’

A low moan came from Phil
Sherman. He struggled clumsily to his feet, knocking over his
chair.
‘Christ, Angel, I never figured on anything like this! He’s
got us boxed in good and tight! You can’t hold out against that
bunch!’

‘
We’ll
find out one way or another,’ Angel remarked.

‘
Angel!’ Cranford yelled. ‘You got Phil Sherman in there
with you? Is that bastard still alive?’

‘
He’s
alive,’ Angel confirmed. ‘You’re one hell of a lousy shot,
Cranford. But I’m grateful. See, Sherman’s so mad at you he’s
making a full confession. Putting it all down on paper. Every
detail of every dirty trick you pulled. It’ll make good evidence
for your trial!’

‘
Trial? What damn trial, Angel? Not mine. I’ll see you in
hell first!’

‘
Damn
you, Angel, we’ll never get out of here alive,’ Sherman groaned.
‘What did you want to go and mention a trial for?’

‘
Because that’s what Cranford’s heading for,’ Angel
said.

‘
No
chance,’ Sherman replied. His face paled abruptly. ‘You’ve got to
get me out of this, Angel. It’s your job to see I don’t get
killed!’

Sherman spotted the cold
expression that drifted across Angel
’s face too late. He tried to step back,
but Angel’s right hand, palm open, caught him across the side of
the face. The sound of the blow was loud in the office. Sherman
stumbled back, biting back any words ready to spring from his lips.
He realized how close he’d come to getting himself killed by the
very man who might save him.

‘
I
was you, Sherman,
I’d be careful what I said,’

Angel warned.
‘Seems to me you
could have been thinking along those lines when you let Harry Culp
die.’