Zooey Pinkerton- a Daughter's Right Page 6

  Joshua balled his fists in anger. “You still drinking?”

  “Barely. The drink causes too many problems. Obviously the men chosen to protect this ranch were substandard. I always knew Tom was substandard, but I guess that's why it took a woman to finally best him.”

  “Shut up!” Joshua yelled at Jack. “I'm taking you in, Josh….or is it Jack now? You ran away from your family and changed your identity too?”

  Jack Duncan laughed. “Jack it is, my boy. Old Josh Duncan is gone with the wind. Jack Duncan, on the other hand, is a very powerful man. Do you really think once you have me in custody, I’ll stay there?”

  “If I have my way, you will.”

  Jack made a “tisk tisk” sound in his throat and grinned. “So much defiance - and so much like your mother that way. But we all know how her defiance ended.”

  “She wasn't killed by robbers or Indians, was she?” Joshua asked quietly, already knowing the answer.

  “No, she wasn't, but it gave me a chance to get away and start fresh. Gave me a chance to become someone important…someone with power! Look at all this, Joshua. Look at how easy it was to take this from someone.”

  “You had no right!” Zooey said, unable to stay quiet. Her anger took away any pain she felt in her arm. She even managed to stand up and face the real man responsible for her father's death.

  “I had every right child. Your father owed me money and a debt is always paid.”

  “You had no right to his life!”

  Joshua placed on hand on Zooey's good shoulder. “Enough, Zooey. He's not worth your breath. Let the law deal with him.”

  While Jack, Joshua and Zooey talked, Tom opened his eyes and listened. He was not as badly wounded as he had led them all to believe. Instead, he lay there, formulating a plan to kill two birds with one stone. If he shot Jack, then Tom figured he would have all the power. If he were quick enough to shoot the Sheriff as well, then his men would be distracted long enough for him to escape… and perhaps take Zooey with him. He slowly moved his hand to his side, where his pistol was sheathed. Carefully, Tom scanned the men in front of him. Franklin was watching Jack and Joshua. Even though his weapon was on Tom, his attention was elsewhere.

  Zooey blinked. A slight movement had caught her attention. She was sitting back down now, holding her wounded arm. I thought you were unconscious?

  Unaware that Zooey had discovered him, Tom continued to reach slowly for his weapon. When it was securely in his right hand, he took a deep breath, sat up quickly, and fired. As suddenly as he had gotten up, Tom was forced back onto the floor, his head reeling and a deep burning spreading quickly throughout his chest. His breathing became laboured and his eyes began to cloud over. “No,” he moaned. “Not possible.”

  “What the hell just happened? Is anyone else hurt?”

  At first, no one seemed to notice Jack Duncan as he slid toward the floor. He had been hit. It was the final shot Tom Brennan's weapon would ever make - and it bested one of his intended targets.

  “Josh, your father!” Zooey pointed toward the older man as he slumped to the floor.

  The Sheriff's deputies moved in to contain Jack's men.

  Joshua stood in silence as his father tried in vain to speak. Tom's bullet had lodged deep in his neck and a rapid running stream of blood began to pool in his lap. In a futile gesture, Jack reached an arm up toward Joshua, as if trying to coax the younger man to save him. Jack Duncan's arm dropped suddenly, and a long, gurgling breath escaped his throat. He too was dead. Zooey moaned. She had seen enough death today.

  Joshua turned his back on the dead man and helped Zooey to her feet. “I think you just saved my life… and it looks like you got to avenge your father's death.”

  “I'm sorry about your father, Josh.”

  “I'm not,” he answered coldly. “He was dead to me long ago. He was just a living shell of a man and now the body is dead too.”

  Zooey looked over Joshua’s shoulder at Tom Brennan's crumpled, lifeless body. “I bet he never thought a woman would do him in.” Zooey looked up to the ceiling, her body convulsing as she cried. “I got him Pops. I got the bastard that took you from me. I have the ranch back, too. I put it right.”

  Josh wrapped his arm around Zooey's shoulder and pulled her tight against him. “You certainly did, Zooey. The bounty is yours as well. I'll make sure of that. I'm sure the funds can help get the ranch going again. You'll need some good men out here. For now, let's get than arm looked at.”

  Tears of joy welled up in Zooey's eyes. She had stopped thinking about the bounty long ago, but knew Josh was right. It would help her get the ranch back up and running.

  Joshua gently pushed Zooey to the door and then turned back to direct his men. “Franklin, take charge and clean this up. Get the men to bring this sorry lot into town and lock them up until we can get a judge out here.”

  “Yes sir.”

  Just as Joshua was about to leave, Sarah Sweet stumbled out of the parlour, shaking and crying. Both the men in her life were dead. Her ticket from rags to riches was gone. “Now what do I do? Where's Eddy? Can Eddy bring me home?”

  “Who is Eddy?” Joshua asked Zooey.

  Zooey shook her head, confused. “Another one of your father's men maybe?”

  Joshua sighed heavily before asking one the deputies to scout the grounds, just in case one of the men had escaped.

  “What about Sarah?” Zooey asked.

  “Sarah has to start taking care of herself. Anyway, she’s not my concern right now, you are. Let's get out of here.”

  As Zooey and Joshua walked out into the emerging dawn, a pair of unseen eyes were watching from a distance.

  A rugged, suntanned face broke out into a pearly, white grin. “Jack Duncan's hold on the county is not over yet Sheriff. In fact, it's only just begun.”

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