Six #3
Eventually, I just wrote up a sign that said Leave Town and used one of the knives I found, after retrieving my own, to pin it to Sorez' body, which I hung off the front door.
That done, I popped a couple of cleaning cantrips and decided to mosey on over to the sheriff's office to find out what he knew.
I knew he was involved, based on everything I'd heard, but I honestly had no idea what I was going to do.
It took me a while to find his office; it turned out it was in the center of town, not that far from the mayor's office.
After stopping to get something to drink, I sat down outside across the street for a while and watched the place.
It didn't take long for someone to come running up to the sheriff's office and go inside.
Suspecting that someone had just uncovered my handiwork, I decided to go on inside and see for myself.
"—and there was a note pinned to his body with a dagger, Chaney! It said, 'Leave Town'," I heard as I stepped inside. There was no one in the front room, and the door to what I guess was the sheriff's office wasn't closed all the way, so I didn't have any trouble listening.
"Dammit, I told that idiot to stay outta trouble! What about the others?"
"I didn't go inside! I came right here!"
"Anyone else know?"
"Abe was there, and so were Hanks and Pat. Abe said he was leaving. I told him to wait for you, but he refused."
"And the other two?"
"I didn't wait around to find out."
"All that trouble I go to, and the idiot gets himself killed. Well, let's go look at the wreckage."
I stepped back out quietly and moved away from the door. I gave it a five count, then headed into the office. The sheriff was coming around the counter, headed for the door, just as I was about to step in.
"Whatever it is, it can wait. I got a situation," the sheriff said.
I stepped out of the way and let the sheriff and the other guy walk by, then decided to follow along.
"What do you think you're doin'?" Sheriff Chaney said when he noticed me after I'd been following them for a couple of minutes. Sorez' place wasn't that far away, so we were more than halfway there.
"I wanted to ask about work and the like," I said with a shrug. "Heard this was a quiet place. Figured I'd ask on the walk back."
"Work? What kind of work?"
"Oh, I was a deputy for a small town, Wetzel, closer to the city than this."
"That's a ways from here."
"Yup, it is," I said, nodding, happy that I'd remembered some of the towns from the last time I'd looked at a map.
"You get fired?"
"New sheriff, new deputies. You know how it is."
"He retire?"
"Died, actually." I shook my head. "Wasn't pretty, either. Got him in his house, at night, while he was sleeping. Nope." I shook my head again.
"Shit," Sheriff Chaney said, looking at Sorez' body.
"Damn, they're here, too?" I said.
Sheriff Chaney and the other guy both looked at me.
"What're you talking about?" Sheriff Chaney asked.
"They did this to us, too. Kind of a warning. The guys that left, they let go. The ones that stayed…" I drew a finger across my neck.
The other guy was backing away slowly as the sheriff looked at me.
"What do you think we'll find inside?"
"Dead bodies. Knifed, shot, torn up?" I shrugged. "It'll be bloody. They like blood. That is, if it really is them."
"Who's them?"
"The Bander-Meinhoff gang," I said, pulling a random name of a nasty group from my distant past.
The other guy took off running at that point.
"I better go and look," he said, turning around. "What the hell? Where'd he go?"
"Ran off that-a-way," I said, pointing.
The sheriff swore and went up to the door, opening it carefully. Sorez' heavy body moved with it.
I followed him inside. He was looking around.
"Try looking in the office," I told him. "You'll find them in there."
He spun around, reaching for his pistol, but I already had mine out and pointed at his head.
"Don't," I warned him. "Getting shot really pisses me off. That idiot put a hole in my jacket, and now I gotta buy a new one."
"What do you want?"
"The cannery idea? It's a good one, so we're moving in and taking over."
"Hey, that was my idea! You can't do that!"
"Chaney, the only reason I haven't already put a bullet in your head is because it's bad for the townsfolk to see their sheriff all dead and stuff. So here's what you're going to do. You go home, you pack up, and you leave a letter on the door that you've resigned, and you're not coming back."
"Why would I do that?"
"Because if you're still in town when the sun goes down, you won't be when it comes back up," I said, grinning at him. "Promise."
He growled at me.
"Next time, don't hire idiots, and don't go killing and beating folks. That causes word to get 'round real quick. Now—" I motioned towards the door with the pistol "—go."
He went.
I left after he was gone and asked around to find an undertaker.
I gave him half the money I'd found, told him where the bodies were, and asked him to take care of them.
Then I found a carriage for hire and paid for a ride back to the church.
It was getting late now, and I had missed lunch, so I was very much looking forward to dinner.
"Will! Is everything okay?" Lillis said, coming up to me and giving me a hug as I walked into the church.
"It is now," I said, smiling down at her, and shifted into my champion form, making her smile.
"Oh, before I forget!" I dug out all the money I'd gotten today, well, what was left.
"This is from the newly deceased. I don't know if it'll make 'em rest any easier, but I thought I'd donate what was left of their proceeds to the church.
While I don't know about that Boss Sorez idiot, I wouldn't be surprised to learn the others were just too easily led and too stupid to understand how much bad they were enabling.
" I handed her the sack. "Oh, and here's some stuff I found that you might find of interest."
"Care to come back to the room?"
"Just as long as we don't miss dinner," I said with a purr.
"I'll make sure they call us."
"Then let's."