Chapter 30 #3
“He took me under his wing,” Ben said, ignoring the jab. “He told me he was going to teach me everything I need to know and that the two of us were going to be rich. I was gullible enough that I believed him. But do you know what actually happened?”
“I don’t care.” Randall was simmering with anger. His knuckles were turning white as he balled his hands into fists.
“I killed a man. An innocent man who didn’t deserve to die.
No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t justify it.
I couldn’t make it all right. It wouldn’t go away, and it never will.
” Ben thrust his hands against the desk, straightening.
He looked down at the man who sired him but didn’t feel a scrap of attachment.
“Is there a point to this?” Randall barked. “Do I need to send you to one of those homes for soldiers? The ones who think they’re still on the battlefield?”
He could mock Ben if he wanted. It would make no difference.
“And now I’m following around another man who thinks he can show me the path to wealth and happiness, but I’m not fooled by you the way I was by Elliot.” It was one triumph he could claim for himself. Ben had changed. He’d learned.
“I know exactly who you are. I know what you’re capable of.
” Ben pointed his finger, letting it hover just a couple of inches in front of Randall’s nose.
“You were the one who refused to deal with Mr. Monroe. You were the one who put Oscar and Hattie in the middle of it. It was your man who shot Mr. Monroe in cold blood. It was your man who killed Father Tillman. It was your man who would’ve killed me if Hattie hadn’t stopped him. ”
“What is this?” Randall snarled. “Are you drunk or something? Hattie killed Oscar. The courts proved it, and she’s been sentenced. There’s no discussion needed.”
“Unlike Hattie, the only sentence I have to serve is the one within my own mind.” Ben nearly choked, thinking about poor Hattie. He had no idea where she was or if she was all right. “What about you, Mr. Davies? When does your punishment come?”
Randall jerked open his top desk drawer and scrambled around inside. Realization slowly dawned on his face as he looked up again and studied the weapon Ben held. His weapon.
“I took it last night,” Ben explained, producing the gun from his holster where it’d been hidden underneath his jacket.
“I wanted to think that perhaps you weren’t as bad as I feared, that you wouldn’t pull a gun on your own son, but you’ve proven otherwise.
As a matter of fact, you’ve proven a lot of things to me over the past year, Mr. Davies. ”
“You’re delusional!” Beads of sweat stood out on Randall’s forehead.
“You were poisoned by the church and that orphanage. You think everyone in the world should just be nice to each other? Well, that’s not the way it works, Ben.
We all eat each other alive and we look out for our own benefit. That’s the truth.”
“So you don’t feel any grief or remorse for what you’ve done? For Hattie, Father Tillman, or even me?” Ben wanted to be wrong, but there was no going back now.
“Not a damn bit,” Randall spat. “I’ve done what I needed to do, and I’d do it all over again if given the chance.”
“Fine.” Ben readjusted his grip. “You don’t feel any reason to regret what you’ve done. I suppose I can understand that, because I won’t regret this.” He pulled the trigger.
Randall slumped forward in his chair, braced by his belly. Blood splattered on the ledger books, mixing with the ink. It was only fitting considering how many people had to die in order for Randall to make that money.
Ben turned to the door and waited for the inevitable.
Chester came racing in. “Boss! What’s going on?” He came to a halt when he saw Ben with the gun.
“What the hell?” Chester said.
Ben had already looked into Chester thoroughly. He’d seen it all and made sure he understood. He knew he was making the right decision. He pulled the trigger twice, sending Chester sagging to the floor.
He removed Chester’s weapon and fired it into the wall behind Randall’s desk before leaving it in the dead man’s hand. Ben placed Randall’s gun in a similar position, making it look as though Randall and his newest enforcer had a disagreement that went too far.
Ben went upstairs to change his clothes. He tossed the bloodied ones in the fireplace as he thought about Father Tillman. He was a criminal who’d gone back to the Lord and become a priest. Ben was going the opposite direction.
A short time later, he went back to the barn to fetch his horse.
His sins were many, and some of them he could never atone for.
Killing Randall was certainly one of them, and he would have to live with it for the rest of his life.
But he would also live with the knowledge that Randall couldn’t hurt anyone again, nor could he direct other men to do so.
It was a small justification, but it would have to do for the moment. Ben swung into the saddle and resumed his morning ride. By the time he visited with the neighbors and got back to the Davies estate, he’d have a convincing alibi.