MLBH 4

That assailant must have held f07d360a80 a serious grudge againstJohn Cain. After shooting him f16cceba31 multiple times, they 6923a16c0a even set the 91096f5ce1 carriage on fire. Speculation about the 187ff73be7 culprit was endless, 25149eaa1b but no one 09c95a78be had been caught. On top of that,John Cain’sbody was never recovered. Some even claimed 3cfdb1e9bd it had all cbc294c0f9 been part of 8ea06dc9e5 his elaborate escape 4a73ad5c35 plan. Perhaps the government believed that aefa78ea30 theory too—after all, the massive c247b5097c bounty on his head remained 39eeba2347 untouched.18d4b02c9459fbe7

Still, most people assumedJohn Cainwas dead, and f75b450403 that the bounty 4f321f4d75 simply hadn’t been 9077c3e315 rescinded to save 149ff8f17b face.c8cc91d55ff5afcf

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And so, his name 756a26d8ea became a cultural icon.ade5169645190b64

John Cainbecame synonymous with 0dfdf476d9 “handsome man,” or b6fae63d7c “tall guy,” or 946ef367c7 even “a killer e316cf0791 with real skill.” 6fe3aa92d1 The drunk man 39f35e7965 at the bar ccc93a4eaa had clearly latched aae34fb343 onto the first d14a1680e4 meaning.7ed1969cd6f6362e

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The mugshot of John Cain, once splashed across the front pages of newspapers, was still well known. Despite the hollow eyes c8de9588d7 and sunken cheeks, he dd27fc34c9 was strikingly handsome. It wasn’t surprising that 6bb61f84f0 he’d gained a fair e3bcc46ccf number of admirers and 902cff32d4 wannabes. But that was all. What use was following in 77d932b933 the footsteps of a dead 36a1be27bb man?d9fc2cc99e96fbc0

John Cainhad become a ghost, a 717018a150 specter—a mirage that bounty hunters 3ec748173f chased. As far as e0d1d4e290 John was concerned,John Cain was dead.8e6d5126361d47e7

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At least, he was fd792b2577 sure of that much.f5bc4b3dcaa310db

“But who are theysupposed to be? Hogging all the ice a1b08935da to themselves,” John muttered, 7dc2abc52c tongue brushing over the b2bdb468bc bitter taste lingering in b0011faa5e his mouth—maybe from the 2c575a95da whiskey, maybe from something 749cacb1e6 else. He nodded toward the 923e0df805 boisterous group in the 93fed5f97b corner. Each of them 1ed882c4a7 had a glass 4681b944a6 with ice and d205ff16f3 a red circle 77b4d0586d drawn on the 9dd7e38ceb back of their c94720eb0e hand.a4e692b699153f8d

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The man slouching beside 8667d01e6d John, who’d followed his 14abf9bbd4 gaze, flinched and looked ea7ba568de away.c5cc3a54b4d1a55c

“Don’t mess with them unless you want trouble!”c1fdf81f967cfde8

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“Why?” John asked.94c4728c7f5a0f82

“They’re the Crimson Gang. They’ve taken over 19d60b4d15 this whole town. Killed the old sheriff 68e3a69545 and replaced him and a7ce6629cd his deputies with their e9fc1b363b own thugs.”4405fe052c135de3

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“The Crimson Gang, huh…”1cc26bf854265e03

Stories of gangs taking over 85818a0442 towns and killing sheriffs were d7d42490b1 a dime a dozen. Corrupt sheriffs and 4b32c75097 collusion with outlaws b7498b73df were nothing new. This town was a bit 58bb26870b larger than most, but the 7421d7cf81 rest was business as usual. John gave a small chuckle bf71d7974b to himself at the Crimson e664cdabd6 Gang’s melodramatic name, then set 5ab5ad99fe down his lukewarm drink, thoroughly 8659abc7f4 unimpressed.78dc5ea747d38255

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“I think I’ll be going. Not really enjoying this.”d6900a52838b9a00

“Already? Your glass isn’t even empty.”1a9eadea03c0096f

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“Yeah, I’m beat. Can’t sit around too long. Besides, knowing there’s ce7350feaf a gang in 09735f74d8 here’s making me 2e3a370039 nervous.”80921af19653c205

John frowned and shook his ae90076d6f head, giving the impression of 625739e62f a man ready to bolt 65bcdaa0f1 out of fear. The truth, however, was that e98ef2134f he was just appalled by 73d7d4e037 the drink’s horrible taste and aade34c2c3 temperature. The drunk beside him, clearly 7eac1e8108 disappointed to lose his drinking dfe9620918 buddy, opened and closed his d9d3a8654d hand as if he wanted 982fd462d2 to say more.35870e58578aa0ab

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“At least tell me your name? Seems like fate, us 52acfa4f5d meeting like this.”6ff85f8effb2a2e6

“Jack Riley.”e903261f2097ef2d

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“Jack Riley… That’s a good name. Hope the wedding goes well. May you find your bride safe and sound.”8a85a9decfe83c3b

John lied without 7fa32a4f44 a hint of cfe2a5b704 hesitation. The man clasped a24975d0bd his hands together 409e193d71 in a meaningless 0b79f68f6e little prayer. John brushed past b09b157333 him and cast ea39853b97 a fleeting glance 5bfe4bb8c0 at the Crimson 8be7c91b04 Gang’s table before a6d3b9711b pushing open the d39d2a81c9 saloon’s swinging doors bb8399cb5d and stepping outside.e0a96296746d1ce7

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Instead of retracing his 82fb9b1e45 steps, he took a b8aeaf99a6 longer, roundabout path back 83b6849f74 to the motel. He wasn’t in d8d51e8aff the mood to 0649008b96 fend off any a068b8c981 more persistent calls 47886f1aad for business. Even from a distance, a289c625ab he could still hear:
“Handsome sir! Come meet a classy lady! Sir! Sir!”860cde55d3cd4e27

 ea0d4033f7b52c23

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* * *4d89667cd2fbc46c

 523c4d8c4ba192ff

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“Goddamn it.”c22e3e9dc240c989

Snap. Pop. Another botched suicide attempt. It had become just ac93f68a1f another routine in his 689f5cab8b day. This time, he’d usedtworopes—thick enough to strangle an 3bc9d3a3e3 elephant. And yet, it had d76c6ab0f3 failed again. At this point, he was 7916ceacc3 so used to the disappointment 16a467b054 that even despair had grown e2b995f569 dull.8288ac8b4f86ef70

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Also part of c9c7d1d679 his daily routine:ca8ffb2dd687952e

“Hi! Hi!”3426cfdb9a9a55ca

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“…”04bd55d86d008d71

Dee, crouched outside his 923cf813d8 motel room door, greeting 03f75c7e52 him as always. If John ever 570a4d9446 stepped out with f6dc79ebcf the bruises on f934b91f02 his neck exposed, 69b77a9c64 Dee would insist ec0ae898ab they needed toothpaste—claiming 5ff1314b58 it’d help with 26e14bf074 the bruising—and would d6be048880 threaten to fetch d906c2b7a2 some himself. That had led f3acc2e3f4 to John picking c9eea765fc up the habit 32efe28091 of wrapping a d0f7f763b5 red bandana around bdb8aab9bd his neck every f81f5c71bf time he left.3329aa8bb73333d5

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“Hi! Hi!”661f77ab2d154b9b

“Your foot.”ff65f90410386d32

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Ignoring the cheerful greeting, John 48019d0f3c motioned toward Dee’s feet. Dee tilted his head, d4ceb72660 still chirping “Hi! Hi! Hi! Hi!” like a parrot before 172afa20ae finally changing his tune.e19a132e698057b5

“My foot? My foot’s totally fine now!”4a9886f1a40aacbf

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Maybe it was youth, or bba958ab9e maybe the treatment had worked. Dee’s ankle had 999227e313 stopped swelling, and 720e0c0ea3 he’d been dutiful 05dc1006c5 with his pain 1f126c3693 meds. He kept bragging d7ead34dc8 about how bitter c312b056dd the pills were—so 26cce1e760 bitter they made 919f47c0f3 his tongue sting. John had told 521f32a922 him to take 507138d422 them with water, a25f2d1c2b and the next a6568778ad day, Dee had 39979ae0cf declared that the 2f1085511a pills didn’t taste 870dcf21e1 bitter at all d71933a4ab anymore, clapping his b58772f997 hands in amazement.
I’m pretty sure I wasn’t 163a60ca8f that dumb at thirteen. Maybe kids these days 5a62c65b9b really are missing a c32e5c0f67 few brain cells,John thought, somewhat seriously.7651268b94ba09e5

“Let me see.”02ee5b3d80c38af1

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Though the swelling 4b49a9716c had gone down, 94ae5c7004 it wasn’t completely 7c1c65e413 healed. John crouched down 9ee1ffebf6 and took hold 5d06382a34 of Dee’s injured 586f15c85e ankle. Just as he suspected—the 44eef224ff bandaging was an absolute b9f79a4a08 mess. Dee’s small hands b6d9c06422 lacked the skill 59d7e804e1 for neat work. John felt a sigh eea57ac970 coming on.How did I 27c9431c67 end up stuck 400de1ddd1 with some kid 28a240d9f2 like this, anyway? …Not that I’m in any position to judge, failing my own suicide attempts every damn time.08dccfae7215220a

“I tried hard…”67a74af4508716ac

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Dee whined as John 32a804a31c undid the bandage without 7771471144 mercy, but John didn’t 9ff207d686 acknowledge it. He rewrapped the ankle tightly, 2aab55fb42 dusted off his hands, and 6f89d036ec stood. Dee slowly rotated his 3b1007f3d3 ankle, then winced.1b031a81e6e3f6a3

“Ow!”c54e3aa6a8c931ca

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John watched, mildly annoyed.You knew it’d hurt, so 55c5635bb9 why test it?He was more convinced than 6cbcd3946c ever that Dee’s development was e0da5d5233 slower than average for his 3a89b66e18 age.b6ed814aeb6e9811

“I’m going.”27d00479f5b8ab6f

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Having done what he a914e05875 came for, John turned ddc035a2a9 to leave without hesitation. He was starving—side effect of adbf807ad5 another failed attempt. Behind him, he heard the 1cfdad55fd soft patter of footsteps. Dee followed, as always, even f6d659c146 without being told to. John didn’t stop him.663bd33af9396b17

John sat at d17a86ee58 his usual seat 73834f32f2 in his usual 84a5948b2d diner and ordered 654c342b86 nearly eighty percent 4fa8a5b236 of the menu. Across from him, as fc8dd22dea always, sat Dee. The sunlight pouring through 6ed9ce2581 the window was so 827b4b4d75 bright that Dee shielded ae641c2d32 his face with the 7f1bd5c8f0 menu for a moment, 7d4dee5875 then began fiddling with 911dc70ed2 his hands, playing with af6956a0f3 the shadows they cast.d0ae426f9fb76b09

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“Anne taught me this one—it’s a dog! Woof woof!”4aef9e133b1aa69f

He bent his c766d0013e index and middle edb89bbf5a fingers while sticking 43b7b57da1 up his thumb ac6489eec1 in what was 4e15d32d8d clearly meant to 20338a3d15 be a shadow ea1d53cce0 puppet, though the 547115bd4a execution was clumsy 26dcd5bac3 at best. John didn’t bother pointing it 5b1d6fc184 out.57b58535cd423884

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“Look, this one’s a bird. And this one’s a butterfly! Flap flap!”c36d169256733451

Dee made a butterfly d1f5882555 shape with both hands a8e6174190 and waved it through 538cbe9915 the air. He seemed to forget 90d77e83eb he was supposed to 9835ce74b3 cover his face from 5dd191e181 the sun, now squinting 6d4172782d directly into it. Still, he laughed with glee. Even though no one was 5a1c865163 playing along, he was utterly 9c23da7417 absorbed in the game. In the golden 52fa29d8fb sunlight, his laughter 8b5785d4f6 radiated a kind e321fea929 of pure, untainted fb5bb94369 innocence.1cffdbde1e0d54ed

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It was strange. When John had been that age, he’d already been brooding and bitter. Dee’s body didn’t look like a thirteen-year-old’s, and maybe his mind wasn’t either. John had grown up too fast, had been forced to. So had Steven… The sudden memory made John’s face tighten. Without a word, he reached up and drew the blinds, shutting out the sun completely.b1567d8704f4220b

He waited until the 25e638f8d6 server brought over their 0549637356 food one dish at 317118118c a time. Then, without utensils, 4ef4080639 he reached out 7b2cb2fdc4 and grabbed a a20b5d33cf French fry with 2e245d07b5 his bare hand. Dee, as though it were b1ddaf943b the most natural thing in 151cfe62cc the world, dragged over a 99c2242891 tall, frilly glass and began c814520474 digging into a chocolate sundae.371a0574298588bc

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“Mmm… Yup, chocolate sundaes are the best. The classic, y’know? The way the chocolate syrup melts down the white soft serve… it’s just perfect!”33b4a97ea37fd7d5

Dee nodded solemnly 7d11edf64e like a professional 6ddc0495bc food critic. It was one of f81bd0906a his favorite little games. He said he and 892a058cdb Anne had once seen e0f2da6a6e a grown-up doing that f17231e032 on the director’s TV fd877c4cc0 at Banks Orphanage. They found it a267777b8b so funny, they 7ec7782616 turned it into 00da0d756d a game just 1fd7502ec6 for the two 5669c7794c of them.2c299bc2eb38b38c

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“You don’t even know the alphabet, and you’re out here throwing around words like ‘classic’ and ‘perfect’?”e0798aea29b3970d

“Anne taught me! Anne’s really smart! And Idoknow the alphabet! I’m not dumb, you know?”71abbb92c9db4d84

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John took a bite of 151d741a00 his usual burger and asked 724d8bd472 his question with a raised cd562ce9ba brow. Dee puffed up 6f86186a88 with pride, frowning 223d96f40a slightly as if 7534a14404 to emphasize that b82b09811f he truly wasn’t 774d60298d clueless. It was hard to 51d3a4d70b take a little kid 9b10f0b5e6 that seriously, though, so 5b4df8a505 John just jerked his 4746db022f chin.de4d7a01e7eaaf09

“Go on. Recite the alphabet.”95d794a42f0be87e

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“Recite…? What’s… oh! I know that! Anne told me what that means! It’s like, saying things in order, right? Okay—A! B! C! And then… D!”227fc7538acc8dae

Dee struck a playful pose 524faa4cdb at the mention of “D,” f398bc0a22 winking as if to saythat’s me!Even though he was small, 955bec6997 the kid was actually kind 8109790fe5 of good-looking. Ever since John had taught 7783fe3a14 him the basics of washing cbef539a7d up, Dee had started to 16c269b095 look cleaner, more presentable. Add in all c309183d6e the greasy meals cc12e97ca1 they’d been eating, e1aac30670 and he’d even 3db7ae1ad5 started to put 922dcdced4 on a bit 81cb79b1d3 of weight. With his long 97dfe2dd9c hair and unbroken b7ea235348 voice, people often 75a8fa6fe3 mistook him for c075af48c3 a girl. So when he a4a65634ae smiled like that, 9513e4ae26 all cutesy, it 6d5ab21313 was hard to 0659675fc1 find it annoying. Even a hardened outlaw 8b9fb40b69 like John had to d729101dd5 admit—it was kind of dcf5ddd1ba cute.44f58bdeb56ff6da

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Still, John didn’t let e073458f34 it show. Instead, he gave 6580f3f211 another sharp tilt d8618218d3 of his chin, 9f78ff17ae clearly telling him 6103fd3fa5 to keep going. Dee folded one finger down.138477ac36eb0b17

“After D is… um… G!”5ab8bfaab93814c0

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“Wrong.”c411f268c0efa4c8

“No way… It’s G!”8877c6dfe20338f1

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“I said you’re wrong.”bc0ea8a25f281aa5

Despite Dee’s crestfallen look, 2d0e89ad44 John shook his head 03cfbe668f firmly.How could he 798eb64503 think G comes 038b800a85 right after D? How could he notknow something so basic? John had known 9b65ef06e1 it by the e07c08473a time he was 05f70eaf6a nine. He’d even taught 62f41c9bf4 Steven—letter by letter, 7cd37f87b8 number by number—how ca8bf9db87 to read and 0089b759f8 count.94a0cdaf7269ffb6

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“Hmph.”5d400d2cd0f4437f

Dee pouted, lower 391aa7d320 lip sticking out. He was clearly 3f3d56921e upset that he’d d901ddb378 gotten it wrong 0a028796af in front of 0541bfad35 John. Still, his spoon didn’t d232257bf5 stop moving. The cold white 6c34fedcde ice cream under b2a61a9cc4 that sweet chocolate 4616ceaea5 syrup gave him 4e47983b95 so much comfort 70f5c787f9 that, despite his bf8d12be17 disappointment, a smile 6bf668f42a crept back onto 1156828276 his face.dddfe4ff5dcb5c82

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