Justice Or Execution by Kyleigh McCloud

First Runner-Up in the 2024 Saddlebag Dispatches Mustang Award for Western Flash Fiction

Sitting with his back against the wall, Colby squinted across the smoke-filled saloon. His bounty: a man with a large scar on his left cheek, playing five-card stud. He dropped his wishful gaze and pulled a folded-up paper from his pocket. The yellowed paper crinkled as he carefully unfolded the tattered poster and studied the description. Did he locate the murderer in Colorado?

A whiskey tumbler thudded, amber-colored liquid sloshing onto the worn table. His twin sister’s voice startled him. “Is that him—the man who killed our mother?”

“You’ll need to do your part and find out.” Colby shrugged. His blurred eyes remained fixated on the wanted poster. He had memorized the name William Mathias Reed long ago. “Remember the signal, if it’s him.”

Tessie clasped her hand over his and squeezed. “I’ll be fine.”

Her lacey white hem swished against the floor as Tessie threaded through the crowd, occasionally mingling but undeterred. She approached the target. When her slender fingers brushed along the man’s shoulder, acrid bile burned Colby’s throat.

A wary eye on his sister, he folded the poster and replaced it in his pocket.

Several minutes passed. Tessie continued her flirtation through touch and a smile with an occasional feigned laugh. With honey-colored hair and vivid-green eyes, few men could resist her.

The suspect drew another card.

Colby fidgeted.

The target revealed his card hand. A relieved sigh came as the man rose and collected his winnings. Tessie deftly snatched a silver certificate off the table. As she pretended to return it, the currency fluttered to the floor. She leaned over and seized her brother’s intense gaze.

Colby hoisted his glass and gave a slight nod. Tessie’s coquettish wiles seduced William upstairs. He gulped the whiskey, its spicy fire erasing the bitter taste.

Tonight, their father would die.

Heart pounding, Colby set the empty glass on the table. The chair screeched behind him, and he started after his sister five minutes later. He prayed Tessie didn’t need her derringer.

The saloon’s raucous chatter and laughter faded. Colby hugged the wall as the rustle of men and prostitutes passed in the dim hallway. When he reached Tessie’s room, he waited. William’s indistinct voice carried and then silenced, followed by a muffled thud. The door creaked open.

“He’s out,” Tessie said. Colby entered. They forced William’s limp body from the floor onto the bed. While Colby secured the murderer’s arms to the headboard, Tessie collected the broken glass and mopped up the spill on the floor.

An hour later, Colby shook the splayed man and slapped his face a half-dozen times. When their prisoner didn’t stir, he snapped, “How much laudanum did ya give him?”

“He should wake soon.” Tessie pursed her lips and stared through narrowed eyes. She placed her hands on her hips with a huff. “I wanted to give him the entire bottle.”

“I told ya. You don’t want a man’s death on your conscience.”

“And you do?”

William’s head lolled, and he groaned.

Colby slid a hand to his holster. He withdrew his revolver and stood at the foot of the bed, aiming at their no-good, murdering father. His fingers trembled. Shooting a man was different than cans. He swallowed hard and forced his shaky hands to steady.

The prisoner awoke. He stuttered, “Where am I?”

“Your daughter’s room,” Colby replied in an icy tone.

“I don’t have a daughter.” William widened his gaze and appeared to search the room for an answer. He blinked. “The last I remember is playin’ poker and this young pretty thang …”

“Look at her closer. She should seem familiar.”

Tessie approached the bed, her footsteps hesitant. William squinted, and she shuffled alongside the bed. “Eighteen years ago in Dallas you ruined a woman … and soon after she bore twins, she killed herself.”

William paled. “Clara?”

“You shamed our mother that she’d rather be dead than raise her children. And now we’re here to avenge her murder.”

“I-I-I didn’t kill her.”

Colby cocked the hammer, the noise out of place with the brothel’s faint moans and bangs. He clenched his jaw. A gunshot would make people scurry to the room or pursue them. They needed to be ready for a quick getaway.

“Do it,” Tessie ordered.

Colby twisted the gun sideways, his finger on the trigger. William flailed against his bonds and pleaded for them to spare his life. He noted the man’s slate-gray eyes that resembled his own. “You may as well as.”

“What are ya waitin’ for? Shoot him.”

“If I kill him, that would mean I’m no better.” The gun wavered. Colby lowered the revolver and glanced at his sister. He couldn’t let her shoot their father because of his cowardice. The headboard banged against the wall as William fought his ties. “I said I’ll take care of him.”

“You’re nothin’ like him.” Tessie clasped a hand over the revolver’s barrel and raised it.

“Please. I’ll give ya anything,” William begged.

Colby’s mouth dried at what he and Tessie had planned. He tried to swallow, but coughed. Was this justice or an execution? Their plan to kill William was harder than he’d thought it would be. “Tessie, leave the room.”

“No.”

Colby repeated his demand. Tessie scoffed and stomped away, slamming the door behind her. He un-cocked the hammer and holstered his revolver.

“You ain’t gonna kill me. You’re too much of a coward to be mine.” William sneered.

Colby stalked beside the bed and jerked the pillow from beneath his prey’s head. He held the pillow over him. His grip tightened as the two men stared. William chuckled and goaded him again. “Do it. I dare ya,”

“I was never your son.” Colby pressed the pillow against his victim’s face. As William thrashed, he pushed harder until his prisoner slackened. He lifted the pillow. A smirk blossomed on Colby’s face while William gasped for air. “I never said I’d make dyin’ easy for ya.”

North Dakota native Kyleigh McCloud lives in Minnesota with her husband and rescue cat. Writing has always been in her blood. As a result, she attended Minnesota State University Moorhead and graduated with a BS in Mass Communications, emphasis in Print Journalism. While Kyleigh loves to read a variety of genres, her favorite is historical romance. She has always felt drawn to the 1800s time period. The Little House on the Prairie series introduced her to this era when she was in fifth grade. Ever since, Kyleigh has admired the people’s tenacity to survive back then. She and her husband love traveling the Midwest to visit historical sites. Aside from writing westerns, Kyleigh writes contemporary women’s fiction and historical fiction. She has multiple short stories published in various anthologies and also has two holiday novellas. To follow Kyleigh’s writing journey, check her website www.kyleighmccloud.com, or follow her at www.facebook.com/authorkyleighmccloud.