Chapter 9, Part One

No Honor Ch. 9 Pt. 1: Novice

You'd think that livin' in a place as crazy, as this town gets, I'd be packin' a pistol, more often than not. Durin' my first few years here though, I learned that carryin', was a bad policy. Ya see, when you always got a gun on ya, people expect ya, ta settle things with it.

Every argument turns to a life o' death thang. And if it don't, an' you walk away... you look bad. If they wanna shoot ya, and you ain't got no gun, they look bad. It's simple, and it kept me alive in the town a long time. All I needed, was my shotgun behind the bar, and my pistol in the closet at home.

Well, Hombre made me think twice about that.

I had brought my pistol, with my otha thangs, when I had set up at Dave's house. I pulled it out, and I looked at it; my own Colt Walker... dusty and dull, from years wit'out use. I took it apart an' cleaned it, and I put on my gun belt, an' placed it in the holster.

It was a weight I hadn't felt in years, and by all rights, it didn't weigh enough. Even so, I hated it, an' I was eager to be rid of it, as soon as I put it on. Before anything could get back to regular though, I had to get Carter to move on; an' maybe findin' this Richard Jonas would help.

See, I reckon, that the only way Carter coulda known, about Roy bein' too ill to travel, was if this Jonas had told him. That meant, that Jonas probably helped Roy, at the start of it. So, you gotta figure, that Moon flashed some cash, and got 'im to loosen 'is tongue... Not enough to give Larson up though; no man that wants to be no doctor, is gonna sell out a patient.

But maybe Moon got somethin' on 'im now. Some ace in the hole, to bribe, or blackmail 'im. That story about that laudanum was bullshit; I'm sure of it. Since Carter showed, his mind hadn't left Larson for two seconds.

Well, I figured I'd best start where he did. After I got everything packed, and ready to go, I walked back down to Fourth, an' knocked on Millie's door. The one that answered, was that girl from a few nights back; the one that Millie saved, from that 'unique' young man.

She was somethin', now that I saw her up close. Her hair was practically ironed flat, her shoulders were wide, and she was curvy. She was tall too, about my height without heels, and her eyes were level with my own. I had ta wonder, what horrible things she'd done, to deserve a life like she had, an' where she was at.

She said, "Hi... kin ah help ya with somethin'?"

"Could you tell Millie that Wayne's here to see her?"

"She sick", she said. "Ah kin tell her you stopped by, but... she ain't really seein' anyone."

"That's alright. Maybe you kin help me. I'm lookin' to get word to a Richard Jonas, an' I was hopin' you'd be able to wire 'im for me."

Somethin' happened then, with her. I saw a little hesitation there, and a pause ta think, and then she said, "Ah don't think ah know a Richard Jonas."

Bullshit. But why lie about it? Was she protectin 'im? And if so, what was Jonas worried about?

I said, "It's really important, this message. Ya see my back is killin' me... It's an ol' injury, from younger days, and I need a prescription, and advice."

She nodded. "Ah understand, but ah just don't recawl 'im, an' ah wouldn't know, ha ta send word to 'im."

"What about Millie? I'm sure she knows 'im... Could you pass it on ta her?"

She looked away, and frowned some. There was some annoyance there, an' I reckon she wasn't comf'table, but I waited, like I didn't notice a thing.

She said, "Well, ah kin try... but...she's really in a bad way...and you should know that she's mournin' right naow...

"Ya see... we lost a girl...at Henrietta's... an' Millie ain't been takin' it well."

I gave my condolences, and I thanked her for whatever help she could give me. That was just an act though; a formal close o' business. I knew damn well I'd swung an' missed, and I thought about my next up ta bat.

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