Preacher's Justice by William W. Johnstone Page A

killed him,” he said. “I mean, Dog must’ve put up one hell of a fight.”
    â€œIf nobody saw it, and you found one man dead, how do you even know there was another one?”
    â€œBecause when we found Dog, he was more dead than alive,” Ashley said. “And he had a man’s ear clenched in his teeth.”
    â€œAn ear?”
    â€œYep. And that ear didn’t come off the dead man, ’cause he still had both his ears. That means there was another person involved.”
    â€œSpeaking of ears, I notice that Dog just barely has both of his,” Preacher said. “He also seems to have several scars.”
    â€œLike I said, Dog was more dead than alive when we found him. We really didn’t think he was going to live,” Ashley said. “He had a gunshot wound, and six stab wounds. He was lying in a pool of blood, though most of it was Jennie’s blood. He was lying on her body when we found him.”
    â€œWhat was his name? The fella who was killed, I mean. Do you know?”
    â€œThey called him Slater, but nobody knows if that was his first name or his last. He drifted in here about a year ago. Some say he had been a river pirate; others say he was just a petty thief. He was almost always in some kind of trouble, I know that. Folks all agree that Dog did the city a favor by killing him.”
    â€œI suppose,” Preacher replied. “But it would’ve been good to talk to him, to find out for sure if Caviness was the other man.”
    â€œWell, whether it was Caviness or not, whoever did it is not in St. Louis,” Ashley said. “We know that much at least.”
    â€œHow do we know that?”
    â€œBecause everyone in this town is wearin’ both their ears,” Ashley replied with a little laugh.
    The men were quiet for a moment. Then Ashley nodded toward the dog. “I have to tell you, I’m surprised to see him here,” he said.
    â€œWhy is that?”
    â€œBecause this is the first time since the day Miss Jennie was buried that Dog has left the cemetery. Folks have taken notice of him, and someone is always bringing him something to eat, just because they want to. There are a lot of rabbits and squirrels out there, and Dog is pretty resourceful. There is also a stream that runs through the place.”
    â€œI wonder why he won’t leave the cemetery,” Preacher said.
    â€œOh, I don’t think that’s all that much of a mystery,” Ashley replied. “You did leave him to look out for Miss Jennie, didn’t you?”
    â€œYes.”
    â€œI think he’s feeling guilty for not being able to do what you asked.”
    â€œI’ll be damned,” Preacher said. “You might be right.” He looked down at Dog. “Dog?”
    Dog opened his eyes and looked up at him.
    â€œDog, you don’t have anything to feel guilty about,” Preacher said. “You did the best you could do. You killed one of them, and you fixed it so that when I find the other one, I will recognize him.” He reached down and rubbed Dog on the head again. “You did a good job, Dog, and I am very proud of you.”
    Dog stretched, stood up, then shook himself so that the loose skin slipped around noisily. He licked Preacher’s hand.
    Ashley laughed. “You know what? I think you just took a big load off his mind. I really do think he was worried about what you would think of him failing his responsibility.”
    â€œHe didn’t fail anything,” Preacher said.
    â€œNevertheless, I bet he won’t spend all of his time down at the cemetery anymore.”
    â€œListen, didn’t you say something about buying my dinner?”
    â€œI did. Chardonnay’s is just down the street. That’s the best restaurant in St. Louis.”
    â€œYes, I’ve eaten there,” Preacher said. “But if it’s all the same to you, I believe I’d just as soon eat at—where