Slocum and the Three Fugitives by Jake Logan

the whiskey sales in Taos had been going on while the trio was up north. Rather than poke a hole in his own theory, Slocum said, “They’ll be hard to catch. They have all the bar owners in town cowed.”
    â€œNot you. You’re not the kind to cut and run. You’re a fighter.” Judge Locke looked hard at Slocum. “More than that, you want revenge. I think you loved the woman they killed tonight.”
    â€œI wouldn’t hesitate pulling the trigger if any of the Deutsch family got into my sights. Does that mean you’re letting me out of jail?”
    â€œNope, it means I just found you guilty of murder and sentenced you to hang for the murder of Annabelle Harris!”

9
    â€œYou believe in saving money on paying juries, don’t you?” Slocum said.
    Judge Locke’s eyes widened, then he laughed, slapped his thighs, and leaned forward. He kept just beyond Slocum’s grasp.
    â€œThat’s quite a sense of humor you’ve got.”
    â€œYou expect me to tie my own noose?”
    â€œI wouldn’t go that far with any man, though I heard tell of some judges making the family pay for the rope. When a family in Arkansas refused, the judge pulled out a pistol and shot the condemned man. Then he held the family at gunpoint while his bailiff collected money off them for the price of the bullet.”
    â€œThat’s quite a standard to live up to,” Slocum said.
    â€œI’ll talk to the editor on the paper in the morning, but by then you’ll have escaped.”
    â€œHow am I supposed to do that?”
    â€œMy son’ll let you out when he’s sure you can ride out of town without drawing unwanted attention.”
    â€œBeing on the run ought to make me tolerable to the Deutsches, is that it?”
    â€œYou aren’t going to leave this neck of the woods. I see it in your face. You want revenge, and this is your chance to do it all legal. Get the goods on them, bring them in, and I’ll put them on trial in my court. Think of the bullets you’ll save doing it that way.”
    â€œThat let’s both of us get our revenge.” Slocum wasn’t sure he liked the idea of a judge using the law for his own vengeance, though it wasn’t the first time he had run across such a notion. It was certainly better than returning to Slocum’s Stand and finding a carpetbagger judge ready to steal away his property. This way, he didn’t have to kill the Deutsches. The legal system would grind them to dust.
    He had no doubt they were guilty of a hill of crimes. Maybe a mountain, and probably one of them had shot Annabelle in the back while another alerted Deputy Locke to the crime.
    â€œMight be necessary for me to shoot the bastards.”
    Judge Locke nodded knowingly and then said, “Won’t hold that against you. In the eyes of the town, you’ll be a fugitive, but Byron won’t try overly hard to catch you. If you have to gun down any of them, I’ll exonerate you as an officer of the court working for me.”
    â€œCan you deputize me?”
    Slocum read the answer in the man’s face. He was on his own when he went after the Deutsch family, and Judge Locke wasn’t authorized to make him a federal deputy.
    â€œI’ll do it,” Slocum finally said.
    Judge Locke laughed again.
    â€œYou don’t have any choice. You say no, you’re convicted of the woman’s death. A judge is impartial during a trial but that doesn’t mean I can’t influence the attorneys just a mite, just to keep them within the boundaries of the law.”
    Slocum had seen more than one judge browbeat a lawyer to get the verdict he wanted. It might take liquoring up the jury or ignoring protests from one lawyer or another, but a judge’s power in the courtroom was supreme.
    â€œWhen do you let it be known I’m a fugitive?”
    â€œAbout any time that suits you. You realize how hard it will be for