THE DODGE CITY MASSACRE (A Jess Williams Novel.) by Robert J. Thomas Page A

two separate cells. They were still wearing handcuffs. “Are you the two men who beat up Sara Smythe last night?”
                  One of the men looked at Jess and Bodine. “I don’t see any badge pinned on either of you so you can kiss my ass, Mister.
                  Jess walked over behind the sheriff’s desk and grabbed the keys to the jail. He walked over to the first man’s cell and started unlocking it as he said to Bodine, “John, if either one of them even tries to defend themselves, you put a bullet in both of their legs.”
                  “It’ll be my pleasure, I ain’t got patience for any man who beats on a woman, anyway,” replied John, as he drew his pistol and cocked it.
                  Both men were getting pretty worried at this point. Jess unlocked the cell of the first man who had stepped back against the wall. “Hey, you can’t come in here and…”
                  He never got to finish his sentence when Jess took out his Pa’s Colt and used the butt of it to hit the man in the face, breaking his nose in several places. Then, he grabbed the man’s right arm with his left hand and used his right elbow to slam into the man’s elbow, breaking it. Jess locked the cell back up and went straight into the next man’s cell that was screaming and hollering for help. Jess repeated the same thing on the second man and locked the jail cell when he was done. He put the keys back up on the wall and walked over in front of the jail cells and looked over his handiwork as if he was some sort of artist. Bodine put his pistol away. Both men were blowing blood out of their noses and screaming in pain.
                  “Well, it looks like you two know how to do one thing right,” said Jess. Neither man answered so Bodine asked, curious of the answer.
                  “What did they do that was right?” asked John.
                  “Bleed a lot and scream like an old woman. Let that be a warning to you two. If you ever go near Sara Smythe or if I ever see you two around here again after you get out of jail, I’ll kill the both of you as soon as I see you, do you hear me?” neither man responded. They were too busy blowing blood on the floor. “Well, John, let’s go meet with the mayor and the sheriff and find out what the hell is going on.”
                  “After you,” replied Bodine, waving toward the door.
     
    CHAPTER THIRTEEN
     
                  Jess and Bodine returned to Smythe’s General Store where the three lawmen were still seated at the kitchen table with Mayor Smythe. The coffee was done brewing and sitting on the table. Jess and Bodine poured themselves a cup as they sat down. The sheriff couldn’t wait to ask them what they had done.
                  “I didn’t hear any gunshots, so am I to assume that those two we have locked up over at the jail are still alive?” asked Sheriff Fowler, almost afraid of the answer.
                  “Yeah,” replied Jess, “but they will surely need a doctor. However, if it was up to me, I’d let them suffer a little longer.”
                  “What the hell did you do to them?” asked Mayor Smythe.
                  “Let’s just say that they look a whole lot worse than Sara does right now,” replied Jess. “Mayor Smythe, go ahead and tell we what has been going on lately.”
                  Mayor Jim Smythe poured himself another cup of coffee before he began. “Well, about a month ago, a bunch of thugs started coming into town once or twice a week and raising hell. That’s what made us put the signs up at both ends of town informing men to surrender their weapons when they came into town and they could get them back when they left.”
                  “Then how did those two get away with doing what they did to Sara?” asked