Law and Order
Steve Crow
"So what are you going to do about this?"
Sheriff Nate Hunter looked up from the paperwork on his desk. He and Olson had been going over
the records, and now a new one had been tossed on his desk. A deed, by the look of it.
It had been several weeks since the . . . uproar in Gomorra. The man who had barged into his
office was one of those that he considered responsible for much of the chaos.
To look at him, the newcomer wasn't much. An older man, perhaps in his late 50's. He was
dressed in somber black clothing, with a stovepipe hat pulled down to his ears. He was balding,
with a fringe of gray hair and a beard. His most distinctive features were a large, hooked nose
and piercing hazel eyes that blazed out from a craggy brow.
"Jebediah Whateley, as I live and breathe!" William Olson exclaimed. "I didn't think we'd be
seein' your face around these parts anytime soon!"
Jebediah gave the bailiff a contemptuous glare, but Olson showed no signs of looking away.
"Am I under arrest, Sheriff? Do you have any warrants against me?"
Olson started to reply, but Hunter held up a hand. "There've been no crimes . . . charged
against you, Mr. Whateley."
"Or my family?"
Hunter frowned at this. "No," he admitted eventually, as if the word had been ripped from him.
"Then, as one of Gomorra's leading citizens, I would hope you could spare me a few minutes of
your valuable time." Jebediah glared at Olson. "Alone."
Olson looked ready to bite off a retort, but Nate cleared his throat. The bailiff gave him a
brief glance, then nodded reluctantly. "Think I'll be moseyin' on then, Sheriff. Darren
owes me a drink, and if we can find a bar the Union's left open, maybe I'll see about collectin'."
William got up and, giving Jebediah a wide berth, strolled out of the office.
"Care to take a seat, Mr. Whateley?" Nate asked.
"I will remain standing, thank you very much." Jebediah replied. "I would call your attention
to that deed before you. It proves beyond a shadow of the doubt that my family has full and
legitimate claim upon the Spirit of Kentucky shaft."
"I don't recall ever disputing the matter," Nate replied.
"No. But there are others who would. The sort you Westerners call . . . 'claim jumpers'."
"And what exactly does that mean to me?"
Jebediah paced the room. "I would have thought that enforcement of the law would be of some
small concern to you, Sheriff Hunter. That is why the good people of Gomorra appointed
you to your position after the death of your predecessor, is it not?"
The elder Whateley paused before a small plaque mounted on the wall. Mounted upon it was a
simple metal star. Gently, Jebediah traced its outline with one finger, closing his eyes as
if savoring a fine cigar or a good meal.
"So they tell me, Whateley," Nate acknowledged, interrupting the man's reverie.
Jebediah shook his head as if to clear his thoughts. "Do you feel my family is any less deserving
of protection than anyone else in this town?"
"Your family?!?" snarled Nate, rising partially from his chair. "It's your brood that
caused all of Gomorra's problems in the first place, Whateley. What makes you think I'd lift a
finger to help you?"
Jebediah turned to the sheriff, leaning over and bracing himself on the table with both arms.
Nate could see the muscles under the Whateley's face . . . writhe, like worms squirming
under cover of flesh.
The moment passed, and Jebediah gained a semblance of control. "You really can't blame us
for all of Gomorra's problems. Tell me, who was it that killed Sheriff Coleman? Surely you're
not blaming us for that, are you?"
Nate looked somewhat taken aback. "Well, no . . ."
"In fact, to the best of my recollection, you've never really done anything to bring in your
predecessor's killer. No suspects, no arrests. A more suspicious man than I might think that
you weren't trying very hard."
"And what exactly are you accusing me of?"
Jebediah moved back, his eyes wide in surprise. "Me? Why, nothing. You and I, we are men
accustomed to power and wealth. Head and shoulders above the common riff-raff that seemed to have
survived Gomorra's troubles. Rats and cockroaches always come out ahead when disaster strikes,
it seems."
The elder Whateley began pacing again. "We are men of the world, Sheriff Hunter. I am sure it
is mere coincidence that two of Sweetrock's more degenerate thugs were found so unpleasantly
murdered. Men who may well have killed Coleman. You certainly cannot accuse the Whateleys of
these crimes." Jebediah made a small moue of distaste. "Byron St. James' rather tasteless . . . execution
was, I assure you, not something we Whateleys would condone."
Because it was so crudely done, Jebediah amended mentally. (While he was here to speak
truth, there was no reason to speak every truth.)
"And what about Miss Hendricks' death? Again, a crime of which we much-maligned Whateleys are
blameless, correct? Not only that, but the person who murdered her still runs free. I even
understand that in the recent . . . troubles you joined forces with Mr. Jackson. Practically
deputized him, I gather."
"And Judge Warwick . . . also dead. A fine upstanding member of our community, shot down in his
golden years by a female outlaw, an operative of the very man you so freely served with."
Jebediah paused his pacing. "I know of your fine, fine background, Sheriff Hunter. A respected
and acclaimed lawyer, you are . . . without peer in Gomorra, quite frankly. With all of that
training, you must realize there are no crimes you can charge my family with."
Nate settled back in his chair. "There's the little matter of that riot at the theatre . . ."
"I've been told that Shakespeare tends to . . . incite less civilized audiences to such
extremes. You know as well as I do that no one who saw the performance that night . . ."
". . . and survived," Nate interjected grimly.
Jebediah nodded at the correction. ". . . and survived could provide any kind of identification.
Some even claimed the late Sir Whitmore caused the chaos."
"And Tao Cheng?" Hunter countered.
"Many people died in the riots that night, Sheriff. Again, I understand there were no eyewitnesses
to your deputy's death. We cannot be held accountable for every strange death that occurred
that night. Remember, sir, that we were defending our home from an irate mob at the time . . ."
Nate sighed. He was well aware of the problems with bringing any legal case against any member of the
Whateleys. If there had been any chance of arresting any one of them particularly
Nicodemus he would have done so weeks ago.
"Besides," Jebediah continued, raising one finger admonishingly. "We Whateleys have been sympathetic
to your problems. Why, when those bands of ruffians launched their attacks upon our home, did we
come whining to you for aid? No! We defended our property, as the law entitles us to. In fact,
one wonders why you haven't pursued some of those individuals? Apparently your brand of law only
applies if one is less than popular with the local populace, and lacks the support of the
military."
"You killed enough of them," Nate grumbled irritably.
Jebediah snarled, red fury bleeding into his eyes. "We paid for that in blood, Mr. Hunter! Ezekiel,
Malrog, Enoch . . poor, crippled, and disfigured individuals, reviled by your 'simple townsfolk',
and murdered by them.
"You can hardly claim Malrog was out and about inciting his prosecutors to kill him. We kept him
confined to the Estate grounds, but did that stop them? No! They came to our very doorstep, and some
pathetic pirate snapped his neck. Enoch was fed a stick of dynamite and blown into a million pieces
by a Union operative. Ezekiel was shot in the throat by a Texas Ranger, supposedly a
representative of the law. And poor, scarred Basil . . .I say to you, sir, where was that law
when we needed it?"
"And Wilhelmina?"
Jebediah shrugged, his fury spent. "Whatever grudges she and that Lakota chief had, they worked
them out between themselves. Fatally so. I will admit, I was not privy to all of her plans.
Perhaps she had some manner of alliance with that scoundrel Elijah and his unholy Flock. If so,
she has paid the price for her crimes. I trust you will not penalize the rest of us for her alleged
misdeeds."
Sighing again, Nate wearily rubbed his brow with his hand. In truth, he wished he had been at the
Whateley Estate. He had done little more than bear witness to the demon's defeat at the hands of
Austin Stoker and the Ghost. Maybe he should have been at the Whateley Estate, seeing what
side the law his law needed to come down on.
Perhaps Jackson and Stoker had been working together. Not the demon Nate was a realist at heart,
and couldn't deny the evidence of his own eyes. That, and he had enough respect for Jackson to know
that, whatever the man's crimes, he wouldn't consider an alliance with such an abomination.
But Stoker sure hadn't seemed to need their help, even though he insisted upon it. Maybe Jackson cut
a deal with him. Stoker said they "had" to ally . . . Maybe it was all a ploy to keep Hunter off
the outlaw's back . . .
Jebediah smiled sympathetically as Hunters glance shifted, his confusion evident. Nate was
impressed: he didn't think Jebediah was capable of such an expression.
"Please don't misunderstand, Sheriff Hunter. I don't blame you for failing to defend us against
the murderers and vandals that have plagued my family since we arrived here. In fact, we are
much alike." Jebediah raised a hand. "Don't scoff. We have both recently lost women near
and dear to us. We both occupy positions of great power and responsibility in Gomorra you
as its sheriff, me as the surviving head of one of its leading families. And we both have to deal
with subordinates who are . . . perhaps a little less than obedient.
"Yes, young Nicodemus can be a bit of a handful. But on the other hand, I won't trouble you with a
reiteration of the allegations against Deputy Templeton. The accusations of rape and assault
against Gomorra's womenfolk, for instance . . ."
Jebediah gave his argument a few more moments to sink in. Then, he moved in for the kill.
"Yes, I think we understand each other, Sheriff Hunter. All I ask is that you give us the due
benefit that your law provides."
The elder Whateley actually chuckled, a dry rasping noise like a crypt door closing. "And consider
this. If we actually did all that we are accused of . . . well, it would seem that we failed.
If and what I mean to say is if we failed the demon and his dark masters . . . why,
do you really think any punishment you could mete out would matter?"
Jebediah scooped up his deed from the table. Then, turning to go, he noted, "Whether you like
it or not, Sheriff Hunter, we Whateleys are here to stay. We have much time and effort invested
in this town, and we wish to see it survive and prosper as much as you. The danger is not yet
over, however, and we must be wary of the threats that remain out there, amassing like dark
storm clouds on the horizon. You may be surprised to find yourself needing our help . . ."
The elder Whateley reached the door. "Which reminds me . . . As a highly-placed citizen of Gomorra,
I feel it is my duty to bring to your attention the fact that Brother Elijah did indeed escape
the conflagration that his Flock did not. He has left for the City of Lost Angels and I am
afraid that we may not seen the last of him.
"Good day, Sheriff."
Jebediah tipped his hat and departed, leaving Nate Hunter to his own dark thoughts.
© Alderac Entertainment Group, 2001