Chapter Seven

The Criminal

Mike Wesson and his gang walked into Braintree’s National Bank brandishing guns.

“Make this easy for you to understand. Fill up these bags quick and no one gets hurt. And don’t be a hero.” Mike three four large canvas bags to a teller. “Well, stupid, don’t look at me like I’m an alien, fill up the bags!”

Holding his gun waist high, he surveyed the lobby and could see an older couple, one man and an attractive woman maybe in her thirties. Looking closer, he saw a necklace around her throat. Walking over to her, he reached out with his left hand and ripped it away from her neck.

“Give that back! Please!”

“Why should I?”

“It belonged to my mother before she passed on. It’s all I have left to remember her by.”

“Pity. Looks expensive though, no, nope, not giving it back but let me give you a new memory.”

Mike reached behind her neck and kissed her hard and deep. He could feel her struggling against him but that only made him keep going until he heard a voice call out his name, well, Cody’s name.

“Cody, Cody! Bags are full. We need to ride out of here,” yelled out Brent, as he, Jasper and Warner left the bank.

Releasing the woman he smiled at her and said, “Compliments of Cody Martin,” then he turned on his heels and followed the rest of the men out of the bank and with the four, they mounted their horses and rode out of town.

As they were halfway down the main part of the street, several bullets were fired from behind them, with one of them hitting Warner, who fell off his horse and lay in the upturned dirt, dead. The only thing Mike could think was that means a three-way, not four-way split.

One of the things Mike thought about as they rode to their latest hideout is here, everyone practically carried guns whether they were the law or not. One had to be careful when looting and this hadn’t been the first time they’ve been shot at.

After they reached their hideout and split the money, Mike said to Jasper and Brent, “We need to think this out better. This makes the fifth time in the last couple months we’ve been shot at. Next time we hit a bank, we do it before it opens.”

“Just how do you suppose we get into a bank that ain’t open?” asked Jasper.

“The first person who unlocks the door is where we come in. We get the money, lock him in the safe and get out. That gives us plenty of time before anyone even knows we’ve been there and gone.”

The next ten bank robberies went off without a problem.

Monte continued searching for Cody Martin. He had that glint in his eyes. That look that held no emotion and void of any compassion. He stayed on the trail after Cody but somehow always managed to fall short by just a few days, and everywhere he went, he would hear the same story.

Yes, I think it was him, but can’t swear to it. He was here and gone so quick.

He ran across one woman, where one of Cody’s men was shot and killed riding away from another robbery, and after he gave a description, she said, I remember him too well. The brute assaulted me inside the bank and took advantage of me and stole something of personal value to me.

That was three days ago. Taking into account everything he had heard since then, about the robberies happening before the banks opened for business, they were wiped clean. Monte started to do some thinking and came up with a plan.

Though it was a good four hour ride east of Lincoln, he rode over to Omaha. He would talk with the sheriff there and the bank president. It was a long shot but one worth trying.